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Basil posted:

After 13 months of building, laying, tearing out, relaying, wiring and whatnot, I finally ran a train!  I have a lot of switches to wire up but all the wires are in place and just waiting to be connected to terminals.  I'm very excited.

Congrats! Its always nice to get to that point!

Last night, okay more like 1:00am in the morning, 6 weeks (1 week of that I was out of the country) to the day after starting my benchwork, I sent a train around the track.  Of course my helper was RIGHT in the middle of it.

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**If you want to read:  Backstory of the only car on the track.  I'm 35 and my best friend in this world is one of my uncles, is that strange?  Anyway, the first car that my twin and I had was a 1981 Monte Carlo... given to us by that uncle.  They've always been one of my favorite cars since then and my uncle's too.  Well at Christmas 2016 I was telling him I'd love to have a 1/43 Monte Carlo SS for my layout (he collects trains occasionally), but they are somewhat expensive.  He didn't know they made them, so he bought 2 from the 'bay and had them on display sitting on a flat car.  Two weeks ago a package arrived at my house.  It was a NS (he knows those are the engines I have) flat car with two 1/43 SS Monte Carlos on it.  Turns out, he bought 2 for himself and 2 for me.  I told my wife that night that the first train that goes around the track will have that car and that car only behind it.  May be stupid, but it was special to me.

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Got all the 120 feet of new track prepped for painting.  And the weather is saying "lol!  you thought you'd get to paint it!!"  Nothing but more rain in the forecast for the next couple of weeks and we are already a foot over normal rainfall for the year.  So switched gears and started to tackle the last two jobs on the roundhouse; floor inserts for the tracks and getting the inside details installed (work platforms, grinder, tools, etc.).

We worked like crazy to get the upper level benchwork and roadbed done to get sacked by the weather here in Protest-landia.

decoynh posted:
Mark Boyce posted:

Yes Mike.  My one son-in-law is best friends with his uncle, who is also my son-in-law.  Think about that a while!  :-)

Sounds like you have 2 daughters that married the "uncle" & his "nephew"!

Yes, Matt!

The young men are only 4 years apart in age.  Not quite the same situation Mike R told us about.  :-)

So the same woman is one's sister-in-law and the other daughter's mother-in-law.

Last edited by Mark Boyce

Wow 83 degrees on the North Bluff today.     Finished up my bents today and mocked up 12 foot of the straight run. Next will be the girder sides that will be made from strips of black smooth FRP / fiberglass reinforced plastic panel. Trying to decide if the bents should be painted in a concrete color or stained as the oak they are? What do you guys think?

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mjrodg3n88 posted:

I told my wife that night that the first train that goes around the track will have that car and that car only behind it.  May be stupid, but it was special to me.

That's sweet!  How nice! 

Mark Boyce posted:
decoynh posted:
Mark Boyce posted:

Yes Mike.  My one son-in-law is best friends with his uncle, who is also my son-in-law.  Think about that a while!  :-)

Sounds like you have 2 daughters that married the "uncle" & his "nephew"!

Yes, Matt!

The young men are only 4 years apart in age.  Not quite the same situation Mike R told us about.  :-)

So the same woman is one's sister-in-law and the other daughter's mother-in-law.

Had to be done.

KRM posted:

Wow 83 degrees on the North Bluff today.     Finished up my bents today and mocked up 12 foot of the straight run. Next will be the girder sides that will be made from strips of black smooth FRP / fiberglass reinforced plastic panel. Trying to decide if the bents should be painted in a concrete color or stained as the oak they are? What do you guys think?

It's lovely wood.  I'd go with a nice stain; perhaps split the difference and stain it a birch color?

Basil posted:
M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

 

This is the "Emphysema Express"

Mitch

I about lost my drink to a spit take when I read that.  

Booze goes swell with Lionel!

GEDC0941

Mitch

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Kerrigan posted:

Got all the 120 feet of new track prepped for painting.  And the weather is saying "lol!  you thought you'd get to paint it!!"  Nothing but more rain in the forecast for the next couple of weeks and we are already a foot over normal rainfall for the year.  So switched gears and started to tackle the last two jobs on the roundhouse; floor inserts for the tracks and getting the inside details installed (work platforms, grinder, tools, etc.).

We worked like crazy to get the upper level benchwork and roadbed done to get sacked by the weather here in Protest-landia.

LOL I know what you mean about the weather. Got the go ahead from momma for the train room addition and then came the foot of snow that lasted 3 weeks, and hasn't stopped raining from when it changed from snow to rain.

I just want to get started! LOL

KRM posted:

Wow 83 degrees on the North Bluff today.     Finished up my bents today and mocked up 12 foot of the straight run. Next will be the girder sides that will be made from strips of black smooth FRP / fiberglass reinforced plastic panel. Trying to decide if the bents should be painted in a concrete color or stained as the oak they are? What do you guys think?

Great looking work! I like the idea of the gray color!

..... track came undone under the new mountain. (note to self, screw it down next time) Lost Power to mainline. (I had the wrong transformer plugged in) Test run of "Ole Reliable" did not make it under the Hutch in the corner (the 2 year old had stacked the elephants, lion, tiger and... AND Giraffe on the rails.... "Hiding" he said). New tunnel exit at the top of the HELIX sagged when the papermache was applied, and the TALL caboose does not fit the exit anymore. Sent the Lionel Crane and a dozen workers to do a lift and bracejob a the tunnel entrance. AAnd the 5 year old put the Brand New Engine Rebuild on the track to test the smoke......cause Papa said it would be Soo Coool.... Did NOT run. So he wanted to add switches insted. .... .. .... they dont work.

Thas what I did on my layout today. I hope the Dozen Lionel Worker Elves fix stuff over-night... (Note to self, TEST the **** engine before the GrandKids come, and then Re-Package the blame thing, so he gets to "Open The New UPS BOX"!!)

Oh, I get whats important...... and with anyluck, they will again visit in the morning. We will have Pancakes and snasauges, and milk and cookies, and hugs and all the really important things.

Leaving the layout fixes for the ELVES...... (I love being the grandpa....)

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Today I got the last piece of plywood on the table. Now my focus will be on a couple of small extensions off the tables to hold the bridge abutments of the Lionel die cast bridge and the two girder bridges on either side. I have to figure out how low off the tables so the tracks will rest on the table tops. Tomorrow train show in Massillon, Ohio and then a trip over to Menards to hopefully pick up my Morton salt building.............Paul

Some great work being done here this weekend!

Miggy, just because you check it and rebox it, doesn't mean it will work again when the grandkids open it and put it on the track. That's how things sometimes work for us GRANDPA'S!

Paul, sounds like you have a great weekend planned, I hope your bringing your wife along.LOL

Jdevleerjr, I just want to say thank you for starting this thread! I have learned so much just fallowing it!

mike g. posted:
KRM posted:

Wow 83 degrees on the North Bluff today.     Finished up my bents today and mocked up 12 foot of the straight run. Next will be the girder sides that will be made from strips of black smooth FRP / fiberglass reinforced plastic panel. Trying to decide if the bents should be painted in a concrete color or stained as the oak they are? What do you guys think?

Great looking work! I like the idea of the gray color!

It would be a shame to cover that nice wood with grey paint.  Maybe a grey stain?

Last edited by RSJB18

Good afternoon,

Rain and cool today, what a change a day makes.

No grand kids this weekend so quiet here, just brainstorming.

The reason I have been thinking a concrete color guys is because I will be using these 2.5" x 1/2" strips with rounded corners as the pylons under the rest of the elevated loop and want them to look like concrete. Guess I will wait till the black FRP sheet gets here before I decide.  I do like the wood but the 2.5" x 1/2" strips would not look right in stain or anything close to a real pylon with stain.

Today all I did was look over things and I may add something to the bottom of the bent legs so I can fix them to the table from the top and not have to try to drill and screw up from the bottom.

I did see this Stamped Concrete color by SW. May go with it.

https://www.sherwin-williams.c...tingColors&p=PS0

 

 

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Jdevleerjr posted:

Almost to 300 pages on this post!  Wow I never thought this one post would last 4 years and 300 pages!

Ran some trains with my son this morning.  I also added in a 2 track spur at the grain elevator to be able to park more freight cars on the layout and be able to have a track to deliver cars too.  

 

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That's what it's all about my friend.  My Dad got me started about 67 years ago.  we didn't have much but we had trains.  Your son won't forget.  He may drift away, but he'll remember.  Good luck!

A friend texted me this afternoon and asked if he could bring his 6 year old grandson ( Camden ) over to see my layout today ...... my reply .. "absolutely!!!"  Camden arrived with an entourage of granddad, grandmom, and dad.  Everyone was knocked out by the layout especially Camden!!  He absolutely loves trains and has done so for several years now.   His grandfather wants to build a layout for the two of them to create together.  Another young one bitten by the train bug!!  Here are a few fresh photos of the vignettes on the layout.IMG_2435IMG_2439IMG_2378IMG_2314

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