Temptation and Fall weather

 

As omscaler writes this while being thankful regarding a healed knee, the beautiful sun and clear blue sky beckon. Not a cloud to be seen. Trails call in the distance. Oh well. We will work inside for the moment and maybe work out a little trial walk first. Concerning the OSR, a couple of secrets may be in the works. I write this with caution as we have received “unofficial” word that operatives of a jealous foreign power are even now trying to learn what we do here. I hate to disappoint them. “What we do here” is be persistent and keep trying. It is thinking and elbow grease. And fun. Let’s not forget fun. The Mogul is in the erection shop and is being constructed. We will keep at it, omscaler

 

The best laid plans!

 

The best laid plans of mice and men seem to go astray at times. Last post was about “glorious” Fall weather. This post will include “glorious” knee pain symptoms. Yep. Omscaler went hiking. Just a small hike. An unassuming hike. Not like Pike’s peak or something. So omscaler went along the rim trail and avoided the entrance to the gorge sign. Looked to rough. Proceeded further down the hill and saw a more easily traversed path. Plus, the sign said “Suspension Bridge”. Too alluring. We ambled down this path. And ambled. And ambled some more. Kept looking at watch. Decided on a “turn around” time and kept ambling. Another sign about the suspension bridge. More not seeing bridge. Turned around. Recalled that going down was much easier than going up. I had actually done some movement over low boulders on the way down. Recrossed the same. Walked back to the car. Got under way and went home. Omscaler noticed a little “twinge” in the left knee if I did not hold my leg just right as I went home. Also felt some discomfort as I tried to sleep that night. Sunday, guess what! The “twinge” had turned into a “twonge”, just a made up word to describe a “Hallelujah” level of pain. Home remedies were applied with very little relief. What to do? Answer: Nothing. Yep. Rest and more rest. I believe this is a classic case of “Weekend Warrior” syndrome. It seemed like I noticed a little discomfort at the first stop, a craft fair. Lesson: Don’t ignore anything. I had actually done regular walking during the summer but rain did curtail some. I had just returned to regular exercise routine about two weeks before the problem happened. All Weekend Warriors have a case of overconfidence. Easy to do. What does this have to the with The Very Small Railroad? Just this. Omscaler does not do fine exacting work when he is in abject pain. Another good rule I have learned. So, we have lost perhaps three days. Less if you allow for procrastination. But, as before we will get her done. Omscaler

 

Fall is here!

 

That’s right! Cool mornings. Low humidity. More distractions! Yep. More distractions means it is harder for omscaler to work on The Very Small Railroad. Football games featuring a grandson. Hiking is in the mix. Just being outside. What to do? Looks like omscaler needs to reorganize and prioritize again. We will get it done. Right now the Mogul is coming along. Cabooses are still not started other than just a few components. And we may have a “Mystery Announcement”. This announcement is just in time for Halloween, if it comes about. Due to current health situation at large this may be subject to change. We shall see. To be clear, the Halloween part is not really connected to the holiday. It just coincides. (Insert happy face.) Outward bound, omscaler

 

Just more work

 

That’s right. We just working along. Believe me. I would like to have more completed effort to crow about but here on The Very Small Railroad progress is sometime very small too. I have a personal resolution to something everyday on The Omega Scale Railway. The biggest hindrance is the need to get away from the work area and get some exercise. Healthy body, healthy mind. Especially, if rainy weather has confine yours truly to the house. I mentioned the other day that making these basic components was a little like shelling peas. Repetitious to be sure. One boxcar needs over sixteen steps to mount just one wheel set. This is why omscaler is so persistent. Ya’ gotta’ do what ya’ gotta’ do. And so we do. Still being persistent, omscaler

 

There is no business like show business

 

There is no business like show business (almost)

Welcome back to The Omega Scale Railway. This week’s blog may be a little different. Just some personal decisions and opinions. Omscaler decided not to attend the Greater Atlanta Train Show. “Why? ”, You may ask. Good question. Omscaler personally loves train shows. Been to as many as I was able. Seeing folks I know. Checking on what is for sale. Enjoying layouts that are operating. Great time! However, when omscaler checked the videos’ of last year’s show, I noticed that it was mostly what I call dealer tables. I only saw one layout at a lower height for children to enjoy. I have no grudge against all of this but I prefer shows with the above mentioned characteristics. So, I wished this show much success, but I did try to be outdoors at the time of the show. Other shows are coming up and I hope to see many folks there. As far as the current projects go, we are making spare parts anticipating the Mogul and cabooses will need them. Still working, omscaler

 

Of cabooses and Kings

 

This weeks post title is reminiscent of Mr. Carrol’s classic Alice In Wonderland. Instead of lowly cabbages we are naturally working with cabooses. Omscaler feels fortunate to be using GM&O cabooses. The reason being is that the cupola is centered. This is a little better than having the cupola on one end like many other roads. A centered cupola means the caboose does not need to be turned although almost all other railroads just simply ran the caboose “backwards”. A backward caboose has a little less viewing angle as far as watching the train is concerned. So we will will be using a handy caboose type which the GM&O used until they got centered “wide vision” cabooses. As far as the “King” we mentioned. We are building a “Mogul”. Similar title in my opinion. This is a locomotive with a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement. Two wheel front trucks were used for freight locomotives. Four wheel for passenger locomotives. However the railroads used these interchangeably whenever a pressing need arose. Fabricating away, omscaler

 

The work continues

 

To update our readers, the shakedown operations of the new 0-6-0 shifter was very successful. Some tweaking is still needed but it seems that it is confined to the coupler heights either on the shifter (not likely) or a railcar or two. This was expected due to railcar modifications. All in a days work here on the very small railroad. Next in line after a few car repairs are the Mogul (2-6-0) and two cabooses. The cars are in the shop due to needing a more recent structural upgrade or in one case a faulty retainer member. We shall see. Chuffing along, omscaler