The ROCK 3.0: Progress Report 05.06.14

I'm missing my Xuron rail cutters.  I need them to cut in a new crossover at the east end of Ottawa Yard.  I started looking last week.  No such luck.  Yesterday, I went through every last thing in the room.  I can't find them anywhere!  I looked in my car, work, no where!  I ended up purchasing another pair that will arrive by Friday.  You know as soon as they arrive, I will find the other pair.  In other news, the room is cleaned and organized after the great search effort.

Last night, when looking for the rail cutters, I stood up on the stool, as my wife looked at me like I was crazy, to gain an elevated view of the entire layout.  I was hoping to spot them on top of the layout somewhere.  Anywho, I thought this would be a great view to show people the layout.

I took some test video and it turned out pretty good.  I'll put together an official video and update to the blog.  Maybe I will make one on the local operations as well.

In other news, the last of the Rock Island hoppers arrived.  I ordered 9 DOWX Atlas Sand hoppers.  The hoppers were stripped of the old reporting marks and re-decaled with logo and new RI reporting marks, sprayed with dullcote, weight added and Micro Trains couplers added.  This completes my quest for the little gray RI hoppers.  I believe I have plenty now!

One of the converted Atlas DOWX Covered Hoppers

Intermountain Ex-Southern Pacific Hopper.  You can see the Southern Pacific logo fading through.

This evening I started on the TrainCat Tank Car Loading Platform.