And to a screeching halt...

The past two weeks have been two to forget.  On the night of January 4th, I had to be rushed the ER because of severe flu-like symptoms.  Not 24 hours later, I was back in the ER with major chest pains.  The verdict was Myocarditis.  Don't know where this came from and the doctors could not figure it out.  It required a 5 day stay at the hospital.  A very tough ordeal that really took a lot out of me.  Getting up to go to the bathroom was an exhausting task.  I've been recovering this week and spent most of the week down with my mom and step dad.  That did wonders on getting my health back. Being 41, I would not think that my heart would be effected by something like this, but you never know these days.  Twenty percent of people who are affected by this condition die!  Very scary. So thanks for all who texted, called or sent a message through Facebook.  I do have another week off from work for recovery and I plan on definitely spending a lot time in the layout room.  It's messy from the upper valance work but that is about done except for a few items.  A little cleaning up and it will be good to go!  The main thing it provides when you walk into the layout room is the professional look.  It really improves the look immensely.

The new year is off to a good start!

Being off the last 2 weeks you would think I would have time for lots of model railroading right?  Not so much.  Been busy on the homestead with shopping, cooking and the holidays.  Modeling time has taken a back seat and really I haven't been feeling the MR vibe.  I've done a few things, but nothing major. The last two days have been productive and I'm probably realizing I have to go to work on Monday!  I also have been rolling out of the bed at 8:00 or later too so that doesn't help much.  So in the last two days, I've installed a Tortoise on the lower level on the Mine Run Branch, removed a Lok sound decoder from a loco and installed a Tsunami, and for some reason started to install a valiance over the layout.  I've wanted to do this for a while now and just got started yesterday.  It will greatly improve the look of the layout room, like the floor has.  It's a two person job for a bit but my wife is gone shopping so the main 7 foot section will have to wait until this afternoon.

First section is done.  The blue bags are for debris from drilling holes.  It will hopefully give the layout a more professional look.  Do I do anything professional?

The next section is the longest part.  It will hide the light fixture and the all the wiring.

Last section to be installed.  Not idea what to do for the yard since it has no shelving above it.

GP39-2 #274 is back in service.  This is one of my newest engines that for some reason I put Lok Sound in.  Lok Sound sounds great but but adding a capacitor like a (Keep Alive) is not possible.  Even tried to add it but still the sound was in and out.  I believe Lok Sound has their own KA, but I believe it's in the $50 range.