Two days ago I decided to let my WAN problem sit for a while and enjoy adding 8 spikes to the tie on each of the 155 that needed to be done. It wouldn’t be worth mentioning if it weren’t for the lofty height of 58" above the floor and “slightly confined” location.
Back in my younger days, when I was doing HOm, I used to make sure that all of that “nifty stuff” happened on the work bench.
I blame the age factor!
Old age ain’t for wimps.
Even if you’re not a wimp …
“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety …” 
My back, on the other hand …
I have been suffering with bad back pain for 2 weeks now. Today was the first day I could walk like a homo sapien.
At my age, my back goes out more than I do!
Lets face it we are just a bunch of old men! Now go take your meds and get to work!
Paul
E. Paul Austin said:
Lets face it we are just a bunch of old men! Now go take your meds and get to work!
No way am I taking meds! I like being Napoleon … before the 1812 Overture
E. Paul Austin said:
Lets face it we are just a bunch of old men! Now go take your meds and get to work!
Paul
SWMBO has for years tried to get me interested in yoga, to increase my flexibility (REALLY 
)
So I went to one of the intro lessons. That way I can say I tried it, but it isn’t my cup of tea.
OTOH I signed up for meditation (at the same studio) and that works for me.
PS back to spiking, last stretch on the freight side. Then one more track on the passenger side; again up close to the wall. 
OK, HJ just what does ‘SWMBO’ and ‘OTOH’ mean??? Paul
S ee W here M y B ody O bjects…on the other hand…
…but of course, Hans will tell you that it means; She Who Must Be Obeyed…he’s just getting older and can’t allow himself to admit it…!!
…BTW…“She” is much better looking than Hans, and is a very nice lady.
Someone should tell Hans, that the real railroads seldom if ever put 8 spikes to a tie. mostly it’s just 6, and quite often 4…and at his age he should have saved time, and used tie strip, and with the saved time, he could have been operating years ago…!!!
When my back goes out, I insist on going out with it. We’ve had some great times together.
I have been using a TENS unit for years on my back for pain relief, they work fantastic.
http://www.tensunits.com/
Most… most of the time back pain is a muscle spasm and not a disc injury… YMMV
Anyway, these units work great… feels like a million fingers massage.
On my first attempt at a layout 3 years ago, (removed now because we moved) I used AMS Code 250 flex track on ladder roadbed but wherever I had bridges or trestles I hand spiked. Does it take longer than running pre-made track across? Yes it does but I like the look of it better. Am I pissed because it takes longer to get my RR to the operational stage? Nope. To each his own I say. All of us here like this hobby for many different reasons and we should all try to remember that.
Randy,
I used Llagas for a good portion of the layout, handlaying while rebuilding staging was just “one of those ideas”.
There was good progress til I came to the stuff I saved for last i.e. I should have done those parts first and then smiled the rest of the way when getting to the “handy” stuff.
Friar Fred,
It doesn’t take much to be better looking than me and yes, SWMBO is very nice.
But over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that there are several contests I’m certainly not entering a) beauty b) popularity c) diplomacy. But you gathered as much, didn’t you Fred? 
Did I get frustrated a few times while spiking? Yep. Have another beverage and continue. Life is too short to wine I say. Fred as one canuck to another canuck don’t fret it, this is a hobby not the end of the world.
Well I used to do spiking years ago looked good but who the heck is going to see it besides me. Well that changed when I got into G. To each his own I say. Later RJD
All the rail in the freight section at Samedan is now spiked down.
(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/P1a/SamedanStaging09_s.jpg)
The “stray” track on the left is the DCC programming track. Next step: connect all the feeder wires to the track and turnout motors.
Now it’s on to wiring and test running.
(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/P1a/SamedanStaging10_s.jpg)
Will be interesting to find out how many of the remaining sets with original LGB “B to B” dimensions need correction or speedy replacement with the Sierra Valley sets.
