What did you do on your layout today?

Get crackin' Matt. You have a little more than two weeks. After that you're mine.

Very funny!

Me and my son ran the Polar Express train and now Thomas in looping the layout.  I really want to get him a Lioncheif Thomas set but since he already has a Thomas set I might get him another starter set with a Lioncheif remote.  

Looked at it Its still there!

 

Clem

B&LE - I'm sorry to hear about your basement and the layout having to come down.  Hopefully then next place will be better.

 

Don - Glad your wife is feeling better.

 

I spent some time on my kitbashed station background building.  Got the lights, sign, and most of the outside molding on.

 

 

I purchased a new set of 60' Passenger cars, with 6 wheel trucks. A section of track on my layout, with a kink in the rail and dip has caused some minor issues with steam locomotives slipping. The new cars with 6 wheel trucks would derail on this section. I had never done anything about it as this section hadn't been enough of a problem to make me do anything about it until now. I cut out the section of track, relayed with new track, leveled it, reballasted and it is now in place and drying. Also, not only do the passenger cars stay on the rails, but the steam locomotives don't loose traction. 

Repaired a 726 with 2426W tender and tested it on my layout, then put it on Ebay.

2 weeks til you're cracking the whip? I'll try to get the roundhouse prepped but it takes a tremendous amount of energy just procrastinating

Ballasted more MTH realtrax, almost done :-)

Finally installed the new passenger train station platforms that Alex Malliae produced!!!!!!

I had to put up two doors to my furnace/work room. I will be confining my two cats to the room at night. I reached my limit of cat hair all over the layout or rolling stock on it's side or off the track.

I counted the hobos. They seem to migrate from camp to camp! I have 5 hobo camps!

 

Mike Maurice

Glued down the "last" of my ground cover .  I do have a 3 foot hinged drop-down that needs covering, but now I'm thinking of building a bridge to put in its place.  the bridge requires one side to be curved (it's the tail of a Wye section where I'm using a 072 LH turnout), IF I want to make it as slim as possible.

 

A hinged girder type bridge would look way better than the section I have there now:

 

http://pic50.picturetrail.com/...098502/407302371.jpg

 

I can keep what I have now while I'm building the bridge, once I'm finished I will only need to attach the hinges at one end and the slide "keep" at the other.

I received some light bulbs, placed them on the coffee table.

Completed the framework and top on my new addition.  It's 13 foot by 8 foot. An area is set aside for kids and gran kids to build a circus. I have been accumulating circus items for a year or so.  Tent and all. They all have there own ideas so it should be interesting. All girls. Ranging in age from 5 to 24. 5 girls. My only boy is 27 and leaving for Mexico to work.  

Nothing on mine today because I'm 2000 miles from home. However I did stop at Eastside Trains in the Seattle area, and bought a few MTH gondolas for the railroad.

 

But the real highlight of the trip so far was what came next. We visited Peter Hambling's NWTL and got the royal tour from Dave Hikel. Dave and I would still be yacking now if Mrs Big Boy hadn't pulled the emergency brake after two hours. My wife is a good sport when it comes to my train nuttery.

 

One more huge thanks to Dave and the Hamblings. Spectacular layout!

Finally, getting to wiring. What a mess.....normal, I seem to run a vacuum as much as I get anything else done. Still fun.

Went to P&D Hobby for small parts and a building kit then on to Wild Bills to see whats new. He sure as a lot of buildings.Planning my winter projects.

Sculpted some rock cliffs.

Began the long process of tearing it down and going without one, at least a permanent one, probably for the rest of my life.

Sat and stared at it for a while...continuing the now nearly year long debate on packing up the trains and sell/toss everything else or sell everything altogether. I've felt, often over the past year with the urges getting stronger and stronger, it was time to move on for something else. 

I was at both places today also!

Put down more homasote, and continued working on my maze of track at my TT area and RH. 

FINALLY got the two tracks for the coaling tower installed ... whew!  Making it match up with the turnouts at each end was a doozy ...

Started to work on re-lighting the 2012 Atlas Coca-Cola truck. The factory installed battery operated lights are very weak, so I am going to give this truck some real POP with alternating red and white LEDs. Stay tuned.

Much as I hate it, Packed many cars and several engines into the boxes to tear down.

I will be moving next month.

Haven't got it nailed down but the place we are trying to go to will actually have a better area for the layout. (Still in the basement tho...)

Good luck with the move, Russell.

Yesterday I planned to wire up two switches and redo a siding with Gargraves Flex track instead of the Fastrack.

 

Instead I worked all day trying to figure out why my tender on my Legacy 0-8-0 doesn't work.  Even with all the great suggestions from forum members I couldn't solve it.  It will go to Wild Bills tomorrow and Elmer can sort it out.  

Added some lighting to a few structures.  I have been putting it off.  Lighting makes a huge difference in the looks of things but I find that as I get older it is getting harder to crawl around under the layout!!! (but it is still fun!!!)

 

 

Began major tear down work. Got a good bit done...still plenty more to do!

 

OK Matt

We in the same boat...I know where your at. Try and make it fun, if ya can.

I fussed with some of the details on a new scratch built 'Streets 18-wheeler, with a cab-over tractor that looks much better than I thought it would.

Yesterday and today, found places to put a couple new-to-me tinplate Flyer stations.  A while back I got on a kick to collect every Flyer station, and I'm getting there, but beginning to be a problem on the layout.  Running out of real estate.  

 

There's going to have to be a moment of reckoning here; if the collections don't all fit on the layout, something's going to have to give.

 

 

Re-fluffed the wadding on three old steamers, broke out a 4th, and filled them with the P&P vanilla smoke fluid from the Pats Trains smoke fluid sample giveaway (who also replaced mine, that I spilled.., even after the giveaway officially ceased! That's about as friendly as you can be!). Anyhow... Dug out some illuminated passenger cars, dimmed the houselights down to "dusk", and swung 4 throttles. The room was soon smelling nice, and all the lighting was busy playing in the haze of my puffers.

The real good news was my Rock Island & Peoria "General" it is smoking better than ever! The initial use of this fluid caused it to barely smoke. I haven't ran it in months. Putting on the track again I got no smoke, so shrugging my shoulders I added one drop of P&P, and it sprang to life. After a minute I added another one, and its smoke output is like new. I think I may have "flooded" it before using 4 drops like I used to with the old tiny tubes they came with, as this P&P stuff seems to last longer too. Thicker? Higher temp? I don't know but I'm very, very, happy right now

 Thanks again to Pat's. 

Larry,

 

It is actually a learning experience...learning where and how I put this thing together 3 years ago...LOL! 

 

Before I forget I ordered all (hopefully...) the Atlas track I'll need to get running on the new layout. First time using the Atlas 21st Century Track as well. 

Just started to think about the layout today.

 

With summer winding down here on the beautiful North Fork of Long Island, train time is near.  Have some summer purchases to unpack, and give some run time to.

 

Ken

 

Unfortunately, packing my brand new FP45 Santa fe PS3 in order to ship it to MTH MD because it does not run at all with DCS, factory defect.

Technically not part of my layout, but I am one step closer to completing my train room so that I can finally get a layout going!

 

Got 1/2 the room covered in sheet rock over the last couple of days

 

 

"Bryan in Ohio" and "Jdstucks"/Jason (along with others):

 

I am blown away with what you have achieved on your layouts right here in northeastern Ohio.

 

Clearly your layouts (and others here) are fine works of art; creations that could be compared to similar works in Germany and elsewhere in the world.

 

I think either one of your layouts would make for a great article in "O-Gauge Railroading Magazine" and, they, of course, are also in northeastern Ohio.

Unfortunately, we found another foreclosure (in our spare time we fix up foreclosures and rent them out) so layout building time has been pushed to the back burner.  Did sneak in enough time to wire lights to station #2. 

 

Larry3 thanks for the compliment but I have a long way to go.  Send me an email (its in my profile) sometime, would like to see your layouts and when I get more of mine done come for a visit.