I know Mark, but we have this thing so planned out, right down to seeing our soccer team play in Philly along with my step brother. The whole point of the trip was his daughter's wedding. I'm going to be bummed if we can't go.

Oh, yes that is an important date!!  I never did see what the main point of the trip was.  I only knew you were making the trip!  Yes, I do see you are in a pickle.  I'm so sorry!!! Hopefully they will tell you it can wait until you are back!!!!!

I'll discuss it with my foot doctor on Tuesday. There are no great choices here. I probably can't stay on the antibiotics that long. I don't really want to travel with an open wound. I'm worried if I have the surgery that it won't be healed in time, as this process gets dragged out. The perfect storm. Maybe I should just stay home and play trains. Would be cheaper.

Elliot, Talk to your doctor and listen to his advice. Your health has to come first. It would be great if you can make the trip but the last thing you want is for the infection to spread. You don't want to lose the foot. It's your life and your decision. My thoughts are with you. Good luck on whatever you decide.

Dear loyal readers, for the first time in almost five years, I'm going to be late posting the monthly update. My son is in town, and we went to the soccer game between Tottenham and AC Milan. By the time we got through traffic and got home, it was too late to start, and I was whipped anyway. Tomorrow he's heading back to Grand Forks, and I'll get it put together at dialysis, and put it up at the usual time, just a day late.

Thanks for your patience, see you tomorrow.

Elliot, you don't have to adhere to a strick posting schedule. Whenever you do post it is always amazing to see how much closer you are getting to finishing the layout. So what if you are a bit late. At least you are just a day late. I am always a day late and a dollar short LOL. Glad you got to spend time with your son...............Paul

Elliot, time with the family any day over a layout! When your update gets here like Paul said we all will be impressed with what you have done! Heck we always are, you have such drive that you get more done then most do! LOL 

I sure hope you had a great time with your son!

Elliot , I'm glad to see you have your priorities straight . We can wait a couple of days for your update. Enjoy your time with your son .

Pat Kn posted:

Elliot , I'm glad to see you have your priorities straight . We can wait a couple of days for your update. Enjoy your time with your son .

Ditto on this as well!!! That layout and the forum will still be there when the time is right!

I agree with the others, enjoy the family time while you can! Have fun with the family! 

Thanks guys. It was a fun evening, and as planned he headed back to Grand Forks this morning. He may come for one more visit a the end of the month to go to the state fair, before moving back in October.

Funny story about last night's soccer game. Tottenham is his favorite team. No scoring the whole first half. My wife and I stayed in the seats during the break, while he and his buddy wandered off. Second half starts, and they're not back. About three minutes in, Tottenham scores what would be the only goal of the game. Poor kid. Oh well, there  are bigger disappointments in life.

I'm just about to start the July review, it WILL be up tonight. I know nobody is forcing me to do these updates on any schedule. This is just a self imposed deadline that I created out of thin air, but it has been kind of helpful in a few ways.

July 2018 Update

This is really it this time, what happened in July. The first week of the month was primarily spent with visitors from the forum. I didn't take pictures, but fortunately they did. Jim (NYC Z-man) stopped in on the first. The following Saturday, Paul2, Darlander and Ray Marion all stopped by for a great evening of trains and talk. They posted a bunch of the pictures they took, and if you click here, it will take you back to the point in this topic where it all started if you missed it the first time around.

Lots of doctor visits helped to eat up the month. The good news is the toe should get to stay. I finish my last dose of IV antibiotics on Friday. Still projecting the end of October for it to be completely closed up, but it could be longer. It will never be quite the same as it was, but it beats the alternative. The trip we cancelled will probably be rescheduled for April.

Much of what I did on the layout involved adding more rolling stock. I find that to be very slow and time consuming. The main types of cars that were added were Lionel 66' mill gondolas, Atlas flat cars and Atlas intermodal cars and all the containers to go with them.

All new cars were placed into my database, unpacked and placed on the layout.

At one point this was the pile of intermodal cars and containers that had been entered.

The next session, the pile had grown to this.

Gondolas and flat cars added at Western Avenue.

Flatcars at Pig's Eye.

The new Gunderson Maxi-IV's at Shoreham.

More of them over at Midway.

I also have five sets of the bulkhead style Gunderson double stacks.

This type of car comes with these tiny connector pins...

which have to go into that little hole between the cars. My fingers aren't that small. I ended up using hemostats, and finally got the hang of inserting them.

I placed some 1/4" material between the tracks, that will become the pavement at the intermodal facility. Unfortunately, the stuff is susceptible to humidity, and it wasn't fastened well enough. You might be able to see the ripples. The "Tim Allen solution" more screws! 

Some 53' containers waiting for their cars to hit the rails.

Shoreham is filling up.

Paul told me about the Menards well cars, which I had been unaware of. He said they looked like the old Right of Way well cars. So I bought a four pack.

RoW

Menards

There are a few small differences, but they are from the same body mold. The menards cars do ride higher, but if one was really that bothered, they could be fixed.

Patrick came over last Saturday, and we worked on a couple things. First we extended the 120V accessory circuit, from an existing box under Red Wing to a new box under the big helix.

Then from that box, under the aisle, up a leg on the other side, to a box by the south turnout relay panel.

We also did some of the last track work on the entire layout. Here the rest of the layout is connected to the diamond on the big helix.

We installed a few more garden tracks...

and connected the turntable to the diamond. Still need more garden tracks.

Finally, yesterday afternoon, my son and I shot a new video with a new GoPro. Lots of ballast and new cars to see this time around. Enjoy!

It's coming along...

  AWESOME Elliot    great video and update !!  I need some of your energy !!

                           looking good !!!

Great update Elliot! once again I just love those BN well cars! The fleet sure is growing! Keep up the great work!

Great video Elliot. Nice to see the track side perspective of all of the work you've done over the past many months. Love the smiling and waving. Nice to see your son with a controller in his hand too!

Bob

That is insane!  I was wondering who fetches trains that derail in that tunnel?

What a ride, thanks for taking us over the rails!   Love the great cameo appearances of you and your son!!  You continue to amaze us all!   Dave

Awesome work and great video Elliot!

Elliot, I enjoyed the ride through the layout. Even at a fast speed it takes a good while to get through the entire track plan. Once all the scenery is in place the ride through is going to be like traveling down the track for real. Going through the helixes with all the open space along the curves what if you strung a  wire to sort of act like a guardrail to prevent cars from going all the way to the floor if they tip onm the curve. Great video. I'll be ejoying watching this video for some time to come.................Paul

Thanks guys!

Jon - I was just thinking about you the other day. You're welcome to come over and see it in person.

Brian - Sorry to say, but I don't have as much energy as you might think. Taking lots of pictures kind of makes it look that way though. I wish I had the energy that I had just a couple years ago.

Mike - Yes the fleet is growing, and there are a lot more cars still under the layout and in the store room.

Bob - Glad you liked the video. When I saw it, I was a lot more critical. There are a lot of spots that I had worked on that still need help. That perspective shows me all the flaws that I couldn't see from the aisle. As for my son, he's not running the train, I am. What he's doing is monitoring the camera.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

That is insane!  I was wondering who fetches trains that derail in that tunnel?

John - Nice screen capture! I planned ahead for that. The wall is on the left and the backdrop behind Prescott is on the right. That section of Masonite is held on by velcro, so it's easy to get in there.

Dave - I really like doing those videos, but you need to look closely to see what's different from the previous version. My son is the one who got me the new GoPro. It can shoot in 4K, the only problem is that it split the run into two pieces that we had to splice back together. You can see the splice right after we wave as the train starts down the helix. I'm not sure if the final video is still in 4K. It was formatted for YouTube, and seemed very compressed.

Thaddeus - Thanks. I'll just keep doing what I do so you can keep enjoying it.

Paul - Sorry about speeding there. The run hasn't changed, but I saw that I had cut 3 minutes off the total time, from the prior video. I think what happened was we had tried two previous takes and they had technical problems. The first take failed when the weight of the camera car caused the wheels on the engine to slip. I ended up pulling a couple cars. If you look closely, you can see them sitting next to the track at Cottage Grove. The second take failed when a coupler opened at the top of the helix. We tied it closed with a little wire. Each time we had to finish the lap. We kind of wanted to get done because he wanted to run over to my sister's house before we went to the game. With the exception of the "train rain" incident from a few years ago, when I string lined an intermodal train, dumping cars six feet to the concrete, there haven't been any real with derailments in there. I did put a catch wall near the top to prevent a recurrence of that problem. The lower levels are mostly protected by the supports, and have never been a problem.

You had another good month, Elliot. It starts with good medical news a follows with work on the layout. The video is great. 

Elliot  that video was awesome thank you for posting it.  I will assume the small wire running under/above tracks is for tmcc signal to play nice?  did you ever get the hump yard to your liking working wise? the areas that you have closed off with basic hillsides really help define some areas. its always a pleasure to see the monthly updates.

so what's next on your punch list that you wish to get accomplished? seems like that layout tour is looming closer now too! 

I see your son has his dads smile might he be interested in helping you on layout or not his cup of tea? take care mind the nails and anything else that can cause you injury hope your toe keeps on the mend as well.

Ray

I see light at the end of that helix!! 

Two things I liked the most Elliot!

1. The train ride over the layout!  

2.  With all you have been through, I am heartened at seeing that big happy grin on your face!!  

That's great news about your toe! That has to be a big relief for you. And more great progress pics too. Things are really looking nice now! Gotta go back and watch the video, wanted to take my time doing that part. 

I hate to bother you with minor details, but I was just wondering how you would go about finding a specific car on the layout after you have all of them on the tracks? Also, I guess I am curious about finding it's box as well, supposing you might want to sell one or something like that? Knowing your abilities to plan ahead, I bet you have a pretty good method for doing this already. Keeping track of all this stuff has always baffled me. I have much, much LESS than is on your layout and I have trouble.  

Elliot, first of all I was happiest to hear your good news on the health front.  Glad the toe is coming along and that your other issues are under control.  I always enjoy your photo updates and the video this time was a cherry on top.

I have a similar long straight tunnel on my layout (behind some city buildings).  It is a pain to reach, but it can be done.  In 14 years of operating sessions, open house running and fun running for me, I have never had a derailment in there.  It's only straight track.  Of course now that I've said this, you know what will happen the next time we run trains!  LOL

It's also nice to see some rolling stock make it onto the railroad, hard to make any 1:48 money without cars to ship to customers!  Big layouts can sure eat equipment.  My layout is nowhere near the size of yours yet it still has 47 locomotives and 360 pieces of rolling stock on it at the moment.  All of it gets run during operating sessions.

Keep up the good work and stay healthy, my friend.

Great video! The vastness of this entire project really came through on the video. In addition, it is incredible to see all of the forethought and planning bear fruit. All of the while, you were fighting through various adversities.... just fantastic! You and your son have a reason to be smiling with such pride. Made me smile as well.  

I can’t imagine any other layout feeling more like a real railroad than this. Keep up the good work!

Looking real good Elliot Eh!!!

Great video Elliot! I was going to ask you a question about the video, but you answered it when you said your son was monitoring the camera. So here is a different question, can you monitor it from your control station with all your big screen TV's?

Thanks guys! Sorry about taking so long to get back here, busy weekend.

Pat - I guess there was some good progress, but I tend to think in terms of stuff actually done  to the layout. Adding cars strikes me as more window dressing than actual progress, but that's what I did. It was on my to do list, but so were a lot of other things that I didn't do. In the end, it's all good.

Ray - Yup, that's what that wire is for. Most trains make it through there. There are still a few trouble makers. After the convention I can play with it. I need smooth running for operating sessions. That's the next hurdle. Hump yard has also been back burner. I have to build a diode matrix for the switches. Regarding my son, I can't exactly call him "mini-me" because he rivals me in size, but he also has a number of personality traits hat I possess. He is a chip off the old block. He may want to help when he moves back down, if I can pull him away from some of his gaming time. We'll see.

Mark - I like making those videos. It's a little tricky when I go for one continuous take from the hidden yard, all the way back to the same spot. Glitches ruined two takes, Now what you have to do, is go back and look at the previous video, and note the changes. Seven months of work really shows when you know what to look for. That smile may have been pure pride, both the layout and the boy!

RTR - As I said to Mark, watch the previous one too, and compare. Just click on the YouTube link in my signature to get to my channel. They're all there. Go back even further if you really want to see progress. I always like answering questions, and that's an interesting one. To be honest, I haven't given much thought to locating cars, because when I buy things, they tend to stay bought . Every car is entered into the computer, and a card is made for each. However, at this time, there is no way to tell a car's location. I can do it on a limited basis with brain power, but it's not really a necessary function at this time. As long as all the cards are in order, there is no real demand to locate a specific car within the fleet. Regarding boxes, in a perfect world, I would gather them all in one room, and organize them by manufacturer and catalog number. I do have a room in mind. Both of those things are part of my database. I might get around to it in this lifetime.

Bob - Like you, that long straight tunnel is my least problematic part of the layout. There could come a time when we start having operating sessions, that someone could misjudge the pulling power of a locomotive, and send it up grade and have the wheels slip, but we'll see it, and send a rescue party to lighten the load. Derailments, very unlikely. I repaired the switch coming off the helix a couple years ago, and haven't had any problems since. I think the fleet is up around 600 cars right now, engines around 40. Some of the yards are pretty full, but there's still room  for eight, 15 car trains in the big hidden yard and three in the small. Northtown still has some room, as do the industries. I could pretty easily get another 200 on. I'm well aware of the potential for overpopulation. Even if I fill all yards to capacity, there will still be some room on the mainlines to move around. Regarding my toe, we had planned to take a trip this fall, that would have brought us through your neck of the woods. We are now looking to recreate that trip in the spring. I'd love to visit you and your layout to see how it's really done. I'll email you when we have the details. 

JD - The adversities just slow me down a bit, like a yellow signal aspect, but there's no stopping this train. I have a new little problem, but it's getting better already. There's still a lot left to do, but most of it will have to wait until after the convention. Right now it's all about cleaning up.

Chad - Good to see you, you've been pretty quiet all summer. How's your layout coming?

Mike - Yes it can be done. My son wants to send the video to the TV in the family room upstairs, which is the only 4K TV in the house. We just ran out of time before we could get to that.

Elliot, fun video. Gargraves and Ross must love you. Happy to hear your toe is staying put. Your soccer days are not over. Aloha, Don

Thanks Don, well not anymore. I'm done buying track and switches. I definitely paid my dues over the years. A lot of that stuff was salvaged from my previous layout 25 years ago at Mall of America. Something like a third of the total was recycled. Most of the remaining switches were bought used off eBay. I think my soccer days were over long before the toe, but you could say, that nailed it shut.

I just had a chance to watch the video, MAN, that is some kind of layout ya got there!   I thought the video was waaaay cool!   Very impressive indeed!   Outstanding job Elliot!!!!

Chief Bob (Retired)

Thanks Bob. Glad you enjoyed it. It's not your typical layout, is it?

WOW ! Now that was a ride !!! It felt like I went cross country on a train 🚂. Absolutely outstanding!!!!!! 

Thanks,Alex 

Thanks Alex, it's really only about 60 miles in the real world. Except for a short section in the helix, the train never uses the same track over its entire run. The mainline is about six scale miles.

Elliot....I just googled the phrase “ Go Big or Go Home”.....and it came up with your layout !! Hope your feeling well, and is great to see the progress .

Once again, my son is in town on update day. Not sure how that worked out. I'll tell you all about August tomorrow. Thanks.

Enjoy the time with your son - we'll patiently wait as long as it takes.  Some things are far more important than trains.

-Greg

Have a great visit with your son!  No hurry on our part!!