I am slowly finding detail to add to the annex including trees from the local hardware store.
John
Morning guys, sorry I didn't check in here yesterday. I just ran out of time between working on the layout, keeping the new inspector busy and eating dinner there just wasn't enough time.
@trestleking Look close, but I am glad you have room for all your cars! I sure hope that isn't a loadbearing 2X4 LOL
@Stevemny Steve WOW $60! I have been just looking for the passenger cars for my steam engine and everything I find is over @$100! What a great neighbor!
@Trainmaster04 Now that is a wonderful looking engine! I am just wondering how long it will be before you have on permanent on your layout! LOL
@RSJB18 Bob wonderful video of your layout at night! Your train is running so smooth that I am thinking it gave you time to have an adult beverage while running your empire! I am jealous! LOL
@Fendermain John, great work on your addition to the layout, and the detail you're doing just brings it to life! Again, great work!
Well guys as for me yesterday was spent dismantling the switch panel to make room for the new location where the bridge will rest. I tell you this next time around I am going to have to try something different as you will see the wire mess I came out with! LOL
First the dismantle:
Next the construction begins on the new location for the free end of the bridge. I think I have it all figured out; I just have to figure where I am going to repurpose some more plywood! I know I have enough here in the train room, just where to rob Peter to pay Paul! LOL
I hope you are all having a great weekend and fun with your layout and trains!
Attachments
Images (2)
Thank you, Mike. I really like your revamp and the lift bridge is most impressive.
John
Mike, the progress is looking good.
Andy
Not so much of what I did on the layout, but rather what I did under the layout.
My layout is 8' x 20' and has been up for c. 12-15 years. Earlier this year I put wheels under my layout. I had been considering buying these wheel sets, which I saw on-line and this past spring, while walking through Menards, I saw exactly what I was looking for, so I purchased enough for the layout.
These worked out well, especially in June when I had to replace my HVAC system and roll the layout away from the wall, where the breaker box is. However, as you can see, there is no bracing for the legs and I was very careful in moving the layout. I finally got around to adding some bracing to the legs.
My first thought was to integrate the transformer table into the layout, so that the transformers and associated wiring would move along with the layout.
This worked out and I liked it. I also added bracing from the front to the back of the layout on each set of legs. I knew I needed to add braces between each of the front to back legs, similar to on the front of the transformer area. As I thought about how much storage I would be losing by adding the braces, I thought why not add a low level shelf along the front of the layout. So this came about.
The end of the layout not showing, has a notch, so that one can walk to the other end of the room and I was previously storing a mini photo studio under this end on a portable table. I realized I had to incorporate this table into the layout also, so this is the result of that.
The layout is now very stable and rolls much better.
I still have some bracing to add in a few places, including under the plywood shelf at the front of the layout and at the rear of the layout. I am very happy with the results so far.
NWL
Hi guys thanks for all the nice words! I got a little time out in the train room today and got the free end of the bridge support built. The bad thing was I found out the outside edge of the layout was sagging 3/4"! I had to jack it up with a bottle jack and add 2 legs! Here are a couple photos.
Now when I get some.more cork I can move forward. First I have to clean up this dang mess! 😆
Nation Wide, that sure is a boat load of wheels, I sure hope it work out the way you want it too!
Attachments
Images (2)
@Dallas Joseph, @pennsyfan, @Fendermain,
Thanks guys. John- the lighting was easy. I had the lights over the layout off and the one behind me on. When the train came out of the corner the light hit them just right. The new wing on the layout is looking great.
@mike g.- more progress.......
Bob
Great updates everyone! Thanks for sharing.
-Greg
@Mark Boyce posted:Mike, The bridge installation looks great! Yours as mine sure went faster the second go round!
Hi Mark, this time it was easy, I had to move the table to line it up with the new plan so I left the bridge in place all attached and just cut to table at the correct angle to line up! LOL So I might be a little lazy!
Mike and Nationwide, rollers, bridges, and level or the lack thereof were topics here Saturday afternoon when Paula’s contractor brothers discussed our layout. One has helped extensively with building it and enjoyed telling tales about the uneven floor, the battle for level, and the use of rollers in helping to solve the problem.
Later the conversation turned to the addition of another bridge and the need to power it and an existing one. They want to see the solution.
Rich was here Saturday AM and he, Paula, and I, hung two pictures, a 611 shaped plaque, and N and W and Virginian round plaques that we had acquired from Don Jones.
Engines and rolling stock in the pictures appear on nearby shelves and visitors can enjoy seeing the things come to life.
Attachments
@Mikeg, Mike, Wow, from tear down to building back, it’s looking good, you seem to have a good plan, your lift bridges are amazing, @RSJB18, Bob, that’s a great night picture of your cool layout, and the Reading train runs so smoothly, SIRT, wow, welcome back and you have a really cool layout, a fun to run model railroad, @Fendermain, wow, very nice layout, very nice scenery, great placement of novel Lionel accessories, beautiful job, @Nation Wide Lines, now that’s very creative, a layout that’s easy to roll around, great idea, today I gave a new diesel a run around the lower level of the layout, and soon it will be programmed to TR 34, and assigned a long freight train. Happy Railroading Everyone 
Attachments
Images (5)
Wow. Larry those Santa Fe units look great. Trains are so much fun . A few more pics of my latest project which is my old homestead scene. 
Attachments
Images (8)
@farmerjohn posted:Wow. Larry those Santa Fe units look great. Trains are so much fun . A few more pics of my latest project which is my old homestead scene.
John:
That is a GREAT scene! Are the buildings scratch-built? The scenery is excellent. With the speed at which you completed this scene, you are making the rest of us look to be slow and lazy. It seems as if it were only last week that you were showing us the bare, wooden substructure of the area of your great layout. Bravo on another of your awe-inspiring works of model railroading art!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.
@mike g. posted:Hi Mark, this time it was easy, I had to move the table to line it up with the new plan so I left the bridge in place all attached and just cut to table at the correct angle to line up! LOL So I might be a little lazy!
Mike, work smarter not harder.
@pennsyfan posted:Mike, work smarter not harder.
I try, sometimes it backfires on me!LOL
@Randy Harrison posted:John:
That is a GREAT scene! Are the buildings scratch-built? The scenery is excellent. With the speed at which you completed this scene, you are making the rest of us look to be slow and lazy. It seems as if it were only last week that you were showing us the bare, wooden substructure of the area of your great layout. Bravo on another of your awe-inspiring works of model railroading art!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.
Boy Randy , ALL OF YOU make ME look slow and lazy . 
Definitly agree with you on John's art Randy.
Hi guys, the wife was so nice to watch the inspector today so I had some undisturbed time in the train room.
First thing in order was to get some cleaning done, then I marked out the inner loop from the double bridge, and last but not least all the bridges are mounted and line up. Here are a couple photos. 
Attachments
Images (3)
@mike g. posted:Hi guys, the wife was so nice to watch the inspector today so I had some undisturbed time in the train room.
First thing in order was to get some cleaning done, then I marked out the inner loop from the double bridge, and last but not least all the bridges are mounted and line up. Here are a couple photos.
Mike, I’ve been following your rebuild and absolutely love what you’ve done. Great job!
@Strap Hanger posted:Mike, I’ve been following your rebuild and absolutely love what you’ve done. Great job!
Thank you, got cork order today so hope to get some more track laid tomorrow.
@farmerjohn, thank you for the kind words on the Sante Fe yellow bonnet diesels. Your new addition is coming along just fine and as all of your other projects its going to be a crowd pleaser as is your whole layout. It’s a Wow. Today I programmed the ABBA into TR34 and it actually worked. Happy Railroading Everyone 
Attachments
Images (3)
Got the ground cover finished up and the tunnel for the Christmas layout and placed back on the layout. Very happy how my first venture into the world of foam scenery turned out, was a lot of fun experimenting with new techniques.
Wired up the police car as well so they could respond to a reindeer on the loose.
Big thanks to the forum for all the inspiration.
Attachments
Images (1)
Videos (1)
Morning guys not much today just fixed a little dip in the ramp coming down from the upper loop that @leapinlarry seen in one of the photos I posted! I just love how they guys her are not afraid to step up and point out something! Sure, makes it easier to fix it now then later!
@DrSteveDC Wow that area sure is coming along! I think the lake and river are going to be a great addition! I plan on trying to put one on my layout rebuild! I will keep watching your progress!
@leapinlarry Larry those sure are some sharp looking Santa Fe engines! They will really bring out the quality of your layout as they run the lines! But I still would have to say side by side the BNSF still win my heart!
@chabs Jon, good job on the ground cover and tunnel! That is absolutely an outstanding job for your first venture! I wish I would have done that good! Maybe next time! LOL
Well guys I don't know if I will get anything else done in the train room today but If I do I will keep you updated!
I hope you all stay safe and warm! Oh and dont forget to try and have fun on your layout and with your trains!
@Nation Wide Lines posted:Not so much of what I did on the layout, but rather what I did under the layout.
My layout is 8' x 20' and has been up for c. 12-15 years. Earlier this year I put wheels under my layout. I had been considering buying these wheel sets, which I saw on-line and this past spring, while walking through Menards, I saw exactly what I was looking for, so I purchased enough for the layout.
These worked out well, especially in June when I had to replace my HVAC system and roll the layout away from the wall, where the breaker box is. However, as you can see, there is no bracing for the legs and I was very careful in moving the layout. I finally got around to adding some bracing to the legs.
My first thought was to integrate the transformer table into the layout, so that the transformers and associated wiring would move along with the layout.
This worked out and I liked it. I also added bracing from the front to the back of the layout on each set of legs. I knew I needed to add braces between each of the front to back legs, similar to on the front of the transformer area. As I thought about how much storage I would be losing by adding the braces, I thought why not add a low level shelf along the front of the layout. So this came about.
The end of the layout not showing, has a notch, so that one can walk to the other end of the room and I was previously storing a mini photo studio under this end on a portable table. I realized I had to incorporate this table into the layout also, so this is the result of that.
The layout is now very stable and rolls much better.
I still have some bracing to add in a few places, including under the plywood shelf at the front of the layout and at the rear of the layout. I am very happy with the results so far.
NWL
Thanks for all of the likes on the original post. Here are photos showing the mostly finished bracing. All that is left is to add supports under the plywood, between the front to back braces.
I found that the combination of the 1' x 4' braces going from front to back and the plywood going from side to side created a very stiff and stable table that moves very easy.
Here is the area where the layout is notched. I may add some plywood to this area at a later date, but it represents only 1 leg and is very stable when combined with the rest of the layout.
Here is a view of the underside, with plywood along the front and rear of the layout.
Here is a view of the top of the layout.
Happy Holidays
NWL
Wow NWL what a project!! Great work!
Best Wishes and Happy Holidays
Don
@Nation Wide Lines posted:Not so much of what I did on the layout, but rather what I did under the layout.
My layout is 8' x 20' and has been up for c. 12-15 years. Earlier this year I put wheels under my layout. I had been considering buying these wheel sets, which I saw on-line and this past spring, while walking through Menards, I saw exactly what I was looking for, so I purchased enough for the layout.
These worked out well, especially in June when I had to replace my HVAC system and roll the layout away from the wall, where the breaker box is. However, as you can see, there is no bracing for the legs and I was very careful in moving the layout. I finally got around to adding some bracing to the legs.
My first thought was to integrate the transformer table into the layout, so that the transformers and associated wiring would move along with the layout.
This worked out and I liked it. I also added bracing from the front to the back of the layout on each set of legs. I knew I needed to add braces between each of the front to back legs, similar to on the front of the transformer area. As I thought about how much storage I would be losing by adding the braces, I thought why not add a low level shelf along the front of the layout. So this came about.
The end of the layout not showing, has a notch, so that one can walk to the other end of the room and I was previously storing a mini photo studio under this end on a portable table. I realized I had to incorporate this table into the layout also, so this is the result of that.
The layout is now very stable and rolls much better.
I still have some bracing to add in a few places, including under the plywood shelf at the front of the layout and at the rear of the layout. I am very happy with the results so far.
NWL
NWL, this looks great! Do you happen to have a link to find those wheel sets that you used? I looked on Menards website but haven't been able to find that product.
@Canes RR posted:NWL, this looks great! Do you happen to have a link to find those wheel sets that you used? I looked on Menards website but haven't been able to find that product.
I tried to find more of them on Menards website and could not find them either. It appears that they were more of a one-time special at Menards.
I had originally found them on Amazon and then happened to see a box of them in Menards.
Search for "steel tri-dolly"
NWL
Found it on Amazon...thank U!
Hello everyone! With Christmas only a few days away I decided I would produce a Christmas video. It is not a very long video but I did add a few audio touches that bring the video together. The video will be released to the public on Saturday at 12:00 pm CST. Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!
Attachments
Images (1)
@mike g. posted:Great projects everyone!
@p51 Lee I really love the B/W photo and the story to go with it!
@trestleking Looking good! I wish I had a room to bust into! LOL
Well guys it has been a busy day today. I was able to get the rest of the upper grade outer loop laid and the main level outer loop laid to where the bridge is going. The hard part is getting the angle cut on the decking that the bridge is attached to. I am getting close and will work on it again tomorrow.
There really is no hurry right now as I have no more cork, but then again, I still have a lot of tracks to still take up and clean. I just want to get this end of the room track laid so I can move everything under the layout on the other end! LOL
Here are a couple photos of today's work. I know it doesn't look like much but the angle for the bridge decking is kicking my rear! LOL
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find time to have fun with your trains and layout!
A monumental task.....well done! It takes courage to tear up and start over. Bravo! This is inspirational to all of us!
Peter
Great work everyone......Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
From my separate layout build thread.......this week, some of the modular group guys came over and helped cutting the track on the lift gate and we took out my Ross Transfer Table and "brainstormed" its installation.....
Have a great weekend, folks! Safe travels to all!
Peter
Attachments
Images (5)
Really enjoy all the postings. The move to the new house has set me back a wee bit. Unfortunately, the train room has to include a workshop and storage. My solution for storage (except my trains of course) is - if it has to be stored it needs to be tossed!
I did manage to build a few L girders and expect to get the legs done today. The open gridwork is totally new to me. Much different that slapping a sheet of plywood on a deck. So, much more thought required and I want to build the rough grids to "see" how it will work. Still planning a lower level passenger terminal, which is complicating matters due to the long run needed to get a reasonable grade. I do not see a reasonable way to get a lift out worked into the plan so the dreaded duck-under is in the works. Now a matter of "how high" off the floor. My grandson approved a stand to use to play with the railroad. BTW - Most of the boxes are "train" stuff.
Attachments
Images (1)
@ScoutingDad posted:Really enjoy all the postings. The move to the new house has set me back a wee bit. Unfortunately, the train room has to include a workshop and storage. My solution for storage (except my trains of course) is - if it has to be stored it needs to be tossed!
I did manage to build a few L girders and expect to get the legs done today. The open gridwork is totally new to me. Much different that slapping a sheet of plywood on a deck. So, much more thought required and I want to build the rough grids to "see" how it will work. Still planning a lower level passenger terminal, which is complicating matters due to the long run needed to get a reasonable grade. I do not see a reasonable way to get a lift out worked into the plan so the dreaded duck-under is in the works. Now a matter of "how high" off the floor. My grandson approved a stand to use to play with the railroad. BTW - Most of the boxes are "train" stuff.
I think your plan is wise - to construct a few rough grids first. I am still trying to wrap my head around how L-girders are an "easier way". Looking forward to what you come up with. I guess it's like most stuff, once you do a few, it's less daunting.
@trestleking thanks for the note. Another mind bender is the statement that this kind of construction is easier to disassemble and move around. That one is a head scratcher. I have a feeling while this is the geographical area we want to be, the house may not be. So I am planning as best I can to be able to disassemble as in modular construction. Maybe two do not mix, but Wescott says yes. I suppose he means the legs can be detached from the L Girders and all that can be moved. Now its a matter of connecting modules based on the L Girders. Good thing this house has a walk out basement.
I can say screwing plywood down from the top and then adding another layer is a mistake - way way too hard to make changes and fix problems. When I took down TPRR1, the problem areas were where I had screwed down the decking and could not find the screw heads due to layers of scenery.
"If it has to be stored (except for trains......." love it Scoutingdad .. I have another project going long this year in the Gee-Rage. Management said if she can't organize the Holiday Boxes while they are still in the attic above the garage, she is putting up a borrowed tree and that's that. Well, being a plan B layout guy, I entlisted the help of 7 and 10 year old grandkids and rope ladder. (Muscle car restoration under the drop down ladder. Awaiting parts) lol.
We strung up the outside lights and fetched enough track for two carpet - under - tree - layouts. Those grand kids made us proud....
Soooo, here is a "What did you do on your layout today", a rebuilt 623 that runs smooooooth. (i diy.... "Even a blind pig will find an acorn now and then")
Thanks for letting me hang out with the "COOL KIDS", I really enjoy catching up on all yall's projects.
Attachments
Videos (1)
@ScoutingDad posted:@trestleking thanks for the note. Another mind bender is the statement that this kind of construction is easier to disassemble and move around. That one is a head scratcher. I have a feeling while this is the geographical area we want to be, the house may not be. So I am planning as best I can to be able to disassemble as in modular construction. Maybe two do not mix, but Wescott says yes. I suppose he means the legs can be detached from the L Girders and all that can be moved. Now its a matter of connecting modules based on the L Girders. Good thing this house has a walk out basement.
I can say screwing plywood down from the top and then adding another layer is a mistake - way way too hard to make changes and fix problems. When I took down TPRR1, the problem areas were where I had screwed down the decking and could not find the screw heads due to layers of scenery.
Jeff- if you are going the open frame route, check out a pocket screw jig from Kreg.
You will thank me later.....😃😃
I did a big wainscott project in my house several years ago and used them for the first time. Never going back to conventional fastener methods for this type of construction.
Bob
Attachments
Images (3)
I have been pulling out my bus line wire and finding some cross hookups that were trouble for my running MTH DCS System. I got a load of bus line wire 12 gauge that I've prepared to trash and re-install a smaller gauge to create a web to a base of 50-1014 terminal blocks, myself my train guys are with their relatives enjoying Christmas away. I'm looking forward to this project myself. that's what I have been doing this weekend.
@RSJB18 Bob, if you machined all those rails and styles you really did not need to use screws to hold them together, there is plenty of glue surface. I made raised panel doors for a custom book case and glue worked fine. On the other hand I've made other items using a basic Kreg tool with great results ... I agree no reason to use anything else on certain joints. Where did you see using them on the open frame? The way Westcott describes it, there is no need for these kind of joints, unless you do away with the blocks. I did use a few on TPRR1.
Bob, Your wainscotting work looks great. Based on what you said, did you lay in the detail trim or did you do the router/shaper work to get the profiles. Did you make panels or did you just lay the rails and styles over the drywall.
BTW - I work reasonably well by hashing out an idea and then letting it stew in the back of my head for a while. I think I have a workable approach for the multilevel layout using the open frame method. I just need to mull things over for a while. Jeff
