Journal 34

Tuesday September 2, 2008 Lethbridge, Alberta

6:20 am

A good beginning. Start the day with a few thoughts about what should be done today. I will visit the Model Baron hobby store and see if the latest issue of Canadian Railway Modeller is in. I am looking forward to an article on building operational HO switch stands. I will also try to buy the missing issues of volume 15. Reading these should help bring me up to date on recent developments in the hobby.

I need to do some web searching about information on installing DCC coders in locomotives. I also need to find information on programming these decoders. This will be the major activity during the next few months.

I should also visit Trains and Such in Calgary and see what is new.

I have just reviewed the True Lines Platinum production of the Mountain 4-8-4 steam locomotives. Tempting.

http://www.modeltrains.com/WEB%20-%20CMT/True%20Line%20Trains/HO/true-line-trains-canadian-national.htm

There is always something new. There are also new releases of some early CN box cars and cabooses.

The software program Ship It! ( http://www.albionsoftware.com/html/sample_layout.html ) looks very good.

2:30 PM

I am back from a trip to Model Baron where I bought the missing issues of vol. 15 of Canadian Railway Modeller as well as the first issue of vol. 16 (I already have purchased the second issue). I am still waiting for the third issue to be published. I also bought the latest issue of Branchline (September 2008) and vol. 14 #3 of CN Lines.

Two thoughts occur to me. One is to set up a web page with a table that shows the money that I spend on this hobby. I suspect this will be a bit sobering. The second thought is to try to capture some of the important points from each issue.

Let's play with the latter idea for a moment. Here is the format I use on my Daley Journals web site:

Canadian Railway Modeller

Train 16 Track 1: January - February 2008

p. 2

www.rapidotrains.com
- A web site for a Candian company specializing in the rapido trains. I vividly remember travelling to Toronto on this train when I lived in Kingston.
- I did not realize that the same train also ran in the US (Amtrak, Penn Central, New Haven).

p. 9 - 10

More information on rapido's passenger cars.

p. 15

A review of a book called, "Canadian Pacific to the East: The International of Maine Division". Here is a fascinating quote:
- "When the last spike was driven on November 7, 1885 at Eagle Pass in British Columbia, it only signified the completion of the line from Montreal to the Pacific. It wasn't until the last spike was driven on December 10, 1888 at Packard Brook, Maine, that the CPR finally fulfilled the dream of being an ocean-to-ocean railway across Canada. ... which ran from Montreal through Maine to Saint John, New Brunswick."

p. 16 - 18

This is the 4th, and last, part of a detailed set of instructions for building a CNR GMD1 diesel locomotive. This would make a fascinating project, but at the moment it is beyond my capabilities. Still, one learns by trying. I will keep this in mind for the first such project of this kind - maybe later this winter.

p. 26

Prince Rupert is now running a new intermodal facility and unloaded 162 containers bound for Montreal, Chicago & Memphis.
CN has 35 new GE ES44DC diesel locomotives. (I have no idea what these look like.)
- Easily rectified. Just type CN ES44DC into google and watch some video on You Tube.

Tags: rapido, CPR history, CN GMD1, GE ES44DC

4:30 PM

I have enjoyed making the above notes. I think I am on the right track.

Now lets make a quick table that might be used to keep track of expenses.

Date	Description	locos	cars	DCC	scenery	supplies	Books	Totals
2008.09.02	Magazines						34.35	34.35