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I was going to wait until February, the 2nd anniversary of my layout, but simply couldn’t wait any longer. I have completed several areas of the layout, and have been working on the controls, so it is ready to be shown.

 

The video essentially follows four trains around the layout – two freight trains and two passenger trains. The two UP engines are Legacy, the three BNSF engines (middle one is non-powered) are DCS. The Santa Fe engines are DCS, and the Amtrak engine is Legacy. (Note that the video can be seen on 1080-Quality - great for a large screen.)

 

As you watch the video with your trained eyes, you will readily spot areas that still are ‘bare’ – I will be concentrating on those next. After that, I will continue working on the controls and going back to properly weather some of the buildings that I just sat in place.

 

I started out with over two hours of video, narrowed it down to about one hour (49 clips, 2.3 GB) and had it down to 20 minutes just to find out that I could not extend my YouTube limit over 15 minutes. I understand you have to have a certain amount of activity before your earn the right to post more than 15 minutes, and evidently I do not meet that minimum. Anyway, I cut a few scenes that I wanted to share with you, but maybe 15 minutes is enough (probably too long).

 

Thank you for watching!

 

Alex

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Alex,

 

WOW!!!  Dynamite video... you should feel very accomplished for bringing the layout so far in just two years!  The scenes featuring the curved trestle are always a favorite of mine -- not to mention I'm thrilled to see my Lionel overhead container crane being put to good use!!! 

 

Thanks for sharing the progress you've made on your wonderful layout.  Congrats!!!

 

David

David,

Yes – the IM crane is a perfect addition in that area.

 

Patrick,

She has operated the whistle and horns at the proper time, but is still apprehensive of running the trains per se. But she will . . . (Had no problem running yours, did she!)

 

Spence,

All train layouts are good layouts – they are just different.

 

Steve,

The painted walls looks fine at a distance; especially the side walls that are drywall. The back wall is bare concrete and it shows – oh well . . . And yes, the fence turned out well.

 

Allan,

I plan to have the rest of the scenery completed in the next couple of months or so, but anytime would be fine with me.

 

Thank you all for your nice comments, and don’t forget; if you are in the St. Louis area, please contact me so you can visit us.

 

Alex

Pete

About the “trained eyes” . . . I know that you guys can easily recognize the areas that have yet to be properly finished, but there are portions were I simply messed up while making the video. For instance, even though I had planned and practiced doing it, when it came time to video the final footage I forgot to turn on the engine bell(s) when entering/leaving stations or yards. I also forgot to turn on the smoke for the diesel engines when these started rolling. Oh well, there always is a next time!

 

Doug

Well, when you come back to visit, make sure to look me up.

 

Marker

Judy also likes the stores. When she went shopping last, she checked with the Sony store but they were temporarily out of your part.

 

Trainfun -–

After I had all the trestle pieces cut and Judy had stained them, it took about three weeks to assemble it. The trestle and the two graded tracks are at 2%, I used 1/8-inch increasing supports every six inches. The curves are 108 and 99.

 

Zett

That is ground cover from  Woodland Scenics, and I mix a couple of their products for the desired effect.

 

Popsrr

I usually run 40+ car trains, but these would take way too long to show in the video, and I wanted to have a couple of scenes showing full trains going by.

 

Thank you all for watching (I hope the video wasn’t too long) and for you comments!

 

Alex

Laidoffsick -

 

Interestingly, to me it seems that I was able to finish the heavy part - the frame, 'table' top, bridges and hatches, track, and basic wiring rather quickly during the first year, when I was still working!

 

Then, I retired, and although I have worked on the layout every day (unless I am not home) and frequently work on it all day long, it seems that I have not been able to get as much done. Buildings, scenery and similar tasks just take longer, I guess.

 

Thank you for your comments!

 

Alex

Alex you have done a wonderful job on your layout. If you think of it like building a home, the frame roofing and wiring go fairly quickly but the finishing with all the details and fussing around take much longer. I think the layout goes the same way plus when you have enough done on it WE MUST RUN TRAINS AND HAVE SOME FUN WITH THAT ALSO. I also find that the more I get done the clearer the additional detailing needed becomes. Have a great week and enjoy the St. Louis show!

Alex....to basically finish a layout the size of yours is quite an accomplishment.  Like you, I felt the framing was the easy part and went quickly.  The details take much longer...at least for some of us!!  You have been fortunate enough to have your job behind you and have been able to devote that time to your layout.  Knowing you like I do...I'll bet you set a goal to complete the project even sooner than you have!!.  I have been working on my layout for almost exactly twice as long as you have on yours so I better get busy!!!

 

Alan

A great looking railroad, a great video showing the railroad, BUT most importantly to me is the running of the trains at the speeds that make them more pleasing to watch!  To many folks spend tons of time and energy making the scenes look good and then the trains just flash by and all of a sudden it went from realistic to toy train in that flash!  PLEASE don't get me wrong I love laying on the floor with the grandkids with my eyeballs right next to the track with the trains flashing by, but that is on a carpet central!  Watching the trains run on a well done layhout is a real treat when they run realistically!  Thanks for the great video I enjoyed it a lot!  Well done!  Russ

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