Friday Fun - Podcasting The Valley Local

Model Railroad Podcasts make a great companion for modeling and are often even better for getting through a commute. I've been an avid listener to a bunch of them for a long time (click here for a list of my favorites), but every once in a great while, it's very cool to get on the other side of the speaker and participate. I usually post about those times (click here for links to those episodes), but with everything that's happened over the past year, I realize I missed a few.

So, if for no other reason than to have a quick reference for myself, here are links to the other shows & episodes where The Valley Local has featured - if not prominently, at least tangentially :^)

• Model Rail Radio (MRR) Episode #135, way back in August, 2017
• MRR episode #146, 11/10/2018
• A Modeler's Life - NERPM Review, 11/26/2018
• MRR episode #147, 12/1/2018

As some of you may know, Model Rail Radio is a live call-in show and anybody is welcome to participate. Hosted by Tom Barbalet, this podcast is one of the grand-daddys - going waaay back to 2009, which probably makes it one of the first podcasts of any type. After listening in for about 3 years, my first call-in was back in the summer of 2014 - and then I didn't call in again for almost another 3 years(!). I've gone to the other extreme a bit lately, but will dial back a bit until I have a worthwhile update.

A Modeler's Life (aka the AML) is a bit more controlled, despite its freewheeling feeling. While arguably a "spin-off" from Model Rail Radio (the spin-offER and the spin-offEE are sometimes disputed), it's an altogether different animal. You can't just call in, but if you get to participate it's always a lot of fun. Lionel Strang is a great host and asks good questions (and is sometimes a good host that asks great questions). While MRR is explicitly a "podcast about the hobby of model railroading," the AML is as much - and sometimes more - about the people that happen to do model railroading rather than about the hobby itself. But, as you'd expect, model railroading figures prominently most of the time.

If you haven't tried listening to model railroad podcasts, be sure to give them a try. Whether you're at your workbench, working on the layout, doing chores around the house, or on a long drive, it's like having some hobby buddies right there with you. With apologies to the AML's Patreon page, it's about as close to a "virtual hobby shop" as you can imagine.

Hope you'll give'em a listen!

Friday Fun: Another Episode on A Modeler's Life podcast...

I've mentioned before how much fun it can be to listen to podcasts while you're working - and if you're working on your layout, what better way to pass the time than listening to some model railroad podcasts. 

There's some great ones out there (including Around the Layout, The Crossing Gate, Second Section, Crew Call with Mike Rose, and the grand-daddy of them all, Model Rail Radio - which even has a website reminiscent of the late '90s).

But my favorite one by far (and not only because I'm often a participant ;^) is the A Modeler's Life podcast hosted by Lionel Strang. It's about a lot more than model railroading - there are a lot of fun folks there talking about a wide range of topics, all with model railroading in common. The best way to describe it is that it's like you're down at the hobby shop hanging out with the folks, discussing all and sundry topics - from the latest locomotive release to who's in the chase for the pennant.

The episode that posted this past Monday though may be of interest to folks here at the Valley Local. Yours truly goes on (and, admittedly, sometimes on and on) about the latest goings on with the layout - including painting fascia, choosing skirting, lighting, and stripping the SW-1 shell.

Whether you give this - or one of the other podcasts - a listen, I think you'll enjoy the company while you're at your workbench, down in the basement, or even mowing the grass(!)

And if you have any recommendation of other shows to listen to, be sure to let us know in the comments below!

Friday Fun - A Modeler's Life Interview

I've mentioned before how big a fan I am of podcasts. They're the perfect antidote to a long commute or home projects, and the model railroad ones act as a surrogate "hobby shop cracker barrel" whenever you're working on your layout. I've even been on the other side of the 'cast a couple times before, having called in to Model Rail Radio, but this is the first time I've actually been featured on a podcast.

The "A Modeler's Life" podcast "is as much about the people in the hobby of model railroading as it is about the hobby itself" and features a wide diversity of folks - everyone from musicians, to truck drivers, border patrol agents, doctors, software engineers, professional railroaders (of course) and many more from, literally, around the world. It's one of most entertaining of the MRR podcasts out there and new episodes come out regularly - and it's long been one of my favorites (even before being interviewed).

I met the host, former Model Railroader contributing editor Lionel Strang, a couple of times at the big Springfield train show, but we were never able to actually visit for very long. That is, until one evening a little while back when this show was recorded.

So if you want to learn a little more about this crazy Valley Line project I have going on in my basement, as well as a bit about what I do when I'm above ground, give a listen. Thanks to Lionel and the rest of the AML crew for making me sound interesting - and hopefully not in the "peculiar" sense, but in the "hey-he-sounds-like-a-guy-I'd-like-to-get-a-coffee-with" sense.

Click here to download the MP3 through Libsyn
Click here to download using iTunes

Throwback Thursday: Talking Ops Podcast

Way back in early June, I was the featured guest on a "Talking Ops" episode of the Around the Layout podcast. From the show description:

How can you turn your layout into a historical reenactment? For our Talking Ops guest Chris Adams, that was the mission when he created his layout, The Valley Local. Chris shares how his passion for history drove his desire to have an operating railroad that immerses his operators into a full late 1940's experience. Chris also shares how his methods for running his operating sessions have evolved to balance his passion for prototypical accuracy with a enjoyable time for guests.

Here's hoping you click here and give it a listen!

Quick Update: NER Convention & Around the Layout Podcast

Wow - what a couple of weeks! After a huge flurry of activity to prepare for the layout tour during the NE Proto Meet (aka NERPM) - and of course the 'meet and tour itself - I've been a bit sidetracked catching up on some stuff that the Missus graciously let slide while I focused on railroad stuff.

At the risk of its being old news by the time I get around to it, I do plan to do at least a short post on the NERPM - especially since it was the first one I've been able to attend since 2018(!) - but before getting into that, I wanted to do a few quick things:

1) First off, a huge WELCOME! to any folks that are discovering this here blog for the first time, whether from the 'meet, from the tour, or elsewise. I wish I'd had a chance to post some more up-to-date content lately, but stay tuned - more is coming :^)

2) Speaking of content, be sure to check out the the Valley Local website where I've done my best to archive the most helpful content, and for the most up-to-the-minute goings on (like my daily posts of layout progress leading up to the NERPM %^) be sure to join the Valley Local Facebook Group. It's free and we welcome all passengers!

3) And at the risk of over-saturating the internets with Valley Local stuff, be on the lookout for Ray Arnott's Around the Layout podcast. He had me on recently and our discussion will post around July 5.

4) Last, but not least, be sure to make plans to attend this year's NMRA Northeast Regional Convention, which will be held in Windsor, CT September 15-18. It just so happens that the convention email that went out today (copied/pasted below) features a few items you may find familiar...

Now that the end of the (I must admit, very reasonable :^) honey-do list is on the horizon, I'm looking forward to getting back to some RR stuff. I've already started programming the SW-1 and hope to be converting that from a PRR unit to B&M very soon (click here for more on that strange story). And I'd like to get some more layout progress done in time for the NER.

So be sure to stay tuned and thanks again for coming along for the ride!

Unfinished Business

(This past week, I heard of the passing of another fellow model railroader - Stewart Sterling. At only 54 years old, he was way, way too young. While I didn't know him personally, his constant presence on the A Modeler's Life podcast, whether in person or by reference, will be sorely missed. Thankfully, he'll continue to be present in our memories of him. I wrote the post below a couple of years ago, after the passing of another friend, but it's still a good reminder to live each day to its fullest.)

Bear with me - this post is intended to be motivational, not morbid. But it's no surprise that the older we get the more we hear of contemporaries passing. In the model railroad community, these hopefully-not-too-frequent announcements take on a unique poignancy - we wonder whether he (or she) accomplished everything they wanted with their layout, whether they built all the kits they had, or read all their books.

Unfortunately, the answer is usually "no" - there never seems to be enough time to do all we want to do and model railroaders tend to have especially long "to do" lists. Whether it's our "dream pike" plans or our ever-growing stash of kits that "I'll get around to, someday," our reach all too often exceeds our grasp. We eventually run out of time just like everybody else and leave our share of unfinished projects behind.

The Missus - wise woman that she is - told me a story once of how sad it is to hear of folks saving stuff "for special occasions" and somehow not finding occasions "special" enough to use the "good" stuff. Or waiting until "someday" to do something they've looked forward to. She'd say "wear the special dress, use the good dishes, bring out the fancy linens, take the trip. Why not have those experiences and enjoy those things as long as you can while you can?"

Why indeed.

The model railroader's equivalent isn't far off. Don't save the kits for when you think you have enough skills. The irony is that you won't get the skills until you start building. Don't wait to do a layout until you have the dream space or your dream plan - start small, but at least get started.

I did a post on this blog a couple years ago titled "Too Much" which described some of the anxiety I was feeling at the time for having taken on the Valley Line project. I, too, have been guilty of too much planning and buying and not enough doing and building. But as I hear of yet another model railroad estate sale, and confront all the structure and freight car kits I have on my shelves - not to mention the many unfinished projects in varying states of progress - I've made my mind up about something:

"Someday" is NOW.

NOW is the time to finish that Micro Engineering bridge kit for East Berlin that I started a couple years ago. It only needs a little more work...

NOW is the time to finally get past the roadblock with my tender modification for J-1 #3022. Once that's done, the Air Line Local will finally have accurate steam power...

NOW is the time to get going again on the Old Saybrook Tower kit I opened last July and quit obsessing over the proper paint scheme (I'm color blind anyway)...

And, yes, NOW is the time to (at least start to) get over my scenery phobia, despite said color-blindness...

Why not just finish these projects and develop these skills? What am I waiting for?

Now that NERPM 2016 and my layout open house is in the rear-view, it's time to get back to the modeling that has taken a back seat during the past 18 months of construction. I got a nice kick-start last Saturday when I attended my first-ever hands-on clinic - modifying an Accurail boxcar kit to a 1 1/2 door boxcar. Admittedly, I didn't finish it, yet, but I did start. And I got beyond my usual analysis paralysis and accomplished much more in a shorter period of time than I ever had before.

So I'm going to keep up that motivation momentum as long as possible, rejecting "someday" and embracing "today." There's not much left to do to finish that boxcar, so I'll finish it. If I hit a snag in the process, I'll either address it and move on (I ordered the necessary decals last night) or I'll set it aside for the moment and dive headlong into something else (maybe that ME bridge). The point is - continue moving forward.

Don't wait for "someday" to accomplish what your imagination inspires you to do. Progress breeds even more progress and skills only develop as you do as much (or at least as often) as you dream.

(originally posted 6/9/2016)

Friday Fun - Scale Sound Systems Speaker

Toward the end of my post on the non-shake down shake down session, I mentioned that I'm actually short on some diesel locos. I have more than enough DL-109s (NH class DER-1) to cover the Shore Line trains, but don't have enough diesel power for my local freights. So allofasudden, my Alco switcher projects moved to the front burner . . .

One of those two projects is to convert a c.2003 undec, non-DCC Proto2000 S-1 into DEY-3 #0967 - the main diesel loco on the Valley Local during my era. I have a Loksound v5 decoder on its way for the "decoderization" and in today's mail - just in time for Friday Fun (and a Weekend Project, if Hurricane Henri doesn't screw us up) - I got the speaker for the "soundification."

Up to this point, I've either accepted a loco's stock OEM speaker or used iPhone4 speakers for my sound installs. But ever since I heard of Scale Sound Systems speakers on my favorite podcast, I've been curious about them - and once I heard that Mike Rose is now using them exclusively in his installs, I decided I had to try one myself.

Now, I'm no audiophile but I know that there's a lot of science that goes into making good sound. And I know what I don't like (e.g. the old MRC sound decoder/speaker in my other Atlas S-2), so I figured the flagship diesel on the Valley Line would be the perfect excuse opportunity to try an admittedly "premium" speaker.

I just ordered the speaker this past Tuesday and - despite a warning on the website that all speakers are made to order and require a 3-14 day lead time - I got it today. If speed of service is any indication of quality of product, I'm sure to be a very happy customer.  Of course, the free lollipop didn't hurt ;^)

I'll post a full review once I get it all installed. For comparisons, the Atlas S-2 I'm working on (which will become DEY-5 #0604) has a Loksound Select decoder and an OEM speaker, as does my Atlas RS-1. My RS-2, as well as all of my DL-109s, have Loksound Selects and iPhone4 speakers. So I'm very interested to see hear what, if any, difference I can discern. 

If it sounds only marginally better to my ear, I'll probably just stick with the iPhone speakers. $17 vs. $2 per speaker is no joke - and the huge price difference is definitely a consideration when equipping a large fleets of locos. But I have a relatively small number of engines to "soundify" - in fact, other than a couple more brass steamers, this P2k S-1 is the only one on the horizon - so an SSS speaker is certainly worth a try.

Have any of you used Scale Sound System speakers yet? If so, let us know your experience in the comments below!

Thoughtful Thursday: Community is Key

With many of us now staying home, by choice or necessity, and operating sessions, club functions, and events being cancelled far into the future, it seems just like that we're all "Lone Wolf" modelers now.

That self-isolation is typically a personal choice - not a mandated one. Internet memes that say something to the effect of: "Model Railroaders - Social Distancing Since the Dawn of Time" resonate because they ring true. But you never miss something more than when it's gone.

And now more than ever we need NOT to be Lone Wolf modelers. We need community. We need to leverage online social networks, get involved in virtual clubs, participate in internet RPMs and connect with others. Whether we want to admit it or not - and no matter how true those memes are - we humans are relational beings and need to connect with others.

But community is not only important for our mental health, it's also the key to learning new skills and gaining more experience in the hobby, whether you're self-quarantined or not.

Case in point:

I posted a quick poll for feedback on different types of ballast and received a variety of responses within a couple of hours, from folks from - literally - all around the world.

Back in the "old" days, whenever I was confronted with a problem - say with how to do a bit of scenery - I'd have to go through all my back issues of MR or spend time reviewing Frary. And I still might not get the answer I need - and certainly not very quickly.

But now, thanks to having started a Facebook group for my layout - not to mention having this here blog and a website going on over 6(!) years now (you do know there's a website, don't you?) - I can reach out to a model railroading community in the thousands almost as easily as yelling to them from the other side of the basement. It's been a great way of getting through some roadblocks, getting advice and another perspective, getting the benefit of another's experience, and just generally getting some quick feedback on the best approaches to solving a variety of problems.

All in all, connecting with and participating in a community can be a great antidote to analysis paralysis. Heh - just beware that you can sometimes have too much of a good thing. Everyone has an opinion and most are glad to share their views. YMMV, but I've found that the best approaches, advice, and information tend to percolate toward the top.

That risk though is, IMO, well worth the benefit of feeling like you're - and in fact being - part of a community. And I think that's especially important during these times of self-imposed, and sometimes mandated, isolation.

I'll close on another quick case in point:

After a particularly stressful day at work (I had no idea working from home could actually be even more stressful than being in the office. Go figure.), I went down to the basement and had only enough mental energy to pick the low-hanging fruit of removing masking tape from my track while listening to a model railroad podcast. It was so nice to have some welcome and familiar company in the room "with" me. But it was nicer still to be able to send a quick email to the producer to tell him how much I appreciated the show.

A few minutes later, he replied and we had a nice chat over IM. When that got to be too cumbersome, we just decided to chat over VoIP - and did so for a bit over an hour.

It was just like he was there in the basement with me, and we were just hanging out while working on the layout - except I'm in Connecticut and he's in Canada.

Same thing's happened with a cyclist friend who also happens to be a model railroader. And he's in Hawaii. Another guy I've met is a Mustang restoration expert, as well as a conductor for Amtrak. He's in Oregon. Met another guy IRL first when visiting his layout - but the visit was set up by that guy in Canada. The layout was in North Carolina. A New Haven RR fan contacted me through my blog and we've become regular correspondents as well. He's in Montana.

You get the idea.

I think one consolation of this time of crisis in our world is that it's given us time - not only to do more modeling, but to reassess a lot of things, review our priorities, maybe even rethink how we do the hobby and connect with others. Maybe even develop some new relationships & cultivate existing ones in new ways, despite being so isolated.

You may prefer to be a "Lone Wolf" modeler, but we're not only in this crisis together, we're all in this hobby together too. Hopefully, we'll come out of this with a better understanding of ourselves and each other. Participating in community is the key. I can't think of a better way to maintain mental health and develop modeling skills at the same time.

Friday Fun - Model Railroad Podcasts

The report of my death was an exaggeration.

- The Model Railroad Hobby

(and with apologies to Mark Twain, who is quoted correctly above)

Despite many claims to the contrary, as well as much associated hand-wringing, I am firmly of the belief that the hobby is not, in fact, dying - it's just moving. And growing greatly as a result.

Sure, I'll be the first to admit - and lament - the dwindling number of local hobby shops. But dwindling numbers of bricks and mortar stores is nothing new - and certainly not limited to our neck of the woods. Folks just choose to shop online more and more. No surprise there.

And it's nothing to be afraid of. We have available to us a breadth and depth of products that our Forebears from the Fifties - that "Golden Age of Model Railroading"- could only have dreamed of. On the basis of product variety alone, I'd argue that NOW is model railroading's Golden Age.

Aside from product though, is community and that is something that Amazon.com and the other online stores can't provide. One thing that the "first" golden age had (and which was still common until recent years) was the Bull Session down at the local hobby shop. Many of us still remember the great conversations we had and the folks we met while drooling over everything from brass engines to blue boxes.

But, again, through the wonder of the interwebs we've got that covered too. Online forums, Facebook, YouTube, etc have all stepped in to fill the community vacuum that would have otherwise persisted in the hobby. And as a result, there's more model railroad community than ever.

One of my favorite places to hang out is, arguably, the closest thing to what I remember hanging out at the hobby shop, listening to the old-timers (anybody just a few years older than me at the time!) kibbitzing about model railroading:

Model railroad podcasts.

If you've never heard of podcasting, you're missing out. You can find folks talking and sharing information on a variety of subjects, and model railroading is no exception. My favorites are below:

a ModelersLife
I listen to all these podcasts regularly and look forward to new episodes popping up in my feed. But if you tied me to the tracks in front of an oncoming train and I was forced to pick, a Modelers Life would be my favorite - if only on the sheer abundance of episodes available. Lionel Strang (former contributing editor to Model Railroader) produces a truly impressive number of hours of content, all stamped with his quirky sense of humor and aided & abetted by equally impressive co-hosts (I'm looking at you Bruce, Jim, Uncle Larry & Shane). These guys just love this hobby and that really comes through the speakers. And they're pretty darn funny - at least I think so. Hmmmm... that may be saying something...

a ModelersLife RSS Feed
This is the paid side of a ModelersLife via the Patreon app. I just signed up cuz, frankly, I Need More Model Railroading! Looking forward to listening to my first show.

Model Rail Radio
One of the Granddaddys, I first discovered MRR shortly after I got my first iPod and experienced a particularly snowy winter. Let's just say I spent MANY hours that year shoveling my driveway - and it was made bearable by this radio-call-in format. Yes, MRR is a live radio talk show which you can either dial into via Skype, or listen to later when it hits your feed. Some of the old episodes are legendary(ily long), but if you have the time there's plenty to listen to here. Lots of interesting people with some great layouts and many tips to share.

Ryan Andersen's Model Railcast Show
Started by then-newbie Ryan Andersen, this podcast catered to those that were just starting out. Ryan had a knack for asking the questions that many of us have, but were too afraid to ask - and we learned a boatload of great stuff as a result. Ryan was fearless - no question wasn't worth asking. Unfortunately, cancer took him from us way too soon but Craig Bisgeier and Tim Harrison have picked up the baton and continued producing a great show, featuring interesting and informative guests, and still asking the great questions.

Mike and Scotty Live
The old Scotty Mason show was another of those granddaddy shows I picked up during the loooong winter of 2011. It was never produced as often as I wanted - which, to its credit, just meant that the show always left me wanting more. I miss the old crew which included Joe Duckworth, Jimmie Simmons and others, but my two favorites - Scott Mason and Mike Rose - have reworked and rebooted the old show into something possibly even better. Their separate segments were always my favorite, and that of course makes up almost all of the new format. M&SL is still not in my inbox as frequently as I'd wish, but I'm glad they haven't gone away.

Model Railroad Hobbyist
A distant favorite, only because I seldom get to it after going through all the others. But I'm a huge fan of the MRH magazine and a subscriber to their video channel, TrainMastersTV (um, which brings us full circle since Lionel is a host on TMTV too. Must be something about his name....). During my busy time of year at work though, I'll be on the road more than enough to catch up on the episodes. Can't ever get enough model railroad talk!

Speaking of driving, listening to these shows are a perfect way to make a long commute go by more quickly - and along the way, you'll probably learn something new - either a new technique, a new product coming out, or discover a new friend or resource.

And if you're concerned about the current state and future of the hobby, I hope you'll check out one or more of these great programs. Without exception, all of the hosts put in a lot of work to produce a quality broadcast - you'll learn a lot and be entertained a bit as well.

So give'em a listen - and if you do, and especially if you have a favorite I haven't listed here, let me know in the comments.

Have a Great Weekend!

Friday Fun - Jerry Britton's Springfield Show Recap

Jerry Britton (who attended the ops session last Thursday) attended the Big Show for the first time this year (can't believe he's been able to avoid it this long(!)) and made up a little video of his experience. Not only does he share his experience of the show itself, but he also included quite a bit of footage of the Valley Line ops session. Thanks Jerry - VERY cool!

Listeners of the A Modeler's Life podcast will recognize many of the folks here, but whether you're part of the AML nation or not, if you want a little taste of what the Springfield show is like, you'll definitely want to check it out!

Enjoy!

Friday Fun: Hanging Out

I talked a lot yesterday about how participating in the model railroad community is a great way to maintain our mental health as well as improve our modeling skills. Well, the chat I mentioned happened to be with Lionel Strang of the A Modeler's Life podcast and he recorded it.

If you like, you can listen to it by clicking here. But whether you listen in or not, I hope you'll check out some podcasts, get on some forums, and generally get involved in this community.

Crisis-induced isolation or not, I think you'll be glad you did.

2017 In Review - 2018 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With the changing of the calendar comes the best opportunity to reflect, assess, and plan. This year is no exception, though with the so-called low hanging fruit of layout construction done, future projects on the Valley Line promise to be a bit more involved, complicated, and slow-moving. But it's a hobby, not a job - thankfully - and that's all part of the fun. I actually look forward to these annual posts since they give me an often-much-needed reminder of how far I've come (even while reminding me how far I still have yet to go). So, without any further ado, here's a look back and a look forward....

Here's where I started as 2017 dawned . . .

Goals for 2017

• Finish the Saybrook Scene
• Rt 1 overpass
• Ford dealership & background/backdrop buildings
• Signal bridges (ugh - signaling?!)
• Complete Berlin Branch for operations
• Install bridge & finish trackwork/sidings
• Buildings & scenery later
• Truly and finally, finish layout construction
• Masonite behind the Airline & above the west end loop
• Extend Saybrook scene "east" past doorway
• Install masonite backdrop & false wall/viewblock
• Start/Finish the Wethersfield side of the peninsula
• Finish Ballantine's and Wethersfield Lumber (been in medias res for about 2 yrs now)
• Hartford skyline backdrop
• John Wallace's house
• Various minor buildings
• Finish class J-1 2-8-2 #3022
• Tender mods
• Detailing, painting, weathering
• Decoder install

So, how'd I do?

• The Saybrook Scene is still where it was this time last year; however, I did install fascia curtains.
• The Berlin Branch is operational - including the bridge - and even has a few mockup structures.
• Layout construction is "pretty much" done - all the feeders and cab bus got finished. But I still need to install masonite behind the Airline/above the West End Loop and extend the Saybrook scene "east" past the doorway - maybe . . .
• WRT the Wethersfield scene - ugh. I've made progress - thanks in HUGE part to BillS and DaveM (more on that below). But it's still no where near finished.
• Class J-1 2-8-2 #3022 still sits where it did this time last year. <sigh>

HOWEVER - I will STILL claim 2017 a success since, though I didn't accomplish all (or even most) of my stated goals for the year, I DID still make a lot of progress in other areas:

• The Shore Line traffic/schedule is finally getting dialed in thanks to a big jump start by BillC and with help from BillS, Randy & TomD.
• As I learned more about the huge amount of traffic on the Shore Line, it became necessary to expand the East End staging, a rework I did in record time
• As I mentioned above, the Wethersfield scene still isn't done, but I made some significant progress. Click here and here for some examples.
• The website & blog got some cool exposure through features on Model Rail Radio (twice!) and a full-on interview on the A Modeler's Life podcast. I even got my first article published this year.
• Given the increase in site traffic, I also spent a lot of time expanding the content on the website, just in time to host some cool visitors from Canada as well as hosting an ops session for our regional NMRA convention.
• But what about actual modeling? Well, other than the progress in East Berlin & Wethersfield, I finally finished the DERS-1b (Alco RS-1) and did some DCC work - including replacing a decoder in a Bachmann steam loco.
• I also did a deep dive on a little farmhouse for the Goff Brook section of Rocky Hill.
• Finally, I had ops sessions every month in 2017, with the exception of December. I've been having regular sessions for a few years now, but with the Shore Line schedule coming into focus - not to mention having finished up a lot of loose ends construction-wise - I was able to have MY FIRST FULL ops session in September. Eleven(!) operators finally got to run ALL trains (4 locals & up-to 33 mainline trains) according to the prototype timetable.

So, what's up for 2018?

• Finish Wethersfield
• Gra-Rock building
• John Wallace's house
• Hartford Skyline backdrop
• Rt. 15 Overpass
• Photo backdrop, scenery & details
• Finish Saybrook
• Ballast track
• Rt. 1 Overpass
• Ford dealership & background/backdrop buildings
• Signal bridges
• Photo backdrop, final scenery & details
• Finish East Berlin
• Stan-Chem plant
• Abandoned station
• Photo backdrop, scenery & details
• Finish Class J-1 2-8-2 #3022
• Tender mods
• Boiler detailing
• Painting/weathering
• Decoder install (Loksound steam?)

This is, of course, not an exhaustive list - there are MANY MANY other things to do on this layout (I haven't even begun to think of the line from Essex to East Haddam yet, not to mention south of Rocky Hill and to Middletown - ugh!) - but if I can look back next New Year's Day and see those 4 bullets above actually finished, that'll be a HUGE accomplishment.

In the meantime, I want to finish my B&O P-11 flatcar and continue with the ops sessions - especially since those sessions is where it all really boils down for me: getting together with my friends to run the railroad.

Whether I get all - or even none of these things done though, at the end of the day this whole project is about spending time with those friends and sharing a hobby that drives - and sometimes consumes us. And as long as we have our health and some spare time to get down to the basement, 2018 can't help but be successful.

So here's wishing you and yours all the health and time you need to make your model railroad dreams come true - Happy New Year!

Thankful Thursday

A couple of weeks ago, I posted what - for this blog anyway - was an unordinary post, but something that's often on my mind when I'm engaged in this great hobby. Without repeating it all here, suffice it to say that our creative endeavors can provide much needed time for R&R&R (Rest/Relaxation/Reflection) and that time will often remind you how blessed you are not only to have that time available to you, but to have so many others that are so willing to spend some of their precious time helping you along the way. Given the feedback I've received on that post, it sounds like many of you feel the same way.

So while this isn't my first edition of Thankful Thursday (click here for that), they've been far too infrequent and - like Wordless Wednesday, which I hardly ever miss posting - I'm going to try to make this a weekly thing. There's certainly enough to be thankful for - I only need to stop and think for a moment...

I've posted here and here about the folks that have contributed so much to the progress of the Valley Line - I literally couldn't have gotten this far without them. But an update is long overdue. So, at the risk of leaving somebody out, but in the spirit of the season, here's a quick list of elves that have helped out in recent months:

(apologies that I don't have pictures of everyone - or "you're welcome" if you don't like having your pic posted)

• B&M SW1 Project
• Philip Taylor for contributing the model which has provided many hours of enjoyment, before it even enters "revenue service"
• Dave Owens & Tom Johnson for contributing decals
• David Hutchinson for contributing detail parts and additional decals (not to mention MANY prototype photos and technical information)
• Hunter Hughson and Seth Lakin for Mainline Modeler articles and additional tech info
• Rick Abramson, and John Kasey for contributing additional detail parts
• Ralph Renzetti for help with airbrushing & decaling advice (and TIA for help with weathering!)
• Scenery help

Jim Dufour

Bill Schneider (as well as for the Cromwell Diner and other structures)

• Trackwork help

Jim Lincoln (and special thanks to Randy Hammill for the scale track and office building that Jim's installing here)

• DCC and Technical Help

Kaylee Zheng

Nick Santos

• Also Lou Papineau and Alexander Wood
• 3D Printing
• Mike Redden - who's contributed countless hours from designing the girders for the Rt. 15 overpass way back when, to working on NHRR-specific details for Alco switchers (DEY-3 and DEY-5)
• Chris Zygmunt

Chris has created a bunch of cool NHRR-specific details, whistle posts and these cool crossing signs.

• Podcasts specifically, and Lionel Strang & his A Modeler's Life podcast specifically. Lionel has created a rich & extensive community of folks from all walks of life with a wide variety of skills that are all eager to help each other with their projects and generous with their time - usually offered with a healthy side of good-humored ribbing. Anyone who follows the Valley Local Facebook Group knows I owe a lot to the folks on the AML Wednesday Night chat, not only for their insight but their company as I labor at the workbench.

While I've thanked my regular crew elsewhere, apologies in advance if I've forgotten somebody on this list even though I tried to limit it to just this past year. Like most of you, there are countless others we can think of that have offered a bit of advice at a critical moment, some helpful feedback on a process, or have in some other relatively small way helped us make some additional progress on our layouts. I know you'll join me in offering our thanks to all those that take the time to give back to the hobby and help us all along.

It's sometimes easy to take for granted all of the generous people this hobby introduces to us, so let's take some time this week to thank those who have contributed something to our efforts, who have spent some of their valuable time to help, influence, inspire, and inform us.

Finally, thank YOU for continuing to follow the blog, for your comments and feedback, and especially for your patience when I'm not posting as often as I'd like. While I do the blog primarily for my own future reference, having the benefit of your experience and encouragement makes it even more worthwhile.

Here's hoping you and yours are having wonderful holiday season.

Modeling Monday: B&M SW1 #1109 is Finished!

After adding the final details (except for the lantern, which is on its way), I just had some final weathering to do.

Here are the steps I took:

• Applied an overall coat of semigloss.
• Using prototype photos as a guide, added major oil spills using dots of lamp black oil paint, "pulled down" with a brush dampened in mineral spirits.
• Added many minor spills and details using Tamiya Black Panel Line Accent Color (a.k.a. "Taco Sauce").
• Applied some burnt umber gouache "rust" to the handrails, grabs, cooler/lunchbox, and couplers.
• Waited 3 days for everything to dry thoroughly (mostly cuz I couldn't get to it again for that long - YMMV).
• Sealed the whole engine with a coat of Dulcote
• Rubbed the side of a pencil along the handrails, grabs, door handles, hood railings - anywhere crew members would be handling metal. Oh - don't forget the top edge of the lunchbox, step edges, top edges/corners of the truck sideframes, etc.
• "Freshened up" some of the oil spills with AK "Engine Oil" and Mig "Fresh Engine Oil" applied with a small brush.
• Applied black Pan Pastel to tone down the brass bell (no pun intended), more to the top of the stack, and along the top of the hood and cab roof.

Thanks again to The Mudfather for his extensive weathering advice & guidance, including all the final finishes noted above (except, notably, the Pan Pastel - which he most certainly would not have recommended :)

Once the final weathering was done, it was time to remove the masking tape, add a crew, and put everything back together!

I've really come to love the Walthers model. It just comes apart and goes back together so easily - thankfully! After removing the masking tape from the windows, I had to reinstall the glass, then glue the rear light mount back to the top/inside of the cab roof, press fit the rear light contact board to the cab, and route the wires/light back to the housing.

All along, I wanted to try and include a crew, but the Keep Alive takes up a lot of the cab space. Thankfully, it doesn't rise above the windows, so I figured I'd do a little surgery and see what I could come up with . . .

I think the Brotherhood may have something to say about my crew "accommodation"

I searched through my stash of crew members and found a couple that I could get to fit.

They're not super easy to see, but you notice if they aren't there and they sure to add a lot to the interior (and incidentally help to disguise the KA).

Once the crew were added (affixed in place with wax candle adhesive - I'll use thick CA if they start to come loose...), all I had left to do was insert the front light into the housing, put the hood on, then the cab, and FINALLY put it on the layout!

Enjoy the "finish photos" and the video - I hope to have more detail shots (and a much better video) in a future post (and remember, you can always click on the image for a larger view) . . .

From the first time I even considered modeling the 1109 way back in the fall of 2021, this project has been a group effort. While I may have been the one to do the "work," many have made this final product possible and deserve many thanks:

• First and foremost, Philip Taylor who I'd met through the A Modeler's Life (AML) podcast and who - when he heard I was looking for an SW1 model - sent me a brand new Walthers engine (and even the "right" 2nd run one!). Anyone that's been following this project knows that it's provide many, many hours of enjoyment.
• The Walthers model was painted for the PRR, and to model the 1109 in the livery I wanted, I needed decals. Dave Owens and Tom Murray came through with what I needed.
• A quick search of the internet pointed me to "The Model Railroader's Guide to B&M/MEC Diesel Paint Schemes" which not only educated me on all the different liveries, but is a wealth of information and photos.
• David Hutchinson - who happens to be the moderator/owner of that FB group - gets a HUGE thank you for not only providing many prototype photos of the 1109 right off the bat, but he also contributed some critical detail parts and additional decals. I couldn't have finished the detailing and lettering without his help.
• Hunter Hughson and Seth Lakin provided some fantastic articles and prototype information that was priceless early on and helped me figure out what details I was going to need.
• Speaking of details, thanks goes to Rick Abramson and John Kasey for additional details I'd forgotten.
• And finally, this project could not have been truly finished without a good "finish" - and by that, I mean weathering. Other than a quick dusting with chalks and dulcote, I'd never truly weathered a locomotive before - especially not based on prototype photos. But Ralph Renzetti (a.k.a. "The Mudfather"), someone else I met through the AML, offered to help - being my "training wheels" and guiding me through the process. No small feat considering he lives in Canada(!) We spent many hours "together" in my paint room, with him watching over my shoulder via FB Messenger Video and my iPad. One of the biggest challenges in weathering - for me at least - is knowing what materials to use, when to use them, and what they're (in)compatible with. Knowing Ralph was there to keep me from totally screwing up such a nice loco gave me the confidence to go for it. The final finish is the direct result of his helpful guidance..

Being a New Haven modeler, I never considered the 1109 as anything more than "just" a "leased" loco (so why do it at all? click here for that story), so I figured it'd be a good project to practice on and develop some new skills. No risk of screwing up one of my NHRR locos . . .

But as the project evolved, and more folks became involved, the 1109 became so much more - and I don't mind saying that it's become my favorite diesel. And I've definitely learned many new skills that I'm looking forward to using on future projects!

Now that this loco is done, I really need to get back to the layout. There's only a few weeks left until the Big Springfield show and it'd be great to get some scenery down in Essex before then. Onward!

Modeling Monday: SW-1 Disassembly & Stripping

I guess I should just bite the bullet and admit it: I can't keep up with this blog as much as I'd like. Either I'm too busy with the usual stuff of life/work (which nobody wants to read about - and I sure don't want to waste time writing about), or there ends up being so much cool stuff going on at once that - before I know it - days/weeks have passed and it's then old news. That's a nice problem to have, but still a "problem" when it comes to blogging. I'll just try to post more often so things don't backlog & build up too much.

And there have been a LOT of things lately. Since my last full progress report (way back on May 18 - ugh!) I:

• Added an EMD SW-1 to the roster, as leased power from the B&M (Why?)
• Was lucky #7 guest on the Around the Layout podcast
• Got to a level of "done-ness" at Cromwell
• Attended my first NERPM since 2019(!)
• Did my first Facebook Live Video Layout Tour (thankfully, I later posted it to YouTube here)
• Got a model of the Sunset Diner in Cromwell, Built by Bill(TM)
• Started stripping the paint off the SW-1

That's just the layout-related stuff. In addition, The Missus and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary, attended a concert in NYC, spent a long weekend at the Cape, then I went to PA for four days of RR fun (Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern RDC ride, steam loco shop tour, Strasburg, Ken McCrory's legendary PRR Buffalo Division layout, Tom Jacobs' Reading Crossline layout, Colebrookdale RR, and the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum). And now that I'm back home, we're starting on another (semi)major house project.

Whew!

But all that is probably not why you're here. As I alluded to in last week's Wordless Wednesday, I got started on converting PRR SW-1 #9137 to B&M #1109. In addition to the decals (thanks again to Tom Murray and Dave Owens), David Hutchinson contributed the correct bell (and an extra stack) to the cause, and while I was away my order for KV Models stainless steel details arrived in the mail along with the bell & stack. 

So the SW-1 project went to the top of the priority list and the first step was to disassemble it and strip the paint. Thankfully, this turned out to be much easier than I expected/feared.

First, remove the cab by rocking it side to side and lifting up the front. There's a large locking tab at the back, but only two small ones at the front of the cab sides. Once the cab is off, the hood lifts up at the back (its large locking tab is at the front).

Next, pull gently on the shrink tubing (cushioned tweezers are ideal for this) to pull out the headlight from the casing. Remove the headlight lens by pushing it out from inside the hood. I then used a small screwdriver to gently pry the handrails off of the hood.

The cab is a bit more complicated and at first I was just going to try and mask the windows and paint right over the factory paint (maybe trying to remove the road number first). But on advice from friend Schuyler, I used a (very!) small screwdriver to gently pry up the contact board for the rear light (see pic above). . .

. . . used tweezers to peel off the electrical tape . . .

. . . and pulled the rear light out of the casing. I also used a small screwdriver to pry out the windows (remove the side windows first) and pry off the headlight casing. Unfortunately, the rear light lens is so well glued in that I couldn't remove it. So I may end up just having to mask that off for painting.

With everything taken apart down to the main styrene body parts, it was time to strip the paint!  (Beware - graphic images - PRR fan viewer discretion advised).

Reminds me of a frog in formaldehyde %^)

I'd never stripped paint off a model before, so after consulting the helpful folks over at The Valley Local Facebook Group, I decided to give 91% alcohol a try . . .

After soaking for less than 10 minutes, the paint and lettering/numbering started to dissolve.

I then dumped the whole jar & parts into a bowl and, using a soft/old toothbrush, gently cleaned off the remaining paint residue. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it all came off - no hard scrubbing needed at all.

While I've since heard from others that 91% alcohol is safe for plastic (some folks claiming to have left parts soaking for days/weeks!), and won't even unglue details, I moved the parts over to a "stop bath" of soapy water for final cleaning.

After a final rinse under running water, and air drying, this former PRR unit is ready for additional details, paint, and decals to convert it to B&M 1109!

I haven't just been working on the SW-1 though.... While I was in PA, I scored a set of ESSO gas station decals at one of the hobby shops we visited. So I've been trying to get that finished too. But I'll save that story for next time...