Not yet!

A couple of posts ago omscaler said the new turnout and track upgrade “should” be in place by now. And omscaler was right. They “should” be in place by now. But, the fact is life got in the way. In order to do the quality job readers have come to expect, we had to take our time and do the job right. The new turnouts, while not perfect are indeed much smoother and much more reliable. Tweaking will be done as best we can. All the new turnouts and new replacement track have taken longer than expected. Hopefully, by the time you read this, all will be complete. And I hope all had a safe and fun Fourth of July! With patriotism and joy, omscaler

Get out of town!

Yep, that’s what The Omega Scale Railway needs to do. Right now, Murphysboro, Illinois is the town occupying the module. A sort of municipal “Lone Ranger”. This means The Very Small Railroad has no destination. Not a good place for a railroad to be in. So, where will we go? The plan is for the next one foot by three foot module to be based on Union City Tennessee. The freight house for this location has already been built. There will also be at least a couple of small rural/wooded modules to be spaced between the larger modules. This is the plan so far. Omscaler believes the current innovations will help move things along more quickly. We will see exactly how quickly, hopefully very soon. In anticipation mode, omscaler

Now we’re moving!

As of this post, the previous account of the new turnout style has been tested, tried and installed. Also at this point, the other older turnouts should be having an upgrade as well. The new tie marking guide is helping to get new track on the module more quickly. Omscaler needs to plan the next phase of construction. Currently, there are still three boxcars in the shop for upgrading due to being put on the back burner. More railcars to be re-shopped plus additional cars, locomotives and other stuff to be made. Still having fun, thankfully, omscaler

“Top Secret” revealed!

As aficionados of the Edinburgh annual tattoo know, Top Secret is the name of the crack Swiss drum corps. Omscaler aspires to be a crack Omega Scale modeler and with that thought in mind another upgrade was decided upon. This time, the fourth time I believe, the turnouts are being upgraded. An innovative design was developed that solved the problem of the “floating” switch point. Omscaler thinks the overall appearance will be improved as well. Just to be informative, the floating switch point was sometime “picked” by rail equipment and this caused delamination of the point. This was turning into a huge and frustrating problem. Now, I can sleep better at night. Yours, slumbering by night and working by day, omscaler

Still with the Serendipity!

Where omscaler left you, the reader of this blog, last post was, omscaler was going to reveal the next silver lining to the cloud. As was stated all the trackage was going to be replaced. To remind readers, some trackage was built with 110# Vellum”, some with 110# smooth. What is going in is 100# Bristol smooth. Before starting, omscaler decided to do a “test” assembly with the new stuff. Preparatory thought revealed a plan to set up the track components and glue and color and mark ties and rails “at the desk”. The new method has allowed precise gluing and more accurate tie marking with much less “mis-marks”. This will naturally improve the appearance of the track right of way. Then, it is on to the “secret” development with equipment upgrading and construction as well. Industriously, omscaler

More serendipity!

First the clouds, then then the silver lining. While omscaler was checking supplies for confirming inventory levels (shuffling through cardstock), two different types used for track components was discovered. There should only be one type used for this. What is specified is 110# smooth (business card) stock. What was discovered was “Vellum” 110# cardstock. What happens when you use Vellum is that Vellum is not as smooth as 110# smooth. The rougher texture somehow acts a little like a sponge when glued. The results seem to be drying out at a thicker profile. This explains some strange equipment performance on the track in the affected areas. On closer inspection, the appearance at the central gap is odd as well. How did this happen? Omscaler suspects that he may have “asked” for Vellum by mistake. It seems like I got 110# smooth almost by chance during a later purchase. Or, and this is a big “or”, the sales person gave me the wrong stuff. We may never know. As a result of the discovery of the problem, omscaler decided to source some additional stock at an office supply store. We checked the price of a full pack. $17.99 plus tax. We asked about single sheet price. $0.81 per sheet plus tax was the response. Since we had some of the correct material on hand, omscaler decided to think about it and research some more. My subsequent stop was at a craft store. I went to the art supply aisle and began looking. What attracted my attention was Bristol 100# smooth. I decided to make a design change right there on the fly. When I returned to my lair, excuse me, craft studio area of my apartment, I compared the thickness of the new cardstock to the thickness of a measuring gauge I use to correctly mount running equipment on railcars. What I found was that they were apparently equal. It was almost like the problem corrected itself. Serendipity! Now, all I have to do is replace all the current trackage. But, you know what? Well, we will explain that next post. Jumping for joy, omscaler

Upgrading the equipment

Omscaler is currently upgrading rolling stock. Firstly, a truck redesign was called for to improve performance. Omscaler did not like what he saw in the day to day performance. Both appearance and behavior needed improvement. But, we are getting it done! Also, another “secret” project is being researched. If this happens it will be a step forward, though perhaps not a real big step. We will see what happens. I remain optimistic. In another project idea, omscaler is researching “Pullman” green. Reader input on this is welcome. Working away, omscaler