What did you do on your layout today?

THE GLACIER LINE UPDATE:

For the first time in a long time I think it is easier to understand what I'm doing in the lower staging (hidden from view) area. 03-14-2015 The first through track and four staging lanes are physically connected. 03-14-2015. I still have to finish the wood/base support system for lanes: 6, 7 and 8. It is really coming along! I will be able to park seven trains in this area and they one by one may leave pass through the public visible area and disappear into an upper staging area that DOES NOT EXIST as of yet. One thing at a time! I'm just glad to be able that I'm very close to getting this done which will allow me somewhere to leave the majority of trains free from obstructing the main-line! The diagram shows the track arrangement more clearly than the series of photos.

Call it Clucker's.  With a name like Clucker's, it HAS to be good! 

 

Mitch

 

Springfield Train Show Report, 3/14/15: 

 

My, but I'm tired.  Lotsa fun, tho!  And thanks muchly to Joe D.  for the chauffeuring and setup/tear-down help! 

 

 A fine time was had by young and old:

 

Plenty of future railroaders present! 

 

Bill Ondeko's "Jungle Train"  railroad was a hit:

 

Complete with the Creature From The Black Lagoon putting the moves on a local lovely...

 

And the natives enjoying some Mulligan stew with real Mulligans! 

 

DISCLAIMER:  No actual Mulligans were harmed in the making of this diorama. 

 

I acquired a Lionel #51 Navy Yard switcher in rather ratty condition:

 

With a cracked shell, messed up headlights and missing windowpane, I have no qualms about putting on a trolley pole and painting this up for Razorback Traction Co.

 

Also acquired:  A Williams GP-9 and a Lionel Minneapolis & St. Louis caboose.  The caboose because a) it was the first Lionel caboose I ever got (in 1966) and b) in honor of a chum of mine who lives in Minneapolis.  

 

The Geep is going to get the roof details removed, a pantograph added and become a poor man's EF-4... 

 

If anybody has a spare GP-7 shell available, please let me know.  The conversion would be easier without having to deal with the dynamic braking blister... 

 

After getting home, I scrubbed down the #51, who I've dubbed "Junior"  (which prompted some "Mean Widdle Kid" jokes from some of my old time radio enthusiast friends) and gave the motor a good cleaning and lubing, as well as new brushes.  Newly revived, "Junior" trucked on down around my layout, handling two boxcars, three gondolas and Princess Daphne with aplomb: 

 

Road Supervisor Sylvia Siamese approves.

 

Williams wins the "Less is More" award with their "Two Can Motors, a Bridge Rectifier and a Capacitor" wiring scheme: 

 

All in all, a fun and rewarding day!  More photos below.

 

Mitch

Track planning.  Starting to think about a 10' x 45' section of our basement.  Had been using the Atlas RTS 10 for track planning.  Downloaded SCARM today.  It is great, especially for freeware, and has all of the Ross in it that I need.

I can relate, John.  Often it's hard to think in 3D, let alone put the idea into an understandable form.  Only until the idea is physically built then does its intention become understood.

 

Long before things like SCARM I practiced the art of hand drawn layout plans and still do.  Normally these plans never come to fruition but that's really not my goal...I just enjoy putting the ideas down on paper.   The challenge of creating a workable design on multiple levels sure comes in handy once it's decided it's time to build.

 

Bruce

Took measurements and moved things around to make room for a Menards Seed and Feed. Rearranged some train consists to operate for our local Club meeting over here on Wed.

 

We had a pretty powerful wind situation going on yesterday, so I didn't want to do anything that needed electricity and then have the power go out. Thankfully, it never went out.

Still, I decided to do something I'd wanted to do for a long time with 2 1/43 scale Jeeps. I painted the seat covers (as they come in tan and nobody even made tan canvas for them), made windshield covers, painted over the 'invasion' stars which wouldn;t be seen stateside, removed the tire pressure markings which were postwar, and then weathered the living heck out of them.

Bofore the weathering, I placed custom-made bumper markings for a fictional RR operating unit for my layout.

I'm thinking of doing a independent blog here on how WW2 vehicles should look on layouts.

 

 

For stateside training vehicles they're probably way dirtier than you'd find back then, but I like how they turned out,.

A few days ago I got my Hy cube box cars. So I am going to change out the beer reefers on the one mainline and put the double stacks and Hy cubes on there today......Paul

I ran trains today.  Did a bit of switching cars on my under construction version of Ken Hoganson's article in Run 273 I believe it was.  The only problem I had was needing to put a K-line reefer with a coupler that won't stay closed on the repair track.  

Began the tedious task of masking windows in a dome for my NP North Coast Limited train.  Had to get going since the decals I needed arrived from Dave/LBR today!  THANK YOU, Dave.

 

Also received the DC-DC buck boost modules in the mail from China for LED lighting of the NP NCL cars.

 

Anyway, it's back to trimming the masking tape on dome #1. 

 I think they look fabulous and particularly appreciate the grimy and worn appearance to where the passengers/driver sit. That is real attention to detail, if you ask me.

FrankM

The missing link won't be missing for long.

 

The east end was finished Saturday.

 

The west end today.

 

A long term temporary bridge will span the gap, and when it does, the lower level will be done.

 

Have not started scenicing yet really (ballasting, ground cover etc.), but trackwork and wiring and other things are done.
So, today I started trying out trees in one area of the layout. Not satisfied yet, but I will keep adding and moving and changing trees around before I finalize some locations.
I am having fun, though!

John

That's the real objective John. Having fun.

 

Larry

Fixed the smoke unit in a lionchief Linoel Lines 2-4-2 Scout. Some how it was installed not lining up properly, and with I think oil in the reservoir. A good flush of smoke fluid too clean it out, a resetting in the frame, minus a few bits of fuzz, and off it went with a working puffing smoke unit around the oval.

Thanks. I really need to get shots of them with better light. They're not flattering photos at all. The one bit of weathering I need to go back and do is to make the paint look heavily worn where the driver's feet go. As for the rest, I have numerous reference books on Jeeps in service, and the heavy mud-dust splash on the hood of the one with the top up was based on a photo I found from the Tennessee Maneuvers in 1943. I can only assume that Jeep had driven into a very dep ditch or mud hole, or had been splashed by a tank of large truck.
I know all too well where mud and dust can be found on a Jeep when you don't wash it, as I have a 1944 Willys MB Jeep that I take to historical events, airshows and a couple of local car shows each year. In fact, I really need to change the oil, charge the battery and fire it up as it's been sitting cold all winter long this year...

(I'm driving my Jeep to the far right in this shot. It's blurry but still one of my favorites as it's the best, "Germany, 1945" shot it's even been in)

HUGE NEWS:

As of 10:30 tonight, the layout is fully operational! I soldered the turnouts into place and fixed the kink. I ran two locomotives over all the changed spots. My God, I can finally run trains now!

 

Boxed 15 cars last night getting down to the end of boxing up my layout to permit access to the electrical panel for solar installation. 35 trains (45 engines or so) running simultaneously on 13 loops is history. Will need to post inventory on the buy and sell forum in hopes that others might benefit from my 50% reduction in rolling stock and engines to permit a more leisurely running sessions with scenery . One bedroom is full of trains with 2nd one 1/2 way there. I still have more boxes in the attic. Ugh!!

Hey Winrose46..  Keep me posted on rolling stock disposal.  Muchos of thanks.

KRK

It sure does, thanks. This is the first 'serious' layout I've ever built and the only one I've mostly built alone (the only other was a HO switching layout in the 80s, when I was a kid, Dad did all the bench work then).

I've been waiting almost 30 years for this moment. Almost brought tears of joy to my eyes to realize it was running.

Did some decal work on the final engine that was lacking proper #s. Took this shot with my cell. In all humility, imagine what I can do with scenery in place!

So this is not really a "layout" in the traditional sense, but I didn't really know where else to put this. I am adding a shelf "layout" to my 5 year old's room. Yesterday, I got all the shelving up. It needs some touch up paint and the shelf brackets need to be painted, but I am pretty happy with how it is turning out.

Nice shot! Great composition, and the sepia tone seems fitting to both the era and situation.

  THe Plasticville schoolhouse to diner conversion is done.   Now, I have to make some signs to hang outside the diner, which I might call Sylvia's, the chicken house turned tavern(Clucker's Bar), and the police station turned auto parts store.  I have a boxcar shed from a Plasticville Hobo Jungle kit I might turn into an office for a junkyard.  Presently, this boxcar shed has a sign for Nicole's Java Hut.   Might change it to Bud's Junkyard.  

Thanks!

More bodywork:  3 PW LIONEL F3 A units and one B unit; stripping an aluminum observation car for NP NCL train; and, continuing to mask the first dome for the NP NCL.

 

Assembling components for LED lighting installation on 4 more LIONEL repainted, 15" aluminum cars. 

For all you model railroaders who have small children running around your layout or even older adults with "sticky" fingers who just HAVE to go and GRAB at everything, here is a sign you can post to essentially say:  "Don't Touch" !!!

 

Cheers.

 

KRK

Oh, I am imaging that, all right, and am looking forward to your next move!

FrankM

Hey, that's looking really sweet Lee.

I'd like to suggest one thing....but really cant think of anything

 

 

 

I "saved" some more junk post war accessories over the last few days.

  Last fall I picked up an old post war 4x8 loop layout with a 1033. It was obviously stripped of its unbroken accessories but it had the frame work of the timed AF taking City Station, Lionel crossing gate, flagmans shack, girder bridge, a bunch of pressure contact switches, lock-on isolated rails, a #90, the controller & accessory shoe W/uncoupler track  etc. etc., and two pickup shoe-to-the outside rail, accessory actuators. Much like the giraffe's tell tale pole holders, but it has two rails for the old shoes. I think it is for a operating brakeman (Is it? Ive never had one)

 In fall, I robbed the layout of its station. It worked, but it was "hit".

No roof, no door section, filthy dirty, and stained windows. It was stained too bad

missing parts. So I turned it into a factory with PVC for smoke stacks, and a semi-trucks inner tube covering a sheet of Masonite!

 After waiting all winter, the weather break had me in the garage, and I decided I better pull the rest off, and breath some life back into them.

 Washy washy washy....rinse  rinse rinse....dry dry dry...Viola, shiny post war.

  The crossing gate was missing its plastic optics for lights, but I had two red machine panel jewels that fit the holes perfect. As luck would have it, the balance happened to be perfect at this point. But the gate has operated so many times, the  rear-most horizontal brace of the arm, between the counterweights, has near completely worn away! So I will drill and thread the counterweights to take a horizontal screw covered by a rubber tube to act as the up-stop. This weight should also let me wire l.e.d.s inside the gate jewels, and then re- balance it with a few washers on the ends of the screw & rubber tube. I painted the bulb red, in the mean time, to get the red glow I'm used to seeing near the cross-bucks.

 The flagman seemed relieved as he may not have had a bath since beginning the job. Nice paint on the face, not an offset glob. The shack got a new roof made of rough cut wood veneers & a center beam. Nothing too fancy for my layout!...

As in nothing fancy belongs there 

 The cross-bucks were gone, but I had a white plastic chopstick with a squared handle that fit the cross-buck base well enough to epoxy it to the base then screw in place. I was going to cut it further to build a cross-buck sign, but I think I'm just going the place one at the road, and use the chopstick to fly "Old Glory"

 Those brakeman actuators, will get used to support two more homemade tell-tales I happened to start building...even though I didn't think I had any pole supports.   

 Nothing going to waste, I'm going to throw a quick coat of urethane on the layout, and fill it's bare spots with gravel, sand, and moss, using it outside at some yard sales this summer.

 My luck has been running great this year for little PITA details requiring no real effort.       

 

Tuesday, I spent the day painting the track at Hiawatha. I finally got the paint properly thinned, the air adjusted to the correct level, and I was off to the races.

 

Nothing quite like a turkey baster for getting paint from a gallon can into a 2 ounce jar.

 

Patrick came over today, first time in almost 5 weeks. And even though I was feeling the effects of a cold, and wasn't much help, he was on a mission! Bondo, sand, prime and paint.

 

First order of business, hang the missing piece behind the control panel...

 

also the section above the workbench.

 

Here's what things looked like when the afternoon was done.

 

As hoped, lighting was temporarily installed and seems to illuminate the room sufficiently.  Because of the low head room and shallow mounting area I bought LED fixtures with a thin profile. No heat from lighting will help keep things cooler up here in summer with no chance of singed hair on tall occupants.  Fortunately the warm white looks truly natural, not like certain LED's claiming to be warm white.  10 are already up with room for 4 more.

 

Bruce

Bruce:  Are you going to insulate that roof between the rafters?  Seems to me that the whole attic would get awfully warm (or cold) without the insulation.  Not be good for the health of the trains, either.  Other than that, it looks like you've got yourself a nice space for a train layout.  I've seen some very interesting uses for that low hanging ceiling under the eaves.

 

Paul Fischer

Yes Paul, the new 2x2 strapping on the rafters will allow for a bit more insulation than would have been possible between 2x4's.  I have some already installed at the back...an air gap, a 1" layer of foam insulation and finally 3" of fiberglass.  I had a new tin roof put on over 2 " of foam and that significantly cut down on summer heat too.

 

I have utilized some of the eves area behind the hip walls for storage.  Even so, I need way more hidden storage, some of which I hope to find under the layout.

 

Bruce

Did some quick weathering on a couple of 1/43 trucks. Probably should have spent more time on the Ford, though. Each vehicle on the layout has it's own state tag with the correct county code for the year the layout takes place.

I tried to upload some short videos I took last night when I finally got two trains running dependably on my temporary 4x8.  I couldn't get them uploaded, so here are some photos instead.  I had planned to be at this point before my first hand surgery in late January, and I am almost at the end of my second time off, but it is done.  The inner loop features a LC+ Pennsy Mikado.  The outer loop features an MTH NYC Hudson that was upgraded to PS2 at the time I bought my DCS last spring.  It is being controlled by the old Z750.  That is a story in itself.  Which I copied below.  Please read the rest, as I want to compliment the good folks here on the Forum.

 

I have followed many other folks' questions in regards to TIUs not being able to find DCS locos.  NO DCS ENGINE FOUND error.  It was quirky getting My two PS2 engines to work on DCS.  One would work, then the other, then both for a brief time, then neither, then one, then finally neither ever again.  Both locos worked fine running from the transformer, and I tried every suggestion given by forum members and from Barry's book.  I also followed suggestions from Steve Nelson aka Mr. Muffin, and others on FaceBook.  The last it worked was early February when I was off work with my first hand sugary. I was pretty sure My TIU had quit working, but wasn't able to call in while at home during their service hours until today.  I am off work with my second hand surgery.  I have been fighting this since last summer, thinking it must be me.  Fortunately it quit altogether since my warranty runs out at the end of March.  After the MTH representative ran me through some of the same trouble shooting tests you folks have suggested, he said it will have to go into the factory for warranty repair.

 

And so the moral to the story is: Get Barry's book, and follow the advice of Barry, Gunnrunner John, Pine Creek RR Dave, Marty, Steve, and the other DCS experts on this forum.  The factory rep had nothing else to suggest than what the folks on this forum had.

 

The only downside is, they project 4 to 5 weeks for repair.  Oh well.  I can still run conventional.  Then I can start my DCS experience from scratch again.  Ha, ha!!

 

 

I converted a Bachmann On30 ten-wheeler from ET&WNC # 12 to # 9 (which was one of three locomotives on that RR to carry that paint job). I was a minor issue of lightly sanding off engine #s, putting new ones on, and then adding a representation of the sheet-metal cover all the engines got for the tender backup lights. I made them by cutting long/thin strips of styrene, melting the strips in the center with a lighter, and then grabbing each end and pulling it down over a brass tube exactly the diameter I needed. After messing up a few and getting the hang of it, it worked pretty well.

All I need now is a very small white number set for the headlight number. Eventually, I'll get to weathering all my locomotives...

the number plate, I had to hand-paint myself with a tiny little brush, as 9 carried a silver painted center on it's plate in WW2. I have no idea why that engine along got that color...

Spent more $$$$.

Last night: Glued what will be main street to downtown Ironville's removable hatch, installed a doublel tunnel portal, two sections of rock wall castings and installed a ton of basket woven cardboard strips that will be some terrain between the upper and lower decks. Tonight I plan to give my airbrush a whirl and see if i can paint those rock wall castings. If time permits, its plaster wrap time.