What did you do on your layout today?

I spent a couple hours today.

I bought some thin black Evergreen plastic, and covered it with spray adhesive. Then I took some old Right of Way switches and mounted them to the sheet in order to stabilize them. These two will form the crossover in the third photo.

I got the second curve finished, three more sections of track. Tomorrow the fun really begins. Next comes the last curve and all those switches.

These can be a little tricky with all their feeders, but once they're down, it's smooth sailing with straight track all the way down.

I ordered a double slip on Saturday, so I'll have to work down to the other end, then start working back with the yard tracks while I wait.

Guys,

 

House guests are sleeping over! Duck and cover time for the Hobos who don't want to turn up missing from their camps! Power is once more back on.....

 

Mike Maurice

A storm knocked out power here for 4 days. But that didn't stop me from using a car battery to run some trains! (since I couldn't cook, go online, or watch the "light box" [TV]). Thank God for wood from downed trees, and my enameled steel coffee pot from my camping gear.

       

Now that's funny not even an act of god can keep us from running our trains LOL

. I had power here. I haven't been getting much done been running more than anything. but like others while the engines are running around I tinker with things.

 

added overhanging bushes to the edge to hide the wood.

 

here is the gorge but my 13 year old son call hoover dam

 

 

Finished the rock on the trestle.

 

finished up the ballast work in the small yard.

 

tested out using real dirt.

 

  Direct hook-up, 12vdc, one terminal to each rail. Took one feed wire off of each transformer & unplugged them. No whistle tender unless you want to hear iAZt literally non stop  I stuck with my conventional trains running at one steady speed. Heavy car loads added, and/or diodes were used to regulate smaller more efficient engines. On or off, just loops no fancy maneuvers, but beat the heck out of watching a dark clock as I prefer click-clacks over tick-tocks. Also we used a 700w, 12vdc into 120vac power converter for using little things like cell phone chargers and eventually a radio. Didn't think to plug a small transformer into it. Not as efficient maybe, but would have been fun to try.

Work continues on the Rio Grande switching layout.  I painted half of the track an earth brown color.  The other half will be completed sometime in the next week or two.  Will later rust with Testors FX rust pen in preparation for ballast.  Also finished the bridge guard rails on a bridge that will span a small lake.  These rails serve no functional purpose on the layout, but I wanted to add some realism and depth to the track work.  Also added new motive power to the roster.  MTH GP30 #3027.  This model was manufactured back in 2007.  This particular unit started as a non-powered model, but an individual put in PS2 electronics and turned it into a working unit.  It runs beautifully and has found a good home.  Enjoy!

 

Tomorrow is my turn to host our train club. Today was spent cleaning up and making room for them to get in to see the layout. Tonight and  tomorrow I'll be choosing trains to run.................Paul

Weathered track always makes a big difference as your nice photos show.

Now this is one die hard model train enthusiast.  Made the most of a bad situatin, and it sounds like there were many positives.

Way to go Adriatic!!

Mark,

 

Appreciate the kind words. The difference between the painted and unpainted sections is very stark. The rails in the painted section just disappear and don't distract the eye when viewing the trains. I'll keep everyone updated as I progress.

Good progress today. I finished laying all the curves.



The wye is taking shape.



All of the switches are secured.



The ladder is drawn out, just waiting on that double slip.



I'll be down to the other end after the next session.



I think Patrick is coming over Thursday. 

And you were worried about an extra 7 pieces of track for option 2 lol Thats a lot of d**m track in those curves!

It's coming along nicely, Elliot. Can't wait to see the double-slip.

 

 

 

Thanks guys.

 

Doug, I know 7 pieces of track isn't much in the grand scheme of this layout, but just wait til you see the quad track curve at the end of this peninsula. Talk about burning through track.  

 

I only have 3 cases left, and it's going to take at least one more to finish this yard and the mains. I was hoping to not have to buy any more. It is going to be close.

Just when you think you have enough.....man I need 2 more pieces!  been there before.

 

I got the coal tower glued in place. Had to remove the temporary ground cover, and now I have to put it back in along with some coal spillage. Wire up the lights, put the LED lights back in the flood light towers, and wait for the oil column to get here so I can figure out where it will go.

 

I finished the paint job on my white pass tractor trailer.

 

Here is what it started out as.

 

 

 

 

And here it is now.

 

 

 

 

I need to have some door decals specially made for it. I'll probably have doityourselflettering.com make them for me.

 

Here is my inspiration.

 

 

Laidoffsick - Your engine terminal is fantastic!  It has really taken shape and looks great.

 

Art

Great day with Patrick!!! The benchwork is now 99% complete and the lower level lighting is missing just one socket. The mainline golden spike is in sight, maybe by the end of October.

We drilled the holes and ran the conduit, then Patrick stapled down the chicken wire.

 


Decking next.



Finally the fiberboard. Then Patrick wired up the lights.



Patrick "the pretzel" makes the final connection.



I ran out of light bulbs (again)



Between helping Patrick from time to time, I managed to get a little more track laid.



The ladder and engine service tracks switches are in their rough positions.



At the last minute, I noticed that I needed another crossover.



With any luck, Patrick's next visit, we'll finish the benchwork. Matt and Jon will be here Sunday.
.

Today I finished some of the wiring to the push buttons for my yard uncoupling tracks and added a piano hinge to the control board with the push buttons on it and attached it to my table.  Picture later.

.....

Dennis

Elliot,

It sure is great you have Patrick the Pretzel to do that work for you!  He's the man!  He makes my arthritis flare up just looking at the photos.

Wow! 'Great day' would be an understatement. I can't believe the progress.

 

Just getting all the you-know-what out of the way is no small task. I can only imagine where it ended-up.

 

Decking down, lighting too? Thanks, Patrick.

 

Great day indeed, Elliot. Now, get back to laying track.

Yeah Mark, I don't know what I would do without him. Jon, Matt and I are not that flexible.

 

I didn't mean to design this so that kind of thing would be necessary. It just kind of happened. Fortunately, most of these things are "one and done". I'm not sure he had to climb in there to do that, but it may have been easier to see and work on, sitting up.

I agree, he probably thought it was easier.  I also have trouble with my trifocals working in tight locations on wiring.  All that considered, I am glad I moved to a pseudo-engineering desk job a few years ago.  I was having a lot of trouble seeing what I was doing and using the hand tools.  Your layout is a great combined effort!!  Shows what a group of friends can accomplish!

 

In fact, I find it is easier go in tight place, find myself comfortable then work on it than "reach out". It happened many times at his layout and it worked great for me! 

 

small running session.

 

Just completed coach 23, a re-painted and detailed AMS On30 coach. I like the looks of these, far better looking than the Bachmann ones.

I modelled this specific coach as it's the only one I ever saw in person, as it was made into a diner after the RR folded up in 1950. sadly, it burned down after I saw it. That coach wasn't a Jackson & Sharpe one, but I decided to go that way anyhow.

Shot photos of two more ghost towns, their buildings, to possibly model...am really

surprised how simple and identical some of the are...hardly tell commercial buildings from residences..

What I did on my layout tonight

Practice Night Photography 

On a Dummy Engine • D T & I - Trying to get number boards. 

  Click to enlarge.

 

The plastering is FINALLY FINISHED!!  This layout took over 1,000 pounds of plaster to complete the hard shell scenery.  I want to put out a BIG THANK YOU to two National Capital Tracker members, Bill C. and Wannis (Bear) B for their countless hours of plaster work and creative ideas. 

 

Many thanks, guys.

Watson M.  

I have done nothing on the layout. I have taken a lot of photos of the real trains. And tomorrow is the Dupage train show  at The Dupage County Fair grounds. I want to go and meet up with Art and his buddies for breakfast and then the train show. And my leg feels great tonight So all is falling into place. 

Working on NYC RS-11 fixing the pilots and installing Kadee's.

Scott,

That sounds great!  I am glad your leg is feeling good.  Have a great day!!

Working on leveling out my layout using wooden shims.Hoping that I will get rid off some grades and to make it easyer for the trains.And to make a lake or river for my trains to cross.

Scott - Glad that you are having a good day.  We are expecting a good sized group tomorrow, look forward to seeing you there.

 

Art

Welp, the Gi-raffe Express' gearbox is still grindy, so I wound up doing a motor swap with the Red Rocket 1 (with trolley pole at right).  Also upgraded the headlights on the Red Rocket 2 (with pantograph), added weights to the Crocodile to add tractive effort and overhauled the motor on my Pennsy F3...

 

The Gi-raffe Express is doing fine with the donor power truck and will be ready for the trainshow in Springfield, MO in two weeks!  :-)

 

Still to be done:  Motor overhaul on my Razorback Traction Co. EP-5, the Crimson Comet...

 

Mitch

Art. As I am typing My plan is to meet all of you tomorrow at the restaurant in the morning around 6:45 am. All I can say is that I need some motivation to get me out of this mood I have been in.  So We will see you all in the morning.

          Scot

Today I went to the the Ronald McDonald house here in Aurora, CO to check on their layout. Made my to do list, basically adding more bracing for the legs and replacing 1/8" plexi with 1/4 or better to cover the power 'box' (it contains the transformers and timers). Have to plan a rewire and track cleaning session.

 

 

 A loooooong engine on the lower level of a cross-under wouldn't clear a support post for the upper level, so I sanded it back and the engine still won't clear. Now I need to remove the support structure of wood and rebuild the support beam and posts. I thought I had built a simple "carefree" system of over & under with no switches; then I got bigger equipment and shazam! Back in the construction business.

 

Wally

 

 

I cleaned all the stuff that got dropped off on my layout in the "off season". Then I started on my list of things I am going to do one of these days. 

 

Ever since I first saw them I have wanted to paint the roof of a very old Williams Amtrak E60 with a Lionel F3 drive. For some reason they never painted the roof and windshield area but everything else seems passable. Last year I found one at a train show for $40 so now I have one and today I finally got around to masking and painting it. This is the second model train thing I have ever painted. The first was an HO scale Bachmann GP18 I painted with a brush and Testers paint from UP to RF&P back in 1988. I was 13. It was horrible.

 

Here is my second attempt. I even painted the numbers by wiping paint into the depressed number board. It makes me feel more confident to take on more of my projects. I may make some window grills.