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Today it took  awhile to find my uncoupling tracks I bought a few years ago. Can't do much at the start of the yard till my wye switch comes in. So at the other end I ripped up some old cork roadbed that was there from when I had an older smaller curved radius switch 96/72 coming into the back of the yard. I replaced it out with a Ross 120/96 curved switch So now I can put down some new cork and extend the sidings back a bit further picking up two more cars per siding. Every little bit helps.........Paul.

The difficult part of the Ford Plant is done!

 

These tracks will be filled with the new 86' high cubes and auto racks.

 

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In celebration, I opened up my K-line Ford sign and placed it on the layout, much like planting the flag on the moon.

 

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Building flats of the plant, trees and other vegetation, ballast and a yard office will complete the scene.

 

This was the Ford Plant almost 11 years ago. It has been reduced to rubble. I'm not sure if the tracks are still there. If they are, they won't be there for long.

 

TRAINS_0383

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Originally Posted by Tom M:

Working on a new caboose to add to my White Pass and Yukon Route rolling stock.

 

 

2015-02-14 12.47.15

Nice!
My wife and I are seriously discussing a Alaska cruise for our 15th anniversary this year, we did that cruise for our Honeymoon. And yes, that means a return to the White Pass, if we go!

Fabulous. Very cleaver.
 
Originally Posted by M. Mitchell Marmel:

Well, my gi-raffe...er, ZEBRA car is back from having an artist buddy do the zebra detailing!  I added the mane to a horn-less giraffe... 

 

 

As soon as the paint dries on the actuating lever, I'll install that and make up some labels for the car and it'll be ready to roll!

 

Mitch

 

Originally Posted by Matt Makens:
Well they used to make Ford Rangers at the plant but they shut it down a few years ago. The plant was old and out dated and too expensive to upgrade.

I had an '89 Ranger extended cab with center facing jump seats.  Our girls loved riding there until they got big enough that their knees kept hitting each other.  Then there was contention.  :-(

Hey Mark, my wife and I were planning to take a little field trip today. There's a great  deli a few blocks away, so we'll see if the tracks are still there. The entire structure is definitely gone.

 

Using Google maps again, there is a bridge over the tracks at the throat on Cleveland Avenue, that's where I took that picture. Go to the street view, and there's a little clock icon. Click on that, and you can see all of Google's images for that spot over time. I think there were 5 of them going back to 2007 with the most recent being last August.

Last edited by Big_Boy_4005
Originally Posted by Big_Boy_4005:

Hey Mark, my wife and I were planning to take a little field trip today. There's a great  deli a few blocks away, so we'll see if the tracks are still there. The entire structure is definitely gone.

 

Using Google maps again, there is a bridge over the tracks at the throat on Cleveland Avenue, that's where I took that picture. Go to the street view, and there's a little clock icon. Click on that, and you can see all of Google's images for that spot over time. I think there were 5 of them going back to 2007 with the most recent being last August.

Eliot,

Thank you.  I will take a look.  Now it is even more interesting since Matt pointed out my old Ranger may have been built there.  It is kind of like remembering the old Pullman Standard factory that used to be here.

While still waiting for my wye switch to come but I know it shipped today I am still in a holding pattern on finishing the yard. So I spent this morning putting plaster between the two lower mainlines along the side of the freight yard. And in this case it was a slow go because it was mostly hard to reach spots. I don't think I will ever manage to put the ox before the cart but maybe I just like a good challenge. Lunchtime then make up another batch of plaster and finish those areas before dinner......Paul

Yesterday I changed out one Lionel KW transformer for another. Suspected the one taken out wasn't putting out the volts but not sure. This AM I went to my favorite LHS and purchased some Lionel O gauge 40" straights and several 042 curves with the intention of removing my loop of S gauge track and replacing it with the new O gauge. Think I will reserve this loop of track to run my Old Timey trains more often. Fun !!

Big Boy:  Where is that layout located?  Looks like the basement of a mall, or a very VERY large home.
 
Originally Posted by Big_Boy_4005:

The difficult part of the Ford Plant is done!

 

These tracks will be filled with the new 86' high cubes and auto racks.

 

IMG_4868

In celebration, I opened up my K-line Ford sign and placed it on the layout, much like planting the flag on the moon.

 

IMG_4867

 

Building flats of the plant, trees and other vegetation, ballast and a yard office will complete the scene.

 

This was the Ford Plant almost 11 years ago. It has been reduced to rubble. I'm not sure if the tracks are still there. If they are, they won't be there for long.

 

TRAINS_0383

 

Finally received the scored flooring wood I need for the roundhouse stalls, actually model ship decking.   On back order for months.  Now to move the entire roundhouse for the last time, do the work, re-paint the "concrete base" so it aligns with the actual foot print, place the little workmen and details, set it back in place for the last time, ballast the tracks and install the doors.  Hummm ... that's probably going to take a couple of months, at the speed I work.  lol!

Originally Posted by Kerrigan:
Big Boy:  Where is that layout located?  Looks like the basement of a mall, or a very VERY large home.

That's the basement of my house, 38'x57'. The train room total is 1902 sq ft.If you do the math it doesn't add up, because there is a big rectangular notch out of one corner. The entire basement is 4450 sq ft, so the train room is less than half. The main floor is the same size. It has about the same number of rooms as a typical large modern suburban home, except the rooms are just much bigger. Because it is not a two story, the basement is huge.

It was to cold to do anything today do I started a new project,  I am going to paint the Conrail gp38 in the picture,  to replicate RJ Cormans gp38 and I have around 20 hopper cars from weaver,  one is pictured to be painted in RJ Corman colors as well.
I will keep updating as progress is done.

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  • 20150218_103954: A NS SD60 pulls the unit to the paint shop.
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I received the two Fastrack switches and some track from Mr. Brown.  This evening I struggled with two bum hands to get the pieces together, and couldn't figure out why it didn't work like the plan.  Looking at the plan again, I realized I had ordered the O-48 switches for the Phase 3 siding instead of the O-60 switches I needed to finish my double loop crossover.  No wonder the price looked so good!!  Oops!  Oh well, the project will have to wait until another payday when I can order the O-60 switches.  Then I can do Phase 2 and 3 at the same time.

 

Reminds me of what I do on my projects at work.  Absentmindedly get ahead of myself or mix two projects up.  It's a good thing my manager's office is located a thousand miles from mine, or he may get wise to me and put me out to pasture for good.  Ha, ha!

Today was engine entering time.  Over the past few months I had procrastinated over punching the info into my Legacy handheld on a number of recently purchased TMCC engines.  Along with assigning numbers, names, setting momentum and stall, it was also initial run time to assess whether further tweaking is needed.  Are they ever really perfect?

 

Bruce 

Hi Guys--  I couldn't resist this story because "paul 2" brought up the subject of plaster.

About 50-years ago at our old O-scale layout of the Eastbay Model Engineers Society in Oakland, CA, there was a guy that started coming around on Friday nights and he really wanted to help out and become a member.  So we welcomed him aboard and told him that the trolley boys were currently doing a big scenery project involving "plaster" and could definitely use some help!

He says,  "I got some plaster at home"..  "I'll bring it down next Friday night"..

OK-Great..    Now what we used to do in them days was to take poster paint powder and mix it right in with the plaster.  Then it was all colored and ready to apply!

Mr. "New Member" arrives with a big container of his plaster and we get him a bucket and send him over to the 'deep sink' next to our coke machine to start mixing it up!

 

Well, maybe the stuff was from France or something else.  After all, it WAS 'Plaster of Paris' and maybe it was too old.  Our guy added the poster paint powder and some water and started mixing !   Voila-- he suddenly could NOT remove the mixing stick from the bucket !!  I have not forgotten that choice episode in my life.  It was hilarious !!

Cheers.

 

KRK

Originally Posted by keyrouteken:

...

About 50-years ago at our old O-scale layout of the Eastbay Model Engineers Society in Oakland, CA, there was a guy... Our guy added the poster paint powder and some water and started mixing !   Voila-- he suddenly could NOT remove the mixing stick from the bucket !!  I have not forgotten that choice episode in my life.  It was hilarious !!

Cheers.

KRK

Good thing he did not get any of that mixture down the sink drain!

FM

Today I spent putting  a second coat of earth color on the plaster. Filled in areas that needed ballast. Sprinkled grass on and glued it all down down. I think I ran out of areas to work on. I suppose I could measure the open framework for the engine facility and cut the wood. Still hoping my wye switch will get here by tomorrow or Saturday. Maybe I will make a run to the hobby shop to get a bag of foam grass. Or I could clean up the areas so I can run some trains................Paul

I thought today would be a slow day but it turned out better then I thought. Mr. Brown delivered my wye switch early. Like 2:00. He must of known I needed it early. I sprinkled down some grass foam earlier today but I placed the switch in where I wanted it and it is all going to work. I had to pull up some old cork bed and glue down a few new pieces for the wye switch. Once dry I can paint the cork and once that is dry I can start laying in the front of the yard. It looks like it is going to come together better then I had thought. When I get the front pieced in I'll post a pic...........Paul

I FINALLY have finished this feed mill/elevator kitbash, except for needing to get a

couple of bottles of Testor's for paint touch-up...may be delayed doing that with

another snowdump forecast.  Got the foundation on, all the trim, (dummy) outside

lighting and the "stone" foundation.  Certainly did not work diligently at it.  Will

shoot some photos and post after touch-up.  Next project?

 

 

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