Hay Field Fence

Despite countless household projects, the fence between the hay field and the wheat field managed to get completed this week. The hay will be on the near side of the fence in this view, putting the bright gold wheat field in the foreground from the usual viewing angle. I oriented the fence so it points […]

Fence Rails for the Hay Field

The fence separating the two fields will be about 70 cm long, and will consume a small mountain of scale logs. I made the logs from bamboo skewers by first cutting the skewers into 12 scale foot lengths with some side-cutters, then splitting those lengths into at least six pieces with a utility knife. It’s […]

Fencing in or Fencing Out?

The area I’ve been calling the hay field, it turns out, is too large for one of the Silflor grass mats that I’ve been storing for over twenty years. I have two, and so there will now two fields, and I’m hoping one can be convinced to become wheat. Then the question came up: should […]

Ballast Frustration

Ballasting track is a well-known method for stopping it from working any longer. Most of the track on Pembroke was ballasted before any rail went down. The exception was the parts that are most likely to fail after ballasting – turnouts, specifically the switch. Knowing the risks I faced, I took it slow and only […]

Kickstarting Group

Summer is always a busy time, and with the good weather, my thoughts turn to outside activities. It’s difficult to keep momentum on the railroad through July and August, and I can imagine arriving in September or October to find all my projects locked in a thick layer of moss. So the call for the […]