Another great offering from Miller Engineering. Next holiday season weary travelers to North Pole station will be greeted by a new marquis.
Mike, glad to hear that you’re on the mend, you’ll be back to the layout in no time.
Bob, good idea about the hot glue.
Brian, the sticky wax sounds good too.
Rick, I like the building from Miller Engineering.
Andy
I made my first of many picnic tables for the park. I’ll weather them a bit before I place them on the layout. I also started gluing the beams in place for the park structure.
Andy
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Nice, Andy.
Are these the same diecut ones I used at the Warrenakka campground or are yours scratch built?
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I've had these oil tanks a while and found that the handrails on the tanks themselves were/are very brittle. Light handling and they simply broke off. The crossover piece is metal, so no issues there. Yesterday and today was spent replacing those handrails and moving the ladder from one side to the other on one tank so that both the lights and valves are on the same side. Been wanting to do that for a while. Terry
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Added new RMT Texaco Tank car to my Texaco Refinery 
Attached is a short video which shows my new bridge in place along with my new S curve girder. I am making slow progress but at least it is progress.
Here is the link to the video.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_ySxJ6zZpv8
Thanks;
idea-thinker
Mike glad to see you doing well after surgery.
Put away the Christmas trains and checked out two problem engines that we had noticed. Today the gremlins had departed from both. Okay!
Made a note to check them again in September.
Backed the Polar Express passenger cars into the passenger yard and was pleasantly surprised to see them go in without a problem. One turnout has been a derailment source and we had not adjusted it yet. Maybe it won’t take long.
Cleaned up after installing turnouts and rearranged our Evan Designs/Lighting boxes. They had gotten to be a mess after almost constant use last year. Still need to determine what we need to replenish.
Tested the second 4-way turnout that we had completed. No problems.
Rich came over PM and we got back to work on the right side tunnel/retaining wall project that we started in early December. We have 11 tunnel entrances, six tunnels, and @ 40+ feet of retaining wall/rock walls to install.
Paula came in and we all discussed second level bridges and a left side deck bridge that we need to order from East Coast Enterprises and want to pick up at April York.
Our goal is to have the tunnels/retaining walls completed by June 1 so that we can install the bridges and restart left side level 2/3 track laying. It would be nice to have most track laid by Christmas while Paula works on scenery on the right side and middle rear station areas.
Good evening everyone! All of y’all’s projects are turning out great. I was able to run a few trains on the layout yesterday and make some videos on them. I also got to go to my friend’s layout and set up a 12 engine power move. The consist contained all ES44s (9 powered and 3 non powered). Looked good going down the 30+ foot straight aways. Thanks for reading!
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In preparation for the new year, a young helper and I:
* Adjusted the " flight path" of a blimp suspended from a model of the Eiffiel Tower
* Replaced a faulty O42 LH Remote Control switch
* Fixed another O42 LH Remote Control switch - found a wiring error
* Installed a sound-effects circuit under my Lionel Bandstand; it now plays an excerpt from Copeland's
Fanfare for the Common Man
* Replaced the K-Line Stella's Diner with a new Menard's Rocket Diner
* Test ran a Lionel "General" steam loco and discovered a clearance problem; its smokestack and ornamental
whistle struck the underside bracing of the upper level and derailed. The "fix" for this is to raise the entire upper
level by 1/4 inch - an arduous task I'll likely never attempt. Instead, I'll place the Lionel loco, its tender, and three old timey
passenger cars on a display shelf
* Re-glued some people figures in place
* Stashed away the under-tree Christmas train and accompanying FasTrack until Christmas 2023
* Cleaned the track with a track-cleaning car.
Now I'm ready to run trains ...
Mike Mottler LCCA 12394
@mike g. posted:Hi guys thanks for all the well wishes! Surgery went well and been sitting on by rear all day, pain meds are working well, and the knee doesn't really hurt right now!LOL
Excellent Mike. Just lay back for awhile. Lots of winter left for your projects.
God speed.
@Lionelski posted:Nice, Andy.
Ate these the same diecut ones I used at the Warrenakka campground or are yours scratch built?
They look slightly different than yours John. I got mine from Banta Modelworks. I actually like your tables better than mine.
Terry, nice changes, looks good. I’ll bet your glad you got it done.
Steve, the trestles look good, nice job.
Idea-thinker, I like the bridge, looks good.
Bill, glad you got some tasks done, you have some lofty goals for this year, hope you get them done.
Trainmaster, great videos, nice perspective.
Mike, lots accomplished, run some trains.
Andy
Hello everyone! Today I got a wild hair and decided to put up a couple of shelves to display my UP 119 and 700e. The shelves I used were a pair of floating shelves my mother did not get to use and allowed me to use.
I started by taking some masking tape and marked it to show where the mounting holes are located. Next, I used the marked tape to get an idea where the shelves will be. Once I got the tape where I liked it I mounted the shelves.
My 700e came with an original display case that was never used. The track and name plate were not mounted. I was able to fix both fairly quickly.
Now, both locomotives are nicely displayed and protected from the dust. West Texas dust gets every where!
Thanks for reading!
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Just got my S curve girder installed and my girder to truss bridge installed.
Thanks;
idea-thinker
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I thought I would post a video of our layout running some trains finally. We have 15 trains running and two tracks of Super Streets running. This is the start of our project, we plan to eventually have somewhere between 50 and 75 trains running at one time. The quality of the video is not great since I do not often do videos, so just overlook that part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX0ZcFlcqJY
Thanks;
idea-thinker
@idea-thinker posted:I thought I would post a video of our layout running some trains finally. We have 15 trains running and two tracks of Super Streets running. This is the start of our project, we plan to eventually have somewhere between 50 and 75 trains running at one time. The quality of the video is not great since I do not often do videos, so just overlook that part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX0ZcFlcqJY
Thanks;
idea-thinker
YouTube says that the video is private.
Mallard;
I fixed the video problem on YouTube. My mistake.
Sorry.
Thanks;
idea-thinker
@idea-thinker looks great. What is the height of your lowest level benchwork?
Rick
@Rixster posted:@idea-thinker looks great. What is the height of your lowest level benchwork?
Rick
Rick;
The lowest bench height is 24 inches.
Thanks;
idea-thinker
@idea-thinker posted:I thought I would post a video of our layout running some trains finally. We have 15 trains running and two tracks of Super Streets running. This is the start of our project, we plan to eventually have somewhere between 50 and 75 trains running at one time. The quality of the video is not great since I do not often do videos, so just overlook that part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX0ZcFlcqJY
Thanks;
idea-thinker
Wow! Words escape me. This is amazing! Thank you for sharing this! 👍😎
@idea-thinker, Wow, that’s fantastic, a really great video, lots of action, beautiful bridges… Thank you very much for letting us see some of your amazing work. Happy Railroading Everyone
@idea-thinker posted:I thought I would post a video of our layout running some trains finally. We have 15 trains running and two tracks of Super Streets running. This is the start of our project, we plan to eventually have somewhere between 50 and 75 trains running at one time. The quality of the video is not great since I do not often do videos, so just overlook that part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX0ZcFlcqJY
Thanks;
idea-thinker
I'm speechless.....
An absolutely amazing build.
Nothing but fun, fun, fun!
Bob
Finally got to sorting out the wiring and getting the Flyerchief controllers out. Turns out they clutter things up so I made a space for them....
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@idea-thinker posted:I thought I would post a video of our layout running some trains finally. We have 15 trains running and two tracks of Super Streets running. This is the start of our project, we plan to eventually have somewhere between 50 and 75 trains running at one time. The quality of the video is not great since I do not often do videos, so just overlook that part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX0ZcFlcqJY
Thanks;
idea-thinker
Wow! Great set up!
Peter
@idea-thinker posted:I thought I would post a video of our layout running some trains finally. We have 15 trains running and two tracks of Super Streets running. This is the start of our project, we plan to eventually have somewhere between 50 and 75 trains running at one time. The quality of the video is not great since I do not often do videos, so just overlook that part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX0ZcFlcqJY
Thanks;
idea-thinker
Wow, fantastic layout ans great running trains!
Is that in your home or a club?
Are you building it by yourself?
What control system are you using? Were you running all of these by yourself?
The most I can run at one time is 5 trains and a handcar, and that is only if no one distracts me (Especially in one area where the Main Line crosses the Upper level), and if I have no beers in me! Conventional control (pull the levers to make 'em go)
Morning guys, I hope your all doing well. I started writing my comments down for everyone's work that they have posted and got to the point that I have been gone too long to comment on everyone's wonderful work. I want you all to know that the work you all do is so impressive and informative to me, and I would think to many other people here!
I want to comment on just a couple of post.
@Randy Harrison Randy thank you! It was laparoscopic surgery.
@DrSteveDC Steve your trestles look outstanding and the lighting for Sandys really makes the scene come together!
@Bill Webb Bill it sure sounds like you, Paula and Rich are going to be busy for a good while! I hope you reach your goal!
@idea-thinker WOW is all I can think to say! Your bridges and the complexity of your layout is just mind blowing!
I would really like to thank you all for the kind words for my recovery. It has been really tough to be just sitting on my rear and not getting anything done! The Doctor said take 3 days and do nothing but relax and ice so that is what I did.
But yesterday I got out to the train room and was able to get all the track for the long back wall laid and put in some power drops. I then took time to clean things up. Where I noticed that I had some new track that had not been painted so I had to hand paint the side of the rail, and I thought washing used ballast was fun! LOL While I was at it I painted the top of all the nails! More fun! LOL
Here are a couple of pictures for you all!
As you can see, I even got the track to the bridge. So, with everything laid and I needed to test things out, which is where I made my mistake. I got everything needed to attack the power drops to the main power run, got down in my rolling chair and was able to get all my drops connected. Then can the challenge to get out of the chair and off the floor. I swear it must have taken me 20 minutes just to get back on my feet with my knee killing me!
Oh well no need to cry over spilt milk. What better way to test the track then run some trains over them. I used a short, wheeled switcher to try and find any problems. Nothing showed up for now! LOL
Today I think I am just going to paint the table top to make it look a little cleaner.
I hope you all have a great week and find time to have fun with your layout and trains!
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@mike g. posted:Morning guys, I hope your all doing well. I started writing my comments down for everyone's work that they have posted and got to the point that I have been gone too long to comment on everyone's wonderful work. I want you all to know that the work you all do is so impressive and informative to me, and I would think to many other people here!
I want to comment on just a couple of post.
@Randy Harrison Randy thank you! It was laparoscopic surgery.
@DrSteveDC Steve your trestles look outstanding and the lighting for Sandys really makes the scene come together!
@Bill Webb Bill it sure sounds like you, Paula and Rich are going to be busy for a good while! I hope you reach your goal!
@idea-thinker WOW is all I can think to say! Your bridges and the complexity of your layout is just mind blowing!
I would really like to thank you all for the kind words for my recovery. It has been really tough to be just sitting on my rear and not getting anything done! The Doctor said take 3 days and do nothing but relax and ice so that is what I did.
But yesterday I got out to the train room and was able to get all the track for the long back wall laid and put in some power drops. I then took time to clean things up. Where I noticed that I had some new track that had not been painted so I had to hand paint the side of the rail, and I thought washing used ballast was fun! LOL While I was at it I painted the top of all the nails! More fun! LOL
Here are a couple of pictures for you all!
As you can see, I even got the track to the bridge. So, with everything laid and I needed to test things out, which is where I made my mistake. I got everything needed to attack the power drops to the main power run, got down in my rolling chair and was able to get all my drops connected. Then can the challenge to get out of the chair and off the floor. I swear it must have taken me 20 minutes just to get back on my feet with my knee killing me!
Oh well no need to cry over spilt milk. What better way to test the track then run some trains over them. I used a short, wheeled switcher to try and find any problems. Nothing showed up for now! LOL
Today I think I am just going to paint the table top to make it look a little cleaner.
I hope you all have a great week and find time to have fun with your layout and trains!
Your work is looking great Mike. Consider your struggles physical therapy LOL. I hope you start feeling better.
@mike g.- good to see you are back at work. Take it easy on the knee until it heals up. The layout is looking good.
Bob
@Lionelski posted:Wow, fantastic layout ans great running trains!
Is that in your home or a club?
Are you building it by yourself?
What control system are you using? Were you running all of these by yourself?
The most I can run at one time is 5 trains and a handcar, and that is only if no one distracts me (Especially in one area where the Main Line crosses the Upper level), and if I have no beers in me! Conventional control (pull the levers to make 'em go)
John;
This layout is in our home and it is in a room that is 40x50.
We are (my wife and I) building this ourselves including the bridges and girders and scenery (which does not exist yet).
We are using TMCC with some addition circuitry. I have been building a control system that integrates with TMCC using a combination of Arduino's and Raspberry PI's. We have created a messaging system across an Ethernet connection. We can control our own circuits as well as any of the Lionel modules such as TPC-400's, ASC-3000's, etc. We are using a scripting language that allows us to create scenarios for the trains so they behave differently so you will not see the same thing constantly. Most tracks have bypass tracks that allow us to switch out one train for another in either direction.
For the video I made it was only me running the trains. They are currently controlled by a combination of conventional and TMCC and my hybrid TMCC.
Thanks;
idea-thinker
Had pickle packing house, scratch built, like a rough Indiana tomato structure found on web, used real metal corrugation sheet sprayed rust color over construction "cardboard".....The underlay is warping and must reglue, with two part epoxy, and do paint touchup. Rough prototype now looks more like an amateurish model! Started repair.
@mike g. Glad you are back and are doing well! Just listen to your doctor and you will be fine.
Every once in a while the 3r stuff goes on the back burner. My small 2r switcher is being tested, wiring all good, atlas sw switcher runs great, old atlas plymouth switcher not so much. All freight cars now properly weighted. Now im wondering if i can't add another 8 ft section stretching this to an easily taken down 2 ft by 16 ft switcher. Next will be a bit of ground cover to dress up the pink foam.
Finished up with the tunnel modification for the Class A
Well worth the effort!
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@mike g. posted:Thanks Dave and Bob,
I know I just posted 2 hours ago, but I went out and painted and that is it for me today. Back in shorts and ice pack for the rest of the day! couple photos.
After:
Cleaner always looks better!
Looks great Mike!
@Cogen1981 posted:Finished up with the tunnel modification for the Class A
Well worth the effort!
Looks like it's always been there. Nice lemons/ lemonade solution. The steamer looks great too.
Bob
Triainmaster, the shelving looks good, nice job.
Idea-thinker, the layout is tremendous, and the video really shows it off.
Dr Steve the lighting looks great
Timpix, nice solution for the controllers.
Mike, glad to see that you’re back at it, but ice is your friend right now along with PT.
Cogen1981, the portal looks great, nice video.
Andy
Thanks TrainMaster, Bob and Andy! Might get some time tomorrow, you never know.
@Cogen1981 nice work on the portal looks great and the steamer doesn't look to shabby either 😉
@Cogen1981 posted:Finished up with the tunnel modification for the Class A
Well worth the effort!
Portal looks GREAT! I may steal your design, lol
