COVID-19 Things to Do List - Home Layout Projects

This is precisely the right attitude for the current situation.  My projects are:

1.  Finish backdrop in the coal mine area

2.  Finish that pesky corner I have hated for 5 years.

3.  Finish wiring dz1000 switch machines, that all manual layout I thought I wanted isn't turning out so well

4. Convert my experimental RS-3 to battery power (thank you Bob Walker for the ongoing advice)

5. When all else fails, run some trains.

Started to strip a set of cars and tender I pocked up as a lot. Missing an engine to go with the 263w tender. If anyone has one for sale or recommendation would appreciate. Thanks for the read.

Last weekend the boys and I cleaned the train room and now we can get back to work. Here's what's on the list

1. Finish the road through Winear Junction (our rural town)

2. Finish a one of the roads in our city (can you a pattern)

3. Finish painting a cover hopper.

4. Finish assembling some power and telegraph poles.

5. Can't forget the most important thing: Run some trains!!!

James

I really need to get underneath the "Far North" end of my layout to do some re-wiring but a rickety spine is warning me not to do it.  If I can avoid it I don't want to have to battle that freakin' virus and a bad back at the same time.  Oh well, as a previous poster has already said, "When all else fails run trains".  Now that I have done and will continue to do. 

A lot of the projects listed here begin with the word "Finish" as opposed to "Start". I'm sensing a behavioral pattern, one of which I am also guilty.

I just completed scenicing for two of the clubs modular units. You can check out the preliminary work in last Sunday's " Sunday Scenic "  I'll post the completed work this coming Sunday

      Home for a month with pay, busting out a bunch more cars for ebay……..

Track cleaning? Yikes. But a good call. Several other items on "the list" but that's going to be my first order of business.

Good time to inventory the collection and find out how much you REALLY have.... keep the faith people.......it WILL pass.......cheers...joe 

Great thread, I wish everyone to stay healthy, and it’s truly a great time to work on all facets of our layouts. Mine is wiring accessories, cleaning track, re-working track where necessary, hopefully we will all survive this coronavirus. I plan on driving up to my hobby shop early Monday morning before they are required to close. He’s repaired several of my passenger cars, BTO items have arrived, and he’s been great to help me. Being retired, this is the best of times to take care of those jobs we’ve put on the back burner for a long time. I wish you all to enjoy your family’s and your trains. Happy Railroading 

Social... Distancing? You mean that thing where you have to stay away from people? I've been doing that voluntarily for the last decade... Must be why I'm never sick. Cool. 

I'm going to work every day still (essential service) but on off time I'm hoping to finish my little z scale cookie box.

Everyone please stay safe, washed and sickness free. 

I tore up my layout and in the process of a rebuild.  I have the lower level wired and running but no scenery.  I decided to do an upper level too.  So, today I started on the upper level.  I need to get it braced up and then start building tresses.  Then on to scenery.  I have plenty to keep me busy.  My basement has crap everywhere from the tear down.  I have a feeling I’m going to be getting rid of stuff that won’t be fitting in my new lil world.  I still have to work from home, but the commute takes a lot less time!!

Finally getting to some PIA projects...

Start of kitbashed stairs for the trolley line.  Passengers were previously required to use magic to get there. 

TVS diodes and inline fast blow fuses for the KW. 

Tom

I’ll be building two Sherman tanks for flat car loads this weekend.  Can’t think of a better way to spend the weekend under the circumstances.

I have been off work since October, but many circumstances have kept me from getting much train time until the last couple weeks.

1. My main project is continuing benchwork and track laying on my new layout.

Other projects include:

2. finishing fixing a 6-12700 Erie gantry crane.

3. Seeing why a Lionel WM GP7 won't smoke.

4.  locating and fixing a rubbing sound in an MTH B&O Mike.

Time to get all my boxes of parts in order. Putting in static bags and labeling I have boxes of these things. Will start repair of some old RS2.5 boards ...just received my hakko desolder gun. I have loads of parts two or three cartons. Years of collecting extra parts.

FlyPlanes-PlayTrains posted:

Finally getting to some PIA projects...

Start of kitbashed stairs for the trolley line.  Passengers were previously required to use magic to get there. 

TVS diodes and inline fast blow fuses for the KW. 

Tom

Wow, what a stairway....can’t have heart problems on that stairway.

Tom, the stairway is great!

Shawn, LOL

My new layout will partially be going up. I need more plywood but I’m staying home. 

Well, I think I found the flat car/tank load train to model. Here is a video taken yesterday just outside of Miami. Hopefully, this isn’t a harbinger of things to come down here:

Just started a new fastrack layout and all the fun that follows

Retired so home all the time now and it's to cold to work in my rose garden.

I am going to complete my Custom Signals installation during these "indoor" times. I have completed the wiring of my 5th & 6th boards. Next is to connect the 27 signal wires "phone wires" to the board, then connect some wires between boards.

Wiring plan designed in excel. With wire numbers at all connection points. I then label each wire, so if something comes loose, you know where it goes.

signal boards that control half of my layout:

Signal board in place, to fit under the table.signal board on the other half of the layout:

Joe K posted:

I am going to complete my Custom Signals installation during these "indoor" times. I have completed the wiring of my 5th & 6th boards. Next is to connect the 27 signal wires "phone wires" to the board, then connect some wires between boards.

Wiring plan designed in excel. With wire numbers at all connection points. I then label each wire, so if something comes loose, you know where it goes.

signal boards that control half of my layout:

Signal board in place, to fit under the table.signal board on the other half of the layout:

Joe

Very Nice! Here's a shot of the boards that control the north end of the club layout (NLOE). As you can see, I did the board on the right after learning from the mistakes made on the left.

John

Strap Hanger posted:

Well, I think I found the flat car/tank load train to model. Here is a video taken yesterday just outside of Miami. Hopefully, this isn’t a harbinger of things to come down here:

 

Wow!  I wonder if those are headed to the mobile hospital being set up at Joe Robbie Stadium.

I have a 1/48 scale B-25 Mitchell and "Follow Me" Jeep diorama on my shelf to build.  Maybe I could include a flat car with tanks as part of it?  Hmmmm.

Amfleet25124 posted:

Strap Hanger posted:

Well, I think I found the flat car/tank load train to model. Here is a video taken yesterday just outside of Miami. Hopefully, this isn’t a harbinger of things to come down here:

 

Wow!  I wonder if those are headed to the mobile hospital being set up at Joe Robbie Stadium.

Wow, that's a lot power heading somewhere'.  Reminds me of reforger exercises in Germany, early 70s.  We moved Division sized Armor across the country'... Everything was olive drab, not desert tan'... Good find Straphanger''...

I've been working remotely from home all week and will be for the foreseeable future so no 80-mile round trip commuter train rides for now.

My list of things to get done during my weekday lunch breaks and for the weekends:

1-Seriously ramp up production of my ceiling layout.  I don't have a layout and my club's traveling mall layout is closed.  Even the train museum layout in Deerfield Beach is closed.  I can't run trains on the floor at home anymore (we have a dog that sheds a lot of hair) so that means no running trains for me.  I need a fix BAD.  Will even resort to putting 3 folding tables together side by side to form a 90" x 72" base and running in a O-63 circle if I have to. 

https://ogrforum.com/...oise-switches?page=1

2-Finish the interior detailing of my Atlas New Jersey Transit Comet cars 

https://ogrforum.com/...7#138822928280128607

3-Non train related, but start building some of the model kits (planes, boats) that I've been buying and storing instead of building.  Especially the K-Line 7-Eleven that I bought ages ago so that I can do photo shoots of my 1:43 vehicles for the 1/43-1/50 thread.  Photos of my small enclave (I cleaned it up for the photos )

Amfleet25124 posted:

Strap Hanger posted:

Well, I think I found the flat car/tank load train to model. Here is a video taken yesterday just outside of Miami. Hopefully, this isn’t a harbinger of things to come down here:

 

Wow!  I wonder if those are headed to the mobile hospital being set up at Joe Robbie Stadium.

It’s possible. Although I’m not sure why they would need this type of firepower for a mobile hospital.  I’m hoping they’re being redeployed to northern States.  As an aside, you’re showing your age like me. My kids keep telling me it’s hasn’t been named Joe Robbie stadium in years! 

I'm just a stubborn old dude.  I will always call it Joe Robbie Stadium.  His family money had the idea and built it.  I do the same thing with all of the stadiums and arenas that change their names with whomever is sponsoring it.

Amfleet25124 posted:

I've been working remotely from home all week and will be for the foreseeable future so no 80-mile round trip commuter train rides for now.

My list of things to get done during my weekday lunch breaks and for the weekends:

1-Seriously ramp up production of my ceiling layout.  I don't have a layout and my club's traveling mall layout is closed.  Even the train museum layout in Deerfield Beach is closed.  I can't run trains on the floor at home anymore (we have a dog that sheds a lot of hair) so that means no running trains for me.  I need a fix BAD.  Will even resort to putting 3 folding tables together side by side to form a 90" x 72" base and running in a O-63 circle if I have to. 

https://ogrforum.com/...oise-switches?page=1

2-Finish the interior detailing of my Atlas New Jersey Transit Comet cars 

https://ogrforum.com/...7#138822928280128607

3-Non train related, but start building some of the model kits (planes, boats) that I've been buying and storing instead of building.  Especially the K-Line 7-Eleven that I bought ages ago so that I can do photo shoots of my 1:43 vehicles for the 1/43-1/50 thread.  Photos of my small enclave (I cleaned it up for the photos )

 

 That is a beautiful set up Kevin'.  Lot's of natural light'.. Are they Miannie layout tables'... Very nice'...

Yes, Ted, those are Mianne Benchwork tables.  Very good product and will continue to use them whenever I do ever get that round the room layout .  Lots of light but I need to open/close the blinds as the day goes along so that the materials don't get hit with the direct heat and rays of the Sun, especially for stuff that's not UV rated.  Don't want any yellowing as has happened to some of my stuff in the past (such as the Greyhound Bus in the photo)

I do need to get a paint bottle rack and station so that things can get organized. http://gcmini.mybigcommerce.co...s-painting-stations/

Amfleet25124 posted:

Yes, Ted, those are Mianne Benchwork tables.  Very good product and will continue to use them whenever I do ever get that round the room layout .

I do need to get a paint bottle rack and station so that things can get organized. http://gcmini.mybigcommerce.co...s-painting-stations/

It is an excellent product, Jim made mine at five feet tall as I'm 6'5" so I didn't have to bend over, I just lean in'.  I love it'....

Amfleet25124 posted:

Yes, Ted, those are Mianne Benchwork tables.  Very good product and will continue to use them whenever I do ever get that round the room layout .  Lots of light but I need to open/close the blinds as the day goes along so that the materials don't get hit with the direct heat and rays of the Sun, especially for stuff that's not UV rated.  Don't want any yellowing as has happened to some of my stuff in the past (such as the Greyhound Bus in the photo)

I do need to get a paint bottle rack and station so that things can get organized. http://gcmini.mybigcommerce.co...s-painting-stations/

You also need to wave a magic wand and get us some basements here in Florida so we can have room to  build bigger layouts! 

That is a terrific setup.   It sure beats my computer desk in our bedroom.   Some on this forum know  what i am talking about.   VBG   

I've started working my way through a long list of Postwar Lionel repair projects that I hadn't had the time to work on up until recently when we finally got sent home from work for at least a couple weeks.  Today I finished getting things set up for my semi-permanent floor layout under my bed.  I say semi-permanent because it's a space that I don't have to take it down constantly when I'm not running trains.  The bed is an Ikea queen sized storage bed where the mattress frame flips up.  It's designed for storing extra linens or whatever you might want to underneath and out of the way.  It's not a huge layout, just under a 5'x7' space, but it's somewhere I can rotate through my collection of postwar trains and run them whenever I feel like it.

necrails posted:

This is precisely the right attitude for the current situation.  My projects are:

1.  Finish backdrop in the coal mine area

2.  Finish that pesky corner I have hated for 5 years.

3.  Finish wiring dz1000 switch machines, that all manual layout I thought I wanted isn't turning out so well

4. Convert my experimental RS-3 to battery power (thank you Bob Walker for the ongoing advice)

5. When all else fails, run some trains.

Show us that coal area!

A few thing I’m going to attempt to get done....

1. Finishing my harbor

2. fix a switch and close up gaps in the track on the backstretch 

3 . Add an on/off switch for my track gang accessory

4. diagnose and repair my Lionel firehouse 

5 . figure out why my Lionel Legacy B6sb sound is somewhat static 

I am taking down all the glass shelves and display cases one at a time that my collection is on, and windexing the shelves and then cleaning all the trains on them. I started this a week ago, and I am about half done. I am also working on my N gauge layout. I had planned on picking up a lot of scenery at York, but now I have to order it from Scenic Express.

Amfleet25124 posted:

I'm just a stubborn old dude.  I will always call it Joe Robbie Stadium.  His family money had the idea and built it.  I do the same thing with all of the stadiums and arenas that change their names with whomever is sponsoring it.

That is like the razed Civic Arena (The Igloo) in Pittsburgh.  I always called it the Civic Arena during the time Mellon had the name sponsorship.

R18, that is some serious signal panel wiring. With my design, I can pull the panels out from under the layout,  then sit in a chair and place them on my lap to work on them in comfort. Trying to think ahead as my desire to crawl under the layout is reduced.

Yesterday I ran the long wires from the signal panel under "Penticton" to the new panel under "Ruth". these were 30ft wire runs, which will go under the layout, down to the carpet at the bridge (walkway into the center of the layout) then up to the new signal board. I used flat phone wire, as it will fit under the carpet easier.

Layout map showing town names. the angled bridge is the walkway where I must hide the wires under the carpet (without creating a trip hazard).

Today I will place the wires under the carpet and terminate them at the new signal board. Step after that is to start running wires from each signal light to the new board. This is a lie down under the table job which moves at the speed of my ability to crawl around and do deep knee bends!

View of the Penticton signal panel, and wires ready to be attached under the train table.

View of the Ruth signal board, with loose wires to be hidden under the carpet