Scattered Thoughts . . .

W e came across this table shown below at the Walther's booth at the Amherst train show last weekend.  Walther's was showing these scenic diorama "islands" with Kato N scale track.  It took me hours of research to finally find this product and I only stumbled upon it by accident while looking for something else!   There was no information on this table indicating what we were looking at so I had to resort to my own research.  What made the searching difficult was the fact that I had no idea who made this product nor did I have a product name.  I eventually stumbled upon this product on Kato's website. These laser cut track bases are made specifically for Kato N scale track.  It is a cool idea but I don't care for Kato track because they use European tie spacing nor do I care for the color of their track.  I don't particularly care for the rail height on Kato track either.  I definitely prefer the tighter US tie spacing and I prefer more reali...

Most people simply buy manufactured train tracks to run their model trains. Some people will painstakingly build their model track just like building the real thing... railroad ties, rail, tie plates and spikes... and drive every single spike themselves. This option looks the best but it is a lot of tedious work. Some of us find some middle ground for various reasons. I'd prefer to be getting some work accomplished on the house outdoors but it is damp, wet and waterlogged out there so nothing is getting accomplished outdoors. Besides, since we are at the hospital every afternoon for Sheila's radiation treatment, there really is little time for any home renovations. By the time I set up all the tools, saw horses and materials, I would need to start cleaning up so we could eat lunch and then head to the hospital. Needless to say, I've been indoors for the past few months. Every fourth tie removed using a Dremel tool. I am currently indoors working on building a 12 fo...