I'm starting to try out some layout/model photography and purchased a second-hand Nikon Coolpix P4 a few years back, but haven't really used it much (preferring the iPhone).

When you're just keeping your head above water on a major layout project, you may not realize that you've reached a major milestone until you're right on top of it. And if you're not careful, you may just blow right past it. That almost happened during my last ops session on the Valley Line. Read more about it in the lastest post at http://www.thevalleylocal.net Enjoy!

Chris

The Valley Local

Modeling the New Haven Railroad's Connecticut Valley Line in October, 1948

While I posted at the end of last October about modeling the bridge over the Mattabessett River in East Berlin, CT, I think I actually finished it months earlier. In any event - and now that East Berlin is starting to take shape along with Wethersfield - it was high time it got weathered so I could install it.

So - what functions do you use the most and what buttons do you have them assigned to?

I've been having a good time playing around with my new LokProgrammer and have been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to change function mapping.

Perhaps TOO easy . . . because I just can't decide how I want to map the buttons.

I recently got a fast clock repeater for my NCE DCC system, but it was basically just a PCB and faceplate, intended to be mounted on/in the fascia. But I wanted it as a desk clock on my Agent/Operator's desk and the Radio Shack project box for which the clock was designed is no longer available. No problem - I just made one out of foam core and it came out pretty nice, IMO.

The latest post over at my Valley Local site raises what might be a controversial topic, but I wanted to go there since I'm really interested in hearing and learning from the experiences of others that have been hosting operating sessions for a while.

To what extent do you open your layout for operations? Friends only? Friends of friends? The Whosoever?

For a while now, the tagline of my Valley Local layout project has been "Modeling the New Haven Railroad's Connecticut Valley lines, c. Autumn, 1947 (or 1948, or '49)" and that's done a good job of conveying the layout's locale, as well as the season (neither of which are easily changeable). But the chosen year hasn't been chosen with any real finality... until now.

What a fascinating - and frustrating - hobby this is! It offers an amazing amount of depth and breadth - everything from carpentry, electronics, art, scenery, architecture, historical research - but who has the time or money (or either!) to do any more than scratch the surface? The best model railroads balance all these wonderful aspects into a cohesive whole. And almost all model railroads risk teetering off that balance into a rabbit hole . . .