I've Got Mail!

When I was a kid, it used to be such a thrill to get mail.  Didn't matter what it was, anything in the mailbox with my name on it was exciting.  Those Estes model rocket catalogs, Boys Life magazines, Tyco train catalogs, just all sorts of goodies.  These days, the mailbox is a lot less exciting.  There's usually nothing in there except some new set of fingers trying to reach into your wallet.  I'm not ashamed to admit, however, that I felt a mild rekindling of that childhood excitement earlier this week.  Two parcels, one of which I've been waiting for, one that I had forgotten about, both arrived on the same day.  It was like Christmas in June!

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered some scale lumber, assorted 1" stock in various widths.  I ordered from a manufacturer that I've never used before, the Kappler Mill and Lumber Company, and I've been anxious for it to arrive.  I needed this lumber to proceed with the depot and the water tower, plus I was curious to see the quality of the product.  So far, I'm impressed.  Competitive pricing, and the quality is excellent.  I think I'll be grabbing one of their bulk assortments pretty soon.

With the lumber supply replenished, I've started applying the clapboard siding to the exterior of the depot.  One board at a time, staggering the joints at random intervals, carefully overlapping each board over the one below it.

Tedious, time-consuming, and a welcome distraction from this week full of meetings that I've had.  Doesn't look too bad!

Also arriving the same day, something I had forgotten about, was my award from the model contest from the TLR convention last month.

My scratchbuilt caboose took second place in the "Caboose" category.  I'm satisfied with that, we couldn't both win first place!

Blue Ribbon Buckets

Fun night at the Twin Cities Division meeting last night.  The gears are turning over the possibility of building an N-Trak module.  I picked up some great info on handlaying turnouts.  The highlight of the evening was capturing first place in the modeling contest with my Boxcar Full O' Buckets.  Truly a big surprise for such a simple project!

Call The Inspector

This caboose is ready for service!  Still a tiny bit of weathering left to do, but otherwise done...

Break Time!

Now that I have a hand car, and a hand car shed, somebody needs to put the car in the shed.  This guy drew the short straw, and had to do the job all by himself.  Time for a break!

Looking at that photo, your brain tells you that there's "something" inside that building, which is exactly what I wanted it to do.  In reality, there's not much of anything in there, but it's an effective trick.