Comings and Goings - I'm Back...

The layouts have lain dormant for a while (2+ years? Yikes!) as I have pursued other projects, we had some water leak down from above, and I realized that I had too many scales. So... Where was I when last actively engaged with everything... Oh, here!

"Schreber-/Kleingarten"

"Pappeck"

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So, where to start...

My n-scale modules and everything related to them have gone on to a better home at a friend's layout, Bundesbahndirektion Kaiserslautern, where they will see use, be loved, and called George...

Well maybe not the latter.

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I've started making a new backdrop and background scene for the switching puzzle that I will take to shows again – Really love showing and interacting with visitors. Overall layout, scenery, presentation important, so something for serious modelers, kids, and all in-between.

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On the H0 layout I moved the on/off switch and power controls to the front of the layout, dusted, cleaned, and repaired most of the water related damage. Unfortunately my mountain-top abbey will need to be razed due to too much damage, but I'll replace it with a nice little castle I have handy. Will try to reconstruct the small z-scale loop on that level as well.

Abbey in back to be razed...

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Finally, it's nice when the project that has kept me from the trains intersects with them. Below a bookplate in a book recently received that was bound by the bindery of W. Collin in Berlin during the mid-late 19th century.

It was once in the collection of the Henschel family library in Kassel, Germany. Henschel made locomotives small,

Narrow gauge feldbahn locomotive at Boothbay Railway Village

fast,

BR 103

and anything in between. Also buses, trucks, aircraft, tanks, the latter two especially during WW II. In 1996, Henschel became ABB Daimler Benz Transportation Adtranz. The company was subsequently acquired by Bombardier (Canada) around 2002.

So, hopefully I can build some sustained momentum and get back to enjoying the trains on all levels, not just pondering and dusting.

Come vist at the Great New York State Model Train Fair in Syracuse

Come visit our Euro-modular layout at the Great New York State Model Train Fair in Syracuse this coming November 7-8. We'll be (hopefully) hidden in plain sight with others in the Euro-East area there. More on the train show here.

Below an overview of the layout that you can read more about here. The image above (part of the show's Flash slideshow) is the right hand module below.

And here a video with Mike Nataluk's module in between ours. More videos at YouTube. Just click on "Our Layouts/Unsere Anlagen in H0, N, and Z" where the playlists are and then scroll down to select...

We're also hoping to bring our z-scale layout a detail of which is below.

Hope to see you there.

My First Entry: Introduction based on activities of the past few years

Over the past 18 or so months, the N-scale module project based on a variation of Bend Track has utterly dominated my/our modeling time at the expense of the H0 layout. Cleaning the dirt from a recent HVAC duct-cleaning off the layout revealed just how much it has been languishing despite being fired up once a week or so... The N-scale project was something we got into as a ETE CNY Chapter project. I had initially thought "one module, and that's it." Well, then my wife (and end module at that) and daughter both decided that they wanted to build one, too. Well, guess that meant I needed to build another end module so that we could run the trains we had mysteriously acquired in the interim. Amazing how that happens... You can read all about our module project here. Anyway, the modules will likely be the dominant feature at shows for the foreseeable future, but my efforts will go back to the H0 layout. Still lots to (re)do there. Otherwise it'd be boring. Below is a Google Earth (TM) view of our family modules.

View of my end module with Sofia's ghost (rather long exposure with no flash)

Links to images of my/our main layouts and information about the Central New York Chapter of European Train Enthusiasts can be found at left. Participating at train shows in the Central New York region is a big part of what we do as a family, as well as being something we enjoy. In the recent past that has been with our n-scale modules, the last show having been the Finger Lakes Railfair in Ithaca, a show we fear will close for good. We've also brought an H0 scale switching puzzle and small z-scale layout to past shows, both being very popular with the younger set. Below some pictures of those.