Drink Milk Love Life

Every time I drop by the Havelock yard I keep an eye out for the Space Hopper. Given how long ago I first saw it, it's unlikely to reappear.....but, one never knows :-)

The story so far...

A check on element placement as the story develops.

At this stage of construction I'm adding in scenic details I have in mind, and am checking fit, spacing, and composition as I go along. The layout's so small I don't want a surprise near the end where I find I can't fit in things I want without doing some crazy squeezing here and there. 

I should note I haven't finished the electronics on this thing, and that might come back to bite me later (!), but scenery is what I feel like doing right now. This is a life pursuit, not a job, so I do what I like.

Return of the Happy Minimum Test

From left to right: 6", 5" (the HO equivalent of the tightest TTC curve), and 7" radius curves.

I'm having some trouble settling on a design for my Taronna layout. There are numerous problems. One significant one is figuring out what the minimum radius curve I can use that will not cause a problem for streetcars, and be reminiscent of the older, tighter curves in the TTC streetcar system.

I decided to revisit some tests I did back in 2017, but this time with an eye to making vehicle modifications, if possible, to allow tighter curves to be traversed.

Test results to follow, but until then this little video will give you an idea about what's bouncing around in my mind - I remember this well:

Mount Lowe Micro-Layout in Voie Libre #126!

The Mount Lowe Railway is featured in the latest issue of Voie Libre, #126, July / August / September 2026. I've only seen what you see over there on the left, which I saw in an ad that popped into my Inbox today. I submitted 46 photos - photos not seen here ! - so I'm curious as to which ones appear. I anxiously await its arrival in my mailbox! 

As they say on tv: Don't delay, get yours today! Quantities are limited! French and English editions are available!

Ok, so much for shameless self promotion. For penance it looks like the ! key on my keyboard may need repair :-(

New paint scheme for the community garden loco

I was keen to see what the loco I had chosen for the community garden layout looked like in the paint scheme I had in mind. For reference, I started with a green MiniTrains Schöma diesel locomotive.

The fictional story behind the new look is that the loco started life as a diesel, but was later converted to run as a pure EV machine with rechargeable batteries onboard powering an electric motor. Keep in mind that just as our miniature diesel locomotives aren't powered by diesel engines, and our steam locomotives don't burn coal to produce steam, this little loco is as phoney as those others and gets its power from the rails. 

At the charging station being 'recharged'

Before painting I clipped off the exhaust stack and sanded the body smooth around where it used to be. I wasn't able to pry the chassis out of the body, so I risked it and simply masked off the windows and chassis prior to painting. The body was sprayed with Vallejo Model Air white primer, and then white paint. 

That red and orange plug icon is the old mid-century logo of Ontario Hydro created in 1962 by Allan Fleming, who also designed the classic CN logo. Those icons are decals I made on the computer and printed out. They're a bit rough, but I think they fit into the overall look of the layout.

One day there'll be a roof over the charging station!

Yes, the loco still runs after its close encounter with an airbrush :-) No paint got into areas it shouldn't.