Long Island Rail Road-Oyster Bay Branch

Thanks Tom, It's 1/8" Masonite, and is very easy to cut and bend. 

Andy

Great Andy. Looking good. Just didn't want you to get too far like I did. Had to adjust later on as I got more into true O, no fun.

Hope to see more!

LIRR

Steamfan77 posted:

645,

 I wish I had the room to include more stations on the layout. East Williston, Roslyn, Sea Cliff, Glen Cove, and Mill Neck, would all be great additions. All are architecturally unique, and filled with history. 

Andy

I used to work for the LIRR.  Spent many days maintaining/rebuilding  stations and bridges on the Oyster Bay Branch.

We had this nutty plumber foreman.  When sent to a complete a work order at Sea Cliff, he would ask you......."Why should I go to Sea Cliff when I can go see Roslyn" ....  good memories.

Keep up the good work.

Paul

Thanks Paul. Very interesting that you worked on the OB branch. Any other stories or memories that you would like to share? When did you retire?

Andy

I painted the fascia, and in the last picture I added the arch and railings to the turntable.

Andy

the layout is really coming along nicely! Well done!

Thanks JJMMAGOO

Andy, The turntable looks great. Nice progress on the RR.

Steamfan77 posted:

I recently installed some girder bridge sections to span the main line East, and also what will be a two or four lane road. I spray painted the sections a flat gray, then used some Pan Pastel powders for some weathering. I will add more weathering when I do the scenery around that area. For comparison, the second picture shows a closer view where the left section is weathered, and the right section is not. The bridge abutment under the track is temporary, and will be replaced by something with more visual interest.

Andy

I spent most of my childhood in Bayville, so this picture clearly reminds me of the train girder bridge we would drive under to get to/from Bayville via Oyster Bay.  I found an old picture of that one for you with a steam engine:  
Link here (old bridge)  and I found another picture of the replacement girder they did a few years ago, which finally allowed taller rigs to drive to/from Bayville via Shore Road (without mashing their rigs on the girder bridge - which happened more often than most folks would think).  Link here (new bridge)

This layout and thread are super enjoyable for me since this is essentially where my love of trains began, so thank you for sharing it with us.

Best...Rich

Outstanding work .

I'm a follower and a liker.

Roo.

Thanks Al, the turntable is a beauty! I appreciate your support Roo! Rich, I was just around the block from there last week working on a cell site. Our trucks barely fit under the old bridge. The bridge on Shore Rd and the one spanning Jericho Tpk in Mineola are both plate girders. Of course the Oyster Bay branch doesn't cross the main, but I had to do that to make the layout fit into the room! I'm working on connecting the switch controllers and will post some pics and a video when I'm done.

Andy

Andy, I love the eye for detail and your artistry and workmanship. They look so authentic! Great work!

Andy

i used to live about 5 minutes from the Albertson Station and took the Oyster Bay line through Jamaica into the city often as a kid.  One of my friend's dad was a conductor on the line.  A favorite site was the station in Williston Park.  

Your work is outstanding  and I would love to see the finished product.   Keep sending the pictures.

Marty

Thanks Fitz. Marty, that station was a beauty! Thanks for the kind words. I'll keep them coming.

Andy

I cleaned some of the junk off of the benchwork, and don't you know it, there's a layout under there! I started to get a little more organized today, because I'm having company in a few weeks, and we'd like to see what we're doing when we run some trains 

Andy

That there is some nice work.

Thanks NECRAILS

I set up some of my switch controllers using touch toggles by Berrett Hill Shops with Tortoise motors. Works as advertised, and is very easy to set up. A video was posted on the forum a while back with Joey Ricard and Kevin Hunter demonstrating the product. You can find Kevin's site here: http://www.berretthillshop.com/#site-wrapper.

Andy

Just came across your post. Awesome work Andy. I live near Mineola and can hear the Oyster bay trains when they approach and leave the station heading north.  Great piece of LIRR history you are building.

My kids both did a train trip to Oyster Bay when they were in Nursery School, what a great spot. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see the finished product (well, we never really finish, do we!)

RSJB18,

Thanks for the kind words. I grew up in Mineola, and always had the Oyster Bay trains going through our village. Progress is slow, but I'm moving forward!

Andy

I had to replace two Atlas undermount switch machines with two Tortoise switch machines between the main and staging yards. The space is 6" high, and about 18" back from the edge of the layout. I knew it had to be done, but I wasn't looking forward to it. I took my time and got really lucky, because I didn't have a great view, and had a heck of a time getting my hands in there. In the end it was worth the trouble. Both switches throw very smoothly.

Andy

Steamfan77 posted:

I had to replace two Atlas undermount switch machines with two Tortoise switch machines between the main and staging yards. The space is 6" high, and about 18" back from the edge of the layout. I knew it had to be done, but I wasn't looking forward to it. I took my time and got really lucky, because I didn't have a great view, and had a heck of a time getting my hands in there. In the end it was work the trouble. Both switches throw very smoothly.

Andy

You said it was tight and you were not joking. That is a small area to work with. Good job.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I'm still not sure how I did it, and I hope I don't need to do it again!

Andy

Just read this whole thread. As I live on Long Island in Huntington Station, the Model looks very authentic already. The girder bridge especially look like the many I have seen here.

Thanks for the kind words Borntman. I'm going to add as many realistic details as my skill level will allow!

Andy

I had manual throws set up on the four way yard switch in the staging area, but as I began to run trains more frequently, it became obvious that it was clumsy and inconvenient at best. This switch is used every time I bring a train into the staging area, so I went with adding more switch machines. I had access to the area from underneath, but had to do some surgery on one of the flanges on the benchwork. I went with the touch toggles as I previously posted for another switch, and used Tortoise switch machines.

Andy

I added some SPST toggle switches to kill the power on various sidings and yard tracks, so I can leave most of my engines on the layout when not in use. 

Andy

This is is my first attempt at some ground cover. It's a minor area between the tracks. 

Andy

Looks great Andy  coming along nicely

Mike

Thanks Mike!

Andy

I've added a few streets and sidewalks. Need to finish the junction area in Mineola. I also added the signal bridge and connected it to the system. 

Andy

Looks great!

Can't wait to see some ORANGE!

Andy,

Looks awesome

Mike

I have a whole fleet waiting Steve! Thanks for the kind words Mike. 

Andy

Hey Steve, you wanted some orange, here you go! 

Andy

I will stop by on my next visit to LI.   

You are welcome anytime!

More roadwork from the highway department. The work is slow, but I work when I can...

Andy

I finished the Mineola junction. If you look at my post from 7/7, you'll see that the street over the junction is missing. I used joint compound mixed with black paint to get close to the shade of gray I wanted. To make room for the flanges, I carved the grooves out on the outside rails. A slow process, but I think it was worth it. I added some ballast on the sides of the road, and finished with weathering powders. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking.

Andy

This is awesome! I have do redo one of my grade crossings because it didn't come out the way I wanted. The trains run over it ok but I am not happy with the visual. Yours came out like you were a 1/48 size construction worker.

So let me get this right, the roads are made out of masonite but the grade crossing joint compound?