Wednesday, December 7, 2011 Lethbridge

5:30 am

The temperature is -3° C, with a high predicted of -2° C. From the Environment Canada website: Today Increasing cloudiness. 60 percent chance of flurries this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High minus 2. Tonight Clearing late this evening. Wind becoming southwest 20 km/h before morning. Low minus 18. Wind chill minus 28. Normals Max: 0°C Min: -11°

7:00 PM Model Trains

I have now run the first three hours of Session 2. The set of operating instructions that I prepared while carrying out Session 1 are now proving very useful as I begin running the trains for the next session. I no longer have to think about the routes (I still have to think when carrying out the switching moves at each town) but simply follow the operating instructions. This makes for a very relaxing activity.

I have decided to begin building a pair of viaduct bridges (very similar to the bridge in Lethbridge). I bought these kits almost a decade ago in the hope that I would eventually have a layout where they would fit. I do in fact have a place for them on my layout. This will give me variety in my activities: sometimes I will be running trains, other times I will be building the bridges.

The instructions for this are very difficult to follow so it may be awhile before I make much progress.

It took me almost an hour to figure out which pieces were involved in the first step. This is the first model I have seen where the pieces have no identifying numbers. Instead they are referred to my their name which is fine if one understands all of the technical names of the various components, but otherwise it is a tough slog. By the time I get this all figured out I will be eligible for a degree in civil engineering.