What did you do on your layout today?

Hi Chris, thanks for the picture of your jig! You wouldn't happen to have a picture of your table saw setup would you?

Fine tuning track work before adding scenery was in order this week.  The double track, which will be visible when scenicked, required attention, whereas the single track will be hidden.  Making a scale GG1 successfully negotiate  superelevated S curves on a grade took some doing. 

After the initial GG1 test, other bad actors on the layout were tried over the same section, just to confirm the sound construction.  I now sleep better at night.

Bruce

Mike,  I will take some photos of the table saw set up later today and post....  Been meaning to do this but haven't gotten around to it.....

The super elevation looks good Bruce. Always wise to check clearances many times before and during scenery construction.

Bob

RSJB18 posted:

The super elevation looks good Bruce. Always wise to check clearances many times before and during scenery construction.

Bob

 I hear you there, Bob.  I manually test clearances with 2 K-Line 21" cars.  Many adjustments have been made since beginning train operation but I seem to be nearing the end of major realignment.  Adding scenery and catenary comes next.

Thanks!

Bruce

brwebster posted:

Fine tuning track work before adding scenery was in order this week.  The double track, which will be visible when scenicked, required attention, whereas the single track will be hidden.  Making a scale GG1 successfully negotiate  superelevated S curves on a grade took some doing. 

After the initial GG1 test, other bad actors on the layout were tried over the same section, just to confirm the sound construction.  I now sleep better at night.

Bruce

Great work, bruce! Love especially the Flying Yankee beautifully restored.

Pete

Great scenes Everyone, Mike G, I just went back in this topic to review your New Train Room, it’s looking great, and I wish you good luck while working in this new train room.   Elliott, Big Boy 4005, I am so sorry to hear about your toe incident. Hopefully, Lord Willing, your doctors and their staff will fix you up. Your layout is Magnificent.  Keep us posted....Paul 2, all I can say is Wow, the scenic building flats are looking good....Chris A, Your scenic detailing and buildings are very realistic. I love the retaining wall very much, as well as the scenic background.  Wow. There are sonany beautiful pictures on this really long thread...Trumptrain and Briansilvermustang, Your Layouts are so Feature rich. And Moonson, Your Layout looks so real, I firmly agree with the fellow that related your work to the great HO layout, Franklin and South Manchester, (possibly mis-spelled this). I have the video on that layout, it’s a masterpiece...Happy Railroading fellows... 

Thanks for your concern and well wishes. I think I have a plan where I can get down the basement and move around just enough while staying off the foot after the surgery. I'll take the stair lift up and down, and use a rolling office chair while I'm down there, to get around.

Bob - That's just it, the size of the layout was behind the accident. I had been working in that area, but knew the track was clean there. I had seen the stuff sitting there, but forgot. When I was running the train, I was coming around from the opposite direction, and thud.

Mike - I have enough engines, but many of them have difficulty making it around the layout smoothly. The one I fried was one that did go all the way around. I think the one I grabbed to replace it should work. I've got to get down there tonight, and finish the run to make sure things work for tomorrow and next Saturday.

Ray - If nothing else, I can park it up by the roundhouse. It looks fine. The last two weeks have been crazy between dialysis and all my doctor visits. Last week I had something every day except Sunday, and that was my nephew's graduation party. Then I've had something every day this week too. It will be a little quieter next week, maybe.

Pat - Thanks, but the toe is mine. Brian is too smart to step on a nail.

John - Train running isn't really in the cards. This layout isn't one that you can set and forget. It takes constant monitoring, and there are switches that need to be thrown. That means moving around. I may finish building my signals, put away a bunch of papers, and perhaps work on a little scenery. I could also unpack some trains.

Doug - Thanks, me too. There's a lot I want to get done before the before the convention. Some of those plans are out the window now, but others can still get done.

Larry - Thanks, I do all of my medical stuff at the University of Minnesota. They are fantastic! A number of my doctors are heads of their departments. Doesn't get much better than that. They do a lot of pioneering work there. I'm in good hands.

 

Great work, bruce! Love especially the Flying Yankee beautifully restored.

Pete

Thanks Pete.  Just in case you are interested, the Yankee Flyer is a modern MTH Premier rendition.

Bruce

brwebster posted:

 

Great work, bruce! Love especially the Flying Yankee beautifully restored.

Pete

Thanks Pete.  Just in case you are interested, the Yankee Flyer is a modern MTH Premier rendition.

Bruce

I picked up an old Yankee Flyer motor in a box of junk motors. It looks repairable, but I would need to find old parts. How does the motor on the YF remake compare to the 1938 motor?

Bruce the track looks great.  You should be able to have some great action in the attic!!

HCSader73 posted:

brwebster posted:

 

Great work, bruce! Love especially the Flying Yankee beautifully restored.

Pete

Thanks Pete.  Just in case you are interested, the Yankee Flyer is a modern MTH Premier rendition.

Bruce

I picked up an old Yankee Flyer motor in a box of junk motors. It looks repairable, but I would need to find old parts. How does the motor on the YF remake compare to the 1938 motor?

This I do know, they are 2 completely different animals Pete.  I couldn't say for certain what available parts might interchange with originals from 1938.  

Bruce

Mark Boyce posted:

Bruce the track looks great.  You should be able to have some great action in the attic!!

 Thanks so very much, Mark.  Coming from you it means a lot.

When initially designed, this area was envisioned as having most of the track hidden by mountainous terrain.  After dragging a 30 car freight through the twisties a few times,I realized the view needs to be left unimpeded.

Bruce

There is nothing similiar between the old and new flying yankees. The MTH has two motors,

one in the loco, and one in the obs car. They each have their own electronic reversing unit. 

Somehow the ones in mine got out of sync  and there was no way to resync them. The

train was unusable because one motor was always doing something the other wasn't. 

Called MTH, too bad, so sad. Last MTH I ever bought.

So here are some photos of the zero clearance plate I made for my table saw, the thin Kerf  7 1/4" saw blade I am using to cut small parts and also plastic walls, roofs and parts during kit bashing....   This really stops any small parts that I cut from falling through the gap or worse getting in the gap and binding up.    

I also included some other photos of some set ups you might find useful,  if you open the photo attachments there are some labels on the bottom of the photos to help describe what it's used for.  

There are some photos of a cross cutting sled which I used to cut the 100 + oak planks for the loading dock on the mine run building...   Not a good application for the chop saw.....  the sled works really well as it moves with the miter gauge that runs in the tracks in the table top.   by adding a stop to it I could cut about 4 or 5 at a time, move the sled in cut off 5 and then pull them back toward me.   If it's not obvious, you have to use one hand to hold the parts your cutting firmly, so you can cut them on the way "in", and remove them safely on the way "out, back".... It helps alot to have the stop moving with the sled so the parts remain at 90 degrees and don't shift.  

Take it from someone who has been using table saws since going to the high school woodshop all summer long in the 1970's for Summer School..  Always wear Safety Glasses...   I got lazy, and LUCKY, about 4 years ago !   An employee of mine dropped a carbide tooth saw blade by accident on the plywood floor in the mobile shop,  I put it in the saw and started cutting with it.   One of the carbide teeth came off and hit me in the forehead about an inch and a half above my eyes...   Huge WAKE UP CALL for someone who was starting to get lazy about always wearing glasses... 

Anyway, these set ups (pictured below), work well, on my cast iron Craftsman Table saw.    I found that 5/16" thick Baltic Birch plywood was a perfect match (thickness) for a plate,  Baltic Birch is 5 ply plywood really stable, never warps.  Traced the original steel plate, cut it with a sabre/jig saw, sanded it smooth by turning my belt sander on it's side and using it like a bench sander....    Could be done with a sanding block and bench vise.   Once it fits the oval opening, install it, put the rip fence over it, turn on the saw and raise the blade through the plate.   Depending on what make saw you have, you might find a replacement plate already properly sized at Rockler Woodworking, I know I have seen them sell "blanks". 

I also found the need to make a second rip fence liner so I could bring it down to the table top with NO GAP, I had some thin wood and plastic parts get under the gap on the factory fence.   Tried taking the fence apart and moving the rail to the lowest positions, but I still had a gap of around 0.040 inches....  

beardog posted:

There is nothing similiar between the old and new flying yankees. The MTH has two motors,

one in the loco, and one in the obs car. They each have their own electronic reversing unit. 

Somehow the ones in mine got out of sync  and there was no way to resync them. The

train was unusable because one motor was always doing something the other wasn't. 

Called MTH, too bad, so sad. Last MTH I ever bought.

No sync cables between the cars?  I know my Electroliner and Liberty Liner have 'em... 

-MMM-

maybe this was earlier?

They acknowledged the problem, just would not  do anything

NYC freight passing through Elizabeth City on the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad.....

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

beardog posted:

There is nothing similiar between the old and new flying yankees. The MTH has two motors,

one in the loco, and one in the obs car. They each have their own electronic reversing unit. 

Somehow the ones in mine got out of sync  and there was no way to resync them. The

train was unusable because one motor was always doing something the other wasn't. 

Called MTH, too bad, so sad. Last MTH I ever bought.

No sync cables between the cars?  I know my Electroliner and Liberty Liner have 'em... 

-MMM-

Mitch,  Ron P.  here.  Just Got back from 2 wks out west.  In a store in Law Vegas there was a 7 ft tall giraffe made out of spark plugs.  I will post pictures soon.  Pretty neat!!!!!!! I love your  posts.

Got three more flats done tonight. Only have five more to do. Making up some different sized pieces to get into the smaller areas helped save some time. I might just be able to finish the five tomorrow. Thanks Chris for all the help with this answering my questions on this project. Pic..................Paul

BRWEBSTER, Looks good! Its always a good idea to check clearance along the way! I know form my last build! But that's another story! LOL

LEAPINLARRY, Don't cut yourself short! You have one of the nicest layout I have seen on here, really something to be proud of!

CHRIS A., This is such great information you are sharing with the rest of us! I know table saws are full of danger after running the tip of my thumb threw one last fall! If time permits I will try and build a new plate today and work on a cross cut sled! I do have a question, can you explain how the system is working in picture #5? Thanks again for all the great information you share here on the forum!

GANDYDANCER, just as always wonderful looking pictures of your layout!

PAUL2, The flats are looking great, at this rate you will have one huge city scape! I have to agree with you about ChrisA. He is great with sharing information, which in turns helps the rest of us have an easier time building!

As for me I got the last piece's of sheetrock in place and the first coat of mud on! But before I closed everything up I put a few things in the train room time chest. I put an S scale crane car, and envelope with the story of the build to date, Pictures of my wife and Tank, and one of me with Tank. Sealed it up and put a picture of Tank on the outside guarding everything! Here are a few pictures.

Mike- great stuff for the time capsule!

Paul- the flats are coming along nicely, can't wait to see them on the layout.

Chris- I'm with you on table saw safety (all tool safety for that matter). I've also been using them since high school and they still get my total respect. I love the jigs. I recently finished a big project in my house (aka- "The CEO's PROJECT") and I made several jigs along the way that will go into storage if I need them again one day.

Bob

Mike:   Photos 5, 6 & 7 are trying to show a safe way to cut small stock -  around 1/16" thick clearance between the blade and the ripping fence.    The notched piece of pine is keeping the stock pushed up against the fence and also down on the table top....   It should be placed over stock, and kept right where the cutting starts,  so for longer pieces, the pine block is being held in the same position, the stock you are cutting is sliding under it.....The Oak pusher behind it is used to get it through the cutting blade, so it can be pulled out from the exit side.   

So as pictured, with the fence to the right of the blade,  it's right hand on the oak block, left hand on the notched pine block.  The pine block should never go past the blade until you are almost done cutting and the oak block is pushing both the stock you are cutting and the pine "holding" block.    In the piece shown,  I took some 3/4 inch stock and first ripped off 1/4 inch x 3/4 inch stock, then laid the 1/4 inch stock flat on the table top and ripped it again in 1/16" x 1/4 " pieces,  approx  3" x 12" in  O scale....   I find it better to use oak for the pusher blocks, if you use 3/4 or 1" white pine the small 1/16" thick piece won't last very long which is what is going between the blade and the fence to push your work through.... So you can use pine, but you will want to have a few pieces available as once it breaks off, you need a new pusher block.   You can also keep rotating it and use all 4 corners before you have to cut off all the rough broken edges.  

Mike, that is way cool. You are the first one I know of that when building put a time capsule in during construction.  You have to feel good knowing the drywall is done...........Paul

Thanks Chris, I didn't know the oak block was being used for pushing, so the notch pine is like a feather board? Thank you again I have learned some much for you!

paul 2 posted:

Mike, that is way cool. You are the first one I know of that when building put a time capsule in during construction.  You have to feel good knowing the drywall is done...........Paul

Thanks Paul, but I still have another coat of mud to put on the wet sand before primer and paint! I hope to have the mud done this weekend, then all work stops for 2 weeks cause we have a lot of people coming for the 4th and longer. My Daughter and her family are going to be using my train room as a hotel cause of the amount of people staying here! I  hope its still in one piece when the 4 grandkids are done in there! LOL

Mike,   exactly... you got it.   Feather board is exactly right term !!!   

One other quick hint....   not necessarily for this set up.. but I learned the hard way that "pusher sticks" should NOT HAVE ANY 90 degree corners on the side you are "pushing with", you don't have to sand it into a work of art, but at least chamfer off sharp 90 corners....  Had one kick back out of a saw 12 years ago when I was building a doll house for my daughter, end up cutting up my forearm pretty good even with a heavy weight sweat shirt on....

Point taken Chris! Right now I just use the one that cam with my table saw, I thought about building one out of wood with a handle on it. I am always building something around here! LOL

mike g. posted:

As for me I got the last piece's of sheetrock in place and the first coat of mud on! But before I closed everything up I put a few things in the train room time chest. I put an S scale crane car, and envelope with the story of the build to date, Pictures of my wife and Tank, and one of me with Tank. Sealed it up and put a picture of Tank on the outside guarding everything! Here are a few pictures.

Mike, 

I've been waiting for this post on the "Time Capsule" to see what your plan and choices were going to be.  Tank guarding the family & train room is a great idea.  Thanks for sharing and continued good luck.

gandydancer1950 posted:

NYC freight passing through Elizabeth City on the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad.....

thanks all!

On 6/26/2018, I wrote:

"Working on the smoke unit of my Lionel 18009 NYC Mohawk, to improve smoke output.  Now I have to make some time to visit an auto parts store and get some liquid gasket, to replace the gasket on the smoke unit that always breaks when you take it apart."

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to finish the job.  For those who are looking to make their 18009 Mohawks smoke better, I recommend checking out the thread at:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ly=71819767851650702

In my case, following the comments in that thread, I:

1: Opened up the output hole at the base of the "stack" output tube.  As it came from the factory, the hole was very much smaller than the tube itself.  My guess is that this was to provide more "smoke" to the cylinder smoke manifold.

2: Since I never cared much for cylinder smoke anyway, I removed the manifold and plugged the hole in the smoke unit that feeds smoke to it with a bit of cork.

3: I decided that using liquid gasket compound to reseal the smoke unit when I was done would be too permanent and hard to remove, should I need to open it up again in the future.  So I used black silicone seal instead.  It seals just fine, and wouldn't be difficult to remove if the need arises.  I let it cure for about an hour.

After reassembling the Mohawk, I powered it up and set it out with a Lionel REA express reefer and five Atlas 60' NYC passenger cars behind.  It sure smokes now!  Mission accomplished.

Next step: to install the Evan Designs LED I just ordered in the headlight, replacing the stock GOW light bulb.

Pretty much nil activity around here.  Even with A/C, the house is kinda muggy for doing work in the workshop.  Got Beardog's package, chock full of interesting goodies...I think some of the items may find their way onto the For Sale forum at some point. 

Did a little work on my Hogwarts Express down at the A&M Museum this week; the drivers were slipping, so I reversed the traction tires, which helped somewhat.   

Shop Supervisor Norma Bates Kitteh decided to do an extended sabbatical from last Sunday to last Thursday, which prompted the usual calls to the animal shelter, neighbors et cetera.  She's back and confined to the house for the time being.  

Other matters are still ongoing; have a look at my profile if you care to. 

Mitch 

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Shop Supervisor Norma Bates Kitteh decided to do an extended sabbatical from last Sunday to last Thursday, which prompted the usual calls to the animal shelter, neighbors et cetera.  She's back and confined to the house for the time being.  

 

Glad to hear you got your fuzzy friend back, Mitch.  All of ours are indoor-only, but a few years ago, one did manage to get out.  He was gone for three days, but finally showed up again on a Sunday night at around midnight, dirty and hungry.  He hasn't repeated that performance.

--John

Managed to get two more done. That leaves three more to go then I brush them down with a foam applicator and then seal the flats. Once that ries I'll apply a dilute wash of water and black indigo ink. Pic.............Paul

Mike, Great choices for the time capsule!!!!  Good spot for them!

This Carolina Craftsman Kit for the mill includes their separate sale 20 foot mill wheel kit.  I didn't know this wheel kit existed, when l bashed and scratched several other mills with wheels of different sizes including very large, as seen on some mills l have visited.  This kit wheel is much more detailed, down to bolts for the spokes, than mine.  I am happy with my method, though, for before developing it, l was stymied as to how to build a decent looking round wheel.  This one takes more time to build, but will stand a much closer inspection.  I have the paddles all in place today, the most difficult part.  The other parts of the mill building is roofed and windowed, but need chimneys and other small details.  This did get a minor bash in how the building sections go together.

Mark, Thanks on your thoughts of the time capsule, It was arrived from different ideas of a lot of folks here. I put it at the top of the wall cause if it ever comes down I don't want it crushed at the bottom!

Paul, The flats are getting there! You better slow down or you might run out of things to do! LOL

Oh wait your building a Train Layout, You will never run out of things to do! LOL

Colorado Hirailer, sounds like a nice kit, Please post some pictures when you can!

A feel good day today. I got the last three buildings flats mortared. Now I can start brushing off some of them to apply a sealer. I am glad this tedious job is over with. My eyes were starting to cross LOL. Pic.............Paul