Just (re)installed the bridge over the recently-poured Mattabesset River in my nearly-completed East Berlin scene. Still have a bit of detailing to do, but wanted to be sure everything would still run right! Enjoy!

The small size of NCE's PowerCab DCC system makes it ideal for taking to the workbench - or even taking to a show. But not being mounted to anything makes its ungainly components a bit inconvenient to manage. So I made a foamcore box to mount all the stuff to - and was even able to include the USB interface so I could use the PowerCab for programming.

I really need to remember to post here at MRH as well as on my separate blog.... Ah well - I'll try to be a bit more regular.

Just did a little write-up on my visit to Ken Karlewicz' layout over the weekend. Words fail to describe it. English words, anyway. Let's just say his work inspired me to actually speak a foreign language (briefly) - and gave my scenery motivation a boost (significantly). Read all about it over at the Valley Local . . .

Wow - Long time, no post (here, anyway). I'm going to try to keep this MRH blog a bit more updated. I can't believe that the last post here was last February(!) But - work/life/etc. Interestingly, I can pick up about where I left off . . .

Given the previous discussion about the (relative) futility of true Prototype Modeling (and thanks again to all of you that weighed in), you probably won't be surprised that I decided to relax things - just a little - due in no small part to the influx of a number of beautiful structures, some fitting with my specific prototype and many not.

The more you learn about your prototype, the more difficult it becomes to model it accurately, and - eventually - it becomes impossible. So do you give up trying, even though you know you're doomed to ultimate failure? Do you still stretch to reach, even if you know you can never quite grasp?

Way back when I didn't know "so much" about model railroading (i.e. I didn't know any better...), I took a tip from Dave Frary's scenery book (1st ed) and got myself a can of baseball diamond dirt to use as - you guessed it - "dirt" for my layout. I think he recommended it since it's relatively free from anything other than dirt (little/no twigs, grass, etc) and is relatively fine.

As humidity levels go down, wood benchwork shrinks. And sometimes, it shrinks enough to cause track to pop up. Any suggestions on how best to fix this? Unfortunately, the track is on a bridge - and on a slight curve (so cutting in rail gaps will risk introducing lateral kinks in the rail). Maybe just push it back down and secure with contact cement?

Any tips/suggestions/guidance most welcome!

After a month of operating sessions and doing a bit of scenery, I decided to get back into my left brain and attempt a steam decoder install. Actually, it's a REinstall where I removed all the electronics in a Bachmann steam loco and replaced them with a new Loksound decoder and iPhone speaker. It ended up nice, but the process wasn't without its pitfalls (let's just say that not all manufacturers follow the NMRA standard on wire color...). Details to follow . . .

The Valley Local