Weekend update

The weekend didn't amount to much, my big accomplishment was making chili on Saturday.

Yesterday, I did some additional wiring work on the layout...I ran bus wires to another area of track, and I'm going to solder feeder wires to the track this week. So far, there's over 50 feet of wiring on the layout (!), and another 20-30 feet to be done.

This is tedious work...the purpose is to feed voltage to the track at various places around the layout, to improve the flow of current, but just as importantly, to strengthen the digital signals essential for train control.

Without a good clear digital signal, the trains might not receive new orders (like STOP!) and keep running under their last received ones. As Murphy's Law dictates, the only time a train will not receive a new command is right after you have run it up to top speed, and there is another train stopped further up the same track.

This job involves running the bus wires carrying the main current under the table, and running smaller feeder wires between that and the track. When I built the layout framework, I drilled holes thru the joists to feed wire through for this purpose. It goes like this:

-feed the bus wires thru the table joists, and secure them in place with staples
-strip insulation from sections of that wire, and solder on the feeders
-drill holes through the scenery and table, poke the feeders thru, and solder those to the rails.

Believe me, it's about as much fun as it sounds. But it's all in the interest of better trainage. Training? Shetrainigans?