‘Tis the season for...gremlins?

Well, not really gremlins. Just a large boo boo. Omscaler finished installing all five turnouts on the module. Some adjacent track was installed as well. If finally dawned me that I had seen a problem on the Union City Module. In this case the lower level of the ballast was obscured by the surrounding terrain. On the previous module omscaler went to the trouble of making sloping sides on the ballast sections. Once the adjacent terrain section was put in, it was about the same height as the lower part of the ballast. This made the right of way look a little sunken. Not too bad but still not correct. As stated, some track was put in when I realized the problem. Nothing for it but to remove the track and install terrain sections. Some, maybe most of the track sections were badly damaged. So, at this point, omscaler has back tracked and made terrain sections which will be added before track is laid. Humble and persistent, omscaler

 

Initial success

Omscaler is happy to report that the Mountain Glen turnout is in place and tested well. Next will be the four turnouts at Alto Pass. Still to come are curved track sections. Slow but sure progress. Omscaler hopes that everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Until next post, omscaler

 

Now for the next phase

Omscaler is glad to report that all turnouts are in place. All channels are built as well. The next part will be ballast and track laying. Omscaler has decided to build these parts around the turnouts first. This will allow for adjustments without having to reposition and reglue track sections. The end modules will need curved track. This is something that has never been made on The Omega Scale Railway. As said before, “Always something new on The Very Small Railroad”. Fortunately, omscaler has a working plan. Trying to go around the bend, omscaler

 

Another discovery

As readers recall, last week’s post referred to channel building. As part of that, turnouts should be installed as well. The initial test turnout installation revealed a discrepancy in the sub-surface turnout “chamber” height. At this point omscaler recalled having to build a platform under each turnout which were installed on previous modules. In order to simplify this process, it was decided to raise the height of the turnout chamber and eliminate the need for platform under the turnouts. Doing this called for adjusting the measurements on the dimension diagram sheet. This was done in a slow and meticulous manner. At the writing of this post, turnout building is moving forward. Until next time, omscaler

 

More slow movement

Last week saw definite forward progress, but omscaler was hoping for more. The drive cord has been installed but initial operation revealed the need for more fine tuning. At this point, the idea is that since correct motion was observed to go ahead with completion of sub-surface channel building. Then will come ballasting and track laying. Staying optimistic, omscaler

 

A refreshing mini vacation

Not to make excuses but omscaler spent a couple of days out of town visiting with family. As a result, not as much has been done on the OSR. However, omscaler always feels recharged after an out of town trip. So, this week should see some definite progress on the modules. As a side note, all the relaxation brought forth a new idea for making figures. If this works, a definite improvement in figure making should follow. All omscaler has to do is get prepared and do some testing. Keeping fingers crossed, omscaler

 

Slow freight train?

Last week, The Omega Scale freight train was moving mighty slow. The analogy here is that new module construction crawled to a halt. The problem? Weekend warrior syndrome was encountered after last Saturday’s off trail hike. Knee pain. Doctor trip. Medication. All these saw omscaler not doing any module work until this last Friday or Saturday. As this is being written, relief efforts are working and OSR work is expected to have resumed to near normal velocity. Until the next blog post, omscaler