Label: More progress

Another update. Last time I related the trackwork progress. I did finish all the the straight trackage in the module. Then I began to work on the turnouts (switches). At first it seemed that I had hit a mental road block. I pondered, I meditated, I studied. No go. Then I decided to rest my brain for a day or so. That was it! I was able to mentally picture a completed turnout. Lesson learned. A common way to overcome brain lock. Put the thing down! The issue seemed to solve itself. Still working, omscaler

Label: Still trackin'     

Work in downtown Murphysboro, Illinois is still coming along. This has indeed been a busy process. It seems like you do a lot of work but don't get anywhere since everything is in the old M&O rail yard. Of course you're gonna' need a lot of track to hold numerous rail cars so it must be done. The flip side of this is even when you get done, you're going to run out of room. Ironic I know. But, as previously mentioned, bounds must be set. Still, I've been fabricating track after track. There is a man named GEORGE SELLIOS, who has built a very fine model railroad layout with a very high level of detail. I read in an article about the model railroad that he put a company name of a large downtown office building as I.M. Boren. He said he got very bored making all the windows for the building. I get it. I can relate. Nevertheless, persistence wins the day. By the way, if I have not already mentioned, on September 12^th, the annual Murphysboro, Illinois Apple Festival starts. The 12^th through the 15^th I believe. Mr. Apple will be there. Parades, competitions, demonstrations too. Oldest non-alcoholic festival in southern Illinois. Over 45,000 in attendance. Mark your calendars! Until next time, omscaler

Label: A turn in time?

Just one more gotcha' to share. I am currently working on laying track on the module. I did some preliminary work with grade crossings as already mentioned. Next came turnout planning. All well and good. I did the layout. Checked my work. Then asked myself, “If the train can cross over to this siding, how does it get back on the track it came from?” No answer except, “It doesn't!” After rechecking, guess what? The planning engineer (me) had skipped a set of crossovers. Wow! This won't do. To compound the problem, a crossover to a parallel track that extends alongside both ways actually needs two turnouts. Boy is my face red. See what happens when you get in a hurry. Glad I caught this in time.  Until next week, omscaler