after the long pause

Nothing happens for a long time, then everything happens at once.

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The recent Schomberg Narrow Gauge Show (the 10th annual!) was an excellent outing; a full day of discussion, diversion, and divesting.

I was happy to find new homes for a number of items, including a bunch of On30 equipment that has been ageing in its boxes in my basement. I was also able to pass along sizable quantities of good reference material to two fellow modellers in the area; all the Mainline Modeler mags & all the Railroad Model Craftsman mags that have been thumbed through and referenced for several years. These go on to a new life and stay out of landfill (where they don't belong).

In a feat of heroic restraint, I purchased nothing for myself save a delicious currant cake from the Scottish bakery down the street. Ravening hordes of model railroaders had already swept the venue clean of meat pies prior to my arrival.

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note how I blend into the wall using urbane camouflage

Not long before the aforementioned event, a show organiser asked me to present a short clinic on the use of machine-tools for model making tasks. I had no idea what would be appropriate to offer, as the days of Model Railroader magazine contributor Carl Traub & home lathes seem long past. After much head-scratching, I decided to cover what could be done with a basic drill press that went beyond just drilling single holes in pieces of wood. Different accessories and processes were presented, several of which the group were unaware. One retired machinist told me that he'd never heard of one item I'd shown; the sensitive drill chuck. The talk went long (and cut into lunch time) but it was well attended and everyone stayed until the end. Enough interest was shown to prompt me to think about a recorded demo (on that, more later).

Dinner with friends at the local pub afterwards put the icing on the cake that day.

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The module wiring episode of TrainMastersTV has been released, where Trevor Marshall and I tackle the problem of getting electrons to the trains. Hard to believe this segment was filmed several months ago. Great fun to do, though I wish there were more time to explain some of the "whys".

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In moving the RMCs to their new home, I was able to stop by the TrainMastersTV studio and check out producer Barry Silverthorn's latest layout build progress. It looks like a great start to an engaging track plan, offering some unique viewing angles of the trains in operation.

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Trevor Marshall held an op session on his Port Rowan branch layout last week. I finally got to meet D&H modeller Michel Boucher from Ottawa, and learned some new ways to think about train moves during switching. Premium resin kit designer & builder Pierre Oliver joined Trevor, Michel and I at a favourite local restaurant to have dinner with 23 other railway enthusiasts to top off the day's activities.

A visit to the Credit Valley Railway Co. for more supplies  (followed of course by lunch) the next day made for a well-rounded visit with a new friend. I now own my 5th set of Xuron cutters which hopefully will not share the sordid fates of its earlier brethren (lost, stolen, destroyed, lost).

a grand day out

A visitor came to call from far away, a friend of Pierre Oliver's.

I zipped in to the top end of town and took the subway south. It was one of the new Bombardier-built trains without bulkheads. Going around curves can be a bit disconcerting, but the equipment seems well made and the ride is smooth. A big difference from the old British-made equipment I remember travelling on many (many?) years ago.

Pierre's friend Thorsten is a Fremo modeller from Germany who is also planning a US style layout in a rare European basement. Pierre went to a big Fremo meet in Nordhorn back in 2009 and wrote extensive commentary in his own blog.

If you don't know what Fremo is, you should look into it. Their organisation, display, and operation of massive modular layouts puts most of the public efforts I've seen here to shame.

As an aside, Pierre happens to be the proprietor of Elgin Car Shops and makes some of the finest resin rolling stock kits you'll ever see. Crisp and clean castings, fine etched frets, and clear instructions.

We all gathered at Trevor Marshall's Port Rowan layout for an op session. Initially, I played the dual roles of Fat Brakeman and Confused Conductor while Thorsten operated the locomotive. Trevor had added yet another refinement to the paperwork which, of course, threw me off for no good reason.

Later, he performed the conducting duties while Pierre ran an extra. Frankly, Thorsten did a better job than I did despite never having seen the layout or paperwork before. I'd better pull up my socks!

Thorsten had brought along some of the new leg brackets being made for Fremo modules. They seem to be galvanised steel, water-jet cut and stamped, with a swaged threaded insert for an M8 thumbscrew. Very nicely made. These take a square aluminium tube or wooden leg and offer a slight amount of adjustment for height via the thumbscrew. It shows what can be done by a focused group of builders looking for good engineering solutions.

After the trains were all safely back on the sector plate, we dropped in at Harbord House for a meal and refreshment. Long and enjoyable  discussions of trains, both real and model, followed.

A quick run up the subway brought me back out of the core and homeward.

I went to the roadhouse...

and I got myself a...
chocolate milkshake and a Philly steak & cheese. Yeah, I know it isn't the same as the song - but I won't get sued by the RIAA, either.

If you're ever in Calgary, and even just a little hungry, eat here: