What did you do on your layout today?

@DrSteveDC posted:

@mike g.  - Thanks for that!  I will order them.  I want to upgrade the 197 radar antenna as well.

If you look I am sure you can find what your looking for! They also carry them on the bay maybe for less.

So Mike did the engine die there or did you turn it off? I did not think your layout was in any condition for a run. Great Progress!

BTW I noticed the IPA.  I like it for track cleaning but have switched to mineral spirits. I don't have to clean track like I used to. Lots of posts on polar v non-polar solvents. I was concerned about its flammability but realized IPA is also flammable. Also picked up a jar of contact cleaner to use sparingly on the center rail to see if that makes a difference. I'll have the lower level freight yard which I would rather not have to clean - EVER!   

@SIRT posted:

Ran out of tufts...

There is a place not far from here that looks exactly like this.   Nice.

@mike g. posted:

Hi guys I am back Like I said I would. LOL . the UP4-8-4, Here it is in action.

It sure can tell where things need smoothed out!  LOL

Nice engine movement around the layout Mike. 

Like the dedication on your build.  Looks like you'll have plenty of fun filling in now.

Thank guys, Jeff I stopped the engine there as I didn't think anyone would want to see it run around twice. Maybe after I get better  organized

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Nice engine movement around the layout Mike. 

Like the dedication on your build.  Looks like you'll have plenty of fun filling in now.

Hi Dallas, thanks but I have a ways to go. I still have to finish the inside main loop, and then get th upper loop built. You would think that's enough, but when done with that I have to still build the lower level staging yard.

The On30 tender water tank is getting there. Now all I need to do is let the paint dry, throw a road number on the side and back, and the weather the heck out of it.

The drain is from a G scale casting set of cab valves, looks about right for a large hose, to me.

@ScoutingDad posted:

BTW I noticed the IPA.  I like it for track cleaning but have switched to mineral spirits. I don't have to clean track like I used to. Lots of posts on polar v non-polar solvents. I was concerned about its flammability but realized IPA is also flammable. Also picked up a jar of contact cleaner to use sparingly on the center rail to see if that makes a difference. I'll have the lower level freight yard which I would rather not have to clean - EVER!   

Hello All,

I did an unscientific experiment using mineral spirits and No-OxID. I ran two old engines with pulmor motors that had ERR upgrades at slow speed. Visually there were lots of sparks emitted from the center roller. So much so that I went and ordered replacement rollers. They were mechanically worn so I thought that replacing them was warranted. I then received the NO-OX-ID A-Special- Electrical Contact Grease- Part# 10203 from amazon. Reading probably the same posts about polar vs non-polar I cleaned all the rails with mineral spirits and the center rail got an extremely light coating of the no-ox-id product. I also treated the rollers on the engines with no-ox-id. It was a tiny coating, like using heat sink paste, just wanting to fill in the depressions. Ran those same engines and did not visually see a spark!!! Ran them back and forth and wow what a difference. I am sold for the initial trial, now to see the long term effects. btw i did not clean the wheels which I will do now, too bad the no-ox-id is a grease and from what I have read should not be used on outside rails if you have engines with traction tires.

Just finished building my new bridge piers for my arched bridges. Plus I built another arched bridge to go along with my original two bridges. After I built and installed the first two bridges it seemed like a third bridge would look even better.

Thanks;

idea-thinker

Idea-thinker, your bridge looks great!  All your bridges look great!

Steve(SIRT), nice work on the siding, looks like many around here.

Mike, nice run around the layout. Really coming along.

Lee, the tender water tank looks great.

Idea-thinker, the bridge piers are terrific!

Andy

Big announcement, the Theodore Roosevelt park will be expanded. I decided to square up this area in the park. I added the plywood and Homasote. I will add the foam board last, and then ground cover. It will allow me to show a volleyball court and horseshoes or bocce ball court.
Andy

Afternoon you folks on the east coast, I hope your all doing well!

@p51 Lee that sure is going to be a sharp looking tank on your layout! You're doing a great job!

@idea-thinker Your piers are just as nice as your bridges! I wish I had that kind of skill!

@Steamfan77 Andy wonderful news that is going to make the park so much more inviting! I can't wait to see what you come up with. But I do have one question without having to look it up. What is Bacce Ball?

Well folks as for me I have just been out cleaning the train room, it is amazing how many tools you can bring in when trying to build and don't take them back to their normal places at the end of the day! LOL

I am going to go back out and test more sections of track with the 4-8-4 as it seems to point out all the spots that need attention! I know I have some behind where all the buildings are stacked now, but I don't want to move them till I know all the track is good to go before I put anything in front of them.

I hope you all have a great Saturday and are having fun with your layouts and trains!

Thanks Mike, here is the definition of Bocce ball: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocce

I think I’m leaning more towards horseshoes at this point.

I know how it is with tools, they kind of creep up on you. It’s great that you can use the 4-8-4 to help spot the trouble areas.

Andy

Now the foam board is in place taped and painted. Next step is to decide where the volleyball area will be. I’ve almost doubled the park space.

Andy

Started the wooden decks on my 2 Lionel bulkhead flat cars. I  removed the original plastic log inserts and added a pipe load to each. For a change, I’m making removable wooden decking so I can remove and put the pipe back at will. I purchased 6 1/50 scale John Deere tractors that will get chocked and chained to the deck.

Gene

Don Jones had some shelves for sale which we wanted and he, his wife Julia, and Oscar, stopped by with them today. Rich was here and we all had lunch together. Don shared a piece of carrot cake that was big enough for four servings.

He also brought a few other items including 65# of ballast, 35 Arttista figures, assorted construction equipment and a fire engine, 2 Pennsylvania bridge piers, and a lumberjack scene that Paula had to have. Our train room is a bit more crowded and we are further along in reducing the “essential most necessary” list.

Thanks Don and Julia. We enjoyed seeing you and Oscar.

I just finished the water tank. You might see where the white glue is drying, but it's dry now.

I'd been working on this off and on for a while. I like how it turned out.

P51, Love your attention to detail.  It looks great!

Good evening everyone. Was able to work on one of my hills last night. I covered it in plaster cloth, painted it, and flocked it in about an hour. I let everything dry overnight and placed the church back in its place. I still have to paint the opposite side and flock it in some areas but it is almost finished. Once the flocking is finished I will add trees and moss on the church.
Thanks for reading!

Wiring for all the switches on the lower level complete!!  That was a lot of work today. Tomorrow is running wire for the three blocks on the lower level for power with about two to four drops per block. I hope to have everything up and running by tomorrow night. I hope the power drops are easier than the switches.
@gunrunnerjohn you were right about the space between the upper and main level. I wish I could have about 20 inches but 8 inches looks more realistic and I don’t have the space to make that grade properly.

Good thing for tomorrow I have almost 200’ of black and red wire. I don’t think there is any way I should run out.

Morning guys I just got done checking what you all have been up to since I was last here yesterday.  Some nice work being done!

@Steamfan77 Andy your new park area is moving right along, looks like a good start!

@Genemed Gene nice work on the new wood floor, I really like the idea of being able to change it out! By the way where did you get the mini chopsaw!

@p51 Lee great job on the new/old water tank!

@Trainmaster04 the hill looks good and really looks peaceful with the church in place!

@OhB1 WOW that sure sounds like a lot of work under the layout! I hope you have good knees! Best of luck running your power drops and main power! I have been doing that as I go along, but I still have to go back and wire up switching motors.

Well guys yesterday afternoon I went out and moved some buildings around, I plan on getting out to the train room and check more track and paint the exposed bench work so it all matches and looks cleaner.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

More progress - testing trackage...

@mike g. thanks Mike. The chop saw was a gift from micromark.  It comes in handy for thicker wood stock. I have the Chopper 2 but it doesn’t make a square cut to well with thicker stock.    

Gene

Steve, the layout is really coming together, excellent . Next stop, Jamaica…

Andy

Hi guys I am back as I really didn't do to much today! LOL

Thanks for the information on the Chop Saw Gene!

Steve, you section is looking fabulous! I can only wish my layout might have a least one scene that good! LOL

Well guy I did test the track in my big curve where the town will go and am happy how everything went with the UP 4-8-4!

I then painted the upper ramp, and the area where all the buildings were sitting, tomorrow I hope to move the crane and oil tanks and get that area painted.

Here are a couple photos, also the line up of some of the buildings I had to move.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and had some fun with their layouts and trains!

Looking good Mike, A quick coat of paint adds a nice touch.
Where did you get the water tower in the first pic? All I could find was HO scale.

Gene

Thaks Gene I was lucky enough to get it in a deal when I bought my Greyhound station from a forum member.

LIONEL AMTRAK MODERN WATER TOWER 6-81257 (MTH,K-LINE)

Here is one on the Bay right now!

@mike g. My knees aren’t bad but my back got a good rest laying on the floor. My arms are long enough to lay on the floor. My arms are tired though. I have the lower level wired and the room somewhat cleaned. Hopefully the  rest of the power drop process will go fast now that the wires are all run to where I want the power drops at. I am taking a break for a bit. I might get some more done tonight. We’ll see how I feel.

Here’s a video from my previous layout.

Still working on weathering & installing Kadees...    Decided to add some simple india ink & dry brush acrylic weathering to two buildings - an Atlas O switch tower my son and I built 15 years ago, and then a atlas speed shed I picked up at a local show for short money.  It'll make a good small shed building in the yard. 

Went back and tried to catch up on the last few pages,  really nice work by everyone.   

Chris, nice little shed, give that a little weathering and it will fit right in!

Multi-tasking....Model Railroad Style

Sometimes we don't have one major project to focus on so several small projects can equally occupy our time.

First, I tried several different value resistors for the Menards trucks to dim the headlights. The tail lights were fine but the headlights wouldn't light. I'm not sure why, but I will keep calm and model on. I have Tamyia clear paints on order and will try that.

Next I fixed the broken fascia on the front of my upper track. I tend to lean over this track to reach the back. I either need to stop reaching or loose some weight...... (the CEO keeps pushing for the latter)

The rectangular tray in back used to hold a 5122 switch. When I reconfigured the upper level, I was going to cut that piece off but decided to leave it at that time. I've still been considering removing it but the mess of cutting it away now may not be worth it. I've decided to keep it and will build a small scene on it. I have a Lionel signal tower that may find it's way up there. A small watchman's shed or shanty with some signal boxes might as well. Time will tell.

Part 3- Been wanting to do something with the plastic loads in 2 Menards ore cars. They are REALLY fake looking. I have a brown gravel that will improve the appearance of the loads. I spread a liberal coat of Tacky Glue (thicker than white glue) and sprinkled the gravel over the glue. Once this dries, I will go over it again with another layer of gravel, wet-water, and more glue.

So a couple productive hours on a few small projects this afternoon.

Bob

Bob,  I think I ended up using a small inexpensive DC/DC buck converter to power my Menard's vehicles in my tunnel...  I bought the cars on sale without the power pack, and knew I had plenty of variable supplies left over from various bulk purchases...  I seem to remember it taking way less voltage than advertised.  Of course when I even came close to the recommended voltage they looked like "landing lights", way too bright and way too blue...  I am messing around down there cleaning up, I'll get my meter and camera out and show you I ended up doing... 

@chris a posted:

Bob,  I think I ended up using a small inexpensive DC/DC buck converter to power my Menard's vehicles in my tunnel...  I bought the cars on sale without the power pack, and knew I had plenty of variable supplies left over from various bulk purchases...  I seem to remember it taking way less voltage than advertised.  Of course when I even came close to the recommended voltage they looked like "landing lights", way too bright and way too blue...  I am messing around down there cleaning up, I'll get my meter and camera out and show you I ended up doing...

They are at 4.5v now but 3 would probably be better. I think the Menards wallwarts are 5v. I'm using an old cell phone charger for now. A proper power supply may be the best solution.

@RSJB18 posted:

They are at 4.5v now but 3 would probably be better. I think the Menards wallwarts are 5v. I'm using an old cell phone charger for now. A proper power supply may be the best solution.

Yeah, I used an old 5 volt USB supply to power my first two Menards purchases, and both the billboard (with over 20 LEDs, as I recall) and the '48 Ford van (with 4 LEDs) seemed overly bright at that voltage. After some experimentation, I ended up with four small 10 ohm resistors, all in parallel and wired in series with the Menards pieces (for an effective aggregate resistance of 2.5 ohms), which seemed to bring the brightness down to a more reasonable level. The headlights on my new pieces, even when used wiith the 'official' power supply, seem much too blue, so I think I'm going to try a coat of Tamiya transparent orange paint (X-26), unless someone can suggest a better alternative.

@Steve Tyler posted:

Yeah, I used an old 5 volt USB supply to power my first two Menards purchases, and both the billboard (with over 20 LEDs, as I recall) and the '48 Ford van (with 4 LEDs) seemed overly bright at that voltage. After some experimentation, I ended up with four small 10 ohm resistors, all in parallel and wired in series with the Menards pieces (for an effective aggregate resistance of 2.5 ohms), which seemed to bring the brightness down to a more reasonable level. The headlights on my new pieces, even when used wiith the 'official' power supply, seem much too blue, so I think I'm going to try a coat of Tamiya transparent orange paint (X-26), unless someone can suggest a better alternative.

You mean like this?????

Hey Bob,  Yes 3.0 VDC is exactly what I am feeding the cars.   Here's 2 photos.   My inexpensive buck converter is DC/DC.   I have 9.2 VDC on the supply side.   The black paired wires running up through the table are the factory wire tethers from Menards, I removed the plugs.     

It's always difficult to take digital photos like this, I had the ambient light slightly dimmed, but the camera is always trying to correct for too little light..   Anyway, I am pretty pleased at 3VDC, looks reasonably realistic for a cheap vehicle with LED's that are definitely not the "warm 3K - 3.5K " temperature.

Chris

@RSJB18 posted:

You mean like this?????

So, how did you reduce the brightness?

@Steve Tyler posted:

So, how did you reduce the brightness?

I haven't yet.....Chris' post and Tamyia paint are my next steps.

Bob

Good evening everyone!
I decided to come back to project that I took a break from. About a month ago I decided to convert my  2 rail Hattons LNER A3 to run on 3 rails. When I left the locomotive, I was able to rewire the tender to handle a pickup roller I took off a Lionel postwar tender.
This locomotive was originally equipped to be DCC ready and have a speaker added. I took out the DCC equipment but kept it in usable condition. I wired the locomotive and tender together so that the wheels will be the ground and the new pickup roller be the hot.
Here is a video of the end result:

Now I have something to run for the Flying Scotsman’s 100th anniversary on the 24th. Thanks for reading!