What did you do on your layout today?

I worked on boiler details on GW #60.  Also resoldered a loose wire.  Details include

making new cylinder steam pipes, and drilling the smoke box front to accept the

semicircular handrail on this loco.  Test fitted the fabricated running board extensions.

Oh.  My.  (STANDING OVATION)

Mitch

I love it. I agree, now you need Mad Max figures and desert scenery.

Success!  I laid the golden wire today, and ran old forum member Walt Cameron's trolley around the track of the Bark and Spiders Outdoor O gauge layout.  Running conventional right now, I pulled an old Williams FM Trainmaster that has not run in 20+ years out and ran it around.  I id'd a couple of areas that need some more work, but next job is hooking up the TMCC, TCU and Legacy.  I may have to ask a couple of noob questions as I reconnect those units after so many years.

Cut two more 80x7.5 inch luan straights.  Sanded and painted them.  Added track to one.  Three more to put track on.

Hoorah!  I've also got trolley news!  I took delivery of a new streetcar offa eBay this week! 

It doesn't have third rail shoes, and it has a little trouble clearing the giraffe telltale, though. 

Mitch

(PS:  If anyone has a spare Bachmann G scale trolley truck, please let me know; the motor in this one is shot!  Thanks!)

A friend stopped by the train room and showed me how to do,

Panoramic Photography with a Smart Phone

 Click photo to enlarge

NI-I-I-CE.  In the old days you would take 3 or 4 shots and stitch them together.

He took 4 photos and the computer software stitch them together, and I used Photoshop to enhance the color and contrast.

Did alot today had help from my wife. She tried her hand at weathering i gave her 4 chessie hoppers i worked on scenery. I cut out the rough area of where a river is going to go added 2 bridges over it then touched up the paint on the bridges. then painted the mountain/hill area  then put down some ground cover and some rocks and trees. then thought I want to see what the facia would look like black so I painted that.

Working on the last corner under the upper mainlines. Still working out how I want to finish the corner with just one long cliff or one long and a couple of short ones on either side of the long one and the side running down from that corner I ordered some backdrops from scenic express to work into that are. So today will be finishing the cliffs and plaster wrapping them...............Paul 

I had my first ever op session scheduled, but both of the guys back out yesterday... For the second time.

So, the next invite goes out to all the local guys I'd be okay with coming over. They've had their chance.

But in a positive note, I completed this truck conversion. I added a wood floor and weather it pretty extensively.

Lee

Good job on the conversion.

guys back out    I understand. I have a few invites left and that's it. I'll watch the trains by myself. Don't have much interest around here about toy trains.  

Pretty ironic since the Clinchfield Rail Road is pretty much the only real reason the town is here to start with.

Don't matter, I'm still having fun.

Larry

Lee, sometimes you just have to invite the three friends that will show up.  Me, Myself and I.  If they do train open houses out where you live, get yourself on the schedule.  You might get some people that are interested.  So far your work looks nice, keep up the good work.

Got the 6-14005 operating coal ramp (that I purchased from a fellow forum member) hooked up and ready for operation.  Also attempted to hookup the 6-14005 operating coal loader, but when power was applied, there was a cloud of white smoke and a burning smell. Emailed the LHS where purchased for further instructions on how to handle.

Worked on my G scale outdoor track between rain drops. Added more track and switches. Now have a rectangular loop about 52 ft. long and 12 ft. wide. An inside loop plus  a long siding on the outside also a short cut between the long sides will keep it interesting. All resting on gravel with weeds, twigs and acorns for fun. Run my truck and rail bus but negotiating the return of an LGB steam loco. Still have the cars.

Day of Rest!  Just talked trains with some locals.

Born under a bad sign, I been down since I began to crawl..

I should have stayed in bed, one thing after another. Gave up on the day early, and decided to work on the trains.

Result? I did a bunch of "work" I didn't need to, and did it poorly  

My Martian rocket had stopped smoking.

 Or I should say, "It smoked but the fan stopped working".

  I took it apart, snapping the legs on the led's for the rocket engines nozzle, and doing some wire damage 

Took a reading at the regulator, and got I nothing. So I took it to the other layout for repair, and replaced it, the led board, the wires, and the 5v regulator. Then re-glued some weight that came loose with hot glue. And then soldered the 2 wires, and reassembled it... without the brush I removed for testing(no neutral)

 So I take it apart, and another power wire snaps, and I see the weights have shifted and it, and hot glue are now one with the nosecone lighting base! It wasn't cool enough even after two solder points were done. I can only hope the bulb heat will allow it to droop back during a log run, otherwise once the bulb burns out, no more glowing red War Bonnet. At least not easily.

 So, I do get it together, and I do test it, and it works....till I get to the living room then it stops. I go back to the other room & it works again. I go to the living room its dead again.

 Then it takes me about two minutes to figure out in my head, that while moving things around the living room, someone had accidently knocked the wires off, and then reversed the leads from the 12vdc 4amp 1970s Radio Shack power supply I use in the living room . The diode is blocking the current in "that direction" 

 Reversing the wire polarity brings it to life again

It cost me a regulator, and about two hours of frustration. Its ready to be full of fluid again, and I'm ready to fill the room with some smoke

See ya later! .

Made a river.

I finished painting/weathering the Fastrack on my "Simplicity in 6x8" living room layout.

My postwar milk platform sitting in my modified operating track

My "coffee table"

Test running the just painted outer loop to make sure no paint on rail tops

Very realistic. Sure makes Fastrack look a whole lot better.

With the lightning speed of a sloth, all I got done this weekend was to get snapped

into the drilled holes in the smokebox door, the fabricated semicircular handrail.

I have been building roads and parking lots. Talk about the putziest work ever. 15 hours of cutting and fitting masonite, then painting and installing the firring strips. PITA!!! but its gonna look sweet when its done

I have continued work on my crossing gate project. Today I placed some wood planks and tried to stain them to look like an old wood crossing deck. There is still lots of scenery blending to do to blend in the track with the rest of the scenery module. I tested the track to make sure the inside wood plank does not interfere with train travel. The planks on the inside of the outer rails are just slightly lower than the others to allow for the trains.

For what ever reason back about 8 years ago Rail-King made some nice PRR passenger cars except the bottom including the trucks was this awful green color ( pic 1) well I took one complete set ( 2 trucks ) off and dissembled them and painted them and put back together and put on the passenger car ( actually took these off like 6 months ago and painted just got to putting these on another car yesterday but you can see the difference) plan to paint any thing green you can see when train is sitting on the track also 

I visited Wild Bill's Trains to get info on replacing my Celebration Series ZW with a new Lionel ZWL.  As always, my favorite LHS was very helpful in evaluating the plusses and minuses of making this change.  Dennis

Very nice! Please post another photo when you have completed the scene.

I was shooting photos of trains along the BNSF/UP/Amtrak main and caught 5 trains in less than an hour yesterday afternoon. Man, I like living here this time of year! I also found two very thin slides of rail, one was not much thicker than sheet metal, no idea how they made that. I have a nice collection of rail slices and it was nice not to have pay for more!

 

I also played with my new Bachmann builder plate changes. Note # 9 to the left has one of my Baldwin plates made off photoshop and 12 to the right has what comes with them. I really think 9 is a big improvement. This week I'll be adding them to all my locomotives and will clean 9's up a little from what you see in this shot:

 

 

Originally Posted by Larry Sr.:

guys back out    I understand. I have a few invites left and that's it. I'll watch the trains by myself. Don't have much interest around here about toy trains.  

 

The thing is that there's a pretty large community of operations guys around here and an active NMRA region where I am. In fact, on Saturday, there was an invite-only layout tour of layouts in the area of the nearest major town to where I live (Olympia, WA). Lots of people showed up and every layout I went to, I didn't see any familiar faces other than the owners of the layouts and 2 other guys. To me, that says there's a big community of that here.

What kills me is that Sunday was the last free day I had which didn't conflict with another model RR event for a while. I was going to do something on the 6th or 7th but just realized there was a NMRA regional event that weekend. The weekend of the 13th is the only time I have until after the 4th of July.

I have the emails of all the guys I'd be okay with coming over (all have layouts I have been invited to operate on, or I've talked with and think they'd 'get' my layout concept and size) and will have 3 open slots. 3 people in there will be a tight fit, but I think it's doable. It'll also give me the buffer if one backs out. I'll be honest with them and say that one will probably just be running an occasional passenger train, or I could flip people around so everyone gets a chance to do some switching.

Dennis sent you an E-mail

 Well tried to but got returned mail-DEAMON

Email me at rtraincollector@yahoo.com

Last night I finished installing all the track and turnouts in my yard.  I connected all the track to the powere source and put in wire drops for each turnout to run on AUX Power.  Now I just need to connect eleven pairs of wire under the bench.

I have been running my Marx CP steamer with a short Lionel tender and some Scout cars. I remembered having a tab and slot coupler left from my Marx Merchandise truck conversion, so now I can run L Company or Marx cars, along with a Marx tanker bought from Steve Eastman.

Third day of operation on the Bark and Spiders Outdoor O gauge.  Today I pulled out an Atlas SP SW9 in Black Widow livery and an MTH Kodachrome SP caboose. The Railsounds in conventional mode completely captivated the 20 lb. terrier who was running back and forth completely intrigued with this non-squirrel invader of her environment.  Hilarious, my wife was giggling and filming.

Yesterday my supplies from scenic express came so later today I can get back to working on the last lower corner. ..........Paul

worked on the layout a little. put in some telephone poles and wires.

Also attempted to hookup the 6-14005 operating coal loader, but when power was applied, there was a cloud of white smoke and a burning smell. Emailed the LHS where purchased for further instructions on how to handle.

News on above operating coal loader was not favorable from either Lionel or LHS.  Seems this item was manufactured in 2000 so no warranty was available as it was over the 3 year limit.  Then the LHS was just as helpful as they refused a return, but did offer to attempt a repair.  The offer did not hold much weight as none of the parts were available per the Lionel service desk and when asked, the LHS did not have parts needed as well. Oh well, live and learn!!??!!

Did manage to hookup a few more accessories and screw down some track this afternoon.

I re-set the date for my first op session. On Saturday, June 14th, I'm running trains. It's the nearest weekend when I don't already have something scheduled.

This time, I sent a mass email to everyone who's layout I've run on already as well as two guys who's layouts I've already seen and I think will understand running on a small layout very well. I also added the two guys who I promised would be invited to the first ever op session for all their help on the wiring. But they're not alone in the invite as they've backed out on me twice before.

More track work on my outdoor RR. Did some ballasting of the track plus cleaned the top of the track with a Scotch Brite pad on a handle soaked with white vinegar. I have always wanted an O gauge  be fastened down to something wooden or cement. My G gauge is on crushed limestone, and like real ballast, needs work all the time.