Yes, I am a Looper ** New Video 6/14/23 **

SantaFeJim posted:

Jack,

Thanks for the notice.  i changed it to public.  Should work now.

 

jim

Yes!  Works great now, and looks fantastic. Anxious to see more.

Hello Jim,

Really nice video, perfect speed on both trains, great angle for viewing.

Very nice Jim. Makes me want to pull my HO stuff out again...

Looks great, Jim.  I would say the same thing as Bob, but after seeing the HO club operate at the Greenberg show Saturday, I'm glad I sold all the HO and now have O gauge.  I just find the smaller trains hard to watch for more than a couple minutes. On video it doesn't matter what scale is running, they are so easy to watch!  Really nice trains!!

The layout looks great, Jim!
Enjoy watching them roll.

Three New videos.

The El Capitan crossing over the Spooner River near the Wenonah Camp Grounds.

Great looking farm!  Is the parking under that wonderful bridge for the campgrounds access?

Mark Boyce posted:

Great looking farm!  Is the parking under that wonderful bridge for the campgrounds access?

YES, the bridge also provides shade so that the campers don't cook their butts on the drive home.  

Two more videos from today.

The Grizwald's are in town and the first place they stopped was the Palace theater to see their favorite movie.  The "Family Truckster" parked in front was a dead giveaway.  They must have taken the "Dinkey" the dog inside with them.  As I noticed he was not tied to the rear bumper.  

All the turnouts on my layout are Peco #8's. They are great in the yard as they allow for adequate spacing which is anytime I need to add or take cars of the tracks.

They make for a super smooth transition for cross-overs on the mainlines. I have five such cross-overs on my layout and so far the longest cars I have are 85-footers for my passengers. I have made a couple of videos of my trains engaging the cross-overs so that you can see how nice they look on the mains.

My suggestion... if you have the space use the #8's you won't be sorry.

Here is my El Capitan thru cross-over #1 at 35 smph.

The El Cap again at cross-over #2

SantaFeJim:  Thank you for the pictures and the advice on selecting Peco #8's for the yard.  My first attempt to include switches in the yard was a complete disaster, the ones I had were so space inefficient that the yard leads looked like they were miles apart.  I will certainly try those you recommend. By the way that Santa Fe passenger train in your video is beautiful.  Thank you.

Don McErlean

As good as the passenger cars look on the #8 cross-overs, the freight trains look even better.

Reefer Block going thru #1 cross-over in the opposite direction on the El Cap.

Same Train crossover #3

Like the Western Pacific Zephyr?  check this out...

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...-california-zephyr-1

https://youtu.be/k1d1rOeAp0A

Looks great Jim. No S curve!

 SFJ wrote:

'Like the Western Pacific Zephyr?  check this out...

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...-california-zephyr-1'

Going to secure a HO Broadway Limited CZ for the basement RR? 

Regards,

Jerry

gnnpnut posted:

 SFJ wrote: 

Going to secure a HO Broadway Limited CZ for the basement RR? 

Regards,

Jerry

 

That is on my "wish list".  Broadway Limited makes some fine looking passenger cars.  I assume they operate as good as they look.  Do you have any first hand experience with their products?

I am posting my first "early evening light" video of my layout. The scene is a grade crossing near the passenger station. After viewing the video it struck me as resembling a grade crossing that I have seen many, many times throughout my life. To me it looks like the south side of the CB&Q tracks on Oak Park avenue in Berwyn Illinois. I realize that there are probably thousands of similar crossings in America where train tracks are bordered by small businesses and shopping districts. If this video looks like a location that you are familiar with PLEASE comment with the location.

If you crank up the volume you can hear the grade-crossing bells.

Thank you and enjoy.

Like the Western Pacific Zephyr?  check this out...

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...-california-zephyr-1

Great track work Jim !

More container videos.

SFJ asked"

"Do you have any first hand experience with their products?"

Yes, six steam locos, one NW2 that I have not taken out of the box yet, and about 15 freight cars.  No passenger cars, but they look awesome. 

I've run one of their SW switchers many times at a friends layout in his yard.  That experience led me to purchase the NW2.  One of these days, I'll press that into service, but right now, I have all the switchers I need on the RR. 

Had one decoder fail in one of the steam locos.  That has been my only negative with BLI. 

Regards,

Jerry

It has been a couple of weeks since I posted any videos so I thought I would a a couple that I made this weekend.  These videos will spot my Intermodal train at various points on my layout.

Starting with exiting at the East end of Colton Yard.

Next it changes main-lines just west of the bridge.

A couple of minutes later it exits the lower level tunnel on the west side of the layout.

Soon it is entering the Colton Yard at the West Tower.

Jim, Excellent trains.  Excellent scenery!  I can tell you are having fun looping!!

Now that’s one beautiful layout. Gotta love the two rail. 

Attention all people of 1/87 stature.  The Beach is OPEN.   The air temp is also 87.

Found your theme song Jim

The beach looks very inviting. I hope everyone is practicing proper social distancing.

Very nice scene, Jim!

Video - All chalk, no paint, no Dulcote.  Only used 4 colors.  Hardest to weather are the stark white JB Hunt and Santa Fe.  Hope you enjoy.

Santa Fe all the way!  Enjoyed this very much.  Thanks for posting.

Do you put the powders on totally dry or do you do something to improve adhesion to the loads?  thanks

@wb47 posted:

Do you put the powders on totally dry or do you do something to improve adhesion to the loads?  thanks

Totally dry with a soft paint brush.  The powders have there own adhesive that will bond to metal and plastic.  I only use a single brush.  As I switch back and forth between colors there is always a residual from the previous color(s).  This helps the weathering effect by the mild blending of the colors.

Nice, VERY nice!  Sure makes that modern equipment look even more realistic.

Looks great, Jim. I don't know if I missed it, but what is the exact product you are using? You said chalk, but is this artist's chalk or something for modeling specifically?  My experience with artist's pastels is that they would need fixative.

@Will posted:

Looks great, Jim. I don't know if I missed it, but what is the exact product you are using? You said chalk, but is this artist's chalk or something for modeling specifically?  My experience with artist's pastels is that they would need fixative.

The product is Weathering Systems.  For $22 you get four earth tone containers.  The colors in this kit were Light Rust, Medium Rust, Dark Rust and Soot.  My conservative guess is that you could easily weather 350-400 HO freight cars from a single kit.  I did all those containers plus the 17 cars and used about 5% of the product.  Your milage may vary.

They really do look great, just the right amount of grit.  (It's true!)

RTR Mark

It has been a long time (just over 5 months) since I have posted a video on this topic.  Like all other forum members I am doing my best to survive under "house-arrest".  I hope that the worst is over.

Shot some videos yesterday and wanted to share them here.  Hope you enjoy.