New Year's Resolution Out with the bad, in with the good

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Well it’s that time of year when we look forward and plan

Last yearsaw many renovations on the MESS:
Ballasting
DCC/sound
More Engines
Private road markings
Re-wired several turnouts
completed the Freight yard
Turntable, which is still under construction
7 building kits (plastic, epoxy and wood), two bridges, one still under construction (Trestle from Scratch)
and the list goes on along with the bigger headaches

Looking back at the Year
Things I learned? How to detail plastic brick, DCC control,how to make rock from paper, ballasting, basic graphic design, decaling, better soldering (without burning myself), improved painting techniques. I’m sure there are other things that I’ve forgotten.

This year will be a year for me to end what I’ve started and to make bad, good and good, better and better, best.

Finihe Trestle and turntable
Install decoders in the Fleet
Finihe rock Work
Finish painting and detailing several building kits
Finish marking the remainder of my Cabooses, Engines and rolling stock (Approx. 20 peices)
Wire more turnouts
Replace two main line turnouts
Hard wire the DCC with additional remotes

So If I get this done It will mean I’m about 30% completed.

So what are your New Year’s resolutions

Happy New Year to you and yours
Fergie

2

Hi Fergie,
That’s a lot accomplished in one year, and a good list for the coming year. Here’s mine in simple form:

Get the basic scenery - ground forms and basic groundcover in.
Get the track ballasted
Build the town of Murphy, including 2 scratchbuilt depots.
Get 2 reasonably accurate paasenger trains, one Southern and one L&N, up and running.
Build at least 2 more L&N cabeese using the Blue Ridge Historics resin kits
Build some more 36’ boxcars and some pulpwood racks
Have Fun,
Tom Watkins

3

Hi Fergie and Tom:

You two have an ambitious list, mine is much shorter

  1. Enjoy Stephanie
  2. have fun
  3. get the main line ballasted
  4. get the branch line laid
  5. be ready for the fall San Jack (Houston) open house

Have a good year
Bob

4

Geez Bob I almost forgot! to finihe two kits you gave me and to finihat Juneco Caboose that I’m presently looking at and scratching my head about.

With regards to family see if I can get the youngest one interested in the hobby.

Since I’m at it maybe a “shop until you Drop” weekend trip to Conway![:D]

5
  1. remember to put bus wires under mainline (not like my old layout, is dcc and I want it to operate as smoothly as possible)
  2. install decoder in acela engine and P2K GP30
  3. buy more vehicles to populate collectio- I mean layout
  4. buy Atlas SD26 in guilford paint

this one’s not train related but:
get a 1:1 scale automobile (preferably a mustang, or a VW golf)

6

Well, I’m going to:
Continue with the scenery.
Put ground throws on my yard switches (I can access all of them by hand, thank God!)
Negotiate for the one portion of the garage I DON’T yet have and put in an 8-track holding yard.
Find SOMEPLACE on the layout that I can install a town.
See if I can learn to ‘weather’ some of my locomotives.
Find someone that can successfully tune up the drive mechanism on my PFM Rio Grande L-131 2-8-8-2
Re-weight and re-balance a couple of my Custom Brass Rio Grande 4-8-2’s.
Remember to put money away for the purchase of the new BLI ATSF 2-10-2 if they EVER release it.
Wait patiently for either Branchline or Walthers to release their Pullman Standard diners and obs.
Install a Forest Service lookout tower on the Sierra Buttes.
Do a whole bunch of Aggrojones’ furnace filter pine trees.
Lose some more weight–so far doing pretty well, but I sure miss steaks!
Keep On Truckin’!
Tom

7

Get my layout up and running
Continue to hord locomotives and rolling stock[:D]
Save money for BLI’s UP MT-73 4-8-2 (if they ever release it!)
Convert fleet and layout to DCC

8

Build a warchest for those limited run one-year-in-advance deadline orders.
Weed out the weak sisters from the rolling stock.
Weight the light cars down.
Toss the plastic wheels Replace plastic wheels and couplers with Kaydees.
Get those kits built. Find room for them.
Quit using retail weights and start using copper pennies. (10 pennies to ounce).
Extend my hobby interest into becoming a EBay trader in trains for my area.

And my personal favorite… keeping in school and looking forward to a good 2005.

9
  1. Meet goals for January (in January, hopefully)
  2. Decoderize roster.
  3. Convert Rapido locos to Micro-Trains.
  4. Build 2 NTrak modules
  5. Benchwork, landforms, track and wiring for new layout.