A Visit to AA Hobbies in Warwick, RI

This post began as a draft back in mid-summer, and is just coming alive now.  So here goes...

As previously stated in other posts, I got married on June 10, 2016.  As most know, a honeymoon follows shortly thereafter, and my wife and I decided to not stray too far from her home state of New Hampshire, and enjoyed a lovely week across various parts of Rhode Island.  The honeymoon concluded somewhere back around Providence/Warwick area, which ironically is the area where we started our new lives together.  I was doing a late night junk food run the second night, and didn't realize it until after the fact, but I had driven right by AA Hobbies, located in Warwick.

Jumping ahead to the following Friday, as my wife and I had to stop by the hotel to pick up some stuff we absentmindedly forgot, I decided to check for hobby shops in the area, (since it was the end of our honeymoon).  It was then that I came across AA Hobbies.  Upon arriving, I realized just how familiar my surroundings were, and couldn't believe I'd driven right past it TWICE...albeit in the dark.

Nonetheless, I ended up taking a 30-45 minute look around inside.  With permission of course, I took some photos to show their massive inventory!                                                                                        

               

Athearn galore..

As can be seen, they have quite the selection!  And then I got the tour of the basement...the "overflow stock"...

Huge quantities for such a small, but thriving business!

If you ever get the opportunity to go, my fellow modellers, it is quite the place!  These photos truly do not do the store justice.  One thing is for sure, I will most definitely be visiting again, as it is only a short two hour drive from where my wife is from in southern New Hampshire.  Oh yes, the service is beyond friendly, and best of all, they really only carry HO scale :)

- Caleb

Track Laying on my First Module

Well its only been 2+ months since my last post...  *sigh*.  Summer is busy, but its no excuse!  I did manage to accomplish something since the last post however...the long awaited first module now has track on it!

For those that are wondering, I'm using Atlas Code 83 flex.  As this is really my first time track laying, I ran into a few snags already.  The first one can be seen below...

Busted ties.

Long story short, I quickly learned that even gently tacking a 'spike' into a solid tie will not cause a hole, but rather a true snap.  After getting a nailset, the progress was still somewhat daunting, albeit doable, as seen below.  And of course, I used a pin vice to begin the holes in each of the ties, it is a learning curve, but I'm starting to get the hang of it!

Round two, perfection!

And now, the finished product, (for now obviously as there is no scenery nor detail done thus far), can be viewed in both overhead and straight-on views below.

Module # 1, take one.

Module #1, take two.

Thats all for now folks!  This was completed back in July, just got around to posting it now.  The next step is to make the rails rusty, stay tuned...

- Caleb