"By February's End, There Was No Stopping Us."

"And More Again."

". . . Then More Board . . ."

"Newly Inspired, I made a track layout and went back to cutting."

"The track layout is under the board."









"Next is the reverse side of the way station model."

FEBRUARY 2015 "So I Embellished a Bit."

  And I think the effect shocked Karen. I called her to look. She turned from her writing, and with hardly a skip in time she shot to her feet and said, "We have to have a plan, a foundation on paper—not just sketches."
   "I know," I said. "I need a footprint in order to lay out the track."

"After That First Bit of Industry, I thought:

   Shingles!  I had individually cut and laid in place every last one of those things!

   Amused, I relaxed and took a second and more appreciative look. Everything took work. I knew that. From the age of ten I had been a worker; but . . . this was different!  Now I was free to do what I wanted . . . retired to a life of interests, not toil . . . no specifications, no drawings, no contracts, no schedule—just the work of my own interests.

   From Karen I had my trains. With Karen I had a perfect partner in dreaming and doing.

   I had all the stuff my dreams were made of: board, blades, glue, paint (with colors by Karen).

   Simply arming myself with a few lean words,—tunnels, bridges, landmarks—I had got this far. I just knew what to do and in what order. It was a good start.

   But wait . . . more than that. I had a clocktower frozen in time. I had an arched viaduct—look at that! There was a perfectly curved arched tunnel through the tower, and parked at its mouth was my fine engine!

   Imagine, I thought. In one compact hub I had combined, time, structures, machines of travel and their destination—adventure.

   It was a way station!  To another world.  It spoke of time and opportunity and . . . passage. And it looked like fun!

JANUARY 2015 "Just Do It," I thought.

   "I never knew what I was going to do until I did it."

 RWR