Saturday Ramble

As we enter week three of the lockdown I haven't really noticed too much difference during the day - I now just don't go out at night. This isn't a problem as now all the crap TV is wound back and they are running more films (Ealing Comedies all next week) who needs money anyway when all the shops are shut? For those of you who still have a job; be grateful.

The primary work at the moment is the O gauge. The station building is done and only needs a couple of painty things to get it sparkling. Yesterday was 'hunt the fire buckets' - not as much fun as 'hide the sausage' and not a game I'd played before, but one that I can recommend for those with time on their hands. I was going to buy some from Invertrain, but was warned off slightly by their Covid 19 postal service. This was mentioned on the phone to our Mr. Hill who reminded me that we had used some on Morton Stanley. These would be stuck to the station building - which is now resident in the loft - which can be accessed by the ladder - which is behind the car - which is unlikely to move out of the garage for the foreseeable future. How many buckets were purchased? Well I can now inform you that it was ten, as eight whitemetal 7mm scale buckets have now been retrieved from the deep, dark depths of the cupboard and all is well with the world, I don't have to ring Invertain and I don't have to play that little wavy dance with the postman when he bangs on the door then jumps back and gesticulates at the doorstep from the end of the drive.

The rest of yesterday was spent avoiding gardening (nearly) and getting point one down on Tiley Road. This was a nail-biting affair as the last time I built my own track; here some Devon stuff is the order and I couldn't be 100% sure that the standard DPDT switch would work with the throw of the point blades. If it didn't there was no plan B in stock and no shops that sold one. In the end I did a little happy dance around the patio when it went 'clunk' and the blade hit the stock rail. The very old Lima motor bogie, which is the test unit, ran happily up and down in all directions, so hopefully all will be well.