Long Island Rail Road-Oyster Bay Branch

Nice design. Seems to capture prototype operation well while providing good run length.

Thanks Matt. It should be fun to operate.

 

Andy

This is my room. The column has to stay put. It supports an I-beam, but I can work around it. I'm not an artist by any stretch, that's why I went with the solid blue walls.

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like commuter rail particularly when it captures something close to home.  One question/comment however.  Do you plan on running this as an out and back?  You have a return loop with staging and you may want to plan for a return loop on the upper level as well.  Otherwise, keep up with the pics, I am looking forward to seeing your progress.

Looking forward to pictures of your progress.....an exciting prototype to model!

Peter

necrails, Oyster Bay is the end of the branch. That's where I'll turn the engines and make up new trains to head West. That's the prototype, so I'll stick with that. I think it adds more operational fun too. The staging yard is only to turn and store trains. There is much more West of Mineola, but I don't have the space . Thanks Peter, I'm excited. I should be done with my first section of benchwork soon. I'll post a few pictures as I go.

 

Andy

Nice plan you have. The Oyster Bay Station looks as I remember it! I rode that turntable as a kid. We use to walk the tracks from Oyster Bay to Mill Neck then on to Glen Cove.

If my memory is correct, they never electrified this line, still remains as diesel.

FlatNickel, your memory is correct. They didn't electrify the entire branch. The Oyster Bay station is the future home of the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. They will be restoring the station, the turntable, and engine #35, a 4-6-0 G5s. I'm lucky, I live on the south Shore, and am able to visit Oyster Bay and Mineola as I need to. 

 

Andy

Andy,

 

That's a good track plan. If you do much way-freight switching, you may want to include a runaround track at each switching location.

 

Jim

I hear what you're saying Jim, and it would be more convenient. But I want to stay as close to the prototype as I can. I realize that may mean more work, but I think it will add more "play value". 

 

Andy

Love the track plan and the early benchwork.  Please keep us posted on your progress.  This one has the potential to be a world-class layout.

Thanks Pete, will do. 

 

Andy

You have a good size room there.One question I have is.Did they just have the 4-6-0 steam locomotives or did they have some biger steamers?As for your layout looks like your starting out on the good foot.

Thanks Streak. I believe the biggest they ran was the Pennsy K4s, which typically ran on the main. That engine was too big to run on the Oyster Bay Branch. Oyster Bay and elsewhere also had 2-8-0's (H10s) and they were primarily for freight. 

 

Andy

Nice looking benchwork! Obviously have some woodworking talent. Keep us up to date with photos.

Good work. Glad you explained the LIRR to everyone.

Thanks trainman, I have my wood shop next to the layout. I'm only a weekend warrior, but I enjoy it. Yardlet6, there is a lot of history on the LIRR. I hope that comes out in the layout.

 

Andy

Andy,

 

if the quality of your benchwork is any indicator this is going to be one heck of a layout. I hope you keep posting pictures. Those blue walls are just begging for some beautiful LI beach scenes.

 

 I spend many of my younger days on the LIRR Ronkonkoma line going into the city.  That was back in the days when they had smoking cars,  bar cars, and some double decker cars.  

 

Thanks for sharing your work,

Ed

Looks great!!  I am a big LIRR fan  I lived next to the Bay Ridge branch in Brroklyn  LIRR owned the yard and car floats and the New Haven ran rectifiers down the branch.  The H10 is probably the hardest MTH steam engine to find  I have been on the prowl ever since I saw one at the TMB club

Looks like its gonna be a great layout to operate, definitely.

 

Not to get off subject, but Oyster Bay was the first place I had a visit to a locomotive cab.  I was 6 and the loco was RS-3 #1555.  That was back in 1960.  Can still remember my Dad helping me up on steps.

 

AF 

You could add the Beaver Dam Winter Sports Club to the scene.  It is located in Locust Valley.  Not certain that it existed in the period you are building but it would be a nice scene (clubhouse with skating rink) adjacent to the track.  They have a private grade crossing to near the facility.

Thanks Ed. I'll try to show more water by the Jakobson Shipyard area, maybe even a tug sitting nearby. The LIRR had more interesting cars back then, didn't they? I'll keep posting pictures as I go. The benchwork is the easy part for me. It's the rest that will be a challenge .

Ben, what a cool place to live near! Lots of action, I'm sure. My two favorite engines are the MTH G5s (Sunrise Special), and the H10s. I got them from Charlie at Nassau Hobby in Freeport. If you're interested, I'd start there. My white whale is the C-Liner. I'd love to get my hands on one.

Artie, what a great memory from the past! I have a couple of RS-3's for the layout. Nice looking engines. 

PW, I remember reading about that club. I'm lucky, because I live on the South Shore and can visit Mineola, Oyster Bay, and Locust Valley to take some pictures. I have a few of the spur that went into the lumber yard and of course the stations of all three locations. Thanks for all of the encouragement and kind words.

 

Andy

Oh well, timing is everything Ben. I look for a C-Liner every time a catalog comes out. I'll look into Beaver Dam a little closer. Sounds interesting. But definitely check with Charlie for the H10s. If anyone can find it, it's him.

 

Andy

Here is the next section of Benchwork. Haven't been able to get much done with work, etc.

 

Andy

 

 

 

  

Andy, Looks like you are going to have an awesome latyout. From one big LIRR fan to another Good Luck! 

Thanks Greg! I am looking forward to every phase. Yes, even wiring. 

 

Andy

Coming along nicely!

 

Peter

Thanks Peter!

 

Andy

The next section of benchwork is complete. It's where the main comes up to grade with Locust Valley and Oyster Bay. If you look at the PDF in the beginning of the thread, this is the area of the layout that has Kurtz Iron Works, Latham Lumber, etc. This area had more sidings than I'm modeling, and was known to the LIRR folks as "The Hole". I went to Latham Lumber (which is now Riverhead Building Supply) last year, and the track for the siding is still visible in the shed! I'm also putting heavy duty lifting levelers on the bottom of the legs. $25.99 for a pack of four. I had a fair amount, so I only had to buy a few more. From Rockler  http://www.rockler.com/product...053&site=ROCKLERThey are a little pricey, but for me, ease of use outweighs cost. 

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andy Nice design and quality L-Girder bench work. We at the TMB are just starting to put the bench work together on a new 4000 SF layout and we are now locate din Farmngdale, if interested in joining let me know  we would love to have you visit.

 

Ben

I might have a beat on the LIRR H-10 Sunrise special. The one you saw at TMB MIGHT be available

Steve

 

Thanks Steve. I'll be in touch.

 

Andy

Steve, I would also be interested in the H-10 if you have one for sale.

 

Some progress...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been able to get the majority of sub-roadbed down, and have installed Homasote and track for the staging yard. Before I cover the staging area with the Oyster Bay yard, I'll wire it up and test the track extensively.  

 

Andy

 

Andy

 

Seems like you are making excellent progress. Nice work!

excellent work coming along real nice

Thanks for the kind words John and Mike. I'm getting more excited with each area I finish. I'm also finding that little adjustments need to be made on the fly. This is a blast!

 

Andy

That is shaping up very nicely.

Thanks Matt! Little by little, it's starting to look like something 

 

Andy

I'm waiting to see what Long Island Equipment you have in your collection. 

Hauspiper,

 

My motive power is all Long Island. I am modeling 1955, but as I started to build my collection, I "cast a wider net" as to what I would run. As for steam, I have:

4-4-0

4-4-2

0-6-0

2-8-0

4-6-0

diesels:

RS-1

RS-3

VO 1000

H16-44

F7 ABA

GP38-2

C420

RDC Budd car set

I would like to get a C-Liner, and an S-1, or S-2

i have a pretty good collection of various passenger cars, and a few MOW cars.

 

Andy

 

That is an impressive roster. Very nice.  I can't wait to see pics of them on the completed layout.

I've been looking for the C-Liners myself for a while, they are hard to find.

-Tom

Hey Tom,

I see that you're in front of JawsIII ( a wedge snow plow). Was that taken in Greenport? Every time a new catalog comes out, I'm hoping for a C-Liner.

 

Andy

Impressive collection it will look good running around your layout.  I think we all hope for a c liner when a catalog comes out.

I stopped by the Greenport museum after a day of wine tasting and lunch at Claudios this summer. Both RMLI sites have some great exhibits.

I'm with you checking every catalog for the C-Liners, I don't have a lot of hope for this week's though.

Cant wait to see them in action on here. I only have an RS-1 and RS-3, 2 hacks and Island Model Works P-74's.  Still looking for a reasonable 35 and 39 one could only hope a Rail King Version. 

Mike 

Guys,

Of course the Maiden voyage will be steam . Either the 4-6-0, or the 2-8-0, or maybe both! I'm anxious to see all of them running. I also have a small collection of freight cars to move around between passengers runs. I wish I had more room to model the area on the layout known as "The Hole" more extensively. It had some interesting track work. I'll model what I think is the most interesting part. I recently ordered the MP-15 from Charlie at Nassau Hobby. Who knows, he might have some left. I was in Oyster Bay in the Spring, and was lucky enough to get a picture of one crossing the Mill Race Bridge. I'll attach it. Don't forget, the MU passenger set, and Rail Inspection Car from MTH are coming out in December. I always keep my fingers crossed for new Long Island motive power in the catalogues. I hope we all get a nice surprise for the Holidays!  

 

Andy

 

 

Here is my little list of LIRR:

RS-1(MTH) 

RS-3 (Lionel and soon MTH)

4-4-2 (Atlas)

C-69 (K-Line)

number 2 (Atlas)

Boxcar (Atlas)

Gondola (Atlas)

Island Model Works coach

3 lionel coaches 

 

and PRR K-4 MTH

 

Mike 

 

Not bad Mike. Do you have a working layout? The K4 is a nice engine, but did not run on the Oyster Bay Branch, as it was too big. 

 

Andy

Well getting the bright Idea to go back to college a few years ago and graduating at 32 I had to take down my layout I had at my fathers house. I still have a small 5x9 with 0-48 fastrack now. When I had my apartment in Rhode Island before I moved into a dorm I had an N scale layout. I am doing some work right now at my dads house in the garage. Attached is my original layout which was 4x12 never got to do scenery because I was out at sea alot during my 20s and will be most of my 30s as well. On it when this when I took these photos back in 2011 I have all NYC steam besides the K-4.

 

Mike Arnold 

Mike,

At least you can enjoy what you have now. I'm sure you'll build something more to your liking when you have the time and space. Good luck,

 

Andy

So I looked at  the MTH 2014  catalog and it has two Long Island steam locos a rail king camel back and an L1 in Long Island which I do not think there was any lettered so. The RS-3 is back as well as the BB1. I like the tuscan red passenger cars. The wreck train looks ok as well. 

Mike 

My first cab ride was in G5s #34 from Floral Park to Oyster Bay.

 

The Long  Island bought several cabooses from the NYO&W, and Walter Matuch's RMT center cupola caboose is similar.

 

As for Long Island rolling stock, LITTLE and the RMLI each produce a commemorative piece yearly.  The Nassau Operating Engineers also produce Long Island cars.

 

 

N0. 19 4-6-0 westbound at the Oyster Bay Branch Junction in Mineola.

 

Freight Train In Long Island City

 

N0. 19 Returning To Oyster Bay

 

I did like the RMLI sub car and I have the boeing container on a flat somewhere. But I also want to get the Islander car NOLE came out with? But some stuff is to much toy like. I cant wait for a Spreader someday even if I have to make it myself out of the MTH one. See I do not like operating items or stuff like that when I build my layout it will be like a real layout maybe the only thing would be the lift bridge.

 

Mike Arnold 

I also got the C-420 engine a few years ago from the NLOE. Runs as good as it looks.

 

Andy

I have three Rail King H Class 2-8-0 engines that will get Long Island livery and tender backup lights. Road Nos will be 108, 110 & 111.

 

I have also been collecting Rugged Rails 027 heavyweight passenger cars which have a 13.5" length which equates to a scale 54' length like the commuter P54 Coach. These cars will be re-lettered Long Island and sprayed Tuscan Red or the light gray color scheme of the early 1950s. The three axle trucks will eventually be swapped for 2-axle trucks.

 

 

Very nice Bobby. Please post pictures when they are done.

 

Andy

Andy

Great to see you last week. Hope to see you back at November open house days

Steve

Good to see you too, Steve. I'll be there.

 

Andy

I've installed and painted Homasote in some additional areas of the layout. I've also installed the track in those areas. The track for the grade coming East out of Mineola is temporarily placed on blocks. I just wanted to get a rough idea of the grade, and it pretty much falls in line with what I expected (~2.7%). I'll build permanent supports soon. The track for the rest of the grade is a little less. I wanted to make the grade around the turn as small as possible, and then increase it where the tracks go straight again. I made some adjustments to the track plan as I go along. It's kind of like a 3D puzzle, and I've had to cut and re-cut, but that's OK. I wired the Staging Yard, and will test every engine I have backwards and forwards. This area has to be 100%, as I'm going to cover the entire space with the Oyster Bay Yard. I'll also be building a lift out section to support the tracks that span the Staging Yard to Mineola. I'm going slow because this is all new to me, and I want the best result possible. 

 

Andy

 

Looking good I have decided to do the port Jeff branch in smithtown including the viaduct. Can't wait to see more.
Mike

Thanks Mike, I look forward to your progress as well.

 

Andy

Looks great, as a kid growing up we always took the Babylon branch which basically follows sunrise highway. Taking the local was slow as molasses trying to get to Penn Station. Keep up the good work

 

Mike

Thanks Mike, will do.

 

Andy

Andy, The layout is looking good. Keep up the good job. I can just about see trains running on it.

Thanks Pops, I'm getting there 

 

Andy

See what is rare in this hobby by that I mean o scale for people to model one railroad. Every time in open classic or o gauge which I love you see either Santa Fe  F7 running with a Texas special or New York Central, this is why I left o gauge. This layout will be awesome. Can't wait to see kier steam going around the line. See I need a big enough basement to have 3 o scale layouts one post war only with operating as even though I hate them. One Maine with Bangor & Aroostook/ on30 and one Long Island granted they will all be small. Can't forget my TT scale either one European and one American to dream.
Mike

Andy, Any new progress updates?

Hey Greg,

 

I've set up the permanent structure for the grade East of Mineola, and I'm currently working on a drop down section between the staging and Mineola. I'm following the plan of Jim Barrett in his Backshop series, volume 11. I've wired all of my drops in the staging area. I'm waiting to hear back from Terry Christopher at Custom Signals. I think it's best if I wire the signals in now. I'm going to start building the Oyster Bay yard over the staging shortly. That should be interesting. I'll post some pictures when the drop down is complete. Thanks for your interest!

 

Andy

Looks great only if I had the room I would so build the Babylon line. 

Thanks 1555, Babylon would be great to model!

 

Andy

Both of the retaining walls looks good, but I do like yours just a little better...it just looks more "weathered" and "right" to me.  Good job!

Thanks John, I appreciate the feedback!

 

Andy

Things are looking good.  Nice to see how far you get from time to time. As for the Babylon line that would be one long run.  Keep up the good work.

 

Mike

Thanks Mike. It seems like the progress comes in spurts. How is your layout coming along?

 

Andy

Can't wait to see future photos/videos.  Looking good!

Thanks John, I'm enjoying the process. I look forward to the steps ahead. I should be installing the retaining walls this weekend. I also have some plate girders to install. Then I'll continue to wire up the power drops. Most of the switches will be hand thrown. I think that will bring me closer to the action. 

 

Andy

Andy work on the layout all ways comes in spurts. We (son and me) are almost finished with our first layout here. It is not as larger as yours but a decent size for our first one.  I think when we finish we will post some photos, then start thinking about our next layout.

 

Mike

 

 

Hey Mike,

 

Looking forward to seeing your pictures. Enjoy this layout before you build the next one!

 

Andy

Impressive!

Peter

Thanks Peter!

 

 

Andy

This is my first scenery attempt on the layout. I just installed the retaining wall for the grade. I'm no expert, but i'm pleased with the results. 

 

Andy

Andy,

 

Great job on the wall, it looks amazing!  What grade is that track going up at?

 

-Mike

Andy,

It looks awesome well done!

 

Mike

Hi Andy, It looks very nice, did you make the wall yourself, or buy the panels? I enjoy seeing your progress. Keep up the good work. Rich

Mike,

The grade is a shade under 2%. Rich, I bought the Pennsy flex walls from Forum sponsor Scenic Express. The walls are 1/2" thick, and bend very easily. 

 

Andy

This is so nice to follow.  It is giving me inspiration as I begin my layout.  Looking forward to see progress!!!

Thanks Mike, I appreciate that. Good luck on your layout!

 

Andy

 

 

 

Thanks John!

 

Andy

That looks great, and my favorite engine to boot! Thanks for posting updates, I can't wait to see more LIRR equipment in action.

-Tom

It's my favorite engine too, Tom. And that will be the first one I run when I make my first official run when the layout is complete. 

 

Andy

I've been installing the signals for the past few months. They are PRR Single Color Position Light signals. Haven't been able to work on the layout as much as I would have liked, but I'm pleased with the progress. I got the signals from Terry Christopher at Custom Signals. I wired the main panel myself, and have most of the signals in. I'll begin testing the signals in the near future. These signals are unbelievable!

 

Andy

 

 

Wow! You are doing some great work there, keep it up. The layout looks great, and so do the signals. Rich

This is turning out great, Andy. Like the attention to detail with the signal placement and the industry layout along the route is great.

 

The plan appears to be a point-to-loop/point-to-point operation. Have you set up a continuous run operation as well?

I just found this post. The layout is looking fantastic. Keep up the great work and progress photos.

Thanks Rich, I think the signals give the layout a nice touch. Matt, that's a great description of the operations. I won't have continuos running though. I guess I'll have to pay attention at all times! Oyster Bay is the end of the branch, and is just the yard and turntable. There are local organizations that are trying to restore the turntable, and one of the last 4-6-0 G5s engines, as well as the station itself. Thank you for the kind words Spence.

 

 

Andy