Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Yes! I got a surprise. Two actually. I had been contemplating getting an electronic die cutting machine for several months or more. I saw the one I was interested in at $219.00 plus tax. “Great!”, I thought. That will save me almost a hundred dollars. Omscaler is very frugal as readers of this blog know. Finally the big day came for ordering the machine. I had arranged with a particular sales person to make the order when the time came. The store in question has a price match policy. We went to the order terminal. The person looked up a price match. Lo and behold! He saw it at $209.00. My frugality hormones went into overdrive. “This just gets better and better!”, I thought. Outwardly calm, I made the payment. The machine was scheduled to arrive on the date of this post. I picked it up six days early. Yes it does just get better and better. Online info indicated that there is a learning curve. I am riding that curve. “What brand machine?” you may wonder. Well, for now, since there is no endorsement agreement, I will only reveal that by request only. Your diligent learner, omscaler

What I said was “Whew!”

That's right. I said “Whew”. The reason I said it was because I had returned from a trip I took with a family member over the July 4^th Holiday. It had been a while since I had been out of town, so I did not remember how much went into traveling. I packed and packed it seemed like. We got under way the morning of the fifth. We got to Atlanta and did the perimeter freeway and got on I-75 toward Chattanooga, then onto I-575 which became Highway 515. All smooth. A little while and a milk shake later, we reached our destination, Ellijay, Georgia. We were in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. We were a little early for check-in so we headed downtown. I was pleasantly surprised that the first historic building I noticed was the old Ellijay Depot. It was well maintained and is now a gift shop. The architectural style is very attractive and the nearby scenery is as well. I am sure that back in the day, the old depot welcomed visitors to the Chattahoochee National Forest area which is why we were there as well. You should check it all out some time. Yours back at work, omscaler

Trees, trees! Where are the trees?

If you were to look on the layout proper you would ask “Where are the tree?”. Right now the place looks like a beach with white sand with a railyard sitting on it. Desolation is the theme here, right?

Wrong. The locale, if you recall is Murphysboro, Illinois. Hardly a beach, desert or polar landscape. Trees, grass, hills, buildings! So what I thought I would do is update the readers on some landscaping plans. What is being planned is naturally, 1/384 trees. The research is in progress. Grass should not be a big problem. Buildings we are expecting to be somewhat of a challenge. But that is where the fun is! A note to readers: a number of buildings have the needed documentation to be realistic, vis-a-vis, old photo copies and maps. So realism is expected on the layout. Keep positive thoughts for us. Have a good week, omscaler

The shifter rework

Welcome back faithful readers. I have previously been writing about my day trip. This week I want to give you the back story on the shifter. Firstly, the shifter was built to meet the need for locomotive power on the OSR. Secondly, the shifter was built way too quickly. Thirdly, the haste has always come back to bite omscaler in the rear end. This always happens. Over the past few weeks to couple of months, main drawbar failure was a recurring problem. Again, quick fixes didn't fix. After assessing the last failure, I decided to bite the bullet and do a major overhaul of the offending component. I reasoned that if brass shim was working for the couplers, it would work for the main drawbar between the shifter and it's tender. Removing the old hardware took a toll on the little engine and somewhat on omscaler. Patience and persistence got the work done. Drawbar in place. Structural repairs performed. Shifter working like it is supposed to. Again a relieved omscaler. And by the way, Happy Fourth of July! See you again, omscaler

A few odds and ends

This week I thought I would add some details about the recent trip I took. I stopped in Collinsville and took some pics. A one lane running board bridge, located near downtown on a side street. An old feed mill, now a Hispanic auto repair shop. And downtown including the Cricket Theatre. I did not stop at the old depot in Fort Payne. I have visited previously and their museum has some unusual displays. You should consider a visit. When I passed through Flatrock I noticed some horizontal stones at the sides of the highway bridge that did look a little flat but I am not sure that is what is referenced in the town name. When I went down into the Tennesee River valley, the grade was steep. So much so the highway department built a runaway truck escape lane on the side of the road. When you get down you drive by some mud flats by the road to the bridge. In Stevenson, the shops face the old depot. Up the street where I took the overpass pics I parked in front of a Bed and Breakfast. This was located in an old, refurbished, large Victorian home. I failed to get the phone number in case any “bed and breakfasters' '' are reading. Perhaps an online search might help. On my way to lunch, I stopped at Nickajack dam and got some pics. I also stopped at the Shell Mound Camping and Picnic area. I noticed a train moving on the far side of the lake. Thanks again to my daughter. :) Lots of people out. More pics. I believe the shellmound site is now submerged under the lake. Everything looked well kept, thanks to the Tennessee Valley Authority. Then it was really time for lunch and then home. Til next week, omscaler

Now the rest of the story

Last week we wrote about our exciting and hot trip to North Alabama. And now the conclusion. After leaving Stevenson I headed to Bridgeport Alabama. Not too far up the road. I did notice a massive construction site on the south side of the highway. I was unable to tell what was being worked on. Just a lot of earth moving. Soon I was in Bridgeport. I began to nose around the downtown area and located the old depot. The building is a substantial structure with light colored walls, terracotta tile roof and similarly colored trim. A museum resides inside. The depot is at the foot of a nearby hill with part of the earth cut away for a track siding to curve by. The track makes a wye with the end at what appears to be an old cotton mill perhaps. Also, on the museum ground are a Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis switch locomotive and caboose. In the distance are the mountains. A very scenic locale. When I went to the main track side of the depot to shoot some pics another train appeared in the distance. I got a pic of it rumbling by. Another train on Memorial Day I thought. The only person I had told that I might make this trip was my daughter. I wondered if she had contacted CSX railroad and persuaded them to have a couple or trains rolling for my benefit. Next, I left and to get lunch, taking some non railway pics on the way home. Yours, still wondering, omscaler

A little side trip

I thought I would give our readers a little something different this week. I was fortunate to be off work for Memorial Day. A proud day for America to remember those who have sacrificed for the benefit of freedom for the rest of us. Anyway, I decided to take a day trip to north Alabama. My goal was to visit the old towns of Stevenson and Bridgeport. One or both of these places figured prominently in the American Civil War and were part of the Union Army “ratline”. However, I wanted to see the old depots. The day promised to be a hot one. I got an early start and grabbed a bite on the road. I got off the freeway at Reece City exit and took old highway eleven.  I stopped and snapped a pic of an interesting old barn and continued. A good way up the road I turned off onto what the map said was a county road. The road was paved, but that was about all. The paving was asphalt with gravel. Little to no straightness. After a few minutes I decided to stop and check my map. No road number signs were posted. I thought I had turned too soon or something. No, I was right. So I kept going. A little further I came to a stop on a better road. Turned left and came to a more improved highway. Saw the number I was looking for and I was on my way to Flatrock, Alabama. Whoopee! Driving and driving ever upward. Mostly farms of course. Not many people. I noticed that since I got on highway eleven there were very few other vehicles. A little bit after Flatrock I saw a sign that indicated steep grade ahead. I was moving down into the Tennessee River valley. I had been driving for some time and was glad to be getting to my destination. I noticed I was driving by mudflats and soon came to a massive steel girder bridge. The John Snodgrass Bridge in fact. I wanted a pic but decided to go across to get it as I did not see a good spot to snap one on the near side. I saw a boat launch area and pulled off and got the pic. A few more minutes and I was in “downtown” Stevenson. A picturesque old river town with a picturesque old depot, now a museum. I got out into more heat. Being a photographer isn't easy. I looked around. The museum was closed as expected. Then I began to take pictures. Suddenly I heard a wonderful sound. It was a locomotive horn not too far away. I listened a moment more and heard it get closer. Wow, I thought, trains working on Memorial Day, what luck. Soon a massive Union Pacific locomotive followed by a CSX locomotive began powering by. I got some pics. I noticed at the front end were a number of Tropicana refrigerator cars. Interesting, I thought. I had noticed a street overpass a few blocks from the depot and got up there. I missed the train but took some pics of the one lane bridge. Next back in the cool car and on the road to Bridgeport. More next time, omscaler