What did you do on your layout today?

Did some terra forming this week

Earlier this week I posted some photos of a 30" x 8' divider module with trees on it. These photos are of the module in place on the layout along with some additional related scenery work. I am fortunate to have a gentlemen who is very experienced in model railroad scenery showing me how its done. The pictures below are of the two sides of the module. One group is one the Scranton side of the layout and the other is on the New aven side. Our next priority is getting the sections to all blend together.

@Trainmaster04 posted:

Follow up to my previous post. Also, sorry if some of the videos are not the greatest. They were done by my father.

@Trainmaster04 those videos were awesome! I really enjoyed seeing that. Just a helpful suggestion but next time please ask your dad to hold the camera sideways instead of straight up and down. You get a lot more picture that way.

@Hudson J1e posted:

I am glad you enjoyed them! Also, I will definitely will tell him.

Farmer John, that's a beautiful 10 stall roundhouse. Your friend Steve did a superb job , they're a bit tricky... I've sort of  have a crutch LOL . Over the past 8 years I've probably build over 25 -30 of them.

Hi Bob, it will be a 5 stall in total when it's complete.

Thanks, Alex

Well, today I checked to see if the Lionel accessory Family Vacation worked on my work table, it sure does. I’ll show pictures soon with its location on my layout. Happy Railroading Everyone

Ok, here’s two accessories that have been on the layout for over 15 years, each made in 2003 thru 2005, I’m just Slow. There are many more accessories to hook up, I’m now on a roll. Happy Memorial Day everyone and Happy Railroading to.n

I painted the homasote table top for my new tinplate layout and laid out the track to see what I could fit. The room size is 10x 10. A small bedroom off the loft that holds my Hirail layout. I made the table 6’6” square to fit the loop of 072. I also want to run some KMT. The small circle is for a clockwork JEP set I just picked up

@Pennsyfan, Bob, that’s a very nice table and your layout will be beautiful. Thanks for posting. Happy Railroading Everyone

Thanks Larry, the main objective is to run my tinplate that doesn’t run well on the Hirail layout.

@leapinlarry Your addition of accessories add a nice touch to an already amazing layout.
Happy late Memorial Day to everyone who have or currently serve!

I was able to get back home yesterday and started back up on projects today. In this case, weathering commenced.

I decided to take a step further and weathered my Legacy H10 from 2018. Work started with the tender and I able to complete it in about an hour. The engine, however, took a little bit more time. Both were clear coated with a mate finish and I think they turned out well.

Unfortunately with summer getting here work on my layout has come to a halt.

Pool is opened but ice has damaged some of the railing caps. Still working on the hose that is leaking. Pump has a weeping leak but I'm not worried about it. The rest of the project list is boring. 2 huge decks to stain and fence to paint! I will try to sneak down to the traincave when we have bad weather or when the grand kids come to visit.

@Mark Boyce your depot building posted in your layout thread came out great. The snowbirds are a neat feature but I can see where they'd drive ya nuts trying to install them.

@RSJB18 Bob, Happy belated Birthday!

@WesternPacific2217 Scott, that derailment sounds terrible. Glad to hear repairs are done.

@Trainmaster04 looks like the "be an engineer" was worth it. Nice videos

@leapinlarry nice accessories. They look great on your layout!

@RJ Shier It definitely was and than some! I am glad you enjoyed the videos. My father was able to ride with me and was the one who was able to take them.

I added a narrow shelf in my train closet for caboose's/cabeese's

Doug

@RJ Shier posted:

Unfortunately with summer getting here work on my layout has come to a halt.

Pool is opened but ice has damaged some of the railing caps. Still working on the hose that is leaking. Pump has a weeping leak but I'm not worried about it. The rest of the project list is boring. 2 huge decks to stain and fence to paint! I will try to sneak down to the traincave when we have bad weather or when the grand kids come to visit.

@RSJB18 Bob, Happy belated Birthday!

Thanks. Sounds like you've got your hands full. Always better to have a friend with a pool, boat, summer house, etc., than owning your own.

🤣🤣🤣

Bob

@boomer0622 posted:

I added a narrow shelf in my train closet for caboose's/cabeese's

Doug

Looks good.

Wonder if I could talk the CEO into giving up a closet....

😂😂😂

No way on giving up the closet. And I would not be able to sleep knowing my passenger cars are overhanging a shelf!  Disaster waiting to happen.

@RJ Shier posted:

Unfortunately with summer getting here work on my layout has come to a halt.

Pool is opened but ice has damaged some of the railing caps. Still working on the hose that is leaking. Pump has a weeping leak but I'm not worried about it. The rest of the project list is boring. 2 huge decks to stain and fence to paint! I will try to sneak down to the traincave when we have bad weather or when the grand kids come to visit.

@Mark Boyce your depot building posted in your layout thread came out great. The snowbirds are a neat feature but I can see where they'd drive ya nuts trying to install them.

@RSJB18 Bob, Happy belated Birthday!

@WesternPacific2217 Scott, that derailment sounds terrible. Glad to hear repairs are done.

@Trainmaster04 looks like the "be an engineer" was worth it. Nice videos

@leapinlarry nice accessories. They look great on your layout!

Thank you, RJ!!  I didn't get the last photographs you mentioned onto this thread.  Yes, the prototype Western Maryland station that was located in Thomas, West Virginia had showbirds (snow guards) on the roof.  The Carolina Craftsman kit didn't include them, so I added some made by Tichy.  As we discussed on my layout build thread, the tabs on the backs that go in holes drilled into the model's roof were 'microscopic', so it was tricky getting them positioned right.  Here are a couple photographs of the finished job.  I'm going to add some interior details after I round up what I need.

Mark. Wow. It's the detail that makes the difference. That work on the roof of snow guards is really neat. It puts you in the category  of the MASTER MODLERS group. Super job.

@Trainmaster04

I think the videos are pretty good considering there was little room to stand and the locomotive was bouncing around.

@farmerjohn posted:

Mark. Wow. It's the detail that makes the difference. That work on the roof of snow guards is really neat. It puts you in the category  of the MASTER MODLERS group. Super job.

Thank you very much, John!  It has taken a while to regain some of my modeling skills that were dormant while our daughters were growing up and in college.  Good techniques and materials help a lot.

Okay, not so much the layout, but I took a reproduction WW2 cotton summer weight shirt, original Transportation Corps and rank insignia, and one of my Railway Operating Battalion patches:

I also have the cotton summer weight officer "overseas" (envelope style) hat to go with it. I'll probably be wearing this during one of the days for my layout tours for the National Narrow Gauge convention in September...

Summer is here is Central VA and it's time to work outside.....I previously stopped work on this structure so I could take the sanding outside......

Peter

Hi Everyone,

Some very good work going on lately even as the weather becomes nice.

Mark-The station is really going to make a statement on your layout.

Lee-The shirt looks great with the addition of your badges. Reminds me of my Boy Scout days.

Peter-I don't run passenger cars on my layout, at not yet. However if I do that station is in my top 3 to get. Your work on it is quickly pushing it to the #1 spot!

Here's a background building I just completed. For more progress photos check out my layout progress page and also check out my YouTube page to watch me go through the process. Both links are at the bottom of this post.

Dave

@Putnam Division I was totally confused on your building edges. I could not understand why they looked like the dog had chewed on them. Then the "a ha" moment - wood filler!

@luvindemtrains Dave nice job on the background building.  I've decided I need to do something similar with my Twin Pines Inn. The burr oak I've posted on prior is looking good, but the space is really tight for it plus the MTH station. So I'd rather keep the tree as a focal point and push the Inn into the background. 

ScoutingDad,

Thank you kindly. Yes, space on this part of my layout is limited so not many choices. However, you can really do something special with just a little imagination. Let us know what you decide with this area on your layout.

Dave

Luvindemtrains, terrific.

3 backdrops up. 3 to go! Once they're all up and the top is painted blue, I'll film my next YouTube update.

- Jason

Thank you Rod!

Just added a loop of HO gauge track with a siding to a coal hopper. The trouble is that there isn’t enough room on my table top.

@luvindemtrains posted:

Hi Everyone,

Some very good work going on lately even as the weather becomes nice.

Mark-The station is really going to make a statement on your layout.

Lee-The shirt looks great with the addition of your badges. Reminds me of my Boy Scout days.

Peter-I don't run passenger cars on my layout, at not yet. However if I do that station is in my top 3 to get. Your work on it is quickly pushing it to the #1 spot!

Here's a background building I just completed. For more progress photos check out my layout progress page and also check out my YouTube page to watch me go through the process. Both links are at the bottom of this post.

Dave

Dave, thank you very much!  I think it is in a prominent location that will aid in the statement.

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

I just finished the K-Line 15" Cal Zephyr coach dome car interior and LED upgrade. This will be the last update on the Cal Zephyr interior upgrades since the other two coaches are all the same as this one. 2 more coaches to go!!! Oh yeah, the baggage car need's LED upgrade too, but that will be easy.

I never did mention how much time I spent doing the interior of the domed observation car. I admit I started with the most difficult car for the first one of the 4 cars. So total time spent on the observation car was a little over 12 hours. That does not include paint and adhesive dry times! It does account for a little experimentation, which was very helpful on speeding up the coach car interior.

With the experience I gained from the observation car, the coach went much faster and was much easier to put back together. The LED upgrade was the easy part, and that took me less than an hour. The painting, carpet installation, interior paneling construction and installation took all the time, about 6 hours in all. Here's some photos. I'm hoping it will take less time for the other two cars no that I have a process. Also, the other two coaches will get burgundy/red seats instead of the dark blue in this one.

Ready to go back together.

Here's the coach and observation cars together with the Chief and Daylight in the background.

Couple more photos. I noticed that the wiring came undone in the coach and shows in the photo, so I have to take the end of the car off and fix that. Not a big deal.

Like in the observation car, if I had not done the paneling all that would be seen is plastic windows, glue, and aluminum.

Once the other cars are done I'll post a video of the completed cars in motion.

Happy railroading!

Hello all, I completed the interior and LED upgrades since my last Cal Zephyr upgrade update above, and here's a video of the completed set. I chose to pull the Zephyr with WP #485 GS-64 to make sure it runs like it did before the accident. Some of you already know and may have read my post about #485 derailing and falling 3 feet to the floor! As you can see from the following video it still looks and runs great after a few minor repairs.

Obviously this isn't prototypical, WP never pulled the streamlined Bud passenger cars with steam, but hey what the heck. LoL Normally I pull the Cal Zephyr with my WP F7 ABA set, but it looks great with the GS-64 in the lead too. Whew, it's good to complete something and they turned out pretty much as I hoped.

@WesternPacific2217- The train looks great Scott. I noticed you are not running it on the outer loop too.....

@jdstucks- Nice layout. The backdrops look good.

@luvindemtrains- another beautiful structure. Keep 'em coming.

@Putnam Division- Nice work on the tower Peter.

@Andrew Steiner- Looks like you need a bigger table......

Not much from me. I did get back to my F3 lighting last night. I got all of them installed in the shell but got interrupted by a nasty t-storm that rolled through the area. I haven't run a train in a while either......need to fix that soon.

Bob

Lots of progress made by many in the last week. Can’t name everyone there are so many but will mention four.

Mark you made it thru the birds… here they would be sea gulls. They look great. Glad that you are making good progress on the layout and hope that the medical issue is better.

Scott the cars look great. 12+ hours to do the first. How long did the last one take? Regardless, it was worth it. Very nice.

Peter glad to see progress again on the station. It is going to be a special layout. We hope to see it one day.

And Jason… finally getting the backdrop done. What do you think?  It really changes the appearance of the layout! What a change! When we did our backdrop, it made it feel like we finally had a train layout.

It has been a busy week here and 80% of the ballast in the Roanoke Shops area is down. We have averaged 2-3 5# bags a day and our three + box supply from Dennis Brennan is down to less than a box.

Paula just ordered the material for the road. She has been busy this week turning wood into concrete pads complete with expansion joints, cracks, and weathering. Rich cuts the wood and gives it to Paula.

No photos yet but hope to have today/tomorrow when some loose ends are tied down.

A small bit of progress on the 5 stall Korber Roundhouse build. I actually tack down my work to the table so it doesn’t move, once the first truss is done I build the others right on top so they all match exactly.

@RSJB18 posted:

@WesternPacific2217- The train looks great Scott. I noticed you are not running it on the outer loop too.....

@jdstucks- Nice layout. The backdrops look good.

@luvindemtrains- another beautiful structure. Keep 'em coming.

@Putnam Division- Nice work on the tower Peter.

@Andrew Steiner- Looks like you need a bigger table......

Not much from me. I did get back to my F3 lighting last night. I got all of them installed in the shell but got interrupted by a nasty t-storm that rolled through the area. I haven't run a train in a while either......need to fix that soon.

Bob

Bob, thanks for the kudo's, and you're a funny guy! LMAO :-) ! Actually, before I took the video I ran 485 on the outer loop which is actually the siding. I admit I was standing with trepidation right where the derailment plunge occurred as I ran 485 on the first run through the siding. 485 cruised through the outer loop/siding just fine like it had done so many times before! Which probably proves that I didn't have the front truck on the tracks correctly when the derailment occurred! :-0

I took the video with the Zephyr on the main loop going by the train station because it's more interesting than the table skirt and death-defying drop. I hope you enjoyed the short video.

@Bill Webb posted:

Lots of progress made by many in the last week. Can’t name everyone there are so many but will mention four.

Mark you made it thru the birds… here they would be sea gulls. They look great. Glad that you are making good progress on the layout and hope that the medical issue is better.

Scott the cars look great. 12+ hours to do the first. How long did the last one take? Regardless, it was worth it. Very nice.

Peter glad to see progress again on the station. It is going to be a special layout. We hope to see it one day.

And Jason… finally getting the backdrop done. What do you think?  It really changes the appearance of the layout! What a change! When we did our backdrop, it made it feel like we finally had a train layout.

It has been a busy week here and 80% of the ballast in the Roanoke Shops area is down. We have averaged 2-3 5# bags a day and our three + box supply from Dennis Brennan is down to less than a box.

Paula just ordered the material for the road. She has been busy this week turning wood into concrete pads complete with expansion joints, cracks, and weathering. Rich cuts the wood and gives it to Paula.

No photos yet but hope to have today/tomorrow when some loose ends are tied down.

Bill, the last Zephyr passenger car upgrade only took 4 hours! And I had just enough blue paint to finish painting the passenger seats! Thanks for the compliment!

@Alex M posted:

A small bit of progress on the 5 stall Korber Roundhouse build. I actually tack down my work to the table so it doesn’t move, once the first truss is done I build the others right on top so they all match exactly.

Great tip, Alex!

Peter

@WesternPacific2217, excellent job; the interiors and figures really pop with the new lighting.

I added some crossing signals and roads a couple of weeks ago, and wired up a few of my switches today. I gotta get more wire for the signals and more connectors/nuts for the other switches.