Route Update Status:
[ ] Fuggedaboudit
[ X ] Let 'er rip!
Welcome to this week's Wednesday route update. We got a hot one not because we finished Walden, but because we added a QD, fixed another and found a boo-boo. That is enough justification to release, while we continue our route building efforts. Since our last update, we went back to Walden, add the 800 structures that need to go in to make the town. Progress has been really strong. Each day has had some level of build time, so progress can actually be seen. At my pace we should be done in 2 - 4 weeks and Walden will be released. And even better, this will be the capstone for my diversion from Campbell Hall to put in the Maybrook and Walden Secondarys and the Middletown and NJ Railroad to our awesome hobby. As you know, we are drawn like bees to honey for the obscure and forgotten, the miniscule and the ordinary and all the other places that add to the rich tapestry that is the history of the Erie Railroad!
Its what we do - we are on a mission! Tonight, I have a few questions for you to ponder. As usual, responses are not required. But it is my hope that your consideration may inspire you to type out your thoughts. To begin, as you are aware, we run down the branch lines to see what is there. As we have discovered, as I hope, you have found it to be rewarding and interesting to diverge from the main line and get some local switching in. What I would like you to think about, is if there is value to you and the scant time you may have to run a few miles for an hour shunting on the branch lines. Does it add value to the route operationally? Are you guys running the QDs to check it out? I ask this in consideration of this grand tangent I ran down when I turned North instead of West at Campbell Hall. I know that exrailwayman and NStrains took a few trips. But I can only tell by pictures I see here and over on Steam. Most runs I see images of are end to end runs along the main, followed by the Dundee Spur. So, I am just asking. For me, driving through Montgomery NY, just blows me away every time I run it. Its … cozy. And the end of Maybrook, such a finish after driving though the woods all that time.
This is still fun for me to do, without question. I get to bring you places you would never know was there - in vivid, rich detail. I just love telling this story. I have a few more stories to tell to. And when I get done with Walden, I will share with you a very personal story about a place and why this moment in time ended up being a prime motivator to build this thing of ours.
Till next week...
Carry on!
