What did you do on your layout today?

I finally finished wiring up all buildings that can be lighted and/or are easily accessible. I do have one large station that needs to be lighted but seeing it is permanently embedded in the scenery and surrounding platform, I'm really in no rush to get that out to wire it. I'll do it eventually but not for a few months. Probably sometime over the summer. 

I also planted some more trees, a few more to put back out. I also worked on my freight station area, I'm hoping to get the station placed, wired, and scenery finished tomorrow. 

Got everything off the floor and vacuumed 

I added Kadee couplers to one of my Legacy 0-8-0.  A forum member made me some a bracket for the front coupler and it was very easy to install.  The hard part was removing the stock coil coupler.  I had to remove the smoke unit, the legacy  boards, and the bottom part of the shell from the chassie just to be able to remove the coupler.  

Started building an REA freight house using parts from Pecos River Brass Summer Street Transfer Station.  And, ordered a bunch of Kadee #805's to try my hand at conversions.

Put down some ballast onto the end sections of the micro-layout. Put in a reinforcement on the side frame of the main section so I can install a carrying handle.

Also went out onto the remnants of the Redlands Loop to get some "official" Redlands Loop dirt for ground cover. Noticed that one of the trestles over a creek was still standing (the tracks were pulled out some time ago.)

This is a shot of the bridge footings for the SP Redlands/Crafton branch that ran parallel to the ATSF Redlands Loop.

After all these years, the creek's still flowing.

After Friday and Saturday in Chicago at the O Scale Show, I decided on, built, and installed a two course water wheel for this mill, installed the chimney acquired in Chicago, and am well along on a two course flume.  I won't build a spillway for this mill until/if it is set in place.  Now building the trestle for the flume so there is light at the end of the tunnel, and this should soon be finished.  This will no longer be "your father's MTH grainery".

Did work on one of the two rehab areas for the layout. Laid out 14 new sidings. Took both Saturday and Sunday to do this.

I added 8 toggle switches to cut power to engines that I don't want powered up all the time. Also rewired some areas with 14 gauge stranded wire, should have done it right the first time. I now have solid 10's on my MTH signal on about 98% of my layout. A few spots dip to to 8's and 9's but that is fine with me.

STill working on my 'Streets country road, section II.  That area of the layout was completely barren of any terrain, scenery, etc, so I am building that up at the same time and it is taking a long time.  I added scrubs and brush today, along with big rocks.  Tomorrow, small rocks, scree, and bigger trees.

I have been taking some time away from actual work on the layout and been adding Kadee's to all my rolling stock.  I have already converted one locomotive, a legacy 0-8-0 and started on a Lionel caboose today.  I need to head to P&D tomorrow and get a few more couplers to finish up the caboose.  By next week I should have 90% of my rolling stock converted and another locomotive.  

I will be back to work on the layout itself next week.  I need to do more plaster cloth and I want to start wiring my buildings.  

I spent the last five days updating five Williams diesels to TMCC command.  It went faster then I thought it would.  Put them on my layout and shelved my steam engines to give them a rest. 

I finished cutting all the pieces for the wall-mounted arms of my benchwork and installed the first one.

Yesterday, after reworking the water wheel to correct an omission, I finished kitbashing the MTH "grainery" into a water mill with annex, double course wheel and flume.  When I get the photos on here, you can tell me if it is an improvement or not.

Today I photographed the mill, and have now begun going through material stock to see what I would need to scratchbuild that creosote plant forumites have been good enough to provide prototype photos of.  I was hoping I'd have enough Korber brick walls left over from other kitbashes to begin with a boiler house, but it does not look like it.  Because of the track work, I think I will have to build this on a plywood

sheet or something, as a module,  to keep it all together as a unit, and then finish it with scenery and groundcover.  That Altoona kitbuilder was showing a really nice cast "brick"smoke stack at the Chicago O scale show, but it is $75,  so I will have to work something up, probably a  "steel" stack from plastic tubing.

Put in the last piece of roadbed on the main level at the lead to the engine service facility.  Next comes filling cracks, sanding and painting.

Cleaned up the room and broke my chop saw. 

I looked at it.

NOTHING

Gave the layout a good vacuuming.  Seem to be a lot of dead house flies this time of year.  They're pretty much scale blackbirds, or crows, or something.  Whatever they are, they're dropping like flies.

Put the last of the blue board in place, ordered two more ross #6 turnouts, cleaned out the garage and under the layout. Tomorrow start carving the blue foam into mountains.

Finished my 8'x8' suspended test track table in the garage and am about to lay down an O-84 circle of fastrack to test my new UP Centipede, using a ZW with Legacy control.  It still feels weird walking underneath it...

David

Just finished up modifying my lionel caboose to have kadee couplers.  I had to remove the lobster claws and take a dremel to them to make enough clearance for the draft boxes on the kadees.  Well worth the effort.  

 I should make a zoo for my stinkbug collection! I get 3 a day.  I could train them to stay in pens or you could have a herd in the meadows!! lol

Chris

Installed a roadway and a parking lot in what had been a bare corner of the layout.  Used what they call "cove molding" which is the mop rail for vinyl floors.  I cut off the curved area and used the flat gray surface for the road.  Looks OK but it would be nice to have some curves and bends in the road.

Next, I've got to make a road crossing over the RR track.  Planning on using stick lumber for that. 

Also, I built and installed a "charging shelf" right near the circuit breaker box in the basement.  Finally, I can put all of my rechargeable tools on charge in one place, which is now, where I can find them without wasting a lot of time.

Paul Fischer

I'm running my post war stuff......675, 2025, 2333,2344,623,622,624 and 6220. I'm getting an Ozone Buzz!   Tom in PGH

I started to replace the ballast today. Went very well and I got as far as I had hoped.

Sizing up the new bridge for installation.

Super bridge; who constructed it?

Looks like the bridge leading to Bend Oregon on the old SP&S ....

Its a custom bridge from Stainless Unlimited.... 100% stainless steel, welded, and powder coated. It will be a lift out 50" long, single track

Fixed my chop saw!

I have done nothing for over a week. I haven't even run any trains. I injured my knee last Friday at work.  It hurts pretty bad. I have a torn lateral meniscus on my left knee. I haven't been able to get down my basement stairs because I am on crutches. And, I live in a spilt level home with four levels. There are SO MANY stairs when you can't do them!! I can't stand for very long due to the pain , even with crutches. I will find out this Tuesday, the 26th, what my options are as far as surgery, etc. I can't work either due to the fact that I drive a truck for a food service company and I need to be on my feet. We wheel up and down our ramps, into customer delivery areas and up and down stairs, ARRGHH!! Hopefully I will be able to make a full and speedy recovery.

Cobrabob.

Not only am I unable to work, Car Show and Cruise-in Season are about here!

Cobrabob.

Nothing yet today, but yesterday ran trains with my grandson.

One by one, I installed trout in my trout stream (really ) - about a dozen scale 10 to 18 inch fish swimming in the deep part of the stream that I had to insert and positio one by one as I poured the "water."  When the Woodland Scenics water hardens (it's foggy when first poured) I'll post pictures - I think it is going to be very cool to actually see the fish in the stream swimming about a scale foot below the surface!

I went out to the breezeway started to clean up a bit then decided to come back in the house.I know I want to get going but I guess I am having one of those weeks with nothing done on the layout . Then I  planted seeds for the garden which its hear even if its been in the upper 20's all week.

Changed out some wheelsets on my MTH diesels then worked on a problem turnout, and carved a tunnel portal. Since everything is clean again I test run some trains. Have a lot of carving to do, waiting for nice weather. 

Today I side tracked all my PS2 & 3 engines and ran my one remaining conventional, a  Pere Marquette PS1 ABA with matching 7 passenger cars.  It ran beautifully.  Sounds good too.

.....

Dennis

Added a new commuter train for the layout and received a new custom train station.

Decided today that I wanted 2 trains running instead of just 1 so I split the single track up tonight. Should have 2 separate tracks by Saturday night.