What did you do on your layout today?

My eight year old granddaughter qualifying on the main line.

@Jstewart204 Looks like the really fun part of layout building! LOL I guess some folks enjoy it, as for me it hurts my brain!

@Odenville Bill Bill I sure hope you find the short! and it turns out to be an easy fix!

@Tranquil Hollow RR Nice to see she is starting early in life! What a good grandad to keep her intrested!

I know its not quite what I did on the layout today but its a start! We got our new train room with attached house! I am just not sure what room the CEO is going to let me have! LOL

I hope you all have a great weekend and find time to have fun with your trains and layouts!

Congratulations Mike! Let the fun begin.

@mike g. posted:

I know its not quite what I did on the layout today but its a start! We got our new train room with attached house! I am just not sure what room the CEO is going to let me have! LOL

I hope you all have a great weekend and find time to have fun with your trains and layouts!

Congratulations Mike, I’ll be looking forward to following your journey into the new train room.

Gene

looks like a good start mike

That’s great Mike, congratulations. Home buying has to be one of the most frustrating experiences. Let the planning begin.

Jay

Yay Mike! Congratulations. This, again, is going to be fun to watch. Before you begin, remember it's the journey...

Dave

Hey Mike, You have a great looking place there. Especially a room for your layout. "Good Luck"  on your negotiations with the CEO. I got lucky with mine many years ago. She now tells visitors I left her enough room in the basement for a washer and dryer!    Bill

Hey Mike. didn't you guys move done there to be closer to grandkids.  You have to get one of grandkids on your side.  They can get just about anything from the CEO. lol

Hey Mike, You need to listen to us. That was more good advice from Ohio Jeff. I bet there are many good suggestions that will come if you need our help.

Here are some pictures of present work done the last several days on the Maybrook area of my layout. The gates go up and down perfectly, but not in conjunction with the sensors. Still need work but they do look awfully good. In placing buildings around the area, I settled on using !/2" sheet rock cut to look like concrete pourings for bases. Then I took a page out of Pete Condro's book using foam core for the roadways. Those sections were cut and painted and will be installed tomorrow. The curbs will be a little high, about a 1/16th" but by the time I glue down the foamcore, it might be  much closer to the desired height. I also ballasted the spur track coming into the freight house.  Again I used the 1/2" sheet rock for the freight house base. Before I am finished with the bases , I will scribe section marks on the them and wash them with a light solution of india ink and alcohol. In several cases I will scour them a bit and add some green turf to look like broken concrete. As for the ballast, my own rule of using plenty of wet water and glue shows with the puddles of white glue coming out of the ballast.

The crossing gates do look good, Bill.  The description of the building base and road sound like a good plan.

Morning guys thanks for all the kind words!

@Ohio Jeff we moved down here from Washington to be closer to my wife's family, left the grandkids behind. As the grew they had no interest in Model trains. The good news is my nephews are totally excited to help rebuild and they are both in there 20's.

@Bill Park Your layout is looking great and I like how you explain your process for building the base and roads! You are correct about suggestions here! I have been taking advice from the first day I joined this forum!

Well i tried to help you, Mike.  The 20 yr olds will be good for helping on the layout.  Strong backs and young knees are very heplful.

Hey Mike, Most of us on here have a CEO above us. Hopefully we collectively know all the tricks.

@mike g. posted:

I know its not quite what I did on the layout today but its a start! We got our new train room with attached house! I am just not sure what room the CEO is going to let me have! LOL

I hope you all have a great weekend and find time to have fun with your trains and layouts!

Looks great Mike!

@Bill Park posted:

Here are some pictures of present work done the last several days on the Maybrook area of my layout. The gates go up and down perfectly, but not in conjunction with the sensors. Still need work but they do look awfully good. In placing buildings around the area, I settled on using !/2" sheet rock cut to look like concrete pourings for bases. Then I took a page out of Pete Condro's book using foam core for the roadways. Those sections were cut and painted and will be installed tomorrow. The curbs will be a little high, about a 1/16th" but by the time I glue down the foamcore, it might be  much closer to the desired height. I also ballasted the spur track coming into the freight house.  Again I used the 1/2" sheet rock for the freight house base. Before I am finished with the bases , I will scribe section marks on the them and wash them with a light solution of india ink and alcohol. In several cases I will scour them a bit and add some green turf to look like broken concrete. As for the ballast, my own rule of using plenty of wet water and glue shows with the puddles of white glue coming out of the ballast.

Looks good Bill. Can never use too much glue.......

Bob

@Mike g.

Yes Mike definitely a right move to a new train room.  So glad to learn the nephews might have talent and plan to assist

keep us posted on the room you have negotiated with management…

a good day to you both

I enjoyed running the train’s yesterday evening after covering the blooming bushes with old sheets.  I’m getting in lots of practice with the sheets this spring.
I opened the windows and blew the engine horns. Lots of fun…

Carefully disconnected the wires and took the steel mill off of the layout to do some additional painting and then weather. Here you see where I have started masking off certain areas of the structure, including the track inside of it.

Dave

Given the quality of your work, this will be a show piece. Looking forward to seeing the results.

Jay

@luvindemtrains posted:

Carefully disconnected the wires and took the steel mill off of the layout to do some additional painting and then weather. Here you see where I have started masking off certain areas of the structure, including the track inside of it.

Dave

Dave, with your talent, piece of cake. Looking forward to seeing the results.

Gene

Thank you both gentlemen. This will be a first but I'm going in...

Dave

Dive!  Dive!  I’m sure it will look great, Dave!! 👍🏻😃

Mark,

Thanks for your vote of confidence. I'm imagining you and others standing around me with my mask on and paint in hand trying to make it happen, lol.

Dave

We will watch and learn Dave.

@luvindemtrains posted:

Mark,

Thanks for your vote of confidence. I'm imagining you and others standing around me with my mask on and paint in hand trying to make it happen, lol.

Dave

That’s right Dave!!  😃  I think where I mess up is not getting a good seal when masking and a little bit of paint seeps under. 🙁

Hi guys thanks for the kind words and I will keep you posted on how things go for a the new train room location! LOL

Till then you all keep up the wonderful work!

@luvindemtrains Dave I cant top alot of what has already been said about your work! But I still want to put my 2 cents in and say I think it is just AMAZIUNG!

Thank you Mike. I appreciate that.

Dave

Hey y'all,

   I've been working on the railroad.  In my last post I was chasing a short on the main line.  The offending part was switch #4.  The MOW crew replaced it with a 10" piece of track.  The main line is open.  I'll check out the switch this evening.  I wanted to run a train.  My Lionel 681 steam engine pulled my new-to-me Prince Albert reefer and my favorite caboose.

Thanks for looking.

A new addition to the layout, the Menards Cavana Tower. This was the perfect venue to finally get more of my die-cast cars out of boxes and on display. I had to place it next to the existing exotic car store. BTW, that store got a new set of showroom lights using the plug n play lights from Menards.

I have 2x4 table legs for my train table like a lot of people do but I working on dressing the legs up a bit. I have laser cut some face pieces that will wrap around the 2x4's to make them look like bridge piers. I will be painting the legs brown before applying the face pieces. Comments are welcomed on my project to see if it is worth doing for all of the legs.

I also plan to cut a girder side to attach to the exposed 2x4 face all the way around the table to make the layout appear that it is setting on girders with piers under the girders.

idea-thinker

@idea-thinker posted:

I have 2x4 table legs for my train table like a lot of people do but I working on dressing the legs up a bit. I have laser cut some face pieces that will wrap around the 2x4's to make them look like bridge piers. I will be painting the legs brown before applying the face pieces. Comments are welcomed on my project to see if it is worth doing for all of the legs.

I also plan to cut a girder side to attach to the exposed 2x4 face all the way around the table to make the layout appear that it is setting on girders with piers under the girders.

idea-thinker

Great idea. I like it

@Odenville Bill posted:

Hey y'all,

   I've been working on the railroad.  In my last post I was chasing a short on the main line.  The offending part was switch #4.  The MOW crew replaced it with a 10" piece of track.  The main line is open.  I'll check out the switch this evening.  I wanted to run a train.  My Lionel 681 steam engine pulled my new-to-me Prince Albert reefer and my favorite caboose.

Thanks for looking.

Bill, you have done a lot on your layout since I have seen a video!  It looks great!  I’ve heard of Prince Albert in a can but not Prince Albert in a reefer!  It looks great!

They look awesome idea thinker

With all the added repaint projects to my freight car roster, I find myself running out of track storage.    Add 18.5 feet of yard storage by utilizing the window sill.    Yesterday I picked up a 4x4 piece of 1/2” particle board to provide a base for 6 - 37” sections of used GarGrave tin plate track.   The track arrived today and it and the base will be painted next week.   A new higher brick retaining wall will be added along with some printed building flats to finish the scene.    I'm still able to avoid weathering!  

Cheers, Dave

Dave,

Great idea, and very clever to add scenery.

Dave

@darlander posted:

With all the added repaint projects to my freight car roster, I find myself running out of track storage.    Add 18.5 feet of yard storage by utilizing the window sill.    Yesterday I picked up a 4x4 piece of 1/2” particle board to provide a base for 6 - 37” sections of used GarGrave tin plate track.   The track arrived today and it and the base will be painted next week.   A new higher brick retaining wall will be added along with some printed building flats to finish the scene.    I'm still able to avoid weathering!  

Cheers, Dave

Good idea Dave. I've grabbed every available horizontal surface as well.....and created a new one too.....

Bob

Nice job Dave and Bob making use of what available space you have!  I have a similar problem with very little space and too much to put in it!  😄