Week 473

 Sun, Aug 20, 2023 thru Sat, Aug 26, 2023

Sun, Aug 20, 2023

Working on securing the base platforms at UP Engine Facility

F1 Section is down and set.
F2 has the glue in place ready for placement.

F1 & F2 now in place,
waiting for glue to set under weights.

Mon, Aug 21, 2023

Before the guys come tonight, I did some work on the RR...

I'm going to glue in these two sections F3 & F4.

Glue applied...

Now we wait for the weights.

Train Day!

w/Rob Fair & Marcus Thorsen 6-8pm 2 hrs.

and Jordan Osborn (6-7pm 1 hr.)

We begin at the meeting table.

We spent quite a bit of time viewing a book of "O" 
gauge history which Marcus brought for our viewing
pleasure. Jordan is saying goodbye before heading
back home to wrap up some things with his gamer friends.

Rob Fair started putting the Unit Coal Train together...

...but found some bad connections in the switches.

After soldering and filing the problem persisted.

We tried again, but failed.

Marcus said he would bring more HO scale switches

to Train Day next week.

Tue, Aug 22, 2023

I started to work on the UP Engine Facility Platforms but then changed directions and...

I finished sections F1 & F2. Just three more to go...

I also started filling the gaps with foam board.

One last look at my workbench where lots happen.

Wed, Aug 23, 2023

More work on the UP Engine Facility Platforms

Finished cutting out the platforms for row B

Working on Row C

Row C complete, now to finish off row D

Ready to use the pattern to cut out the platform for row D

Row D base, ready for Platform cutouts...

Row D platform sections in place.

Rows A thru F platforms all in place.
Waiting to purchase new glue gun to secure each one in place.

More to come...

Thu, Aug 24, 2023

Tonight I am going to replace some bad switches at Melrose Park Power Plant

But first...

I stopped by to visit with Marcus today. He gave me
this box of goodies. The finished wall for the stairs,
the hot glue gun with two glue sticks, some trees,
and some switches which I will use later...

Here is the wall Marcus made supporting the stairs.

And here are the new switches on top of the bad
switches at the Melrose Park Power Plant.

One new switch installed.

The second one installed.
One more to go...

The third and final switch installed.

And, of course, all the necessary tools needed for
the project all spread around at the work site.

Fri, Aug 25, 2023

Let's take a look at the new switches I installed at

Melrose Park Power Plant

I tested each switch separately
and each one passed.

Same switches with picture
taken from the other direction

While I was taking the pictures of the newly
installed switches, I was captivated by this view.

And now it's time to used the glue gun Marcus Thorsen loaned to me.

Let's see how this works...

In this photo you can see the cork section for the
first row (A) flipped over.

 I am getting ready to glue gun each row tonight. 

A1-2 in place. Wow, was that ever easy.
And it sets really fast, so it's perfect for this task!

Now the B & C row are all glued down.
This is getting really fun...and very easy!

Row D secured. If you look closely you can see
Row E is ready to be glued down, but not yet.

Mission accomplished.
All rows secured and ready for the next step.

I'm thinking I may change the next step. I was going to cut tar paper to look like asphalt, but I don't know if I want to go to all that trouble. Every time I go between the light posts, no matter how careful I am, I seem to hit a light post. So, I think I'm going to paint the platforms and try different colors to see what looks the best. My idea came because even after installing the "asphalt" I still need to weather them. So maybe just skip that part and go right to painting/weathering the cork in the next step.

So that will be the next step.

Sat, Aug 26, 2023

Ready for the next step?

Let's see what happens today...

Here's the paint and the brush and a sample piece
already painted.

We begin. First we dab some paint on the platforms.

Then spread the paint with the brush.

Keep working down the platforms.

Three rows completed.

Wow! How about that?

Now for a little weathering. I'm using the powder
for tiling for weathering.

It was a little difficult to do while the paint was still wet.

I came back later after our trip to Chicago,
and finished with weathering after the paint dried.

Much better.

How does it look with the lights on?

Too gray, I need to make an adjustment.

Hmm, still thinking about how it looks.

I used the vacuum to pick up some of the powder
and I like the look - not too dark, not too gray.