A Little of Everything

I did a lot more work on the 757 today, limited somewhat by the heat. I finished removing all of the rotten sections of tack molding. I then used the electric grinder to smooth out the stubs of the machine screws, most of which broke off. I then put a coat of primer on the exposed wood and the metal strip above the letterboard, as seen at the left. My next step will be to acquire the poplar we'll need for the tack molding and cut it to shape at home. You may be able to see that there's a row of rivets holding the metal together; the tack molding is rabbeted on the back to clear the rivets.


Then I made a few pieces of wood for the 321. The end of the roof is covered with two layers of thin pine, each about 5/16" thick. I made some new ones out of some spare wood, and checked that they will bend easily enough. These are just ripped out of 2" stock pine - the tool marks on the original wood are obvious.

I also picked up the eight end frame castings (for the seat frames on 308 and 309) we ordered from Glenn Guerra; at right we see one of them sitting on my workbench at home. They look good. However, they still need to be drilled. Now if I only knew where to find an expert in computer-controlled manufacturing....

In other news, the contractor has installed the switch for the new track in yard 11, which needs to be installed before the barn is built, but that will happen soon. To the left, we see the "snap track" pile for the fourth track. (It needs to be put together, but this will only be about 87 times harder than what you're probably used to.) Below, the new switch (to the left) and in the distance, parts piled up for construction of Barn 11.

Condo construction will be starting soon!!! You too can have space in this desirable new building for a mere $180 per foot! Don't delay, track space is going fast!!!

(For those who came in late: Barn 11 won't actually be our eleventh carbarn, but the ninth. For various reasons, there's no Barn 1 or Barn 5. This barn will put the total track length under cover at about 2.5 miles - and that's no joke!)