Lets share our model railroad projects that we are working on and the progress made during this time of social distancing and isolation

Hey CNJ#1601,  A tiny layout, but a huge amount of memories!  I feel for you, as my son( 22 years old) has no interest in trains. 

Creeping on the Layout.   I bought an automotive creeper from HD and have been using it to work under my bench work.  It works well for me, and saves my back a lot of pain.  

dan 77 posted:

Hey CNJ#1601,  A tiny layout, but a huge amount of memories!  I feel for you, as my son( 22 years old) has no interest in trains. 

Thanks, Dan.  You're absolutely right about the memories...I was able to build up quite a few of those during the time my young son was into trains, and for that I am extremely grateful! 

In a way, his losing interest in toy trains is a good thing for me...but then again I do tend to be a "glass is half full" kind of person!  One thing I now know for sure: I've amassed way too much stuff over many, many years!  Having this extra time at home has allowed me to get started on the daunting process of selling off a good portion of my collection, while also trying to figure out what's next for me as related to the train hobby.

I'm really enjoying this thread to see what others are working on, so please keep posting everyone!

So what I thought was going to be a nice relaxing project of cleaning the layout turned up a major gremlin. I have some major electrical issues going on under the layout and after about 2 hours of troubleshooting on my back I've decided to take on a new project during my social distancing, rewiring the entire layout! I've been putting it off for a while but today I ordered a few hundred feet of wire to do everything right. 12awg for the main bus, 14 and 16 for the feeders. Fun times ahead!

samdjr74 posted:

So what I thought was going to be a nice relaxing project of cleaning the layout turned up a major gremlin. I have some major electrical issues going on under the layout and after about 2 hours of troubleshooting on my back I've decided to take on a new project during my social distancing, rewiring the entire layout! I've been putting it off for a while but today I ordered a few hundred feet of wire to do everything right. 12awg for the main bus, 14 and 16 for the feeders. Fun times ahead!

 

I am using the same wire sizes on my layout as I am in the process of building my first and last O scale layout.

Well this actually started about 6 months ago when I bought this 8654 B&M GP-9 

After sending it to a friend to media blast the frame and prime it. ( it took him about 5 months to get it back but he had a lot of stuff happen that just kept him busy to where he couldn't get to the P.O. 

Any way here it is today, all ready.

I picked up pace on my layout build the last couple weeks, moreso because I finished up some long standing tasks than the stay home orders.  Here are my latest photographs.

Have my lower level track laid and accessories placed. Outer track Standard Gauge for tinplate, inner 2 loops O gage FastTrack  036  for O gage tinplate and standard Lionel & MTH product, mountain  loop is 036 and will be 11" above deck.

Good Thread (finally) What a great time to have this hobby,

My best working on the layout days are behind me, unfortunately,

On a similar note,back in 2019 there was a post on" give us a tour of your train room and walking up to it  and in it" thread,which was fantastic "hint.hint"

Enjoy seeing what everyone is working on, helps pass the time especially at night.

Here's my daily therapy session..

https://ogrforum.com/...3#142763843362683463

Mark Boyce or as I used to say Hey Boycey

Got any relatives in Philly?

It's kind of odd to say, but I am working more hours with less breaks than when I was working in my office.  I am more focused most of the time and I am simply thankful that my industry is considered essential, I can work from home with my family safely here, and that I am one of the few employees scheduled above 100% utilization because the project I am on is still profitable. 

In times like this I am not disappointed by that.  Trains will be here when there is time. 

Back to it!  Enjoy your trains! 

Transman posted:

Mark Boyce or as I used to say Hey Boycey

Got any relatives in Philly?

Not that I know of. 

Mark. It looks like youre building an around the room layout. Great and take a lot of pictures all g the way. The fun is for me in the building of the layout and running trains is visitors and grand children. Have fun.

John, Yes you are right.  Thank you!!

If you select this link, you can see the plan midway down on Page 26, and what I have done since then.  This is where I am putting most of the photographs and discussion.  I had two false starts and plan revisions that are discussed before that.  If you have insomnia, you can delve back to see all the twists and turns we went through before getting to where we are now.    

I bought this Bowser N5 Caboose kit on EBay. I didn’t like that the windows didn't have any glass so I added some thin plastic to the cupola and body to simulate glass. Then I replaced the hook and horn couplers with KDees. All and all it didn’t turn out to bad. More kits to come.
 

Just a place to stack some tin. Forgive the blood and extra holes, the studs were neither 16" nor 24" on center. Captain cluster**** strikes again!

Painting and decalling a doing a second Abotts reefer

Upgrading my postwar ZW whistle selenium disc's to diode's. Happy Easter!

I believe I got this from Michaels, anyway it was a plain tin building, ( the back side of the front is about 5/8" thick of wood. ) I primed and painted this, Only downfall is in last picture, you can see where the paint ran some on the roof. for now it's going to be left alone, as it was completely painted when that happened. 

Scott Smith

Finished my building kit over the weekend. Cleaned off my work bench too

I have started building some of my many kits and finishing off some undecorated cars. The MDT cars are Red Caboose kits, the yellow ones were unlettered and the white one came painted and lettered. The two silver cars are Atlas and required paint and lettering. 

Currently working on an Intermountain P&LE boxcar and Mullet River NYC caboose.

Pete 

Just getting started on my Korber Roundhouse kit.

As many of you know, this is a so-called "craftsman" kit which is hobby code for, "we probably shipped you all the necessary parts, but it will take you a month of Sundays to get everything to fit together properly".

After removing all the flash (not as quick nor as easy a task as one might suspect - even with a  mouse sander), I glued up and assembled the four wooden roof beams/supports and stained them a dark brown for a rustic look. The molded kit color has a little too much pink in it for my taste, so I shot the walls with Krylon Satin Brick which came out well and then mocked up the whole assembly. You can see the difference in color as compared to the skylights, which were not yet painted when these pic's were taken.

I plan on hand-painting the wall tops, window arches and ledges a medium dark grey color, which I don't have, yet. With all the hobby and craft stores closed, I can only get paint on-line and have to wait for it to arrive and then dis-infect everything before using it. In the interim, I'll start sanding and dry-fitting the wall sections together.

Wow , defiantly time being utilized well for everyone !

Maybe makes you wonder what the " other " folks are doing with their time  ?

Wishing they had discovered this hobby maybe  

Collin, I haven't been wondering about what 'other' folks are doing, but I do hear some people say they are bored.  We here have the cure, if only they would take the medicine. 

Getting really good at disinfecting everything that comes into the house. Thank you Spic & Span anti -bacterial  spray !

Two Small Projects – Literally and Figuratively

I needed to build 20 Dwarf Signals for the layout and decided to go with individually addressable LEDs.  They come in either clear or frosted since they can be made to emit any color, but I found that objectionable when the LED is dark.  I tried the Sharpie method and was not satisfied with the way they looked.  Chanced onto Alcohol Ink and dipped the LEDs in a lightly diluted solution then stuck them by their leads into a piece of pink foam to dry.  It was the perfect answer, the color was evenly distributed, intense and yet still transparent.

The second project involved a Lionel Rotary Beacon Tower from my first train set, I’m thinking 1961 or ’62.  Since I did not need a Rotary Beacon but I did need a Water Tower I was able to reuse the structure without damaging the original.  Fabricated the water tank from PVC fittings and cut a ¼ x 20 bolt with a hole drilled in it to screw into the existing light socket on the tower.  Fabricated a socket for the ATTiny85 and attached the tower LED to a PWM port on the tiny.  So even though it’s not an incandescent bulb it builds in brightness and then slowly dims out.  I like it much better than the normal LED ON/OFF.  I’ve attached a couple of pictures and a very, very short movie.

Wishing all on this forum and those close to you good health!

bd

Just finished a project. I've never liked laying the remote on to the layout when I needed to do something else but lived with it for years until I went to the Legacy system. The remote is larger and more complex and I really was against laying down on the layout. So today designed a model I thought might work as a holder. Printed it on 3D printer and crossed my fingers that it would work and as luck would have it, it works great.

Holders can be mounted on the side of the layout and remote will slide into it like a holster leaving the controls open to use if wanted. 

Scott Smith

Building grades with Woodland Scenic

I purchased my first Menards product- The Melrose Park Train Station.  I needed a ‘whistle stop’ off the main line and this was perfect. I changed the town name using my computer and printer.  I also added a bit of fall color to the tree to fit in with my other landscaping. Menards even included a lighted Ford pickup with my purchase so I parked it nearby and it looks great.

I thought the lighting was a bit too modern being bright white, so I replaced the lighting with a couple strips of ‘warm’ LEDs to tone it down a bit. It might be hard to tell from these photos but here is a before and after comparison:

Hi all, I'm a new member here. I bought a vintage Marx streamline train this past December (Pacific Union M 10000) and soon afterward, the reissue of the Lionel Flying Yankee. I've been having a blast putting a slightly creepy train village together ever since. Here's a glimpse of what it's looking like now. I've gotten such great information from looking through this forum. I still know practically nothing about making these guys run, though!

skbird, Welcome to the Forum!  It looks to me like you are making a great start with those two trains and the scenery!  

skbird, glad to see a new member with your talent, the layout looks very nice and your video skills also. 

April 16, 2020

Thanks everyone for the great contributions to this thread.  Some of you have been doing extrodinary work as you make use of this time.  I thought that I would be making tremendous progress on the train office, however our grandson's day care center has been closed for two weeks and guess who has been providing day care.  My wife and I have been enjoying every minute and that explains why we haven't made much progress on other projects.

I have made some progress.  I have sorted and arranged a number of pieces in the collection.  I have started to organize them in the office storage area.

I know it doesn't look like much.  Remember I said that progress would be slow.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Greg, Nice work!!  My wife has been packing up things to donate to the thrift store.  We saw that Goodwill has opened up just to recieve donations, so we too a suv full.  Made more room to work on the rest.  I got rid of some tools I had, since I got my dad's which are better.  No sense keeping any for the sons-in-law.  They both have access to their dads' tools which are better than my dads'.  Making more room for trains one step at a time!!!

I just finished kitbashing a PB&NE slug unit. It is based on the MTH NW2 chassis. It is pictured with a Lionel NW2. The size difference is interesting. I am going to paint a MTH NW2 to match the slug...my next project.

Sorry for the lousy IPad photos...

Tom

I converted my Lionel CofG NE caboose to 2 rail and maintained smoke and lights.  Just need to add the kadee couplers tomorrow.

I've been busy since the first of the year making cars into road names I have unable to buy.....I have found the painting and decal work to be quite relaxing....the photos show some of the converted cars. In each pic the top car was the original as sold by m t h  or atlas . The bottom is the finished car. If any of you in Ohio follow the present day w&le, you know about the stone traffic that is a big part of wle's business. I am attempting to make a group of cars to represent this. The good news is about any kind or size hopper car works.......the Lionel c&o 3bay hoppers represent the newer cars w l e has purchased . I'm also useing m t h  4 bay premier cars too. I hope to post a video of this train powered by a couple w&le sd 40's...sorry about the blurred photos.....they looked ok on my iPad when taken...