2015 Goals

I saw someone else post their goals for 2015 and I thought it may be a good idea. I have thought about it for awhile and decided that I did not want to make my goals to lofty or unrealistic. I also did not want to make the goals to easy as it more about getting things done then just checking off boxes.

1) Complete the Railroad Line Forum's Challenge / Laserart Company House #1
2) Get the upper storage shelves in the "Train Shed"
3) Start the preliminary electrical work on the "Train Shed"

It is not a lot of goals but it should give me a good list of things to get done this year.

I may update my goals each Quarter and add to them, I will keep updating as I can and I hope to start checking things off the list soon.

New Year, New Plan

With the start of the new year and starting to finally get settled in a routine I have started to plan ahead for 2015. Although my progress on the "Train Shed" will be slow to start there is plenty to keep me busy as I gather materials and work on the mundane parts of getting a building "train worthy." My first order of business this year was to get my tool box organized and loaded full of essential tools. Part of my new job requires me to travel, so I will be spending time in a hotels. I used a larger wooden toolbox I received around 10 years ago and had mostly been filled with tools I was not using. After a quick swap and reload it is ready for the next trip, except I did not have a project to work on.

Not saying that I did not have plenty of projects, I just was not sure which one to choose. While dealing with my dilemma  I say that Railroad Line Forums was kicking off a "Challenge." I had participated in these in the past and thought I would join in. The "challenge" I decided to participate in was to take a kit off the shelf and build it. Since I do not have a place to run trains, building a freight car did not make much sense. I did come across a small house kit I got last year for Christmas that I had not built yet. It is a Laser Art Company House #1. It is an easy enough build and easy enough to modify. I plan to add some windows, change up the front porch, and a detailed interior and lighting.

From start to....

I spent some time in the "Train Shed" this weekend, mostly just moving stuff around and getting a feel for my plan. So far I feel that what I have in mind is going to work well for my long term goals at this location. As always I plan to document my progress as much, or as little as there will be. I hope that the new space allows me to be more creative and more productive then I have been in the past couple of years.

So here is my first photo of the actual "Train Shed" as you can see, there is some work that needs to be done, mainly the "fancy" pink trim, flower pots, shutters, roof issues and landscaping. The plan is to repaint the main house this summer and match the shed to the house.

In the past, the future was kind of uncertain, the current situation looks like we will have a good amount of time at this location. So I think that this project may see more progress then any of my previous layouts. I hope this will be a Start to Finish story, but only time will tell.

For more on this project please click HERE

"Train Shed"

I have been meaning to try my hand at Sketch-up so I thought it would be a good idea to try to put some of my ideas of what I want to try to do with the "Train Shed". Although basic in its plan it will serve well for what I am wanting to do.

For more information on my plans you can check out the new page HERE

Update on Bend Stockyad Spur

With the purchase of the new home came a few changes. First with moving not everything makes the move. My extension for the stockyard spur was warped and damaged, so I decided that I will scrap it and start fresh. I was also not really happy with how heavy and awkward it was becoming.

Also at our new home my layout and workspace will be residing in a shed in the garden. The exterior of the building in 15' x 8'. It currently has no power, so I will need to run power, wire, create some of the basic creature comforts. I figure once I have finished the walls and added the necessary stuff I will have a 14'6" x 7'6"  working space. This will give me enough space to build a Free-mo testing layout. I plan on having a removable section that I can test out Free-mo modules.

So bringing this back to the purpose of the this post. With the shed only being 7 feet wide I decided to modify my plan to fit the space. I have changed it to 10' long main set  with a 5' extension. This will allow me the ability to setup the modules in my new work space and not only work on them, but test them.

So here is the new plan:

First orders of business; Idaho Free-mo

With my move to Lewiston Idaho I found that there is no active Free-mo group in Idaho, or even in the area. So after a few weeks of getting settled I have gone ahead and created a Idaho Free-mo Yahoo Group, Facebook page and Webpage. If you are interested in Free-mo in Idaho, Eastern Washington or Montana drop me a line! Click here for more information Idaho Free-mo

Good thing I built modules...

I have not posted on the blog in quite awhile and for good reason. I have finally got to move from the Midwest back to the Pacific Northwest. I am going to be tied up for awhile longer as I transition from my old job into my new job. Also I am working to get a new home to house my modules.

I have also been able to make it back to Bend Oregon which I have not been to since 2007. So with my quick detour on one of my trips I was able to snap a few pictures of the Stockyard lead. The area has changed a lot since 1968, but there are still remnants of how things use to be.