Operational Ability Acheived?
After the ice cleared Saturday morning, I made my way down to the museum to help finish the rewiring project. Someone siphoned off valuable resources by scheduling an NRMA open house tour the weekend before our major annual event, so our crew was rather small until mid-afternoon when a couple of people who had been hosting tours of their home layout finished up and came over to work. I ended up staying until dark, and returned on Sunday afternoon. I think we managed to fix the remaining issues, including repair of a salvaged turnout that appears to have finally disintegrated.
The scary part is that I had to repair things that had been working before, but we don't know exactly why they stopped working, but I suspect the cold weather may have had something to do with it.
The short circuit alarm set up on the power distribution system is VERY sensitive, and it can penetrate the deafness of several of our operators. I suggested tuning the 8 sections so we can at least distinguish which electrical district is having a problem by the pitch of the alarm. My suggestion was greeted with eye-rolls, but it actually isn't a bad idea. Trains running across reversing blocks are typically what set it off, but if any car derails, the metal wheels often set off the alarm.
Steampunk Fu
You may think too much about steampunk when you realize your cats are sepia-toned.
Friday Freeze
It was DEFINITELY the right call to work from home Friday in spite of being in close proximity to an ill wife. ealdthryth's cell phone is set up to notify her of traffic alerts along my route to and from work. It was quite noisy Friday starting around noon. The ice storm and freezing temperatures here weren't enough to cause a power outage (yay!) but just enough to send cars off the Interstate and side roads at an alarming rate.
At least ealdthryth seems to have gotten past whatever stomach bug she had. By Sunday, she felt up to going out and about, joining me down at the museum.
The scary part is that I had to repair things that had been working before, but we don't know exactly why they stopped working, but I suspect the cold weather may have had something to do with it.
The short circuit alarm set up on the power distribution system is VERY sensitive, and it can penetrate the deafness of several of our operators. I suggested tuning the 8 sections so we can at least distinguish which electrical district is having a problem by the pitch of the alarm. My suggestion was greeted with eye-rolls, but it actually isn't a bad idea. Trains running across reversing blocks are typically what set it off, but if any car derails, the metal wheels often set off the alarm.
Steampunk Fu
You may think too much about steampunk when you realize your cats are sepia-toned.
Friday Freeze
It was DEFINITELY the right call to work from home Friday in spite of being in close proximity to an ill wife. ealdthryth's cell phone is set up to notify her of traffic alerts along my route to and from work. It was quite noisy Friday starting around noon. The ice storm and freezing temperatures here weren't enough to cause a power outage (yay!) but just enough to send cars off the Interstate and side roads at an alarming rate.
At least ealdthryth seems to have gotten past whatever stomach bug she had. By Sunday, she felt up to going out and about, joining me down at the museum.