Charlies Trains

Yeah, it’s been a while. Someone asked bout the train so I thought I should post something - It’s been a nutso summer/fall but back at it a little bit anyway. Pretty much done all I can on reno’s we’re undertaking in the house. Flooring, chimney rebuild and fireplace install are being done “professionally” so I’m off the hook if things go wrong 🤪 Hope to post some new pics before the end of the month.

No pictures to post yet. Lots of prep work again though. The track I ordered has arrived in Canada. Currently in customs. Supplier ships by snail mail so hopefully it will be here by the end of next week and I can get it up.

Well, it’s been a long week. Lots of progress as evidenced in this video. Time for a break, that time of year lots of yard work to be done. Likely be a month or so before anything new gets posted unles it rains - doh - wait a minute thats the norm these days. One day of quasi decent weather followed by six days of rain and then repeat. Says something for the islands - Aruba in particular - most sunny days in a year of all the islands!!!!!!

Thought I’d better post something befor the month of May arrives.!!!!!

It’s been a busy few months but I’m finally back at the train.

This is where I left off Christmas Eve

The last week or so has been pretty productive.

Finally ordered the parts I need to get my 675 locomotive running and they shipped from the supplier Wednesday. Hope to see them by the end of next week. I’m excited for that.

Lots of bell hangers installed and 6 or 7 track (copper and acrylic) hangers up. Supposed to be a rainy day tomorrow so hope to get enough track hangers up that I’m done over top of the pool table and can take my scaffolding down.

Sheri’s a tad anxious about my spread LOL so I’d like to get some stuff finished and cleaned up a bit.

Jenn and her hoodlum pool team will be here in a few weeks so I have the goal of being done in the pool table area by then.

Some pics of this weeks progress.

All for now. Hopefully more at the end of the weekend.

Cheers,

Well, it’s been a while. Tied up up with a couple family situations that are now past and my spring golf course work., They say springing is coming, and I’ve seen some signs but it’s a bit away yet me thinks.

Golf course stuff is pretty much done should be a hundred percent done by 3.27.19 so back at it FINALLY

Anyway, nothing much visually to show but I have sourced some command control stuff and got that up and running tonight with a conventional locomotive. Good enough for now, or so I say time will tell. I also got some cool command locomotives so I’m anxious to try them but would prefer to do that on at least a completed loop if not a more complicated track.

So hope to get back at track this weekend.

Nothing obvious accomplished this week. I did however get lots of rod shaped to the curves and installed. One more piece to install and a few screws to put in to hold the track in place and I’ll be able start expanding the track.

Chief Engineer

So we tried bending acrylic rod today. We did a simple one, only bends one way, not an “S”. Takes a while - 30 minutes - to heat the rod up in the oven at 225F in convection mode. From what I’ve read, you dont want to heat it at higher temperatures or you run the risk of the acrylic blistering and/or discolouring.

I’m an accident waiting to happen in the kitchen so Sheri ran the oven for me.

Great success!!! So now that we know that we can do several at a time. Plan is to use a curve track section as a pattern/mould - which we did with the first one - put two pieces of Rod on the track between the out and inner rails. Take a second piece and put it upside down on top of them and zip tie the tracks together to maintain the shape while the acrylic cools/hardens.

Well, it’s been a while. But there was Christmas, followed by a solom New Year’s Eve due to a family illness, closely followed by the sad and unfortunate passing of Sheri’s brother at far to young an age. 52...

That’s in the past now and time to get going. I’ve spent a few days prepping boards - the black ones between the horizontal arcrylic of the hanger and the track. Those have a layer of cork on them to help dampen the track noise.

In addition, I’ve been centring ALL the boards I’ve put up thus far on their respective horizontal and fastening the track to them. As opposed to the very few I did for Christmas Eve. The Christmas tree is gone so I’m back in the corner.

If you look at previous posts there is no arcrylic between the bell hangers mounted on the ceiling near the corner due to the curve in the track. So there are two in that corner I need to complete. That will be an experiment in heating and shaping the rod to follow the curve of the track. Hopefully in the next few days.

Then there are four similar over the theatre seating, and of course Sheri needs to make the tunnel entrance look like a proper tunnel entrance.

All what I call “trim” work which admittedly I’m not great at doing.

Once that “trimming” is done I’ll move on to completing more track. Trying to discipline myself by saying “no more track laying until the earlier trim work is done!!!

All For Now,

Chief Engineer

Well, it is, Christmas Eve.

I’ve been done the honey do list for a while now. However I had a few things on the “Charlie wants to do list” to complete before I sat down to post this long overdue blog.

The train is far from from complete, but it’s a hobby after all. So it will never be done in the true sense of the word “complete”.

I believe I said in my very first post that I hoped to have it up in running in some shape or for for Christmas Eve didn’t I?

Merry Christmas Everyone

Chief Engineer

Mannheim Central Railway

The real photographer has arrived 👋🏻

A little progress the last few days - and a lot of prep work to move forward with. The next week should be productive.

A more impressive view - I think - it also shows the progress if you know what your looking for 😀.

The short vertical acrylic pieces on the outsides of the hangers weren’t there last time.

Busy weekend ahead so not likely much done until the first of the week. Hopefully more progress to show soon!!!

Other than Lionel uses three rails this pic makes me think of a Bob Seeger song from 1980 (Yeah I’m old enough to know that. ) Song was “Long Twin Silver Line” - about - you guessed it - A train line.

All for now,

Chief Engineer

Well, so much for “a couple days reprieve” and good thing I stayed “on track” as it where. 😀

Good news is the Christmas Tree fits. Thought the tree may hide the tunnel hole but it doesn’t, so we’ll have to get creative before Christmas Eve (which I’m really pumped about - love that nite) Have a few ideas so all should be good.

Spent the day consolidating my “spread” as Sheri calls it. I tend to spread all over the house, as I have now, whenever I tackle a project. But I’m out of the TV area, which encompasses the tree corner, so all is good. AND I fixed the bar stools with lock washers so the seats shouldn’t come loose anymore!!

Planning is done so I should be able to progress at a faster rate, but as I said earlier I do have other obligations. That and I want to maintain this as a hobby, not a chore.

Speaking of obligations, we have one tonight which is why the tree is not entirely up. Might get finished when we get home. Time will tell.

All for now.

Charlie

Chief Engineer

Mannheim Central Railway

Well, it’s 8PM Saturday and I made it!!! Out of Mrs Santa’s tree corner.

Some trim work to do, but enough done that I can clear out of the corner and XMAS eve guests will be able to get a real idea of what we’re doing. I had an idea LOL but I dont have the fore vision that Sheri does, but now I see where we’re going.

Some of you may recall our backyard landscaping project. Sheri saw the finished project the first time they turned a shovel and every day thereafter to completion. Me, I didn’t see it until they were almost done.

The pics below show the last couple days progress. From finishing the hangers to a single track to dual tracks. Also a short video of a car rolling on the track - under finger power. I gave it a shove😀. A ways off from power yet.

Apparently there will be a real photagher in our house next weekend so maybe get some better quality pics, but I’m sure you get the drift of it.

All for now,

Chief Engineer

Mannheim Central Railway

Well, It’s coming, there is actually more done than this. This is just a teaser. Jenn got a preview and is worried if it will interfere with the Christmas Tree. We’re reasonably confident it won’t. Worse case scenario we move the red forward a couple inches.

Sqeems I have a reprieve on the timeline - Mr’s Santa is behind on decorations so I may have a day or two grace. None the less, The end of day Saturday deadline is quite achieveable I think and I want to maintain that. Don’t want anybody thinking this is like Waterloo Regions LRT project !!

I’ve come to the conclusion that my acrylic challenges are more a case of a less than tight production spec. And the rod varies in diameter. I’m running about a 50/50 fit, no fit ratio. What doesn’t fit sometimes just takes a slight grinding, other pieces its a pretty significant part. None the less I’m winning.

I doubt much will happen tomorrow as I have a line on some firewood and I want to get that while the getting is good as they say. Might be enough to get me through two years maybe more. And then of course it’s date night - my nite to gorge myself on red meat since Sheri doesn’t feed me much of that.

But Saturday is all mine as Sheri is doing Xmas house tours in Niagara with her mom and Jenn. So hopefully more pics Saturday with some track up!!!

All for now.

Chief Engineer

WOOHOO!!!! It may not look like much but its the most physical progress in quite some time and will help get me out of Mrs. Santa’s Christmas Tree corner by end of day Saturday so she can start setting the tree up then. I get an extra day as Sheri and Marge are doing Christmas house tours in Niagara with Jenn.

Up till now its been a lot brainstorming with Sheri on layout and measuring to make sure things will fit as planned. There’s an old carpenters saying “measure twice cut once”. Well I cant begin to count the number of times and measurements I have made!!

Below is the beginning of the ceiling mounts in the tree corner and a rough idea of the layout - currently on the floor 😀

Once I make this post it’s off to cut acrylic rod to finish the mounts. Wish me luck with that challenge.

All for now,

Charlie

Chief Engineer

Mannheim Central Railway

So we're back from ten days in Aruba - our favourite Caribbean island by far. We'll be back there again!!

Lots of time in the sun and on the beach - between reading and beers 🍺😀 to think about what I'm doing.

I have to "get out" of the corner I'm working in 7 days from now so Mrs Santa can set her tree up so I've doing a lot of planning and strategy to accomplish that. Kind of a funky corner with lots of critical measurements but I think I've got it figured. Good thing I married a mathematician!!!! Just need to get some focused time from Sheri to verify my measurements. That time of year, Xmas get togethers etc. But I'm told I should be able to get some time on Sunday.

In the mean time I have enough prep work along with a trip to a train shop outside Fergus with Steven - 2Bintrains.com - so he can explain to Sheri what I want from there for Christmas.

All for now.

Chief Engineer

Mannheim Central Railway