Layout change's 08/05/2023

Hi guys, you are all so nice and thank you for the kind words!

First off for some good news, I am now Covid free & my knee is feeling better as long as I don't get under the layout! LOL

Well really not much today but I moved a bunch of buildings that were in the way of my testing track where the town will go. I then started up the UP 4-8-4 and ran it on both inside and outside track loops, fixed a couple areas but am happy with how things are.

I then took the time to paint the bench top the same as the rest of the tabletop, it gives it a cleaner look. Tomorrow, I hope to get the area where the crane and oil tanks are painted, and I also have to do a little adjustment to the bridges where they drop down.

Here are a couple photos for you guys to enjoy! LOL

I hope you all had a great weekend and a nice week ahead for you all!

@mike g. posted:

Hi guys, you are all so nice and thank you for the kind words!

First off for some good news, I am now Covid free & my knee is feeling better as long as I don't get under the layout! LOL

Well really not much today but I moved a bunch of buildings that were in the way of my testing track where the town will go. I then started up the UP 4-8-4 and ran it on both inside and outside track loops, fixed a couple areas but am happy with how things are.

I then took the time to paint the bench top the same as the rest of the tabletop, it gives it a cleaner look. Tomorrow, I hope to get the area where the crane and oil tanks are painted, and I also have to do a little adjustment to the bridges where they drop down.

Here are a couple photos for you guys to enjoy! LOL

I hope you all had a great weekend and a nice week ahead for you all!

Mike, glad you are feeling better.  It looks like you've got one heck of new layout going on there.  Really looking good.. Keep posting those photos so we can see your progress''...👍😁📸

Mike, I’m glad you are feeling a lot better!  The layout is looking good.  I’m glad the 4-8-4 ran well on both loops.

Glad you’re feeling better Mike, progress is looking good, nice job.

Andy

Hi guys I hope your all doing well and thank you for the nice words!

Nothing new to report as I have been dealing with snow, I am sure some of you have already got it if not, don't worry its coming! LOL

They say were to get more snow tonight and I am tired of it, It wouldn't be so bad but our manufactured home is not rated for a lot of snow so I have to get out and clean the roof off when it gets to about a foot if not sooner. The real problem is it takes away from my train room time! LOL

Well anyways I hope your all well! Be safe out there!

I took a break from the layout to see what you are up to.  Yes, snow on the roof can be a problem!  The only time we had a problem was when we had 40” of wet snow.  I got a lot off the roof, but later realized we had some damage.  The insurance company took care of it.

@Mark Boyce posted:

I took a break from the layout to see what you are up to.  Yes, snow on the roof can be a problem!  The only time we had a problem was when we had 40” of wet snow.  I got a lot off the roof, but later realized we had some damage.  The insurance company took care of it.

Hi Mark, I hope to get out there tomorrow and see what I can get done! LOL 

I hope things are going good for you on your layout and the little kink in the track!

Hi guys no work on the layout due to it just wont stop snowing! It has been keeping me busy shoveling snow and cleaning the roof off for the 3rd time now.

But I wanted to share an AMAZING story with you all, I think you all remember I stated that I was at a standstill till I saved up some money for more track to finish the layout. Well a Forum member seen my post and reached out to me and asked if he could donate to the layout build. I had never heard of him or seen any of his post before. I told him that I would gladly take a donation and was willing to pay for shipping.

Well he gathered up the track he wanted to donate and shipped it to my home. He would not even let me pay for shipping! I have to say for me that he has showed me the meaning of paying it forward! I have never known such a generous person that would step up and help someone he didn't even know! I have to say he is a OGR Forum angel! From this point forward I will do my best to Pay it forward to anyone who I might be able to help! Thanks to the Lesson this man has taught me!

Here is his gift to me and the completion of the layout!

God Bless you my OGR Angel!

Mike, that’s a great gesture by this forum member!  It is good he saw you needed the track that he wasn’t going to use, because you have given much to several forum members including me!

I’m sorry you have had so much snow.  We have dodged that bullet several times this year, and I keep wondering when the ax (snow) will fall.  Last year they just missed the record for snowfall in Pittsburgh and we usually get more than they do.

Mike, what a gift! Be careful cleaning the roof and snow so you can continue working on the layout now.

Gene

Wow!!! that's a good bit of track Mike. What a nice gesture and a big help. Progress can begin again.

I’m happy for you Mike! That’s a very generous and thoughtful gesture. I’m sure you’ll use it wisely.

Andy

I’m happy for you Mike, there are Angels out there, and this one is a model railroad Angel. Praise the Lord. Thanks for sharing snd hopefully the snow will stop soon. Happy Railroading Everyone

Hey Mike, it looks like you have a very nice layout taht you will soon be enjoying with trains running. Good people get a break now and then. please keep us abreast of the progress and be careful on the roof. Bill Park

Hi guys thanks for all the nice words and you all are correct that it was quite the gift! I haven't be able to do anything since I got it do to snow and other things. But today it is raining and not working on anything else but getting out to the train room and getting some roadbed and track laid so I can get the main level track done.

Then it will be a little while before I start the upper level depending on the results from this survey. How many of you folks ballast under the upper level in a tunnel area?

I hope you all have a great week!

Mike, I’m not going to ballast anywhere that can’t be seen.  I have no intention of taking videos from a moving train.  If I modeled areas that can’t be seen, I would never get this layout sceniced!  😄

Thanks Mark. I still have time to think about it as I still have to was and dry my old ballast! Let me tell you that is loads of fun! Kinda like watching paint dry! LOL

@mike g. posted:

Hi guys, you are all so nice and thank you for the kind words!

First off for some good news, I am now Covid free & my knee is feeling better as long as I don't get under the layout! LOL

Well really not much today but I moved a bunch of buildings that were in the way of my testing track where the town will go. I then started up the UP 4-8-4 and ran it on both inside and outside track loops, fixed a couple areas but am happy with how things are.

I then took the time to paint the bench top the same as the rest of the tabletop, it gives it a cleaner look. Tomorrow, I hope to get the area where the crane and oil tanks are painted, and I also have to do a little adjustment to the bridges where they drop down.

Here are a couple photos for you guys to enjoy! LOL

I hope you all had a great weekend and a nice week ahead for you all!

Hey Mike, I'll be following along on your layout progress here for sure. I love the town/industrial park you've got going on! Can't wait to see more work on it soon

Hi Sam thanks, but the buildings are just sitting there to get them out of the way of another project build area!

Hi guys and gals, I thought I should do a little update here as I have been posting a lot on the what did you do on your layout thread.

Any how my time in the train room has been hit and miss ever since I got the track I needed for the other end of the layout. I know its been a couple weeks from my last update and I am sorry for that!

So here are a couple photos of the other end of the layout both the lower and upper loop construction!

In the photo below you can see I had to do a little land grab to get more clearance between the tracks! Both big engines and long cars now clear each other going in both directions! It was kind of 3 steps forward and 1 step back!

As you can see in the last 2 photos I am still fitting old used plywood together to get the upper loop completed. I connected all the outside track for the upper loop and I am so happy to say they met right up like it was meant to be! LOL

We will see what tomorrow brings, I might be able to finish the bench work for the upper loop!

I hope you all have a great Thursday and an wonderful upcoming weekend!~

Mike,

Looks like you have things figured out. You spent the day with the CEO and got a good bit done on the layout. It really is coming along. I believe you are accomplishing your original goal. I wouldn't know what to do with all of that real estate. The fact that you are undecided right now shows you don't either. That just means you have some choices which is a good thing in this case. Great work and I look forward to seeing more of it.

Dave

hello mike g looks great like the lift bridge in first photo

@mike g. posted:

Hi guys, you are all so nice and thank you for the kind words!

Everytime I see the UP 4-8-4 on a layout I'm pretty sure it is a photo of Mike gs.    I still remember when you were trying to make  the big decision to purchase that locomotive.   Nice.

Looking good Mike. Nice to see you are still supporting your favorite brewery!

Bob

Looking good over there Mike.

@mike g......love the progress. This is going to be impressive and already is! I know you likely mentioned this already and I missed it....What type of roadbed are you using?? Keep up the great work!

Your work on the layout looks great, Mike!!  You know I’m a big fan of reusing wood, including wood from a variety of unexpected sources.  It’s too expensive to do otherwise.  👍🏻

Hi guys thanks for the kind words, It really means a lot to me and gives me ambition!

@luvindemtrains Dave thank you! There will be 2 sidings inside of the upper loop and right now it looks like I am lucky as they are going to miss all my access hatches!

@scottyhubcapsThanks Scott!

@Dallas Joseph Dallas thank you! I really love the look and sound of the 4-8-4!

@RSJB18 Thanks Bob! As for the brewery it sometimes helps me think better! That is why all the difficult projects are saved for later in the day! LOL

@obxtrainman Thank you Sir!

@LT1Poncho Thank you and I am using cork roadbed.

@Mark Boyce Mark thank you, it is mostly due to necessity, if I had extra cash flowing out my ears I would probably buy new! LOL

Well guys if you fallow the other thread this is old news to you, but I got out to the train room today and got the upper bench work completed. I was able to use the new and some reused cork roadbed to get the track down to finish the loop, I am still short roadbed for the 2 sidings inside the loop and the 4-6 storage tracks underneath the layout.

It is funny I ran a switcher from the bottom all the way on the upper loop and when I get it done now it doesnt want to make a full loop. I even tried my SD90 and now it is hit and miss where it stops. I think I have to add a couple more power drops to boost the signal. I checked the power and there is 18v all the way around.

Any how here is a photo of it ,

I hope you all have a great Friday! As for me it is to rain here, which means Train room time! Maybe I can figure things out!

Mike, I hear you quite well about cash flow!! 👍🏻👍🏻

@mike g. posted:

It is funny I ran a switcher from the bottom all the way on the upper loop and when I get it done now it doesnt want to make a full loop. I even tried my SD90 and now it is hit and miss where it stops. I think I have to add a couple more power drops to boost the signal. I checked the power and there is 18v all the way around.

Mike, if a TMCC/Legacy engine is stopping and there's still power on the tracks, it's most likely TMCC signal issues.  Running an earth ground line above or beside the tracks in the problem area will likely fix this.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Mike, if a TMCC/Legacy engine is stopping and there's still power on the tracks, it's most likely TMCC signal issues.  Running an earth ground line above or beside the tracks in the problem area will likely fix this.

Thanks John, everything I run is MTH DCS or Lionel & MTH conventional.  I am going to get out there this morning and hand clean all the track, I think it is losing signal also.

With DCS issues, my answer would change and get a lot more complicated.   Obviously, if they're stopping in conventional operation, I'd be looking at the track power and/or some spots where the locomotive momentarily loses power.

I will dig out a conventional engine and try it. I checked all track power with a meter and every section I checked was at what I set the Z4000 at.

Hi guys , well I got out there and dug out an conventional engine to do my test on the upper loop, low and behold it stopped around the same spot. So what did I do, I added another power drop and ran the test again! Well the power drop worked and the upper loop was in action!

On to my next problem that came up after fixing the power drop.

Even though the video is spead up for some reason, what I was trying to show was that it would stop in the same section every time going both directions. I replaced the 2 switches and also took out the 054 curved sections along with a cut straight section and replaced it with a 30" flex track.

Still nothing, so common since says add another power drop! LOL So I did and still nothing. At my wits end I decided to take some fine sandpaper and clean the black coating off the top of the center rail. I wish I would have thought of that first! LOL

I hope you all have a great night and a wonderful weekend!

Great work solving the issues Mike! The train looks great along with your entire layout build. Thanks for sharing!

@Richizzle07 posted:

Great work solving the issues Mike! The train looks great along with your entire layout build. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Rich, I just wish it didn't take all day! LOL

Mike, the layouts coming along nicely. That was an odd problem if I was videoing it there would be a lot of words bleeped out.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

Mike, the layouts coming along nicely. That was an odd problem if I was videoing it there would be a lot of words bleeped out.

Thanks Dave, and don't worry there were some very choice words spoken throughout the day! I think it took so long to fix was because I waited so long to make a visit to my brewery supply! LOL

@mike g. posted:

Hi guys , well I got out there and dug out an conventional engine to do my test on the upper loop, low and behold it stopped around the same spot. So what did I do, I added another power drop and ran the test again! Well the power drop worked and the upper loop was in action!

On to my next problem that came up after fixing the power drop

Well Mike, you sure made it a very profitable day.   Good to see you took care of the ole gremlins.

The layout is really sharp .  Very interesting routing of the track .  Great layout modeling acumen .   Nice.

Glad it worked out, Mike!

Peter