So for the past 2 1/2 weeks I've been fighting . . . . something.  Started out as what I thought was full blown flu; rounded the corner into a bacterial sinus infection (since dispatched with antibiotics) and sliding into home with some minor, but no less anoying chest congestion.  As you might imagine, this has ground my previously predicted benchwork construction to a halt (somthing about running a table saw on Nyquil . . .).

So, you ask (tongue firmly in cheek I'm sure), what sort of railroad related things have you been doing?  For one, I've been catching up on my reading.  Not just my monthly issue of Model Railroader, or rereading the articles in MRH (I think Ihave the DCC decoder install down finally), but a whole pleuthura of stuff.

I started with Tony Koester's book Realistic Model Railroad Design.  I've been a big fan of his for many years, and between his column, the Model Railroad Planning Annuals, and his other occasional articles, I think I'm well on my way to understanding how he thinks about design.  That said, this is a nice book, and it has several chapters on bringing prototype design to freelanced layouts.  The biggest message I think is one we've heard since the beginning - to really design an effective layout, you need to closely observe the real thing.  Incidently, I finished that just as my copy of the Model Railroad Planning annual came in, so that was my next read.  Sad to see Allen McClellend's V&O going by the way side - I hope that MR can convince him to do some article about remaining active in the hobby later in life (and especially when you down size your living quarters).

I've just started Pelle Søeborg's Mountain to Desert: Building the HO Scale Daneville and Donner River.  I'm also a big fan of his work, and his minimalist approach to detailing scenes will be a heavy influence on my layout.
 

Lest you think i've turned into a bookworm, I have also managed to work more on the refinery complex that is in Section 1.  I'm about 80% done with my North Island Refinery kit - then I'll have to decide how I want to proceed with detailing the area.  Lots to look forward to.

Finally, I'm beginning the process of contemplating how to recreate Bucky's dome in N-scale . . . .