What did you do on your layout today?

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Here's the 2065 resplendent in its two-tone paint scheme! 

Still have to paint the coal, install new headlight and marker lenses, and have custom decals made...  ;-)

Mitch

Yellow roof, brown hatch?

Yellow pilot??

Window frames????

Wheels??????

At least a yellow stripe or we might suspect a yellow streak!

(Ouch. But, it was there. I couldn't resist )

My like button is freaking out again. Looking good everyone.

I WILL hafta track down a small toy gi-raffe to act as engineer...  ;-)

Mitch

A local antique store has two metal ones made by Brittain.  Not cheap.

Chugman posted:

I have been working on a parking garage that will serve my Union Station and Greyhound Bus Depot.  It started as a Korber power plant office building and I adapted it as a 3" deep backdrop building.  Here are two pictures, one on the bench and another test fit in the space on the backdrop.

I am adding 4 more stories in a modern concrete style and have to make additional signage.

 

Art

 

Art,

That looks terrific, nice work.

Mark Boyce posted:

Moonson posted:

Anthony K posted:

I've had a bit of extra time over the holidays to work on my layout.  I've been laying track, wiring, and testing DC

Looks like a place for unlimited fun. Enjoy.

frankM

Your layout is really taking shape Anthony!!  Frank always says it so well!

What plans do you have for scenery around that big column in the middle of the big turn loop?

Thanks Frank, Adriatic, and Mark!

Mark- I'm thinking about bending a sheet of 1/4" Masonite (with a removable piece for the unfinished light switch) around the column to simulate the tracks going upgrade through a cut, much like the far side of the room.  There will be some sort of scenic block in the center of that loop so that you can't see the train for more than half the loop from any angle.  I ran my B&P GP"18" and caboose with a test train up through this new section.  I'll have to dig out some of my other B&P engines for upcoming pics!  I was in Butler Friday and saw four of the SD45-body units around the shop the 452, 457, 458, and 3064. It gave me inspiration to keep working.

Not quite working on the layout, but preliminary steps, worked on the first of a couple display shelves.

Just got in from the clubhouse where we are making steady progress. Some time was spent building a step-up platform at the control panel to give a better overall view on the layout.  Otherwise, work continues on the urban area where Harold is installing SuperStreets and the station platform is underway.

We have so much 'stuff' set in place that we haven't been able to do much actual test-running of trains. We are working on the 3rd level track  and waiting for a case of roadbed to arrive before laying the track.

Kerrigan posted:

ChessieMD posted:

Spiked the track on my Rio Grande switching layout.  Still have some plaster work, install the backdrop and then start scenic work.  Overall a very productive 2016.

 

That's a pretty herky track screw for sure!

Yea...indeed.  I wanted something that would "grab" the cork and foam as it went into the scenery bed.  So far so good.  Track is rock solid.

Last night I cleaned of my #1 outer loop and decided to test run my larger Lionel PW steam engines because some seemed erratic.  Discovered instead that, I think, i have some bad track with screwed up wiring.  Seems loops #3 & #4  off my Z transfomer are goofed up so today a full analysis will be conducted.

Took a happy snap of my RailKing PTC PCC for the Facebook group: 

Naturally, Norma Bates Kitteh decided to get in on the act:

"Believe it or not, I'm just waiting for a streetcar!" 

Mitch

Chugman posted:

I have been working on a parking garage that will serve my Union Station and Greyhound Bus Depot.  It started as a Korber power plant office building and I adapted it ...Art

Art, You sure did "adapt" that kit! Masterful! Clever, creative, and imaginative.

It reminds me of a parking garage that existed across the street from a Brooks Brothers store that was in Pittsburgh, years ago - very similar. 

Cool!

FrankM

RSJB18 posted:

Adriatic posted:

RSJB , lets see the arch in place. It may block the rock some, but the intricacy of the corner may win out. There's something to be said for contrasts in a small area. I thought the height build up was interesting too.

Sam..any lean will look prototypical, lol. But I'm sure your heart skipped a beat before it came crashing down. Its looking good from here.

Anthony....Wow! That's it, just wow.

Adriatic- I will set it in place later and post some pix this evening. I am open to suggestions so any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks

OK Guys- here is the cliff with the  bridge in front of it. My original plan was to have the bridge serve a small parking area for a station that I am going to build in back on the upper level between the main line and siding.  My thought now is to make the platform area above the tunnel entrance a small park with picnic tables and swings, etc. I am open to suggestions.

Thanks

RSJB18 posted:

OK Guys- here is the cliff with the  bridge in front of it.

Wow, that is really starting to look sharp. I really like your stone work!

RSJB18, the cliff looks great and as others have said the stone work is very good. I see what you want to do but to me the corner is crowded. From the pics it just seems like too much for the area.....Paul

I would have to agree with Paul.  Excellent stone bridge covering part of the excellent rock cut is too much.  I guess I'm saying 'less is more'

RSJB18. Neat bridge.

This morning I made a mockup of a freight house to see if I like the look of the ends, based on the photo of a Lackawanna freight house. There will be four garage size doors on the sides. The roof is left over from one of two Lionel loco sheds I kitbashed.  

Thanks for the feedback guys. I feel that it is too crowded with the bridge so I will leave it off for now.

A little secret- the "stone work" is printed images on card stock.

Anthony K posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Moonson posted:

Anthony K posted:

I've had a bit of extra time over the holidays to work on my layout.  I've been laying track, wiring, and testing DC

Looks like a place for unlimited fun. Enjoy.

frankM

Your layout is really taking shape Anthony!!  Frank always says it so well!

What plans do you have for scenery around that big column in the middle of the big turn loop?

Thanks Frank, Adriatic, and Mark!

Mark- I'm thinking about bending a sheet of 1/4" Masonite (with a removable piece for the unfinished light switch) around the column to simulate the tracks going upgrade through a cut, much like the far side of the room.  There will be some sort of scenic block in the center of that loop so that you can't see the train for more than half the loop from any angle.  I ran my B&P GP"18" and caboose with a test train up through this new section.  I'll have to dig out some of my other B&P engines for upcoming pics!  I was in Butler Friday and saw four of the SD45-body units around the shop the 452, 457, 458, and 3064. It gave me inspiration to keep working.

That sounds like a good plan.  I will look forward to seeing it take shape!  The GP18 would be nice.  Yes, you may see anything at the Butler service facility.  That is good inspiration indeed!

RSJB18 posted:

Thanks for the feedback guys. I feel that it is too crowded with the bridge so I will leave it off for now.

A little secret- the "stone work" is printed images on card stock.

 

You can get fabulous results with printed images!!

Good fun/work session this morning.  Last night was a great train get together at Uncle Ray's. Along with getting my fixed engine I was able to get some more Gar Graves track pins, I always seem to run out of them, two Gar Graves track bumpers and a bottle of earth color. I got the sidings in for the Sauerkraut Factory. Put some cars around it. Brian, a first time especially for you. All four cars have never seen the rail LOL. After lunch I'll plaster the area around it and maybe make a small earth mound in front of the building. Pics of work.............Paul

Looks Great Paul, Perfect location for just the right amount of cars!

paul 2 posted:

Good fun/work session this morning.  Last night was a great train get together at Uncle Ray's. Along with getting my fixed engine I was able to get some more Gar Graves track pins, I always seem to run out of them, two Gar Graves track bumpers and a bottle of earth color. I got the sidings in for the Sauerkraut Factory. Put some cars around it. Brian, a first time especially for you. All four cars have never seen the rail LOL. After lunch I'll plaster the area around it and maybe make a small earth mound in front of the building. Pics of work.............Paul

Looking good Paul. I love the Heinz cars! Nice touch.

 The banjo signal got here today so I finished up the project.

140 Banjo Signal

145 Gateman

252 Crossing gate

Here is the finished "Action Corner" of the layout I did for grand-son Jordan. It is all run by a push button to give the three year old "the job" of being the Gateman. I think he will like it and know he don't care about the scale..LOL

I drew out a track plan in ink, then scanned and colored it last night. I think it turned out okay. The reason this looks a tad blurry is that the original file is the size of a letter-sized sheet of paper and was made for a publication:

KRM posted:

 The banjo signal got here today so I finished up the project.

140 Banjo Signal

145 Gateman

252 Crossing gate

Here is the finished "Action Corner" of the layout I did for grand-son Jordan. It is all run by a push button to give the three year old "the job" of being the Gateman. I think he will like it and know he don't care about the scale..LOL

I think the action corner is a good deal for Jordan!  Now you will need to come up the next action area for him!  I have been collecting some accessories when I get a good deal for future grandchildren.

Thanks, Mark. It all started with a K-Line operating diesel fueling station I have that runs off a push button. It did not take long to figure out little ones have more fun if they are in control.. 

KRM posted:

Thanks, Mark. It all started with a K-Line operating diesel fueling station I have that runs off a push button. It did not take long to figure out little ones have more fun if they are in control.. 

 

LOL. That is right!

Straightened out my wiring and started to plan to install some new curve track on my Standard gauge loop. Bought some  042 curves today which will replace two  036 curves that have a short straight piece in the middle.  These curves I bought were reasonably priced and heavy duty. I was surprised. Fixed a loose lock on too.

Yesterday, I had planned to get some work done on the layout, but mother nature intervened and dropped the outside temp well below freezing. That prompted my wife to say, "Let's defrost the freezer!", something she had been threatening for weeks. There went my day.

On the bright side, the mail lady brought me a couple boxes of goodies. I did get downstairs in the evening for a couple hours, and unpacked the new items and a couple more I got a few weeks ago.

I give you "The Rainbow"!

The concept for the train came from this print by railroad artist Larry Fisher. It is an early Amtrak Empire Builder made of a colorful hodgepodge of of equipment.

This is what I've come up with so far.

An Atlas Amtrak dorm - buffet -lounge dome.

Another Atlas, 16 section  sleeper.

K-line GN Big Sky blue dome.

A K-line Milwaukee Road diner.

And a K-line GN BSB full dome. This one required a little of my attention when I got it out of the box. One of the inboard wheel sets was rolling around loose. On closer inspection, the side frame was slightly bent. A few gentle squeezes with my big Channel-Locs took care of that. Then the wire going to the roller had broken. Fixed that too, and all was right with the world!

Fedex just brought me car number six a few minutes ago. That's the third and final K-line GN BSB car, a Pullman.

I'm still waiting on two more cars from GGD. A CB&Q duplex sleeper and a GN green and orange coach. That will bring the total to eight. I'll still need two more cars, but they will need custom paint. The train still needs a baggage car, and probably another coach. One will get BN Cascade Green, the other NP two tone green. The whole thing will be pulled by the new Atlas F-7's in Amtrak paint, just like the one in the print, powered A and B. I'm thinking of adding a K-line dummy B to that as well.

EDIT: Not even 10 minutes after posting this UPS showed up bearing gifts from GGD. More pics later.

ChessieMD posted:

Kerrigan posted:

ChessieMD posted:

Spiked the track on my Rio Grande switching layout.  Still have some plaster work, install the backdrop and then start scenic work.  Overall a very productive 2016.

 

That's a pretty herky track screw for sure!

Yea...indeed.  I wanted something that would "grab" the cork and foam as it went into the scenery bed.  So far so good.  Track is rock solid.

I use screws just long enough to go through the tie and get a good grab on the Homosote roadbed without going in far enough to touch the plywood subroadbed.  Makes it a lot quieter without touching the "soundboard" plywood base.

Unpacked the latest order from ROSS Switches.

Gotta say these switches look even better than the older ones I've in place!

With tracks in place I took some pink board and made up a small hill in the front of the building. I decided on this layout that I am going to keep scenery on the small side. No mountains or cliffs just small knolls scattered around the layout. I decided this one was going to be more city, industrial areas, grain silos and a couple of freight yards with a small engine servicing facility. So with the first one in and plaster wrap applied that's it till after dinner. I am hoping the wrap will be set up enough because I would like to put down some plaster on the bare wood and if possible the knoll too.......Paul

p51 posted:

I drew out a track plan in ink, then scanned and colored it last night. I think it turned out okay. The reason this looks a tad blurry is that the original file is the size of a letter-sized sheet of paper and was made for a publication:

Nice job Lee, You could have your self a second job with these skills!

This afternoon I finished  except for weathering, a Lionel power house. I masked tried my golden valley depot and tested rustoleum warm camel on my test box. I liked the color and need variety on my building colors. The color is slightly more brown than the photo. My next color challenge is the Rico station, w/o the freight part. The green molding pieces intrigue me but trim color, don't know other than white. Tomorrow I might begin a brick paper on masonite freight building while I think about Rico colors. I really enjoy this thread. It helps stimulate me to move forward and of course I get some great ideas. Cheers. 

pennsynut posted:

This afternoon I finished  except for weathering, a Lionel power house. I masked tried my golden valley depot and tested rustoleum warm camel on my test box. I liked the color and need variety on my building colors. The color is slightly more brown than the photo. My next color challenge is the Rico station, w/o the freight part. The green molding pieces intrigue me but trim color, don't know other than white. Tomorrow I might begin a brick paper on masonite freight building while I think about Rico colors. I really enjoy this thread. It helps stimulate me to move forward and of course I get some great ideas. Cheers. 

 

Keep them coming, you do wonderful work and I love to see what you put up next!!!

mike g. posted:

p51 posted:

 

Nice job Lee, You could have your self a second job with these skills!

Thanks, Mike. Actually, I was a professional illustrator for several years out of high school. I even have a commercial art degree, from when everything was still hand-rendered (MacIntosh computers had just come out then and while we were using them for easy lettering, nobody knew how best to use them yet at that time).

The first lesson they should teach you in art school, though, is that nobody wants to pay you for your work. People recognize the finished product as having a value, but not the effort to create it. Same as musicians and singers, people don't see the time and effort having value.

I still draw from time to time and am currently putting together a book of my work from 1985 to today, but I have other projects to work on first.

Very cool Lee, Its amazing what you learn about people and how they have gotten there skills. As for me its wood working, from building houses right out of the Corps to building little bird houses for the grandbabies. I guess that's why I enjoy building things from scratch for my future railroad.

But again Great work Lee!!!

Lee,

You are right!  One of our daughters is an artist, the other is a musician.  One son-in-law is a graphic designer, the other is a videographer.  All that talent, but since they are aged 23 to 26, hopefully some of them will learn how to get paid a reasonable amount for their work someday. ??

Thanks Mike. I removed the masking tape except for the panes because in a couple of days I will dull cote the depot and attach the small roof over the ticket office and the main roof. The color of the brick apron was too close to the building color so I painted it red rust primer followed with flat black over spray. The photo shows it with an old left over roof. The photo color doesn't do justice to the real color imo.

Got to get going on the freight house while think about paint color for the Rico restaurant.

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

Yesterday, I had planned to get some work done on the layout, but mother nature intervened and dropped the outside temp well below freezing. That prompted my wife to say, "Let's defrost the freezer!", something she had been threatening for weeks. There went my day.

On the bright side, the mail lady brought me a couple boxes of goodies. I did get downstairs in the evening for a couple hours, and unpacked the new items and a couple more I got a few weeks ago.

I give you "The Rainbow"!

The concept for the train came from this print by railroad artist Larry Fisher. It is an early Amtrak Empire Builder made of a colorful hodgepodge of of equipment.

 

This is what I've come up with so far.

An Atlas Amtrak dorm - buffet -lounge dome.

Another Atlas, 16 section  sleeper.

K-line GN Big Sky blue dome.

A K-line Milwaukee Road diner.

And a K-line GN BSB full dome. This one required a little of my attention when I got it out of the box. One of the inboard wheel sets was rolling around loose. On closer inspection, the side frame was slightly bent. A few gentle squeezes with my big Channel-Locs took care of that. Then the wire going to the roller had broken. Fixed that too, and all was right with the world!

Fedex just brought me car number six a few minutes ago. That's the third and final K-line GN BSB car, a Pullman.

I'm still waiting on two more cars from GGD. A CB&Q duplex sleeper and a GN green and orange coach. That will bring the total to eight. I'll still need two more cars, but they will need custom paint. The train still needs a baggage car, and probably another coach. One will get BN Cascade Green, the other NP two tone green. The whole thing will be pulled by the new Atlas F-7's in Amtrak paint, just like the one in the print, powered A and B. I'm thinking of adding a K-line dummy B to that as well.

EDIT: Not even 10 minutes after posting this UPS showed up bearing gifts from GGD. More pics later.

Looking good, Eliott. I'm waiting on sets of the same locomotives to which I will add a couple of rainbow "Bs" and a mix of cars to create similar consists. I picked up a video a while back showing just such a "Builder" in action. As I'm sure you do as well, I remember seeing and even riding on trains out of Minneapolis configured this way back in the day.