April 10John Shriver completed the paving on the 100th Street bridge, with the exception of sanding. John Purbrick worked on helix construction, with special emphasis on the support system. Roger Neumann assisted; Alvar Saenz-Otero made some suggestions that were implemented. James Knight, Ed Drozd, and John McNamara “supervised.” Roger, James, and Tom O’Reilly worked on various aspects of System3. James began the process of converting various “swing blocks” to real blocks. (Swing blocks were an artifact of System2 wherein a section of track was part of one adjacent block or another adjacent block depending upon the position of nearby switches. The intent was to save block equipment, which is no longer of great concern.) Tom sontinued his work on System3 graphic user interfaces. John McNamara continued his work refurbishing the lower building of Digital Widgets. Ed Drozd brought in some more low-priced Coca-cola products (99 cents per 6-pack) and worked a little on a stairway enclosure for the roof of one of the Gifford City buildings. Claude Brown and Ken Terrell ran some trains, proving that System3 can run two steam trains at once ;-). April 17The major activity this evening was John Purbrick’s and Roger Neumann’s efforts in helix construction. They completed an additional turn - only 8,000 more to go (just kidding). The turns are supported by threaded rods that permit a substantial amount of vertical adjustment. John Shriver sanded and shellaced the 100th street bridge. This produces a very nice surface and color. Alvar Saenz-Otero continued the elimination of some of the longer swing blocks (those long enough to likely have a locomotive on them). Tom O’Reilly supervised several projects and spent some time admiring his recently-recovered, previously-stolen bicycle. It was stolen from the MIT Museum bike rack, and he discovered it this evening chained in front of the nearby bike shop, about 200 feet from its point of theft. John McNamara installed the first window of the first wall of the Digital Widgets building, currently undgoing renovation.