Friday nite some rogue members hacked track 4 and added jumpers to make the loop operational. Rumor has it that they were running trains at breakneck speeds without any derailments. Other than their clever hacking, they were impressed with the track work which allowed their unprecedented train operations. The apprentice has come a long way (tho he didn't start the track work on 3 and 4 but finished most of it, along with Bob and Tom). The hack was neutralized and electrical connections to track 4 have been completed making it fully operational.
Jim, our O-Gauge Superintendent, cleans track joints in preparation for Ted's soldering the joints. On the 080 curves of track 4, we apparently used stainless steel track and proved problematic in soldering. Center rail appears to be steel and soldered with little difficulty. Will leave outer rail unsoldered for now.
Test run (conventional) on track 4. No problems. Ted also ran a Niagra with TMCC, again, no problems. Have yet to run a DCS engine.
The wrecking crew added a short section on Masonite backer board so Johnbrandt can complete the painting of the scenery on the south wall. Unfortunately, the bracing obstructed running thru the complete loops on tracks 3 and 4.
We had a guest who visited last year and was the one who pointed out where he sat in the chem lab when he attended the school in the late 50s. He told the story of one student who had a chemical spill that burned a hole in the top of one of the tables. He tried to locate it to no avail. Maybe the ghost will locate it for the paranormal group (aka ghostbusters) when they attend tonite.
We're sufficiently operational for our Open House on April 8th. Would also like to wire the sidings on tracks 1 and 2.
