What did you do on your layout today?

Went back down to do more wires. I connected enough to do an inaugural run over the bridge. But it wasn't meant to be. Turn the Z4000 on, turned up the voltage and suddenly got a red light. Something is wrong and I have to find out what. I looked over all the track and nothing left on the rails to cause a short. All wires hooked up right. Green for power white for ground. Right now I am at a loss. After dinner I'll start trouble shooting. I knew it was going along too well. Bryan must of put a hex on me LOL...........Paul

trainroomgary posted:

Working on seated figures for an Amtrak Passenger Car.

Step 1: Look at the back of the seat and have the head just above the head rest.

Step 2: The tools and supplies needed.

Step 3: I have been using Cyanoacrylate with gap filler. I will also be using these glues.

Step 4: In these RailKing cars the seats slide out, after removing ten screws.

Step 5: I have been using RailKing figures and O gauge figures in bags from one of those big box on-line stores.

Step 6: Nice day so I opened the window to get fresh air when using these glues.

Step 7: All the passengers glued in and two guys walking in the aisle.

Gary

I have done this in the past with some Rail King 1800 era coaches and I'm sure that's what helped me sell them.  I have 4 Rail King PA 60' Passenger cars that I've tried to sell b4 with no luck and now I'm going to update them with passengers.  I have a half /bag of seated passengers that I got from china.  They are ok but I'll be looking for some better quality.  I hate the squeal that they make when I have to amputate their legs! (sorry)

paul 2 posted:

Went back down to do more wires. I connected enough to do an inaugural run over the bridge. But it wasn't meant to be. Turn the Z4000 on, turned up the voltage and suddenly got a red light. Something is wrong and I have to find out what. I looked over all the track and nothing left on the rails to cause a short. All wires hooked up right. Green for power white for ground. Right now I am at a loss. After dinner I'll start trouble shooting. I knew it was going along too well. Bryan must of put a hex on me LOL...........Paul

Oh no!  It could be the simplest thing 

paul 2 posted:

Went back down to do more wires. I connected enough to do an inaugural run over the bridge. But it wasn't meant to be. Turn the Z4000 on, turned up the voltage and suddenly got a red light. Something is wrong and I have to find out what. I looked over all the track and nothing left on the rails to cause a short. All wires hooked up right. Green for power white for ground. Right now I am at a loss. After dinner I'll start trouble shooting. I knew it was going along too well. Bryan must of put a hex on me LOL...........Paul

  What kind of track? (GG?) My first thought is the blades hitting a metal bridge or center rail insulators moved /lost while moving ties or something.

Paul2,

You may want to disconnect wires in reverse order.  (Or disconnect just the green.)  If you have a switch-up between green and white on a set of wires, it will still short out.

I had a new MTH Block that had a short in the two-row Block.  I replaced it with a MTH single-row block and all was fine.  Sometimes it is not your track, it could be the block, or just one pair of posts on a block.  Metal debris can get caught in the block when it is manufactured.

I recommend that you go slowly backward through the new section of wiring, disconnecting one, then testing.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

decoynh posted:

trainroomgary posted:

Working on seated figures for an Amtrak Passenger Car.

 

I have done this in the past with some Rail King 1800 era coaches and I'm sure that's what helped me sell them.  I have 4 Rail King PA 60' Passenger cars that I've tried to sell b4 with no luck and now I'm going to update them with passengers.  I have a half /bag of seated passengers that I got from china.  They are ok but I'll be looking for some better quality.  I hate the squeal that they make when I have to amputate their legs! (sorry)

Hi Matt

The companies in China are now selling their stuff on the 'Big River' / See screenshot below / No more waiting three to four weeks.

They have five styles in stock and ship the next day.

Gary

The Chinese Painted figures shown above are copies of Preiser figures from Germany.  I am surprised Preiser has not taken action against these knock-off sellers.  The paint job is very poor when compared to Preiser's 68209 six pack of figures.

The Chinese have also copied the Preiser 65602 24 seated figures. The only figures the Chinese have not copied are the parents seated with babies.  These figures have two to four parts that are painted and then glued together.  I guess it is too much work for them.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Those dirty dogs!!

Finally pulled the trigger and decided to start up my WWII war effort train. Have about 5 of the MTH Sherman cars. Also with one of the table top games I play I now have more tanks. Games called bolt action from warlord games. Tanks are a tad bit smaller but close enough for me. So tonight I added a wood deck to the flat car and weathered it. Tanks shown are the one MTH one for scale, a 76 easy 8, m4, m18 hellcat. 

Tanks are always cool. I have several that are on static display.

decoynh posted:

trainroomgary posted:

Working on seated figures for an Amtrak Passenger Car.

Step 1: Look at the back of the seat and have the head just above the head rest.

Step 2: The tools and supplies needed.

Step 3: I have been using Cyanoacrylate with gap filler. I will also be using these glues.

Step 4: In these RailKing cars the seats slide out, after removing ten screws.

Step 5: I have been using RailKing figures and O gauge figures in bags from one of those big box on-line stores.

Step 6: Nice day so I opened the window to get fresh air when using these glues.

Step 7: All the passengers glued in and two guys walking in the aisle.

Gary

I have done this in the past with some Rail King 1800 era coaches and I'm sure that's what helped me sell them.  I have 4 Rail King PA 60' Passenger cars that I've tried to sell b4 with no luck and now I'm going to update them with passengers.  I have a half /bag of seated passengers that I got from china.  They are ok but I'll be looking for some better quality.  I hate the squeal that they make when I have to amputate their legs! (sorry)

Why let all the funk out.  Breath deep, the gathering gloom.....LOL

Working on seated figures for the observation car.

Ran into some ‘Chaos’

Need your help, removed the 4 screws on the bottom of the car, see the red arrows in the photo below. The plastic body will not come off, any ideas of how to solve this issue? (2 Screws by each truck for a total of 4)

Thanks: Gary

I think you remove the roof screws and the twist each end of the car in opposite directions. Then the roof should pop off.

Paul, I am so sorry for your short! It could be many things, but I am thinking Bryan put a curse on your badge before he gave it back to you! Now its in your house! LOL Good luck on the fix!

Lou1985 posted:

I think you remove the roof screws and the twist each end of the car in opposite directions. Then the roof should pop off.

Hi Lou: Thanks for the help, but no roof screws.

Gary

trainroomgary posted:

Lou1985 posted:

I think you remove the roof screws and the twist each end of the car in opposite directions. Then the roof should pop off.

Hi Lou: Thanks for the help, but no roof screws.

Gary

The roof screws. The ones you removed from under the car. There are instructions for roof removal here under the support tab: https://mthtrains.com/30-67142

Lou1985 posted:

trainroomgary posted:

Lou1985 posted:

I think you remove the roof screws and the twist each end of the car in opposite directions. Then the roof should pop off.

Hi Lou: Thanks for the help, but no roof screws

Gary

The roof screws. The ones you removed from under the car. There are instructions for roof removal here under the support tab: https://mthtrains.com/30-67142

Hi Lou: Wow - Got it, thanks for the tip.

I owe you an ice-cream cone.  Gary

Opened a new Lionel Erie Mikado and it actually worked.  Wow.  Who would have seen that happening.  The engine ran nicely along my main line on the opposite track of my Pennsylvania K-4 whistle steam. Have call tags for my VL GG1 #4935 and PH40 CSX #9999.  The smoke fan on the CSX stopped working after the first repair trip last month. I hate to send engines in because sometimes they get a nick in them.

I was getting use to the idea of buying a new engine and then immediately shipping the engine for repair. Most of the previously owned engines I buy on Ebay run perfectly.  It is when I buy new engines from an authorized dealer that I have had problems.

Mr. Muffins delivered a winner: a perfectly working Lionel Erie Heavy Mikado with Steam Whistle.  It pulled my new Atlas O Erie X-29 and single-sheathed box cars and some Erie Steel Refrigerator cars.  It was a good night running the layout.

Sincerely,  John Rowlen

Thanks Mike maybe Bryan did put a hex on me LOL.  John, I think it is not going to be an easy find. Two terminal blocks. One for power and one for ground using terminal jumpers to make each block act as one. Plus I used green for power and white for ground just as I did for the rest of the track on the other side of the bridge. But it still could be something simple. I didn't get a chance to work on the ,ayout tonight after dinner. Tomorrow morning I'll start searching for the problem again................Paul

Tom, sounds nice! I cant wait to see the update pictures!

Jack118711 posted:

Bruce, there’s also a protosound 1 version they made that’s not too expensive. BUT if you run DCS then I’d definitely save up for the PS3 one. 

Sorry for the late response, Jack.  I usually skip over PS1 versions unless it's economically doable to convert them to TMCC.  PS1 sound sets always seem better than PS2.  If only there was an easy way to transfer PS1 sounds into TMCC, I'd be a happy hacker.

My only PS3 steamer is a Pennsy H10 and I've been nothing short of thrilled with it.  I needed some variety in my freight hauling roster and it fit the bill perfectly.  While double headed GG1's handle the long drags, the H10 is on local runs.  

Still staying allert for a suitable Y3 - Y6, no matter the road.  Cross border shopping these days is a total write off.

Bruce

Mark, Mike, John and other that offered suggestions, thanks............I am up and running with power to the island table. This morning I started off turning on the power. When I moved the handle forward it would get to about 8 volts and the red light would go on. I was scratching my head and I could not find my voltage tester. So I started with trial and error. I disconnected the power first then the ground. At one point it was working so I hooked everything back up but then it shorted out when I turned the power to track on. I thought at one point it may be a bad terminal block on the ground side so I changed it out, hooked up the wires but the same problem occured. Now I was really scratching my head. So as some mention maybe it is something simple I stepped back and thpought about it. Checked to make sure I had no metal laying on the tracks and then I decided to follow the tracks around to the brewery area and I found my problem. On the island table I have a mix of older Ross switches that are not prewired and in the brewery area I have newer ones that I had Steve prewire. Ready for this, after all this searching I found the problem was one of the box cars on a track at the back of the sidings in the brewery area was off the track and shorting out the track when I turned on the power. I ran a MTH DCS engine and a Legacy engine through the tracks I had wired and they both worked with no problem. My problem solved..........Pics............Paul

Great Paul, I am glad you found it and it was an easy fix! I guess this means Bryan is off the hook! LOL

A new,small business for the layout.....

Commando Electrical " Let us remove your shorts "  

Bruce

Congrats Paul! at least it was a simple fix. With your layout I could understand how easy it would be to miss something.

Bob

Good news Paul.   Rejoice in the fact that it was a simple fix!   Those are the best kind even though they can be very frustrating.  

Dave

Decided to see how my landscaping idea would look

more detail in scenery forum

A tale of two cabooses (cabeese?  Whatever.  Save this picture for when someone asks what the difference between "scale"  and "classic" is... ) ;-) 

@JohnD's father, code name "Mickey Mantle", has hired the Razorback Traction Company's shops to service, clean and repair a couple of boxes of rolling stock and motive power.   One of the tasks was to add a second pickup to the NYC caboose;  another was to add a light to the Undec caboose.  

The NYC caboose is a ca. 1990 Lionel offering.  Somewhat odd construction as it has bar-end postwar trucks as opposed to a more modern MPC-era type.   It has a working smoke chimney (the Mickster was surprised to learn this; he'd operated the caboose for years without being aware of the feature) with a cam on the rear inside axle to operate the smoke piston.   This made putting a second pickup on the truck somewhat challenging;  I wound up modifying a 482-3 roller base plate to accommodate the cam.   In addition, the caboose only had one bulb under the cupola,  which meant that the front windows weren't lit very well.  So,  I fastened a 12v grain of wheat bulb to the center window frame,  lighting the front windows. 

The brown caboose is apparently a product of Lionel's last days in the late 1960s.  No lights, no windows, no printing, no nuthin.  The tabbed chassis has mismatched archbar and AAR trucks!  I'm surprised it has ladders and a chimney.   Obviously a 'clear out the parts bin' job.  

One of the nice things about Lionel: When they came up with a good product,  they didn't go monkeying about with the dimensions.   Thus,  I managed to mate a fifty year old shell to a seventy year old caboose chassis with no trouble whatsoever.  Both staple-end trucks are equipped with roller pickups.  The windows are thin white plastic cut from a cheap plastic "For Sale" sign. The chassis has a built-in bayonet base, making installation a snap!  

All in all, a couple of productive afternoons!   

Mitch 

Finished the " Heartland" elevator, with a kitbash to reduce the footprint.   It is a large building. This was a very good kit with excellent instructions.  I will eventually get photos of this and other recent structure builds, such as the Chinese laundry, posted.

Paul, I'm glad you found the problem!!  Something simple?  Yes indeed!!   The layout scenery really looks great!

Brian, So there's that Rio Grande you were talking about!  Looks great!!  Give Izzy some more ice cream!!  

John, Steam ahead!!  More steam engines!!! 

Gary, I'm glad you found the screws to get that vista dome lid off.  I look forward to seeing lots of passengers enjoying the view!!

Jushavnfun,  I'll have to take a look at what you are doing in the scenery forum.  Looks interesting!

Mitch, So I see that robot is your head car shop mechanic!  With him around, you shouldn't have any trouble finishing John D's dad's requests!!  Congratulations!!

Colorado Hirailer, I'll be looking forward to seeing the photographs.

What did you do on your layout today?

Nothing.  It's been done for years. Stop asking. 

Me? I did two things.  I have been working with Briansilvermustang on some motive transfers across the Pennsylvania-Ohio state line.  So we got all the government red tape taken care of one is delivered, and one has exited the repair shop, passed all tests, and will be heading to Ohio after all the paperwork is notarized.

Second, I sold some locomotives and bankrolled enough money to get Mrs. B. to give the high sign to place my first of two, maybe three orders to Mianne.  I will take the deck off the rollaround (6 screws from the bottom) then move it to the family room.  The first Mianni order will take in one wall.  The rollaround turnback curves Thomas/Elkins WV will but up against it.  Then Mianne order two will go down the adjacent wall.  I will then decide whether to build the Parsons turnback loop or get a third Mianne kit.  That will be down the road.  I'll get some photographs and drawings up when I get time.

Best of luck with all aspects of the layout build, Mark. I look forward to the progress reports. Above all, have lots of fun.

Bruce

Thank you, Bruce!!  It has been a long time coming since the last layout that made it to operational and scenery stages!  If we have to move again, I'm taking this one with me!  

Well there isn't much for me to say tonight as it looks like Mark has covered everything! LOL Thanks Marks kind of saves me a lot of typing.

But I do want to say it sure looks like everyone has a handle on all there projects! 

Mark It is really nice to hear that your moving forward! I really cant wait to see your build start and progress over time! Every time someone starts a layout its like a little insite to that person! I know its going to be a fun trip!

Tonight I started on a small store, having finished the last elevator. but it is not a laser kit and involves cutting parts to size by templates and is much slower going.  Before that l took pictures of the elevator and other structures l have been cranking out like crazy since l recovered from hospitalizations....Chinese laundry, ore tipple, coal shed, Tankar gas station, and another elevator.

.

Mark, good to hear that your layout is moving forward. Mike it is always a good feeling to have a handle on everything. I thought I was going to have a nightmare and it turned into a simple problem with the wiring. Today I got all the wires hooked up to the front half of the island table. This afternoon I got all the holes drilled in the tracks in the brewery area so tomorrow all I have to do is run wires. I did do a little train running through what was wired. I found out that the Lionel switcher will not get through the small radius switches in the brewery area without knocking off the Caboose ground throws. It was a plus I decided to buy the MTH 44 toner at york this past April. Looks like that is the only engine that will clear them without knocking them off. Learn something new everyday............Paul

Paul, Sounds like you better pick up a few more44 Toners!