What did you do on your layout today?

https://ogrforum.com/...9#170218859954224549  

let that knee heal before you mess it up again!

@DrSteveDC posted:

Finally wired the lights in Sandy Acres

Terrific looking photo of this scene Steve.   Nice.

@DrSteveDC posted:

https://ogrforum.com/...9#170218859954224549  

let that knee heal before you mess it up again!

I plan on it Steve,  after yesterday it's taken me almost all day getting back to where I was before the other day.

@DrSteveDC posted:

Portal looks GREAT!  I may steal your design, lol

Thanks!!

I used 1/4" x 3/16" x 36" balsa wood from hobby lobby. I used a cardboard template, miter box, and machinists squares.  I crafted it and glued it together.

I stained it with Hunterline rail-tie brown then Creosote black. Let it dry for 48 hours after staining.  You may have to glue some of it back together because the stain breaks down some of the bonds.

I finished it with weathering it with a micromart distresser weathering brush. Pan pastels and weather Chalk is helpful.

Great looking portal

@Cogen1981 posted:

Thanks!!

I used 1/4" x 3/16" x 36" balsa wood from hobby lobby. I used a cardboard template, miter box, and machinists squares.  I crafted it and glued it together.

I stained it with Hunterline rail-tie brown then Creosote black. Let it dry for 48 hours after staining.  You may have to glue some of it back together because the stain breaks down some of the bonds.

I finished it with weathering it with a micromart distresser weathering brush. Pan pastels and weather Chalk is helpful.

I knew this portal looked familiar...I used a paper print that I added balsa to for depth.

I've been busy (and, it feels good to be building again).......this is the TW TrainWorx 3 stall Engine House.....

This is where I left off last week....I had assembled the foundation, painted and weathered it.....and, I had done subassembly of the internal support structure:

Metallic paint; spray on rust; and. then yellow to highlight the lower edges of the posts:

Very light gray paint (Behr Granite Dust) to the internal walls:

A light weathering with oily black:

Session planned for Weds with my modular group colleagues.....Transfer Table to go in.... once the tracks are set, then the rest of the building goes up.

Have a great day, everyone!

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

Amazing stuff; can’t wait to see progress.

Got some work done this weekend on the new elevated line I'm building for my layout. I was able to get the trestles painted and assembled and even mocked up the track plan and did a small test run. I need to cut and add a little piece of gargraves track to make the loop slightly bigger to create clearance for the lower inner line but it is coming together.

Long way to go still, I need to cut wood for under the track, paint it, add cork roadbed and then screw the track down, but happy with the way it looks.

I added a video link below where I explain my full plan for the new loop.

https://youtu.be/rnMgVyb2BE0

A little more progress on my bash...

@mike g.-hey glad you are back and recovering.  Layout progress looks great.

Best wishes

Don

Played yesterday and today with placement of structures, peeps, lamps, and other accessories on The VintageHubby’s new WIDE GAUGE/STANDARD GAUGE Basement Layout.  

Good evening everyone! The wild hair I had over the weekend stayed and showed itself again this evening.
Close to the new display shelves both the main line and yard loop curve and turn straight to the front of the layout. This makes this corner a unused focal point.
In comes the project!

Over the past few months I had planned on adding a hill in this corner and have a tunnel go through it. To add a bit more depth to the detail, and “lore” to the layout I diced to place a church on top. I plan on making the church look abandoned but triumphant in still being able to stand. With my mind set on what I wanted to do I set to work after school.

I started by taking my original Lionel Hillside tunnels, been saving these for years, and placed them so that my largest O36 model could pass through. Next, I created a boarder around both portals. Since they are original I did not want to damage them by permanently attaching plaster cloth to it. From there I built the structure of the hill with the tried and true cardboard strip method.
I did not want to make the hill too big but big enough to look like it was meant to be there.
As of right now, I left the project for the evening with about 50% textured with paper “bun” and the structure complete.

Thanks for reading and hopefully more updates will come soon.

Hi guys and gals great work everyone!  I love how everyone is having fun with there layouts! It really brings a smile to my face to see so many Big kids here! LOL

As for me all I did yesterday was clean and remove the old upper level section on the right side of the room and got things ready for track layout for the main level. I know I am going to have to add for the wide loop, but that will be an open gride build so I can get to the track underneath the future upper level.   

Before on the right side of the room.                           

And after! LOL                                                                   

I hope you all have a great day and find time to have fun with your layout and trains!

Here's my layout update as of 1/18/23.   Just track and trains so far.  Buildings and scenery to come.

Hope you enjoy!   

Click here:    https://youtu.be/2bTVtaw8j4U

@Drummer3 posted:

Here's my layout update as of 1/18/23.   Just track and trains so far.  Buildings and scenery to come.

Hope you enjoy!   

Click here:    https://youtu.be/2bTVtaw8j4U

Great start!

Peter

I didn’t dilute the glue very well on the ground cover in the shop area, so now I’ve had to rip out the turntable, scrape everything away, and start again.  Ugh.  All the cinders in the steam service area have to go, too.  Blah!

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the likes on my previous post. Yesterday I did not get to work on the hill so no new updates on it. Instead, I recorded a sound video from one of my train vinyl albums. It has a great sound and is really enjoyable in the background. I hope you all are able to enjoy it as much as I have while working on y'all's layouts.

Morning everyone I hope your having a great day!

@Drummer3 Dave that is a great start! Keep us posted on updates!

@RIRocket Sorry you have to chip everything up, but if you dont want to buy new cinders, just soak them in water with dish soap and just keep washing them and rinse them alot. Once done washing them spread them out on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven to dry. Just keep an eye on them while drying. I do the same thing with my used ballast but dry them on a cookie sheet on my BBQ grill!

@Trainmaster04 Great sounds, I would love to have it, but I have a hard enough time figuring out which of my engine sounds are already on! LOL

As for me nothing today, but I hope to get out to the train room and start laying out the main level loop on the right side of the layout to see what lumber I am going to have to cut! Wish me luck! LOL

Great work by everyone, I've learned so much by following this thread let alone all the other OGR forums.

Some more progress on my building as of late yesterday.

Platform on right is for 2nd floor entrance.  Still working on stairs...good thing I'm terrible at putting together my own as I was trying for the old and falling apart look.

Added railroad crossing pavement markers

I glued the roof to the park pavilion. Next step is to start adding trim around the outside walls. I also assembled four more picnic tables.

Andy

                                              Part of this years plan...

Great progress everyone!

Slow progress for me between Christmas and the end of the month due to the busy season at work.  I did manage to get down some more base ground cover and cut out and fit my roads.  Next step is paving them and painting.   I also painted sewer grates and manhole covers from Keil Line.

-Greg

In the designing, visualizing, and thinking stages: on The VintageHubby’s new WIDE GAUGE/STANDARD GAUGE on-the-floor Basement Layout (say that five times fast!)😜, he decided to add two platforms at the back part of layout for adding detailed scenes. One section will have some snow, the other will have some water area. The front edge of each will “blend” down to match the existing stained plywood tracklines areas.

The upper level of my layout was built as 4-feet long sections with perimeter trim pieces applied to prevent warping. The entire upper level rested on MTH trestle supports. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. The U-shaped upper level contains three bump-and-go trolley lines in a Christmassy setting with DEPT 56 lighted porcelain buildings.  All my traditional-size trains in my modest collection (including the THOMAS series trains for the great grandkids) passed under that upper level with adequate clearance. Mission accomplished!

That was then, but now ...

Minor surgery of the trim along sections of the upper level became necessary to provide adequate clearance for a recently acquired Lionel "General" traditional-size steam loco. Its smokestack struck the downward edge of trim of the upper level in many places along that route. Raising the entire upper level along its 38-feet-long route would be a major task because 32 MTH trestle supports would have be removed, raised nearly 3/8-inch with risers to provide clearance, and then re-installed.

Unfortunately, a small router tool (although handy and efficient) wouldn't fit in the very limited space under the upper level where trim material had to be removed. A mechanically-inclined hobby friend proposed making "notch cuts" in the trim only at the sites of obstructions. Using a coping saw and a chisel, he removed small portions of trim at specific sites so that the loco could pass. Although making 10 cuts was difficult because of limited space and awkward access, it worked. Photos are attached for reference.

20/20 hindsight ...
I should have applied the trim pieces to the 4-feet sections of the upper level with the "excess width" of the trim facing upwards, not downwards;  i.e., an obstruction waiting to happen.  Live and learn.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394

GNRW operating session pictures/videos:

https://ogrforum.com/...1#170218860057107891

I continued cleaning up the garage yesterday following the house renovations. My goal is to get the 2nd car back in before we get any snow. That being said, it's near 50 with rain later today on LI with no sign of any snow soon.

I was reorganizing my lumber rack and came across some old shelving that I wanted to use for train storage. I have limited space but the window sill above the back of the layout has room for a second level. I figured I'd build a quick shelf while I still had my bench set up in the garage. Then I found a wire shelf that my son isn't using anymore and presto.....more train storage.

Regrettably (or not), I still have more engines than room to store them........

Bob

@Mayor Magoo- the kit bash looks good. I like the boarded up windows.
@SIRT- I'd love to do a small fuel supplier one day. Someplace for hoppers and tank cars to be delivered too.
@Steamfan77- I'm stopping at Janowski's on my way to Oyster Bay!
@randr- nice road work. Did you get infrastructure money for that?????
@Mike H Mottler your solution works. Much better than taking the entire upper level apart.
@Carey TeaRose- Reminds me of what my basement floor used to look like when I was a kid.
@Greg Houser- Nice scenic work. I hate when life gets in the way of our trains.

Have a great day!

Bob

When you glue foam down and realize you have too many trains and planes.  Too many trains because you have no room off the layout to set them temporarily while working, and too many planes when you only need half of your inventory to give good weight until the glue dries.

@jstraw124 posted:

When you glue foam down and realize you have too many trains and planes.  Too many trains because you have no room off the layout to set them temporarily while working, and too many planes when you only need half of your inventory to give good weight until the glue dries.

so the carpentry skills run deep grasshopper........

Bob

@jstraw124 posted:

When you glue foam down and realize you have too many trains and planes.  Too many trains because you have no room off the layout to set them temporarily while working, and too many planes when you only need half of your inventory to give good weight until the glue dries.

Trains, Planes and, what, no Automobiles? LOL

I have a bunch of planes too, never thought of using them for weights (good idea!) i usually use paint cans

@jstraw124 posted:

When you glue foam down and realize you have too many trains and planes.  Too many trains because you have no room off the layout to set them temporarily while working, and too many planes when you only need half of your inventory to give good weight until the glue dries.

Very nice set of old planes.

I have a complete woodworking shop.

I assume you know to place planes on their sides if placed on hard surfaces to prevent damage to the 'blades'.

@Lionelski posted:

Trains, Planes and, what, no Automobiles? LOL

Here you go John. Just picked up our daughter at LaGuardia.

Bob

They’re all user planes.  Sharp and ready to go.  Whether stored on their sides or blade retracted, they sit on rust preventative soft mats.

No layout time this week, work needed me for 6 days, but last w/e I managed to superelevate & screw down the lower level loop track & then fashion a guardrail of 1/8” luan. So far, so good.  Trying to not get ahead of myself in this process.

Rich in SD

Bob, nifty shelf idea. Nice picture too.

Rich, looks good.

Andy

I thought I would post the start of my rotating mountain top. Lionel had done this back in the 50's I believe in a promotional video. Lionel used a Steam Turbine engine running in place as the mountain top rotated. I thought it would a good conversation item about the mechanics of how it is done.

idea-thinker

Spent some time playing around with new positions for the stone wall I have... I think I've decided to make it a combined church\park wall, instead of a wall on the farm at the edge of the town. It seems more appropriate here, but I''d love others thoughts.

Some minor rearranging on the farm at the edge of town. I think this makes it seem more wide open. The airstream trailer was always there, but a bit hidden by the wall. I rearranged it so it seems more like part of the farm scene. I am not certain if the door ought to be facing the road or the field, but I do want to show off the details as much as possible.

Here's an overview of the scenery changes.

I put two openings in the wall for churchyard and park entrances, which I think looks nice. I think the little lanterns where intended to flank a entrance, but somehow they seem to finish the ends of the wall just as well. Originally, they had snow on the tops, which I long ago removed and painted over. If you have one of these walls, from K Line IIRC, you'll know they have a rattling sound when you pick them up. Well back when I modified them, I cut the bottom out of one of them to find out what the rattling was. It's a rock! The Chinese factory literally made stone walls with stones in them...

My next journey into the unknown is LEDs. The only time I have used LEDs was with the TW TrainWorx Rock Island Freight House kit. It was provided in the kit and went under the flat roof like this:

The reason why I chose this engine house, is because you can see inside.....so, I want to light it up. My modular group colleague, Ken (Kanawha on the OGR Forum), suggested I look at Evans Designs....which I will do.....

Here are the challenges that I'm looking at:

1. Never really done this before.....never even planned it

2. My theoretical electrical knowledge is very rudimentary. My wiring ability is limited to simple set ups. However, I have been successful at DCS and TMCC accessory and switch control on a 14x24 and 6x16 layouts (but, it does not look pretty)

3. I want to use my 14 volt from my transformer to keep it simple.

4. My ignorance on the topic makes me worry about what am I not considering; and/or what am I missing?

In these pictures you will see the small holes at the top of the structural supports. This is where the lights will go and I will have to snake the wires down an inside wall to the power source....the building has 5 of these supports.....

So, over the next week or so, I figure to be doing a lot of reading and researching.

You modelers who have done this, what have you done?

Peter