What did you do on your layout today?

im sorry mike g. time will heal though. that's why I got back into trains help heal to get mind off of things.

Traded for another Peacock Pullman...

Note the Depression-era Christmas bulb inside...

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Traded for another Peacock Pullman...

Note the Depression-era Christmas bulb inside...

Mitch

Is that the first “blue light special”???

@Apples55 posted:

Is that the first “blue light special”???

I believe so, yes! 

For the uninitiated:  Early Christmas tree lights were wired in series, so the bulbs were about 12v each.  Thrifty train operators would pick these up on sale after the holidays and use them instead of pricier Lionel factory bulbs. 

Mitch

Morning guys and gals! I hope your all having a great Tuesday! LOL

@Signalwoman Population is a good thing, it always brings things to life!

@scottyhubcaps Scotty thank you and I agree with you that trains are a great tool to help ones mind!

@M. Mitchell Marmel Mitch now that is going way back! I didn't know they use to put christmas lights in trains! LOL

Well as for me folks, after a nice long talk with @Mark Boyce yesterday I got out and started setting things up for my wiring of the layout. Firs was to hook up one channel for power of the whole layout and next was to hook up power threw the GRJ Watchdog signal board then to the terminal block.

Today I hope to get all the drops connected to the right set of wires for the mains power and then I will have to cut the center rails on my sidings and provide new drops. The fun part is going to be running them to the relays and AIU! LOL

I hope you all find time to have fun with your layouts and trains!

5-9

@mike g. posted:

I have spent the last 2 weeks helping my younger brother that just lost his wife at the young age of 54. don't take things for granted!

My condolences, Mike.

Peter

H2O STEP 2 -  Man, 18 bucks for a plastic light panel these days.

@mike g. - Prayers and condolences to your brother Mike.

Don

Love the Challenger.

I’ve finally gotten around to weathering a couple of loads after 20 years.
obx

@SIRT posted:

H2O STEP 2 -  Man, 18 bucks for a plastic light panel these days.

HEY  SIRT..........is that an SRT Hellcat Challenger ?

( by the way , nice progress on the layout )

RT PLUS HEMI 372, 15K MILES.  Only 149 made with those options for 2015.

@SIRT posted:

RT PLUS HEMI 372, 15K MILES.  Only 149 made with those options for 2015.

NICE

Well, I finished up a project I started a few days ago, prompted by a FreeCycle posting offering several veneered pressboard shelves of various sizes (aside: if you're unfamiliar with FreeCycle, it's an on-line group in which you can offer or request, for free, surplus and/or used items to or from your neighbors, items that might otherwise just clutter the home or get sent to the landfill). The boards seemed perfect for a long-delayed project: building in some more rolling stock display/storage shelves.

Years earlier, I had built a set of shelves in a set-back in the foundation wall behind the layout (they are peeking out from behind a paper mock-up of the backdrop I was designing at the time, which incidentally will make another appearance later, and if you compare with the later photos, you may be able to detect a few of the changes I've made in the several years since this photo was taken!):

To condense a long process, it turned out two of the shelves were a perfect size to rip into six narrow shelves, all perfectly sized to fit into the available space. All I had to buy new was a six foot one-by-two board (which I cut in half to form two vertical wall attachment supports) and a hardwood dowel to cut up and insert as stops at the ends of each of the shelves. I cut two grooves along the length of the shelves to fit the wheel flanges, and glued and screwed all the shelf components together last night.

This morning, after confirming that the now-assembled shelves would fit in the space allotted. I used a concrete drill to create attachment holes in the cement block wall (behind the white vinyl waterproofing barrier), and cleared and temporarily removed the original shelves (shown reattached on the left in the photo below). This allowed me to attach the old paper background mock-up with tape to the wall, before reattaching the old shelf and attaching the new (I also reused the mock-up as a sort of backup backdrop and to partially hide the white vinyl when the backdrop is rolled up to access the storage shelves):

I then reattached the rolled-up backdrop, and after lowering the backdrop and repositioning the fabric at each side, you really can't see anything has been changed, even with a doubled storage capacity!:

So, most of the time you really can't see any of my handiwork, but now I finally have enough storage space for rolling stock not in current use of the layouts. Now, if I can just figure out what to do with the MTH animated McDonalds I bought after it arrives tomorrow . . .

[Oh, and what to print with the PLA filament Amazon just delivered for my new 3D printer . . . ]

@obxtrainman posted:

I’ve finally gotten around to weathering a couple of loads after 20 years.
obx

There's hope for all of us with too many projects!

The weathering looks great!

Slowly moving forward......

Have a great day, folks!

Peter

Peter,

It looks like you use CA glue to assemble the Korber buildings. Which brand/type do you like for assembling the walls?

Retouching the nose of a no. 204 power unit:

@BradFish1 posted:

Peter,

It looks like you use CA glue to assemble the Korber buildings. Which brand/type do you like for assembling the walls?

I like either of these…….the Gorilla brand regular SuperGlue is less runny, gives me more time to get things together than the regular Loctite……and,my favorite.

The gels of both brands are about equal.

The Loctite is good but you pay for those applicator systems……They have a larger bottle but it is very runny and you need to use applicator q-tips.

Just my opinion……they all are pretty good.

Peter

Getting there

@Signalwoman posted:

Getting there

Looks like a really good tunnel through what could end up being one heck of a mountain and maybe even a mountain village .      Nice size.

Signalwoman, it looks like you might have a side clearance problem where the track enters the raised area.

@Papa Dave posted:

Signalwoman, it looks like you might have a side clearance problem where the track enters the raised area.

The track placement isn't quite final, I have a few inches of wiggle room. Probably gonna make some portals too. I have to be careful with clearance, as I like to run a Bigboy.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Looks like a really good tunnel through what could end up being one heck of a mountain and maybe even a mountain village .      Nice size.

I'm leaning towards an industrious city with another traffic loop, and having the lower area have more of a small town feel, like the outskirts of town. I think the elevation will help with the sense of scale, but I'll be playing alot with scale up there to get the effect I'm after. I have some smaller tin that i'm hoping will give it a "far off" look.

I'm debating on putting some smoke stacks up there driven by a computer fan, to direct smoke form the engines up and out.

Hey folks! Wow, lots of layout progress from all of you! Finals recently ended for me, so I have been hard at work preparing my layout to be operational. In the first two photos, you'll see I am beginning some wiring for the mainlines. In the third photo, you can get a full wide shot from one of the corners that shows the whole layout! In the fourth photo, I am working on adding a control panel! This will be 1 of 2 panels to control power on/off switches, and uncoupling tracks

Morning guys and gals! Happy mothers day to all you find ladies out there!

I have been busy with a lot of honey do stuff, but also have been able to sneak into the train room.

@SIRT Steve you just keep doing amazing work! I can't wait to see what is next!

@obxtrainman Nice job on the weathering! Sorry it took 20 years! LOL

@Steve Tyler Steve great project and you can't beat free or ever have to many shelves!

@Putnam Division Peter 1 wall at a time, you don't want to rush things when building a masterpiece!

@Signalwoman Looks like you have a nice start on the upper level!

@Sams Trains Sam Wow that is one huge layout! sure is going to be a lot of wiring! I hope you have fun! LOL

Well folks I am doing the same as Sam, spending time under the layout rewiring my layout to include my new to me AIU, I have been making isolated sections of track where I can turn the power off with the AIU and since I have such a small layout I am going to run everything threw one side of my Z4000 and the other side will be for my staging tracks and lower staging yard.

I would add photos but everyone knows what wiring looks like and I am sure you don't want to see where I drew blood on my forehead! LOL

I hope you all have a great Mothers day and Mom lets you find time to have fun with your layouts and trains!

Air conditioner went down the other day. Having new furnace and air conditioner with a air purifier put in monday. So would you know I have to take down wall train displays and move some of the layout so the technical guys can do there work. A little fore thought on my part when building my layout  would have prevented this .

Bill, you know what they say about hindsight. I think every one of us has a list of things we would've done differently in our train rooms.

This evening, I made a removable access panel. This small access port will allow access to parts of the layout that were previously only accessible by climbing on top of the benchwork. There will be lightweight accessories on this panel, so removal from underneath the benchwork will be easy. This opening will also make the construction of my elevated line a lot easier as I will have much easier access. Had I thought this through when designing the benchwork, the opening would've looked a little neater, but once the panel is painted and accessories are in place, it should look ok.

@Bill Grafmiller posted:

Air conditioner went down the other day. Having new furnace and air conditioner with a air purifier put in monday. So would you know I have to take down wall train displays and move some of the layout so the technical guys can do there work. A little fore thought on my part when building my layout  would have prevented this .

I feel for you Bill, I wanted every inch of room I could get for my layout. Now on one side I have to walk sideways so I don’t knock anything off the Railrax. On the other side is the furnace room door. I measured the width of the furnace and allowed more room on that  side. Then I wanted a river so I used a piano hinge and some large hooks.

I know what you are saying on every inch of room for layout. I might add that when I built my layout I made the walk around just big enough at that time for me . Well years go by and weight gain happened now I am getting close to using lub oil to slide myself into walk around.

@BlueComet400

If your avatar picture is current you shouldn’t have any trouble with the access hatch. My access is an opening in the table that goes in 4’. There are two 213 lift bridges and a bascule bridge across the opening. This was installed 8 years ago when I was 71. I would duck under the bridges in the up position. Then I resorted to a rolling mechanics stool to go in and out. These days I think a job through a day before and assemble all the tools and materials that I might need. I place them within easy reach of the hole; so I can avoid getting on and off the stool too many times.
My .02.

@pennsyfan posted:

@BlueComet400

These days I think a job through a day before and assemble all the tools and materials that I might need. I place them within easy reach of the hole; so I can avoid getting on and off the stool too many times.

Amen, Bro! Amen!

George

Bob same issue do you have a picture of your rooling stool ? I have one that I kneel on but the casters are shot.

@Bill Grafmiller posted:

Bob same issue do you have a picture of your rooling stool ? I have one that I kneel on but the casters are shot.

I just got down from the train room; expecting company. I’ll get a picture later. It’s a harbor freight item; adjustable height with a padded seat.

Added THIS purchase from a local flea-market/ yard sale to provide people on my layout means to fly to Florida.

@Michael Hokkanen posted:

Added THIS purchase from a local flea-market/ yard sale to provide people on my layout means to fly to Florida.

Next post we’ll see is that you’re selling your passenger trains; because the airline put them out of business. 😱😩😔

@Michael Hokkanen posted:

Added THIS purchase from a local flea-market/ yard sale to provide people on my layout means to fly to Florida.

@Michael Hokkanen

Tell them to take the train to Florida like respectable train layout residents!!!!!

P. S. - Nice model.

@Bill Grafmiller posted:

Bob same issue do you have a picture of your rooling stool ? I have one that I kneel on but the casters are shot.

Here you go Bill.

@pennsyfan posted:

Here you go Bill.

LOL Bob, I have one of those and I use it all the time,

Most used piece of equipment here, love my HF stool!

@Michael Hokkanen posted:

Added THIS purchase from a local flea-market/ yard sale to provide people on my layout means to fly to Florida.

Does it fly out of LaGuardia??? 🤣🤣

    24 inch wide by all the way around the 12'× 24' room with an operating bridge at the doorway.   Height of 36 "  .   Great looking backdrops.  Two tall caster supported compfy chairs................. OK so that WOULD HAVE  been nice .  Not going to do a teardown and rebuild.

@pennsyfan posted:

@BlueComet400

If your avatar picture is current you shouldn’t have any trouble with the access hatch. My access is an opening in the table that goes in 4’. There are two 213 lift bridges and a bascule bridge across the opening. This was installed 8 years ago when I was 71. I would duck under the bridges in the up position. Then I resorted to a rolling mechanics stool to go in and out. These days I think a job through a day before and assemble all the tools and materials that I might need. I place them within easy reach of the hole; so I can avoid getting on and off the stool too many times.
My .02.

I assume you are referring to my weight, correct?? The access port is fairly small, and I can fit through it easily. Call it incentive to stay at my "fightin' weight."

@BlueComet400 posted:

I assume you are referring to my weight, correct?? The access port is fairly small, and I can fit through it easily. Call it incentive to stay at my "fightin' weight."

Or, if that incentive doesn't work out as you hope, in the alternative you can at least say you are "into" model trains . . . literally!

@BlueComet400 posted:

I assume you are referring to my weight, correct?? The access port is fairly small, and I can fit through it easily. Call it incentive to stay at my "fightin' weight."

Not at all; I was thinking that you looked young/spry enough to negotiate an access hole.

@pennsyfan posted:

Here you go Bill.

Works very well outside too.

@pennsyfan posted:

Not at all; I was thinking that you looked young/spry enough to negotiate an access hole.

I am at the moment! With each passing year, I am less and less eager to climb up onto the benchwork, so keeping a clear passage to the access port underneath the layout appears to be a good alternative 

HOWE

@BlueComet400 posted:

I am at the moment! With each passing year, I am less and less eager to climb up onto the benchwork, so keeping a clear passage to the access port underneath the layout appears to be a good alternative

Climb on top!!  No way!! 🤕  I must have climbed on too much stuff and into stuff over the years!  😄

@SIRT posted:

HOWE

Great looking barge! The scene really pops of river crossing!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Climb on top!!  No way!! 🤕  I must have climbed on stuff and into stuff over the years!  😄

Right now with my knee I would rather be climbing on top of then having to do all the crawling under that I am doing right now! LOL

@mike g. posted:

Great looking barge! The scene really pops of river crossing!

FYI - It's not a barge, its a TRANSFER BRIDGE to a car float in the harbor.

@SIRT posted:

FYI - It's not a barge, its a TRANSFER BRIDGE to a car float in the harbor.

Sorry my bust, I have never seen one so thought it was a barge!

Back to square one !  We moved into our new house & the train room is 11’ x 20’.  I would like more room, but this will suffice.  First task is to get the old carpet yanked out & new flooring installed.

Rich in WV

@trestleking posted:

Back to square one !  We moved into our new house & the train room is 11’ x 20’.  I would like more room, but this will suffice.  First task is to get the old carpet yanked out & new flooring installed.

Rich in WV

Rich, is the stove staying or going with the carpet?

@trestleking posted:

Back to square one !  We moved into our new house & the train room is 11’ x 20’.  I would like more room, but this will suffice.  First task is to get the old carpet yanked out & new flooring installed.

Rich in WV

Welcome back to the east side of the Mississippi Rich.

Looks like a decent room, more than I have....😁 Yea, stove staying or going?

Bob

@trestleking posted:

Back to square one !  We moved into our new house & the train room is 11’ x 20’.  I would like more room, but this will suffice.  First task is to get the old carpet yanked out & new flooring installed.

Rich in WV

A new start that’s great! Will you be changing the lighting?

@SIRT posted:

HOWE

Really nice waterfront scene. First that I heard of a transfer bridge, so I looked it up. Appears that there isn’t room for the barge; but will  you be adding the structure that raises and lowers the bridge to mate with the barge?

@pennsyfan posted:

Really nice waterfront scene. First that I heard of a transfer bridge, so I looked it up. Appears that there isn’t room for the barge; but will  you be adding the structure that raises and lowers the bridge to mate with the barge?

That is the structure built by master craftsman Edward Bommer. Acts as a (pontoon)

Install is finished along with extra water front décor. Stay toon.

Thank you

Yes, the transfer bridge was new to me also.  Great scene, Steve!!

Learn about Marine Rail Operation

Lot of photos here -

http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/IndustrialLocos.html

@pennsyfan posted:

A new start that’s great! Will you be changing the lighting?

Yes, lighting will have to be upgraded. It’s very dark in there.  And the unfortunately the wood stove stays, but it is a side-loader, so that helps some.  After new flooring goes in I’ll decide if the ceiling will go flat black or stay white.

Now back to my regularly scheduled program….unloading boxes 😕

The transfer bridge reminds me of the old ferry dock on Whidbey Island when I was a kid.

@SIRT posted:

That is the structure built by master craftsman Edward Bommer. Acts as a (pontoon)

Install is finished along with extra water front décor. Stay toon.

Thank you

Sorry to belabor this; but this is what I found when I searched for a RR transfer bridge.

https://www.google.com/search?...gdii=LW9K4msYgOGNdMv

@trestleking posted:

Yes, lighting will have to be upgraded. It’s very dark in there.  And the unfortunately the wood stove stays, but it is a side-loader, so that helps some.  After new flooring goes in I’ll decide if the ceiling will go flat black or stay white.

Now back to my regularly scheduled program….unloading boxes 😕

A mini split for heat and AC will free up space and eliminate cleaning out ashes.

Once I get done with the deadrail conversion I hope to never have to crawl under my layout again . but we all know that saying. , never say never

@pennsyfan posted:

Sorry to belabor this; but this is what I found when I searched for a RR transfer bridge.

https://www.google.com/search?...gdii=LW9K4msYgOGNdMv

http://members.trainweb.com/be...ridgemasterlist.html

Putnam division, I used two part epoxy 20 yrs ago when I first built my Korber RH. When I came back two yrs ago to upgrade it with upper windows and lighting the epoxy lost its grip. I ended up  doing over with the same. It failed on the wooden supports and were the supports connected to the model. That told me nothing is permanent. Hopefully you won’t have to do any major work on it later in years. It’s looking good. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
obx.

@pennsyfan posted:

Sorry to belabor this; but this is what I found when I searched for a RR transfer bridge.

https://www.google.com/search?...gdii=LW9K4msYgOGNdMv

Pennsyfan, the links SIRT gave are great. This page will give you all you’d ever want on transfer bridges and car floats -

http://members.trainweb.com/be...ttransferbridge.html

@SIRT fabulous modeling of the transfer bridge and car float. No need to do this in the Midwest as far as I know. The link was great.

Was back and forth on TPRR2 with the upper level and cleaning the lower yard track.  Everything runs fine and I realized I have a runaround if needed on the spur rack running to the upper level. After all that, I am going to take the track up and lay in un-coupler electromagnets on 3 sections to enable switching operations. Never thought I would do that.

I've posted a bit on this layout map using Touch Toggles from Berrett Hill. The lighted toggles mount directly behind the layout map using double faced Scotch Tape. They plug into a controller which triggers the Tortoise Switches. Touching the surface above the toggle interrupts the light emitted triggering the switch motor. LEDs then switch color.  Now all I need is a graphic artist to put some pizzazz into the layout map. 

Really interesting discussion with the owner today. These toggles work with certain O switch machines but not all. Works great on Tortoises, Atlas and DZ1000, but won't work with the DZ2500 machines. Now for the real catch, DCS is fine, but the radio signal emitted by TMCC and Legacy reeks havoc on the touch toggles electronics - they won't work in a TMCC environment. Since I only have a couple of TMCC controlled locos, not a big issue for me.  Reportedly - a solution is on its way with a modification of the toggles. 

More photos on the TPRR pages.

Looks great, Jeff!  Yes a more professional looking panel will be nice, but this one looks great and gets the job done!!

Steve, the transfer bridge looks even better now!  Yes, I’m only familiar with Appalachian operations, so this was an interesting operation to model.

All I have done is some pre painting on a small laser cut kit.  I didn’t take any photographs, but will when I start assembly.

Good evening everyone! I hope you all are doing well and healthy.
Made it back from my graduation this past Monday and began work last night on a switch tower.
Taking inspiration from a Lionel switch tower I began building the base.

Today, I came back to it by adding a ladder and upper hand rails. I made both out of toothpicks.

Then came the walls. Two of the walls have large bay windows that will look out to the yard. The other two walls look away from the yard so they did not get any large windows.
I finished the building with a roof and a quick spray of paint. It now sits at the mouth of the yard looking down at the in bound and out bound trains.

Congratulations on your commencement, that’s an awesome accomplishment. The tower will be a good commemoration of that.

@trestleking posted:

Back to square one !  We moved into our new house & the train room is 11’ x 20’.  I would like more room, but this will suffice.  First task is to get the old carpet yanked out & new flooring installed.

Rich in WV

Morning Rich everyone has great questions on what your going to do first with your new room, from stove, carpet, lighting. I have to thoughts,1) I sure hope the baseboard heating is going away as it can get $$$$! Next I hope you keep the rolling stool! LOL

Either way have a blast with your new play area and I will be keeping an eye open for your updates!

@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:

A mini split for heat and AC will free up space and eliminate cleaning out ashes.

@trestleking Rich, I have a mini split in my train room and it works great! Nice and warm in the winter and nice and cool in the summer! Not that spendy either!

Morning/afternoo guys and gals,

Nothing new from me lately as I have been still doing a little wiring here and there. No photos but I did get 2 sidings wired up to my AIU and right now have 2 more to do then about 10 switches! LOL

@ScoutingDad wow Jeff great looking progress! I wish mine looked that good! LOL Maybe one day!

@Trainmaster04 great job on the control tower! It is always nice to see home built/ scratch built stuff!

I am not sure how much I am going to get done, but plan on more wiring today unless the CEO has different ideas! I really haven't had much train time since she retired! LOL

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

Well, technically off the layout, but in trying to get my new el cheapo 3D printer running, I did an articulated letter train for my granddaughter, painted it, and fabricated a holder for it out of some scraps and leftover landscaping materials:

Good evening everyone!
I got two more projects done today. The first being a caboose yard office. A friend gave me a broken k-line caboose and I finally decided to make use of it. I did nothing much to it but add some base boards to it.

The second project is a bunk shack for crews. Simple little structure to allow crews to wash up and get some rest.

Both structures now reside next to the yard in a once empty field. I plan on making one more building for this area before I call it good.

Trainmaster04, You are on a roll since commencement. Way to go!

Finally finished my clear arched Bridge. I thought this clear bridge would add an interesting component to our layout. It is made of 1/8 inch plexiglass. It is 3ft long and about 19 inches tall at the spires. I also cut clear track ties for a piece of GarGraves Track to make the bridge as clear as possible and added a silver center rail. I have posted pictures of bridges that I laser cut in the past that I made from  1/8 inch Masonite and these bridges are somewhat easy to assemble compared to the plexiglass one which was a pain to get right with out marring the surfaces or creating smudges.

Thanks;

idea-thinker

Idea-thinker, that is quite a unique and beautiful bridge!!

@idea-thinker posted:

Finally finished my clear arched Bridge. I thought this clear bridge would add an interesting component to our layout.

Thanks;

idea-thinker

BRAVO  I. T.

Morning guys and gals, I hope your all having a wonderful weekend!

@Steve Tyler Steve nice job, I am guessing your granddaughter is just going to love it!

@Trainmaster04 Isn't it funny how some of the simplest things really add a nice touch to a layout!

@idea-thinker WOW Just AMAZING!

Sorry no train work for me today as the CEO already has plans for me! LOL

I hope everyone finds time to have fun with their layouts and trains today!

@mike g. posted:

Morning guys and gals, I hope your all having a wonderful weekend!

@Steve Tyler Steve nice job, I am guessing your granddaughter is just going to love it!

@Trainmaster04 Isn't it funny how some of the simplest things really add a nice touch to a layout!

@idea-thinker WOW Just AMAZING!

Sorry no train work for me today as the CEO already has plans for me! LOL

I hope everyone finds time to have fun with their layouts and trains today!

I'm hoping to get some time in the train room, Mike!  Until I get a little more mobility to wire up the last 3 DZ1000s, I have another project I haven't presented yet. 

Good morning Mark and all you other fine folks. Mark, I can't wait to see what other wonderful projects you have been hiding from us!

I went out to the train room just to try out my 2 section of track I wired into my AIU and relays. I have power to the AIU as you can see in the photo below I have 12.34v to the relays. I programmed acc1 and acc2 as track 1 and track 2. When I push the button on the remote I can hear the AIU internal clicking, but nothing changes at the relays.

Please help if you can before I move on! LOL

Mike, I do not see the power lead going to the white daisy chain.  You can tap off the same power supply you used for the relays.  Use the positive lead of the 12 volt supply.

Oh ok, I thought the AIU got its power from the cable you made me.

I will have to look at your drawing and photos you and Bill sent me.

@mike g. posted:

Oh ok, I thought the AIU got its power from the cable you made me.

I will have to look at your drawing and photos you and Bill sent me.

Yes, well, there has to be a voltage on one side of the AIU contacts so that when they close, the voltage is passed on to the relay board for the specified relay.

@idea-thinker posted:

Finally finished my clear arched Bridge. I thought this clear bridge would add an interesting component to our layout. It is made of 1/8 inch plexiglass. It is 3ft long and about 19 inches tall at the spires. I also cut clear track ties for a piece of GarGraves Track to make the bridge as clear as possible and added a silver center rail. I have posted pictures of bridges that I laser cut in the past that I made from  1/8 inch Masonite and these bridges are somewhat easy to assemble compared to the plexiglass one which was a pain to get right with out marring the surfaces or creating smudges.

Thanks;

idea-thinker

Stunning! Love it! Unique, Great job!

What else can I say?

My clear Lionel F3 set would look fantastic on it!

@idea-thinker posted:

Finally finished my clear arched Bridge. I thought this clear bridge would add an interesting component to our layout. It is made of 1/8 inch plexiglass. It is 3ft long and about 19 inches tall at the spires. I also cut clear track ties for a piece of GarGraves Track to make the bridge as clear as possible and added a silver center rail. I have posted pictures of bridges that I laser cut in the past that I made from  1/8 inch Masonite and these bridges are somewhat easy to assemble compared to the plexiglass one which was a pain to get right with out marring the surfaces or creating smudges.

Thanks;

idea-thinker

I concur with John. That’s so unique and original.

Lionelski made mention that his clear Lionel F3's would good on the my new bridge so I thought I would share those as well. Great idea Lionelski.

Below are photos of Clear Engines and Cars from Lionel and MTH.

Thanks;

idea-thinker

I completed the instillation of auxiliary air tanks.   The DM&IR railroad placed extra air tanks high on the boilers of several steam locomotives.   Extra air was needed to safely descend the 2.2% Proctor Hill grade to reach the ore docks in West Duluth.   Ore jennies are short cars so a long string of cars will have more wheels to brake compared to a train of similar length with 40' cars.   They also relocated the air filters high on the boilers to move them further away from road ore dust.     My #1326 Mikado is now ready to safely make the trip to the Duluth ore docks.  

Happy Saturday!

Cheer, Dave

Hi guys looking good!

Dave that sure is a sharp looking engine!

Mark, just wondering if there might be a good time I could call you tomorrow late morning or early afternoon?

@mike g. posted:

Hi guys looking good!

Dave that sure is a sharp looking engine!

Mark, just wondering if there might be a good time I could call you tomorrow late morning or early afternoon?

Yes, that sounds fine, Mike.

NMRA MCR DIV 7 meeting and layout visit.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...8#175145952006213738

I wanted a different car for my military train, so I got from Trainz a new and super cheap Menards 279-3449 Army flatcar with Army Van, and an Atlantis plastic model set that includes a 1/48 scale Piasecki H25 Army Mule helicopter and a 1/48 Sherman tank. The Sherman tank I'll assemble later to replace the too-modern-for-me tank on a Menards car I got earlier. For now, I'm replacing the modern van on the new Menards car with the Piasecki helicopter. I painted the solid green deck of the flatcar to look weathered. Then I cut 4 of the 6 rotor blades and glued them in a prototypical folded configuration on the twin rotors. I added decidedly non-prototypical and unworkable styrene struts between the blades near the hub just for strength. I also added fuselage side windows that were not part of this vintage reissue kit. I still must paint the helicopter, but double-checking that it fits through my truss bridge I discovered that the landing gear is too wide, so I'll somehow fix that.

John

@idea-thinker posted:

Lionelski made mention that his clear Lionel F3's would good on the my new bridge so I thought I would share those as well. Great idea Lionelski.

This reminds me of an ice sculpture. A dream vision in plexiglas. Beautiful work, Idea-Thinker. Ditto to all the other adjectives already used.

John

@John's Trains posted:

I wanted a different car for my military train, so I got from Trainz a new and super cheap Menards 279-3449 Army flatcar with Army Van, and an Atlantis plastic model set that includes a 1/48 scale Piasecki H25 Army Mule helicopter and a 1/48 Sherman tank. The Sherman tank I'll assemble later to replace the too-modern-for-me tank on a Menards car I got earlier. For now, I'm replacing the modern van on the new Menards car with the Piasecki helicopter. I painted the solid green deck of the flatcar to look weathered. Then I cut 4 of the 6 rotor blades and glued them in a prototypical folded configuration on the twin rotors. I added decidedly non-prototypical and unworkable styrene struts between the blades near the hub just for strength. I also added fuselage side windows that were not part of this vintage reissue kit. I still must paint the helicopter, but double-checking that it fits through my truss bridge I discovered that the landing gear is too wide, so I'll somehow fix that.

John

That’s a really nice job on the flatcar and helicopter load, John!

I've been home-ridden due to covid for the past week, so I've taken a little time each day to some minor maintenance on my trains. Mainly lubricating

@Hebanator posted:

I've been home-ridden due to covid for the past week, so I've taken a little time each day to some minor maintenance on my trains. Mainly lubricating

Be well keep on training.