@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:That’s a lot of impressive work for someone recovering from a food coma Bob. The intricate detail really enhances the scenes. Pour yourself some scotch; well deserved.
Went with Pinot tonight 
......Thanks 
My son and I finished, almost, the trim around the perimeter of layout .
@RSJB18 posted:Got back to detailing my passenger station and platform.
The MOW team had to cut back the edge of the platform to clear the trucks on my F3's. After they finished, some repair work was left for the next shift.
I made the cones from some caps from driveway sealer caulk and styrene sheet. Went with the old school red/ yellow colors, not bad IMHO.
Benches went in next. One more is still in fabrication and will be installed later.
I know people come in all shapes and sizes but Zeke here feels like a giant all the sudden.
The seated figures are from RMT, Zeke is WS. Both called O scale......
Now that the platform is open to passengers, the RR added warning signage
I also picked up some freight for the platforms and loading docks around the layout
I great way to recover from my food coma!
Bob
I wish I could recover from the " food coma as well as you have Bob. Nice work ( play ). 😉
I did put a couple of LEDs in a headlight for a ps2 RK dash 8 but thats all . Right now I only have recovered enough to keep a fire going in the fireplace. Really bitter outside this evening with the wind and snow.
A high-flying "accessory" ...
Years ago I purchased a COKE-decor blimp with Coke's iconic Polar Bear character riding in the cab/basket with a reindeer companion. No, it's not Rudolph!
This season, I prepared it for use on my layout with help from a hobby friend who is also a mechanical whiz kid. His backyard shop is filled with machine tools, and he custom-made parts for use with a 24-inches-high metal model of the Eiffel Tower, which suspends the blimp above the upper level of my layout at the SE corner and enables it to rotate. That entire U-shaped level is filled with DEPT 56 lighted porcelain buildings of the NORTH POLE VILLAGE series, so it's an appropriate Christmassy setting! Several of the Dept 56 buildings are animated, so it's an active area. There are three short trolley lines on that level; one Lionel, two MTH - all with Christmas décor.
The blimp is "close enough" to O-scale proportions to be believable. Its circular rotation around the tower is provided by a small three RPM motor at the base (originally intended to spin a disco mirror ball). The blimp soars above Santa's house. With onboard power from AA batteries inside the cab/basket, the blimp's propeller spins and its blinking lights flash. Fun for kids - of all ages.
I know, it's not a RR accessory, but it's ultra cool! Pix attached.
Mike M. LCCA 12394
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Train Steve, the trim looks great. Really gives a finished look.
Mr. Ripp
What kinda grass are you using .
Seems or looks fairly easy to grow
Ugmm hmm I mean cut !!!
@RSJB18 posted:Got back to detailing my passenger station and platform.
The MOW team had to cut back the edge of the platform to clear the trucks on my F3's. After they finished, some repair work was left for the next shift.
I made the cones from some caps from driveway sealer caulk and styrene sheet. Went with the old school red/ yellow colors, not bad IMHO.
Benches went in next. One more is still in fabrication and will be installed later.
I know people come in all shapes and sizes but Zeke here feels like a giant all the sudden.
The seated figures are from RMT, Zeke is WS. Both called O scale......
Now that the platform is open to passengers, the RR added warning signage
I also picked up some freight for the platforms and loading docks around the layout
I great way to recover from my food coma!
Bob
Bob,The benches,loads and people really add life to the scene.
In all things Bob, we admire your versatility.
Thanks gents for the likes and comments.
Part II-
After dinner I finished up (for now), the platforms. Added the rest of the people, the MOW crew showed up to repair the platform edge, and some more freight arrived.
Having people on the layout does add life and an element of realism to the layout. I always admire everyone's scenes with well thought out placement of figures.
I decided to save the Woodland crew set for another day and went with the RMT and Bachman sets I bought.
I used the small seated figures on the rear-facing benches. They look fine from the front of the layout, and won't stay in their package this way. These two could pass for children, the other two are dressed in suits.
Didn't realize that the guy in the blue suit looks a little bit like Frankenstein until I took this pic. 
I also cleaned up the glue at his feet. I used a hot glue gun. Interested to hear what others do to secure figures. The station crew figures are from the same RMT set. Their standing figures came with a small piece of clear plastic already glued to the feet. Made placing them easier.
Add I took this shot for today's SWSat. Didn't plan it but poof!
Bob
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It’s coming together very nicely Bob and the photo between the consist is unique and impressive. Must have been the Pinot.
Didn't realize that the guy in the blue suit looks a little bit like Frankenstein until I took this pic.
I also cleaned up the glue at his feet. I used a hot glue gun. Interested to hear what others do to secure figures. The station crew figures are from the same RMT set. Their standing figures came with a small piece of clear plastic already glued to the feet. Made placing them easier.Bob
Bob, I also use hot glue. Easy to clean up and makes for easy repositioning. Great looking scenes!
Cheers, Dave
Nothing!
Went downstairs to the train room yesterday to run some trains and found a dead short on the mainline.
Five + hours later still can't find it! Going back down soon, gonna check wiring next. Odd, because I've had no problems here EVER, over 20 years for most of it.
@Lionelski posted:Nothing!
Went downstairs to the train room yesterday to run some trains and found a dead short on the mainline.
Five + hours later still can't find it! Going back down soon, gonna check wiring next. Odd, because I've had no problems here EVER, over 20 years for most of it.
John- maybe an insulator on a piece of track wore through or shifted. Have you inspected the track?
Good luck on the hunt.
Bob
Let us know how this unfolds John. Keep in mind that this effort will be enhancing your neuronal networks and further solidify your problem solving skills.
@RSJB18 posted:John- maybe an insulator on a piece of track wore through or shifted. Have you inspected the track?
Good luck on the hunt.
Bob
I have Bob, with a nice bright LED flashlight. Found one section that looked "iffy" but it turned out OK.
If not a wiring problem I'll have to start isolating large sections of track to find the issue. Hesitant to do this due to difficulty with ballasting, scenery and access reasons.
Gotta find it soon. Having 11 train guys over on the 4th - first time since Covid
I’ve been working my around my upper level viaduct.
Viaduct supports spray painted with flat black bbq paint.
I clamped down the supports.
Im planning to add gussets and beams for more detail.
I am 3/4 done. I hope to complete the final quarter this weekend.
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Well I was not so much as what I did, but what Ryan likes to do. When he asks grandpa "can we run trains" he usually grabs a car, bus or truck and drives it around the layout. We usually lose a couple of tires in the process. One I still cannot find.
I use Gorilla Glue. They have a specialized micro applicator ideal for model railroading. Fair warning. Once you glue it down you are not taking it off 😀,
John, did you recently move anything into or from under the layout?
@RSJB18 posted:Interested to hear what others do to secure figures.
I've been using tacky wax with success. Holds well and allows repositioning later on. Have had instances where I've removed it months later after placement with a warm wet rag without issue.
@RSJB18 posted:Thanks gents for the likes and comments.
Part II-
After dinner I finished up (for now), the platforms. Added the rest of the people, the MOW crew showed up to repair the platform edge, and some more freight arrived.
Having people on the layout does add life and an element of realism to the layout. I always admire everyone's scenes with well thought out placement of figures.
I decided to save the Woodland crew set for another day and went with the RMT and Bachman sets I bought.
I used the small seated figures on the rear-facing benches. They look fine from the front of the layout, and won't stay in their package this way. These two could pass for children, the other two are dressed in suits.Didn't realize that the guy in the blue suit looks a little bit like Frankenstein until I took this pic.
I also cleaned up the glue at his feet. I used a hot glue gun. Interested to hear what others do to secure figures. The station crew figures are from the same RMT set. Their standing figures came with a small piece of clear plastic already glued to the feet. Made placing them easier.Add I took this shot for today's SWSat. Didn't plan it but poof!
Bob
Hi Bob, I use tacky wax to place my figures until I'm satisfied with the location, etc. then I use Gorilla CA glue for final placement. Happy Railroading!
Jrtains posted “I’ve been working my around my upper level viaduct.”
I am looking to make those exact supports. Are you using 1/2” basswood strips?
Rick
@WesternPacific2217 @Dennis Rosenthal @darlander @Penn Flyer
Thanks for the replies on gluing figures. I should have mentioned that I use fun-tak for temporary placement. I think I'll stick ( ) with the hot glue gun.
Shifting gears once again, I installed the circuit breakers and TVSS diodes I bought months ago. Now that I'm running more command engines, it's more important than before. The diodes aren't installed exactly as recommended but it's better than nothing.
The breakers are panel mount type. I found that the plates I have for modular tel-comm jacks fit them perfectly. These are Leviton Decora plates- available at HD, Lowes, etc. I mounted the CB's under the front of the layout where I can reach them easily.
After this was done I ran a few trains to check things out. A car derailed and the breaker tripped within about two seconds.
I also read through the Cab 1 instructions and reset the momentum on my BEEP. It was responding very slowly to the throttle wheel. I changed it to the lowest setting and it works much better now.
Having a ball working on the layout this weekend.
Bob
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Rixster…you’re close. I use poplar 1/2 & 3/8. Not the best economical choice but rather by availability. They come in 3’ sections at Lowes. As mentioned earlier, someone mentioned gorilla glue. He’s right. I ain’t moving when it dries. Use that.
That's a lot of excellent projects everyone. I haven't done much now that the Chief decorator has me putting up Christmas decorations. I did run a couple trains last evening for a bit. That's all.
A few days ago I decided to make some reinforcements for one of my tunnel ports, fitted it in place, now I'll remove it, stain it dark walnut and finish the landscaping around it.
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Well after taking the entire summer and fall off from the train layout, my K Line Hudson arrived from Harmonyards....
My son came over for Thanksgiving and brought his 4K video cameras and shot a bunch of video that he then was so kind to edit and splice together.
The work Pat did on the Hudson exceeded all my expectations by miles and miles !!!
Here's a link to the 4K video of this fantastic engine running on the layout:
Chris,
Welcome back! Great video of the Hudson and your layout. I enjoyed it. It looked like you were "hiding" from the camera, lol.
Dave
Very observant Dave !!! Thanks for the kind words.
Yeah the "hiding" was kind of a reflex reaction, walked right into it, then figured Uh Oh !
I told my son, he was going to have to come back over the winter and we'll figure out how to increase the depth of field focus, probably add some more lighting to accomplish that.
Welcome back Chris. Been following the progress on your Hudson on Pat's thread. Enjoy!
Chris, the Hudson looks great on your layout! Pat did a great job!!! Glad to see you post again!
Excellent work guys.
Bob, nice work on the station, great scene. Chris, I enjoyed the video, the layout looks great.
Andy
Looks good John.
Andy
@Lionelski posted:Nothing!
Went downstairs to the train room yesterday to run some trains and found a dead short on the mainline.
Five + hours later still can't find it! Going back down soon, gonna check wiring next. Odd, because I've had no problems here EVER, over 20 years for most of it.
Man!! What a freak issue I spent at least 15 hours over the last 3 days trying to fix.
First I removed the trains from the mainline one at a time in case one of them was causing the dead short - nope
Then I examined the track for debris or track issues that might be causing the problem, I found one insulator that looked suspicious and replaced that track section. Of course, one needs to up root sections on both sides of it to do so. This section was on top of a 4 foot styrofoam viaduct I built. Its track ties were glued to the styrofoam - removing these sections caused damage to the top of the viaduct. Tracks replaced - not the problem.
I disconnected all the mainline wires to the transformer. Then went around the layout with a small transformer and a test light testing isolated sections between blocks and on passing sidings. No issues found this way.
I started to reconnect wires to the transformer, one at a time, leaving only those that were not producing a huge spark connected.
I then planned to re-wire connections to the sections of track that were dead without the sparking wires connected.
I started with the shortest, closest wires. These were going from the upper lever of the mainline to the transformer.
BINGO - these wires were melted together. Here is what happened. 15 or more years ago I disguised these wires by attaching vines to them with hot glue. These vines were on a thin wire base. Apparently the hot glue melted the wire coverings and, after all this time, they wore through. Four wires and the vines were melted together!
I replaced these wires and the mainline is back up and running.
Now all I have to do is clean up, repair the viaduct and repair scenery damage around the layout from this whole process.
Thanks again for your thoughts guys.
I'm gonna go braindead watching TV now.
@Lionelski posted:Man!! What a freak issue I spent at least 15 hours over the last 3 days trying to fix.
First I removed the trains from the mainline one at a time in case one of them was causing the dead short - nope
Then I examined the track for debris or track issues that might be causing the problem, I found one insulator that looked suspicious and replaced that track section. Of course, one needs to up root sections on both sides of it to do so. This section was on top of a 4 foot styrofoam viaduct I built. Its track ties were glued to the styrofoam - removing these sections caused damage to the top of the viaduct. Tracks replaced - not the problem.
I disconnected all the mainline wires to the transformer. Then went around the layout with a small transformer and a test light testing isolated sections between blocks and on passing sidings. No issues found this way.
I started to reconnect wires to the transformer, one at a time, leaving only those that were not producing a huge spark connected.
I then planned to re-wire connections to the sections of track that were dead without the sparking wires connected.
I started with the shortest, closest wires. These were going from the upper lever of the mainline to the transformer.
BINGO - these wires were melted together. Here is what happened. 15 or more years ago I disguised these wires by attaching vines to them with hot glue. These vines were on a thin wire base. Apparently the hot glue melted the wire coverings and, after all this time, they wore through. Four wires and the vines were melted together!
I replaced these wires and the mainline is back up and running.
Now all I have to do is clean up, repair the viaduct and repair scenery damage around the layout from this whole process.
Thanks again for your thoughts guys.
I'm gonna go braindead watching TV now.
I was gonna suggest that solution next ...... 
My first attempt making a bridge from foam. The inside of the arch is brick.
Andy
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Wow…..how did you get such a perfect curved cut on the foam? Looks great.
Rick
Thanks Rick, I made the shape of the arch on card stock, transferred it to the foam, then cut it out with a bandsaw.
Andy
