What did you do on your layout today?

Try 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts whiskey and a big spoon of honey. Stir well.

carsntrains posted:

briansilvermustang posted:

 

                       Good Luck Mike, hope you guys feel better...

 

One teaspoon honey, one teaspoon lemon, one teaspoon tea, one cup Jameson Irish Whiskey! 

Will make you go CHOO CHOO!!! : )

Jim

WOW, nobody said anything about tea! I guess we try it without the tea! LOL

modeltrainsparts posted:

Try 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts whiskey and a big spoon of honey. Stir well.

I am new to this so bare with me. Should it be heated?

My elders called it a "hot tody" or something like that.  

We use:

1/4 cup lemon,   1/4 tea, 1/2 cup 100 proof moonshine, two tablespoons of honey.    We never used it for flue though.   I have a gallon of 105 and a quart of 120.   If we use 120 we cut it back to 1/3 cup.  

Jim

Edit:  I googled it and its HOT TODDY ..   They have the mix for using crown if thats what you like.   Still dont recommend it for the flu.  

WATER WATER WATER WATER

Thanks Jim, I will check it out!

                     kinda steam powered...     build a moonshine still on your layout...

                  http://www.railroad-line.com/f...c.asp?TOPIC_ID=40064

briansilvermustang posted:

 

                     kinda steam powered...

               http://www.railroad-line.com/f...c.asp?TOPIC_ID=40064

RIGHT ON BRIAN!    My great grandpa spent 5 years in the federal pen for moonshine and shooting a bear in the national park! LOL

Jim

Managed to get the concrete arch foundation assembled, test fit with some random left over buildings for size and perspective.   On the arch foundation, sprayed the first coat of Krylon STONE - Fine Texture Pebble.   I'll be going back and weathering the concrete further once the texture coat dries.    This should complete this corner of the layout.  There is access that I can stand up in behind the Atlantic Ice & Cold Storage building.    

Also got my test brick wall section completed, this was a 4 step process, prime with rusty primer, paint selective bricks with Lackawanna Maroon, apply very light india ink wash, seal with dullcoat and apply spackling mortar.   

Now I am starting to "multi-color" the painted brick work on the other 9 wall sections and inserts.  

Also, while it was warm yesterday,  I put 3 coats of rattle can weathering on 4 Ameritowne Art Deco building fronts.  Plan is to make (2),   side by side 5 story buildings with the art deco granite/sandstone building fronts, but at least 90% of the weathering and painting work is done on these.  

Thanks Dewey! I have a few ideas for that corner. At least the ground cover is done. Chris, that area looks great! Nice work.

Andy

First time poster here....

Every year I put up a new layout for Christmas and usually leave it up until the end of January. The past few nights I keep looking at it, not wanting to take it down yet. But I think I just might start tonight

Paul, however you cut the gorge I bet its going to look wonderful!

Chris, once again what amazing work! Everything looks great! I have some arches like that I might have to use your idea on my layout!

Jon, if its not in the way leave it up take down the Christmas stuff and change it around a little so you can run it year round!

                               WOW...  that is looking GREAT Chris  !!

          back is feeling better,  don't know how you've managed

                                                   to deal with yours all them years... ohh !

John, I guess I have to wait cause we have to go down to the store to put the beer order away, as our employees don't have the faintest idea how to price products! LOL So sometime after six and before bed time I am sure I will have a couple! LOL

No tea; Just warm the lemon juice, add the whiskey and stir in the honey.

Cooper's Croze has become my favorite!  Nice choices.  I will be over by 8:00 ;-)

mike g. posted:

John, I guess I have to wait cause we have to go down to the store to put the beer order away, as our employees don't have the faintest idea how to price products! LOL So sometime after six and before bed time I am sure I will have a couple! LOL

AHHHH you have a party store!  WELL lets have a party!   lol    You shouldn't have to go in to work if you have employees there.   But if it is the same there as it is here.  The worker pool is fairly shallow.  Just be careful not to give anyone what you be havin!! UGGGG 

Jim 

Modeltrains, got it no tea!~LOL

Jim, that's why we are going in after 6 cause the employees should be gone by then! Should only take a half hour, Then back home to a nice warm fire!

mike g. posted:

Modeltrains, got it no tea!~LOL

Jim, that's why we are going in after 6 cause the employees should be gone by then! Should only take a half hour, Then back home to a nice warm fire!

Mike you got a wood stove ??  I have a buck FS21 stove (made in USA) and its great!   A bit on the small side.  I wish I had a wood stove in the train room!!!    It reminds me of the firebox on a steam engine!   

Jim 

Litle things done to get to the bigger things. Glued all the bridge shoes to the underside of the bridges. Cut wood for the backs of the abutments and glued them together. Started cutting the plywood that will join the abutments and started to open up the front of the table. Hopefully I can get more done after diner. Pics.............Paul

Mike g, glad your feeling better, and Chris a, wow, your layout is looking so real, great work, and to the fellow above, with Wall after Wall of TinPlate trains, Wow, that’s a Lot Of trains, and to everyone posting, Your layouts are looking good. We recently added a B&O GP9 diesel to our fleet as I used to see these Particular engines in Flora, Illinois where I grew up as a kid.....The Memories..

Thanks Andy, Brian, Mike for the positive comments, on the newest scratchbuilt factory over the tracks....

Andy,  I went back to look at your track and ballast work, it's exceptional..... The color of the ballast really blends well with the track, the ties and the surrounding scenery.   Question:   Are you airbrushing the ballast, ties and rails lightly after the ballast was installed ?   And if the answer is yes, could you tell me what color or colors your mixing together ? 

 I started using an airbrush to try and blend everything together on my layout as I don't care for the harsh contrast between the ties, rails and granite ballast i am using, but my results aren't as good as yours ...

In the real world ballast varies with the part of the country you're in. When i'm in the Flint Hills of Kansas the ballast is about the color of yours, and the earth is brown. Here in the northeast (i'm about 4 miles from the CSX mainline - the old NYC "Water Level Route") the ballast is grey, the rails very dark - almost black, and the earth is oil and soot soaked black. It's your railroad - do what you want.

mike g. posted:

Thanks Paul, the wife and I are both battling it! Man dose it suck! 

So sorry to hear that, I hope you both get well soon!

NYCGreg68 posted:

Cooper's Croze has become my favorite!  Nice choices.  I will be over by 8:00 ;-)

Sorry Greg... last call was 7:00!!! And if you haven’t tried it, I would highly recommend the Black Barrel - to quote Col. Sherman T. Potter, not enough O’s in smoooooooth.

Mike, I think the wife may want part of the living room back.....I’ll probably take half of it down as I’m planning a massive overhaul of the controls for next year

Hi Chris,

Thank you for the kind words regarding the track and ballast. This is from the third page of my build thread. I describe what I did. I’m also attaching pictures of the ground cover and specific spray paint I used. Hope this helps. The ballast and ground cover are from Dennis Brennan. Quality materials. I use the Superior sand closest to the track, then the Coarse Natural Earth, then the Fine Natural Earth towards the back. After that I add some greenery. I will add bushes and trees in the future. I wish I had an air brush, the results I’ve seen here on the forum are fantastic! 

Andy

Steamfan77 posted:

This is my first attempt at Ballasting. First I painted the track a flat camo brown, then ballasted. Instead of using wet water, I tried using some isopropyl alcohol. I mixed some brown paint and water with the white glue to tie it in with the track. in the first picture, the track to the left is painted, to the right is unpainted. Let me know what you think! 

 

Andy

Hi All first off I want to say great work being done by all! 

Jim, yes we have a wood stove and its been burning for the last 5 day and will till it warms up!

Paul, that there young man is some great looking work! It going to look wonderful when your done!

Larry, thanks for the nice wishes, You sure picked up one nice looking engine! Im not at 100% but sure feel a lot better!

Jon, I completely understand! That's why I had to add onto the back of my garage!

Chris A. I am glad you asked the question and that Andy was nice enough to share it with all of us!

Andy Amazing track work and ballast job! I hope some day to look back on this post and try just how you explained it! Thank you!

Just an up date, Hot Toddy, Carmel Crown royal 2 parts, water 4 parts and 2 table spoons of honey! Man I don't know if its going to work, But as  Modeltrains stated it sure is working on the soul part of me! Maybe one more will do the trick!

Hope your feeling better Mike here’s some pics of the layout I took the other day.

Andy,  Thanks very much for all the details.   I weathered my Ross/Gargraves with the same Camouflage Dark Flat Brown.  Due to cost concerns,  I elected to go the landscaping yard and got 5 gallon pails of crushed granite that I sift through screens to get the right size ballast.   Like you I have been tinting the glue/water/alcohol mix to tone down the blueish tint to the natural granite stone.   

It's too late for me to make the switch to Brennan's ballast at this point, but the photos you provided along with some that I have taken while travelling in the local area will help.   I am definitely getting closer.   

The photo below shows what my ballasted track looks like "before" and then "after" a quick final pass with the airbrush.  The upper level in front of the factory is After, the lower main line isn't done yet.   

I wouldn't sweat the lack of an airbrush, I waited 10 years to buy one, and while I use it, it's like once every 1 to 2 months.   

p51 posted:

mike g. posted:

Thanks Paul, the wife and I are both battling it! Man dose it suck! 

So sorry to hear that, I hope you both get well soon!

Thanks Lee, it feel like I am on the down hill side of this, but my poor wife still hasn't peaked yet. It is easier for me cause I know what she is going threw!

lee drennen posted:

Hope your feeling better Mike here’s some pics of the layout I took the other day.

Thanks Lee, You know after laying some of my track I wish I would have less so I could have more scenery . But then I hee haw about it, I will have to break down the wife and ask for her help! She has a good eye for stuff like this!

Nice looking Engine and train there! Sure is a sharp layout!

Ive been piddling with some fastrack turnouts.  And talking to Caboose Industries about using their ground throws with them.  I hope I can figure out how to make them work.  I don't like the ground throws on the Fastrack.  And I don't want to use remote switches.   All the switching layouts Ive seen use the type ground throw that Caboose makes.  

Jim 

Thanks Mike I’ll be praying for you and your wife to get well

I think we all do “I wish I would’ve done that on the layout” but it’s all good the way it is. I hope to get another 4x8 added soon I’ve had more fun with this little layout the pass 6 months compared to the 6 years of my HO layout this O scale is awesome and it keeps getting better and this forum helps with the enjoyment also.

Lee. the problem is my room is 12' x 24' with around the wall. I already stretched my bench out to 36" Just not sure where to cut or just leave it as is!

That sounds  complicating with that room. Well I got some good news last week my wife says I can turn our small dining room into a model room and she wants to turn the sitting room into the dining room  immediately I started measuring for a layout. 

I  finally found the piggyback hitch I’ve been looking for and put it on the flat car I’ve been working on it’s finally  done and hope to have it on the layout running soon 

Ran some trains tonight.  Actually put the @MrMuffin'sTrains F3 special run Santa Fe engines on the track and then some Lionel Santa Fe bi-level passenger cars that I am confident that are at least 10 years old.  Got it all set before dinner then ran trains for about an hour tonight.  soooooooooo relaxing.

Took a video too.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4tVTCKT8g4  

John

John, I really liked that YouTube video.

Lee, you have a good wife.

Vincent, I have posted 4, please enjoy them all.

John