OCSMR-Ocean County Society of Model Railroaders Club Latest update 10/29/2024

Painted the instrument panel and installed the switches.  Upper right hand corner are DPDT switches for selecting AC or DC (lower row) and direction (upper row).  The 4 others are for future accessories, lights, etc.

Progress made by the Bud while the president is vacationing in Myrtle Beach! Nice job Bud. Looks real nice! Could be Colonel Chung will give you a salute! Lol!

Been wiring the AC/DC switches on the control panel.  Got the switches for the outer loop wired on Wed.  Checked them out with the DC engine.  Worked as advertised.  Even the DC direction switch was in the right direction ( right - engine goes right/left -engine goes left).  AC worked on the universal motored engine too.

Wired-up the switches for the inner loop on Fri. evening and finished late that night.  Checked the voltages on the terminal strip.  Got no voltage readings.  Was a bit late and decided to wrap it up and troubleshoot another time.

Came back on Sat. afternoon and checked wiring.  Checked OK.  Went to measure AC and DC voltages on the terminal strip for the inner loop.  Had a Eureka moment.  Realized that in the rush to get done, I make a "rookie" mistake.  Had been measuring voltages on the "wrong" terminal strip Fri. night.  AC/DC voltages worked as advertised on both engines.  The DC direction switch worked in the right directions too.  Even ran the universal motored engine on DC but couldn't reverse it because the reverse unit was locked in forward (the DC direction switch won't provide reversing anyway).

Buttoned up the panel and tried the outer loop.  Didn't work.  Opened up the panel and found one of the crimped connections came undone.  Crimped on a new connector and did a tug test on all the connectors.  Rebuttoned up the panel and tried the outer loop again.  Everything worked.

Here's a pic of the "rat's nest" interior.  Should've zip tied the wires.

All ready to run some trains.  Have to add labels.  Left the AC/DC selector switches in the AC position (didn't leave the DC engine on the track).

It looks nice.  It's never too late to tidy it up with some cable ties.

Why zip-tie those wires when we still have a few thousand screws leftover. Just wrap the wires around a screw and drive it into the hood! Lol!
Looks very good Bud even though  you cut some wood there about 7 times for the perfect angle!

Added labels to the S-Gauge switches.

The DC portion of the switch set-up stopped working and was causing a short.  Another wire slipped out of one of the DC connectors and was replaced (may have to eventually solder all wires in the connectors).  The short was in the Outer Track's Direction switch.  Fixed and all runs well again.  Nice to know that the 10 amp bridge rectifier can take a direct short (input was around 12 VAC), at least until the transformer breaker trips.

Not much work being done.  We're too busy running trains.  Here're some pix.

Dennis' MTH Aero Train.

Merrill's Lionel Blue Comet.

Ralph's Lionel Chessie T1 going by at .99 Mach.

Doug's American Flyer Santa Fe ABA pulling a string of custom operating flats.

How about a ride on the Philadelphia Suburban Transit Company's Red Arrow Lines Brill trolley by MTH?

Need any trains or parts?  Ready to make a delivery.  "K-Lionel" Super Streets van with TMCC.

A Lionel Norfolk Southern Dash-9 in Pennsylvania Heritage livery hauling a string of ore cars.  Train on the trestle is part of Dennis' beer car train.

A Lionel Norfolk Southern SD-70 in Penn Central livery hauling a string of auto part box cars.

First time I ran the auto parts cars.  Had them for a while.  They're big.  The trestle supports are a foot apart which makes the cars just under two feet in length.  Was a good test for long car clearances (passed - at least on the track I was using).

Old meets new.

Dennis completed the military funeral scene in memory of one of our members who passed away.  It was installed in the northwest corner of the layout.

Those auto parts box cars have a bit of an overhang on 072 curves.

Ted's yellow bird C&O hudson is hauling a load of coal while my Bethlehem docksider is returning some empties.  Merrill's Pennsy E33 is delivering ore.  Gotta find where  the scenicking crew dug the mines.

Dennis' beer train.  The mining and train crews gotta have some refreshment after all their hard work.

SEPTA or PTC for commuting.  Curiously, both of these trolleys have exactly the same DCS ID.  Tried adding them separately but they both come up the same.  So, I ran them together, though the PTC was a tad faster.

Been awhile since we posted about the club. On Nov. 19, we set up an O and G gauge layout at the Farmingdale, NJ community center and ran trains all day Saturday for the public. The rec committee had an outdoor vendor market at the same time.
Very successful for the club showing the hobby is alive and kicking. I’d rather set up at a venue like this than going to the same train show seeing the same people coming to the show. (Sounds a little like York). We need more of these events to promote the hobby.  
The club was well-received by the town folks there and invited us back for their spring, summer, fall vendor markets. A great day by our members running trains for the general public!

If you see the TV/monitor there, we played the Polar Express movie continuously.

Well, folks, we had our first Holiday Open House in THREE YEARS at our club last weekend (being Dec. 10th and 11th).  The attendance was good and we had quite a few trains running for the crowd to see. 

Photos of the show are below of our O Gauge Layout, along with our S Gauge upper level and our HO Scale Layout.

(Note: During the next week, more photos and maybe videos will be uploaded.  So, check back again for more holiday highlights.)

Enjoy!

Everything looks great!  I’m glad you had a nice turnout!

Looks like a nice club and layout. Good for you guys to share it with your family and friends.

Great to hear the doors are open again!

Big truck Pete,

The club has been re-opened since November 2021. A little over a year now we’ve been open and have an open invite to anyone who is in the area to see the club.
Ted

Here're a few more pix of our Open House.

Very well-written article about the club. I was interviewed at our last open house and it was published in the local newspapers in Ocean County. Click on the link.

https://www.jerseyshoreonline....&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Congrats and nice job Ted!

Back to work doing more wiring. Running power from a ZW to the lighting and accessories terminal strips around the layout. I was back under the layout to assume my favorite spot.
Much more power feed wired to do. It never ends as we install more lights, etc to the layout.

Using a MTH terminal strip for the lights and a standard wire terminal strip for operating accessories.
The suitcase is one of many there as my club Vice President stores some of his trains there.

Looks great, Ted!  Your favorite spot!  🙄 😄

The little elves were back at it today working on the layout doing small detail work adding people to the building fronts that runs on the rear wall of the layout. I finished the lighting wiring on the northern end so everything is wired for lights and accessories when you walk into our room to your right.
Take notice of 2 close-up shots of Bud’s Train shop and the police department scene.

One screw at a time with 1,999 screws to go!

The police escorting the criminals for stealing trains into their headquarters but there is holdup next door in front of the pet shop!

We have a jumper. Wife said she is selling all his trains!

Ted, the stories from the club scenes are great!

We were back working on the layout today and installed the finished luan board over the fascia that covers the framing.
About 80% of the luan was put up and some scenery touch up was done in the worn areas.
I have before and after pictures.

Have a picture of Jim J. who is a club member and handyman/carpenter using his nail gun. Went fast using it.

And I caught Bud using the HO DCC system on his Hogwarts set. He went over to the dark side of the club into HO!!!

The layouts look good!  Bud went over to the dark side!!  Say it ain't so, Joe!!

Mark - Fortunately or unfortunately, it is true, I was running on the HO layout.  I've had HO longer than the age of most of our HO members (since the mid-fifties when I also had Lionel and heaven forbid American Flyer).  Anyway, the HO Hogwarts set was discovered while delving into a pile of boxes in my basement.  The set was long forgotten and was a hidden treasure.  Had our Treasurer Frank add a DCC decoder and was off and running.  Here're a few pix around the HO layout,

You might ask why I just didn't run the HO train on the middle and outside rails of the O-gauge layout.  We did that some time ago on our old layout.  There was a problem though.  When a train came in the opposite direction, for some reason or other the trains couldn't pass one other.

Ted "labeling" the accessory pushbuttons.

He saw the "error" of his ways and also painted the area with my special "conrete" color.

More views of the finished fascia.

When I came back to the light side and resting my aching knees, Jim was nailing...

...Ted was putzing around hot gluing people down...

...retarring roads...

...and adding scenery up to the new fascia (fill that gap or else).

Another engine acquired by the club.  Display shelf was made by Frank.

Another "dark" side acquisition, a Lionel S-gauge ES44AC.  It didn't like our S-gauge track work and sounds would periodically cut out.  Legacy worked fine without connecting a ground wire to the Legacy Base.

My Pennsy B6 passes Ted's Pennsy B6.

Trippy Trolley.  Don't know what the boys at Lionel were on but it's a trip (you gotta see the lights).

Dragged out the Lionel PWC Jersey Central set.

Layout looks great.  Love the way the fascia board came too

Bud, the Hogwarts looks great as does everything else.  I started in HO in the late ‘60s and only switched to O Gauge in 2012.  It is nice your club can accommodate people of varied interests.

We had a surprise 80th Birthday cake last night for Bud and Dennis who were former presidents of the club and long-time members. Both entered their 8th decade recently.

I had not earlier seen this long and impressive thread. The OCSMR move was  an herculean tank, and to be sure resulted in some sore muscles and creaking knees. Yet my comparatively modest experience suggests to me that working together on a hobby task pays off many times over for all the effort. A tip of the hat and cheers for your tremendous success.

Happy birthdays!!

Last Sunday OCSMR supported the Manalapan Veterans train show/event with displays of G, O, S and Lego.

Other displays.

And the kids (even the young ones)...

Giants Stephen Baker was there with his VR and RC toys.

Pix of Ted, Frank and myself with Baker.

All in all the show had a good turnout.  Looking forward to next year.

First of all, I didn’t know Ted would show his face with anyone but a Jets player! 😆

It looks like a great event!  It’s always good to see children enjoying trains!

Mark,

Believe it or not, I did follow the Giants years ago. I was at the game when Stephen Baker caught the game winning 4th qtr comeback touchdown pass when the Giants beat the Phoenix Cardinals 19-17 in the 1990 season and became 12-0 then. They won the Super Bowl that season in Feb.1991.

So…. Each year we have this train event/show, he comes there with his remote control stuff, folks come to see him, take pictures and chat with Stephen. There is about 8 layouts going for the public and donations are accepted at the door. The veterans take in money to support their cause and efforts.

All in all, it is a FUN day for all who participate.

I believe you, Ted!  I was a Jets fan because Broadway Joe was from nearby Beaver Falls, Penna, and the Steelers had never won anything.  A little before 1990, I may get add.  😄  

That’s neat Stephen comes to each show!  👍🏻

Here are more photos of the Manalapan Show taken recently.

Of course, we ran "green" trains for St. Patty's day.

Dennis' "Irish" Aliens celebrating.

Jame's train.

Dragged out my Reading geep from long-term storage (been at least 2 decades since it was run).  Had two Linde cars in tow to keep the beer in the Bud car cold.

Doug had two American Flyer trains running in celebration.

A week before, brought in my 70 year old American Flyer "Silver Bullet" set.  It hadn't been run since the early 60's.  A little lube and it ran great.

Very nice trains in green!

After 65 years, Ted finally learns how to connect to the posts on a Lionel KW transformer.

It’s getting that Medicare card that made Ted finally figure it out, Bud!

Ted.  Is that why they delayed the nabisco plant implosion.  That kw was for the trigger

Hey Guys,

Today, Saturday, April 15th marked the first day of our Spring Open House Weekend.   A small but good sized crowd appeared and we did put on a good show for them that left the visitors impressed.  Below are photos of what transpired on Day 1.  More photos of Day 1 and Day 2 will be posted soon.