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Hello everyone! Great forum and I’m thrilled to be here! Figured I’d make a thread with the progress of my layout remodel project.

Since 2008 I’ve had an 8x8 L shaped layout set up in a spare bedroom. Has sentimental value since it was the last thing my late father and I worked on together before his passing from cancer.  I’ve been into trains ever since I could crawl, all starting with Thomas The Tank Engine little diecast toys (which are stashed in the attic) but every Christmas Dad’s Lionel 2035 would get taken out of the closet and set up on a simple 4x8 plywood platform underneath the Christmas tree. But in 2007 the train was handed down to me as a little side graduation present, yet it’s sentimental value to me is beyond measurable. The next year the train bug bit me considering we built the layout. It consisted of 3 separate lines, 1 of which was elevated for the snow scene on the mountain. Buildings were mainly Dept. 56 buildings, and landscape was just paint, several trees, and some white ballast (I still have no idea why I chose white). Lots of streetlights but a few went out. I also use matchbox vehicles considering I already had a bunch and with the limited space, I can get more scenery and stuff happening IMO. It’s far from any phenomenal layouts like I’ve seen, but it’s what fits together with my limited space and my layout desires.

Now onto the fun part….

Reasons for demolition/remodel:

-I’ve wanted to redo my scenery for quite some time now but just haven’t pulled the trigger on the project. Learning so many tricks and money friendly innovative ideas. I’m entering the world of foam and chicken grit!

-I’m also learning that we constructed the benchwork too low for my liking at 24” so I’m raising it to 36” (any higher and I’m blocking a window I’d prefer not to).

-With a few streetlights out, there’s no better time then now to upgrade my lights to LED. Plus my wiring job was horrendous so it’s being completely redone straight from the outlet. I’ll be adding dimmer switches, using terminal blocks, making separate power sections, all new wire, etc. FUN FUN FUN!



I’m sticking with the same benchwork layout except I’m separating the one 4’x4’ section about 5 inches to make a dropped down river. I am though highly considering removing a closet door and extending the layout into the closet as a yard or possibly a coal industry. It’s a closet filled with clothes I haven’t used in nearly 8 years so instead of losing the space in front of the closet door, I’ll just use it all for the layout! hahaha.

Lots of things still under consideration. Figured I’d make a thread that I’ll keep updated if anyone would like to follow. I know a few others are currently redoing their layouts or building one for their first time so sharing methods is ideal. Advice is always appreciated!

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Last edited by Richizzle07
Original Post

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Nothing wrong with white ballast:  some RRs had access to nearly pure white limestone, at least in some regions, and their rights of way looked very white.  Back when such things mattered to them, they made sure the edges were crisp and straight and very eye-pleasing.  We don't see that kind of thing today, really, but many roads took great pride in their mainlines near cities, especially, once upon a time.

@RSJB18 posted:

Hi Rich- welcome to the forum. Looks like you are off to a roaring start.

Please keep us posted as you progress.

What's the new plan going to look like? Are you staying post-war theme or going with more modern stuff? Lot's of fun toys out there now

Bob

Thanks Bob! I’m probably sticking with the same track layout, just adding on where I decided the closest would be more useful this way (there’s another closet on the other corner of the room but let’s just justify one at a time 😂). Most likely sticking with postwar but who knows, things may always change. Need to stick with o31 curves though. As for scenery era, that’s still also debatable. Going to paint a couple plasticville switch towers in PRR colors. My matchbox vehicles on the old layout were a wide range in years so that’s not helping narrow it down. I am trying to stick with all warm led lighting though.

Updates will definitely be provided for everyone throughout this journey and as always, any advice will be greatly appreciated!

MOVING ON UP!

Day 2 Update #2

I didn’t get as far as planned but had a great day. Temperature was 54 here in NEPA so I decided to take a little ride to the local train shop. Didn’t leave with any goodie’s this time.

I did get the rest of the ballast removed and cleaned up, moved all the sections around the room and cleaned the floor, tipped over 2 of the sections and removed the old 24” legs and added the new 36” legs. Ran out of wood for the third section. I did have enough supplies but my neighbor had a roof leak so I lent him two 2x4’s to help with holding his tarp down.5EBC6BDA-48FD-4C5D-B138-0933D9DCB8B1

The height difference sure seems higher than  a foot but it’s perfect! I’m glad I decided to raise the benchwork and my back is even more thrilled! (Photo shows the new height compared to the old) Not to mention getting underneath is much easier now also. I’ll be adding some new cross support bracing too.

off for more supplies tomorrow

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Update #3

Spent a portion of Saturday getting supplies and of course had to venture out to the Anthracite Hi-Railers display. Gathered some more scenery idea’s and talked with a member about landscaping tips and buildings.

Finally got back to the layout on Sunday. Finished raising the benchwork, secured the sections together, split 2 of the sections apart 4 1/4” for my waterway to run below the tracks. Pulled out the outer loop of track, temporarily secured it down and pulled out locomotive 2035 for some test trials. Everything went great! Only running off 1 lock on for now, but will be adding more once the foam roadbed I ordered last night is delivered.

Hitting pause for the moment as I’m starting to debate different track plans. I was trying to incorporate my previous mountain in but now I’m considering adding some more track action to the layout. Being a very undecisive person doesn’t help in these situations.

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Last edited by Richizzle07

Update #4

Didn’t really accomplish much today. Still undecided on track plans so I’ll probably just pull out a pile of track tomorrow and just see where it takes me. I did notice a slight wobble in the table when I bumped it with some force. I may have gone overboard adding all the leg braces but it’s not budging now! I kept the short leg braces from the old height and just added a few longer ones. I’d rather some overkill for extra peace of mind.

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Update #5

Well after a few days of both using SCARM and just throwing together some junk track pieces and trying to find a track design I liked, I believe I found one. I’m losing some space for buildings but it’s a good trade up for adding more track action and a second engine house.  I’ve also decided to add some height to the inside line. I think this will look great with a mixture of rock cuts and retaining walls between the 2 lines. Another upgrade is that the former mountain was 7 1/2” high, I raised it to 12” this time.

I’ve taken some photos of the trash track on the foam(please note it’s not connected and I’m missing pieces and also misusing curves for straights just for reference). I’ve also taken a photo of the SCARM design. Ran out of free track on SCARM so it’s not complete on the sidings. The green line is tubular track with the black ties (train will go clockwise). The blue line is tubular track with brown ties(train will go counter clockwise). It doesn’t line up completely on the program, but does for me on the layout. I’m utilizing the inside of the mountain for a small yard for the blue line. A third line will go on top of the mountain eventually. The side line made of a darker green and red will be added in the near future once more of the main layout is completed.

The SCARM design has O42 curves and 031 switches (green line) compared to the o31 curves and o22 switches in the photos. I’m split on which to go with.

What’s everyone’s thoughts? Suggestion’s?

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Last edited by Richizzle07

I put together a SCARM this morning with the o31 curves and o22 switches for comparison (once again it doesn’t line up on the program, but I make it work).

My question is, do the o42 curves really have many advantages over the o31 curves? I’ll be running mostly smaller engines and cars. The o31 curves provides more space for buildings on the inside of the layout which is really important since town real estate is disappearing fast to all the railroad rights!

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Update #6

I haven’t updated in a month for two reasons: 1 is I wasn’t completely certain on a few aspects of what I wanted and 2 is the shipping delays.

With that said, I have made some good progress and finally had to make some of those uncertain decisions. First off, I went out and picked up 2 sheets of homasote to place on top of the plywood to help with the sound deadening. I decided to screw it down so it’s able to be removed if needed.

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Next up I have ordered, received, and glued down the foam roadbed I purchased off eBay from Sparks00033. This item was highly recommended in a few other posts on the forum so I did the free sample first. I was sold! I’m very satisfied with the product and the price. Used the purple Elmer’s glue that resulted in me eating a PB&J sandwich afterwards lol.

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I’ve also made a decision on my curve radius and decided to step it up to the 042 rather then the 031 I previously had. After seeing the prices for track from Menards, I had to grab a case of 042 curves plus a case of straights (not needing them yet). This will help out “down the track” when I start with the side yard and industries I’ll be adding on.

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Instead of using the Lionel lock ons, I’ve decided to separate the underside of the rails and inserted spade connectors for the feeder wires. This is another trick I picked up off this forum. Just received the Wago electrical connectors yesterday for connecting the 7 feeders to the buss wire I’ll be running under the outside loop.

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That’s all the progress for now.

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Last edited by Richizzle07

GAD!  It took me a lot longer to get where I am, you're doing in days what it took me months!

I’m determined to get the trains running again at least on one of the 3 lines. Once I hit that mark, I’ll slow down especially on the scenery. The nice weather will also have the train project slowing for a few months. Then again, all these train shows might keep me in overdrive. Attended my first show last Sunday and had a blast! Didn’t take any money as I wanted to just get a feel of it. Sure regret that logic…

Well, that's what stopped me as well.   I can run trains, but I'd like to start improving the look as well.



Wow John that’s an impressive layout you have! I don’t blame you for running trains and holding off on the scenery, not to mention all those choices in trains too. Your yard is practically the size of my layout! You probably have some great ideas brewing up while running those trains.

@Richizzle07.

I put up my 50s/60s Lionel stuff in the mid 80s when my kids were little.  I custom built platforms for that and put it in my garage and it had about 96 square feet.  That only lasted 5-6 years and its been packed away since then.  After being retired for 3 years, out of sheer boredom I brought them out in November, and like you installed it in a spare bedroom, but on a carpeted floor.  It didn't matter that the carpet got dirty since we're replacing it in a month.  I'm about to tear it down for the carpet install, and will be putting together a table layout after it's done.  My new layout will be perhaps a little bigger than yours, and I have enough 2x4s that I used for the mid 80s layout.  I live north of Houston, there are no basements and I need to keep my garage space open for the cars in case of a hail storm (couple times a year).

So some questions and comments;

  1. I looked at your pics, and couldn't find where the transformers and perhaps manual controls were located.  Are they just on a side table that wasn't in the pics?  Are you going to do anything like make a sliding platform under the table and have that kind of stuff on it?
  2. Based on what you said, I'm guessing you didn't look into any custom benchwork, right?  If you did, perhaps you could send me an email (address in OGR profile) and I'd like to ask you some more questions.
  3. The O31 vs O42 is a persistent issue with me as well. For my current floor layout I went with O31.  I was in the market for a new diesel and was limited beyond my comfort level for locos that worked with O31.  I bought one and I'm happy with what I bought, but I think I'll go to O42 for the platform layout in order to give me some flexibility for my next diesel purchase.
  4. I went with fastrack instead of tubular.  The 145C and 153C connections drive me nuts.  I know you can use insulated track sections but that is yet another thing to do.  I'm a firm believer in the adage 'buy, don't build', at least to a point.
  5. That being said, tubular will have a place on my layout for my #60 trolley, #50 gang car, tie ejector, and fire car.  The motorized units seem to interest my grandkid more than the trains, so I will be putting a run for them.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Looking good Rich!  yea one of the first things I did after getting the trackplan figured out on my layout was get a loop on there to have something going around while working on something else. its motivational to be able to at least have some fun running while building at the same time.  it will also allow you to take your time and make it nice and not rush to run trains. good stuff......

@Richizzle07 posted:

Wow John that’s an impressive layout you have! I don’t blame you for running trains and holding off on the scenery, not to mention all those choices in trains too. Your yard is practically the size of my layout! You probably have some great ideas brewing up while running those trains.

It's translating those "great ideas" into action that's my downfall!

We have a walk-out basement, that's where my layout is.  So maybe it should be called a "half" basement.   The door to the outside is on the right, and there's a window next to the end of the layout.

Here's my original plan when we moved in, this is when I was figuring out where everything went.  I pretty much adhered to the plan.  Obviously, the big open space is where the layout is.

Basement Plan

This is a shot from the workshop end (left in the layout above), you can see the window and the door to the outside.  The two blue posts in the layout are the columns you see in the foreground.

Layout View From Workshop

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I was in Houston for a week on business many years ago in August.  The weather was stinkin' hot with humidity about 110%.  It's also the only place I've been up close and personal with a real tornado!  I was north of Houston and stopped to look when I saw the tornado off the road about half a mile.  It went close by a house and destroyed an adjacent shed, then I realized it was coming right at us on the road!  We jumped back in the car and left a warp speed, not an experience I care to repeat!

No way I get my wife to leave the area, so we're here for the duration.

Last edited by gunrunnerjohn

I know from experience, it’s tough resisting running the trains, especially when you have an awesome running railroad, like John’s. Once I got the track down & trains running, that’s all I wanted to do. I threw down some buildings and just dreamed about what’s next. The most important thing is getting the railroad running flawlessly. Everything else are just details.

John, I promise, it’s coming. I hope to get the final kinks out of your background this weekend. I know from experience, it’s tough resisting running the trains, especially when you have an awesome running railroad.6C4E2F7D-66E2-44B2-AF26-435AF675EF4A

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@texgeekboy going from a floor to a table layout will be a big difference! I’m already thrilled with raising mine up a foot. My transformers and switches were all placed under the backside of the previous setup. I’m thinking of putting them off to the right side this time. A slide out shelf is a really great idea! I’m already squeezing every inch out of the room so this would really help. As for my benchwork, it’s 3 separate pieces of 4x4 plywood with 2x4 legs and 1 1/2x1 1/2 bracing added that my late father built with me many years ago. We didn’t use any blueprints or anything when building it. I recently loaded it up with more leg braces after raising the height so it may have some overkill but it’s not moving now. Haha   With that said, there’s benchwork methods out there that would use much less wood. Choosing the 042 for future purchase flexibility is smart too. Even if you could pull off the 054 I’d suggest it. My limited space is preventing me from doing that. A trolley though might be something I’m going to consider further in the future.

@Richizzle07 posted:

A trolley though might be something I’m going to consider further in the future.

Funny thing, Tom and I are working on a small subway addition that will be under my 10-track freight yard.  The subway platform will be in the center on the straight stretch, the loops of track will be under the yard.  I'll be running the MTH subway with automatic station stops programmed to stop in the station each time through.

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Update #7

Nearly another month since my last update so there’s a few things to add including more changes due to my uncertainty! I’m finding that as I go along, there’s little adjustments and improvements being added to the plans.

First up is I drilled out holes for the feeder wires to drop down. Then I laid all the track and used zip ties to secure it down. This is another trick I picked up off this forum for helping with reducing the sound transmitted into the plywood.

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Next up, I cut out the homasote for the inner loop and decided to put down underlayment on top of the plywood that will be under the mountain. This will help with the sound vibrations within the mountain. I added some supports for the inner loop to be elevated, adding more dimension to the layout, and also cut pieces of the underlayment and glued them onto of the supports. I’m hoping in theory that this will help with deadening the sound vibrations traveling downward through the supports. Overkill? Nearly every aspect so far has been overkill so why stop now. Hahaha

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Now here is where the uncertainty kicks in and changes begin. I just felt that the inner loop wasn’t elevated enough, plus all that wasted space below it now. I also realized that I can use my 031 track now on the inner loop since I upgraded the outside loop to Menards and to 042. It’s going to be a cliffhanger, but by doing this, it’s adding a small amount of space for more buildings which every little bit matters. With these changes, I added more height to the inner loop supports and tested out the 031.
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Since the inner loop has had an elevation change, the top mountain is going to need adjustments. The original layout was 7 1/2 inches high, then it was 12 inches, and now I raised it to 17 inches. Homasote was also added to the top mountain with a larger stream cut out.

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Installation of the inner loop roadbed was the next item checked off. Once again, this foam roadbed is really easy to use. I cut more slices for the curves this time and I’m really pleased with the outcome. Zip ties and 4 feeder wires were also added during this stage. 8EA48168-71DE-4018-9AC3-40990560314B42248CA7-54B4-4BC7-A53D-009607E8AED1

As of now I have 2 separate lines up and running. Mountain line won’t be ready anytime soon. Need to finish up the bottom level “closet extension” next. More updates to come!

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Update #8

Yes, two updates in one day!
Picked up six 022 switches and four 031 switches last week. Spent a good portion of the day taking scotchbrite pads to the tracks and cleaning them up, air hosed them off, and whipped them down with some CRC electrical cleaner. They really weren’t bad at all and they work better than the one 022 I already have. Well, all but one of the 022R switches which isn’t powering up at all. Just need to open it up and check it out. Ideas on what to check for anyone??

Also will need some LED bulbs, 4 light housing covers (probably just 2 though since others will be in an underground yard), and I’ll need six controllers unless I opted out and do my own switch board. I do like the Lionel controllers with the lights though but they need the caps as covers. I don’t like the controllers with just bulbs (yes I’m picky). The switches came with three controllers I can rebuild so we will see what I come across at York. The one 031 switch is missing the short straight extension too but that doesn’t matter to me. I’ll have to grab some pins and insulator pins at York also. Less then 3 weeks away! It’ll be my first York!!!6CF39FD1-6D71-488E-8214-512FCE6DD061A0F01EB9-5050-451F-B32E-45A7D6E6FA4A

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YORK PURCHASE'S UPDATE!

I had a blast for my first York ever! My mom decided to tag along for the traincation so it added to our bonding over trains which was extra pleasant. Talk about a bit overwhelming at first, but we eased into it just fine. The wonderful people at registration helped us with the guest sign ins and it took only minutes!

Day one (Thursday) consisted of me gathering a bunch of building, multiple water towers, and so much more. I had someone bump into me resulting in minor damage to a nicely weathered Lionel water tower but that's an easy fix. It was probably my fault though due to my sheer amazement of the entire event, I was still slightly overwhelmed. We made it to all the halls except for Blue Hall on day one. I planned on my first York to be more of a learning experience which resulted in me running out of money on day one because I wasn't expecting to luck out so much on some excellent deals. However, this did result in me knocking out several items on my list.

My second day at York was even bigger and better! Day two (Friday) began with me quickly powerwalking back to several halls that I wrote down items I was interested in. Once again I gathered up even more buildings, my first ever passenger set, a Hershey freight train set, a beautiful Pennsylvania NW2 switcher, a gorgeous Pennsylvania Beep GP Diesel, and many misc. parts. It was more packed Friday compared to Thursday but still didn't seem very clustered in the isles which made slowing the pace better and talking with sellers more enjoyable.

All in all, I had a great first York experience. The sellers and members in general were all very friendly. I knocked out a large portion of my list and another list I wasn't even aware I needed. HAHAHA! Many sellers would see that I was a guest and the friendly conversations would pursue. I was even holding a fragile item I purchased two isles earlier and a separate seller called me over and pulled out bubble wrap and double bagged it for me. Just such an amazing atmosphere with wonderful people and some extremely low prices! I went down for Thursday and Friday but should have taken advantage of the final day on Saturday too. As others have said, York can be a bit overwhelming at first. Once I got the grove after doing two isles, everything started to flow smoothly, including my money! I'm proud to say I'll be joining the TCA without hesitation! I already could hardly wait for October!

THANK YOU to everyone in the EDTCA, volunteers, vendors, sellers, members, etc. that made all of this possible!

Here are some photos of my York haul:

Day 1 purchase’s:

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Day 2 purchase’s:

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The entire York haul!0992E39C-96C8-407C-9ED2-B3D19070992A

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Last edited by Richizzle07

Hi Rich, congrats on moving forward on redoing your layout!  Really like your MPC purchases from York!! It looks like you have relatively low-pile carpet so you may be able to add some shelve on wheels that you can roll away from the layout.

in the picture below, the shelves on the left are hinged to the left leg and are on two wheels that allow for the shelves to be rolled away from the layout to provide access to the storage under the layout. The right side has some shelves and some desk drawers, there is also a slide out tabletop and a light.  That unit is not attached to the layout, so it can be easily moved if needed.   The Lionel boxes all stacked up look nice as well! I the note cards under each car on the shelf are inventory cards.  I have spent tons of hours doing an inventory of my equipment, including the boxes.  I also took pictures of each item.  Its a massive excel worksheet, and even includes the prices I paid.  Over the years, I did get rid of the crappy boxes,  but I did keep the flap with the name and product number. 

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The shelve have o gauge track which are wired to allow the passenger cars to be lighted.  I used project boards for the backing. And yes, that is a vintage Topps baseball card set from 1966 in the background (between two modern sets).   

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The picture below shows the stuff under the layout.  much of it is on wheels (mostly small dollies from Harbor Freight). 

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Below shows the lighted shelves. 

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Keep us posted on your progress! Best, Dave

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@Former Member posted:

It looks like you have relatively low-pile carpet so you may be able to add some shelve on wheels that you can roll away from the layout.

You can also use carpet glides on the bottom of the shelves for any style carpet and be able to move them.

This is my work chair for under the layout, the same technique would work well for shelves you want to move on the carpet.

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE! (From April)


Just realized I didn’t provide a previous purchase update from the beginning of April.

I’m sure many of you are in the same category as me with those Menards emails luring us in. Well back towards the end of March they sent out an email saying their strip mall was ALMOST GONE and that there was ONLY A FEW LEFT. After seeing this building in person at the Anthracite Hi-Railers modular layout back in January and February, I knew I wanted it since it has 5 businesses squeezed into one which helps with my lack of space. So after waiting about two weeks I finally took the bait and ordered one in April.  I’m definitely pleased that I did and glad that I didn’t let it slip away.
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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

This item has been on my wish list since the first time seeing it on my LHS shelf back in January. The details on it are excellent! Introducing my new Woodland Scenics Rustic Water Tower.

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Yes I know, yet another water tower. The multiple levels on the layout will have them split up. I’m probably even going to add another track side water tank for the top level. Steam engines need water after all.

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Last week I stopped by Grzyboski’s for my monthly visit ONLY expecting to pick up some short tubular track sections. Needless to say that didn’t go as planned. I found several items to my liking and almost left the store without getting the initial track sections! Ended up leaving with a box of goodie’s and feeling relaxed from some good train therapy.

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First up is the Lionel Maintenance Shed. I built  one of these over 20 years ago with my Mother and late Father. I still have it and decided I wanted a second one on my second level of my layout.
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Next up is a boxcar that has some meaning behind it. It’s a Lionel Hamm’s Beer boxcar. This was my late brother’s beer of choice so I simply couldn’t set it down. He would have loved seeing this running behind our late Father’s Lionel 2035.

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Following that meaningful find, I set eyes on a Lionel PRR ORE car. Introducing my first ever ORE car.
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The rest of the items are Plasticville, Mattel, and a few sections of track. The chicken coop and greenhouse will be perfect addition’s to my farm scene. The garage is a 1972 Mattel.
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It seems I’m posting new buys almost weekly so I might calm it down for a bit (until that Menards email comes hahaha).

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So it’s been awhile since I’ve done any actual work on the layout. Reason being I had to say goodbye to my sweet baby girl Dream back in mid April. She was just a month and a half shy of her 14th birthday. I came across this photo of us running trains under the Christmas tree from 2009. 2CAFB27A-8F75-4FB7-891B-7EBA0B3304A3
She was always right next to me during every activity I did and it’s just been difficult falling back into my regular routine. This can also explain the increase in my recent purchase’s. It’s a mixture of retail therapy along with train therapy.

RIP my beautiful Norwegian Elkhound. SweetDreams Dream.

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@Richizzle07 posted:

So it’s been awhile since I’ve done any actual work on the layout. Reason being I had to say goodbye to my sweet baby girl Dream back in mid April. She was just a month and a half shy of her 14th birthday. I came across this photo of us running trains under the Christmas tree from 2009. 2CAFB27A-8F75-4FB7-891B-7EBA0B3304A3
She was always right next to me during every activity I did and it’s just been difficult falling back into my regular routine. This can also explain the increase in my recent purchase’s. It’s a mixture of retail therapy along with train therapy.

RIP my beautiful Norwegian Elkhound. SweetDreams Dream.

Sorry to hear.  She was beautiful.   It seems that pets are as much of our model railroad hobbies as the trains themselves.  Between the kitties and the dogs that hang out with us while we fiddle and build it's amazing.  My guys spend a lot of time with me in the basement while tinkering.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

So much for cutting back on the purchases! I posted the other week saying I was going to calm down on the train purchase’s. Well a flea market and another unexpected trip to Grzyboski’s sure didn’t help with that.

First up are the couple of items I grabbed at Grzyboski’s. Here is a reefer car I felt I needed to add to my collection. It’s another Hamm’s Beer car. This was my late brother’s beer of choice so I now have the 2 of 3 cars that I’m aware of.
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Here’s the other few items I picked up at the train shop. One is a plasticville house under construction and the other is a Lionel lumber shed. Picked up the remainder of short tubular track sections they had too.
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Up next are my two flea market finds. Three packs of Life Like trees I picked up along with a Hershey Tractor Trailer to add to the large assortment of Hershey items I’ve been gathering. It’s not to scale which works with my layout since I use matchbox vehicles due to the limited space.
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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Two purchase updates in a week so I’m clearly not calming down on the purchases. 😂

I’ve been wanting this item for my future farm scene for awhile now so I went down to a LHS yesterday and picked up the Woodland Scenics Old Weathered Barn. Amazing details! (I even received the shipping cardboard too! 😂)
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Last edited by Richizzle07

UPDATE #9

So it’s been nearly 3 months since I’ve done my last layout update. As some of you may know from a previous post, I had to say goodbye to my Norwegian Elkhound Dream back in mid April and it’s just been difficult for me to focus and really get much of anything done in the train room since. I guess you can say I turned to “retail therapy” for a bit since I’ve made quite a few purchases over the past 2 1/2 months, including my first ever York trip. I have recently been able to proceed with my layout progress though.

This past week or so I decided to take the second and third level off, quite the opposite of progress! 😂
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Yes I know, more uncertainty! After reading a thread about people getting bored of their layouts, I decided to take care of this potential issue before it was too late. I was able to add two crossover tracks in that empty space on my bottom level which will be under the mountain. This will allow for all types of different operations along with directional changes instead of a simple loop. Yes, by doing this I will have to raise the second and third levels just a little bit more. I then glued down more foam roadbed and installed the 022 switches.
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Next up I was able to clear out the closet that wasn’t being used and extended my benchwork into the closet creating my much needed yard extension. I then cut more homasote and screwed it down. I have to say, I’m extremely pleased with doing this extension upgrade.
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I just placed an order on more foam roadbed from Sparks00033 on eBay so that will be up next along with making my first attempt at cutting some tubular track. More updates to follow.

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I’m back with more new purchases this week! 😂 I ordered 5 more Woodland Scenics buildings from the website Hobbyspeed.com last week and they came safely packaged.

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The first two buildings are the Grillin’ & Chillin’ trailer along with the Sunny Days Trailer. I absolutely love the little details on these two pieces! Growing up, I had a summer/weekend trailer at a year round campsite on a farm so I’m going to incorporate these into something similar with my farm scene on the second level.

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The next two buildings will also go alongside the farm scene. One being the Old Homestead and the other being the Country Store Expansion. Even more amazing details with these two buildings!

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The fifth and final building I purchased wasn’t even on my list. I believe there was an error with the online price listed, so I added it to the cart and went to checkout. I don’t normally mention the prices of something I obtained, but getting the Records and Recruiting building for $52.84 is worth the brag in my opinion! That’s the N scale price for this item! It’s correctly listed now, which I noticed they fixed within minutes of my order being shipped.

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Here’s a photo of them all together.

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This leaves just one more Woodland Scenics building on my list and then there’s three smaller Menards buildings I’ve been eyeing up. (I think I’m going to need a second train room 😂🤣)

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Last edited by Richizzle07

UPDATE #10

I made my first attempt at cutting tubular track and they come out fairly ok. I was getting angled cuts at first using the dremel but figured out the technique. After doing some more reading up on it, I’m going to get the flex shaft dremel tool to help eliminate the angled cuts.
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Now that I had my custom fit pieces, I was able to finish the two new crossover sections. I drilled holes and secured the track down with zip ties again. I also added a feeder wire to each section.

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When I was down York in April, I picked up lamp covers for the switches along with LED bulbs. I still have to order some of the bulbs for the 031 switches. Here’s the 022 switches lit up along with a bumper in the maintenance shed. (Lights aren’t actually this bright, it’s the photo.)
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Another thing I got around to doing was setting out how I’m most likely doing the yard extension. This yard will consist of a Railking double stall engine house on the far left two tracks, an industry or two or three along the right wall using building flats, and a Railking Train Station squeezed in across the mainline from the Fire Dept. and the first side track on the extension. I’m cramming a lot in I know. Let me know what your thoughts are.

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Good progress, instead of the wand, you might want to look at the Dremel 90 Degree adapter.

IMO, far more utility will be gained if you put one or two more long tracks in here, you can never have too much yard storage.   FYI, you can move that switch switch stand or even remove it without affecting the function of the switch.

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  • mceclip0

Thanks @gunrunnerjohn! That adapter was mentioned in another thread too so I might as well get both. IMO the best part of working on stuff is having all the necessary tools available when the task arises. The Dremel was a gift this past Christmas so getting the accessories and adapter’s is a priority. I already picked up a nice sized accessory kit for it.
As for the switch stands, some adjustments are possibly in order. If I did try for a third long track, I’d lose out on the space for the station. I’m already eyeing the other closet for a yard storage similar to yours but that closet is somewhat used at the moment but it’s over double the size of this one! Creative thinking though should resolve that. In time, in time 😂.

For what it's worth, I highly prefer the Dremel flex shaft tool over the 90 degree adapter.  The small flex shaft hand piece is much easier to control than trying to hold and guide the fat Dremel tool itself.  I cut all of the track (Gargraves flex and also some Ross) with a flex shaft tool.  The cuts all came out nice and vertical.

UPDATE #11

With the summer heat hanging steady🥵, the train room has been getting too hot for much of any progress especially being on the second floor. I had a feeling this day would potentially come, and it has. My train room has gone without an air conditioner up until now. Since I really wasn’t fully grasping the entirety of the hobby up until this year, it really wasn’t needed. So yesterday I installed an extra A/C I had sitting around. What a difference! 🥶 Might need an Alaska train to fit the new climate. 😂  

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UPDATE #12

It’s been a very productive day all thanks to the recent air conditioner installation. I find myself really letting time get away from me but that’s fine because I’m beyond pleased with the outcome thus far.

I realized now that with the I second level being raised higher, I was able to adjust the placement of the entire second level which will add much needed space for scenery and better looking cliffs. By doing this, I needed additional support for the homasote piece I cut out from the first level, so I grabbed a sheet of plywood for the second level. I taped out the cuts for a better visual.
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Followed up, I took a jigsaw to the plywood, of course after I covered everything.(Didn’t capture any photos during this process) Next up the support legs for the second level were added and secured. Each screw was labeled underneath to make any future changes/demolition easier.
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Finally, I placed the third level back in place just for more visual reference’s. I’m really happy with the progress and all the little adjustments I keep doing that keep improving the layout.
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KEEPING INVENTORY

With the paint still fresh from yesterday, I’ve decided to start the daunting but necessary task I’ve seen discussed numerous times on this forum, the task of keeping an inventory list. It’s a perfect time for me to start doing this considering this past January I just started getting back into the hobby. So I got a notebook with graph paper and drew up my own spreadsheet’s, one category for Structure Inventory and another for Train Inventory. Next up is the fun part of filling it in!A78E3DCC-16D5-4222-8D32-60E889A24FB2E020C13B-AA82-48E7-822F-575E5320629E

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Inventory Update - Structures

Finished up the inventory spreadsheet for the 34 structures I currently have. I know I can get the plasticville dates, as for the rest, I’m missing the dates manufactured and the original MSRP. Any leads on obtaining these would be greatly appreciated! I know they’re not necessary but I’d still like to have the information.
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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I made my first visit to the Renningers Flash Train Meet in Kutztown, PA this past Saturday.  Awesome show with a much bigger selection than I was expecting. There’s also several other vendors there for the Farmers Market so lots of foods, crafts, antiques, etc. for everyone. Anyway, I picked up this K-Line PRR boxcar in near excellent condition. I know, nothing special but it’s my first PRR boxcar. I’m definitely keeping these Renningers Flash Train Meets marked on the calendar. They hold a few each year.
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Next up I grabbed a RH 022 switch with controller from a LHS that’s specializes in HO but have a decent O selection. I also did a combined deal on eBay which really dropped the price on 2 more sets of 022 switches, one set with controllers and one set without. Grabbed a small bag of reproduction coal as part of the bundle deal too.
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Off to clean these 022 switches up!

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Last edited by Richizzle07

UPDATE #14

I’ve completed the service/cleaning of the switches I recently purchased. Here’s some photos of the before and after with the slides being cleaned. DC41F540-C342-4428-9075-FE6AB2224D986BAC562A-F9DD-4EAF-AE76-D199A2414B88482A9AE1-4BF0-490A-AE1C-F8E88F48E90864ADA397-668D-4644-B2C9-ECECFBEAB77E

Finally came across a switch with the non derailment feature not working. Actually it was two of the RH switches that needed the joints soldered. This was my first time soldering in over 20 years. C2104B85-4A99-478C-975C-4C15067D83E5

I also cleaned up some short sections of track and a bunch of track pins. The track to the right has been cleaned up compared to the left piece.E10A6066-A93C-43BF-830B-D680224B4C5B46838EBF-B3DA-4750-900C-CDA2530A5F9850793901-A60E-42C9-A012-C5C5E5B01481

Now I just have to swap out one of the RH switches I’ve already had on the layout. Reason is the one track has a slight bend in it and it’s causing a bump to occur. I’m also reading up on the fixed voltage feature since I’ve only ever used track power.

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You may well need some extra real estate with your building boom.

One such late member here had me build a  ultra light weight 2' X 8' non RR corner module for his train room just for his structures.   I believe his handle was Pennsy k-4.   This had no track, just n assortment of buildings in a corner  opposite his layout.

The lower cut out shelf was for a power pack to handle the lighting.

This was fabricated to fit between two door frames and the curved edge allowed natural traffic flow between door ways.

Thursday 10 PM 002Just an idea.

EDIT,  A few fabrication shots:

This was built to be a home display positioned in place with square brass dowels from Freeman mfg co.    Male on the chair rail frame, female on the module bottom.

winding down over view 004

Another consideration was to have temporary screw on legs for train show display purposes.

winding down over view 002



7 wood shots 0027 wood shots 003Handles to carry in for show set up.7 wood shots 005Perimeter slots for removable backdrop7 wood shots 007Augustineous Rex 003

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Last edited by Tom Tee

Thanks for the ideas @Tom Tee! Beautiful craftsmanship! I’m planning on having a few lightweight lift out sections along the walls in the back. They will only have buildings and scenery on them for the second and third levels. The square dowels will definitely help with keeping these lined up. The rest of the room has furniture along the walls so no more expansions along walls, for the time being🤔. I am considering adding a piece on each front corner just to expand my corner real estate. The work I’ve seen shared by you is quite remarkable! Thanks again!

You are welcome.  The dowels I use are the #4.  Make sure you get the Freeman male/female tool that perfectly fits that size dowel.  It is the best way to get a good installation.  Also spot face the area first with a Forstner bit so as to recess the mounting flange.  Use the Forstner pilot hole to start your through hole.   I find a  jig to maintain a plumb drill center line helpful.

Freeman Manufacturing   contact  440.934.1902

Last edited by Tom Tee

UPDATE #15

The past 2 days I’ve bounced around getting a few different things done.


The main project I worked on was measuring, cutting, and glueing of the foam roadbed on the closet extension I recently added.C464FE86-2D4D-48FA-8826-8C6F545F374FAAFB6FDD-3E48-4407-853E-456AFA1BA247F66D4289-F37E-461E-B82F-4DD43AF0E0D8FAC290EB-4C8C-4D2A-881A-3F3BB328DAC8

While I was waiting for the glue to dry, I cut two plywood pieces and installed them underneath the benchwork. These will have power supplies, terminal strips, dimmers, etc. 07C326F1-8395-4959-95B0-BEB53C717A73C828A6D3-0780-4156-A85F-082107C9AC2F

I also cut out a piece of plywood and installed it for the base of the stream/waterfall. I even cut out some blue craft paper for water. A2F7ADEF-A3F8-4442-AD8B-6A5AF23A005D5EDB8FE8-E21C-40AF-B3CD-EBB9230E8C43

Final few things I got to do was put down the track on the extension (not secured yet), swapped out the one 022 RH switch, and was able to open up some of my purchases from York!!! It was like Christmas in July on this 97 degree day (real feel of 103 degrees!). I placed the MTH PRR double engine shed and the MTH passenger station with dual platforms. AF619D36-1FD7-4104-BB34-1366AF1BE1EA973F5E8F-A376-42D5-B568-BEC007AF6B5B

It’s all starting to really come together!! More updates to come! Happy Railroading everyone!

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Question: What is on the other side of the closet rear wall?

Can those two tracks tunnel through for an GRJ style yard or perhaps additional mainline?

Maybe a reverse loop?

Maybe just a shelf for one or two display sidings.

On one particular job we moved all the furniture 6" away from the wall and ran skinny modules around the room.   Just thinking out of the box...

Due to the rather short siding tails, another consideration,  cut out a hole in the wall using a tunnel portal opening as a pattern for cutting out the wall board.  Paint the hollowed out portion of the cavity flat black.    Adhere the tunnel portal in place.  Then you will have picked up a classy  4 extra inches of track for both sidings.

Last edited by Tom Tee

@Tom Tee I would love to do that but on the other side of that wall is a bedroom that the RR just can’t obtain rights to. It’s been proposed, but quickly shot down. I am planning on doing 2 little tunnel portals. They won’t be cut into the wall though. I eventually have plans to run the third level dog bone into the closet. I did want to replicate the Tunkhannock Viaduct (Nicholson Bridge) but I just simply don’t have enough room for the supports. I’m looking into other bridge options now.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I took a trip up to Grzyboski’s for my monthly visit. Now that I think of it, I might be visiting two times a month but oh well😂.

First up is a boxcar I’ve been wanting for some time now. Introducing the I Love Pennsylvania boxcar from Lionel. It’s used but in great shape, even with the box. 7ECD8F9F-FF66-41C3-BA4D-4EB3E097A3DE

Only other thing I grabbed on this trip was a Lionel branchline water tank. I now have two for different layout levels. 04DADCDF-4137-4825-825B-74D44A90A881

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Thanks @Mark Boyce! They still make their way to York, all the more reason to make it! Even with them being about 20 minutes up the road from me, I purchased off them at York 😂. As for the limited space, I’m trying to go with a vertical approach by having 3 layers. It’s going to allow for more stuff IMO, well that’s the plan at least. It will also help with breaking up the different scenes. I’m very pleased with the closet extension. It doesn’t look like much real estate, but it’s really adding so much more.

Last edited by Richizzle07

Vertical sometimes is our best hope.  The late Donnie Grant of New Castle taught me that 26 years ago when I was just getting back into 0 scale in a modest size train room.

We are presently working on a new children's display layout build with five levels reaching almost to the ceiling.   Just now working on the upper mountain zone before it I build it out of reach.

There is a two track main running around the large "L" shaped layout then an elevated line running around the platform.  The next two levels are simple oval loops and then the mountain line.

Don 5 levelsThe top 8' bridge R.O.W. runs around the room.

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Last edited by Tom Tee

John, I believe that most of us all are blessed with being grown up kids.  Not too sure about the grown up part for us'ins.

These kids have five loops, you have five loops.  Same same 'ceptin you are taller.

Rich,  How about it?  Want to join the five level or five loop crowd?  Another top level and then a subway will get you into the club.

Last edited by Tom Tee

@Richizzle07 Rich just found this thread and read through the entire 3 pages.

You sure moved fast on tear down and building up. I like the use of the closet space. You have a ton of buildings for a small area! I believe your dad would be proud of what you've done and will do.

BTW sorry to hear about Dream. Same age our Siberian huskie Nakita was when we had to put her down.

@Richizzle07 posted:

hmmmm now, for four.  The subway will bring you up to you have me thinking🤔😂. I might be able to put a lifted trolley on the top level. Would that count?

Sure would count, for four.

Adding the subway also will bring you up to the five level or loop club.

Maybe we should  a take a census establishing a charter for the "5 or 5 club".  I am in with five +.

Thank you @RJ Shier for the compliments and all the kind words. If you can believe it, there’s a few more buildings/structures I’m interested in getting. A Siberian Husky is in the same category that Dream was, a northern dog so they absolutely love the cold. They’re both enjoying that snow mountain in the sky now. Again, thanks for all the kind words, it’s greatly appreciated!

Last edited by Richizzle07

UPDATE #16

Only a few minor updates to report on the layout. I secured all the remaining track on the first level in the area of the closet extension. I once again used zip ties to help prevent with the sound being transferred into the plywood. AD1E322E-208C-4060-87AC-7A96D27AAA119E732FA3-0A11-404F-B5AD-92F118B01B69

As you can see in the first photo above, I also drilled and installed the feeder wires for the track power. Added a few more since I’m going to have isolated track sections throughout the yard extension. At the end of the yard I simply installed spade connectors in the tracks and draped the feeder wires over the back edge in the closet.D2C60009-491B-47B2-BB48-3E10A35D3314B52039F5-233B-41AA-9DF5-C7C9416645D7

More updates to come down the line! Happy Railroading Everyone!

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@Richizzle07 posted:

UPDATE #16

Only a few minor updates to report on the layout. I secured all the remaining track on the first level in the area of the closet extension. I once again used zip ties to help prevent with the sound being transferred into the plywood.

As you can see in the first photo above, I also drilled and installed the feeder wires for the track power. Added a few more since I’m going to have isolated track sections throughout the yard extension. At the end of the yard I simply installed spade connectors in the tracks and draped the feeder wires over the back edge in the closet.D2C60009-491B-47B2-BB48-3E10A35D3314

More updates to come down the line! Happy Railroading Everyone!

Rich- nice progress. The tie-wraps are a good idea. Looks like you are keeping your credit card busy too.

One word of caution regarding the spade connector on the center rail. Just make sure it's not going to touch the tie or you will have a dead short in no time.

Bob

@Steamfan77 Thanks Andy for the compliments and kind words. I really wouldn’t have gotten as far or probably even started at all if it wasn’t for this forum. Watching others build their layouts keeps me motivated in my build. I’m only hoping my landscape details are like yours. I don’t see getting into the in-depth scenery anytime soon though. Plus with my amount of adjustments, it might be best until I’m certain especially with the prices on some of the items.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I was planning on doing the Nicholson/Tunkhannock Viaduct coming off the third layer and going onto the extension in the closet, but it would really have  things crammed underneath. I opted out of that idea and grabbed some MTH single track arch and girder bridges in the rush color. Now to figure out what type of piers/supports I can use for the 18 inch height I need. A73CC9D5-0B94-4600-9EFE-2F3CC11B637AEAB72F49-AC75-44FA-9688-FB2E265B989D

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Just picked up the Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer set 6-31936 off a local Facebook group. It wasn’t on my list but at only $50 (worth mentioning IMO) that’s perfect considering I wanted to pick up a CW-80 transformer anyways. Lady selling it didn’t know anything about them. Everything is there except 1 canister and one deck piece of the caboose. It’s all working too! Doesn’t look like too much run time on it. Another happy purchase!015E2F3C-87DB-4E10-958E-D60F970E0A7229DBE99C-A594-4E4F-A23C-4CAFAA6C0B5D7BB4D22A-B08A-49AE-B672-B6372E03EDFC

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I know that this is late to the show, however, in keeping with the title of this thread I thought to share how benchwork can be constructed for a triple decker module with out front support members.  Simply cut all the fingers from the same sheet of plywood.

You can layout the cutting so the fingers interlace so as to minimize waste:

3 level module 0023 level module 005

You can always cut lightening holes for hand carry portable modules:

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Lightening holes should be in the center of any beam no larger than 1/3 the width of the beam to maintain strength.

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I recently picked up two more 022 switches. The lantern covers are missing the lenses, other then that they work great. I cleaned them up a little with some scotchbrite pads. 0B0401EB-0D8F-4F21-82BF-A00860FD4EE7

Last week I also received a couple of Menards rolling stock. I got a Conrail boxcar, Conrail tanker, Conrail hopper, and the silver M&Ms boxcar. 1F734C58-728C-4DBF-946C-8C5E44BDD6E0BC6FF6FE-A381-4693-AC7B-F6FA1FCD6FF5DE44DE86-B586-4950-963C-237285C47CF2AB57ED6E-8000-49ED-8A7F-61473E230E44

The gentleman I ordered the Conrail from also included a Menards Morton Salt pickup for free since it was missing the plug. No complaints here! E9541BFF-211D-4598-9587-2F34C3C363FA

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE

Over the past week or so I have added a few different items from a tanker to pillars, even candy!

First up is a CSX tanker from Menards. ED0F681A-1309-488D-8A22-A9F057FD2C0E

Next up is another addition to my never ending candy collection. Here is my new set of 4 Hershey’s Reese’s Pieces Hauling Cars. Great set of Ores! The Reese’s Pieces candy loads are awesome!EDAF869D-EE70-4E00-9F78-67ACD91621E9324A1D85-4281-4F01-8556-14251CC004F0

Following that candy excitement are some MTH stone pillars. 94E94BF5-1236-416B-B20B-9E95F1A6CD0A

Final 3 items I picked up over this past weekend came from the Hamburg Dutch Train Meet. My first time attending and it was a nice sized show. I grabbed 2 Lehigh Valley hoppers and an Erie Lackawanna ore car. I’m thinking the ore car is custom because I’m not finding any information on it. DE373A5E-F6B8-4C07-8A95-B699C21FBB8F57213F00-3B94-4763-9C08-38F9EF01BA493DAC1204-E82A-46E3-91A5-6C6F92A1DE66

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE

I recently received 10 Menards cars from an extremely nice gentleman I met through a Facebook train group.

First up are a few of the M&Ms cars. These have been on my list for sometime now. Great additions to my never ending candy collection!B437C9F9-8B79-4B8B-A1E3-D7ED7E06273192F4958F-711D-44D6-BF08-D2788C227B4B37DC8DEE-7430-4E08-BCDF-DC8F1923EB2CF3188E2A-154B-4D29-99F8-8383B49997FA

Next up is a Tide boxcar, a few CSX, PRR, Reading, and a Reading & Northern.
03177010-85EC-492C-9A7E-145948573D65944E3F0D-A4EF-4043-B6A2-F73BF6202909EB7AC9A9-892A-4109-BA2A-1E4815FD7509B6F5BCC1-2106-4710-89E3-82D8048FB3FBD3BD2974-0609-44AB-9DD7-72955419148B9669EAC7-7712-433B-9E5A-B9BC8B2FB397265FCF18-5C8E-4A62-9870-36BD3310A954

That’s all for now. Many more in the process of being delivered so stay tuned!

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Over this past weekend I attended a Trains, Die Cast Toys, & Railroad Memorabilia Show held at the Taylor Fire Department in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. This was my first time ever at the show and it was much larger than I was expecting. I picked up 7 boxcars and saw several other very interesting items but I was thinking about York coming up and decided to hold off.

My first six boxcars are MTH Christmas and Holiday cars from numerous years. Guess I’ll need to finish this collection now too! 😂 50466BA3-161B-40EC-ABE8-3D3CA0F899560F2E509E-F76E-4F4A-ADCC-0A6DE9D6103BAFD26F0B-5F10-4A6C-9F2A-6B276A7452CA5D8DF53E-A57E-4EDF-9BC8-1A60721891917479D66A-4F83-4E7D-90D9-53F69B19C5446DFEB4E9-84AC-4D60-BB65-15E1AB852407

The last boxcar I picked up from the show is a Lionel Norfolk Southern boxcar. 128AABFF-17C3-4BDC-8859-C8EFB5595EB1

It was a great show that I’ll be sure to attend in the future! Here’s the entire haul!3444F4DE-4480-4755-95CD-9C1C3BDD3193

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

My next shipment of Menards cars have arrived. There’s 8 total Menards and 1 Lionel PRR boxcar.

I grabbed a second M&Ms brown hopper and my first M&Ms yellow hopper along with the Life Savers tanker.B949B3C8-8BF7-4056-90A2-1DC0D968E50529B34720-D453-44C7-9318-65F05BF7AB91502A9249-B50D-4648-91C3-49A3BDC89104

Following the candy rush, is a Tide tanker, my second CSX hopper, Norfolk Southern flat with Pepsi Bottle truck, US Navy gondola, and a PRR gondola. B046D726-F811-446E-92F9-25C8C4D84EE39A5BCF1A-6E11-4871-ACEF-231813217C2EB30D59B1-3A1B-4AD7-8F27-AD153BDCD20E7410FAE3-08C4-483E-9C54-7C1A23ED2B35D4B43C52-3D4E-4B4A-80FA-497E233EAEC0

And here’s the Lionel PRR boxcar along with a photo of this entire package.12149E92-18A1-46E2-9632-E39421051DD39DAAEC64-4D1D-4788-9FDC-F577B750D8D4

More packages are still on the way! Stay Tuned!

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Another shipment of Menards have arrived!! This package contained 7 cars and 1 buildings.

First up is a PRR boxcar and a PRR(Norfolk Southern) hopper followed by an Erie Lackawanna hopper, US Army gondola, a Morton Salt boxcar, a J.P. Shepherd and Sons boxcar, and a Menards boxcar.3B4C4F4F-31F2-4D3C-BFC4-64FE488872ECFC3240AF-6CC6-497E-963E-99407F023AE0190A570C-CD2E-47A6-AA88-B13396C81E6D12F1C201-F464-472C-ACC7-A322B432E2E0BCCFE250-9D5B-4F78-A25D-8B32FE218508D65F1986-F0A7-47A0-A24F-657A22ADB249795E72B6-62B7-4E06-9DB6-F1F18C455DC3

The one building I received is Dave’s Garage.
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A photo of this shipment.FAF2A5FB-4C82-436D-81D6-69BA8EDCEDCA

I’m sure excited with this continuous haul! There’s still more packages in route so continue to stay tuned!

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

The next order of Menards items arrived over the weekend. This shipment had 10 cars total, 8 tankers and 2 flats.

First up are the tankers. There’s a weathered Valvoline, Pepsi, Burlington Northern, Texaco, Norfolk Southern, Sunoco, UTLX, and an US Air Force tanker. 3E8CB50C-B3D7-4980-A06E-56572EF5B82FB48EE6B2-EA94-4093-8029-0EC697D5E423BEBFB082-5854-45A7-9ED9-EF2E0EF8DE04FF6A6906-33AF-429F-9092-9FA1E05487CAD7854C11-1478-4BD6-B1D8-CDA74284A385A7EE516B-FF01-4C64-B07A-D18743A3319DDFDCA737-4324-40CC-8AB8-FB4481516C1F1DB66482-784E-4E7E-8E54-36915E2A085A

Following that massive influx of tankers are these two PRR flats. BAC9281F-5A1D-416F-BA5A-9D81EB4352F9F6FCF848-8156-41C3-AE78-8C550902B129

Here’s the photo of this shipment of 10. B427B7CB-539B-4E3D-9DAE-455E16DE9296

And there’s still more to come!!!

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Last week I had another shipment of cars arrive. This order consisted of 9 Menards cars and a Lionel Old Glory series of 3 boxcars.

First up are the nine Menards cars. Here they are: a Erie Lackawanna boxcar, Lehigh Valley boxcar, Lehigh Valley covered hopper, Union Pacific modern tanker, UTLX modern tanker, Quaker State Oil tanker, US Army tanker in camouflage, US Army modern tanker, and an US Army flat with Army Truck and HIMARS. 95F6C8CA-69F3-4380-97DA-D7CC95C9CD14E68823BB-2DCA-4785-ABBB-F3D865994C7CE62FC644-9EB5-450B-93D9-1095EF7DE5DE78283F02-DE5B-4106-BF80-D76EEE9B80E134E108D1-2D30-4847-8D59-D75C054DBB21DC715495-AFF5-427D-8A67-8A2B5119CE0A2C6EA21C-779D-4C9B-8EDC-BA21DB3E501142991547-4B5F-4B93-B5C7-7678820DB46385FF5DF8-F13C-4259-9719-1D229455CDFB

And here’s the Lionel Old Glory Series set of three boxcars that was included in this order. 37E7773B-3E21-4ECB-9E87-E40820B1662B

An overall photo of this shipment. 28F58E41-C5FC-4B85-8E75-7DF4347DF5CD

There’s still more to come from this seller but we are taking a pause for York so more to follow afterwards!

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Over the weekend I went to The Great Northeast Model Train Show hosted by Bernie’s Model Railroad in Dunmore, PA. Great show and it’s the closest show to my house so that’s a big bonus. I grabbed 7 cars total. Would have been more but I’m holding out for York.

Here’s the cars I picked up. A Lionel Wonder Bread Bicentennial hopper, Lionel Planters Peanuts covered hopper, a Lionel PBR reefer (which was my grandfather’s favorite beer), along with 4 more MTH Christmas boxcars.4045115B-370A-4AC3-B3A9-9114EDFC4B3A02190D47-DF53-41C8-A66C-F6016B9504C5D12343A0-F497-410F-B108-98E35314ABCCF14DF18D-779A-450B-AC23-C86F169EA3A8B10685EC-0B91-434E-B2B1-8A69401ABD39BE734863-9AE7-4DE1-A2B9-50B5B0035723BC554F0A-CB27-4320-B831-EA46A3192131

This was my second time attending this show and it’s always great! Here’s an overall photo of my haul. 670607E7-EE1F-4FB7-A27B-552D4FFC6368

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I received two separate orders of Menards cars I won on eBay so these are separate from the Menards collection I’ve been receiving over the past few weeks.

Six Menards cars total. There’s a CSX flat with Pepsi truck, Norfolk Southern boxcar, Reading hopper, Susquehanna boxcar, PRR Merchandise Service boxcar, and a Penn Central boxcar. (The last 3 have some fading to the plastic clamshells.)537FB8ED-5AA2-4292-A486-1425EC98F50FC3EE0293-DFC0-4E5B-BA77-7E8D8FF86AD7E8EE209D-BB8F-48D2-AEA8-B818FA7395BDCD431143-2B5D-4D5F-96F8-9682FCC725EFCC067F78-0FF5-4644-840B-E44C6AA19A01B1B3ABD2-10D5-402F-8795-7F4E257359ED

Here’s an overall photo of the two orders. This SHOULD be the last purchases prior to York but then again there’s a Renningers Flash Train Meet on Saturday. 1526B67A-0556-4CB5-A96E-07AC4BCF3C39

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Today I went to the Renningers Flash Train Meet in Kutztown, PA. This is one of my favorite shows because it’s outside and there’s also a farmer’s market that’s separate. There were a few things that caught my eye (both Halloween tables) but I’m thinking of York next week so I was actually able to contain myself LoL.

I only purchased one boxcar and of course it is a Menards military nose art boxcar.5710A07D-13AB-4E40-8A20-216C28A6027B

Now for a week of scanning the “For Sale” section with free York Delivery. Already picking up 15 cars as of now LoL! So more to come next week!

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FALL YORK 2022 PURCHASES!

This was my second York I attended and I once again had a blast! My mom also once again tagged along for our traincation bonding so it’s now becoming a pleasant routine thing. She’s learning a bunch about trains and is actually pointing stuff out that I’m missing while in “my zone” walking the isles LoL. The staff at the registration desk were once again wonderful and we are both new TCA members. The halls seemed much more packed with buyers compared to the Spring. Especially on Friday, the parking lot seemed a lot more packed and stayed pretty full throughout the day. I once again only went Thursday and Friday due to running out of money. One of these Yorks I’ll make it to Saturday!  LoL!

Day one (Thursday) started with me waking up to find out I won on an eBay auction in which I was bidding on an item I’ve only come across once before. EBay doesn’t sleep during York week! LoL! (More details on that item once it arrives.) Then a two hour drive down to York after I emptied out the ATM. Once we got there, I began with meeting up with two fellow OGR members that I made purchases off of. Thanks again Nathan and Jim! Then as I mentioned above, we went and joined the TCA and purchased our tickets. I was able to navigate all the halls except half of the orange hall on day one. My purchases consisted of 13 Menards rolling stock, 1 Lionel boxcar, 6 Menards Dodge Power Wagons, 3 Lionelville Main Street buildings, and a refurbished ZW transformer with 2 year warranty along with a refurbished KW transformer with 2 year warranty. We also had lunch at the food cart by the white/red halls. Here’s photos of my Day one purchases.355B8E46-4384-4BCB-AB3E-5693A549BCE26ADF873B-360E-463D-AA2A-949F668E8B355D7C506A-6631-4A80-B086-93E0C49E9C270A13605C-41F3-4277-AE85-52FB59588A84CC2122A3-D781-44E8-B62C-29F7D60749F82B7FFF31-6AE4-428C-B6B7-D0B07FAB8EB24ADA0ABC-2CB0-4016-806E-CB146842056EB6F2A989-EE10-42F5-B057-325572417EF1640E075D-A8D5-4B86-A6C7-479003979BA31D33EEC8-D151-4FF0-886B-BC2717DB5C5B188097C8-1CC3-499D-B639-53B50147BE4510855298-6165-4870-B624-1A661205202201A222D4-D8D6-4942-8D9D-60FE6270202162484A78-50A8-4603-88B8-3AE0497780524CEEDDBB-3139-48F5-99EF-7312AAE2CAE7930BE4CA-B9C3-47B4-A122-E07518A73EB685F28BDC-0E4F-4526-B905-91C7A59464A5
Here’s all of Day 1!A7808E5C-9F2D-4804-9955-B1CA3F1BDE90

Day two (Friday) started with us finishing out the rest of the orange hall. After that, I met with another OGR member that I was getting 3 FREE big boxes of empty Lionel and Menards boxes including a few empty Menards clamshells (plastic cartons). We also had a few rolling stock to exchange and he gave me a FREE hopper cover too. Thanks again John! Following that, we went back through all the halls and started negotiating on a few items I liked. I picked up the third and final Lionel reefer for the Hamm’s collection in memory of my late brother. I also grabbed 3 more Menards rolling stock, the MTH Old Line Flag Co. building, 3 MTH political rolling stock (one being my first purple box), and 4 boxcars from the Spirit of ‘76 collection. (If you can’t see the train car, then the box is empty. I also blocked out the political cars so let’s please leave it at that.) Here’s photos of my Day 2 purchase’s.F8606B14-A154-418F-BE96-3ABCE52B18DA97EAD0D8-B581-4462-AA68-87C02595BA063E213BE9-DEEE-46E8-B7B8-FE3F98925571746D81DB-E7CA-42D0-993B-10FE3C7A4E25A37B385A-DF39-4B2A-BD8A-5AEE4823CCA6FB6F7E93-1BFE-4EBB-A8B1-6DEAE328E66CF46A5F6A-8D26-4DFC-A8D7-5064765A0A6AFB998124-D6D5-4F70-955B-143C7039DADCHere’s all of day 2!1FE17B5A-A504-46D0-B497-7C30B1372773

And here’s my entire Fall York Haul!BA90161B-318E-4143-91A2-4CCB8E262B1B

I had an amazing second York experience! Everyone was friendly again and very helpful. I’m already starting to see familiar faces. My list had items crossed off but items also were added for future hunts. LoL. Another note was how magnificent the layouts were! There were more on display than in the Spring which was great! I’m hoping they continue to expand! I already could hardly wait until the spring meet next year!

Thank you to everyone in the EDTCA, volunteers, vendors, sellers, members, etc. that made all of this possible once again!!

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Well I gave myself one day off from buying on Saturday but back at it again Sunday! I met up with the gentleman (and his wife) that I’ve been purchasing all the Menards from. Really wonderful people! We met at the Tamaqua Train Station for brunch and to exchange these buildings in person so shipping didn’t bankrupt me. LoL! He also included 2 piggly wiggly pickup trucks and a military flat with Leopard tank. Thanks again Dean! EDD41323-9C52-485D-B2CF-1772DE008AEBE7C3BEF4-CE39-4E37-8A80-F34F73CDAAECCF13D8B0-69E5-45F5-B28B-E91C3DC23CEF248CEA8A-088E-4B78-899F-16A4533F3554B4BCEF55-3A9A-498B-80B5-67E1D896B769805CECFE-724E-43B4-9C9E-5BB0B68098EE3306263C-82B0-45C2-B3E5-0519F65E6213

Now you’re probably wondering where these buildings are going to fit?! Well there’s another addition in the works! It’s only being planned out for now but once I start this expansion area, I’ll have photos with more updates.

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Wow! Three updates in one day! A few days ago there was a thread about “DHL vans at Lowes”.  Well coincidentally about a week before that I was at Big Lots and they had a selection of die cast 1/48 scale vehicles in the Christmas section. A UPS van actually caught my attention and while I was there yesterday buying a certain Christmas garlin for my ATV in the Christmas parade, I tossed it into the basket. A very minor purchase compared to my past weekend! LoL! 912CA6D8-55A5-4545-AE8F-38BFFCE4612846DD867E-492E-40A3-B657-52D031E61B4043AD2892-C136-41EE-91C7-1D919307512907E73D59-2045-401E-BF9C-AD2CC8D17540839A67F7-0171-40E0-A29A-5550862B4419

Now I might have to go up Lowes to grab that DHL van too. LoL! Thanks @Engineer-Joe! It contagious!

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I've only been with the Forum since May of 2019 Rich, but IMHO you win the Most Humongous Fast Haul Award.

( it also seems you are on fast forward with your layout construct.  )

Thanks for sharing your wildly enthusiastic approach to model railroading.

Thanks Joe! I suppose you can say I hit the tracks running. LoL! All that matters is I’m having a blast with the rebuild and all the purchases. I’m definitely glad I found my way back into the hobby this past January. This forum has also opened this hobby up to levels I wasn’t even aware of.

Rich, we are glad you found your way back to the hobby and the Forum!  You are building quite a fleet and some structures as well.  I had the opportunity to buy more than I ever had or will again, during a few years near the end of my working days when I was given a retirement severance package, then was hired back as a contractor.  Do what you can when you can!  😄

@Mark Boyce posted:

Rich, we are glad you found your way back to the hobby and the Forum!  You are building quite a fleet and some structures as well.  I had the opportunity to buy more than I ever had or will again, during a few years near the end of my working days when I was given a retirement severance package, then was hired back as a contractor.  Do what you can when you can!  😄

Thanks Mark! I still have a bunch more to be shipped from the estate I’m buying the Menards from. Need a brief break after York and from the large building haul last Sunday. With the weather getting colder, I’m hoping to start accomplishing more in the train room. A few areas of the blueprints have had adjustments over my summer buying months. It’s like a living layout, it’s always growing. LoL!

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

The item I won while sleeping and resting up for the first day of York had arrived last week. It’s the MTH Pennsylvania Ticket Office. I’ve only come across this building one other time and missed out on it then. I’m really excited I got this crossed off my list. 444C5416-010B-400F-9478-7649C1552476

My next new purchase was from the Trains,Die Cast Toys, & Railroad Memorabilia Show at the Taylor Fire Department in Taylor, PA. This was my second time attending this show and I really enjoy it. There’s seems to be always great deals at this show and people are very negotiable. It’s right up the road from me too so that’s a major bonus. I came across this Lionel Dale Earnhardt Sr. Boxcar and I knew I needed it despite never even knowing about it. The Intimidator was my family’s favorite driver back in the day. I honestly believe NASCAR hasn’t been the same ever since. RIP #3 CE95B569-4044-421C-9CF8-4EBA3C6D2105

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Today was my first time going to the First Frost Train Meet in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Excellent sized show! I had a blast like I usually do! I saw many deals, a few I passed over and went back for just to find out they were sold. I did pick up this Menards Morton Salt covered hopper and the entire Spirit of 76 set I spotted under a table and for a price I couldn’t walk away from.(Yes I have doubles of a few boxcars and one triple now LoL) This is a show I’ll be sure to attend in the future. A few nice layouts on display along with train races for the kids! First time ever witnessing that! Definitely put a big smile on my face watching the kids all enjoying the hobby. 6F6E72E7-F1DB-4B65-8B6D-CCC3B96741AE731EA297-44E7-4707-8215-EBA14F617E9A

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I simply just had to have these vehicles from Menards. Great quality for an incredible value! B66314B7-AD1D-4356-B064-07C01D44557B

I guess it’s safe to say that I am phasing out the matchbox vehicles I was planning to continue using on the layout. It all started with that one FREE Menards Morton Salt pickup truck I received with an eBay order. Sometimes a sample is all it takes LoL.

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UPDATE #17

It’s been awhile since any progress has been done with the layout. With the winter temperatures setting in, that will be changing.

Today I drilled holes next to all my 022 switches so I can run the fixed voltage plug wire along with the wires for the switch controllers. I’ve never used the fixed voltage plug before since I only had one switch so this is a new venture for me. I also made 12 inch wire drops for each fixed voltage plug. I’ll be connecting them with Wago wire connectors. That’s all the progress for now. 7D750A04-3E14-4D55-AC2E-54F025126C122EB2F55D-BB34-4AC2-A9B5-ECB2093AA4FE

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

On December 3rd I went to the Taylor Hose & Engine Company’s Trains, Die Cast Toys and Railroad Memorabilia Christmas Show in Taylor, Pennsylvania. It was packed!! Great little show as always. Unfortunately, this is my last train show on my calendar for this year. I picked up a Lionel Uncle Sam’s boxcar, MTH Norfolk Southern tanker, and a Lionel sign I couldn’t refuse the price on. 9FC8BC81-7453-4AD3-A0B1-BF798E904C950F60A18C-6A30-451F-941E-FCD9931A7482

I picked up a new locomotive last week too!!!! LoL $2 at Party City.B86ABD21-0D85-4C15-B5A2-A60533DFED859A1A97E4-902D-4836-A3BF-101161F91652

Yesterday I also got a Christmas cookie tin with a train on it. Pretty cool! My mom found it at Walmart I believe. Great find mom! Thanks!F5EE1ED2-D2E2-41AD-877D-B8E1CA77EFDA

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Right before Christmas I made a trip to Grzyboski’s and picked up a really nice ceramic Railroad Station and 3 short sections of tubular track. I already need to glue the one lamppost due to my clumsiness. On a side note, I’ve never seen Grzyboski’s so packed with customers of all ages! It was great! Plus they have some wonderful decorations on display. I only took one photo of the one inflatable train. E2F2D06B-1707-4E86-B265-382F0929D410C3C7D673-2D5D-433E-A36F-EF9E4DBD9432

Next up is train I purchased at a local hardware store during their one day after Christmas 50% off sale! LoL D7FD37D7-5941-4ADD-AF49-A61FE472434C

Merry (belated) Christmas Everyone!

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

So I ended out the year with a few larger purchases from Menards. I took advantage of the recent deal with the FREE National Light and Power deal and I ordered the Tide Plant, Gamer and Thrones building, and the Sprecher Brewery. The second National Light and Power building is going to my buddy who’s a fellow forum member and the other is going up for sale. ECABC70A-6482-40D4-BE2C-3E2694C5450B117DF9F0-870F-4884-872A-878C04CBAB77B8DFA2AB-EFB9-424F-8F26-537C5A5A9E2A8D3D6F86-3965-41FD-AA9A-4DEB78BAE0C6

I also ordered the M&Ms warehouse, a dealer pack of Dodge Ram pickup trucks, several diecast vehicles along with the Tide covered hopper, Save Big Money boxcar, the Green M&Ms boxcar, Skittles hopper, and the M&Ms bus on the flatcar. I also grabbed a dealer pack of 6 covered hoppers and a dealer pack with 4 flatcars carrying dodge power wagons and sweptsides. E75D5A56-3889-4BD1-AF0E-5DD627A5C1801C55C953-54F3-4B68-A903-D7164067A4CB724CEC60-FA17-4DBD-AE4E-E5E9D177376D381E023B-F87C-400C-9BC9-BD218533194F

Here’s an overall photo of the 4 orders I ended out the year with. Several items have been crossed off my list so it’s progress LoL! F67D2B43-FD56-4899-A8D7-4463113B2D2D

Onto 2023 with my growing collection and rebuild!

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NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

New year new buy! This is one of the more expensive purchases I’ve made thus far. For those of you following my recent purchases, the Menards collection I’ve been slowly purchasing is still in the works just on the back burner for the moment. The same gentleman had a brand new, never used TCA 40th anniversary ABA set along with 8 of the 9 cars to complete the set. He’s still checking the collection he’s selling off for the final City of Dallas car. This TCA set has been on my list for some time and the shape of the boxes are simply incredible! He also included a really nicely detailed KLine Conrail gondola with a scrap load for FREE!! What a wonderful guy I’m forming a great train friendship with! Thanks again Dean!!63356FB9-2126-4E2D-A75E-D399E6054E45942855AC-0F08-4DDC-8B00-2034BA497163

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Last edited by Richizzle07

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I feel like I just robbed a toy store!!!

There’s a new Tractor Supply store that just opened near me after having its grand opening day pushed back from the beginning of December. They had the toy isle fully stocked for the holidays with massive markdowns! I didn’t leave one truck behind! Still no bucket trucks found at any of my local stores.87593202-861F-40F3-8889-84145FBCD7F9

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@Steamfan77 posted:

Wow Rich, you really picked up a ton of vehicles, etc. Do you have someplace in mind or a plan as to how to show them off, shelving or actually on the layout? Very impressive collection.

Andy

Thanks Andy! I’ll end up using some on the layout, one or two will get put on the side for changing up scenes, a few dump trucks might go to a local train club for a coal breaker scene, and the remaining few vehicles might end up for sale on the forum with Free York pickup.

UPDATE # 18

With the holidays over and everything starting to calm down again, I’m able to get back to working in the train room.

I started with the prep work for painting the train room. I know I know, I should have done this first and I’m already regretting having the benchwork completed in the closet. This won’t be fun but the outcome will be well worth it, hopefully. Painting isn’t one of my talents either LoL.

I did some patch work in the closet and painted the closet ceiling. I’m going with a Sky Blue paint color for the train room walls along with the closet walls. The train room ceiling isn’t being done and will remain white. Once again, I really don’t like painting. LoL 27D55694-CBB7-4845-A462-1308306E15C3

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@Mark Boyce posted:

Hey, it’s better now than later!  My guess is there are few on this or any other forum who haven’t gotten ahead of ourselves.  When we realize we should have done something first to stop and consider correcting the problem like you are doing.

@Steamfan77 posted:

Rich, I’m with Mark. At least you’re addressing this now. I think we’ve all gotten ahead of ourselves at one point or another.

Andy

Thanks Mark and Andy! This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten ahead of myself and I’m sure it won’t be my last time either LoL. This also tends to happen when my plans are constantly evolving with learning new stuff from this forum nearly daily. I just keep imagining the final product, which looks marvelous in my head LoL.

My layout is a classic example!  I put up the backdrop after the benchwork, though I knew better.  One section needs to be removed and more sky needs cut off because I built a hill that covers the trees.  I planned the hill from the beginning.  Duh!  And two easier to reach sections of backdrop aren’t even painted yet.  Also, I’m calling my latest revision ‘Plan E’.  Software folk would call it Ver 5.0.  😆😆😆

Last edited by Mark Boyce
@Mark Boyce posted:

I’m glad you are here, Rich!  👍🏻👍🏻

🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉💥💥💥💥💥

Thanks Mark and Mark and everyone that clicked like! This truly is an incredible forum!

To celebrate, I went and got 2 gallons of paint from Sherwin Williams. My uncle actually grabbed them using his company discount. Thanks again Uncle Bobby! I went with the color Vast Sky instead of Sky Blue. It’s a little less toned down in brightness and I’m thinking It’ll look better, especially with the snow scene on the top level. Now onto the dreadful part of applying the paint to the train room walls. I just have to keep thinking of the finished product!

Last edited by Richizzle07

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