What did you do on your layout today?

Mark,  the Christmas diorama on the upper level looks great... Love the back drop !    Glad the knee is coming along.   We don't heal like we use to.  

Paul 2:  Thanks for posting the photos of the table top in disarray....  I am glad I am not the only one whose layout area looks like Ground Zero after the explosion when I am working.   I'm amazed how much stuff I can get out and create a disaster in just a day or two !   I never had the nerve to take and post a photo "before clean up".....

That "trench loco" is really cool.  I visited some narrow gauge RR's in Maine, but never saw an engine like that very unique.... Great idea with the gloss.  I was thinking about doing something similar in my engine yard with semi gloss black to represent oil spills.  

I ran trains last night, got so involved I never saw the ball drop.  Today I finished fine tuning the tracks leading into the turntable, ran the TT empty and then test ran my Berkshire on and off from both ends to ensure everything was lined up and running...  Just glued down a bunch of low loft batting in the engine yard, so once the glue dries i can start laying down dirt, cinders, coal & ballast in the wet latex paint.   

Bob, I'm glad you got that trouble spot fixed. 

Lee, The detail and weathering is tremendous! 

Paul, Well you have until January 18th to clean up the mess!  

Mark, that is a very nice Winter Wonderland you created. 

Chris and Lew, thank you very much!!

Terrific work gentlemen.

I turned the heat on for the train building and I got hit in the head by an idea.  I recently purchased a 20 Amp meter and a 20 VAC meter.  I thought I would put them in the next control panel.  Today's lighting bolt said "Build a meter tower."  I took lots of measurements.  I put this together in three hours.

Just before dinner of blackeye peas, greens, and ham, I built three more end bumpers.

I'll stain them tomorrow.

I created a TO-DO list to keep work on schedule.  Next, replace two lazy switches.

To make room for my room change for my new layout, I'm throwing out a bunch, a huge bunch of boxes... Really exciting work........ lol

Woodson posted:

To make room for my room change for my new layout, I'm throwing out a bunch, a huge bunch of boxes... Really exciting work........ lol

Woodson, if there's anything in those boxes, just mail them to me.

sniff   It's 7:26 PM   sniff   I've run out of excuses   sniff   I have to start dismantling my 2019 Disney Christmas lay-out   sniff

I played with my grandson.

Vincent Massi posted:

Woodson posted:

To make room for my room change for my new layout, I'm throwing out a bunch, a huge bunch of boxes... Really exciting work........ lol

Woodson, if there's anything in those boxes, just mail them to me.

No they're empty... No old postwar boxes.. Just newer stuff......

Bill, the meter tower and barricades look great.

Vincent, so soon?  What will come after the Disney layout?

Galley Proof, That photograph of your grandson is priceless!  The layout sounds and looks great too

Vincent Massi posted:

sniff   It's 7:26 PM   sniff   I've run out of excuses   sniff   I have to start dismantling my 2019 Disney Christmas lay-out   sniff

Awww! .....U could cheat a liddle bit.....

Went over to Harbor Freight to pick up some items for the impending rebuild of the JRM Museum layout later this month.  

NYE, I got a pleasant surprise from the A&M RR.  I was thinking I was going to curl up in an empty coach seat with a good book and be ready in case I was needed.  Instead,  I was firmly told I had a reserved table to myself in the dining car, so, after a good prime rib dinner, I toasted the New Year with bubbly...  

(sorry about the blur; my flip phone doesn't do very good interior pics.)

Mitch 

geysergazer posted:

Vincent Massi posted:

sniff   It's 7:26 PM   sniff   I've run out of excuses   sniff   I have to start dismantling my 2019 Disney Christmas lay-out   sniff

Awww! .....U could cheat a liddle bit.....

sniff Thanks, Lew.  sniff   But I have to set up a short-term Thomas the Tank Engine lay-out in order to see all the stuff I've been buying at yard sales and open-air markets for two years. Then I hope to begin constructing "The Knights of Atlantis" on January 10, the day after I (hopefully) buy a new diesel.

Mark Boyce posted:

Bill, the meter tower and barricades look great.

Vincent, so soon?  What will come after the Disney layout?

Galley Proof, That photograph of your grandson is priceless!  The layout sounds and looks great too

I'm planning to set up all the Thomas the Tank Engine stuff I've been buying on sale for two years because I honestly don't know what I've got. Then I hope to begin constructing "The Knights of Atlantis" on January 10.

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Went over to Harbor Freight to pick up some items for the impending rebuild of the JRM Museum layout later this month.  

NYE, I got a pleasant surprise from the A&M RR.  I was thinking I was going to curl up in an empty coach seat with a good book and be ready in case I was needed.  Instead,  I was firmly told I had a reserved table to myself in the dining car, so, after a good prime rib dinner, I toasted the New Year with bubbly...  

(sorry about the blur; my flip phone doesn't do very good interior pics.)

Mitch 

Sounds sweet, Mitch... Happy New Year 🎉🎉🎉 Hope you brought something home for the staff   

P.S. was it really your flip phone’s fault or was that a post-bubbly photo???

RSJB18 posted:

While technically not "on the layout", I consider any train time, layout time, so I put a shelf together yesterday from some scrap shelving I had laying around so I could display more engines. Since I'm not going to stop buying engines any time soon, more shelves were the only solution. The CEO doesn't want more shelves on the walls so I get creative. 

The wood is from an old pine TV stand that our neighbors were throwing out many years ago. We did use it for a TV stand for a while when my kids were little but I took it apart and kept the wood when it was no longer needed.  I'll take free 3/4" clear pine any day of the week.

Nice collection, Bob, especially that lower shelf - can’t go wrong with PRR and D&H!!! Looks like you’re going to have to scrounge some more shelving material - how long is that M-10000   

Apples55 posted:

Sounds sweet, Mitch... Happy New Year 🎉🎉🎉 Hope you brought something home for the staff 

The kittehs got a nice chunk of ham each for their NYE treat.   

P.S. was it really your flip phone’s fault or was that a post-bubbly photo???

I refuse to answer on the grounds I mighta been slightly pixelated. 

Mitch 

I created a number plate for my trench loco, now she's done...

P51, great job..and that scene is so real

p51 posted:

I created a number plate for my trench loco, now she's done...

You may have answered this earlier on OGR, but for what is a trench loco used?  In NH and other Northeast logging areas, I've seen geared locos like Shays for use on somewhat temporary railways and even large 2-8-0 Consolidations on permanent railways.  Nice job with detailing.

paul 2 posted:

Scott, nice looking urban scene.

Chris a, great work done on the coaling and sanding area. I like the idea with the lofting elevator for the sand.

Johan, you always post such great pics. You definately have a good eye for staging the pics.

Well I guess I have sluffed off through the holidays and time to get busy again. The project ahead of me is clening off the table so I can work on the area. Took pics of what I have to clean up. The biggest problem is figuring out where I can put ll the stuff. .....................Paul 2

Paul. Thank you.  I added a more green around the layout and try take a some pics, before a brand new backdrops coming. 🤝

Johan 

                   Happy New Year everyone !!!

RSJB18 posted:

Happy New Year once again!

Larry- One of the best train/ man caves on the forum.

Paul- looks like the days of moving the pile from table to table are over.

Mark- We will forgive the lack of a Polar Express Berk due to your physical condition this year. However, you do have excellent taste in alternate power.

Dave-  I hadn't commented before but the pilot turned out great. Looks like a factory original.

Johan- Agreed, your subject matter is always spot on.

As for me- the MOW crew was cleared to work on the Holiday so the track work on the main line was completed. The UCS track was reversed to create more live rail between it and the switch. Testing with the suspect engine was successful and the RS-3 runs through the area without shutting down.

Bob

Bob. Thank you very much.🤝

Johan

Vincent Massi posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Bill, the meter tower and barricades look great.

Vincent, so soon?  What will come after the Disney layout?

Galley Proof, That photograph of your grandson is priceless!  The layout sounds and looks great too

I'm planning to set up all the Thomas the Tank Engine stuff I've been buying on sale for two years because I honestly don't know what I've got. Then I hope to begin constructing "The Knights of Atlantis" on January 10.

Vincent, That all sounds like a great plan.  I’ll look forward to seeing both!!

decoynh posted:

p51 posted:

I created a number plate for my trench loco, now she's done...

You may have answered this earlier on OGR, but for what is a trench loco used?  

This is gonna sound like a wise-acre answer, but for actual trenches.

Baldwin built almost 200 of these for the US Army (and many more of a 4-6-0 type that looked much like this for the Brits) to use behind the lines in WW1. As they were used somewhat near the trench lines, they of course got called, "Trench" engines.

The above engine is the first they built. They had white lettering until they got to France, which was painted over in black. They remained grey through the Great War and most stayed in Europe to be used up by civilian operators after the war.

Sadly, it appears that only one exists today (and only the running gear and frame), but it's been loving restored after being moved back from its Australian exile to a tourist RR in France:

Davenport, ALCO and other makers built copies of the Baldwin design, most of which stayed in the US. One is prominently displayed at the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, though in a totally wrong paint color (the Army never painted these in OD green)…

My model is painted as a post-WW1 version, which really should be a Davenport, to be honest. They had all kinds of markings in stateside posts through to the late 40s in a few places. Getting the decals straight was an utter pain but it was worth the effort to me...

There is also an outside-framed 2-6-2 Alco type, of which at least one survives in working order at the Festiniog Railway in North Wales. 

A restored Baldwin 4-6-0 is (I think) currently at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway, and the FR also has a much-modified Baldwin petrol-mechanical in occasional use 

Today’s job was to find and deal with, a short circuit caused by perished wiring on my Lionel 24xx coach set

Hi everyone, I handed out a lot of likes for all the wonderful work being done! I wish I had time to comment on everyone's projects but I don't as I am still nursing a sick puppy!

Lew, thank you for all the great information!

Mark, wonderful winter wonderland! Nice work!

Chris, you sand pit looks great!

I sure hope to get time to tomorrow to comment more as my better half will be here with me to help with Tank! I hope you all have a great night and don't work to hard on your layout, instead sit back and enjoy your trains running!

     hello Mike,   IZZY wanted to say she hopes Tank feels better soon !!

     GET WELL SOON TANK    have a good night Mike...

Mike, Thank you.  I just shutdown from running the RS3 and an F7 AA set on the winter wonderland with Annie.

Annie joins Izzy in wishing Tank gets well soon.  Today was Annie's twice a week morning chemo medicine with Black Forest ham.  Black Forest ham makes all the difference.  The medicine makes her sleep most of the day, but she was alert for train running this evening.  She is doing much better than when she got the chemo daily.

Earlier today she went out and took her bone with her.

What'd I do? My iPhone 5s has been sick for some time so it was time for a new phone, an iPhone 8. So I tested it for low-light pics:

Happy to report, significantly better! 

Lew, the iPhone 8 shows off your handiwork much better.  We have iPhone 6s which my wife complains about until I mentioned getting new ones, and she is fine with it again...for now! LOL

sniff   Got all my stuff down from my Disney Christmas train lay-out   sniff

geysergazer posted:

What'd I do? My iPhone 5s has been sick for some time so it was time for a new phone, an iPhone 8. So I tested it for low-light pics:

        

Happy to report, significantly better! 

Sharp-looking trains and excellent photography!

Thanks for all the likes on my previous reply showing the equipment shelf I added - much appreciated!

GeyserGazer - Controls for the 282 look good.  You commented on another thread about getting the spring collars back on the 282.  I got a pair of Bonney B21 pliers but they were too big - I have a set of smaller pliers somewhere that I use to open up E-Units - they may be a better fit.

Paul 2 - Seems I am in a constant state of bench cleaning!

P51 - thanks for the info on the trench locomotive - I was curious as to why made it a trench type as well.

Bill - nice work on the bumpers - that gives me a few ideas.

The new year is off to a good start.  New Years eve I soldered up some wiring harnesses / forks and ring ends and ended the evening enjoying some running time.

Yesterday I had a landmark day - with the wiring done I got three accessories on the layout by lunch!  The first is a 415 Fueling Station to keep my new LV ALCo fueled up and hauling freight.

The ALCo was under the tree Christmas morning - a gift from my wife.

I also got an MTH semaphoreand the Lionel Bluetooth radio station installed.  I really like the radio station - I can stream from music from my phone while running trains. 

I wired the light for the 415 and the semaphore into the new AIU.   I started moving to MTH for motive power last fall and installed DCS over Thanksgiving.  I just added the AIU earlier in the week so this was my first attempt at adding accessories to it.  Installation went really well - I have been impressed with MTH's offerings.   I am using the semaphore as a train orders indicator.

Mark Boyce posted:

Lew, the iPhone 8 shows off your handiwork much better.  We have iPhone 6s which my wife complains about until I mentioned getting new ones, and she is fine with it again...for now! LOL

We had to do something because we no longer have a land line and the 5S had that bad battery issue and was shutting down at random times. Not good when you need to keep up with Dr appointments and that sort of stuff. The 8 is obsolete enough to be cheep enough....ish. It's all good because better model railroading pics. 

geysergazer posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Lew, the iPhone 8 shows off your handiwork much better.  We have iPhone 6s which my wife complains about until I mentioned getting new ones, and she is fine with it again...for now! LOL

We had to do something because we no longer have a land line and the 5S had that bad battery issue and was shutting down at random times. Not good when you need to keep up with Dr appointments and that sort of stuff. The 8 is obsolete enough to be cheep enough....ish. It's all good. 

We are having similar issues with the battery.  I was looking at the 8 also.  Enhanced layout photographs would be a definite advantage.  I’ll look forward to seeing great photographs of the Plywood Empire!!!

Ground cover, and more ground cover....  Spent most of the day covering the engine service facility tracks... Getting really tired of looking at painted plywood and cork roadbed.    I know the paint and glue is still wet, but couldn't resist the temptation to take a few photos.  

Nice work everyone !   Going to the recliner now.