First Business for GTR 1120

GTR 1120 replaced 2543 on this morning’s mixed train (45) and returned on the noon passenger (44). Still in her original Southern Railroad livery, the test run revealed some improvements are in order to both track and engine. In particular, the engine truck needs to be heavier if it is to find its own way […]

Pembroke Southern Narrowly avoids Service Interruption

My friends Brian Rudko and Jamie Neilson were scheduled to stop by on the Thursday of what turned out to be a very busy week at work and in my various volunteer organizations. I’d hoped to have 1120 on the layout by the time they came, but work had other plans. However, 2543 had run […]

Tender wheels for GTR 1120

The 3D-printed centres for the tender wheels took two tries, not because the print failed in some way, but because I assumed the drawing, which I worked on months ago, was finished. It wasn’t and the axle holes were about a quarter millimetre oversize. It took minutes over days to get correct centres and a […]

XTool Finds a Home

While I’m optimistic that the XTool is going to be fabulously useful, it also takes almost as much space as a third child. Although it is less than 24×24 inches, that is still almost .25 percent of our home’s floor space. I had to consider where it would live before I even pushed the “buy” […]

Model Railroad Planning 2022: All in the Family Room

Model Railroad Planning 2022 is finally at McNews on Lonsdale, and with it, buried near the back cover, my little article about Pembroke. You should really pick up a copy if you haven’t already. There are several thought-provoking articles that could help you see the hobby in a new way. And then there is mine. […]

Tender wheel parts

The tyres for 1120’s tender have been plopping unceremoniously onto the lathe bed for the past couple of weeks. I had thought to make them in two batches – one per truck – but wound up getting several extra tyres and wheels out of one blank, albeit not enough for the whole tender. In the […]

XTool first cut

Like every cool toy they advertised when I was a kid, the new laser cutter came “some assembly required.” It took a few days to reach the top of the to-do list, and when it did, the straightforward task took a good hour or more. Strangely, the instructions get you to the point of downloading […]

The Images that Draw Us

In the silent auction of Ken Chivers’s estate almost forty years ago, I won the book, Fairy Tale Railroad, the story of the Mohawk and Malone Railroad in upper New York State. As my modelling interests matured, the danger of modelling New York dissipated and the book was a candidate to re-home. It was nearly […]

Another new tool

A huge box just landed on the front doorstep, and inside was my “Congratulations on your new job and on selling that Lego” gift to myself. It’s an XTool D10 laser engraver; it should be powerful-enough to cut 1/4″ plywood, but I’ll probably cut a lot more board and 1/8″ ply. Stand back! And here: […]

Christmas 2022

I have a few minutes to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. I hope you have all found some time away from your modelling benches and with your family or friends in this dark month (dark for most people). My family happens to celebrate Christmas, with a tree and gifts and turkey and everything. I […]