Fast Tracks owner Tim Warris dropped in yesterday to see the layout and discuss a project with me.

It was Tim’s first visit to my layout and he said very nice things – which is gratifying in two ways. First, because Tim lives in Norfolk County and is quite familiar with the area I’m modelling – so when he looked at St. Williams and said, “I see this all the time around my home” I knew I was doing something right. And second, because Tim knows more about building reliable track than anybody else I’ve met – online or in person – and he really liked my track.

Tim was especially impressed by my use of garden scale switch stands linked to his Bullfrog manual switch machines to control the turnouts:

(click on the image to read more about my turnout controls)

He also liked how I used two small throwbars – a head rod and back rod – instead of what he described as a “log” to throw the points:

(click on the image to read more about these)

We also discussed spikes (I use the very tiny milled steel spikes from Proto:87 Stores and have written about my experience with them extensively on this blog)… the tobacco-growing industry in Norfolk County… and how I want to address the reliability problems I’m having with my CNR passenger cars.

Tim is intrigued by my problems with the passenger cars. He rolled a set of trucks over my track work and was appalled at how sloppy the axles are in the side frames. The good news is, he took a set of trucks and wheel sets home with him to play with – and he may be able to offer me a solution. Fingers are crossed.

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Later, we met up with my wife for dinner at Akai Sushi. Anybody who knows Tim knows that sushi is a great choice. There are many, many sushi restaurants in our neighbourhood but this was the first time we had visited Akai – and we’ll definitely be going back, as it’s the best sushi we’ve had in our area. Very fresh and beautifully presented in a lovely room. I’m sure I can lure Tim back, too.

Great to see you, Tim! Next time, we’ll run an operating session, too…