Well, it's certainly been a while since I was motivated to post a blog update. Why, you may ask?
Shortly after my last post in October 2017, my marriage broke up. This was followed two months later by the death of my father - 2017 was not a good year!
2018 was much more enjoyable - although a work promotion, a lot of work travel interstate and overseas & a small role in a production of "Wicked" all conspired to limit my modelling time - and certainly the time I had was devoted to modelling rather than blogging.
But things are looking up! I have invested heavily in motive power and rollingstock throughout 2018, looking forward to the day when serious work can resume on the layout. All the L girder benchwork and joists were relocated to my new abode, and once I have completed clearing & renovating it, there will be a nice 24' x 12' shed in which to establish the layout. This will provide the opportunity to revise the track plan somewhat - ease the minimum radius, ease the grade of the branch line, and possibly add more storage.
I joined the Wyong District club shortly after relocating, and enjoy running on their Upper Hunter layout most weekends. Also great to meet new people with shared interests!
I have also done more modelling work. The RUB set has had its first run recently at the club, revealing a number of necessary tweaks to be carried out. The old resin MRC is nearly complete, and will be followed by an MBC version.
And finally, I've taken the plunge into the mysteries of DCC. A few locos have been obtained already equipped, and I've fitted a TCS chip & KA to my IDR X200, and recently put a Loksound v4 + speaker into my Auscision 421. That loco was obtained at the October 2017 exhibition, and only came out of its box a fortnight ago!
I'll see about posting a few photos later, but they may not show any logical progress - just whatever I think looks good.
Thanks to my good mate Roy Howarth for gently prodding me to post an update.
Cheers,
Lindsay