It is hard to believe that the 2024 build plan is over! The lanai is prepared to receive the Christmas tree, and all tools and materials other than those needed for hasty repairs are stowed. This gives me a chance to take stock of our accomplishments, from the Mik’s first napkin to the water tower’s last glue joint, and see where that leaves us going into 2025. In general, I will continue to apply the philosophy we learned in 2023 and then applied to Triple O - 2024 Plans & Objectives and seek to stretch our collective skills while remaining flexible in how we obtain them.
First, I reviewed my “lessons learned” from 2023. I found with some modifications and additions that that they still apply.
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I have all the railroad I can handle. This remains true. Repairs, MOW, new projects, etc. are all generally fun projects that keep the railroad alive and interesting without making it a burden. It is hard enough to keep existing structures in repair! A major expansion with the attendant commitment of time and resources, for the moment risks transforming a fun project into a burden for all but me. I do have CINCHOUSE’s permission to expand the railroad, providing I also properly plumb and filter Lake Inferior, and Kid-zilla would like wider turns on the outer loop, so we can at least study the possibilities.
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The lanai remains full. Trains, school projects, planes, crafts, etc. still cover lanai shelves as they leave boxes, take shape, and leave to serve their creators. My glues disappear; my brushes get ruined; my paints go dry. This is OK. Though the raw material may not go to Triple O projects, the Triple O’s “go with what you got” approach to getting things done goes into all these projects. This is a win, in my book!
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I don’t like being inside. Many of the 2024 projects need decals. I’ve yet to destign let alone try printing any. The Triple O is my excuse to be outside, and I find it hard to do Triple O stuff beyond tip-tapping here difficult to do inside. This is the same reason I don’t have a 3D printer. It would simply languish, while I am outside pretending some STAINZ is a Fowler or Baldwin making its way to and from the fields as I hack, glue, and paint, alone or with company, on our lanai.
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Buildings don’t like being outside. Many of our oldest buildings are decaying. We need to rework them and, in some cases, reengineer them to allow for their safe removal at the end of the day. Foam endures; the cladding fails.
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Enjoy the Moment. Scenes like Kid-zilla’s and O.D.'s M.O.W. project this last Saturday…
…are becoming rarer. When she leaves for college or the Service in a year and a half, they will start to come to an end entirely. “It cannot be just YOUR hobby!” CINCHOUSE once declared. Wherever 2025 takes the Triple O, all projects will bend to that wisdom to build the memories required to power the Triple O far into the future.
That brings me to a combined 2024 scoresheet and list of 2025 plans and objectives!
The Mik. There is always the MIK. This is the only project where I insist all hands turn-to, bending my own rule, “All may participate; none must participate.” I do not enforce a level of participation (there was a time I had to ward off too many hands…), only that, for my sake, there is some level of participation. This is why I say “bending” rather than “violating.”
The M.O.W. Like last year, this includes actual M.O.W. and emergent repairs. Kid-zilla and I also want to add some long-delayed micro-projects to enhance existing scenes. Unlike last year, it will not include further consideration of R/C and battery. The cost is simply not worth the return. Battery and RC Graphics “Critter Controller?” Maybe, but only if I can source batteries locally.
2024 “Score Card” (formerly knowns as “The Moldering”) & 2025 Project List. This is to close out what we accomplished to take credit where credit is due and to roll forward some languishing projects to keep us honest!
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Water Tower & Pumphouse - Finished! Started / Deferred in 2023 . Haluku’ilio Water Tower – Another Triple O Rehab Project
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Haluku’ilio Switch Towers - New for 2025. My father-in-law built these to power the passing sidings on and off. Acts of Dog have long since relieved both of signal arms, ladders, and platforms.
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Mama’s Baker No Ka Oi - New in 2025. This venerable veteran ( Mik 2020 – Mama’s No Ka Oi Bakery - The MIK - Annual Build Challenge - Large Scale Central) is suffering from worn paint, peeling roof, warping cladding, and pitting “stonework.”
The challenge will be preserving some of the artwork while making the structure more durable. -
Pu’uomao Yard Office and Observation Tower - Deferred since 2023 . Our first MIK project
[ Miks 2018 – Pu’uomao Yard Office and (Maybe) Observation Tower - The MIK - Annual Build Challenge - Large Scale Central ] has decayed to non-utility.
Again, I want to preserve its essence, but I want to let it mature to match our skills. The nominal electrical switching functions may go, with dedicated shacks holding individual switches.
- Tub-o Trains - Finished! Deferred since 2022. The boxcar in the Tub-o-Trains: Low-Cost Micro-Projects on the Triple O returned to service as part of Triple O Gloss – Passenger Car & Parlor Car. OK, it needs decals…The reefer never got its handrails, but we acquired those skills elsewhere, so mission intentions were met. No one misses the handrails.
- The “Thomases" - Deferred since 2023 . These LGB m2075 (battery) repowered with STAINZ chassis still await proper weighting, and still needs Christmas stickers covered with some sort of removable siding.
- 4-6-0T “Tropical.” - Redirected / Finished! Deferred in 2023. Our epic Triple O – Bachmann 10-Wheeler Salvage Campaign accomplished all the 'bashing goals otherwise intended for my fantasy take on South African Railways locos. KId-zilla also still brags about it. Bonus!
- Inspection Locomotive - Deferred since 2023. Redirection of coaches intended to become parts for a copy of Parlor Car 64 at the Hawaiian Railway Society put this project on hold. I think we have the parts to do this, anyway, if there is interest.
- More flat cars - Deferred since 2023. Our coaches and 10-wheeler projects obviated this project.
- Secret Project - Deferred since 2023. The boys and even Oldest Daughter continue to pres for details…Let’s see where the year takes us!
Kid-zilla also has another 10-wheeler rehab in the works, and he’d like to modify this tower…
…helpfully donated from a decades long abandoned LIONEL layout. He has, of course, my full support…and priority on the lanai!
And there you have it! On to 2025! But first the MIK! There is always the MIK!
Aloha,
Eric