The terrible start of my beloved Red Sox this year has made it easier to not watch. They're off to their worst start in... ever. At least in my lifetime. In fact, the only games they've won are the ones I haven't watched. And being a superstitious baseball fan (and a superstitious Red Sox fan to boot) that clearly means I can't watch any more Sox games this season at all. (Because obviously the success of a team with a $150 million payroll rests squarely on my shoulders.)
That's not going to happen of course, I'm not that strong. But for now it's certainly a boon to my modeling time.
What the heck does this have to do with Wicomico St. or busses, you ask? Well, it's my long-winded way of saying I got something done on the layout last night.
The Bus
Last night I dragged my butt downstairs, then dragged some wire. Given that the layout is only 17 feet long, this may not seem much of an achievement, but I've been avoiding it, so it is. Let's be clear: The wiring on this layout is not hard. I just don't like doing wiring at all, ever, so I'd been putting it off.With a burst of enthusiasm I slid under the layout and drilled holes through the leg anchors. I had decided that I would use brass hooks to keep the wiring neat, that is, to keep it from sagging once the drops are connected to it, since the suitcase connectors will have a little weight. Once I'd pulled the wire through, I determined the hook locations and put them in. This was a ridiculously simple task since the roadbed is thin luaun plywood on a hollow door.
The LocoNet
Once the wiring was hung I realized I hadn't considered the LocoNet, (I'm using Digitrax) but I quickly decided I wasn't worried. Again, the layout is only 17 feet long, and I would only need a UR91 and a single UP3. (Yes, I know these are outdated, but I have them and they work.) I had saved the wire from the old layout, so I have all the LocoNet wiring I need for now. A couple of additional hooks will take care of keeping that wire out of the way. Then I hung the UR91 and UP3.Running with DCC
Did I run a train? Alas no. I realized that I don't have a 1/8" drill bit long enough to go through a ceiling tile or two, two inches of foam and a hollow core door, so I couldn't install and drop wires. I decided to I would pick up a bit today; then I called it a night. It was a productive hour. It's amazing how little time it often takes to do the things you spent so much time avoiding.The tougher part is next: soldering drops. As I think about it, soldering is the part of wiring that I really dislike, (not to mention I'm not that good at it), so my avoidance mechanism may kick in once again, but I'm going to try to keep my enthusiasm up and get the task completed very soon.
I'll update you on that one next time...
