Weekend Photo Fun starts early. I have to go to Columbia in the morning so I am starting the thread now.
I thought these were great looking cars. So I decided to make an entire train with them.
Let's see your pictures.
Scott Smith
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Fun photos for this weekend by the FSJR company photographer.
Commuter station
Mr. Bo keeps an eye over the brewery.
Logging train on the Mountain Division.
MOW camp.
MOW crew at lunch.
The morning switch job.
Industrial area. 
B&O switch job.
I had just purchased and repainted a new MTH F7 AB engine set to CP Script paint over the last couple of weeks. Very pleased with the end results and a great running new MTH engine. Have been looking to power the B unit as well but found the truck design is much longer then the numerous other MTH engines I have, (I thought I might be able to swap the power into the B from another engine). For now the 1 engine pulls the 10 car "Canadian" - Canadian Pacific Golden Gate passenger set fine on the main line and about 8 cars on the garden railway with some slight grades. This Script paint scheme Canadian Pacific started to apply to its engines in the 1960's and has been applied to the vintage engines used on the CP Business trains the Royal Canadian Pacific. http://www.royalcanadianpacific.com/
Photos on some warm days running the trains in the backyard and on another day the Grandson chose a CN engine (I custom painted) and some old K-Line heavy weights I had custom painted to BC Rail many years back. The LionChief engines are strong to pull such a long train and the LionChief remote is so comfortable to use for the grand kids
! Looking forward to seeing everyone's great photos this weekend!
The new MTH RailKing Rio Grande AIRSLIDE covered hopper and the new ScaleTrains HO scale Rio Grande AIRSLIDE covered hoppers with the same road number.
Andrew
Falcon Service
Lionel O scale Hercules Powder 8,000 gallon tank car in front of the New York Central Pullman-Standard 60' box cars.
Andrew
Falcon Service
Here are some work trains...... the 1st keeps this month's NYO&W theme.......the second is pulled by a GG1.......I guess there was a need in Pennsy electrified area......
Have a great and safe weekend, folks!
Peter
A 2020 Christmas Layout memory 
Finishing up this week showing the rear area of the layout. The life of a farmer.
Another week showing the temp 7'x8' Easter layout that I set up out of boredom being stuck inside. A secondary reason is that I have so much nice layout stuff for Easter that I could never use it all on my 11'x14' Christmas layout and I dislike having to pick and choose which items to use for the years that I have an Easter section on it. So I wanted a chance to see all of the items used.
Here's a reminder of what it looks like to give perspective to the closeups below:
What I called the 'park'.
a mystic effect thanks to those 2 MTH steamers
Lion Chief 2.0 Docksider pulling some scrap loads.
Framed and hung my MTH banner from CFA today...
Motorcyclists pushing for Spring...
As I go through my stuff, look what I found.....I forgot that I had this!
...a close in view....from 1995......
Peter
@Putnam Division posted:As I go through my stuff, look what I found.....I forgot that I had this!
Nice memories. I was at MTH a few times, but only have the tech books from the repair course I took. I do have some Weaver memorabilia and photos from the final weeks and days prior to its closing.
Peter
Here are a few pics from around the layout this week...
@frizzinbee posted:Here are a few pics from around the layout this week...
What did you make the clouds from/with? And how do you keep them so white?
Ron
@PRRronbh posted:What did you make the clouds from/with? And how do you keep them so white?
Ron
Ron,
Those are artificial cotton cloud props from Amazon. They come in a variety of sizes - looks like they are typical used for dances, classrooms, and weddings.
I’ve only had them for around a month, so don’t have a good sense for how white they will stay over the long term... but so far so good.
-Dustin
I'm about a day late posting, but figured I'd still put these up for anyone who may be interested. I actually finished the wooded hillside that represents Jack Narrows in central PA. Got it done in half the time I anticipated. Had to make hundreds of "puffball" trees using dark green polyfiber, green ground foam and tons of hairspray. I just stick them into tightly stretched chicken wire stapled to profile boards. Sometime I use a forceps to poke them into place and wrap the fibers around the chicken wire to hold them in place. Still have to overspray the whole hillside with hair spray. Rock cuts add to its appearance and reduce the number of trees needed. This particular one was cast in place suing a beautiful mold I picked up at an NMRA National Convention years ago. I used it three times, turning it upside down when I did the middle casting.
Neal,
This area is turning out real nice and I really like the rock cut.
Dave
@luvindemtrains posted:Neal,
This area is turning out real nice and I really like the rock cut.
Dave
Thanks Dave!
A Lionel traditional O gauge N&W two-tier auto carrier on a TRAILER TRAIN flat car loaded with random Mattel HOT WHEELS Ford automobiles.
This N&W two-tier auto carrier was on The Train Barn layout for years. It was sold at the Hobby-Sport shop.
Andrew
Falcon Service
@PRRMiddleDivision posted:I'm about a day late posting, but figured I'd still put these up for anyone who may be interested. I actually finished the wooded hillside that represents Jack Narrows in central PA. Got it done in half the time I anticipated. Had to make hundreds of "puffball" trees using dark green polyfiber, green ground foam and tons of hairspray. I just stick them into tightly stretched chicken wire stapled to profile boards. Sometime I use a forceps to poke them into place and wrap the fibers around the chicken wire to hold them in place. Still have to overspray the whole hillside with hair spray. Rock cuts add to its appearance and reduce the number of trees needed. This particular one was cast in place suing a beautiful mold I picked up at an NMRA National Convention years ago. I used it three times, turning it upside down when I did the middle casting.
Neal,
I've been meaning to ask you... what is the track spacing on your layout (center rail to center rail)? You track work looks incredible both in the pictures you post here and the videos of you layout on youtube. It looks a bit closer than 6" in the straight sections which makes it look more prototypical.
@Prr7688 posted:Neal,
I've been meaning to ask you... what is the track spacing on your layout (center rail to center rail)? You track work looks incredible both in the pictures you post here and the videos of you layout on youtube. It looks a bit closer than 6" in the straight sections which makes it look more prototypical.
Prr7688, as a Pennsy fan you should pick up copies of "57 Plans-Maintenance of Way-Pennsylvania Railroad", "Trackside On The Pennsylvania Volume 1 &Volume 2" booklets. The "Maintenance of Way" booklet shows track center lines as 13 -feet, or a scale 3 1/4 -inches. Which obviously be too tight for our O-gauge toy trains unless the tracks are pure straight.
Ron
@falconservice posted:A Lionel traditional O gauge N&W two-tier auto carrier on a TRAILER TRAIN flat car loaded with random Mattel HOT WHEELS Ford automobiles.
This N&W two-tier auto carrier was on The Train Barn layout for years. It was sold at the Hobby-Sport shop.
Andrew
Falcon Service
These look great on the carrier. Nicely done!
On my upper table, I had O-31 tubular. It proved to be less than desirable for a few of the larger cars. So in order to convert to O-42 curves, I needed to widen the table on one end and lengthen the table on the other end. Now I have a fairly large area to scenic, no doubt with sandhills and cattle, windmill and water tank. So one of the shots shows the beauty of Atlas O flex track, with the very gradual curves you can do and leading into the easement on the hard curve. The wall scene needs a bit of work but will take time to see what I come up with creatively. To upgrade from the cement block wall for painting, I attached some 3/4 furring strips and then 2 inch pink foam which makes for a good smooth surface with paint or backdrop. In the photos is the Lionel legacy steamer, and two cars. The Great Western is an atlas product from Beth's vast inventory. There is a creek just behind the train which has a meandering curve when I cut the homosote, will get some water and reeds and trees growing on the bank, need to put a small cement bridge where it will go under the tracks.
@PRRronbh posted:Prr7688, as a Pennsy fan you should pick up copies of "57 Plans-Maintenance of Way-Pennsylvania Railroad", "Trackside On The Pennsylvania Volume 1 &Volume 2" booklets. The "Maintenance of Way" booklet shows track center lines as 13 -feet, or a scale 3 1/4 -inches. Which obviously be too tight for our O-gauge toy trains unless the tracks are pure straight.
Ron
Ron, thanks for the tip! I was aware that the PRR used 13' spacing, which like you said would be too tight for O scale equipment. I know most people recommend 6" for O-scale, but would like to have my tracks at least as close as Neal does when I eventually get around to making a layout... I plan on modeling a portion of the Phila.-Paoli portion of the mainline around the mid-1930s.
@Prr7688 posted:Ron, thanks for the tip! I was aware that the PRR used 13' spacing, which like you said would be too tight for O scale equipment. I know most people recommend 6" for O-scale, but would like to have my tracks at least as close as Neal does when I eventually get around to making a layout... I plan on modeling a portion of the Phila.-Paoli portion of the mainline around the mid-1930s.
I should have added, the layout I designed but not built the parallel straight sections centerlines are based on the centerline of the Ross double crossover switch which as I recall is 4 7/16's. I even made a fixture by connecting two 6-inch pieces of Gargraves track to the switch and then glueing the track to an 1/8-inch piece of ply wood. Was to use this fixture when laying the track.
@Prr7688 posted:Ron, thanks for the tip! I was aware that the PRR used 13' spacing, which like you said would be too tight for O scale equipment. I know most people recommend 6" for O-scale, but would like to have my tracks at least as close as Neal does when I eventually get around to making a layout... I plan on modeling a portion of the Phila.-Paoli portion of the mainline around the mid-1930s.
i know that it's late in the weekend and you may not see this, but in fact my track centers are quite close because my curves are very wide radius. Most are at least 60" radius. And yes, the PRR had track centers of 13' and today NS on the former Middle Division has centers of 15'.
So, my standard track centerline is 4", but on one stretch of track with curves of over 100" radius, I actually dropped it down to 3 3/4" (same as NS @15') but on my two tightest curves with a radius of 54", I increased it to 4 1/4" which can accomodate things like my centipedes and my B&O EM-1.
Let me know if you see this, and if not, I will repost it next week.
@PRRMiddleDivision posted:i know that it's late in the weekend and you may not see this, but in fact my track centers are quite close because my curves are very wide radius. Most are at least 60" radius. And yes, the PRR had track centers of 13' and today NS on the former Middle Division has centers of 15'.
So, my standard track centerline is 4", but on one stretch of track with curves of over 100" radius, I actually dropped it down to 3 3/4" (same as NS @15') but on my two tightest curves with a radius of 54", I increased it to 4 1/4" which can accomodate things like my centipedes and my B&O EM-1.
Let me know if you see this, and if not, I will repost it next week.
Thanks Neal!
@Prr7688 posted:Thanks Neal!
OK, glad you got it!
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