What did you do on your layout today?

@JeffPo posted:

Where would one get a piece of rippled shower glass or rippled acrylic?

I have bridges spanning two tables and thought about making a water canal/river beneath the bridges.  Maybe add a tug boat or something.  Probably need a piece about 1.5ft x 5ft.

@JeffPo

I get my randomly rippled sheet acrylic from a store here in Baltimore called TPI Total Plastics International. Below is a link to the TPI web site with their locations throughout the U. S.

Contact – Total Plastics International

Originally, they had 4' x 8' sheets in 1/8" thickness. Now, the shop in Baltimore only carries 1/4" thickness which will work. They will cut the 4' x 8' sheet to sections of the size you need. Maybe one of their locations is close enough for you.

@pennsyfan posted:

And to think, I use to clean my hands with turpentine......

I bet that you drank water from a hose too. 😱

Yep!  😁😁

And I lived to tell about it!

I did a shell swap. The CSX sd70ace was hanging out on the shelf, I was considering selling it because CSX doesn't own any of these units anymore and I haven't run it in quite a while.

I found the NS heritage shell for a good price and ordered up the front and rear pilots and the radiator cover from Lionel.

Pretty easy swap, mostly plug and play.

Now I have a NS heritage unit with Bluetooth capability and a model of a unit still in service. I found a way to get a new engine without paying for a new one.

Just need to set it to a new legacy ID and test it out.

@Strap Hanger posted:

Very nice work! Where did you get the backdrops? They look great.

I bought them from buy-backdrop.com, $8.00 a piece.

In the past couple of weeks, I finished wiring the rest of my switches, as well as my operating track. I don't know if this is the norm, but I changed the position of some of the LED's on the DZ1000's and the buttons so that they are green when the switch is straight, and then red when the are diverged. May be a bit hard to see in the pictures:

I agree the leds may have to be switched to show the position of the switch. I find it especially important on the control panel. I use block signals to indicate switch position. This is really good on crossovers.
In the first picture the left led is the crossover and the right is the main track. The second picture gives a view of the whole run down the track. The third picture shows PENNSY type signals. The single one is for the coal siding.
on the signal bridge the left head indicates the  position of a switch on the far side of the bridge. The other two indicate the position of the bridges. The odd head on the right indicates the position of the switch at the far end of track 2. When I added that switch I had no room for a Pennsy style head. My son is an engineer and he gives me a hard time about conflicting signals.

@Putnam Division posted:

Testing out a new type of paint that Dennis Brennan recommends for some wood parts on the Oblong Box Company.......

Minwax Amercian Walnut, water-based......I have used Minwax paints before, but previously only the oil-based ones.

The water-based ones come in quarts and have to be mixed.....

Anyone use this kind of paint before? It seems to dry nicely.....

Peter

Peter,

I’ve used water based stains on several projects and I’m happy with the results. I agree with Bob less smell and clean up.

Andy

@Randy Harrison posted:

@JeffPo

I get my randomly rippled sheet acrylic from a store here in Baltimore called TPI Total Plastics International. Below is a link to the TPI web site with their locations throughout the U. S.

Contact – Total Plastics International

Originally, they had 4' x 8' sheets in 1/8" thickness. Now, the shop in Baltimore only carries 1/4" thickness which will work. They will cut the 4' x 8' sheet to sections of the size you need. Maybe one of their locations is close enough for you.

Thanks for the tip on this supplier - hadn't heard about them, and there is one close to me.  However, their website isn't very user-friendly - when I searched for acrylic sheet, I got about 50 hits, and apparently one needs to call them for size and price info.  Is this the product you are referring to?  https://www.totalplastics.com/...ite-texture-acrylic/ 

@Putnam Division Peter, thank you for the tip on the acrylic stains!  I did not know they existed, since I have a collection of oil based ones, mostly left here by my late father-in-law.  Some of them are ancient.

I rescued a rusty, locked up 2035 at the Joplin train show today.  You have three guesses WHY it was locked up, and the first two don't count:

Believe it or not, there were usable brushes under the cruft.

The commutator responded well to a Dremel wire cup and a bit of Sand-Flex.

After a bit more cleaning, oiling, brushplate bearing scraping and such-

IT'S ALIVE!!!  And further testing reveals that the light and smoke unit seem to be working.

This will make a good show/museum loco, as there's no E-unit to confuse the kittehs, er, kiddies...

$20 well spent! 

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

I rescued a rusty, locked up 2035 at the Joplin train show today.  You have three guesses WHY it was locked up, and the first two don't count:

Believe it or not, there were usable brushes under the cruft.

The commutator responded well to a Dremel wire cup and a bit of Sand-Flex.

After a bit more cleaning, oiling, brushplate bearing scraping and such-

IT'S ALIVE!!!  And further testing reveals that the light and smoke unit seem to be working.

This will make a good show/museum loco, as there's no E-unit to confuse the kittehs, er, kiddies...

$20 well spent! 

Mitch

These two pictures say it all.

So how's the shell and tender? Inquiring minds want to know.....

Nice job Mitch!

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

These two pictures say it all.

So how's the shell and tender? Inquiring minds want to know.....

Nice job Mitch!

Thankee!  The shell is in good nick, and for $20 you want a tender?  ;-)

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Thankee!  The shell is in good nick, and for $20 you want a tender?  ;-)

Mitch

HEE! HEE!

OR IS IT HEH! HEH!

I had a similar situation. This American Flyer engine on bottom shelf, was dead when I put it on the tracks. Testing with power right on the motor produced nothing. When I pulled off the brush plate I found one brush spring crushed  I slipped it over a wooden Q tip shaft and gently pulled it apart  I cleaned the commutator and lubed it  it’s running very well now .

Getting back to my F3 upgrade. Everything is done and tested and works. Having trouble with the powered unit and getting the shell back on with adequate clearance around the motors.

The front motor is the issue. Started re-jiggering (technical term) the wiring this afternoon.

This is the dummy unit with the new Miniatronics 4-pin plug. Those pesky pullmor motors are a PITA to work around. 

I'm close....and will keep calm and carry on.....

Bob

Nearing the finish line on my nine-car NP NCL train (having delivered the two NP NCL cars I did for my buddy) only to commit a decaling error on two cars.  Caught it soon enough to correct it on the second car, but too late to save the first one.  So, some masking, some light sanding, and the light green on both sides of the diner car was resprayed. 

Also, sprayed a donor car with the Loewy dark green and will use this to get the finish I want with a blend of Testors Dullcote and Glosscote sprayed in varying blends.

@Pingman posted:

Nearing the finish line on my nine-car NP NCL train (having delivered the two NP NCL cars I did for my buddy) only to commit a decaling error on two cars.

Carl,  I also made an error - or a dumb mistake.  I know, because it has been drilled into my head since I joined my first modular group more than thirty years ago, the first time you run a long piece you must checkthe clearances.  We do that when articulated engines visit our layout and when those scale size auto racks are put on the track..  However, I DID NOT do that when I put a 3rd Rail/Sunset 21" dining car on the track. In the first curve were two box car ends leaning against trees.  Been there for years. With the excitement of a new scale dining car it did not cross my mind to check the clearance.  I added power and the middle of the car(I guess) made contact with one box car end which hit the grass and was pulled to a solid tree.  When the end of the diner passed, one side bounced up and lodged between the diner and the car behind it.  The Lionel compatible coupler immediately sheared its pin and it opened and somehow the diaphram sustained heavy damage.   Nothing like starting the day with a dumb move. I now have an upscale dining car with a bad diaphragm and a coupler that will neither stay closed nor centered.  I do not have the dexterity to repair or replace it.  John

@rattler21 posted:

  Nothing like starting the day with a dumb move. I now have an upscale dining car with a bad diaphragm and a coupler that will neither stay closed nor centered.  I do not have the dexterity to repair or replace it.  John

Yikes!!!  That's tragic.

I'm doubly fortunate that my faux pas is correctable with little effort, and I have an ample supply of the needed decals for replacements.

Best wishes for a successful repair.

Back to my AF prewar motor. I thought I’d show the different way they secured the brushes. I’m wondering if the brush spring was damaged when heat was applied for that repair connection. Also a first for me having the motor secured in the frame with cotter pins.

Finished up repainting a Williams SD45. Decals are from Circus City Decals. He had them in HO and N, upsized them to O for me.

Before

After

@Mallard4468 posted:

Thanks for the tip on this supplier - hadn't heard about them, and there is one close to me.  However, their website isn't very user-friendly - when I searched for acrylic sheet, I got about 50 hits, and apparently one needs to call them for size and price info.  Is this the product you are referring to?  https://www.totalplastics.com/...ite-texture-acrylic/

@Mallard4468

That looks to be it. When I first got the stuff, it was perfectly clear and you could order it with a thickness of 1/8". Below is a photo using the 1/8" clear acrylic.

It now is only available in 1/4" thick, frosted. several photos of the result using the 1/4" frosted product are below.

Both products have their own plus sides. I personally like the product that you refenced in you post. It gives the water a bit more "personality". The light reflection effects that I accidentally achieved in the above photos IMHO add to the realism of the water. Also, the frosting seems to help blend the color gradients of the paint on the finished plywood below. Kepp us posted on the results you achieve using the rippled sheet acrylic.

I think the frosted looks great. The contour lends itself to natural ripples.

This weekend I added static grass between my retaining wall and track #2.  I also ballasted the length of track #2 that runs parallel to the retaining wall.  I'll detail it with bushes, ivy etc at a later date but needed to get that area finished prior to running trains extensively.  I'll also detail the dirt areas on each side of the incline on track #1 at a later date.  Right now I'm still leaning over that area to reach the inner part of the layout to build scenery.

-Greg

There was a hornet in the train room, you see.  A battle ensued.  I was victorious, but alas, there was some collateral damage on the main:

So the MOW crew was called in on an emergency triple-time job:

and the result is..good enough for O Gauge!

Happy Sunday!

@swise posted:

There was a hornet in the train room, you see.  A battle ensued.  I was victorious, but alas, there was some collateral damage on the main:

So the MOW crew was called in on an emergency triple-time job:

and the result is..good enough for O Gauge!

Happy Sunday!

What did you hit the hornet with! An anvil? Glad the MOW crew was ready to jump into action.

Bob

@swise posted:

There was a hornet in the train room, you see.  A battle ensued.  I was victorious, but alas, there was some collateral damage on the main:

So the MOW crew was called in on an emergency triple-time job:

and the result is..good enough for O Gauge!

Happy Sunday!

That's hilarious!  I had a similar experience with a mouse hiding in a tunnel on my old layout.

-Greg

The 2035 back on the rails sans siderods but with a small consist of Marx cars: 

Before and after Sandflex treatment!

Siderods back on...

And the 2035 steps out with a gi-raffe consist, smoking up a storm! 

A little movie action!

Mitch

I installed two sidings and my log loader on my layout and extended it to fit the sidings, too.

I’ve done oval layouts all the time and a bigger floor layout at my old Macomb house for years. Oval layouts are, sadly, the best I can go, but the sidings are better than nothing.

@swise posted:

There was a hornet in the train room, you see.  A battle ensued.  I was victorious, but alas, there was some collateral damage on the main:

So the MOW crew was called in on an emergency triple-time job:

and the result is..good enough for O Gauge!

Happy Sunday!

Were there any bystanders taking video of the fracas with their cell phones? Film at 11?

George

@RSJB18 posted:

What did you hit the hornet with! An anvil? Glad the MOW crew was ready to jump into action.

Bob

There was too much caffeine involved, a broom, and a die cast tractor.  That's all I'm saying.   

@swise posted:

There was too much caffeine involved, a broom, and a die cast tractor.  That's all I'm saying.   

You'd probably use a shotgun if you ever got startled by a mouse on the layout. 

Glad you're up and running again!

-Greg

Morning guys, it's been about 2 weeks since my last visit here. I have got a lot done on my to-do list for the CEO and can see the end of the project list in sight! That's if she doesn't come up with anything else! LOL

There sure has been a lot of great work being done and some really challenging track work I see! I would love to list everyone but there is so much it would take a good part of the morning and I just don't have that much free time!

But I do want to say kudos to Alex for his round house, it looks Amazing! Also, I would like to say that next time Steve you might want to try something besides a broom handle! I leave it at that! LOL

I hope you all have a great week and find time to have fun with your layout and trains!

P.S. Its amazing how much dust collects on a layout when you're not running trains! I looked in the train room yesterday and thought WOW Now I have to clean the track again! LOL

@swise posted:

There was too much caffeine involved, a broom, and a die cast tractor.  That's all I'm saying.   

OK, now that makes sense - been there, done that!

George

Good evening everyone! Sorry for not posting much lately. I have had a busy past few weeks with summer jobs, a wedding, and an ACT test. Anyways I wanted to pop in to say thank you to Alan Arnold, and everyone else, for publishing a photo I sent in the recent magazine on page 19. I am honored to be a part of a great magazine and be able to continue a great hobby!

I saw the photograph!  Congratulations!!

I repurposed a Menard's flat car into this auto rack with the help of some styrene pieces and some Krylon paint.

Terry

I finally setup a test loop of fastrack to help determine a final track plan. I'm just experimenting with space constraints and building placement. I took my old layout down in 2016 and it seems like a lifetime ago. In addition, I only have half of what I planned on due to an insane addiction to tinplate especially standard gauge which eats up a tremendous amount of real estate.

Bob

Worked on the newly acquired 736 that was frozen. I thoroughly cleaned out the old grease around the worm wheel and repacked it with  red (automotive) grease. My friend who was an auto mechanic, motor cycle builder; and is a train repairer gave me this grease awhile ago. He said it doesn’t breakdown or harden. I reassembled the motor on the frame and did a quick test before putting it all back together.

@swise posted:

There was a hornet in the train room, you see.  A battle ensued.  I was victorious, but alas, there was some collateral damage on the main:

Steve,

I would've paid top dollar to see the battle, lol.

Dave

We are the killer bees.....🤣🤣