Many of us are getting up in years. I recently heard an interview of a brilliant neurologist, who taught in medical school and did much research on the brain. He said the best way to ward of Alzheimers is to rigorously exercise the brain.
He recommended learning a foreign language as a great way to get such brain exercise.
I submit there are many ways to exercise the brain, and one of them is, you guessed it, solving the many puzzles involved with model railroading.
It seems to me that there is a bottomless pit of puzzles to solve for active, enthusiastic and creative model railroaders like us, and that this is true for all aspects of the hobby.
I will start us off with a model railroad puzzle I solved today, which turned out very well for me.
The non-derailing feature for one of my important 022 switches at a reverse loop on my layout stopped working in one direction. After doing a little research to refresh my memory on how to do this repair, I got my stuff together, including a soldering iron and a few other things, and went out on my deck with a extension chord during this beautiful day weather-wise where I live.
Then, I took the 022 off the layout and attempted the repair on my deck.
I took the switch apart and noticed a loose wire that needed to be re-soldered onto a metal strip. I re-soldered the wire back on and tested the non-derailing feature, but it still didn't work.
Then, I opened it up again and saw the wire came loose again. So, I was more careful the 2nd time I soldered the wire to the metal strip. This time I hit pay dirt, and now the switch works in every way.
I know the above is a very common Postwar repair, but the point is, repairs are not something I excel in, so I was very happy when I did this repair successfully. I also believe doing this repair gave my brain some good exercise today.
If you're so inclined, share te model rsilroad activities you have done, or are going, that have exercised your brain. Arnold
