Lee University

One more side of Nonaville comes alive!

November, 2006 (Cont.)

Returning to R.C. Lake Manufacturing, I used the “out building” that came with the Bulk Conveyer kit as the business office for the factory. Mr. Lake is standing on the back step talking with Jimmy, the shop steward. (Mr. Lake is a nice guy, so there’s probably no problem - just small talk.) Meanwhile, it appears that R.C. Jr. has stepped out to greet his obviously VERY HOT girlfriend, who has driven up to visit in her obviously VERY HOT sports car, giving all our imaginations a VERY HOT stream of consciousness to follow . . . Fortunately I glued both these kids to the ground just to protect the  “family values” aspect of this layout . . . We should probably move on.
Lots of activity at the motorcycle shop. This was my very first non- plastic building kit and I enjoyed making it. (Although there is “fence” in the catalog picture, none comes with the kit. Like most of us, I had lots of extra fence I had collected over the years to add here.) There were lots of pieces of extra scenery stuff in the  kit, including two motorcycles, however, the guttering is an extra I added. Hey! You’re looking at the girl again . . . We’re talking about the motorcycle shop gutters here now . . . At least, TRY and pay attention . . .
	The latticework on the LaBosky garage door was already cut to fit, however the latticework on the auto shop doors was not. It was a bit more tedious, but the effect is well worth the effort. Both are neat looking buildings. I especially like the curved tin roof on the auto shop.
Again, people and vehicular activity are the “name of the game”. Mrs. McGriddy has driven in for her “annual” oil change - having compiled a staggering 1757 miles a year going to the grocery store, the hair dresser and attending Hope and Mercy Church - although she’s a bit concerned that the worship is getting a bit “over-enthusiastic” of late. Lots of guitar players are getting saved, it appears.  She considered moving to another church, but the only other alternative in Nonaville is the Salvation Army Mission - and she’s just not sure she’s ready for all that “tambourine banging and brass band music!” Since there is no crime in Nonaville, that’s not a traffic stop you see, it’s just Officer Quidley taking a moment to visit with his favorite nephew, Leon, who is home from school for the weekend, where he’s studying Biochemical regurgitation . . . or something like that. Officer Quidley is totally confused about Leon’s major, and always has been.
How many times have you looked at pictures of a layout in a magazine and realized that there are very few cars/trucks and even fewer people populating the scene. Buildings are just buildings, but people (even people frozen in time) and vehicles bring a semblance of life to every locale.
	It’s hard to believe, but with only a few more buildings to erect and about 5 feet of track to ballast, this layout is getting fairly close to completion. Once that occurs, I figure I’ll take a year to do two things: First, I’ll weather all these train cars that are still shiny and then, secondly, I’ll change out all the wheels to metal wheels. At that point, since I don’t have two basements, it will be  time to draw up new plans, tear this thing down and start a new layout . . . That’s always an exciting prospect!
	Till next time, when we explore the other road to Nonaville - happy modeling, friends.

Trains:  Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34

Page 1 - Box Canyon Layout
Page 2 - Any Time, Any Spring Disclaimer
Page 3 - Starting Over, December 2003
Page 4 - March, 2004
Page 5 - June, 2004
Page 8 - Layout Design
Page 9 - August, 2004
Page 11 - January, 2005
Page 16 – January, 2005 Redux
Page 17 – First Day of Summer, 2005
Page 20 – August, 2005
Page 21 - In the Farmland, February 2006
Page 23 - Layout Potpourri, February 2006
Page 25 - In the Cornfields, 2006
Page 27 - July, 2006
Page 30 – November, 2006
Page 33 - MARCH, 2007 – A Break In The Action