Moar Power!

I have taken delivery of yet another Kato Mikado that will receive the Pennsy L1 treatment like the last one, and todays mail should bring another Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 that I really didn't need, but the price was too good to pass up.

The first thing I did was double-head the Mikes, they run perfectly together and they are going to look great in identical Pennsy L1 dress. The first thing I will do with the Consolidations is run them together and see how they do double-heading.

That is one of the things I really missed about my train-set Connies, when they left so did any chance I had of doubling them up. Now I will have two sets of identical locos I can double-head - or I will, as soon as I can afford another L1 kit.

I also have another Atlas Pacific, this one with its original motor. It runs very well and can be doubled up with either the Model Power or the Arnold, but not with the other Atlas due to the gearing. I'm seriously reconsidering the whole gearmotor thing, I don't like the gear whine I'm getting out of them and I am thinking that a straight drive with a flywheel might be a better option for both the Atlas Pacific and Mikado. That would also give me the option of putting them into lash-ups with the rest of the locos.

On the narrow gauge I have pulled up the Marklin turnouts and test-fitted my FastTracks turnouts. They are longer and so wont' fit in the same hole, but more importantly they are code 55 where the existing Peco track is code 60. I'll have to play around with rail joiners and such to get them to fit right, and then I will have to do something about switch machines. I'm thinking of using some of FastTrack's Bullfrogs that have the integrated microswitches. I'll have to order a couple of them and see how they do. Until then the turnouts have been replaced with straight track and now I just have a continuous loop to run trains on.

Alas no work has been done on disassembling the standard gauge layout. The shed is now filled with daughter and son-in-law's things, and the spare room is filled with daughter and son-in-law. The good thing is I get to see a lot of my infant grandson.

One of these days I won't be the answer to everyone elses problems...