Joe,

Thank you.

~~~

Jim S. and I have been "operating" the railroad, stepping through the "day" using the new "Train segment-by-segment" listing as a guide.   We have been eliminating reliability issues as we go.   Mostly "frog-power" by adding relays.   I did some work on the Stewart C630s to bring them up to Bowser standards - I will talk about that later.

Yes, we have been working on the detector system.  We mounted all 40+ detector boards - there are 320 detected blocks.  Then we have been stringing the cables - power and the Grapevine main data cable.  The latter has been a major and time-consuming issue (because of the complexity of dealing with a three-floor railroad), which Jim S. has been doing.  We still have a ways to go to complete the detector installation.

Looking forward to Saturday.

             Jim

I need to mention that Jim Mull brought his micro-video-camera, which he had mounted in an ore-hopper car.   On Saturday, here, Jim ran across the railroad pushing ahead of one of his ordinary trains.

This camera has a "fish-eye" lens, so you can see around the corners ahead....just as you would naturally - much more fun to watch than a camera looking only straight ahead.

This certainly gives a unique view along the railroad, not visible any other way.  Thinking of both an engineer's view and a "railfan" view.

And then, watching the videos this morning I see two points that need work, and two rough spots I would not find otherwise.  Great for debugging.

Thanks Jim for bringing that camera along!

              Jim