Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.
I figure that there is no reason
not to pass on the knowledge that over 50 yrs in the hobby has given me. If it can help someone have more fun, less trouble with engines, cars and track,
TEACH them problem solving techniques so they're not overwhelmed,
TEACH them how to fix these problems so they can get their trains running well, I feel that I'm doing my job. You could say that it's my way of "paying it forward".
This is something that I feel that we all could be doing. If we all do it, maybe we can stop the loss of hobbiest's from this greatest hobby in the world!
While at Eric's, I showed him what he could do to make his turnouts more reliable. That included what to look for and how to fix bad joints, what is needed for banishing the majority of derailments, improving the reliability of the trackwork to where he can tell almost immediately if the problem is track related or car related. I'll even teach him to hand lay his own turnouts
.
(Just kidding Eric!)
PS; Had a blast going over there, and will definitely do so again, but it was a disaster coming home. Instead of coming home the same way I went, which involved some Ga backroads, I decided to save time and come back down I-75 to I-285 to I-20 and home. The Ga dept of Hiways decided to do some work on I-20 and it took me more than 45 mins, to move 2 miles on I285, and another 45 mins to go 5 miles on I-20 to get out of the construction zone. It wasn't helped by a trucker, who decided to help traffic move by hanging onto his horn for minutes on end! Not sure why he was doing it, as NO ONE was moving at that point. I thought it fitting that one of the Ga Troopers decided that he had enough and pulled him over!