Just a quick note to verify this blog is still working.  Looks like last entry was just before radiation treatment began.  Since then actually got back in the V&T Rwy world [also know as the "TRAIN ROOM"] and a few photos should be showing up in the next post if this one works.

MO[O]RE  UPDATE "TRAINING" and V&T Rwy progress

In March went to Pennsylvania for an ops and "trained" [mixture of model and prototype train activity] going up and back.  Visited the following prototypes: Walkerstown Sourthern, Gettysburg, Middletown & Hummelstown and the Landisville on the way up and the Allentown & Auburn and the Pennsylvania Southern on the way back.

On the Middletown & Hummelstown found quite a few interesting items.  Here are just two, the Alco S-6 painted back in Western Maryland colors with its original number and also there was a wood boxcar with arch bar trucks AND link and pin couplers, thought to be old Southern Railway car.

Later that evening found the Landisville.  The flash caught the rain drops.

The next day found this ex-Pennsylvania doodle bug on the Allentown & Auburn















and this GP-9 at the depot on the Pennsylvania Southern







In April went to AZ, NV, UT, and NM for a vacation.  Only one side trip for trains was planned, to the steam powered Nevada Northern. 

However, did take part of a day to see the Mesa Verde passenger train depart with their ex-Alaska FP-7's.

And stumbled across the Grand Canyon when driving back toward Flagstaff [honest, unplanned].  Cynthia took this shot while I was driving.

Here is Mark Bassett which Jerry Ritter claims was in the model group he was in in Alaska.  Looks like a big change from HO.  And Mark is a REALLY nice guy.  The Nevada Northern is a real operating museum with electric, Alco, EMD, diesel, steam, rotary, crane, Baldwin left by the copper company.




One of the more interesting aspects of the trip was the flight in a single engine tail dragger to see a copper mine and caught a couple shots of the related railroad.

Here is an Arizona Eastern train.










And here is a reverse loop for turning whole trains - did not see a load out on the loop.

May was the month of steam, N&W 611 trips and the Southern Railway Historical Association convention in Chattanooga.  First was the trips Lynchburg - Petersburg, then Roanoke - Lynchburg, Walton, Roanoke.

Westbound from Petersburg past one of the last old CPL [color position lights].

Here is 611 westbound at Shawsville

In between these runs was the Southern Railway Hist Assoc convention which included SRy 630 and SRy 4501.  

There was both steam and diesel night photography. 

Half way through the Saturday trip of the train double headed, the engine truck of the lead locomotive came off the track.  This was due to a pedestrian walkway of crusher run stone that had been put down but no flangeway provided. The wheels went straight while the track curved slightly resulting in the wheels coming off.

In less than two hours with the help of wood blocks and the rerailers, the engine truck was back on the track, both locomotives turned on the turntable and the train returned to Chattanooga.

Got to catch a cab ride back to the car:

Closer to home, photographed some of the old standbys.  Below is Mr. Bob Bryant just after he photographed the shop manger with the new paint on number 7.

And here is what has been accomplished on the V&T Rwy.

Space was made for a stream on the lower level:

Installation of all the risers in the train room was completed.  The photo shows the issue with tight clearances for the screwing and gluing operation.

Having only two hands, this is how an addition "hand" was added to get the risers in place while adjusting both grade and cross level.

The gates across the doorway were added.  These were a bit of a problem because it is desired to have the surface of the wood curved in  both the X and Y directions as the grade both climbs and curves in the corner and then a vertical transition from rising to level grade.  Additionally, some pieces of the plywood would bow when cut as shown in the photo below.

So I made numerous cuts on one side of the plywood and straightened with channel from the shelving uprights.














This gave me the straightness needed.

The three gates, two drop and one lift, were installed.  To cushion the blow should the gate[s] slip out of one's hand when lowering, a cushion block was added to the top and bottom of the lower gate.

This was a block of wood around which a bicycle inner tube had been wrapped.

Here are the three gates installed, open and closed:

The opening for the upper staging was cut.  The studs had a "unique" spacing so had to use the chisel to increase the opening a little.

Here is the opposite side of the wall with the cut coming through.

Edges of the studs have had been removed.












With all the large pieces of wood in place and no need to swing around large hunks of "things", it was time to install the LED track lighting.  The room had four recessed lights and so they became four sources of electricity for each of the tracks.  The photo below show the method to bring power from the recessed lighting sockets.

The pigtails were wire nutted to the track lighting connector.

A cover for the recessed lighting was cut from a plastic vegetable container like spinach comes in and painted ceiling white and four screw holes added.

and then the homemade cover screwed into the ceiling.

Here is the track lighting in the train room.

And the track lighting was tied into the center fixture in the storage/staging room.



Here are four photos of the benchwork with lighting in place.

The photos seen around in the above photographs are the "inspiration photos" taken of the areas represented.

 Recently went to show a visitor how the gates worked only to find a small "shift" had occurred [temperature/humidity].  So got that corrected [hammers are great for small adjustments of big items] but also realized that it is better to NOT allow the lower gates to come up beyond level so installed a stop on the two lower levels as shown below.

Now comes cleaning out the staging room and cutting the hole into it for the lower level and the laying track.