Dave, I agree with Elliot. Great looking work. I think the tractor trailer turned out wonderful and your layout looks like it would be a great place to run trains!
Dave your layout looks great! I love your curved fascia, retaining walls, and rock walls. The semi turned out really well too. The lights really add. It's a shame you had to get a lot of snow though in order for it to happen.
Art
fisch330 posted:Darlander: I really like what you did with those Lionel light towers. I have two of them for my freight yards and was having a heck of a time trying to place one at one end. They aren't worth a lot since Lionel made millions of them, but they're nice, show an adequate amount of light and look kind of realistic, so I elected to use them. Fitting them in by cutting down the bases to fit between close tracks is gonna work just fine. Night scenes will improve.
Paul Fischer
Paul, I first attached the towers to a wooden block base. I was then able to run them through a table saw to trim the sides. before I removed them from the base, I glued a styrene sheet on each side that was cut away. After the glue set, I trimmed and sanded the new addition and spray painted with flat black before I removed them from the temporary base. Good luck with your project.
Dave
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Chugman posted:I've got to get busy again. I have let too many things interrupt my goal of getting something done on the layout every day. I wanted to at least get a little done every day rather than having marathon sessions as much as I could. I have found it is far to easy for me to "take the day off" and accept excuses.
Art
Art, I know the feeling. Last Wednesday, I had a doctor appointment at 11 AM. By the time I got home and had lunch, it was 2 PM. In my mind, the day was shot! Thursday I made myself get back down there, and it was a little difficult to restart, but once I started looking at my project list, I picked an easy one and got the ball rolling again. MOMENTUM!
Your layout ain't going to build itself.
Mike, sadly Matt and I are done. Irreconcilable differences. I'll be doing these 4 switches all by myself. I can do them, it just takes me a little longer, and it also takes time away from other things I could be doing. Heard that one before.
Doug, the basement is actually more than twice the size of the train room, but the walls are sacred. There will be no expansion beyond the "line of death". I know your basement is bigger from some of the videos but was trying to be funny. At least if you defy the line you have room. In my case I would have to knock down a wall and extend the east side of my house 4ft. .
What I really need to do is get off my **** and finish clearing out the garage so I can start my new layout
I was perfectly happy with the layout, and then I started reading the NMRA achievement program specs, and got to thinking about operations, and suddenly decided one yard needed a third track and two yards needed "engine pockets". I swear, after this, I'm done with track (except for the roundhouse on top of the big helix). Beside, my stash of switches is almost depleted.
Got to thinking otherwise know as the good idea fairy.
But I understand there is always that last minute change that improves upon things. You see something and realize that you should of done that before. Makes for extra work but in the end it looks and works better. I am real sure it wont be the last adjustment.
mike g. posted:Doug, Nice video and wonderful choice of tunes! Takes you back in time! Something everyone needs now and then!
Sorry to hear about your truck! Seams like the good news bad news week, I was spose to have concrete poured Thursday but do to snow, no go! LOL
Mike, I guess the silver lining was it happened while still at the mechanic and not on the road somewhere. I can only imagine the next surprise when they pull the trans and transfer case to replace the seals.
suzukovich posted:mike g. posted:Doug, Nice video and wonderful choice of tunes! Takes you back in time! Something everyone needs now and then!
Sorry to hear about your truck! Seams like the good news bad news week, I was spose to have concrete poured Thursday but do to snow, no go! LOL
Mike, I guess the silver lining was it happened while still at the mechanic and not on the road somewhere. I can only imagine the next surprise when they pull the trans and transfer case to replace the seals.
Doug, lets hope they just find oil that needs wiped off and that's it. If they rebuild the engine I would think they would have to cover any repairs needed before it leaves there shop! Good luck with it and let us know!
When I see Elliot's trains, O Scale, my little postwar Lionel O gauge seems considerably smaller in dimensions of cars and engines. Yet, I scrounged around to Menards, and their 0 gauge, looks like Elliot's o scale. I confused about buying more cars now. Thoughts?
darlander posted:A winter snow storm forced me to stay home and spend some time on the layout. Unfortunately, I spent much of yesterday under the layout wiring additional lights, YUK! I had some long wire runs since I wanted the yard lights to all be controlled by the same on/off switch. I added two Lionel #6-14092 flood light towers and three #65 yard lights. Doesn’t sound like much but at my age, anytime under a layout feels like an eternity. I had to modify the tower bases to fit between yard tracks that are 4” on center. I removed ballast and cork to lower the tower bases to the layout subfloor in order to provide adequate clearance.
I also modified a flatbed trailer by adding sides and an end panel. The new trailer receives scrap metal off loaded from a gondola using a magnetic gantry crane. Now it needs to be painted.
Finished the day running a couple of ore trains. I was also able to ignore the pink and blue styrofoam mountain calling me from the far end - FINISH ME!
Dave
Dave, nice work. I wonder if you have the track plan you could share. I'm looking for some inspiration for my next layout.
Lou
mike g. posted:suzukovich posted:mike g. posted:Doug, Nice video and wonderful choice of tunes! Takes you back in time! Something everyone needs now and then!
Sorry to hear about your truck! Seams like the good news bad news week, I was spose to have concrete poured Thursday but do to snow, no go! LOL
Mike, I guess the silver lining was it happened while still at the mechanic and not on the road somewhere. I can only imagine the next surprise when they pull the trans and transfer case to replace the seals.
Doug, lets hope they just find oil that needs wiped off and that's it. If they rebuild the engine I would think they would have to cover any repairs needed before it leaves there shop! Good luck with it and let us know!
Its the rear main. class III leak, hard deadline. Truck dumped oil all over the place. Common issue with the 6.2 Diesel engines. my hope is its just the rear main and not the oil pan gasket too.
darlander posted:A winter snow storm forced me to stay home and spend some time on the layout. Unfortunately, I spent much of yesterday under the layout wiring additional lights, YUK! I had some long wire runs since I wanted the yard lights to all be controlled by the same on/off switch. I added two Lionel #6-14092 flood light towers and three #65 yard lights. Doesn’t sound like much but at my age, anytime under a layout feels like an eternity. I had to modify the tower bases to fit between yard tracks that are 4” on center. I removed ballast and cork to lower the tower bases to the layout subfloor in order to provide adequate clearance.
I also modified a flatbed trailer by adding sides and an end panel. The new trailer receives scrap metal off loaded from a gondola using a magnetic gantry crane. Now it needs to be painted.
Finished the day running a couple of ore trains. I was also able to ignore the pink and blue styrofoam mountain calling me from the far end - FINISH ME!
Dave
Dave- a good snow storm is what I need right now. The lights and the layout look great. I have a bunch of the #65 lights and started installing them recently. They produce a lot of light.
Bob
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Whats a CHIBAS?
Suzchovich, Great touch with "drone cam" and I agree, I was delighted to see the tiny red Cardinals, My favorite to view in the winter.
Hey Mitch: Great layout for the show. Whats shipping rate to US for a "Girraffe Stampede Crossing Sign" and a "Mitch" Girraffe, kind sir? I would like to be a member of that club. (serious, really.)
My Layout is in planning stage, I have track and switches (recommended by Elliott, to keep the younguns interested, right?)
QUESTION to all the vetern layout builders: I have a 6x12 foot (minnesota foot, mitch) bay window area that the kids and I lay track. Is there a "good" way to build a couple of modules and have free track connect to it? That way, I could have the kids draw and plan where to have, like a small mountain/tunnel/climb spiral (can't quite call it a Heliex, since I have seen the two that Elliot has) for one corner, and an elevated-tressel-decline-back to ground on the back side. Then a couple siding/switches (i am missing the terminology at the moment) on the way to a "GIRRAFFE HERDCROSSING" Marked with a sign from MITCH, in Austraila. Perhaps a caution crossing LED Red Blinking signage as well as a couple rubber chicken missles for the random "Drone attack".
So, a dog bone shape, so as to crwal into and out of the layout, and a couple static pieces to store as well. Then Box up the rest of the track and call it a weekend?
I Did see a gas station on the layouts, posted here, and that would have to Have to have a 1969 Chevell up on the rack with an arc welder flashing in the back along the way.
--==____ By jove I think the kid is starting to get ideas, lads!
"Blame it on Elliot, I heard from my wife, the woman who had the courage to marry me"
Thoughts Kind Folks?
P.S. Mitch, I was quite serious. I can help you ship to the guys up here in the US.
fun, yup, i am finding my stride a bit, having fun Thanks to all of you guys, and "Moderator AL" who guides me through the etiquette of this space. ty
Yesterday I said I was going to get down to work....I fibbed. Today was a different story. I got the tables cleared off to start seeing where I am going with a track plan and at the same time figure out what type of buildings for industries I am going to use. Before and after pics...........Paul
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Spent about an hour replacing an "S" curve on my inner loop with a gentler "60" curve and 1/4 of 048 with 060 to run larger trains.
The 18" passenger cars looked silly snaking back and forth before the change. Much better now.
Great improvement Paul!
Wow, I took a few pictures for fun today, Sunday, February 26th....
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I was a bit too busy at the train show to take pictures. Luckily, channel 40/29 here in NW Arkansas had my back:
Mitch
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Nice to see the work that you all are doing- thanks for sharing!
My Friend Lynn came over today & helped me wire and test a switch panel for the west end of my hidden staging yard.
The east end panel is wired and functional.
Since I'm not completely sure of the exact mounting locations for these panels, we left some slack in the wiring to allow the panels to be shifted a few feet if needed. The next task will be lining up and adhering 1/4" white pinstripe tape to illustrate the track diagram each panel controls.
Next week we should be ready to start constructing the upper level of the layout that will sit on top of this staging yard.
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Amazing, you have it all going on.. I am such a n00b. Beginner. operator. first layout thinker.
Ok Elliot, I got it.
(Great work Anthony, Nice layout)
I was re-doing a Corgi Birney car in Erie Railways / ex-Buffalo & Lake Erie Traction colours, green and yellow. The amount of yellow increased markedly in the paint schemes over the years, by the time of the Birney it was almost 50-50, probably due to safety issues.
fl9turbo2 posted:These are the latest buildings for my layout
Fantastic! Looks very close to the Ripley's museum in Ocean City MD. Very well done.
Another shot, this time from KNWA. Gary McCullah from the NRHS at the controls:
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Gi-raffes on the move! Pic courtesy of NWAhomepage.com!
http://www.nwahomepage.com/new...springdale/663095944
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M. Mitchell Marmel posted:I was a bit too busy at the train show to take pictures. Luckily, channel 40/29 here in NW Arkansas had my back:
Mitch
Was getting worried Mitch. We have not seen you on the forum all weekend. Thought the Gi-raffes got the better of you 
Ran trains today while working on my taxes. OK more running trains than taxes but given the choice between the two.......
Put down some more gravel, adding brown over the grey, and ground cover on a corner of the layout around the freight depot.
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I had a sort of bad dream tonight (not a nightmare, but that I was dealing with a situation where I was required to make a bunch of updates to someone on a computer, it was stressful in the dream), and I laid in bed for a while trying to get back to sleep. I'm trying to get over a cough I've had for a while now and hopefully am on the tail end of a roller coaster of meds which gave bad side effects in a few cases. Just started a new course of antibiotics with the hope I can shake this thing soon.
I have recently read that if you can't get back to sleep after 20 minutes or so, you might as well get up for a little bit and occupy yourself in something that doesn't get too riled up. This forum seemed good for that for the moment.
But a few minutes ago, I went to the small area I want to out a portion of a fenced-in cow pasture area on the layout. I pulled up every little poly material "bush" inside the rectangle area that I want for the cow enclosure and pulled up several areas of ground foam with my fingers and then filled in those divots with real soil from where the layout takes place. Then, I placed some JTT scenics course tufts in medium and darker green, to look like general undergrowth. They were placed among patches of static grass, with gaps where you'd expect people to have been walking around. So, there's a grown up area, squared around a far less grown up area with what looks like divots in the ground. I then sprayed the area with Micro Mark scenic adhesive from a spray bottle.
Next, maybe as early as this week or next weekend, I'll be putting in a fence that'll look as close to this photo's foreground as I can make it:
At least one gate like this will go in. I have a reel of EZ Line elastic string in rust color that will probably go in between the posts. But the interior of the fence will look more cows have chewed up and ripped up the ground foliage, with undergrowth and high grass just beyond their reach across the fence.
But at least the ground is prepped now for that fence. Then, I have two cow figures I need to paint once the field is ready.
Chugman posted:I've got to get busy again. I have let too many things interrupt my goal of getting something done on the layout every day. I wanted to at least get a little done every day rather than having marathon sessions as much as I could. I have found it is far to easy for me to "take the day off" and accept excuses.
Mike and Paul made great points, that you should not view it as a job.
That said, that's how I was able to get my small layout mostly where I wanted it, by doing even one tiny little thing a day. I'm at the tail end of what I refer to as "the original build" and now am mostly just tweaking with stuff and adding very small details.
All that,said, a little time here and there will remind you why you want to continue and might be good for your long-term motivation. I have no doubt be for long, you'll be going strong on your layout!
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Is this one of Mitch's trains? I see a brakeman on the 3rd car. Where's the Gi-raffes?
Keep up the good work Lee. Can't wait to see how the cow pasture comes out.
RSJB18 posted:Is this one of Mitch's trains? I see a brakeman on the 3rd car. Where's the Gi-raffes?
Here it is!
Mitch
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Picked up a few pieces of O32 Gargraves track on eBay. Thats about it. Wednesday I hope to start laying the inclines for the hill. Hopefully Great Lakes Hobbies have the Woodland Scenics inclines in stock.
M. Mitchell Marmel posted:Gi-raffes on the move! Pic courtesy of NWAhomepage.com!
http://www.nwahomepage.com/new...springdale/663095944
Looks wonderful Mitch, and what a great way to put smile on kids of all ages!
FOXCHASERR posted:darlander posted:A winter snow storm forced me to stay home and spend some time on the layout. Unfortunately, I spent much of yesterday under the layout wiring additional lights, YUK! I had some long wire runs since I wanted the yard lights to all be controlled by the same on/off switch. I added two Lionel #6-14092 flood light towers and three #65 yard lights. Doesn’t sound like much but at my age, anytime under a layout feels like an eternity. I had to modify the tower bases to fit between yard tracks that are 4” on center. I removed ballast and cork to lower the tower bases to the layout subfloor in order to provide adequate clearance.
I also modified a flatbed trailer by adding sides and an end panel. The new trailer receives scrap metal off loaded from a gondola using a magnetic gantry crane. Now it needs to be painted.
Finished the day running a couple of ore trains. I was also able to ignore the pink and blue styrofoam mountain calling me from the far end - FINISH ME!
Dave
Dave, nice work. I wonder if you have the track plan you could share. I'm looking for some inspiration for my next layout.
Lou
Lou,
Here are some early pictures of the track work without scenery so you can get a better idea of the layout design. Also note my crude hand-drawn scale construction drawing. Most all track work is Gargraves flex track with 3 mainline loops: one 72”, 63” and 49” diameter curves respectively. The center 49” diameter run is an over-n-under reversing dog bone. Switches on the inner most loop are 042 switches with a few sections of Gargraves 042 track bypassing the 90 degree crossover. The outer loops and yard crossovers are Gargraves Phantom 100s. The yard ladders are 042 with a 072 switch leading out to the mainline. I also have 3 Ross curved turnouts on the layout. I can run three trains on the main part of the layout. A fourth would be the bump-n-go trolley line which has a few segments of Ross 031 sections, and a fifth train can work the yard. Switches are Ross and Gargrave. Train room is 13.5' x 19'. Grade is 2.9%. I have about 165’ feet of track and 23 switches mostly controlled by under mount Tortoise switch machines. All track is interconnected. The 4 track yard runs the full length of the room with a small industrial 2 track siding at the far end where the crane is located. Visitors (little engineers) really enjoy unloading and loading scrap metal from the gondola to the semi and vise-versa. There is a second 2 track industrial siding on the elevated section inner loop. I am using DCS control and primarily MTH Proto-2 equipped engines.
I have no idea how this would layout with sectional track. The beauty of flex track is its flexibility - ability to make transition curves, custom radii and the control of track spacing. I hope this gives you a clearer picture of my track work and find it useful as you design your new layout.
Thanks for your comments and interest.
Dave
The plan does not show the bump-n-go line or the upper industrial siding.
Note the two turnouts on the upper loop were eliminated. Space on paper does not always transfer to reality.
Mainline parallel track spacing 4.5" and curves transition to 5.5" on center.
Grade is 2.9%.
Yard track is 4" on center.
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I added a model of the TCA National Toy Train Museum, that I picked up at Allentown. Had to exercise some eminent domain in order to fit it in. It is pretty long, so I need to wire in one more light. It has a weathervane, that was smashed flat in the bottom of the box. I was thrilled to get it as straight as I did without breaking it.
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Scrambler81 posted:
I added a model of the TCA National Toy Train Museum, that I picked up at Allentown. Had to exercise some eminent domain in order to fit it in. It is pretty long, so I need to wire in one more light. It has a weathervane, that was smashed flat in the bottom of the box. I was thrilled to get it as straight as I did without breaking it.
I have that weather vane (almost exactly the same) on a building in my back yard.
Jim
Tested a few segments of my 1st operating session. I enjoyed it a lot. One good thing is that my "card/workorder system can be interrupted with just placing a paper clip by the last order on the current type of oder card and continue later.
Well good day and bad day, Busy for sure.
Got my wheel cars, parts from Jeff the train tender and nice to say after swapping out all the wheels and axles to needle point fast angle sets and re-wiring them the celebration blue stripe passenger cars run flawless. Thanks Lionel for such a challenge. WTH?
The bad news, The ZW I got from Chief Eagle's many years ago got real hot when I was running the five illuminated passenger cars with the illuminated baggage car, a trainsounds boxcar and the three motor A-B-A set along with the inner loop and the MOW bump run. I noticed that the main loop slowed to a crawl and then smoke and stink from the ZW. Swapped it out with the spare and all seems good after 1/2 hour run and little to no heat up. Must be something wrong inside the ZW? Put a call into the guy who does transformer service in Shorewood where the daughter lives. Hope he is still alive. I can't understand why this ZW would fail after only 58 years????? 
Back to good news. I also finished the Alaska ALCOs today because I got the Eskimo guys for the sides of the engines. I am very happy with the outcome of this set build. Check it out!
KRM posted:I can't understand why this ZW would fail after only 58 years?????
Back to good news. I also finished the Alaska ALCOs today because I got the Eskimo guys for the sides of the engines. I am very happy with the outcome of this set build. Check it out!
Only 58 years! I know, you just can't depend on this modern junk they make these days! Gee, the thing is almost as old as I am!
Glad to see the Alaska ALCOs with the Eskimos! You did a fine job!
Today I started on the next section. Had to rip up a bit of the cork I had down already. I needed to curve the track. And I have to add wood where the tables meet so I can add the second track. Tomorrow a little more headway I hope. Pics................Paul
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Worked on the track today.
I dry fitted some Woodland Scenics 3% inclines. I am waiting for some of my curves to arrive on Monday to install and then I should have a complete loop. I hope to have the 1st train run by this time next week!
I will then remove all the track and weather it before it is re-installed.
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