All aboard! The very last piece we have fabricated for Trinidad is now on the way. We loaded the engine body and one of the riding cars into a giant freight truck today. The pieces won't go directly to the Caribbean however. They are first on their way to our good friends at Hillcrest Shops in Reedly, California. Once there these pieces will be mated to the chassis components which were built in the Hillcrest Shops. They will be thoroughly tested to make sure everything is perfect. The crew in Reedly is one of the most skilled in the world at scaled trains so we KNOW the work will be world class. We are extremely excited to soon see our pirate themed train as a working locomotive.
Stuffing a trailer with cool stuff
Almost everything we do requires some head scratching and a creative solution to accomplish. Today was finally the day to load up the first shipment of arches for the NEBs Bowling Alley project. We devised a clever way to safely get the long features into the trailer. One end was swung into the opening with the forklift and then the boys slid a custom built sawhorse under the outer end. The forklift was then brought around that end to lift and stuff it into the trailer. Twenty arches, along with all of the posts and beams were loaded in a hurry. That's a good thing for it was COLD outside and everyone really wanted to get back inside where it was toasty warm!!
Workday one 2017
Being the first official workday of 2017 it was fitting I start in on a new project. I actually started on things last year but the flurry of the international trips at the end of last year put it on hold. I finished the routing of the pieces of the Spring Horse Farm sign and then it was time for assembly.
I first welded a sturdy steel tubing frame which was laminated into the center of the sign. Tomorrow, once the glue is totally cured it will be time to begin the hand carving and sculpting. Stay tuned...
