just having some, "FUN with our RailRoads"

Lew. Looks like a a lot of fun on the plywood empire route 

Izzy. Hurry up and eat I want to see what’s in those boxes

Mark. Maybe you can catch the next train on the plywood empire

                   Finally got to take a peek at my surprises last night... COOL !!!

Wow, Brian!  Those are all nice!!  Marci did a good job!

Niiiice trains, Brian! 

Seriously though, what I did for FUN this AM was to park the Dinner Train and then couple on to yesterday's consist of pick-ups:

And whistle-off for Interchange:

There's never a dull moment on the PER. 

The soup and salad has been consumed and the Chefs have everything lined up so the Waits are starting to serve the Fillet Mignon, Baked Salmon, Lobster and.......B&O Cornbread Pie.    

Lew - Man I got to get a ticket to ride your dinner train!!  The Menu  sounds terrific!  You are making me hungry dude!  

Just a reminder.....

This thread is intended to be different than the long running "What did you do on your layout today" thread.  Please don't post the same pictures here....keep the posts showing something fun you did on the layout.  Perhaps you had friends over....or you ran a special favorite train....or you did something special that enhanced your enjoyment of the layout....  Duplicate posts from other current threads are not what we are looking for here.  Please show us, "the fun you are having with your layout"  thanks...

Did a little night running which I always enjoy whenever I have a passenger train on the mainline.   Took a few pics ... WM tower, under the yard floodlights the N&W J class 611 on service track prior to a night run.  Had fun this past Sunday afternoon creating this scene ( bottom photo ) as if it were taken in the late 1940's early 50's in Cumberland, Md.  

Bringing back O. Winston Link? Love it.

Jim Van Every posted:

Bringing back O. Winston Link? Love it.

Thanks Jim!  Don't know why I didn't think of O Winston Link when I took the pic, but glad you mentioned him    Not like I don't have and read the book ... Last Steam Railroad in America Photos of O. Winston Link or have not visited the O. Winston Link Museum, at least twice,  in Roanoke Va.  Somehow he just was not in the forefront of my mind at the time I took the shot.  

Got a set of his recordings from the museum. Beautiful sounds

   was feeling a little old after shoveling snow last night...

I have fun building, running and making videos like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHiReLXfCxE

"Making the sausage."

Train arrives at Interchange from Town. All cars except the Gulf and Sunoco tank cars will be switched out:

The cars under the number "1" will be switched in:

The 0-5-0 comes out of the engine-pocket  :

Today's train ready to whistle-off and head for Town.

Some interchange yard, huh? Lemons>>>>>>Lemonade

Having fun with the Santa Fe

It was a fun day when I added “Trucker Joe” to the Layout he is one of my first O scale figures I ever painted he also works part time as a Tow Truck Driver 

I have a helper in the train room who is almost always there, just not always easily visible in the picture. Like this:

(Left lower corner)

So I thought she should be front&center:

She is right in the middle of any under-the-benchwork projects. You see......she is a face-licker. 

She likes it when I get cold and turn on this little heater:

She makes the trains more fun even when she is snoozing:

Dropping off a Lionel Standard O Reefer at the CES Warehouse 

                  busy,  down at the station last night...

                   a RIO Grande pulls in for a station stop...

                    while a Burlington passenger train pulls in on track 2...

              shortly after the  passenger trains leave,

                                                     a Santa Fe freight slowly pulls thru the station...

Speakina' FUN!

"Its about the scrap!":

      Mike G says...

"Well I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I hope to get to the train room today if not for sure tomorrow and it will be trains and NASCAR! I am taking the day off! LOL

I hope everyone finds time for there layout and trains! But most of all I hope everyone has a great weekend and has some fun!"

              SOME TRAINS AND NASCAR !    sounds good Mike !!

                 time to get this one rolling again

                    Still my FAVORITE  !!! 

                                             have a great day everyone !!!

                                                            let's go racing !

                            used to be hanging from the ceiling as a night light...

And here I thought Mike would be watching the Seattle XFL team!    Have a good day race fans and non-race fans, like me!  

I'm missing both the Sports gene and the Racing gene from my DNA so.....I play with liddle trains. 

Hmmm. Although I did race motorcycles for one season waaaay back in my misspent youth. 

Speakina' fun:

14-15yo geysergazer posing with a switch-stand. 

A little night running.

A little more FUN. I've posted both of these pics before (separately) but something struck me.

The last train (c.1982) on the old PRR Pittsburgh-Buffalo Mainline. Then they tore it up:

Dad took this Pic of us walking a quarter mile to the right of where the engine is in the above pic about 25yr earlier. (c. '58-'59):

From a double-track Mainline to torn-up in not even 25yr. Not really fun at all.

Howdy Pardner!  You sure did get the opportunities, Lew!  We walked those tracks and through the Rockland Tunnel back when I was in Scouts.  Maybe 1969-71.

geysergazer posted:

I'm missing both the Sports gene and the Racing gene from my DNA so.....I play with liddle trains. 

Hmmm. Although I did race motorcycles for one season waaaay back in my misspent youth. 

Speakina' fun:

                    

                        

14-15yo geysergazer posing with a switch-stand. 

 You're looking awful serious in this pic Lew, or should I say Tex'.... 

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

geysergazer posted:

I'm missing both the Sports gene and the Racing gene from my DNA so.....I play with liddle trains. 

Hmmm. Although I did race motorcycles for one season waaaay back in my misspent youth. 

Speakina' fun:

                    

                        

14-15yo geysergazer posing with a switch-stand. 

 You're looking awful serious in this pic Lew, or should I say Tex'.... 

I was probably thinking about this:

Different hat, same stupid teenager. 

Grand Canyon, Az was a good place for me: the canyon and the Santa Fe:

The other pic was taken no more than a half mile from this pic. If you know exactly when to look you can see a tiny bit into the canyon as you are pulling in.

Patrick nice run of the night train 

geysergazer posted:

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

geysergazer posted:

I'm missing both the Sports gene and the Racing gene from my DNA so.....I play with liddle trains. 

Hmmm. Although I did race motorcycles for one season waaaay back in my misspent youth. 

Speakina' fun:

14-15yo geysergazer posing with a switch-stand. 

 You're looking awful serious in this pic Lew, or should I say Tex'.... 

I was probably thinking about this:

        

Different hat, same stupid teenager. 

Grand Canyon, Az was a good place for me: the canyon and the Santa Fe:

The other pic was taken no more than a half mile from this pic. If you know exactly when to look you can see a tiny bit into the canyon as you are pulling in.

Looks like a teenager who is contemplating what is important, the wonders of nature and trains!  

lee drennen posted:

Patrick nice run of the night train 

Agreed, Lee. I especially enjoyed watching the lights in the background from the moving trains while watching a train right up front.

QA&P 546 detouring south of its home road on the Caprock sub of AT&SF.

A run through the layout with Harold accompanied by my friend Jeff's music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaHfjPuXxiU

Very nice Ray. You have a beautiful layout.

                           happy Monday everyone...

                         sun rays looked nice lighting up the trains this morning...

                                   there has been a lot more sun out lately...

I had fun making this stubby, compressed, MTH Bantam J Class look pretty decent, in my opinion. The low, front corner angle helps elongate the locomotive.  The black and white helps tone down the operating accessories and makes the icing station sweeper guy look like he is scrubbing the top of the engine. 

original photo:

MTH Bantam J class Compressed proportions:

RSJB18 posted:

Very nice Ray. You have a beautiful layout.

Thank you, it's not very big but try for good detailing as I go along, still have the other half of the room to work on.

Speakina' sunshine:

Here is a short video from some very fun train time I had this past weekend.  I also shared this on the "What Trains Did You Run Today"  thread.  It's my Lionel Western Maryland 2-8-0 Consolidation pulling a short ( all WM passenger trains were short ) passenger consist with milk car, RPO, and coach.