The Lost Ocean Line, 19 June 2011 to 5 February 2017, RIP.

Over the weekend I finished salvaging what I could from the Lost Ocean Line. What started as a few ideas in track, has ended with the board stashed behind the garden shed awaiting the spring for the Sawzall and garbageman.

I learned a lot from it and have some new ideas I'd like to pursue. One definite feature any new layout will have to have is it must be very lightweight. I want to be able to take the layout, or sections of it, outside for photographs in natural light.

Hold-up at the RMC Paper Company

"We go live to our Action News photographer at the scene of an in-progress hold-up at the RMC Paper Company. E. L., what's going on?"

Spumoni Clubs again, hold the Frim Fram Sauce

The Spumoni Club is just as good in 2017 as it was in 2016, but maybe it does need a little sauce...

Slice and splice

The Movies 'n Stuff building was sliced from this strip mall.

It's not selective compression, more like heavy duty editing.

There's a bank on the corner and the wall facing the parking lot has windows. The movie store is windowless for all the DVD racks, but I did keep some of the larger signs that face the cars as well as the roof corner shape.

Lighting is provided by 2 strips of LEDs. There are holes drilled in the front wall, behind the sign to light it up. It's not too bright, but in the dark it's quite effective.

There's no streetcar here, but the bus does stop right outside, so one could imagine it on a streetcar route...

... if any pass through the End of the Universe :-)

The March by Streetcar

On 21 January, we were in Toronto, and on that particular Saturday, the day of the women's march, we were on the Dundas streetcar heading west when we came to halt at University along with two other streetcars. The marchers were making their way from Queen's Park, south along University Ave., to Nathan Phillips Square.

We sat. I was surprised by the number of passengers who walked up and asked the driver when the delay would be over. He was cool and gently reminded them it was a protest. After a few minutes I got out and walked up to University. There was a huge turnout, but at that point the end of the crowd was crossing and thinning out.

Once we'd crossed University there were six or so cars lined up to go east. 

After a block or two it was back to a typical Toronto Saturday. The historic and the banal side-by-side, same place, same day.