Busy Busy Busy (an update)

The World's Greatest Hobby Show in St. Paul grows ever closer and things are coming along with the sprucing up of the layout in preparation. The front track had the uncoupler magnet adjusted and the track was relaid and ballasted.
Some serious track cleaning has gone on, much more serious than expected. The Soo line bandit MP15 works perfectly the same cannot be said for the trackmobile. It is so small and short of weight that it has problems navigating the switches. I've cleaned them until they sparkle like new yet the trackmobile still has issues. I've cleaned the trackmobiles wheels as well as I can and still it stutters and stumbles across the pointwork. Most annoying.
So I took the decision the other day to order a back up loco to work the scrapyard sidings. A Bachmann GE 45 ton switcher. The one with the outside counterweights and connecting rods. This should make the loco interesting to watch as it potters about. I ordered mine from Micromark. They had a deal where if you weren't bothered about the colour (like me) you let them pick the loco off the shelf you'd get it for just about half off the recommended retail price. That, my friends is too good a deal to pass over. I'm looking forward to see it run.
The next task is to sort out the couplers on the cars so they all work perfectly. That will be an interesting job. I am standardising on Kadees and have a selection of them to fit to my cars so they are all the same.
Then there are numerous detailing bits and pieces to do as well. Plenty to keep me going. The show is just a month away...