I have not gotten much done on the layout lately. The weather was pretty cold and the train room was not as inviting but, really, I was just being lazy. I did complete the apartment and I really like how it looks. I envision little in the way of an interior - may a person or two - but most of the shades will be pulled on the windows. Some light and maybe some forced shadows.
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| Complete apartment building in East McKeesport |
Bruce came over last weekend and we talked about several projects we have been bouncing around. The corner left (west) of East McKeesport, past the trestle bridge, has been an area of major conversation and deliberating. He came up with the idea of a couple of hills - one in the corner and another in front of the mainline coming from hidden staging for the major elements in this section of the layout. I had bought a different Woodland Scenics rock mold a few weeks ago and made some castings that I laid against the stacks of insulation pieces to give us a visual representation. We talked about the area to the trestle and a tunnel for the trains on the trestle to disappear into. I decided we needed to add a sluggish pond or creek in front of the new hill sides (there are no bodies of water on my layout) and he thought that would work.
Although we did not get much work done, we did discuss a lot of ideas and have some plans for the next working train session. We also pretty well proved his theory that the oil in the electric motors is thickening up in the winter and that's why they take so long before they run smoothly. We cleaned several sections of the track which improved performance but was not the culprit.
Another interesting point this week was reconnecting with my friend, Vic. For those who have been following my blog, Vic's Bait & Tackle was the first completed scene on that last layout and this layout. It's named after a co-worker who lives in the Boston area and loves fishing. Doubt he would be terribly excited by the fishing in Keystone Lake which is where his mythical store is located. None the less, it was great catching up.
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| Vic's Bait & Tackle, named after a co-worker I had a chance to see this week |
