One Task Done, Gumption Traps Revisited, and a To-Do List

Draft train bulletin for initial Nooksack TOMA operations

As mentioned in a previous post, my initial operations notion is to have Nooksack in yard limit rule with a train bulletin posted for the scheduled first class passenger train or trains. I spent a morning at the computer researching some original Great Northern train bulletins and then drafting one in Word. I found Copperplate Graphic Bold to be a reasonable font to duplicate the look of the few GN wooden train bulletins that I found photos of online. My paper version (seen above) is a cross between the one I saw at Tony Koester's railroad and the actual GN ones. 

Several issues have popped up in the train room (aka the basement) that have blocked my gumption to work on the initial Nooksack section of the 4th Subdivision. During a first fall cold spell our furnace stopped working. In going down to the basement that chilly morning, I also noted that the lights were not coming on. I, of course, thought (assumed) the two issues were related. Well, our HVAC folks reminded me that coincidence and causality are not the same! They also reminded me that our oil-fired steam radiator boiler needs yearly maintenance to work efficiently or even work at all. So, with the combustion chamber cleaned of carbon soot, oil filter changed, nozzle cleaned or replaced, and combustion analyzed we were good to go, but with the unrelated short in one of the original basement circuits still there (but where?), that breaker remained off. Our task is to sort out the rat's nest of that circuit to tackle the issue of no lights in the main part of the basement. The new circuit for the railroad and workbench are working just fine, but the basement in general is dark.

Also, during this time my wife and I have been working on our main bathroom with several sets of contractors here for a new tile floor, new shower, and new fixtures. We have tackled wallpaper removal, a little bit of drywall and mudding, and painting. Somewhere in the process, a leak in the water supply line in the basement developed right over one of the initial, temporary staging locations for Nooksack. The first attempt to fix said leak did not last and I am waiting for a phone call to schedule a return of the plumber as I write this. 

Nooksack up temporarily to check location and plan backdrop height

Next Steps, To-Do List:

• Basement Prep
• Fix or replace shorted circuit
• Solve dripping leak
• Paint more east wall
• Remove "bar" wall
• "Ceiling" over benchwork?
• Paint floor?
• Take Down "Nooksack" section
• Set it up on sawhorses
• Switch-motor replacement 
• Other wiring
• Purchase 1/8 inch hardboard and cut to 30" & 18" for backdrop and valance
• Rolling stock to standard
• Structure plans and builds
• Staging plans and builds