What did you do on your layout today?

Hay Scot

Good luck with that nasty quietbrace. I been fooling with 10 pieces of that stuff for a couple weeks. Starting to paint it....much better.

Started my tunnel area and the next day was clean up and organize.  Probably run trains today every time I run the trains I see a better way to do the scenery.

have been replacing the incandescent bulbs in my 148 dwarf signals with LED's.  some of the old fixtures were so badly fused that i had to replace the entire signal.  have four more to do.

yesterday, however, my granddaughter and i were highballing passenger trains...with much whistle blowing.

added a WBB set of F7 AA in B&O, got advice on here to wire the motors in series and it's run even better.

I have been working on a upper loop for my 3 truck shay and lumber area I have the wood all in place and braced now need the homasote and wire in another power drop and the one switch machine and another area ready to scenic.

$oo

Repaired a broken Williams pilot, did more scenery, more ballast and even ran some trains!! Life is good.

Finsihed installing and wiring the voltage/amp meter panel for the 4 180 wwatt bricks.

Started work on the front left corner for the canyon scenery which will incorporate the installation of a 50" Stainless Unlimited underarch bridge for the lower track.

did you build that meter panel?

Yes I did build it.
 

Fixed a couple of errant grade crossings on the club layout yesterday. Spent a few hours under the layout, but the result was worth it. Also gained some insight into how to set up a signal system for a hidden block of track.

I laid some more plaster cloth.  This time it is under the track on my woodland scenics inclines.  I hope to get a bit more done this afternoon so I can replace the track tomorrow since the layout is temporally out of commission until the plaster drys.  

Larry Sr.  My son will be back in a couple of hours after he changes the oil on his car,then we wiil unload all the plywood.Then Ill get to have fun cuting this stuff.Fun fun fun  I cant wait.   

More roadbed cutting and fiddling on the Engine Servicing Terminal.  Just goes on forever it seems ... trying to get the turntable finished, etc.

Cleaned the rollers on the K-Line B6 

Now it doesn't stall.

Actually it was yesterday at this point: I extended the foundation for my "country road" ('Streets) by 12 feet, fitting it onto the layout with a 2 to 2.5 % slope as it comes down from the "mountains" into my valley area.

Replaced 2 batts in a ps1 & ps2 engine, found a short in the front truck of an F3, fixed a brush problem on my 1947 GG1 and ran it (see related post, Does It Get Any Better....) and MU'd two F3 C & O engines: 1 a PS1 and the other a PS2.

Still, I know that in a week or so, I will have to take the boards down, and the fun will be basically over for another year. Dennis hit the nail on the head.

Greg

Alas . . . .sigh . . . . I am stuck here in Florida with temps in the 40s and 50s and near gale force winds the last couple of days.  I could be enjoying this weather back in Michigan in a nice warm basement working on my layout.  I haven't been able to golf for a week due to rain, then cold.  Wahhhhhhhh!

.....

Dennis

It looks like today I will drive the GOLDEN SPIKE on first loop of my new layout.  I got to within 5 ft of closing the first loop yesteday, the last 5 ft should be very simple to do.  Then without fanfare I will be starting loop 2!

Rained all night last night and will turn to snow this afternoon.  Are you sure you want to be back in Michigan?

Last night I hooked up a TPC 300 so I can run my post war / MPC trains.  Tonight after work I plan to permanently  mount my grist mill onto the access hatch and add a final layer of plaster cloth on it.  I also hope to hook up the wires so the wheel will spin.  

Yeaterday I painted a sheet of plywood and added it to the top of layout.Then I painted 2 sheets of the quietbrace and added them to the top of the layout.I also had to run to walmart and pick up 2 cans of miss match paint.And it was onlt $4.00 a gallon

Spent the day with a friend screwing risers into the subroadbed for the Engine Servicing Terminal.  Working on the turntable surrounding benchwork; what a pain to get everything right!

Tore part of the layout down this week.  I'm going from this:

To this:

I had a small downtown left of the old 054 Wye, I'm moving it down to the bottom of the room.  I'm replacing the liftout bridge with an 072 Wye to give me 2-way traffic onto the layout and hopefully more yard.

I've cut down from 8 sidings to 4, but this will give me more room for larger industries.  I only hope the Greenberg show this weekend will have some buildings I need.

Did my latest cycle of removing the postwar stuff from the tracks and replaced them with six inch and 3/16 Marx tinplate. It keeps me from a general boredom from running the same thing again and again in circles. Windups take a turn as well. Prewar sometimes makes an appearance. Getting ready for Spring. Bought some of those PVC molded trestle bents for the G. Look forward to planting them.

I've been building this town up and rearranging things in it. 

Starting to detail mine a bit, figuring the lower section tunnel portals to make and designing a passenger platform for the train station. I removed part of a lionel Rico station, the storage end, and Im going to install a passenger waiting platform.

Got the brass delievered for the light pole creations tube and flat brass sheet.  should be fun.  need some tubing benders

Chris

Very busy day on the railroad today, a bunch of benchwork.

Here are the pics I forgot to post from last week.

CGWforever assembles the helix foundation.



Foundation complete!



On to today...

The first section of the new hidden yard takes shape.



Frame installed, time to connect the pieces with a short bridge.



Heading up the helix! Instead of using 3/4" plywood, I use 2 layers of 3/8" plywood glued together to form a single  continuous roadbed.



Half way around the first turn.



Let's see what I can get done before he comes over next week.

Finally got the swing up section of the layout which has been holding me back for awhile now. I still have to fine tune it a bit. If all goes well tomorrow i will have it wired up.

I added the Polar Express 2-car set to my rolling stock roster.  OK, OK...  so this wasn't strictly work on the layout but this was really huge for me because I have been looking for them so long. 

I didn't get any work done on the layout today but was able to go downstairs with the kids and enjoy running some trains this morning before I went to work.  

I laid down another 12 feet of Atlas track for my 'Streets country road (2 lanes x 6 feet of highway), straightened out a few places where clearance was minimal to have enough, cut a tunnel through a wall 1 wider and higher, and began wiring the 60 feet of track I have installed so far (34 more to go).

Went to the hardware store after the Rotary Club noon meeting to pick up additional wiring supplies. Later, placed terminal blocks under the layout near three of my switches. I have been living under there for the last three weeks, but am getting in the home stretch. Getting better, but getting slower.

EL Bob

Working on the fascia boards still. One more piece to put in. Spackle, sand paint...repeat!

We broke 3 of these pieces before we finally got one in there w/o breaking it. Just trying to make the radius too tight and they snapped. Had to loosen up the curve a little but this one should stay.... we HOPE!

Worked on a repaint of 2 locomotives that I am doing for a friend this morning, and they are way over due.  I hope to get them all assembled tomorrow and back to him ASAP.

I also did more plaster work on the layout.   Almost have the plaster cloth all done, then on to the actual scenery.   I will be heading to Menards tonight to get some yard sticks to make into sidewalks for my city.  

Right now taking a breakfast/lunch brake. It's 11:30am here. I've been painting the back walls to my new layout. I have about half the framing done. It's going to be awhile tell I can get the hot water (no relation to the Hot Water on the Forum) heater changed to a tankless and moved. I can't finish framing tell that's done. The tankless will save lots of space and hang on a wall away from the layout. Don

I got a couple of things done:

1. Worked with a sound system vendor to get steel making sound module created and order the module.
2. Sorted through, organized, and cataloged some electrical components in a storage box.
3. Started researching a smoke unit for a new animation.
4. Later tonight I'm headed over to help a friend work on his layout and get rid of some adult beverages.

George

I worked on my tunnel some more. I am putting up the walls first, using 1x4's for supports. I then glued and stapled black foamboard to that. Once all of the glue set I put adhesive sheets from Micro Mark on the foamboard and then put down ballast with adhesive. When I feel that I am done with the walls I plan on putting a roof over the tunnel. I don't like to be able to see into a hollow mountain. Not very realistic in my opinion. Next I will bulid the mountain over the completed tunnel.

Cobrabob.

I will attatch some photos, but I am sorry about the picture quality. Atleast you will be able to see what I am doing.