Let's see some custom Christmas rolling stock!

I think it is irritating and un-Christmas. More like landing lights at an airport.

Here's my attempt.........

Peter

I think it is interesting!  Is the flashing circuit programmable to slow down the rate?  If so, it might be a little less intense with a slower rate that would be more like a twinkling every once and a while with the colors changing.

Nicely done!

-Dave

Dave45681 posted:

I think it is interesting!  Is the flashing circuit programmable to slow down the rate?  If so, it might be a little less intense with a slower rate that would be more like a twinkling every once and a while with the colors changing.

Nicely done!

-Dave

The circuit at this point is not programmable.  But what a great idea!  Thanks Dave!  Something more to play with!

Does anyone know if Lionel makes a factory pick up that will fit in that model truck?

Putnam Division posted:

Here's my attempt.........

Peter

 

That's a great execution Peter!  Love it!

I had a friend make some custom crates in red, white and orange from a 3d printer for gondolas and then had a friend with an outdoor vinyl printer label the crates.  I really like them!  I had tabs that are are several millimeters taller than the rest of the box and then just drilled holes in them.  I used elastic bead necklace cord from Michaels for the rope   My son (and me!) love loading and unloading the gondolas from the crane.  For the gondolas i just kit bashed a silver colored lionel gondola that i got from a store for several dollars each and then used an ivory colored mini spray paint from ac moore.   When done with the lettering on the gondolas ans crates I applied two coats of dullcoat.  

These are very cool! If he sold them I would buy some for sure! 

Here are some tinplate creations I've done. 

Chris, your tin plate Polar Express is magnificent!

Janitor John posted:

Chris, your tin plate Polar Express is magnificent!

Thanks John. I just need to get some decals made for the Polar Express.   I may be doing a Polar Express in standard gauge for next year.   

A delivery of Ice from the Bumbles.

bigdodgetrain's Cutom cars

My Cars

For those who know Bob Wall from TTOS SP and TCA this is his Christmas Train

RichO posted:

A delivery of Ice from the Bumbles.

Loving the Snowmen there Rich!  Haha!

SDIV Tim posted:

bigdodgetrain's Cutom cars

Cars!!!  What a great idea!

Anybody else play with LED lighting on their Christmas cars?

Inspiring work, everyone.  SDIV Tim, I love the "Cars". Here at the all-volunteer Tomlinson Run Railroad we are on a carpet bagger's budget.  However, we did manage to have a tree this year thanks to the generosity of the Red Rose Tea company -- a perfect fit!:

In this closeup, Brakeman Jed -- always prone to take things a bit too literally -- is shown "lighting" the tree:

(Humm ... it looks like that tree could use a little color -- those look like green-on-green bulbs on those branches.)  

And here is a shot from earlier in the day when our tallest volunteer and excursion mascot Sinclair(e) helped with the tinsel:

Now that the tree is up, perhaps I'll see what can be done with some of the coal I've picked up on recent excursions ... Humm ... =>wheels turning round and round<=.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

From the Executives at the Tomlinson Run Railroad Where we give you the runaround!

Who would have thought that a 37mm x 40mm rectangle crate with 2mm walls would take 4 hours to print on a 3d printer!  to Computer Assist Design (CAD) it took some work also apparently and the letters are hand applied.  Also had to sand them down with 400 grot sand Paper  for the letters to stick better.    If I have some extras will let everyone know but they won't be cheap!     Also have some "coal for naughty children" and "Ho Ho Ho".  It takes about 2-3 months from print to lettering  if anyone is interested in a custom run.  5 crates can fit in 1 gondola and i had them lettered so that the letters are visible when it is inside the gondola   

----------------

These are very cool! If he sold them I would buy some for sure!

Chris

Here is a christmas float i made a few years ago to put on my flatcar.

Tom E posted:

Who would have thought that a 37mm x 40mm rectangle crate with 2mm walls would take 4 hours to print on a 3d printer!  to Computer Assist Design (CAD) it took some work also apparently and the letters are hand applied.  Also had to sand them down with 400 grot sand Paper  for the letters to stick better.    If I have some extras will let everyone know but they won't be cheap!     Also have some "coal for naughty children" and "Ho Ho Ho".  It takes about 2-3 months from print to lettering  if anyone is interested in a custom run.  5 crates can fit in 1 gondola and i had them lettered so that the letters are visible when it is inside the gondola  

I applaud everyone exploring 3D printing, but for a very geometrically simple example like this it would seem old school styrene sheets might end up being much simpler. 

Some straight cuts to make the rectangular/square shape, minor hole creation with a drill and/or rounded file, a bit of Testors plastic glue, finished off with some red paint.

I don't have a good idea on how to easily create the lettering and graphics, those are really well done!

-Dave

Performing Santas!

I made these in honor of my niece's husbands family who owns and operates Fleming tree farms:

Dave45681 posted:

Tom E posted:

Who would have thought that a 37mm x 40mm rectangle crate with 2mm walls would take 4 hours to print on a 3d printer!  to Computer Assist Design (CAD) it took some work also apparently and the letters are hand applied.  Also had to sand them down with 400 grot sand Paper  for the letters to stick better.    If I have some extras will let everyone know but they won't be cheap!     Also have some "coal for naughty children" and "Ho Ho Ho".  It takes about 2-3 months from print to lettering  if anyone is interested in a custom run.  5 crates can fit in 1 gondola and i had them lettered so that the letters are visible when it is inside the gondola  

I applaud everyone exploring 3D printing, but for a very geometrically simple example like this it would seem old school styrene sheets might end up being much simpler. 

Some straight cuts to make the rectangular/square shape, minor hole creation with a drill and/or rounded file, a bit of Testors plastic glue, finished off with some red paint.

I don't have a good idea on how to easily create the lettering and graphics, those are really well done!

-Dave

You could also try 2D printing. Draw up a simple fold up box with an open top. Even do the lettering right there in the drawing program. Print on cardstock or photo paper, maybe glue the printed sheet to a second piece of cardstock and cut out the boxes. Fold and glue and they're ready to go. 

Mark Diff posted:

I made these in honor of my niece's husbands family who owns and operates Fleming tree farms:

Mark, all you're missing is a few flocked Christmas tree's =)

Mark Diff posted:

I made these in honor of my niece's husbands family who owns and operates Fleming tree farms:

Hey Mark Diff

I see you printed the signs, how did you do the lettering and what letters did you use?

BWRR posted:

Mark Diff posted:

I made these in honor of my niece's husbands family who owns and operates Fleming tree farms:

Hey Mark Diff

I see you printed the signs, how did you do the lettering and what letters did you use?

The signs came off their website, the letters were applied one at a time using Champs Railroad Roman Dulux Gold decals

Mark Diff posted:

The signs came off their website, the letters were applied one at a time using Champs Railroad Roman Dulux Gold decals

Hey Mark,

First thanks for the reply, next more questions

Are those waterslide?
Which size did you use?
Where did you buy them?

BWRR posted:

Mark Diff posted:

The signs came off their website, the letters were applied one at a time using Champs Railroad Roman Dulux Gold decals

Hey Mark,

 

First thanks for the reply, next more questions

Are those waterslide?
Which size did you use?
Where did you buy them?

Yes, these are water slide decals. I used Champ LG-10 13/64" and LG-30 9/64". I bought both of them long ago directly from Champ when they were still in business. However they so show up on Ebay. Microscale currently produces a set, item #90008 that will be a pretty close match to the Champ decals. The Microscale set has both sizes (or sizes that are pretty close) on their sheet. Hope this helps

Hey Mark,

It does help alot.  I was confused, trying to find the champ ones you talked about.  Of course I could not.
Thank you for the info and understanding and all.  I will try the microscale

Here's Santa on the Penn Central.  This is my mother's first Christmas ornament given to her by her parents in 1923, the year she was born:

Santa's too old to be hanging from trees but he still enjoys supervising the railroad and tree lighting from a safe distance.  The fiber-optic red and green lights don't show up in the photos but they are twinkling away nevertheless.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Hope you don't mind the "side-track" but perhaps some of you would enjoy seeing my new custom operating accessory?  It's a yet-to-be-named factory and today they are hard at work making stuff for the holiday season.

An NS gondola on the team track nearby holds the factory's raw materials. (Notice also the Coke factory with three funnel stacks on the left and the competing energy source at about 12:05 o'clock):

Coke Factory Close-up:

What Santa sees as the train approaches:

Here comes the Xmas Special pulling into position:

Brakeman Jed coordinates the fill-up from start to finish:

Sinclair(e) is in charge of Quality Assurance:

The gondola is full and the train moves on down the line where the goods will be further processed into tree decorations, bird food, or the inside of my stomach (likely). The cookie silo is in the middle of the photo:

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Tomlinson that was great!!!  Pass the butter! =)

Thanks, Janitor John.  Glad you liked my little attempt at holiday cheer.  Hope it wasn't too ... er ... corny .

Happy Holidays!

TRRR

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

Thanks, Janitor John.  Glad you liked my little attempt at holiday cheer.  Hope it wasn't too ... er ... corny .

Happy Holidays!

TRRR

All you're missing is an old school projector playing the Polar Express on the wall

Ha!  You must be psychic, Janitor John.  I'll be watching the Polar Express for the first time this PM for family night at my church.  We're supposed to bring lawn chairs and a blanket.  They didn't say anything about bringing gondolas filled with popcorn -- but, hey, why not? :-).  Humm ... a hopper would hold even more but I'd have to ask Santa for one.

PS - your butter sounds good but I also like a splash of lime juice and salt.  But not in the gondola ...

TRRR

Well, heck, throw a little tapatio on the popcorn while you're at it!  And enjoy the Polar Express!