The pre-taping...

Has it been three weeks?  Doesn't seem possible.

I would like to be talking about 3 weeks-worth of progress... but it was more of a sabatical I suppose.
In any case, this coming Thursday we start moving forward again.  With some preliminary plans being tossed back and forth, we'll be taping out the floor and discussing plans that support key Rutland features, landmarks and of course my current and future Craftsman Kits.

In parallel, Bob L is contributing to the efforts by providing me with a relevant and operations-friendly Rutland layout plan.   

With all this support and multiple vewpoints/opinions/experiences, there's no doubt my Rutland will be epic.  You like that?  "we will be..."  "...multiple viewpoints..." "MY Rutland".  In all seriousness, I am in my friends' and co-inthusiasts' debt.  Thank you all.

Speaking of key features, part of Rutland's revenue depended on milk trains, which I'm hoping to replicate on the layout. One of creameries was The Dairymen's League:

The area has been tidied (tidy'd?  Tideyd??) up and it's easier to see what we have to work with...

 The aforementioned, tidy'd up area is 9.5' wide by 28' long.  Plenty of room... but I can't help eyeballing those few extra inches (feet ... ) into my wife's part of the basement.  She's really not using it.  Much.

Until the track takes shape...

...I'm busying myself with other things...

Tidying up Ground Zero



More housekeeping



Much of the time I can be found here...



...finishing up another HO model...



... planning my next 1:86...

...And the occasional 1:1








I had to bring on some middle-management to keep an eye on
our clock-puncher...



Whaaaaaaaat?!



It's a disaster!!!

Progress.  The tear-down was sure alot quicker than the build-up.  I knew it would be, but not THIS quick!  The O gage benchwork is now a thing of the past.  Much thanks to Robert S, George M and Bob R for the help.  Purple Heart honors to Bob.

The team, all fueled up, leaves little for leftovers...

Before...

...After

Before...

...During...

...After

Save the Mountain!

No problem!

Mountain saved.



Oh no, they say he's got to go, go-go-Godzilla!!



Raising a little dust.

First aid!  STAT!!

Don't let the absence of a smile fool you; I'm have a great time!!

Well-earned dessert.



While I ponder new track plans, you can find me here. 

And my union worker takes on some side work.

The Scrappers have arrived!

I'm pretty excited about my new HO adventure, and very pleased that my O stuff will not go to that great train-yard in the sky.  My son is already looking forward to taking the reins and passing along the O gage tradition to his kids.  But no hurry, son... I'm not ready to be a grandfather quite yet.

Just as on the real Rutland, I've started tearing up the lines, although for a much happier reason than bankruptcy.

View: North... This is the stage of the O gage benchwork/track
 when I pledged allegiance to HO.

...Same work, southern view.

Scrappers hard at work.  Track (right) removed from
 road bed (left)...

...More track removal...

...and more still.

The forests once standing proudly on the mountain sides are now
 stashed away on a lowly clump of blue foam.  So sad.

Partial view of the benchwork from my wife's half of the
 basement.  A half that continues to shrink, step by step
 ... inch by inch...

One of my union scrappers on a well-deserved break.