(UPDATED) The 48 Club *** Announcing Division 59 Membership ***

That looks great, Roger!!  I hope you get well soon!

Just to show I'm keeping my hand in. 

Mitch

As one of the founding 48 members I would also like to move up to the 59 club with this years layout . Pulling my old retired 5x9 single sheet ping pong table out of the barn and cleaning it off it now sits in my buddy’s porch with a nice loop of Standard Gauge. Hope everyone has a most wonderful New Year!! Cheers

I really enjoy seeing the creativity these smaller layouts bring out of everyone!

-Greg

@Roger Elliott posted:

Hey Jerry, Did you get any further with the 48 club box car idea?

Roger

I did look into the Ghost Writer but just can't bring myself to pull the trigger on it. And any other option I looked at was either expensive or ugly  ( vinyl stick ons ).  So unless I want to go down that rabbit hole VaGolfer did with the Natty Boh car my options are pretty limited.

In all honesty I've been away from the hobby for a number of months, this is my first post on the forum in months, new job responsibilities, a close friend who didn't pull thru from diabetic complications, storm damage from an F1 late last summer all conspired to really dampen my enthusiasm. In addition to having dismantled my layout for a possible rebuild I had nothing tangible to urge me on and the 48 Club became more like something I had to do and that just took the fun out of it. I'm hoping to get things back on track (no pun intended), probably on a more scaled back level.

One thing I do need to do is get a new version of RRTrack, SCARM is ok but it just doesn't have all the bells and whistles I'd like that I will need when I start the rebuild. It's going to be a 12x12 L , don't worry there is also going to be a 4x8 in the home bar area if I can shoe horn something that "BIG" in the room, probably going to be a 36" door layout in all reality but I can hope. I still haven't told my wife the new train room will be painted black, walls and ceiling, can't wait to see how well that goes over since exposed brick or knotty pine paneling were also poo-poo'd. The framing for the trainroom and bar is about 75% complete, just need to re-route some plumbing and a gas line to finish that and then I can start electrical and then onto the fun stuff....drywall!

So I am still around, I have been lurking (that's how I found out about the new Bob Ross boxcar from Lionel) and the good lord willing and the creek don't rise I will stay around.

Jerry

Nice to have you back Jerry.  My enthusiasm for my layout has waxed and waned a number of times since we moved 4 years ago but the Forum has kept the hobby alive for me.  I finally ran trains around the 42"x96" loop two weeks ago.  I'm now in the process of crimping track ends for tighter pin connections  and will put down an inner loop.  I was looking at compound, 42" and 27" diameter curves but didn't like the look so I believe the inner loop will just be 27" with a straight inserted.

@baltimoretrainworks- Hi Jerry. Welcome back. Sorry to here about your friend and the storm damage. Work duties????? isn't that why it's called work?

Paint the room black and blame the contractor......

Anyway good to have you back. We've been keeping the 48 Club fire burning.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

Work duties????? isn't that why it's called work?

Paint the room black and blame the contractor......

I'm one of those dummys who says "Yeah, Ill help with that...sure I can stay or come in early... show me how to do that" then it somehow becomes part of your regular job. I don't mind being considered valuable but the younger ones here like to try and take advantage of it or worse try to take credit for it.

As for blaming the contractor, that would be me , actually the rest of the basement will have a pretty classy look, clubroom lounge chairs, Umanoff bar stools, applewood flooring but I wanted the train room part to have that museum look. The only real sticking point is I would like lights in the train room that I can dim and change to blue for a night effect that doesn't require me to use Alexa or my phone but it's looking like a phone app is the only real option. What ever happened to just having a plain old switch? Maybe with a dimmer? Unless someone has my phone  and knows my access code they can't even turn on the lights  .

Jerry

Jerry, I'm glad to see you here.  Funny, I thought of you last week while I was unboxing the last of the boxes from our move to this house 13 years ago.  Yes, 13 years!  I found my copy of the "Brotherhood of Crappy Basement Layouts" certificate in one of the boxes! 

I'm sorry for all that you have been through recently!  Fortunately, I am now retired so all those crazy things that happened to me that you are going through are behind me.  I hope you get started planning and building your layouts soon!!

Well it's been awhile but I've finally completed a new layout design for the 48 Club. It originally started life as a couple 36" door slabs and for some reason I could not get things to line up for me, but I got it figured out. It would probably be easier to just build regular benchwork instead of cutting down a couple doors.

Track List:

16 - O27 curves

7 - straights

4 - 1/2 section straights

2 - 45 degree crossings

1- 90 degree crossing

1 - RCS section

Cut sections:

1 - 7.05" straight

1 - 6.85" straight

2 - 5.8" straights

2 - 5.4" straights

2 - 3.4" straights

I've also been kicking around an idea for a 48 Club freight consist, a boxcar is a given, tank car, hopper, gondola, a stock car?, flat car maybe but they tend to be kinda bland, not much room for any real decorating ideas unless you count the freight on it. I definitely think a steam locomotive is the way to go, think the iconic 675 and the traditional 6457 style of caboose, everybody painted in semi-gloss black, not sure if I'd go with yellow or gray doors on the freight cars. Haven't decided if I'd go with calling it the 48 Club RR or something like the 48 Line or Railway but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Well it's good to be back, the crappy weather forced me inside today so no working on the deck and I figured get this posted. I got stupid after last years storm and decided if I was going to fix the damage I might as well do it up the way we always had wanted to, big gazebo, covered cooking area, lights, masonry steps, metal deck railings and god knows whatever else strikes me or the wifes fancy.

Jerry

Basic Black is always good! 

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Basic Black is always good! 

Mitch

Twin sons of different mothers.  Of course, yours was the inspiration...

@Mallard4468 posted:

Twin sons of different mothers.  Of course, yours was the inspiration...

You picked up the ball, ran with it and scored a touchdown!  Well done!

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

You picked up the ball, ran with it and scored a touchdown!  Well done!

Mitch

I've started collecting derelicts to contribute to one of my own.

@coach joe posted:

I've started collecting derelicts to contribute to one of my own.

The more the merrier!  .

Mirch

Jerry, you need winter to come so you can do something productive like work on the layout! 😉

No fixing everything up right outside is a valid endeavor!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Jerry, you need winter to come so you can do something productive like work on the layout! 😉

No fixing everything up right outside is a valid endeavor!

The layout right now is on hold, I need to get this project done but every time I start on it I change something up and I wind up adding a week to the project. Once I lose the daylight I will switch over to the basement project. It's kind of fortunate my new job is in the architectural wood business, I have access to equipment and materials and help that makes all of this easier and simpler. You have no idea how much scrap baltic birch plywood I have accumulated, 1/8" up to 1 1/4" thick and most pieces are 2'x4' or larger so I will be able to build solid benchwork. There is an awful lot of really unique types of plywoods out there I never knew existed so curved background walls and facia are not even a problem to think about doing so it will be interesting to see what I come up with.

Jerry

Jerry, it sounds like you are in a great position to accumulate very nice materials.  We will wait until fall to see what you are doing with a layout

I've been racking my brain for the past couple of weeks trying to come up with a design for a round layout. The biggest that encompasses the 4608sq inches of a sheet of plywood is about 76 1/2" in diameter and I feel that's pushing it clearance-wise for O72 track. I tried using O42 or O54 with small straights in between the curved sections but it looses that smooth fluid look I'm going for. I do have a design I'm working on that is a 70"x70" square with a 39" radius cut on one corner to get to the plywood number. It's original iteration was going to be for a Christmas layout in our family room.

My question to y'all is, is a layout like this this too clunky or big for even in a corner given its almost 6 foot by 6 foot footprint? The circular design would be for the middle of a room with a tree in the center sort of like a centerpiece of the room and would be more esthetically appealing and even in our 30x25 family room the corner design would have to be shoehorned in somehow. And no my wife would not be Ok with or open to moving furniture out into another room. In all honesty I'm only really going to have at most 60"x60" to work with for a corner and it's probably going to be closer to 48x60 unless I go with the circular design and place it in the parlor.

Like I said I've been pondering on this one for a couple of weeks now but I keep running into dead end designs, in fact most of the track plans don't get very far beyond a handful of track sections before I give up.

As a side note, given its function as a Christmas layout I have been accumulating Christopher Radkos Sparkle-Town glitter buildings for use on this one.

Kind of gives it an old school nostalgic feel.

Jerry

@baltimoretrainworks posted:

I've been racking my brain for the past couple of weeks trying to come up with a design for a round layout. The biggest that encompasses the 4608sq inches of a sheet of plywood is about 76 1/2" in diameter and I feel that's pushing it clearance-wise for O72 track. I tried using O42 or O54 with small straights in between the curved sections but it looses that smooth fluid look I'm going for. I do have a design I'm working on that is a 70"x70" square with a 39" radius cut on one corner to get to the plywood number. It's original iteration was going to be for a Christmas layout in our family room.

My question to y'all is, is a layout like this this too clunky or big for even in a corner given its almost 6 foot by 6 foot footprint? The circular design would be for the middle of a room with a tree in the center sort of like a centerpiece of the room and would be more esthetically appealing and even in our 30x25 family room the corner design would have to be shoehorned in somehow. And no my wife would not be Ok with or open to moving furniture out into another room. In all honesty I'm only really going to have at most 60"x60" to work with for a corner and it's probably going to be closer to 48x60 unless I go with the circular design and place it in the parlor.

Like I said I've been pondering on this one for a couple of weeks now but I keep running into dead end designs, in fact most of the track plans don't get very far beyond a handful of track sections before I give up.

As a side note, given its function as a Christmas layout I have been accumulating Christopher Radkos Sparkle-Town glitter buildings for use on this one.

Kind of gives it an old school nostalgic feel.

Jerry

Jerry- Have you tried flex track instead of sectional? Sounds to me like that might get you the right radius. I'll play around with SCARM when I get a chance.

Love the buildings, reminds me of the look of the old Rudolph, Frosty, Santa animated movies.

Bob

What if your layout is 6 sheets of plywood? Is there a club for that?

@RSJB18 posted:

Love the buildings, reminds me of the look of the old Rudolph, Frosty, Santa animated movies.

Bob

In my search for the houses I came across an O gauge 3D printed version of the Christmas Story house.

Yellow House - O Scale Structure Kit — GoldenGateHobby

It's a bit pricey but I might get one, I'm going to contact them to see what the size is. Has anyone dealt with Golden Gate Hobby before?

I thought about flex track but my only experience using it was many moons ago and in HO, kind of left a bad taste in my mouth and I've been sectional ever since. So I'm not to sure about going down that road again.

Jerry

Jerry, the yellow house kit does look nice.  Lots of individual parts to paint before assembly making for crisp definition.  Gutters, downspouts, railings, the list goes on!  👍🏻

@NIKHIL posted:

@baltimoretrainworks, I would be interested in joining as the first Youth Member.

I would officially like to step down from the group, as my layout is actually bigger than 4x8, and I am working on plans to expand it. So, it's moving away increasingly from the 4x8 requirement.

@NIKHIL posted:

I would officially like to step down from the group, as my layout is actually bigger than 4x8, and I am working on plans to expand it. So, it's moving away increasingly from the 4x8 requirement.

Congrats on the expansion.

Onward and upward!

Bob

@NIKHIL I agree with Bob.  Expanding a layout sounds great!  Congratulations!!

Thank you, @RSJB18 and @Mark Boyce!

As I expand my layout to a much larger space,  I will keep a 4x8 for the Christmas layout. I can then remain a part of this great group.