What did you do on your layout today?

Thanks, Mark. I'd dreamed of a layout I could operate on ever since I was about 13 or so. I built a tiny switching layout which I kept into my late teens when I dismantled it. I hadn't run trains on it for probably a couple of years by that point as it was crazy small.

My current layout is pretty small, especially for O scale, but it thought my track plan had enough operating potential and I think I proved that yesterday.

It was a day I'd been looking forward to for about 30 years.

 

As for Charlie, that was the oddest thing I think he's done in a long time, but in a good way. At first, he kept walking up to my ankles and looking up like he always does (my wife was out of the house at the time). After a few minutes, I noticed he wasn't around and looked over in the doorway and saw him curled up there. So very odd, but again, in a good way.

He's 13 years old and his hearing is pretty bad these days, but he's still a great little pup and we spoil the heck out of him...

P51 Lee,

Nice to finally see you getting some satisfaction out of it, other than just the work.

 

The dogs can sense the joy and focus when we run at this house too.

  Two tend to chill like choo choo Charlie there, one grabs his own seat on the ottoman, and watches, but all stay out of my way

 On the other hand, if I work on it, they want to help real bad.

I just cant get them to understand the "no thumbs" bit is a problem 

---

 

Ken,

Have you added weight to get over the crossings better? The roller spring hop should vanish with weight. If you can, larger diameter rollers can help bridge gaps the small ones "fall" into deeply.

 Made sure your flanges don't bottom out?

Considered modifying/ tightening gaps?

I wonder if a Easy Street crossing was made that might work better? 

 And I wonder if adding 1/4-1/2 of a straight track to each side of the crossings would help. The lead wheels may be seeing side pressures, and an angle, from the rear wheels being still offset in the curves. 

  

 

 

 

 

finally had time to install the kober roundhouse I got from eloit scher it was much harder than I thought it would be.also I am waiting on the parts to convert my mill house

river turntable  I also received from eliot to the indexing system I am having second

thoughts if I want to use these the size was larger on my layout then they looked on his I will spend the week soul searching to see if do want to go ahead with the install of both pieces or will I just let them go not sure

What I thought would be a quick job is not, and not just this task but the entire project.   Trying to mount one of those Weaver #702 lobster claws on the front pilot of this kitbashed gas electric took hours....the front end is one of those Walthers castings

(is that some soft lead alloy?), and took a lot of careful grinding with a Dremel tool

and a cutting wheel to get to a point where I could break out the soft metal and clear

a path for the shaft of the coupler.  The problem is to make the coupler  fit this interurban/gas electric style pilot I have for it, AFTER I have opened up the front casting, and to make the pilot fit the Walthers front casting.  It is a tight fit through the pilot casting for the shaft.  Since the front end is mounted and painted, before problem was discovered, the job was slow and careful.  Next need to dril sides and

mount handrails...shoulda done that before painting, too.

Starting early this morning, I re-built the end of my new layout closest to the Trolley Yard.  Installed 022 and 042 switches and am about 80% complete on basic trackwork.

Waiting for the repair of a 5165 RH 072 switch to re-align the routing of the mainline Outer Loop closest to the Trolley Yard.

The following construction photos taken just this evening (June 15th) give you a rough idea of what I'm trying to do.  There will be a 4 x 8 second level closest to the fireplace.  There will be a 30-inch by 7-foot second level over the top of the Trolley Yard.  Both levels will be done in Fastrack.

The second level over the Trolley Yard will be for Interurbans and RDC's.

There will be a 15-inch by 40-inch extension running from the main tabletop to a bracket to the right side of the fireplace.  Will store my two GG1's and GN EP-5 units over there!

I'm thinking about using a Ross # 170 4-way Yard switch at entrance to Trolley Yard second level..  Power connections for Fastrack will be via their Terminal Sections.

For most of the Tubular track blocks, I'm already fed up with Lockons and will probably just solder the feeders to the web of the rails.

Regarding the 4 x 8 second level closest to fireplace ......

My wife Suzie wants to have mainly trolleys and smaller radius trains running around up there.  Besides this evenings construction photos, I'm including a 4 x 8 Fastrak layout idea I'm pondering...  Enjoy the photos/drawings !

 

KRK

Now that we have a month break in the show car schedule (won 1st Place in our class Sunday!) I can get back on setting up the fueling racks from Dave at Crescent Locomotive Works!

well let's see the winner!

Or an O scale facsimile thereof! 

 

Mitch

Hey Guys I know I have been on here before. Well the past few days I have been busy taking down a HO layout  & hopefully my friend will take it. I have over $450 in extra track & acc that I gave him already.   Now all we need to do is take this layout to his house. Now I need to clean the walls & below the layout, Then I need to start to relay the Track.

  I was bored, so I took a plastic top hat that belongs on a wedding cake, and bored a hole in the top big enough to receive a bulb holder. I slipped it on the base, and glued it in place.

 Soldered some thin wire in place, and attached the base to a dowel rods end with a hex head screw, banding the wires to the pole with tiny zip-ties.

 Voila, instant floodlight.

Two more single floods, and 3-5 more street lamps and I think I'll reach my "bare minimum" for enough lights.

 

  I played with transformers too.

  The 1033's are a little strong for the El line.

Rollover speeds are definitely not what you want on an el.

   The Marx 50w was a tiny bit too slow, and didn't have the backbone to run a double headed General train. I'm in the future I'm going to have to watch for a type S(80w), 1032, 1042, 1063(at 75w) or smaller 1041, 1053(60w). 

 

 

 

The folding power shelf mock ups just haven't been satisfactory.

 

One last attempt before changing tactics. A door with a shelf sitting on the top. Once open, the shelf can be swung up and over backwards, then down resting the hanging transformers on the doors backside.

 

If that doesn't work nice. I will trim the old two sided shelf bases to size, give them a top & wheels.

  Then adding a metal channel, and slide pegs, to the shelves top and to the underside of the layout, they should move together when I roll the layout around (also on wheels).

  Stored under the layout when not used, I could roll just a shelf out a bit for transformer access on the end cap, or pull them both out all the way for display, and full access to the tops as tables.

 More excess wire, but less drama about a "finished look". A curtain will work.

 

..... The more I think about it, the more rolling shelves seems to kill many more issues with one toss. 

Any input? 

 

Been a while since I'd seen a post from you Scot, nice to see you're making progress again.

Wow! And I thought I had a few wires under my layout! That looks like an AT&T communications bundle!

Shot most of the day trying to re-engineer this Weaver #702 coupler so it would fit

through the cast hole in this gas electric pilot, AND work!  That involved shortening

the shaft, cutting off and moving the thumbtack so it would clear...and you can't glue

this slick Delrin? plastic...so I wound it in fine brass wire and epoxied THAT.  It appears that it will work.   While working that I did many little detail tasks such as

drill the walls for grab irons, cut and shape (bend wire) and paint the irons, etc. 

 

I recently finished an elevated track around my train room. I've had some EXTREMELY unfortunate derailments which prompted me to build a fence. This is the prototype, and it took me three tries to get this far but I think this will do it. I tried clear polycarbonate for the horizontal supports but there wasn't quite enough purchase for the cement and settled on wooden supports. I'll paint them brown too so they shouldn't be visually intrusive.

 

As a side note I purchased those early issue Erie Alcos (my first such set) just this last Sunday from a local connection. To my astonishment it pulls ~20 postwar boxcars (some real heavy and inefficient like from KMT) without a problem. The only other single motor loco I have that will do that is a 1950 issue 773.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAL9000,

I like your solution for your overhead layout.  Mine is in languish half constructed, since two winters ago, I started having trouble using tools, and last winter I had both hands operated on.  I have yet to address the issue of locomotives and rolling stock taking a nosedive to the carpeted concrete floor below.  I may do something similar.  Thank you for the photos!

Scot,

I'm with Adriatic; nice to see your post!  Having worked in electronics, mostly power and telecom companies for 39 years, I agree that's a bundle of wire!

 

i didn't realize you had an HO layout to move out.  I moved a modular layout twice years back, until I decided it wasn't worth moving the next time.  It looks like it is nicely done. Looking forward to seeing progress on your latest layout!

 

I got a boost of energy so I got legs under 6 benches and finished getting them in place, between finishing the upper shelf and fine tuning the last 4 benches, I'm hoping that light at the end of tunnel is one of my locomotives and not a head on with Casey Jones.

     I have not worked on the layout lately but I made A engine/car cradle for working on the engines/cars out of an old piece of foam I had laying around this past weekend. After I made it I looked around on the internet and saw that I saved myself about $20.00 making it on my own. I think my next project is going to be making A foam board cutter table. After that I am going to try making A static grass flocking tool out of the battery powered fly zapper and screen strainer from H.F. I figure I can save myself about $170.00 by making it VS buying it from W.S. Choo Choo Kenny 

My time on the Forum has been limited as of late so just getting cought up.

 

p51, Congradulations on your Operating Session, I know you have been working towards that. You and I have alot in common. Of course we are both into trains, both a love of a war study; you WWII myself the Revolution (tried to get into a Re-enactment group but was not accepted because I can't fire a gun because of my ears. Friends tried to get me in as a minister or teamster that didn't work either), one of my sons is in a re-enactive Civil War company (SC dismounted Calvary - too bad he fights for the wrong side - next weekend he will be out at Gettysburg for a special Re-enactment, the regular Gettysbury Re-enactment the following weekend which they have [his group]opted out of for the special, his wife and two kids will be with the camp followers. My wife and I are camping at Drummer Boy Camp ground to see the Re-enactment). Back to trains; I am right with you on Operating Sessions, I guess I've seen too many HO club lay-outs and admired there sceanery and operation. I liked the 70's when we started the High Rail rage. Have been in the founding of several Moduler groups the last one when we started we talked about operation as something we didn't see moduler groups doing but as long as the group lasted we near got there. When I build my final permanent lay-out I hope to incorperate that into it. The animation at Roadside America I also kept me in trains.

 

jhainer, nice mountains I'm getting into the train running mood hopefully will have a temp lay-out in the basement, maybe I can get my grandaughter to help.

 

sp2207 glad to see you on the Forum, I always like your posts. When I first saw your pics, I said what a mass of wires, how does he ever trace an eletrical problem?  

Made up a "must do" list of all those nagging loose ends:

+ Figure out how to change traction tires on MTH Cab Forward

+ Put together a control panel for the engine terminal tracks

+ Wrap up break-in of latest Sunset Models engines

+ Install new fuel racks

+ Play with trains!

Well, if making a 'to do' list qualifies as what you've done recently, then mine is relatively short but each item will take a bit of work. I need to make:

• Terrain forms for the undulating ground (probably from insulation foam and cloth impregnated with caulk, from a recent MR magazine article)
• Background shapes of mountains from Masonite sheets, covered in ground foam to represent far off hills
• A 'flat' of a large wood industrial structure alone the tracks
• Install trees and get down static grass and ground foam
• A section of Marsten matting which will represent a Army RR operating Battalion's HQ
• O scale cornfield (I have a couple of hundred scale corn stalks made, just need to make the furrows to plant them on)
• I even have real dirt from the exact place the layout takes place in, which will be used in the scenery construction

In a fit of optimism I bought several cards of figures from RMT.  The optimism is that I will get far enough along on the layout that I will actually need figures.  Since I live only three miles from Walter I got the figures direct and had a nice chat with a very knowledgeable guy.

 

Al

Although this post probably belongs elsewhere, I purchased from my LHS 2 more packs of Model Power No.6061 Park Scenes.  My LHS took of an additional 10% of the already discounted price.  Included in each pack are, 4 park benches, six hand painted figures, a phone booth, and three fire hydrants, three litter cans, and three mailboxes.  I now have 3 packs.  I figure this should be enough for my rural small town. 

I just posted #31 in my series of short YouTube videos about my layout, LCJ&I Lines. It involves Western Pacific steel-sided boxcars.

 

https://youtu.be/Q2plM47zOxU

 

 

Productive day. Started with placing metal figures on the layout purchased at the last two York Meets. Then it was on to getting the Lionel Daylight Cab Forward ready for active service. This engine is sure a real beauty in every respect. The colors are spectacular. First run was with 11 K-Line 21" passenger cars and this train really stretched out. It has to be one of the most colorful passenger trains known to mankind.

 

Today it is on to wiring new accessories.

Brian,

Im looking forward to some photos of the Daylight when you get to it.  When I was a boy, I didn't have much interest in passenger trains.  Later, I had to have one.  Now I can see how a person, you for instance, can focus just on passenger trains.  I still like freights, but passenger trains have a certain elegance a freight just can't have.

Really good video, loved the angles.

Great logo at the start of it, did you do that yourself?

P51 - Thanks for your comment. My son and daughter-in-law in Boulder CO have a digital design studio. She designed the logo, using vaguely Union Pacific and southwest colors. I love it (and them!)

   Bob A.

Bob; beautiful scenery on your layout.

worked alittle on the Mountain added some ground cover. then I bought some scouring pads and chop sticks to try my hand at making trees. I have 2 kits from about a year ago I picked up and the contents of the tree kits were scouring pads and chop sticks. so for 30 bucks I bought 50 scouring pads and 67 pairs of chop sticks should make a few trees once I figure it out. I tried one so far and it turned out to look nothing like a tree any instructions with tips or tricks would be helpful.

 

 

I thought I was being original!

  Your pads look heavier but, last year I had a few small tufts of red Scotchbrite get stuck to a twig. The next thing I know I had a small "Horton hears a Who" looking tree on my layout. A Japanese red maple "Bonsai" .

 How to get that Japanese maple look with green pads & chopsticks is ironically beyond me  

  

---

    

 

Installed an MTH CAT water tower. Elizabeth picked this out at the recent York Meet to go with our CAT dealership. We also added a tractor with depressed load flat bed with an excavator to go with it. Really has a big impact on the layout.

 

Then it was on to two Miller Engineering Shell signs for the refinery.

 

Accessories do make a difference.

I chased 2 bad ground wires to internal breaks today.

That roll must have been made on a Monday

 

 Replaced a cracking four wire feed for an 0-27 ucs track, using 4-wire scrap from wiring a boar trailer years ago. 

 

 Vibration broke another wire, and I fought to solder a culvert loaders coated single strand winding wire and the spring terminal without removal from the layout . I won..then the connection tabs center broke when I inserted the feed wire .....yep, had to run the train for 5 minutes after that one.

After I cooled, the iron was still hot, so I just soldered it on

 

I also ripped apart the extra set of trailer brake/chase lights missing a lens for the 8 small bulbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll spare all of you more pictures of insulation and vapor barrier.  Suffice it to say I've run out of materials and need to hit HD yet again tomorrow.  I built the first vestiges of layout table top...a lower shelf that I plan on using as a staging yard.  Below it is much needed storage area that I already have stuffed with junk.  Half the work up here involves shuffling junk to access a section needing work.

 

Bruce

Retraced some wiring under the layout ( btw - model railroading would be all fun if it were not for the wiring driving me crazy  and found a broken splice.  Fixed it.  Ran a long freight trains.  Also powered up some pro to 2 locos so they could get a batteries charged up.  

Finished installing Glenn Snyder Display Systems

Green arrows show the locations, over and next to the Man Cave Work Bench.

All the B&W Wall Photography was photographed by myself, developed and printed in my home darkroom.

   Gary • Click on photo to enlarge.........

New BLOG Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylIaY0dvdn8

 

Monongahela Unit 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng9kZXjw-I0

 

Resentlly I sold off my HO train collection and got a whole bunch of new trains. This link has my new BLOG video which explains everthing about those new trains. 

This other link has my new NS 8025, Monongahela Heritage unit, ES44AC running on my layout. It's my first MTH PS3 engine. 

Today, Saturday, June 20th, I installed my transformer distribution panel.  Then I did some pre-wiring as shown in the photos..  There are THREE (3) distinct 12-gauge bundles.  In the photo, the bundle on the LEFT will connect to posts of ZW # 1 using ring connectors which I crimped on late last night.  The bundle in the center will connect to ZW # 2 and the bundle on the RIGHT will connect to my KW transformer.

Each bundle consists of four 12-ga RED wires (posts A, B, C, D) and one 12-ga BLACK wire which goes to the "U" post.   There are short 12-ga BLACK wires on the distribution strip which tie all the "U"-common posts together!

If you look closely, the 14-ga YELLOW wires are used to extend the leads of my "TVS" protective diodes, which are connected between EACH of the RED leads and the BLACK common.  I still have to wrap some insulation around the bare part of those leads and the diodes so as not to short to each other !  Total wattage available will be on the order of 740 watts--  should be enough to operate a Trolley !  (grin)

 

Individual power feeders to the various track BLOCKS will be soldered to the web of the rails.  Another TVS diode will be inserted between the spring connectors of the Lockons of each insulated section.  Can't have too many TVS diodes, right ??  I bought sixty of these puppies from Mouser--can't get enough of them !  (hehe)

Well, on to the next project.  Cheers.

 

KRK

Nice inviting work area, Gary.  One can never have too many shelves.  Seems perfect for displaying your photography too.

 

Bruce

Chalk up another score for Glenn Snyder Display Systems. I received my second shipment of shelving on Thursday and installed the final 48 feet for a total of 96 feet of much needed storage space.

 

Everything that goes on the shelves will first get cataloged in another pet project of mine: version 1 of a simple inventory solution I whipped up for myself last week using Filemaker. After a couple of recent experiences involving finding things I didn't know I had in my collection, I figured something other than my memory was in order for keeping track of my purchases.

 

Everything you see in the foreground and many more boxes in the layout area and in the closet in the background will be recorded and shelved within another week or so. Then I can get back to the layout itself. Can't wait.

 

 

 

With two days lost chasing conductive epoxy...I am going to find that, but was not

going to wait through the weekend, so V-E-R-Y delicately tried, successfully, soldering

two wires back on their board.  Now, the gas electric just needs the sides glued on,

and it will be done.  Next project...maybe I should solder tegether a low profile

tender for the #60 loco I just kitbashed from a Lionel 0-8-0.

 

 

I moved a couple of buildings around to make room for the Menards Seed and Feed.   This is on my 4X8 Cisco RR.   The Seed and Feed is rather large, but look great. 

 

Then I added a dozen more trees.

And ran trains!

Installed a couple of Jack Pearce's lighted vehicles (one being a NYC bus, boy does this baby light up). Then moved on to the Miller engineering signs. More to go today after Church.

 

Did a bit of PM on a couple of my Marx 666es.  Couple of notes:

 

1) Don't throw out your worn Lionel brushes.  When filed down to 1/4" long, Marx locos love 'em! 

 

2) When reassembling, make sure the lower brush screw surface is clean: 

 

If there's gunk under that crosshead screw, the little bugger won't work, or it'll be erratic at best.

 

Remember, a clean loco is a happy loco!

 

Mitch

That's okay, John!  It is easy to get mixed up on who made a particular comment when we  quote as I did now to make sure the intended party knows it is addressed to him.  Yes, Lee has a good helper.  Last evening, Annie didn't know I was running trains until my wife turned off the television.  They she was indignant I got away with it.  ;-)

Took one look at Leavingtracks 6ft building then took a sledge hammer to my layout...... 

Been a little busy the last couple days, and didn't get a chance to post the Thursday work session with Matt. There are just a few Tortoises left to install, but we will have to wait to finish them. In the meantime, we have started on some manual throws, needed for yards and industries.

 

There is a bit of a learning curve on this project, so we started with some easy ones over at Hiawatha. Most of the switches have Caboose ground throws on them, but these 4 are going to be behind some huge grain elevators and out of reach.

 

The switch in the center of the picture has its crank installed. That part is very similar to the Tortoise installations, albeit with a little tweaking.

 

Here you can see 2 of the 4 finished units. Even though they take some time to install, they are very simple in their design. It is really just a modern take on the very old "choke cable" concept.

 

I'm still not exactly back up to speed after my vacation, but I was down there today and finished drilling the rest of the knobs for this project. I also sat down with paper and pencil and made a list of projects that I would like to complete this year. OH BOY!!

 

Matt and Jon are coming over Thursday.

 

Earth to Patrick - Earth to Patrick - come in Patrick!

I finished the gas electric, but saw that the passenger with the bottle in the paper bag

might stagger past the occupied toilet and right off the rear platform while crossing

the 88 foot trestle.  So, I actually have soldered together a brass wire safety gate

for the back, and will paint and install tomorrow as the last touch.

 Tinkered with the Marx El Capitan cars I picked up.

One I knew needed some attention to a bogie and had no wheels. So I searched for a roller truck I thought I had, to begin a Lionel lobster to Marx twist-couple transition car, but came up empty handed. Changing tactics till I get a roller, I found an SW dummy coupler and fabricated mount ok, found old truck frames; fast angle and old school, and then looked for wheel sets only came up empty handed again.

 Looks like I need a roller truck to even run them a little.

I guess it will let me look for a better matching side frame.

 

The again, I never liked that mpc orange rio grande caboose much

Its only temporary right. 

Not exactly O gauge related, but a Marx 666 was in the general vicinity, so it's all good:

 

I retrofitted a Rock Island Lines giveaway pen (from the good ol' days when giveaway pens were real live metal) with a modern ballpoint insert that actually WORKS!  Had to drill out the end of the pen to accommodate the modern insert, but that's showbiz...

 

Mitch

You ARE going to post pics, I hope?  I've been dying to see this critter. 

 

Mitch

The adapter kits arrived yesterday from Miller Engineering, so I was able to finish the wiring of two Shell signs at the refinery. They enhance the look of this area of the layout.

Yesterday, 06-22-'15, I hooked up permanent power to eight 022 switches and two 072 switches, using the "voltage plugs" .. Running about 15-16 volts, will up that to more like 18 volts, once I replace the bulbs with LED's.

Last night, I completed all trackwork for Level # 1 of my layout, except for about a three-foot gap on the outer loop near the control stand and except for trestle construction to reach the planned 2nd level.

 

Yesterday I also soldered my first ground return wire to the web of an outside rail near the control stand.  Nothing to it!  A 140-watt Weller gun, some rosin core solder, and a slight dab of No-Korode soldering paste and Voila--  works great !!

 

Better than my old friend at the EBMES layout in Oakland, CA many years ago where he was working on Overhead catenary using a 550-watt American Beauty iron!  (grin)

 

KRK

Did not really care for the paint job on my Lionel 138 water tower.  It originally had a red roof, an orange water tank, orange struts and light gray foundation.  I decided to repaint it with a black roof, brown water tank and struts and a stone paint color foundation.

 

here are the results:

 

 

P51 video #31 was great like a real operating session itself.

Worked on a new addition to the layout, a Harry Heike water tower. This baby is a really big one, very impressive. 

Have slowly been installing the cap blocks on the top of my bridge project.  Each day I go down and remove the clamps, make a new section, glue it down.  I have to fill holes with plaster and paint several coats and then I will be done.

 

 

Art

I tore out a curve and replaced with with a turnout on Harry's layout.

Art, It looks great.

jackson

I got the last two bracket sections finished and painted, once I mount them I will be waiting on the metal brackets being made to cross the open area with a series of arch bridges and girder bridges.

After starting this past January, we finally put the finishing touches on our new PE layout with the installation of a replacement set of LED string wires for the tree pedestal. Nice when a plan comes together. Now we get to enjoy it with our guests.

 

This afternoon, we continued work on our main layout. Our new Harry Heike GCT base is near complete so we have to make modifications to the existing base that extends out over our lower level to accommodate a much larger footprint. We are thrilled to have this masterpiece soon to be installed on our layout. In order to do this work, we had to clear all of the trains off the sidings that are present in this area of the layout. This sure drove the point home that we have a lot of passenger cars on the layout. Now many of them are on the floor until we get the new GCT base unit installed. 

 

We have train friends that will be our guests in July, so we are anxious to get all of this work done before they arrive. They should be the first to see Harry's latest addition.

 

 

Sure looks very good, Art. Can't wait to see it in person.

 

Matt and Jon came over today.

 

Matt picked up right where he left off last week, installing more manual throws. He's getting pretty good at it too. He finished 6 more today, including two that control a Ross 3 way.

 

That 3 way is pretty nifty, when both knobs are pushed in the route is straight. Pull the top knob and the route is to the right, the bottom and it's to the left. And if you want to go from either curved route to the other, just pull the knob and it will just drag the other set of points and the other knob will follow.

 

Here they are from the underside.

 

Straight.

 

Right.

 

Left.

 

Matt got the near end done and half of the far end of the Ford Plant overflow yard. Next time he'll finish those two and start the plant tracks.

 

I made a mistake having Patrick use Bondo to fill in the screw holes and seams on the fascia. Then I made the situation worse by butchering the surface with the sander. I had given it a coat of flat black, and it looked horrible.

 

Jon to the rescue. He made it look much better using his theater skills. He tinted some lightweight Spackle to a dark gray and sanded it smooth, then gave it all another coat of flat black. The final coat will be a semi-gloss black.

 

While they were working on all that, I was trying to clean up the workbench and get my head back in the game by making a to do list and a schedule to complete various projects. The goal is to have the whole thing looking sort of finished and fully operational by the National Narrow Gauge Convention in 2018.

 

We had one minor problem today, which was, Matt and Jon were getting in each others way working in the same aisle. Next Thursday, Jon and I will hang more fascia in the second aisle while Matt keeps working on the switches in the first. Problem solved.

 

Just now in the pencil n' template stage of designing my "next one" as the new building for same awaits the finishing contractor. 

 

Designing this one has been a struggle. Not really ginning for me just yet.  However, I shall prevail.

 

Showed off my "SCROUNGE" P-51 Mustang flatcars to the Sugar Creek MRR society.  Full marks for ecological correctness ("Mitch?  Do you EVER throw anything away?"  Me:  "What is this 'throw away' of which you speak?"), and the name McGuyver was invoked at least once...    The VP of the club mentioned that she liked the way my brain works... 

 

Mitch

Thank you, Trumptrain, for that exceptional and very, very kind posting. When a fellow hobbyist takes the time and has the inclination to speak so deliberately about the work of my hands and imagination, it means a lot to me because we have a common interest and understand the efforts and enjoyment involved in creating a layout. Thank you, again, for your generous, kind remarks.

FrankM.

Elliot, really nice work going on here.

 

Frank, your layout is a classic.

Thank you very much, sir!

FrankM

Got done removing another 4x4 section of scenery and getting it stored properly to use on my new layout.   Progress is at a glacial pace but it's getting there.

 

--Greg

Thanks Brian.

 

This whole recovering from vacation thing kind of reminds me of going back to school after the summer. I finally got up the gumption to start laying track again. I put in 3 sections then had to stop to clean the ballast off an old Curtis #8 switch. It is all coming back to me slowly.

My g'son and I cranked up the layout after a year's hiatus. After installing new alkalines
everything ran as advertised except one legacy (U 30) direction switch didn't reverse it. Tomorrow we'll test the VL PFE reefers finally.

Nothing, because my delivery was delayed. Grumble grumble grumble. 

Had to do a little track realignmnt around a curve to get another length of tubular track through for my trolley line. Have a half loop of track and finally got the  everything running O. Neat to watch. Tomorrow  will put in a regular power supply plus run my new gang car on the track, too. Starting tonight we are supposed to have a good 24 hours of rain so that kills any outside activities like running my G gauge or taking train pictures

Well, I decided to empty a few boxes, clean up the layout table and make some test runs of SP Cab-Forward 4294,  my CSX SD-70ACe, my PRR MP54 MU cars and my Santa Fe # 623 switcher.  A-OK..  But man, lots of wiring for a small layout. Not done yet. Also still have Accessories to install including Lumber Mill, Greyhound Depot, signals, gates, water tank, lots of neat stuff. Suzie has a large Plasticville collection.  This will be followed by a second level of more trackage.  More to come!  Enjoy these photos I just took this evening !

Cheers.

 

KRK

Ken,

Thats some nice equipment you have!  As I noted before, you have quite a lot of nice trolleys.  I like the Cab forward.  I also like the snow plough.  You could run trains outside in the snow, if it snows where you live.  Are you coming to put some track support for the track in mid air above your wiring terminals?  Yes I dislike wiring myself.  Probably because I chose electronics for a career.  ;-)

Today, I received a pair of Lionel Pocahontas cars from a nice forum member, a combo baggage passenger car, and an observation car.   Needless to say, I had to take them for a spin.  They make just the right size train on my 4x8 layout.  Now if MTH would get my new J fixed, I would be all set.  The N&W had to borrow power from the Pennsy for tonight's run.  A LC+ Mike.  Allll Aboaaard!! 

 

 

Set up a RailKing Southern Pacific Cab Forward Locomotive.

The photo shows it on my layout, on the green elevated main line.

Cheers - Gary

   Click on photo to enlarge........

Now that I have my trolley track down I need a trolley barn.  The plan is to use Starbuck's wooden coffee stirrers for wood siding and a corrugated roof. I saved some cardboard six pack boxes from my late cousin's brewery and dampness made the cardboard separate. Inside was a really neat this layer of corrugated cardboard that looks good as a roof or siding. I made a switch tower using some. A nice, cheap source of building material.

Work continues on the modifications to support the new Harry Hieke (larger version) GCT base unit. Had to go to Lowe's to get some lumber. Today is fabrication day.

Rome wasn't built in a day!  That is what I think of your GCT and layout at large!  As glorious as ancient Rome!

I'm working on my first layout -  laying Woodland Scenics roadbed for my first loop and starting work on a custom plate girder bridge for my duck under.

 

 

I bashed this together this morning out of some clutter. The only 'down side' is that it is spoken for so it won't be out there for long.

 

  I assembled two Plasticville kits yesterday.   One kit was the #45606 Diner.  I just had to have a diner on my layout.  I also built the #45608 Cape Cod Houses.  I built them as they came out of the box.  The K-lineville and Plasticville I usually leave in the colors they were molded in, but I like painting and detailing the Ameritowne buildings.  My town should be about finished structure wise.  I've got plenty of vehicles that I've collected over a thirty-year period.  Now, to start painting figures.  I have some unpainted Model Power figures that need to be painted.  I have also a bag of MTH figures to paint.    

Well as promised, hooked up the VL PFE reefers. Love the sounds. Only problem experienced is one of the non-sound cars goes berserk and UN-couples on its own. I guess it will go back to Lionel via a RA. I'm not about to drill rivets, or go the ties or rubber band solutions especially for something right out of the box.
Ray

I'm getting on a roll now. I made more feeder wires and got 4 more sections of track screwed down. I can see the end of track laying from here.

Finished the framing for the new base extension for the Harry Heike larger version of the GCT base unit. In this case it is a base for a base. The new unit I built goes around the current one that holds the GCT. I needed to add to it to hold the much larger footprint of Harry's base. The GCT and Harry's base will be at street level, but my base extension is to support it all from the lower level.

 

If Scenic Express gets the stone wall material that will be glued to the new frame to me on Monday, this will complete this project. Got to finish this project as the GCT Base unit is on the way.

Finished fixing a chum's 2344 diesel horn...

 

Like so many other Lionel diesels of the era, this one had major corrosion issues; indeed, the center contact was so corroded that I couldn't get any current through it! 

 

So, one improvises using a length of wire and a light socket base:

 

Here's the wire in place and assembled:

 

And the chassis assembled, with the horn beeping cheerfully!

 

And a bonus video!

 

 

Mitch

Today was unpacking the roadbed material from the box it has been in for 7 years, making sure I have enough switches and tidying up layout area for the LONG, LONG road of laying track........but it is progress!

I found my original plans, boy has it changed in 7 years, no longer Lionel tubular, having migrated to almost being Fastrack exclusively, to morphing into 80% Gargraves and 20% fastrack, all yards and switches are command fastrack o72, both wye and LH/RH transitioning to Gargraves stainless flex for the loops and sidings.

Today was a day that would qualify as Winnie the Pooh's Blustery Day.  A good day for trains.  I started on two building kits, the first I have tried building anything since my hand surgeries last winter.  One is an AmeriTown country store and the other is a River Leaf Models drug store.  Here they are on the workbench waiting for glue to dry.

 

 

Here they are positioned on the layout.  I'm moving structures around for the best use of space.

 

Then I ran the trains.

 

On my last layout (2006-2007) I used all Fastrack and wired the switches using RJ-11 connectors for the controllers to the switches.  I put a male RJ-11 plug on the wire coming from the switch and on the wire coming from the controller.  I used a female-to-female RJ-11 coupler to connect the 2 male plugs. 

 

I was planning to do something different with my currently in-progress layout.  But, after kicking around a few ideas, today I decided to use the RJ-11 plugs for this layout as well. 

 

All of my 16 switches are O-72.  Half are remote and half are command.  I plan to get several STM2 modules when they come out and I have 2 ASC2 modules to control my 8 remote switches.  I still like to have switch controllers even with command control. 

 

So, with this layout, I will need to use RJ-11 splitters to connect my switches to the controllers, ASC2's and eventually the STM2's.  Today I ordered 20 of the RJ-11 splitters on that big auction site for about $5.00.  

Earlier this week I got my layout ready for showing.  One of my colleagues came over with his very young son of 2 and half ( who is train crazy ... like many of us )and wife to see the trains.  His young son seemed to be coming down with a virus, was not feeling well, and still loved the trains and did not want to leave.  This little guy is hooked!!!  I told him he can come over and see my trains whenever he wishes.  

 

Today I drove out to Engine House Hobbies ( O Gauge Mag. advertiser ) in Gaithersburg Md.  I bought 3 freight cars ... a MTH Premier Boston & Maine boxcar, MTH Premier Maryland & Pennsylvania 50 ton hopper, and a Weaver Hooker Chemical tank car.  Talked with Ken, the owner for quite some time as well .... which was a delight!! 

The Girlfriend worked 24 hours Friday, so Saturday morning while she napped, I cleaned up the train room a bit and ran two Strasburg mixed consists around my loop.  #89 and #475 did a fine job.  

 

I stared at my Bethlehem Steel diesel still waiting for me to finish the CCL upgrade.  "Maybe tomorrow" seems to be the motto. I know a poor carpenter blames the hammer, but I just don't feel like I have the right work environment to finish the project.  Need to fabricate some means to mount the boards since the stacked pair is larger than the original conventional one from Lionel.  I have an idea, just need the space and time to try it out.

 

Oh...and I bought a slew of box cars and die-cast trucks from Menard's!  

 

Phone is on life support, so I couldn't get any pictures.  If I decide to pull the plug and go buy a new one today, maybe I'll get some photos. 

I temporarily place two new Miller engineering signs - a rotating Texaco sign and a Lionel billboard sign.

We are making progress on our new modules for the RMD-TCA
The first picture is of the narrow modules the second is of the wide modules,

xferyard

 

How did you cut such smooth curves in the base board.  I need to do that soon

 

Al