I didn’t realize it at the time, but the worst thing about the great flood of 2018 was that it completely destroyed my momentum. At the end of January, I had finally arrived at a place where I thought I might be able to cut Proto:87 wheels for #622. I had even cleaned the lathe in preparation for starting to turn tyres the very next … Continue reading Momentum
My recollection of August in Ontario is of a landscape weary of the summer’s heat and sun, but desperate to hold on rather than giving in to the autumn that is just around the corner. I remember the seed heads of ochre grass bobbing against my thighs as they launched grasshoppers whose wings flashed briefly before being lost amongst the stalks further down the path. … Continue reading Inspiration for the spaces between
The day after our trip on the Prairie Dog Central, I carved half an hour out of the family vacation to visit the Countess of Dufferin at the Winnipeg Railway Museum. This venerable old engine is the one that I could find that has a mud drum, and she was going to help me with the details for 622. Sadly, in her 108 years on … Continue reading Treasure at the Winnipeg Railway Museum
Last weekend, the kids and I had an opportunity to ride the Prairie Dog Central, near Winnipeg. This superb tourist operation is home to Canada’s oldest locomotive, an 1882 4-4-0. That in itself is remarkable, but the PDC has gone a step further in assembling an authentic early 20th Century train to go with it. The #3 was pulling three wooden-underframe passenger cars (and a … Continue reading Canada Atlantic Simulator
