For about the past 7 years, Jan and I have been working on planning out future after work and careers. One of things we have wanted was freedom, traveling, exploring, visiting friends, exploring North America, but a solid mooring field with a good hook in the bottom, so we always had a place that we could say, “Let’s go Home!”.
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Lots of our friends, many of them at LSC, have heard all about this desire of ours to move into an independent living duplex, in our small community of 3400 on the banks of the Kaskaskia River in “Southern Illinois”. Illinois’s first highway through the frontier, before statehood in 1818, and is featured in much of the history of this part of the World, since then. And actually, almost even before Chicago was corrupt, but I digress. Transportation, floods, source of water, prohibition, gangsters, droughts, salt, swamps, lake monsters, Seats of Government, regattas, World Champion Sailers and even beautiful sunsets are all brought to mind when you explore the history of these water.
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The B&O’s “National Limited” crossed the Kaskaskia in Carlyle, the early wagon trains of Daniel Boone fame crossed the Kaskaskia at Carlyle in the settlers early quest for settlement, survival and salt along the “Goshen Trail”. Early Native American Societies in the ages of Incas and Mayans traveled through here on their way to the ancient cities and temples now know as Cahokia Mounds. The Kaskaskia River has always been there.
Trivia question - “Do you know what is the longest river within the Continental United States, and totally within the boundaries of only one state?”
Yep - the Kaskaskia River, of course it helps that Illinois is one of the longest States.
Okay, the duplex is built and we have moved in. Not exactly to the schedule I desired, but we are here now.
That’s another Sea Story"!
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Anyway, I have time to plan and scheme. I have room and I have track plans and modules and long suppressed ideas.
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The large scale switching puzzle module “Timesaver” and the new “Inglenook” modules, that were debuted at the Spring ECLSTS 2017, are being incorporated into the “indoor terminal” of the Kaskaskia Valley Railway, in our brand new 2 1/2 car attached garage.
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At York, these modules have always been set low, so the young engineers can get some “shunting” experience. When at York, it will remain the same height. But for use in the new digs, its going to be HIGH, a little more than 48 inches off the floor. This has been a requirement to allow maximum use of space and storage.
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The “outdoor terminal” of the Kaskaskia Valley Railway will be in a landscaped rocked area along the back of our half of the duplex. Plans are to be a pretty basic shelving structure using nursery landscaping shelving modules, with minimal scenery, greenery, or structures and emphasizing large switching puzzles of the "Timesaver"and “Inglenook” quality and explore some of the changes and challenges that have appeared on the “Bluestone Southern”. There will be no power on this trackage, so battery powered equipment and even live steam. I’ve used my 2 cylinder shay to switch Craig Leigh on the IPP&WRR and found it great fun and quite a challenge.
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I’ve got one more idea for a switching puzzle, this one is HO and deserves a separate posting.
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I like the blue poo toter :o
