Western Union Meet November 2010

It's been a while, but I finally managed to attend the November meet of my local NMRA division this month in Plymouth, UK. A good time was had by all, and my son who came along this time enjoyed himself too. For a taster of the atmosphere see the picture, showing an Atlas UP 'Geep' doing switching duties at the 11th Avenue yard. Forgive me as I did not pay too close attention to see if it was a GP40 or a different type.. :-) I got loads of inspiration and motivation again, and ended up ordering another Tsunami decoder for my own GP38-2, which I brought along. It's working roof beacon drew some attention, so if I can add sound to it too, it could be a nice little crowd pleaser at a train show in the future perhaps :-)

Tsunami decoder

Okay, a quick update. I've arrived back home and got busy installing a Tsunami TSU-1000 decoder in my Athearn C44-9W, the one I am superdetailing. While the detailing project is not finished yet, I wanted to see if I could get the decoder and speaker in properly. That worked out fine, and I now have my first sound equipped loco on the layout. :-) It did take a little time to get the speed response of the loco to work nice, it's an older loco, with an older Athearn motor, not exactly known for their superior running characteristics, but a bit of tweaking (thanks to some tips from fellow model railroaders) of the BEMF settings worked a treat. BEMF in the Tsunami is configured by CVs 209,210, 212, 213, and 214. They all work in concert together to control various parameters in the BEMF control. If you're not sure I recommend to download the 'Diesel Users Guide' from the Soundtraxx website, and look on page 48, they have some tips on adjusting the BEMF settings. It's a trial and error process, and if you can program in ops mode with your DCC system it will go a whole lot quicker.

Lance Mindheim's Miami Downtown Spur layout

One of the model railroad builders I admire is Lance Mindheim. I've got a few of his books, and they've given me a lot of inspiration for my current California Northern switching layout.
I found a video today that give's you a great overview of his layout, from a great perspective, enjoy!

NMRA-BR convention 2010

The NMRA-BR convention has come and gone, and from what I've heard those in attendance had a great time, enjoying the layouts, the socialising, the clinics etc.
The link here gives you a photo impression of just some of the fun. Photo's by Mike Ruby and others (credits on each photo where due).
Photo slide show NMRA-BR convention 2010

Steam on the Western Union

Steam action during the October meet of the Western Union, part of the NMRA-BR.


Video by Mike Ruby

Western Union meet Sept 2010

Saturday Sept 11th, the Western Union RR group had their monthly meet, which was once again a great meeting for those present (I missed it due to work). Below a picture of the action. Two SP SD9E snow service loco's on the 11the avenue modules, hauling snow fighting equipment.

Oups!

Hi all, I'm very sorry that my last post is more than 6 weeks ago now. I've had a busy period both in my private life (birthdays, family holiday etc) and professionally (a lot of travel and work abroad) that my hobby has been kind of snowed under for a bit. Anyway, while I'm currently still abroad my situation is this:
- My C44-9W work is progressing but very slowly
- My CF7 paint job has been at a stand still (so I have an unpainted shell at present)
- My California Northern Railroad layout has seen the application of a little ballast.
Photo's of these project will be posted when I am home again.  In any case, I hope you will check this blog regularly, as I will try to pick up the rate of posting here again, when my life is starting to get a little more organised. :-)