September 25
In the last week, I got #3 (the third 0-4-0T) running with a Z scale decoder. For those counting, that's four working engines now. I still have #s 4 and 6 to go and I *think* that I've got the binding issues fixed with #6. If I'm right, I'll probably have it running later this week. #4 is still waiting on a new crankpin. Has anybody talked with the Alan Gibson folks in the UK recently? I keep sending email and not getting any response...
On a slightly different topic, after looking at engine issues fairly solidly for that past three months, I took some time this week and went back to spiking the switchback and finished another 6 feet of track.
Of note is that I had been using small (1/4") MicroMark spikes. As these are no longer available and I don't have enough MM spikes to finish the laid track, I decided to pick up (1/4") Micro Engineer spikes and see how they compare. For those interested, they are essentially the same diameter and slightly longer. The biggest issue is that the ME spike heads are noticeably larger than the old MM spikes and have more variation in size than the MM spikes had. My solution has been to trim and file the head back to get a more uniform size before inserting. Just thought I'd pass the information along...
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