I'm a fan of the operational ability of that N scale Kato unitrack...but a quick shot of brown/red primer makes a world of difference...I see some is ballasted, maybe some is just in process.

Thanks Jaime...will I see you in Minnesota?

John 

Nice job, Jeff...I think I have that one somewhere. Good looking build.

John

Thanks guys...I'm trying to do it right and avoid too many do-overs this time, so...

-Scenery secured from rear to front...to make it easier to reach 'hidden' areas and detail whatever can be seen
-utilize as many of the amazing built-ups I already have without cramming them in in a ridiculous manner
-SLOOOOOOW down and enjoy the ride...it's a small layout, no reason to rush or cut corners
...none of these suit my nature 

The National Narrow Gauge Convention is coming up in early September, so I always tend to make some progress in the interest of juicing up my interest and also helping to generate something of a shopping wish list...those are really the BEST shows out there and often the only place to find such a great inventory of narrow gauge equipment.

Let me know if I should be looking for any of you...if it's a possibility, make it happen, there are some great layouts to visit and it's a very friendly city. I've been to a prior NNGC there a while back and I also lived there for 3 weeks while attending DQU...that's Dairy Queen University. My business partners and I purchased a DQ a while back in a misguided attempt to do something "peaceful" outside of our busy medical practice...turned out to be a lot of work and a lot of tolerance for a workforce of knucklehead kids...but, good memories and I enjoyed my extended stay which allowed me to explore the city a bit.

We decided to scurry back to bossing around medical professionals - they're easier to manage.

Continuing to move structures around and adjust landforms. I plan to add a single HOn30 siding along the upper level from the bridge to the right to "service" those industries and give me an excuse to display my finicky brass Shay and some cars and not feel like I'm abandoning my HOn30 roots...as I've mentioned, the lower level trackage is HOn3 and the locos are exclusively a couple of Blackstone C-19s - there is absolutely no prototypical basis for this, but man they look and run great  . I'm liking the feeling of progress again and, once I get the landforms finalized and secured, I guess I'll be moving into actual scenery - my favorite aspect of the hobby...I actually ballasted some hard to reach track in a rare display of foresight too.

congrats Raymo...I'm just a few months ahead of you and getting the hang of it.

Jaime, good to 'see you'...hope you'll be at the NNGC in Minnesota in a few weeks

I'm actually doing train stuff for a change...will share some pics soon.

Hope you're all having a great day!

John

Best wishes...it's hard to keep a good man down and we know you're tough as nails. See you soon.

*I really hope you've been good to Pam...she's got you now   

We're all thinking of you and looking forward to the next SBG meet.

John

Not really "layout work" but I'm boxing up a bunch of unbuilt kits I'm selling...I will promptly spend the proceeds at the Narrow Gauge Convention in September. 

...paying it forward 

Looking good Curt. I love those SWSM kits...nothing like them. They always rule the NNGC convention contest rooms (when it's not scratch).

Quote from: ACL1504 on July 17, 2026, 02:13:32 PMCuse,

Wait, is that track work I see? As SBG Bob said, looks incredible.

Sorry, but unfortunately, the SBG here won't be for several more months. However, you guys can get together and have a Northern SBG lunch and meet.

By the way, we made Rick an honorary member of our group when he was here two years ago. Ron, elwoodblues, is also an honorary member. He came all the way from Canada for his visit.

Miss you guy also.

Tom

thanks for checking in Tom...take care of yourself. We'll see you soon.

let me know if there's anything you need.

Quote from: Rick on July 16, 2026, 08:35:03 AMNice progress and thanks for the update.

Thanks Rick...I'm inspired by the hiking pics...but they're distracting me from my trains 

Quote from: PRR Modeler on July 15, 2026, 06:35:10 PMLooks very good John.

Thanks Curt...it's funny how my focus levels work.

I'm all in and lose track of time...then I don't even see the TWO layouts in my office for months at a time. 

It's a hobby not a job, I guess. 

Miss seeing the guys. Thanks for checking in.

Alright...you're just getting it all squared away at once...see you on the flip side. Hang in there Tom - we're all thinking of you.

Quote from: ReadingBob on July 15, 2026, 02:14:12 PMWowzer, John! That looks incredible. 

Thanks Bob...how is it that two recently retired guys who share this hobby and live, literally, 8 minutes away from each other haven't hung out? Need to catch up with you and the SBGs soon.

The pics probably don't look much different, but the track is down and feeders soldered, module 'caps' with LED lighting complete as of 5 mins ago...just now starting to mock up possible elevations, building placement, etc.  Still need to install the backdrop in the smaller (side) module...BTW, that's N scale "Little Switzerland" next door.