Christmas Lights on the Model Railroad

(And there are several other seasonal non-train cards that I haven't shown)

I haven't made a web page in a few months,
but I spend a lot of time watching trains and ships and sunrises on You Tube and facebook.
I want to thank all the people who share old and new pictures about the hobby.

I don't travel daily now that I am retired, so I don't see so much myself.
And I don't report as much as I used to years ago.

It seems I have spent too much time at yard work,
even today in late December I am raking oak leaves,
it was a mast year and they sure shed acorns and now leaves.
Normally, there should be a few inches of snow here in central Wisconsin,
but it all melted with only a shovel-full left.

We've gone to estate sales, and some month I should show you next year's projects that I have purchased.
I don't need much anymore (Jon, remind me of that during the next train show).
I haven't repaired the used loco that I got 3 months ago, but it looks promising to be a good diesel.

I heard a song on the RFD TV model train show I Love Toy Trains showing Lionel collections on Monday.
Sing it to some melody of a strummed banjo:

One More Train,
One More Train,
All I need is just one more train,
Even though the boxes are stacked 6 feet high,
All I need is just one more train

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I should start cleaning my railroad room and try to get on the list of home layout tours in April 2024,
my layout hasn't been on a public tour since 1999.

I spent a few weeks adding another river crossing (aisle) on the model railroad,
something that I said wouldn't be worth the effort years ago,
but it has been a useful 6 feet of track that keeps trains moving
and it lengthened the train's route without taking up more space in the room.

The stores have Christmas lights again,
I purchased one more pack of battery operated LED's for $5
and will have to go back on the day after Christmas when they are on a real sale,
if there are any left.

See below.

The models sold this year don't use the same LED's like the last two years,
so I will have to get my favorite old ones in case they don't make them next year.
I peel the green insulation off the light string and unsolder these from the wires.
They are 3mm and they will fit inside an 1/8 inch i.d. brass tube.
Cost is still under 30 cents each.
I made a web page about these two years ago with more details and the resistor circuit
and how I use them on my model railroad and as model river navigation markers
and as tow boat deck lights.

The battery box and controller have some settings that blink, and this particular model blinks about the correct speed to match the strobes on the old Soo cabooses.

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