What did you do on your layout today?

Been a few crazy days.  Two 16 hours shifts in a row.  I am beat, but I did accomplish something on the layout.  

1) I purchased some passenger cars from ebay last week.  4 cars from the same set, but 2 different sellers.  1 seller was selling just the baggage car, so I purchased it.  The other seller was selling 3 coaches, so I purchased them.  I decided I didn't need an observation car since I was modeling a small town and those trains typically wouldn't have them.  

Well what do you know.  When they all arrived on Monday I received 4 observation cars!  All 4 I purchased were miss-shiped and they sellers sent me all observation cars.  I can't believe it!  

Both sellers are working with me for to send me the correct cars.

2) A really beautiful seed and feed building arrived today that I got for a steal on ebay.  It was scratch built, a ton of detail and weathered, and I was the only bidder so I got it real cheap.  Took it downstairs, placed it on the layout where my future siding is going and was going to call it a night.  

Put the kids to bed.  Poured me a nice Scotch on the rocks

and was gonna sit down and watch a show.  But the missing siding kept bugging me.  So I headed down to the layout room at 10pm and was just going to place some track where the siding will be.  Figured I would cut the turnout in tomorrow or later in the week, but then I saw the Dremmel, and remembered where I put the Gargraves bumper I need.  Next thing you know I was cutting out part of the main, and putting the turnout in place.  Need to get a switch machine for it soon because it is on the other side of the layout. 

An hour later it was done.  Here is the finish siding along with the new building and the grain silo.   

Then I noticed my watered down scotch I had only one sip of.  What do I do?  Ran trains while I sipped on it.

Off to bed.  Way past my bedtime and I have to be at work at 7am.   

Jdevleerjr posted:

Been a few crazy days.  Two 16 hours shifts in a row.  I am beat, but I did accomplish something on the layout.  

1) I purchased some passenger cars from ebay last week.  4 cars from the same set, but 2 different sellers.  1 seller was selling just the baggage car, so I purchased it.  The other seller was selling 3 coaches, so I purchased them.  I decided I didn't need an observation car since I was modeling a small town and those trains typically wouldn't have them.  

Well what do you know.  When they all arrived on Monday I received 4 observation cars!  All 4 I purchased were miss-shiped and they sellers sent me all observation cars.  I can't believe it!  

Both sellers are working with me for to send me the correct cars.

2) A really beautiful seed and feed building arrived today that I got for a steal on ebay.  It was scratch built, a ton of detail and weathered, and I was the only bidder so I got it real cheap.  Took it downstairs, placed it on the layout where my future siding is going and was going to call it a night.  

Put the kids to bed.  Poured me a nice Scotch on the rocks

and was gonna sit down and watch a show.  But the missing siding kept bugging me.  So I headed down to the layout room at 10pm and was just going to place some track where the siding will be.  Figured I would cut the turnout in tomorrow or later in the week, but then I saw the Dremmel, and remembered where I put the Gargraves bumper I need.  Next thing you know I was cutting out part of the main, and putting the turnout in place.  Need to get a switch machine for it soon because it is on the other side of the layout. 

An hour later it was done.  Here is the finish siding along with the new building and the grain silo.   

Then I noticed my watered down scotch I had only one sip of.  What do I do?  Ran trains while I sipped on it.

 

Off to bed.  Way past my bedtime and I have to be at work at 7am.   

 

AHH- Train insomnia.....love it.

Nothing better than sipping scotch and watching trains.

Mark Boyce posted:

Thaddeus posted:

Had a great time at the Toledo Train show wit my son.  Found some great deals on a new MTH hopper, and old C&O coal hopper, and a MTH NS 5 car passenger set.  T also found a Cat die cast excavator that was not a good deal, but he is happy to add another model to his collection.  

The cars look great!  I have some Norfolk and Western cars that look similar.  Mine are 15", are yours 18"?

Thanks Mark, the bodies are 17 1/2", total length of the set is 95"

I put this in my own build thread yesterday, but seeing that I added a million pictures of my wiring in this thread, I figured I'd add another.  I finished running all of my wiring.  Last night I soldered (yes I'm soldering to Realtrax) 14 of my 16 power drops and hopefully tonight I'll finish the other two along with starting figuring out the mess of wires inside of my control panel.

Note: My helper is present in the background.

Been taking care of some squawks from last Saturday's display:

-The MTH K4 started blowing burned-smelling smoke, so I figured repacking was in order.  A bit of Lionel wicking later, the smoke unit is smogging up a storm!

-The longer 5" contacts on the FastTrack brakeman actuators improved reliability markedly, but we're still getting brakemen not always popping up when they should be.  I'm going to go with 10" full-length contacts. 

Took delivery of some new equipment over the past week or so; photos to follow.

Mitch

Good progress Mike, Im sure at the rate your going you will be running trains in no time! Looks like your supervisor is taking a union break.

"An-ti-ci-pati-on..... is great than Realization... Unless you are awaiting on a "GI-RAFFE" car delivery.....   fun, and well, FUN (is that Fun-(Squared?) or just twice the fun

Still working below the layout. The past couple of days have been working on rerouting the drain hose for the furnace so I don't keep tripping over the hose. Hope to wrap that up today but then will be taking a few days to head to Michigan to spend time with the grandkids but making sure I am home in time to go to the Kirkland Ohio show this coming weekend. Two day show but I'll be there on Sunday. Hopefully finding things of my bucket list.....Paul

645 posted:

cmscanuck posted:

Finally finished putting up shelves and got the trains on them!!!

You must have felt Old & Weary after putting up those shelves / placing equipment on same.   Nice work there!

Haha, love it... It was a process! Everything is screwed in 16" on center, went through just shy of 200 screws. Having to measure out the holes, drill the shelving, pre-drill the wood, and then mount it all was certainly time-consuming. Around the 2/3 mark, I started wondering why I got myself into this! I have a couple more small panels to install on a third wall and then do all the trim work.

My custom-made drawbridge arrived, and I did a test-fit yesterday. It's going to span the opening of my around-the-room layout. Before the bridge, I made a temporary span out of wood, which enabled me to work on building the layout / running trains while the bridge was under construction. Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

BlueComet400 posted:

My custom-made drawbridge arrived, and I did a test-fit yesterday. It's going to span the opening of my around-the-room layout. Before the bridge, I made a temporary span out of wood, which enabled me to work on building the layout / running trains while the bridge was under construction. Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Very interesting!! Please keep us posted on your progress!!

BlueComet400 posted:

Mycustom-made drawbridge arrived...Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Hi BlueComet400, I join you in your enthusiasm forJim Ballmann's Stainless Unlimited bridges. I have several from him.

Four of them I had him bake-on a black paint finish. The others, I could not resist leaving their stainless glow present on the layout as a significant feature. Besides, my wife took a real liking to the biggest one, as is, so it has definitely stayed unpainted and shiny.

And regarding the spans being sturdy, the one shown here bearing the Blue Comet traveling it, I tripped, on one occasion, when I was dismounting the layout, and began to fall. I reached out, instinctively, for the nearest support, which was this bridge (also, second photo, bridge on the right; fourth & fifth photos). It took my weight without any damage to either of us!

(And I'm no light-weight.) Now, that's sturdy!F

FrankM, Moon  Township, USA

Frank,

That is a great testimonial Frank!  Looks like BlueComet made an excellent choice!  They are all very nice looking bridges!!

Here's a beloved member of my roster, Lionel's E6 from 1999.  A recent ERR upgrade cured it's rather balky performance and improved it's pulling ability.  S

It's dated level of detail was in need of an upgrade too.  Slapping on some DGLE and Dullcoat took care of all that shiny plated metal and black plastic parts.  Rather than black, I chose to use the same green, albeit darker than the Lionel finish, on the wheels and chassis.   I might return later to weather all my equipment, but for now this level of detail will suffice.

The tender deck received a primer coat, the same lower deglossing, and even restricting chains on the trucks.  One last mod was to shorten the drawbar and give the scale Atlantic a realistic tender to loco gap.  Sometimes, these simple little projects help maintain enthusiasm for the hobby, and bolster confidence while moving forward.

Bruce

brwebster posted:

Here's a beloved member of my roster, Lionel's E6 from 1999.  A recent ERR upgrade cured it's rather balky performance and improved it's pulling ability.  S

It's dated level of detail was in need of an upgrade too.  Slapping on some DGLE and Dullcoat took care of all that shiny plated metal and black plastic parts.  Rather than black, I chose to use the same green, albeit darker than the Lionel finish, on the wheels and chassis.   I might return later to weather all my equipment, but for now this level of detail will suffice.

 

The tender deck received a primer coat, the same lower deglossing, and even restricting chains on the trucks.  One last mod was to shorten the drawbar and give the scale Atlantic a realistic tender to loco gap.  Sometimes, these simple little projects help maintain enthusiasm for the hobby, and bolster confidence while moving forward.

Bruce

Interesting Catenary

Moonson posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

Mycustom-made drawbridge arrived...Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Hi BlueComet400, I join you in your enthusiasm forJim Ballmann's Stainless Unlimited bridges. I have several from him.

Four of them I had him bake-on a black paint finish. The others, I could not resist leaving their stainless glow present on the layout as a significant feature. Besides, my wife took a real liking to the biggest one, as is, so it has definitely stayed unpainted and shiny.

And regarding the spans being sturdy, the one shown here bearing the Blue Comet traveling it, I tripped, on one occasion, when I was dismounting the layout, and began to fall. I reached out, instinctively, for the nearest support, which was this bridge (also, second photo, bridge on the right; fourth & fifth photos). It took my weight without any damage to either of us!

(And I'm no light-weight.) Now, that's sturdy!F

FrankM, Moon  Township, USA

Frank, those are gorgeous bridges. Yours look much more "to scale" than mine, but I needed something that would carry both Standard Gauge and O-Gauge. When you run mostly tinplate, the idea of scale pretty much goes right out the window.  Jim has been a real pleasure to work with and making sure his customers are satisfied is clearly his #1 priority. 

John

Those are really impressive bridges. They really bring interest to the layouts.

Love the job you did on the Atlantic, Bruce.

Kerrigan posted:

Interesting Catenary

 

I need to return to building it.  I'm so easily distracted.

Bruce

Pat Kn posted:

Love the job you did on the Atlantic, Bruce.

Thanks so much, Pat.  These leisurely projects are the most satisfying.  The next one, as you'll soon see, took every gram of grey matter.

Painted the facade of the layout, will put it back together this evening and post more photos.  

Not much going on but did make a device for tracing out my plywood for the elevated loop platform. Just lay the track as I want it on the plywood push this device over the track and cut the plywood. I think it will work fine for the curve sections. 

I added the fast angle wheels sets to it and it works great. Tracks very well down the middle of the rails.  So now I need more wood. Will be using 5 ply 1/2" plywood for the platform.  So when I go to pick up the grand kids on Saturday I will get a few more sheets. Also some square stock to make the supports for the section of straight I want to do on top of the MOW bump run.

Another victim fell prey to my upgrading frenzy.  When a forum member offered the "guts" out of a Legacy B unit, it was too tempting to turn down.  Thanks, Rich! 

There never was a clear idea on what to install the components into, so I did a little triage for a few days, deciding on the best candidate on hand.  An MTH H10-44 switcher with conventional internals seemed best suited.  The first job was to remove the flywheel and associated cruise circuitry from the guts and install them onto the front MTH motor, along with wiring to the rear motor.   Simply swapping motors wouldn't work, as the final drives differ so much as to be totally non-interchangable.  Of course, 2 electrocouplers were installed.  Sorry about the lousy pics.

Much cursing and brainstorming later, roughly 3 days, the component layout was finalized.   There was no way to know if installing the smoke unit would be possible until I got to this stage.  As you can see, it's position over top of the R4LC is precarious.  I plan on adding a shield between the 2 for protection from smoke fluid spills.  The entire Legacy wiring harness was utilized

I modified the F unit smoke plenum to align with the exhaust ports in the FM body. 

I added more depth to the fuel tank.  It now rides about 3/16" off the rail tops.  The air reservoirs were enlarged and piping added.

..........and back on duty

Bruce

Finished with the facade.  I painted it this afternoon, put up the Railrax, and now I have a place to store my locomotives and rolling stock.  

Its not the most professional looking, but it gives the layout a finished look, something my old layout never had.  I am far done with the scenery, but really wanted a finished look to it.  

I will add a skirt under the transformers, but wanted to leave it open to access under the layout.  

brwebster posted:

Another victim fell prey to my upgrading frenzy.  When a forum member offered the "guts" out of a Legacy B unit, it was too tempting to turn down.  Thanks, Rich! 

There never was a clear idea on what to install the components into, so I did a little triage for a few days, deciding on the best candidate on hand.  An MTH H10-44 switcher with conventional internals seemed best suited.  The first job was to remove the flywheel and associated cruise circuitry from the guts and install them onto the front MTH motor, along with wiring to the rear motor.   Simply swapping motors wouldn't work, as the final drives differ so much as to be totally non-interchangable.  Of course, 2 electrocouplers were installed.  Sorry about the lousy pics.

Much cursing and brainstorming later, roughly 3 days, the component layout was finalized.   There was no way to know if installing the smoke unit would be possible until I got to this stage.  As you can see, it's position over top of the R4LC is precarious.  I plan on adding a shield between the 2 for protection from smoke fluid spills.  The entire Legacy wiring harness was utilized

I modified the F unit smoke plenum to align with the exhaust ports in the FM body. 

I added more depth to the fuel tank.  It now rides about 3/16" off the rail tops.  The air reservoirs were enlarged and piping added.

 

..........and back on duty

Bruce

 

 

 

Nicely done Bruce!! I thought about doing something similar when I saw the parts available.. I've got too many unfinished projects going on already, as I'm sure most of us have!!

Woodson posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

My custom-made drawbridge arrived, and I did a test-fit yesterday. It's going to span the opening of my around-the-room layout. Before the bridge, I made a temporary span out of wood, which enabled me to work on building the layout / running trains while the bridge was under construction. Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Very interesting!! Please keep us posted on your progress!!

Here's progress. Meet Arthur, who decided to help me last night. 

BlueComet400 posted:

Woodson posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

My custom-made drawbridge arrived, and I did a test-fit yesterday. It's going to span the opening of my around-the-room layout. Before the bridge, I made a temporary span out of wood, which enabled me to work on building the layout / running trains while the bridge was under construction. Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Very interesting!! Please keep us posted on your progress!!

Here's progress. Meet Arthur, who decided to help me last night. 

 

Cool bridge and cat!    Can you tell us how long the bridge is?   And about how much something that cool costs???  I'm interested in a two track bridge .

Jim

BlueComet400 posted:

Here's progress. Meet Arthur, who decided to help me last night.

Chief Structural Engineer Arthur-tested and approved! 

Mitch

carsntrains posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

Woodson posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

My custom-made drawbridge arrived, and I did a test-fit yesterday. It's going to span the opening of my around-the-room layout. Before the bridge, I made a temporary span out of wood, which enabled me to work on building the layout / running trains while the bridge was under construction. Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Very interesting!! Please keep us posted on your progress!!

Here's progress. Meet Arthur, who decided to help me last night. 

 

Cool bridge and cat!    Can you tell us how long the bridge is?   And about how much something that cool costs???  I'm interested in a two track bridge .

Jim

29" long, 8" inside height clearance, 15 3/4" inside clearance and roughly 16 1/2" overall width. This bridge will carry the 3 mainlines on my layout (1 Standard Gauge and 2 O-Gauge). As for cost, I'd rather not disclose that here as Jim does custom-pricing for each bridge. The price he quoted me at the start is what he charged when he finished--no surprises at the end. What I will say about the cost is this: given the quality of the construction, the way it's going to enhance my layout, and how easy Jim is to deal with, it was worth every penny. 

FINALLY (I think) purchased the last materials we needed to complete the enhanced plan for the Cabin Lake & Western Railway.  Now it's a summer of painting track, layout it all out, wiring, and then .. finally, some scenic work.  A lot of fun working on it now that Kyrian has retired and helps.  Four hands make quick work of a lot of tasks.  And she LIKES trains!  Has many Milwaukee items.  One of those Eastern gals.

Just installed and painted this thing!  Can you guess what it is?  Stay tuned to find out after the paint drys.  

BlueComet400 posted:

Woodson posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

My custom-made drawbridge arrived, and I did a test-fit yesterday. It's going to span the opening of my around-the-room layout. Before the bridge, I made a temporary span out of wood, which enabled me to work on building the layout / running trains while the bridge was under construction. Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Very interesting!! Please keep us posted on your progress!!

Here's progress. Meet Arthur, who decided to help me last night. 

 

Now all you need is a Giraffe. 

cmscanuck posted:

Finally finished putting up shelves and got the trains on them!!! Still some work to do in the basement but the major parts are done.

All I can say is NICE!!!.     It scares me though as I need to build shelves too and just might need that much room.

brwebster posted:

Another victim fell prey to my upgrading frenzy.  When a forum member offered the "guts" out of a Legacy B unit, it was too tempting to turn down.  Thanks, Rich! 

There never was a clear idea on what to install the components into, so I did a little triage for a few days, deciding on the best candidate on hand.  An MTH H10-44 switcher with conventional internals seemed best suited.  The first job was to remove the flywheel and associated cruise circuitry from the guts and install them onto the front MTH motor, along with wiring to the rear motor.   Simply swapping motors wouldn't work, as the final drives differ so much as to be totally non-interchangable.  Of course, 2 electrocouplers were installed.  Sorry about the lousy pics.

Much cursing and brainstorming later, roughly 3 days, the component layout was finalized.   There was no way to know if installing the smoke unit would be possible until I got to this stage.  As you can see, it's position over top of the R4LC is precarious.  I plan on adding a shield between the 2 for protection from smoke fluid spills.  The entire Legacy wiring harness was utilized

I modified the F unit smoke plenum to align with the exhaust ports in the FM body. 

I added more depth to the fuel tank.  It now rides about 3/16" off the rail tops.  The air reservoirs were enlarged and piping added.

 

..........and back on duty

Bruce

 

 

 

Bruce the surgery came out great.  Other then the fuel tank sits lower you cant tell it was modified. Thanks for the inspiration.

Mark Boyce posted:!

I worked this afternoon on taking down the shelves my daughter left, and spackling all the holes.  Next will be to paint over that awful pink with a nice light blue!  I am going to keep that one shelf on the bulkhead where the furnace vents go to exit the house.

How did the light blue come out.  Personally It would take guts to leave it and draw an out line of a Caddy. Then again Mary Kay pink doesn't weather to well.  

Did some catching up on threads I follow. As usual some great work being done. Finally starting to finish Kadee upgrades to some rolling stock and engines. Last night preassembled 9 sets for upgrades. 2 GN GP35 that arrived 2 weeks ago and 3 GN GP30s.  2 RS11s NP and SP are the main push.  

and this is what has consumed my time and money for the last 5 months and delayed my new layout build.  My M1028 CUCV,  Wiring Harnesses and fuse box repaired( Had a short and the truck would not run)main reason for going into the shop!!!! On inspection it was found that the front end was shot, so begins the money pit and restoration. rebuilt the suspension front and rear including Axles, New steering box, power steering pump , Rear Main and oil pan seals, Black out drive switch panel reinstalled, New spin on fuel filter, Electronics in Steering column replaced, upgraded Glow plug card controller and relay, Upgraded starter and relays, at this point the alternators are charging but volt meter is just in the green  in a week or to. so plan on replacing them too. Why not what's another 400.00.  After that it just cosmetics, unit markings,  and interior panels. Haven't decided if I repaint it CARC Tan or tricolor woodland camouflage as of yet.  The great part is the truck is running again and I don't have to drive my wife's van unless I need to now..   Ok I got it. Its not a 67 Mustang.

Doug, I am glad you have your baby back, sorry you have to put $400 more into it. I always like the multi color camo, but that's just me.

I cant wait to see your kadee conversions on your new rolling stock! Im sure a new video with some great tunes is coming shortly!

Suz, as they say:  "If you wanna play, you gotta pay."  Trains, Vettes, Harleys, etc.--it's all the same--$$$.

Opened up a Guinness and celebrated St Pattys Day running some trains.  I also mounted my Cab2 base to the layout.  I didn't like the way it sat on the "desk area" next to the transformers as it overhung the end a lot.  I mounted a board at about a 65 degree angle and mounted the base to it.  

Ran some trains and played with my TMCC crane car.  

suzukovich posted:

and this is what has consumed my time and money for the last 5 months and delayed my new layout build.  My M1028 CUCV,  Wiring Harnesses and fuse box repaired( Had a short and the truck would not run)main reason for going into the shop!!!! On inspection it was found that the front end was shot, so begins the money pit and restoration. rebuilt the suspension front and rear including Axles, New steering box, power steering pump , Rear Main and oil pan seals, Black out drive switch panel reinstalled, New spin on fuel filter, Electronics in Steering column replaced, upgraded Glow plug card controller and relay, Upgraded starter and relays, at this point the alternators are charging but volt meter is just in the green  in a week or to. so plan on replacing them too. Why not what's another 400.00.  After that it just cosmetics, unit markings,  and interior panels. Haven't decided if I repaint it CARC Tan or tricolor woodland camouflage as of yet.  The great part is the truck is running again and I don't have to drive my wife's van unless I need to now..   Ok I got it. Its not a 67 Mustang.

Nice CUCV! Someone tried to sell one of those to me a while back, and I almost bought it. But my wife made it really clear that I only had room for one military vehicle, and there's no way I'm getting rid of my Jeep for something like that.

That said, I did use those things when I was active duty, and if I ever got my hands on one I have to paint it up like one of the ones we had.

mike g. posted:

Doug, I am glad you have your baby back, sorry you have to put $400 more into it. I always like the multi color camo, but that's just me.

I cant wait to see your kadee conversions on your new rolling stock! Im sure a new video with some great tunes is coming shortly!

I glad too. I just figure at this point since almost everything is new, replacing the alternators and avoiding a break down.  and it will be like having a new truck. Kids go back to school next week. Thank God.

suzukovich posted:

Mark Boyce posted:!

I worked this afternoon on taking down the shelves my daughter left, and spackling all the holes.  Next will be to paint over that awful pink with a nice light blue!  I am going to keep that one shelf on the bulkhead where the furnace vents go to exit the house.

How did the light blue come out.  Personally It would take guts to leave it and draw an out line of a Caddy. Then again Mary Kay pink doesn't weather to well.  

No pink Cadillac here! LOL The light blue is still sitting in the can In the corner!  

I have been trading and selling some items in the roster that just won't get run.  I have a trade to take care of tomorrow with a local forum member that will enhance roster versatility on the new layout!

Please stay tuned.

My son and I worked on the layout on Thursday.  We redid the bench work to mount the control panel for my Proviso Yard.  Then we connected the wiring to 15 of the 19 switches.  The remaining switches have to have wires run from the switches to the panel.  The track power switches and power supply status switches also are left to connect and run wires to.  We hope to get back at it tomorrow after attending the O Scale Show in Lombard in the morning.

Today we participated in a fabulous operating session at Fox Valley Model Railroad Club in Elgin, IL that was open for the O Scale Show.  It's hard to have more fun on a model railroad layout than this.  

I will post new pictures after our work session tomorrow on my layout progress thread.

Art

Ran trains early Friday morning 1:30 - 3:17 a.m.  I just could not resist the urge before going to bed .... thinking I'd only run them 10 minutes.  Somehow I got into the Zone and next thing I knew it was 3:17 in the morning.  I LOVE running trains!!!

While doing so I planned a new siding off my outer main line.  This will require me to purchase an 054 Gargraves or Ross switch and will require some urban renewal.  This will be a fun project!   

At the request of another formite, I took some photos of my overall layout.  Due to room constraints I could not get the entire layout into one photo so I took several from different angles.  Click on photos at bottom for captions/view info.

Jdevleerjr posted:

Just installed and painted this thing!  Can you guess what it is?  Stay tuned to find out after the paint drys.  

For some reason, I have no doubt that it is a covered-bridge (think: "Bridges of Madison County," movie.)

FrankM

Of course a classic New England covered bridge... among my hundreds of railroad paintings, I did this one showing one such bridge used by the B&M to cross a river on a branch line servicing – as I recall – a saw mill:

~Andy R

Ironbound posted:

Of course a classic New England covered bridge... among my hundreds of railroad paintings, I did this one showing one such bridge used by the B&M to cross a river on a branch line servicing – as I recall – a saw mill:

~Andy R

Wow!! Very nice, Andy!!

BlueComet400 posted:

Moonson posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

Mycustom-made drawbridge arrived...Even without tracks going through it, it really changes the look of our layout. 

The builder is Jim Ballmann, owner of Stainless unlimited; great guy to work with and a very sturdy bridge. 

 

Hi BlueComet400, I join you in your enthusiasm forJim Ballmann's Stainless Unlimited bridges. I have several from him....

... regarding the spans being sturdy, the one shown here bearing the Blue Comet traveling it, I tripped, on one occasion, when I was dismounting the layout, and began to fall. I reached out, instinctively, for the nearest support, which was this bridge (also, second photo, bridge on the right; fourth & fifth photos). It took my weight without any damage to either of us!

(And I'm no light-weight.) Now, that's sturdy!F

FrankM, Moon  Township, USA

Frank, those are gorgeous bridges. Yours look much more "to scale" than mine, but I needed something that would carry both Standard Gauge and O-Gauge. When you run mostly tinplate, the idea of scale pretty much goes right out the window.  Jim has been a real pleasure to work with and making sure his customers are satisfied is clearly his #1 priority. 

John

BlueComet400/John, I have a strong feeling you are going to make splendid use of your beautiful span and eagerly await seeing the results, or perhaps, even, your progress, as you go along, using your hands and imagination. Thanks for the reply and approval.

FrankM.

P.S. And besides, with Arthur helping out as Supervising Kitty, you'll have good company to keep you inspired. huh.

Last night I finished wiring my control panel.  Turns out I only made 2 mistakes, something I don't feel is too bad with all those wires.  Today, I turned on the power.  Swing Door coming up next.

I have an area of about 11x30 ft here. Lower level is a folded dog bone with a bypass route and two yards planned. The upper level is a large loop with a branch line planned. on the lower level, track is installed and operational for the main and bypass route Using Gargraves track and Ross 100 degree Turnouts. Curves formed to fit. . Permanent wiring is in place. . Yards will be done after the upper level is built since will need to get on the table in spots for the upper level.

Now its time to start laying out the upper level. Using 089 gargraves curves  and the Ross 100degree turnouts here. . The two lines are not interconnected and interchange will be handled by the 0-5-0 . Here are some photos.

This is an overall view of the upper level. Bridges in the back by the window don't show all that well. You can see the Grace of the 089 curves . The Passenger cars in the foreground are 18inch cars.

Planning a water feature by the window. . Atlas Cal Zephyr is on the upper level . The Bridges are the Lionel standard truss bridges. Nicely detailed and look very nice. Have three of these on the layout. The double track line in the foreground may be a deck Girder , not sure yet.

This bridge spans the entry into the operating area. Not fond of duckunders but this one is at 50 inches. I have a secretary chair that I bought at Target and you can sit in it and ride under the duck under. 

Looking back towards the near end of the layout. You can see the gracefulness of the 089 curves looking at the passenger cars. The building in the foreground is the Menards Feed and Grain . It is nicely done and good value in my opinion.

I'll post photos of more progress as we go.   

mjrodg3n88 posted:

Last night I finished wiring my control panel.  Turns out I only made 2 mistakes, something I don't feel is too bad with all those wires.  Today, I turned on the power.  Swing Door coming up next.

Mike I am impressed with your skills and how everything is turning out! The panel looks wonderful and its great with only 2 mistakes. I hope to be so lucky someday!

Played around with the Command Control Crane today.   I need to see if I can find a Steam tender.  I plan to repaint the crane for my own M&GL Railroad and no Diesels allowed!

LIRR Steamer , wonderful looking layout, you are right about those big curves really make the layout standout. It looks like everything runs smoothly with no effort needed. Its nice to have a layout that is so well organized.

trestle work

Today I read the 4 sale ads..making some offers...

looked at my layout and decided the Hobo Village is ready for the next step.. Adding some Hobo's..

Keep ya posted.

Brian

Continued with train room prep;  mounted flat black ceiling spotlights, some blue bulbs for "moonlight" and one yellow bulb in a corner for a sunrise/sunset effect. Primered old 80's wallpaper.  Found my nice backdrop - that I bought in 2002 ! - it should work nicely in this room.    Looked in guest bedroom a/k/a the temporary train storage room, and realized I have rolling stock & buildings for a layout twice this size.  Railroad management may have to sell off some surplus equipment......

mjrodg3n88 posted:

Last night I finished wiring my control panel.  Turns out I only made 2 mistakes, something I don't feel is too bad with all those wires.  Today, I turned on the power.  Swing Door coming up next.

Mike- Very nice work. Only two backwards wires is a major victory! The panel looks great.

Saturday, March 18: another fun day of populating passenger cars. I did a B&O Dome and coach today. For the dome, I put a LED strip in the roof. With the seating area floor solid, light did not get into the dome otherwise. That's great for the O-gauge folks looking out at night but I wanted those seeing the layout to be able to see the people in the dome. I'm using the Lionel scale passengers currently cataloged.  

What did you do on your layout today?

Nothing, it's been done for years now.  

I placed switch machines on my freshly soldered switches, drilling holes to drop the wires through the surface. I have several more to place and then I'll wire everything to power and my control board.

mike g  thanks for the nice words. My experience has been that most things work fairly well with the Gargraves track. The Joining of the handbent curves following 072 diameter was a bit tricky in order to avoid kinks in the joint. Having Macular degeneration to contend with , it was an interesting challenge . Also the levelness of the track in the turns is something to watch. Large locos like a 4-8-4 identify these improvement areas quickly . Also , the Atlas Cal Zephyr cars will find these areas as well. Shims are a handy thing when leveling out the track in a curve. A little patience and you get it right.

The Ross turnoughts are smooth and really work nice. I am thinking that the 089 curves on the upper level will minimize tracking issues for the layout. Its amazing how fast one can assemble a long run of track used the pre bent curves So Far so Good.

I want to trya nd place buildings and structures around the layout and to pencil in terrain features and some details that I want to incorporate. This York, I will spend time at the scenic express stand to pick up needed tunnel portals and wall treatments. 

mjrodg3n88 posted:

Last night I finished wiring my control panel.  Turns out I only made 2 mistakes, something I don't feel is too bad with all those wires.  Today, I turned on the power.  Swing Door coming up next.

Green lights; looks good!

mike g. posted:

LIRR Steamer , wonderful looking layout, you are right about those big curves really make the layout standout. It looks like everything runs smoothly with no effort needed. Its nice to have a layout that is so well organized.

I agree!  Your layout is really shaping up nicely!

BandOBob, the peopled cars look great!!  I will have to do the same someday!

Hello folks, I've been away from the forum for many years, not the least reason for which is that I haven't had a layout since my wife and I put our house in MD on the market in March 2014.  Now I have a brand-new 20'x20' layout underway in a dedicated train room in our house in PA.  I took delivery of my plywood a little over 3 weeks ago, and had trains running withing a week.  Today I worked on wiring the Atlas O PRR-type block signals I brought with me from my MD layout.  I want to get as much as possible done underneath before I turn my attention to scenery, which has never been my strong suit.  I hope to follow up with some in-progress images in the next day or so.

Retina,

Welcome back!  I'm glad you are building a new layout!  Please keep us up to date!

RETINPA posted:

Hello folks, I've been away from the forum for many years, not the least reason for which is that I haven't had a layout since my wife and I put our house in MD on the market in March 2014.  Now I have a brand-new 20'x20' layout underway in a dedicated train room in our house in PA.  I took delivery of my plywood a little over 3 weeks ago, and had trains running withing a week.  Today I worked on wiring the Atlas O PRR-type block signals I brought with me from my MD layout.  I want to get as much as possible done underneath before I turn my attention to scenery, which has never been my strong suit.  I hope to follow up with some in-progress images in the next day or so.

 

This sounds like it's going to be fun.

FrankM

I finished the Studebaker US6 2.5 ton truck today. This is a very hard to find 1/43 scale diecast by Atlas (its the only one I've ever found for sale by a US vendor) and came out of the box as a British one. I had to disassemble it, repaint and put new decals to make it look like a mid-war stateside truck.

Maybe someday, the same company will make the more common GMC one in 1/43.

Well, I had been working on a pair of SP signals; got slowed down by some medical issues, but this week spent a few hours finishing the wiring and today finally got to test the first  of the pair with a short train. Next is to fine tune and tweak it, and then go through the whole process with the second one which will be on the opposite side of the track facing the other direction. Then I'll do some scenic work to hide the sensors. 

Nothing really to show. I pulled another 400+ of power feeders. These are the last. Once they're done, I have 23 Ross switches to connect to my thee AIUs. 

I'll get it done. It is the best I could do with the available space. But the 32" layout height is a real pain to work under.

The WW II trucks were so cool !!   Real work horses.

Kids are gone but we finished up the platform for the north end reverse loop with a little help from my friend and helper Jordan, but not much. Jordan loves tools. At 3 years old who don't?

The tracking device I made worked well but for the south loop I am going tie the track to the wood and connect the sections with track clips, first before I trace the lines. It is good enough and will work fine. Just a train layout, not a space ship.

About it for today.

#fantastic work gents! I feel funny adding my updates to the Helix and beginning the mountain structure. Giraffe had to duck, and the grandson thinks the headelight and caboose lights look cool coming out of the tunnel. I am not sure if the endfacing Enter/Exit will be lumber or rock or concrete. Grandson and I were out in the snow looking for birch twigs for trees on the side of the mountain. Must be Northern Minnesota Ore area.....

Been working on a couple trestles with the bulk of the time spent on scenery, I'll keep you posted.

AMAZZZZZZZING!! "I want a small one, just - like - that!!" Very nice work. Someday I may have modeller skills, today is a tiny step called "interest".. still, a step. Love Love Love tressels....and lincoln logs and JENGA and trains and switches and grandkids and -----> looking at amazing modellers work!

Yesterday I started working on my swing door.  Got it pretty much setup, but still have to figure out a latching system.  I ordered a few things from McMaster Carr, so we will see how they work.  Also, I have a 1x4 along the top, but that is temporary, I bought a 1x10 today to cut down and support the turnout on the left side and the motor for it.  I cut the track on the right side at a 45 degree angle and ran a car over it a few times to make sure there were not any issues, there weren't.

Now for a problem that surfaced Saturday night.   My KW started smoking pretty good.  I  read another thread here about how to fix it, but since it was free, I"m wondering if it is just best to replace it.  (It smoked without anything attached too.)

Mike,

Looks like you have the swing door well in hand!!!

As to the KW, did you open it up yet to see what burnt?

Mike- the swing gate looks great. I hope you are going to add more cross bracing to it. With the controller behind it I can see it being leaned on a lot.

Given the planning that went into your control panel, I'm sure you have this all figured out already.

Finally was able to make some Dremel cuts to five pieces of tubular track while grandson was out visiting. I changed my mind on having an x-crossing in the middle of the layout, and instead went with an outer loop and inner yard with several sidings. There will be block wiring so that a train can run on the loop while another engine can do some switching and run accessories like the milk car, barrel loader, etc. Part of my reasoning for changing to a loop is that he can put together and push around long trains. We tried getting the 2055 to run last night, but for some reason the transformer which had been working just fine a couple months ago now is putting out wildly inconsistent voltage and seems to pop an internal protection. 

mjrodg3n88 posted:

Yesterday I started working on my swing door.  Got it pretty much setup, but still have to figure out a latching system.  I ordered a few things from McMaster Carr, so we will see how they work.  Also, I have a 1x4 along the top, but that is temporary, I bought a 1x10 today to cut down and support the turnout on the left side and the motor for it.  I cut the track on the right side at a 45 degree angle and ran a car over it a few times to make sure there were not any issues, there weren't.

Now for a problem that surfaced Saturday night.   My KW started smoking pretty good.  I  read another thread here about how to fix it, but since it was free, I"m wondering if it is just best to replace it.  (It smoked without anything attached too.)

Really looking good.  As far as the KW goes, let go R.I.P.  Today you should be using the newer Transformers with quick trigger circuit breakers.  I have a KW that I use as my bench transformer with an inline 10amp fast blow fuse.  If you are in love with your KW, contact a friend (EE) of mine - Jim Lawson, jimjerrielaw@tds.net.  He is an OGR member and rebuilds these things.

Say hi to the good looking blonde for me.

Mark Boyce posted:

 

As to the KW, did you open it up yet to see what burnt?

Thanks Mark!  I opened it up and I have no idea to be honest. 

RSJB18 posted:

Mike- the swing gate looks great. I hope you are going to add more cross bracing to it. With the controller behind it I can see it being leaned on a lot.

Given the planning that went into your control panel, I'm sure you have this all figured out already.

Thanks, you bet I do, just haven't made it that far! 

 decoynh posted:

Really looking good.  As far as the KW goes, let go R.I.P.  Today you should be using the newer Transformers with quick trigger circuit breakers.  I have a KW that I use as my bench transformer with an inline 10amp fast blow fuse.  If you are in love with your KW, contact a friend (EE) of mine - Jim Lawson, jimjerrielaw@tds.net.  He is an OGR member and rebuilds these things.

Say hi to the good looking blonde for me.

Thanks, and I will!  She wasn't allowed in there last night after just getting a bath and saw dust everywhere!  

Not in love with it, may get something else, not sure what, going to start a thread about it now.

I proved that a pantograph and a little yellow paint can spice up the drabbest diesel switcher!

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...toration-photographs

Mitch

Gents, 

Since I do a lot of buildings and more to come.. I have been weathering cars lately and putting together 2-rail work train.. tie gondolas (i.e. Atlas gons0, depressed center flats which were MTH.. The crawler is two Lionel Crane Kits.. the weathered bull dozers are from? I forget.. I bought them ten years ago.. In fact, all these cars are ten plus yrs old or there of and finally getting around to making this trainset. Thanks for looking.. Dan

trumptrain posted:

Ran trains early Friday morning 1:30 - 3:17 a.m.  I just could not resist the urge before going to bed .... thinking I'd only run them 10 minutes.  Somehow I got into the Zone and next thing I knew it was 3:17 in the morning.  I LOVE running trains!!!

While doing so I planned a new siding off my outer main line.  This will require me to purchase an 054 Gargraves or Ross switch and will require some urban renewal.  This will be a fun project!   

At the request of another formite, I took some photos of my overall layout.  Due to room constraints I could not get the entire layout into one photo so I took several from different angles.  Click on photos at bottom for captions/view info.

Trumptrain,

Pleasure meeting you several weeks back at the B&O Museum! Layout looks fantastic. Give Rich and I a call and we'll bring over some trains and beer!  

After a bit of a hiatus and re routing the furnace drain pipe I got back into the swing of things again. Today got the frame work for a table done. Tomorrow I hope to get it into place and screw plywood down. Pic.......... Paul 

Paul, glad you are back onto the layout build again!

Still working on the elevated reverse loop. The idea is to build this with the least interruption to the finished layout below it.

Yesterday I did get a jig made to glue the 45 degree pieces for the bents I am making to hold the elevated level straight section that will have the # 50 gang car MOW bump run directly running under it.    It will be about 13' of straight run. It is also the straight section between the two reversing loops.

Here is a look at the concept of where I want to go and a few of the bents.

One other good thing is it has given me reason to buy a couple of new tools for the shed.

Today was spent making up a few legs that I needed for the table I am working on. Once I got them on I secured the frame to the wall and got the level out to see where I stood as to being level. Surprised myself just about dead on. That's as far as I got today. Tonight is a train get together. Pic of the table in place.......Paul

Paul, the bench work is looking great, but I don't think its big enough for all the Menards product you have coming and the stuff you just haven't ordered yet!

Thanks Mike, as long as I keep adding shelves under the tables I'll have room for all the stuff coming. But if I put down some track on the tables they can sit in the open. The table in the pic is the first of the L shaped island. Once I get the plywood on that section I can plan out connecting it to the far tables. What I'll be doing is using that die cast bridge from Lionel along with girder bridges on both sides. The bridge with girder bridges will span an area basically 60 inches. So I got my work cut out for me before the weather turns better and they yard work begins. But I will be applying the same thing I have done over the past few years. If it is raining it is a work on the layout day. So Mike we will just have to bide our time till the brewery comes along............................Paul

SIRT posted:

What did you do on your layout today?

Nothing, it's been done for years now.  

DONE!!!!!????

A layout is never done or it ain't no fun!.

Today, I am looking forward to my new addition of a post war Locomotive: Hudson 2055, $300. and a video that it runs....

Thoughts from the community? please

Miggy posted:

Today, I am looking forward to my new addition of a post war Locomotive: Hudson 2055, $300. and a video that it runs....

Thoughts from the community? please

For that price, that loco had better be in factory fresh condition AND serve you beers! 

Mitch

Miggy posted:

Today, I am looking forward to my new addition of a post war Locomotive: Hudson 2055, $300. and a video that it runs....

Thoughts from the community? please

Love my Post war 2065 Hudson, almost the same. Good runner, smoker, and puller. If you are happy with what you paid, it is all good. Knowing it would run is worth something for sure but $300 is kind of up there.

 Enjoy yours!

KRM posted:

Still working on the elevated reverse loop. The idea is to build this with the least interruption to the finished layout below it.

Yesterday I did get a jig made to glue the 45 degree pieces for the bents I am making to hold the elevated level straight section that will have the # 50 gang car MOW bump run directly running under it.    It will be about 13' of straight run. It is also the straight section between the two reversing loops.

Here is a look at the concept of where I want to go and a few of the bents.

One other good thing is it has given me reason to buy a couple of new tools for the shed.

Does your truck have a bumper sticker that says " my other car is a John Deere"  Nice tractor

RSJB18 posted:

Does your truck have a bumper sticker that says " my other car is a John Deere"  Nice tractor

Thanks RSJB18,

No but nothing runs like a Deere,     And I spent 36 years working at Caterpillar. 

#MITCH  hmmm, what kind of beers? funny, oh, typo. $30.00 thirty not 300.

Not too far fetched. After WW II my grandfather bought a yellow Minneapolis-Moline tractor that had a cab, headlights and a radio.  It was advertised that you could plow during the day and take Mama in to town at night. it was sold and today is a show tractor worth a lot more than it cost.

I finished installation of my Atlas O PRR block signals, which are playing nicely with my bidirectional grade crossing actuators.  I had my doubts I would get everything working right after it was packed away for 3 years, but the handwritten notes I took when I dismantled my prior layout were adequate.  On this layout I need another grade crossing actuator, and oh how I wish I had saved Peter Riddle's article from years ago!  As it is I will have to reverse-engineer one of my existing actuators.

I also need one more Atlas O PRR block signal.  *sigh*  I know I'm not the only one who wants them.  All we can do is wait it out and hope that they eventually become available again.  They're backordered everywhere I checked.

Next up will be adapting my traffic lights to work on this layout.  I have the Circuitron TL-1 traffic light controller and the FL-2 grade crossing flasher circuit that Circuitron tech support helped me to modify to flash more slowly.  The signals themselves are scale sized LED units, the style with the signal head atop a pole, one at each corner of the intersection.  A relay toggles the signals from normal sequence during the day to alternate flashing (red one direction, yellow the other) at night.  I added small capacitors to the outputs of the FL-2 so the lights will fade like incandescent lamps when they're flashing.  Overall the signals add a lot of interest in a small space.

#JIM My grandfater workined in the Minneapolis MOLINE here in the Hopkins area of Minnesota. I had a little pedal tractor for the sidewalks, "Minneapolis Moline". Gramps retired there..... from his early days in the Proctor Minnesota Roundhouse working on the Mallets!

thanks for the memories, JIM