Apparently so...
The building of the Los Angeles Division railroad hasn't been a priority in the last year. I've realized that since I already have an existing railroad, my motivation isn't as strong. I have done some work, but mostly around organizing and inventorying equipment.
So what has happened?
First off: the Exeter Branch continues to host op sessions twice a month. I've had to cancel the last five session due the virus and shelter in place. 
In the 10+ years of operating the Exeter Branch, we have hosted 232 sessions. Reflecting on it, that's a lot of sessions hosted!
Recently, I changed the balance of the waybills and generated new ones. Why? I thought some of the layout could have a better traffic flow. In the pictures you can see the process of car and waybill assignments. Next will be to move the cars to staged trains and the industries.
For the Los Angeles Division, I have not been productive. I stalled out on the main level. I've previously posted on the welder failure. In the mean time, I've been mulling through changes to the layout construction. I did get past a nagging design issue regarding Burbank Junction.
In my original design, I had the Valley Line diverging to the left, not the right as the prototype. Nor was I comfortable with the rate of descent to get to the helix for Valley Staging. In a moment of design innovation, I realize that I can flip Burbank Junction to have the lines diverge correctly with the Coast Line to the left and the Valley Line to the right (well really straight), and have the line descend gradually by going around the outside of the peninsula. This will provide a preferred grade and allow the operator some additional run time. I've worked the logistics and think I have a good plan. And, I don't have the issue bothering me.
Next is a change in helix design. I was never completely satisfied with the results of the helix construction. I wasn't happy with the materials used as they didn't turn out a level and true as I'd hoped. I was concerned that this would result in helices that would not have the level of operational reliability that I strive to achieve. So I've destroyed the ones I built and will now pursue a laser cut option. I have a design I feel will work successfully and will provide thin sub-roadbed so I can keep my helix grade to 1.4% or less. Access to a production laser is my next challenge.
One of the things I do on the side is buy railroad collections. Because I need another hobby! LOL. An interesting item I picked up from a collection purchased is a steam locomotive 'firing pin'. It is used to stop the firing valve from going to far and over firing the engine. It did come from a third generation SP head. Kind of cool. I picked up a lot of other memorabilia as well. For me this was something unusual and I learned something new!
I have been working on rolling stock for the new railroad as well. A lot of quality control work to do. I'll make another blog post about my process for modifying the Kadee centering springs. I know this is a bit outdated with the advent of whisker couplers, but I have a boat load of #5s in inventory and I plan to use them up.
Currently I'm in the process of remodeling the master bath. The last room in the house yet to be remodeled. It was 1970s style with a harvest gold tub, formica counters, and walnut cabinets. Not to mention the linoleum flooring and wall paper. That's been gutted. The cast iron tub removed (with a sledge hammer), the shower and toilet relocated. The ceiling is being raised from the drop soffit that was there. I had to sister the floor joists after removing the poured (over plywood) cement floor. New plywood sub-flooring installed (glued and screwed) and walls are going up. The rough out will be completed in the next week or so and then build the shower pan and tile it.
Last summer we did our annual baseball trip. This time was the mid-west doing what I like to call the planes, trains, and automobile trip. We started by flying to Kansas City. I took Jennifer to my favorite BBQ restaurant: Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que. She'd heard me raving about it for years. Fortunately, she thought it was excellent! We then caught a Royals game.
The next day we drove to St. Louis to watch a Cardinals game.
Very early the next morning, we took the Amtrak to Chicago. Let's just say the St. Louis station area is a bit dicey. I'm glad we Uber'd rather than walk.
We arrived in Chicago and took public transit (train and bus) to get to our hotel new Wrigley. That night we went to a Cubs game. Interestingly enough, I'd heard that Cubs games are a 'party with a baseball game going on'. That was a true statement! I've never seen so many people moving to and from concessions during a game.
The next morning, we headed to the airport and flew to Minneapolis and saw a Twins game that evening. Walking to and from the stadium was interesting as the area was under construction.
The following day, we headed to the airport and flew back to Chicago. We picked up a rental car and drove to Milwaukee. Why didn't we fly? Well, any flight to Milwaukee from Minneapolis would: 1) go thru Chicago and 2) we could get a car and enjoy the scenery. So we drove. We had cheese curds at a local bar...yum! The Brewers game was that evening. Online reviews recommended the hotel shuttle versus walking, so we did that. In Wisconsin there seems to be a bar on almost every corner!
Then it was back to Chicago. We arrived at our hotel near the lake and headed out for local pizza. Which was excellent. Jennifer said "let's walk to the Navy Pier". Well, that turned out to be 2 miles each way.
The next day we headed to the Museum of Science and Technology. The museum was excellent. I wasn't impressed by the museum railroad as I had expected. That night we took the train to South Chicago for a White Sox game.
We flew home from Chicago the next morning. So how long was the trip? We flew to KC on a Saturday and flew home from Chicago on Saturday. It was a bit of a grind, but we had a great time!
There are many other things going on as well including another job change. I'm now in IT at Wells Fargo. I loved Republic Services, but the commute was bad and going to get worse with site consolidation which would be further from my house. In January, I moved to Wells Fargo in Chandler. It's a 15 minute commute. However, since late March, my commute is from the kitchen to my home office. Ughhh.
That's it for now. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy!
