4 New Items from Yarmouth Model Works

The etching elves have been hard at work again, bringing you some new items that I hope you find as exciting as I do.
First up;

Replacement sill steps for the Tangent GSC tankcars. These should withstand layout handling far better than the plastic ones on the cars. $3.00 for a set to do one car.

For all you PRR fans

X29 full side patch panels. With lovely rivet detail. $4.00 a set for one car.
As well as this;

Small patch panels for just adjacent to the doors. As seen in the photo of PRR #94794, in RP Cyc 24, pg 22. $2.00 for a set to do one car.
And after a few requests and a little help from Dennis Storzek (thanks Dennis);

A drilling template for the Kadee ladders. We think that this will be almost as useful as the bracket grab template we created a few years ago.
These items are now in stock and will be listed on the website in a couple of days.
Hope you like them.

I'm out of excuses now.

The shop boxes are all opened.

No doubt some fine tuning will be required.
I'm mostly unhappy about the paint storage setup. I've been teasing my pal Tim Warris of Fast Tracks fame about creating some paint racks with his laser cutter, but it's now feeling like a real need.
Wonder what I should build first?

Ready for Occupancy

So in 8 days, we've gone from this;

To this;

Through to this;

All I have to do now is open boxes and start loading shelves.
I'm rather pleased with how this space is turning out. Even without a window, it's bright. Good colour choice for the walls by my wife.
The work surfaces are looking delightful. The 2 desk height units are from Ikea, their Alex line. Ridiculously affordable. I couldn't buy the basic material for what they sell the full units for. Well designed and lots of drawer space.
And of course, there's lots of Ivar shelving. Did I mention how much I love this low end Ikea stuff? Almost designed with model railroaders in mind. Some of my European Fremo friends are using the Ivar end frames as leg systems for their Fremo modules. Makes sense to me.
The other cabinets are cheap and cheerful units from Home Depot. Lots better, none cheaper. No need to get fancy. No doubt that I'll have paint spills inside a month.
Tomorrow I'll get tools and kits out of boxes and start the organizing of the spaces. With any luck I'll be building models next week, as well as addressing the back orders that have arisen since I packed up for the move.

It's like peeling an onion

Revealing layers upon layers.
For longtime followers of this blog, you'll know that the fate of the Aylmer station has been a bit of a mystery.

In the time frame I model, 1951, the station is gone. Passenger tickets and express freight are handled in the freight shed just south of where the station was. The operator works from the elevated crossing shanty which also protects the level crossing. Train orders are hooped from the crossing tower which had the train order board relocated to, as shown in period surveys.
I've been curious to know when and why the station was removed and the search has been long and varied.
But that's where the web comes in.
My online friend, Jeffery Smith, has come to my aid on this one. Jeff has spent much of his own time uncovering tasty little tidbits for me on the Cayuga Sub. And his latest email to me uncovers part of the Aylmer mystery.
Removal of the station building at Aylmer was authorized by Board of Railway Commissioners of Canada Order 59638, September 10, 1940.
Now we just need to know why.