What did you do on your layout today?

John - I hope we can find a couple seats in one of the Alaska “dome” cars.  But if it’s Alaska any seat will do. It’s a shame, but over the years I’ve sold all my AKASKA RR cars & engines to concentrate more on local (to me) RR’s. Thanks. Pretty funny line about this year’s census 😁!  I’ve commented b4 about how you have a bigger population, than my hometown here in NH. 

                     they are still here when you want to see them Matt...

@decoynh posted:

John - I hope we can find a couple seats in one of the Alaska “dome” cars.  But if it’s Alaska any seat will do. It’s a shame, but over the years I’ve sold all my AKASKA RR cars & engines to concentrate more on local (to me) RR’s. Thanks. Pretty funny line about this year’s census 😁!  I’ve commented b4 about how you have a bigger population, than my hometown here in NH. 

John could exceed the population of my home town with one train.  Population-350.  We lived on the hill above town.

Added some small-footprint Menards stuff. Cool Train tunnel under one of their structures.....

Mark,  

I added up the people in my Alaska passenger train and it totals 172 people, counting babies,

The eight cars have the following numbers:  Generator - 0,  Baggage - 6,  Coach #200 - 25,  Coach #202 - 19,  Coach #204 - 21,  Dome Diner - 38,  Dining car - 33,  and Vista Vision Dome - 30.

I have included pictures to show the people counted.  It would probably take two trains to equal the 350 people in your home town.  The Alaska has a low count compared to my other passenger trains because of the Generator Car.  The three Atlas O 12-car California Zephyr and Amtrak Dome Cars really are loaded with people. 

Have a good week.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, All the cars look great!!!!

Brian - I know that those cars have a good home.  It's like being in a train museum. Seeing the pictures once a year brings back great memories.  I'm happy with my local railroads.  Down at the general store today and the Down Easter (AMTRAK) came through on its way to Maine.  Lucky that we live a 1/4 mile from the main line. BYE for now.

Wow, page 949, moving steadily toward page 1000, and this is a great running thread full of some of the best trains and layouts across the World, so uniquely interesting. Today, B&O, BNSF.... A fun day to be on the OGR Forum. Happy Railroading Everyone, 

Added some grass tufts today.

Late afternoon I finally received the Tuscan Red gloss scalecoat paint. I had already disassembled my kitbashed baggage for painting. The first coat spraying went well. I will give it 2 days to cure before the final spray. It's gloss may interfere with a fair evaluation in my shop light. But holding up a door to a Ggd car and a Weaver car, it's very close. In the photo, the K-line stock color is on the left, Rusto flat red primer is center, and scalecoat is on the right.

After a little deliberation, I decided to sell my MTH Superliner Amtrak 4 car set - just went live on the bay. Bought it a couple of years ago and never took it out of the box - until today. As much as I like the looks of this set, I do not have an engine to pull it and I would rather get other engines BN (green) and SF (Kodak) and a GN passenger set to go along with the GN FT ABA set I picked up. (wall color is light blue gray, not yellow - I'll have to go back to photography school.)  

Larry. Your Layout pics look great and yes this forum has to be the best of the best 

Scott. The landscaping looks great 

Scoutingdad. The Amtrak cars look nice always liked them 

pennysnut. Your progress is looking very good 

This evening I decaled a old Atlas O car I painted last year. The paint didn’t come out that well on one side and neither did the decals when I hit them with gloss. These are old champ decals I should have done lighter coats next I’ll remember 

I’ve been busy planning a new layout on SCARM for my new basement. The room is 24’x12’. I’ve done several renderings and have it narrowed down to a couple choices. It’s for sure going to be an “around the room layout” just not sure what plan I’m going to go with. It’ll be my first layout from scratch. Very excited and nervous at the same time!

@NSRailfan100 posted:

I’ve been busy planning a new layout on SCARM for my new basement. The room is 24’x12’. I’ve done several renderings and have it narrowed down to a couple choices. It’s for sure going to be an “around the room layout” just not sure what plan I’m going to go with. It’ll be my first layout from scratch. Very excited and nervous at the same time!

Though I have built several layouts, I have struggled with what plan to go with on my latest layout.  I read articles in the magazines that state the builder/owner knew what he wanted from previous layouts, so he went at it.  I have never felt that way I think because space, time, and money constraints make for so many compromises.  If you haven't already, I would suggest posting a separate topic on your layout design in the Track Plans and Layout Design section, and through discussion others can see any flaws in the plans, ask questions, and make comments that will help you narrow it down.  I'll look forward to seeing what you come up with.

@mike g. posted:

Morning everyone, what great work is being done and some really wonderful photos! I see things really haven't changed. Larry still has his Amazing layout, John R. is still painting people! LOL, Paul2 is still finding room to make his layout larger! Mark is well underway with his layout.

But as for me I am in the same boat as Lee, the CEO has come up with another project for me right when I thought it was Train Room time. I did get a chance to get out there this weekend and pulled down my military train to switch out with my freight train. I then realized that the shelfs above the layout where I store my off the layout trains is a bad idea as I have to get up on the layout to swap them out. Something I will have to work on when I get a chance. Here is a photo of my Military train, I didnt get far but it was just nice being in the train room!

Now I know its not a big deal, but I took my truck to the local Mech. to have it looked at and come to find out he has a speeder. I know almost everyone has a speeder and its not that big of a deal. But this one was handed down to him from his dad who road it on the logging rails here in Mason County. I hope you enjoy this little find!

I hope everyone has a great day and finds time for there layout and trains! Most of all I hope you all have fun!

Wouldn't happen to be Mason County WV, would it?

No, if I remember correctly, mike.g lives in Washington State.

Rusty

@Diverging Clear posted:

No, if I remember correctly, mike.g lives in Washington State.

Rusty

Ah, thanks. Mason County WV is the next county over from where I live.

Morning guys I have got a little done lately but I will post photos later today. Everyone has been doing wonderful work and I miss the time I cant get here. I had to go back 2 pages to get up to speed on what everyone is doing, Wow thats a lot of reading! LOL

John, Rusty is right I live in Mason County Washington.

John R, your cars are turning out amazing as always!

Lee, I thing the box car came out very nice! Dont be to hard on yourself! 

I hope you all have a great Hump day and I will try to check in later today with photos and hopefully a video from my home made camera car!

Finished shelves. Need to stain.

Let's try another shot of my small layout. Four loops (one Flyer). Small but works.

A couple of weeks ago I added another LCS Sensor track.

In the new Lionel 2020 Volume 2 catalog, Lionel introduced a UP Genset decorated with some graffiti, however, cancelled the sale do to UP guidelines. The reason I brought this up is BNSF must have allowed Lionel to decorate their gondolas with graffiti. I was going to pull these cars with the genset. Lee Drennen, I like your UP Be Specific Box Car, cool. Happy Railroading Everyone 

Mike. Thanks for the complement I’m just hard on myself because I knew better not to put thick layers on. If it has your stamp of approval the it’s done 

Larry. Nice pics 

Grzyboski's Trains have two 2027260 Colorado Eagle Vista Vision Camera cars.  The Kenefick Business car that was shipped in a factory-sealed 2027260 shipping carton is on its way back. They will ship a replacement for the Colorado Eagle.

Opening the Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera Car to paint the interior.  I have one coat of paint on the lower level and two on the Dome seats.  I usually apply three coats of paint.

Have a good night.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Simply scoping out my wiring plan is all I did.  I'm hoping to get started soon so I won't have a collection of alligator clips everywhere.    There really isn't that much wiring to do now that I have almost all the jumpers connected to the track.  I just have to do it.

Assembled my K-line kitbash baggage after the paint cured. I'm a little underwhelmed with the overall results. But it was a worthwhile experiment. It's way too glossy and I want to dull it but I need to wait until it's decaled. The lights really throw off the color especially with the gloss finish. I compared it to my MTH cars and it's fairly close. I thought it would be more red. FWIW, here's some pics. It does look a little more Pennsy I think.

Loose Caboose--ahhh--conventional operation--that explains everything--like 32 blocks. I gave up conventional operation specifically because of the number of blocks required and the extra wiring required to support those blocks. I decided to run only DCS and operate TMCC through DCS--no Legacy or conventional. That decision saved me a ton of work plus a bunch of money and has held up well over time. I've made plenty of bad layout decisions. But that wasn't one of them!

Don Merz

The last Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People arrived today, September 3, 2020.  I can't find any more.  I put the Flesh colored paint on the 24 figures in order to prepare them for a Dome Vista Vision Camera Car.  While they dry, I will put the final coat of paint on the seats of the Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera Car.

Update:  Well, I let the passenger car set because I realized I need specific people for the camera car when it is done.  I painted the Parents with babies.  The parents come in four, three and two pieces that must be glued together after painting. My eyesight is not very good tonight, so this is where I stop.

Another Day, Another Update:  I continued working on my last three Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.  I glued some of the parents with babies together and painted other figures.

Have a good night.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Hey John. I have a 5 car ghost train - MTH Milwaukee Road Hiawatha that is being pulled by an EP2 thanks to ScaleRail and his Last Run videos. I am going to have to go down your path at painting an entire set of passengers for this set. Where do you get your clothing color ideas from?

What colors did people from Milwaukee wear back then? - Just kidding. I just know everyone did not have black hair and no faces.

I'll post a short video in homage to ScaleRail in the next few days, of course the quality will not come close to what he produces.  Funny thing - MTH says minimum 72 dia curves on the EP2, it takes my one 42 dia 90 degree curve with no problems. Nice running engine and nice puller.  Jeff

Since getting settled in,  thought I'd take advantage of my newfound space to give my custom Frankenloco Pennsy 2-8-0 a workout and see just how tough she is. 

Here she's pulling a consist of 16 cars,  most modern MTH stuff but several PW cars with some serious drag.  

The engine has a Pittman worm drive that's geared way down (don't know exact ratio) so top speed at 19 volts is relatively slow but she has absolutely no problem with torque to pull this heavy load. 

Jeff, You worked fast getting something set up to run a train.  The Frankenloco looks and runs great!

Just came up from the train cave. I have ten 2 bay coal hoppers and all except 4 have coal loads. I have wanted to make coal loads for the empties for a long time. Tonight I started the process. Scrap foam board for base cut and fit. Glued some bunched newspaper to the base for contour and glued strips of newspaper to smooth things. After they dry I will check for fit in the cars, liberally apply glue to the surface, then cover with coal. Spray flat or gloss black. I ran a mixed freight with a Pennsy M1a, then the ten car coal train with a Pennsy Decapod. You regulars are busy too!

Got the ERR Cruise Commander installed on my Lionel Commodore Vanderbilt this evening. Now All I need is my motor conversion from Timko. It shouldn't take as long to get it back this time since he doesn't have to make a gear for it.

Rscott, are you using the original railsounds?

@romiller49 posted:

Rscott, are you using the original railsounds?

Yes Rod I am using the original Railsounds. I love that whistle. It sounds so sad and lonely.  I have powered it up and checked out all sounds work along with lights. 

Jeff. I liked the train run how big is you table?  

John. The figures look great as always the ones in the dome look neat 

pennynut. I’ve been workIng on a old Weaver Hopper I’m on the fence about adding coal your pics look great 

Here’s a old Weaver I re-painted and decaled. I’m using some old Champ decals for this project. I’ve gave it a light coat of clear so far. 

Spent a lot of time working on train projects today.

1. I painted the shell of my K-line kitbash Baggage mail car. Windows next.

2. Glued coal on four load inserts for some 2 bay hoppers.

3. Received GGD PRR BM70 car and inserted it in my fast mail train. My lighting is really off so my pics don't do this car justice. But the color next to the B70 baggage car I bought recently is definitely different. And examining the sides toward the ends of the car, reveals that the decal info for the postal end vs. the baggage end is reversed on both sides. Don't really want to send it back. Its a nice car otherwise. I subtituted the car into the mail train consist for a stock K-line version and when I applied power, the K-line K4 moved a short distance then quickly stopped. I reversed applied power and it did the same thing. Back and forth and then I put the loco on the bench. Found that the linkage on one side was lose, and linkage on the otherside was binding. There is a part about in the middle of both sides where two small lever arms connect sharing a pin screw. That part is brass and had moved putting the connection and operation of one arm in a bind. I had to remove the shell (twice) to get to the screw that mounts the part on the engine. I really tightened it finally, but was unsure about it reoccurring, so I ran to the town so I could watch it better. 

I may change out the fluorescent bulbs for a soft white or other type to get a less harsh appearance. Enjoy the weekend. Cheers.

My progress had been minimal. I got lights wired into my two buildings and added a small accessory transformer for them. I also went around my track with a small plastic mallet and hammered all the joints together the best I could and temporarily screwed the track down to keep it tight. It's amazing how much of a difference that made in noise and power. The night before last, I pulled all of my rolling stock out of the box, oiled the axles and cleaned the wheels. It made  a huge difference in the amount of cars I can pull vs voltage. I went from needing 16 volts to only 12, even after adding 5 more cars to the consist. I may start on my mountain/tunnel tonight.

I showed it to an 11 year old boy whose grandfather is a friend of mine.  The boy just got his BSA Railroading Merit Badge.  He was fascinated!!  Maybe someday a model railroader! 

My coal loads are still drying from glue spray. Finished with my K-line kitbash. Here's a before/after pic. The paint job, it's not great so I will weather it after decals. Ran a few trains today Cheers.

I was a little close to the edge so I changed the table size from 63 x 18.9 to 69 x 19.11. I can still reach the middle easily. 

Dave...been watching your progress with interest...I was intrigued by the surface of your table.  Did you coat it with something?  It almost looks like you fiber-glassed the top.  Did you?

Don

Don, Its just 2 x 4 drop ceiling tile turned upside down and glued to 1/2 inch plywood. It provides good sound deadening and is easy to work with.

Thanks Dave, I got it.  It is a good idea, sound proofing as well as flat surface.  It just looked odd in the picture.

Don

These are some O scale AHM I’ve been working on. I’m converting them to 3rail.   The Lackawanna I painted/decaled last year with Tichy Train Group decals today I put a new floor in it and added some Lionel sprung trucks which I drilled out all the ones I have and removed that pin/ button.  Next was a Union Pacific car I used some old left over Microscale decals I had I also made a new floor for that. I’ll be adding some On the carriage detail like crossmembershon the carriage detail to these and some stirrups.

Today I made some small progress, painted the backdrop walls blue to start, installed a blocking panel over the left basement window & fashioned a piece of 1/8" Masonite to hide the piping in the far corner but still allow removability for access.  Also painted some track... still trying to find a suitable rust-colored paint in a rattle can, I'm getting closer !

3.98 inches of rain at Cleveland Hopkins Airport kept me inside painting.  Flood warnings were issued as area creeks overflowed their banks.  The Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera car will use more than one 24-pack of Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.  I painted some extra figures from China.

The Alaska Vista Vision Dome used 30 people. This car may have a couple more.  My next car is in transit, but was sent to the wrong post office by Downtown Cleveland Sorting.  It arrived Tuesday.

John Rowlen

After a 2 month hiatus I finally got some train room time and got the inside loop wired today. Don’t mind the bench work mess haha. 

@John Rowlen posted:

3.98 inches of rain at Cleveland Hopkins Airport kept me inside painting.  Flood warnings were issued as area creeks overflowed their banks.  The Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera car will use more than one 24-pack of Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.  I painted some extra figures from China.

John Rowlen

@John Rowlen, given the thousands of figures you've painted, how have your techniques and materials changed over time:  such as, paints, brushes, application of colors, grinding, and so forth?

In short, how is what you do now different from what you did when you started?

@trestleking posted:

Today I made some small progress, painted the backdrop walls blue to start, installed a blocking panel over the left basement window & fashioned a piece of 1/8" Masonite to hide the piping in the far corner but still allow removability for access.  Also painted some track... still trying to find a suitable rust-colored paint in a rattle can, I'm getting closer !

Not advice, just recalling my attempt long ago. Everyone has color preferences when it comes to weathering track and ties. I have Atlas and I tried the marker technique and acrylics for coloring. But the marker just didn't capture the look I envisioned. When I did my "Not quite a complete redo" I had a lot of track to do and the Atlas ties as well. I just used Rusto earth brown camo and it has worked for me for the light on my layout. The most important thing for me was dulling the track shine and plastic looking ties. Hope to see more of your work.

Filled in the middle and sealed all the seems. It'll all be covered eventually anyway but it makes me feel better about it.

Spent this rainy day working on a YT video & then had Labor Day left overs in the train room.  Spare ribs and Baby Reds Mashed Potatoes. Railroad Bon appetit.

Gary 🚂

Carl,

Changes in my painting and installation of Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.

1.  Paints are still Testor's Acryl Flat Paints.  Custom colors start with Flat White plus tinting color like blue or red to create pastel colors.  I started my detailing right before Easter many years ago, therefore the Spring colors.

2.  Fitting people into the cars was done by much hand sanding with emery nail boards and files.  The use of a Dremel battery rechargeable Handheld with grinding drum changed my process and improved my work.

3.  I have used Preiser 65602 white blanks, except at times when I could not purchase them.  Five years ago and then now, there was an interruption in supply of the seated People.  I have had to purchase blanks from EveModel on Ebay.  The figures from China need an extra coat of paint to fully cover the pink plastic,  Molded details are not as sharp as Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.

4.  Tamiya 87153, 87154, and 87155 Quality Paint Brushes have improved my painting.  At $12.00 each from Omnimodels  on Ebay, they perform better than the previous brushes I used.

Other than the new brushes and the Dremel grinder, I am doing the same old thing.  On a good night I can complete 12 people.  Add a couple more nights to install the people in the passenger cars.

I paint my own people because Preiser charges $5.00 to $7.50 to factory paint these individual figures.  The factory painted figures are very hard to find in any quantity,  At a minimum of 30 people in the Vista Vision Dome Camera passenger cars, the $150.00 would have stopped me from using the quality Preiser figures.  I spend for the blanks and paint, and can create figures in a variety of clothing colors.  Preiser factory-painted figures look the same, sometimes in two color choices.

5.  It seems to be taking me longer to paint the figures.  I have lost center vision in my left eye.  The use of a battery headlamp to illuminate what I paint, helps me get a better paint job.

Have a good week.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, Outstanding list and description of your products used.  I hope you are getting that eye looked at.

@John Rowlen posted:

 

5.  It seems to be taking me longer to paint the figures.  I have lost center vision in my left eye.  The use of a battery headlamp to illuminate what I paint, helps me get a better paint job.

Have a good week.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, please see an eye doctor soonest! Macular degeneration can present like this and there is now treatment. My wife noticed loss of vision in the lower right quadrant and it turned out to be [wet] MD. She receives an eye injection monthly and the progress of the disease has been arrested. Had she caught it sooner the lost vision might have been completely restored. Medicare covers the cost, other than a $15 office-visit copay.

@John Rowlen, THANKS for the taking the time to provide such a detailed and informative reply to my question.

Mark, Lew and Carl,

Thank you for your interest and information.  My eye doctor says a burst of cholesterol invaded the center of my left eye.  It is not MD.  Perhaps stress and extreme exertion caused the damage twelve years ago when I had my print shop.  Moving heavy boxes and some of my printing presses around my shop may have contributed to it.

The painting has become an escape from the covid-19 virus and my caregiver duties for Mom,  We are fortunate that she is better and getting ready to celebrate her 94th birthday in November. At age 70, I am running slower, ... and I don't like it, ... but I am still moving.

I am giving the Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera passenger car the last coat of paint on the seats.  Tonight I plan the placement and grind the figures for gluing.  A little paint touch-up may be necessary on the figures.  I completed 93 new figures in the past week.

UPDATE:  The car is now detailed with 36 Seated People including babies.  I will use Dulcote to cover any shiny glue and close the car and test it tomorrow.

Have a good week

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Hello John !

Painting 93 little figures is most definitely a labor of love !!!

I'm 65 in Dec. and the hands feel twice that age.

Glad to hear your eyesight problem wasn't MD ... whew!  I hope they can help fix your eye problem.

Also, my wife's family owned a Print Shop in NJ for decades; very heavy lifting indeed! 

I bet you have hands of steel!

Good to 'know' you !

EB

Packing trains. 
The fun for me with a layout has been building them. Since around 2000, I’ve had 5. The last coming down now as I prepare for retirement which hopefully is folded in short order with a move to northeast SC. Cleaning out lots of unused, and never will be used stuff.

My grandson, and I will build one last Christmas layout together starting in October. 

While I'm waiting on Timko to send my motor back for my Commodore Vanderbilt I went ahead and stripped down my Lionel 6-18043 C&O Hudson.

I have the ERR Cruise Commander on the way for the Hudson but I did do some pre-wiring on the loco and tender.

Congrats on your upcoming retirement Jim. The more layouts we build the better we get at it. I’m doing my 4th layout now and it’s going really fast compared to previous ones. 

Cool damp weather. Nice change from mid 90s. So I spent time in the train room the last two days. Yesterday, replaced a overhead light fixture and wired and installed another light fixture near the layout. Then dusted my locos and rolling stock before the Decapod dropped the loaded coal train in the yard to be distributed to the coal business in town and at the engine facility to replenish the coaling tower. The switching order included spotting nine empty tank cars and an empty coal hopper and cabin car at the end for a Consolidation to return them to the refinery. 

Today, I disassembled an Atlas train station to repaint. Not quite sure about the color yet. Made and glued cross arms to nineteen wood dowel utility poles and painted them and some freebee utility poles I received at a train show several years ago. Trying to work on a lot of unfinished scenic details.  

This has been a whirlwind of a week. Still have not gotten around to capturing a video of my EP pulling  a Milwaukee Road Hiawatha.  Did wire in 6 track power switches so I can isolate engines on spurs. So far have 6 on the tracks and working up to 10 or 12 - can I fit all 20? The ABAs take up an awful lot of room for "1". Should be fun bringing one at the end of the spur line up to the mainline to run. I don't have a proper yard to do the needed switching.

Also working on a Walthers building - finally got the mortar to look the way I want it. Decided the best way for me is to paint the walls un-assembled.  It will be named after my granddaughter - she will have to decide the type of business - Logan's (Coffee, Boutique, Deli anything goes).

Also was active on the CabinFever auction this afternoon. Picked up several K-Line intermodals, hoppers and Atlas Steam Classic Box cars. I did resolve my previous issue, so am quite willing to work with them again. 

Anyone look at their MTH auction items? I am not seeing much that is a gotta have. Not really being a collector - sample and pre-production items just do nothing for me.   Jeff 

Added two more engines that came from the Canadian Club to the basement layout. Pic.............Paul 2

Little mountain work the last few days, still need to ballast inside one tunnel.   When the glue is set i will be able to carve and blend everything together. 

t8afao,

Very nice foam carving and paint for your tunnel and mountain.

John Rowlen

EB,  Thank you for the greeting.  The Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera Dome car is finished, It is time to take a break before the next car.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Still trying to get within striking distance of the end of the to do list. Reshimmed the Atlas track I have on an MTH bridge to prevent it from sinking. Repainted an Atlas passenger station and lower story of an MTH switch tower and some detailing on an MTH produce store. Reglued some things that separated from a few structures. Ran the express mail train after a clear signal through the country and then through town continuing out west before stopping for a block signal.  No. 505 B6s worked switch orders to spot 5 coal hoppers at the coaling tower and 4 to a business in town. Consolidation No. 1111 left the yard with 9 empty tankers and stopped on a siding for a 4 car local commuter train. 

My train orders for tomorrow include reassembling repainted passenger station, ordering decals for my K-line headend kitbashed headend cars and maybe thinking about unfinished scenic work and of course running trains. Cheers.

Morning guys, there sure has been alot of great work being done! 

As for me not so much with being stuck at our store and building a golf cart shed for my 92 year old neighbor, doesn't leave me much time. I do sneak out to the train room in the morning between 5-7AM. but I cant really do a lot as I don't want to make noise and anger the other neighbor. But I did get some building placed and lit up. I still need to work more on my road as the pin stripping that I got does not want to stick the the layout top. Anyways here are a couple photos as I know Lew states no photos it didn't happen! LOL

I hope everyone has a great weekend and finds time for there Layout and Trains! I am still working my my camera car as for some reason I cant get it to upload pictures or video to the SD card. I have to do some more research on it, but when I get it figured out I will post a video of my layout.

I finished my Corvette Dealership today. It started life as an MTH Smith Bros Used Car building. Lets just say it was a bit vanilla, gray on gray with gray trim. I totally disassembled the building, all doors windows and lights. Building was repainted as well as all window frames. A new checkerboard floor was laid as well as a new showroom mural. A new business sign and HVAC system were added. LED lighting by Woodland Scenics. This was my first attempt at re-purposing a building.

Bruce - I’d buy my next Vette there. Funny my wife and I went to Vette shows and said “we’ll get our ‘58 when we retire.” We retired in 2004  & found out we had a hard time getting in & out. 
I have several on my layout. LOL

Bruce / decoynh (Matt) :  Just so you guys don't feel alone, will tell you that wife and I (age 76) have same in/out problem with my '98!  LOL

Don

@Bruce Jacobsen posted:

I finished my Corvette Dealership today. It started life as an MTH Smith Bros Used Car building. Lets just say it was a bit vanilla, gray on gray with gray trim. I totally disassembled the building, all doors windows and lights. Building was repainted as well as all window frames. A new checkerboard floor was laid as well as a new showroom mural. A new business sign and HVAC system were added. LED lighting by Woodland Scenics. This was my first attempt at re-purposing a building.

 

Excellent first attempt Bruce!

Don/Matt, I fully understand. We are 74 and the hips and knees are a real problem some days. I sold our 98 Pace car last year because of that. But, Matt, I still have my 58 Roadster and a 69 Big Block conv. The most difficult sale was the 63 Split Window but I needed the room for the new layout

Reassembled an Atlas station repaint and placed a few people. Lots left to do. 

Bruce, WOW what a great job on the Vett dealership! Looks like one should really look!

Pennsynut, the station turned out looking perfect! Nice work!

I spent a good time yesterday morning trying to get my camera to download videos with not luck, this morning I am going to try a different camera. If it works I will have to redo the camera car. Wish me luck. LOL

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Please have fun with your layout and trains!

Bruce- I should have asked you to forward any picsof the '58 to my email decoynh@gmail.com instead of posting here.  We don't want to clog up this topic with personal postings.  thanks.

@t8afao posted:

Little mountain work the last few days, still need to ballast inside one tunnel.   When the glue is set i will be able to carve and blend everything together. 

Looking Great! Please continue to post. Your ideas/techniques are being copied. What color paint are you using on the mountain?

A little work done on the upper mountain,  still need to attach it to the lower, and blend them together,  then the dirt work, trees and brush. 

T8afapo, wow your mountain is looking outstanding! It's really coming along!

Well guys I was able to get some video but I guess the old quad copter doesn't record sound but here is what I came up with! I hope you all enjoy! 

Oh and Lew, yes it did happen! LOL

Oh I almost forgot, Batman showed up to make sure everything went well! LOL

Excellent video tour of your layout, Mike!!

Nice run Mike.  I'm working on a flatbed with a back-up camera from a wrecked truck.

Bill

Thanks guys for the nice words, I just wish it had sound! 

Bill I cant wait to see your future video!

It's been a while since I gave an update on the new layout so here we go...

The new ladder end of the yard. The elevated section above is the only part left from the old layout. The next few shots are of the branch line as we have been working on it. 

The branch line will cross over the main line and staging track in the middle of a curve so my dad built two diamonds using a material from a cutting board. He finished them this evening and as always sent me pictures. 

And this last photo is from my house. We had a rain storm the other night and the window right above the layout leaked water right onto the layout. I pulled what needed to be pulled that night but the next morning I took the rest of it out and cleaned up the dirt and dog hair that had accumulated over the past few months. I finally had a chance today to get something put back up. I changed the track plan and went with a loop of O-42 O-27 style track on the outside and then my Super-O on the inside. Hoping to get trains running tomorrow. 

Sorry to be so long but I wanted to share what's going on. My dad and I are so excited to be building a new layout for the first time in 20 years. 

Started assembling the Atlas O shed I finally tracked down and got to the roof part and some of the pieces are pretty badly warped and un usable so trying to figure a work around. It turned out pretty nice so far tho. 

Wow Mike. That was fun. You have some really cool buildings, lots of trucks and interesting track plan. Thanks for sharing especially the night video.

@mike g. posted:

Thanks guys for the nice words, I just wish it had sound! 

Bill I cant wait to see your future video!

Yes, Mike, that is wonderful video! Your Pike is coming along nicely. 

Lancer

I had the same problem with warp-age. How I fixed it was to lay them on a piece of plywood painted black and set them in the sun. They straightened right out and never had a problem with them afterwards.

@mike g. posted:

Thanks guys for the nice words, I just wish it had sound! 

Bill I cant wait to see your future video!

The videos look great Mike. Seems like yesterday you were pouring footings for the train room. My son has a couple small drones that he doesn't use any more, I may do the same thing one day.

Bob

Morning guys, I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Cody, it's wonderful that you and your dad are able to work on the layout together. Things are really coming along nicely! Sorry to hear about the window leak.

Lance, Looks like you have a great start on your engine house! I wish you luck on the rest of the build. I was going to suggest maybe laying your parts on a cookie sheet and putting them in the oven.

Pennsynut, Lew and Bob thanks for the nice words! I know what your saying that it seams just like last week pouring the footings! Its hard to believe its bee 2 years already!

Everyone have a great weekend and remember please find time to have fun on your layout and with your trains!~

@Berkshirelover726 posted:

It's been a while since I gave an update on the new layout so here we go...

The new ladder end of the yard. The elevated section above is the only part left from the old layout. The next few shots are of the branch line as we have been working on it. 

 

The branch line will cross over the main line and staging track in the middle of a curve so my dad built two diamonds using a material from a cutting board. He finished them this evening and as always sent me pictures. 

And this last photo is from my house. We had a rain storm the other night and the window right above the layout leaked water right onto the layout. I pulled what needed to be pulled that night but the next morning I took the rest of it out and cleaned up the dirt and dog hair that had accumulated over the past few months. I finally had a chance today to get something put back up. I changed the track plan and went with a loop of O-42 O-27 style track on the outside and then my Super-O on the inside. Hoping to get trains running tomorrow. 

Sorry to be so long but I wanted to share what's going on. My dad and I are so excited to be building a new layout for the first time in 20 years. 

This looks like great fun! You are definitely getting along. Thanks for sharing your progress!

Don Merz

I think I can finally say that I am over half finished with the trackwork. It has been one heck of a ride--with miles to go yet. I used no plan, though I started with the yard from an old John Armstrong book. and attached everything to that. My primary construction technique was 2 inch insulation foam glued together with Gorilla glue. I have become Gorilla glue's best customer. 

I see everyone using 1/2 inch or better plywood for underlayment. But I am WAY too lazy for all that work. So I used 1/8 inch luan with 2 inch foam supports glued frequently underneath. Just four bridges so far. I will probably have a couple more. Next I need to work on the engine terminal and industrial area next to it. That is flat so it will be easier. No bridges in the terminal!

Don Merz

Don what is your reason for putting luan on top of 2” foam?  Foam would deaden the sound. In any case it looks good. 

Have to say this Hobby has come along way, I wish I had the room from my other house, Had to down size Always wanted a turntable, By chance how do you add more than one photo?

Did our best to bring Rico Station back to life with some paint touch ups and weathering chalk. We’ve had this for as long as I can remember (I’m 39, so ours is at least that old). We also put down some ground cover around the ice house and the saw mill.  

Working on detailing the Lionel 2027270 Union Pacific "Challenger" Vista Vision Dome Camera passenger car.
The seats have three coats of paint along with tables and storage areas.

The Lower Level Lounge has five people. Three are visible from the right side, and two can be seen from the left.  I added four people to the Dome so far.  Others are selected to finish the Dome Seating.  I still need to touch-up a few.

UPDATE:  The "Challenger" Vista Vision Camera Dome passenger car is completed with 34 adults and babies.

Sitka,  To add more photos, click on the add attachment button in the post.  There is a file size limit, but you should be able to include several pictures.

Have a good day.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I should have painted my seats, Have 4 passenger sets from RailKing full of people, Looks good!

Like your ice station well done!