What did you do on your layout today?

@Steve Tyler posted:

I should clarify that the pre-wired LEDs I've been having some trouble with were *not* from Evan Design. I've bought several specialty LEDs from them (flashing red for my scratch-built celltower and flickering orange for a campfire scene) and so far have not had any problems with any of them. The problematic ones were among a bundle of twenty from a no-name source, and as I said, I still have no idea what the problem was with those that failed. Other than being a tad pricey, I have had no complaints about any of the ED stuff!

Steve, thanks for clarifying that! Sorry if I caused any confusion for anybody.

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Steve, thanks for clarifying that! Sorry if I caused any confusion for anybody.

Oh, no, any confusion was fully on me for both mentioning ED and the failing LEDs in the same post, without distinction or clarification. For the record, all the stuff I've gotten so far from ED has been first rate, and they have good customer service as well, so I thank you for highlighting the potential confusion and offering me an opportunity to clear up any ambiguity!

More stuff...

Great looking work, Steve!!  The building demolition looks great!  Last summer, we watched some of the demolition of the derelict house next door to our older daughter and son-in-law.  Your scene is very comparable!!

@SIRT

I certainly enjoy the artistry you display each week.  Everything you do in the scenery is in such good taste.

Your photography is great as well. It speaks realism. Just as Mark was explaining the demo looks very real.

John

Sirt.. Wow. This is the detail that brings to life a layout .Super I love it. This is the kind of detail I want to accomplish  on my layout. Thanks for posting it .Farmerjohn

@SIRT posted:

More stuff...

You sir, are a master modeler!

I have to keep you away from my below CODE  engine house Steve.

   Have seen a real life demolish and the only thing missing is the sound of the machine and falling derbis.........well maybe I CAN HEAR IT in your photo of the scene.       Nice 3d art sir.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

I have to keep you away from my below CODE  engine house Steve.

   Have seen a real life demolish and the only thing missing is the sound of the machine and falling derbis.........well maybe I CAN HEAR IT in your photo of the scene.       Nice 3d art sir.

Thanks Guys, more to follow.

Morning guys I sure hope your all having a great weekend here, turns out we have rain again today so if I can clear it with the CEO I think I will spend the day in the train room working on my control cart and wiring.

@SIRT  Steve your modeling skills are just amazing, you surely could put together a how to video set that I would think almost all of us would watch! At least I know I would!

Well I will check in later today, I really want to get some work done and also try and find something for Switcher Saturday!

I hope you all find time to have fun with your layouts and trains! Except those folks that are at York! I hope you all go BROKE! LOL

Watched this new video from TSG Multimedia and thought it should be shared. Definitely a great source of inspiration.

Great video. Thanks for posting.

                                          Finished abandoned track...

@SIRT posted:

                                          Finished abandoned track...

Nice work Steve. I have the opposite east of me. The grade crossings are gone but the track in between is still in place. This is off the old Central Extension in East Garden City. I'll have to take some pix one day.

# 465 looks right at home.

Bob

Too costly to replace the road. Red tape issue too. Figured I would fit a scene in that small space. Got the idea from Lance M. H.O. layout in Miami. https://youtu.be/70bFp-5gg-4

Just got home from York. Wow what a show. Been in the train room unboxing some things. Met some of you guys on the forum. Rod Miller for one. Test running some of my purchases.  So far so good. Man it's a great group of people that's involved in the hobby. So much fun. Here's  a few pics of my layout only for fun. Farmerjohn.

Good evening everyone! I hope you all have had a great weekend.
Work at the mine continued today with me scratching building a miner’s shack. I had originally planned on purchasing a laser kit from Banta model works but figured I can do it myself for a cheaper price. Taking inspiration from their kit I began the project.
I started with building the floor. I cut the floor into a 4” by 4” square and connected the floor beams with an under frame. To make it more unique, I also took inspiration from a logging shack I saw in Townsend, Tennessee. The shacks used were made to be dragged or carried by flatcars. As a result, they were given skies to move across the ground. Though my layout is not a logging route I figured this shack would have been a former logging shack now living the rest of its days at the coal mine.

With a good floor built I then turned my attention to the walls. I started with the front by adding a window and doorway. The door itself measures 1.5” tall and the height of the wall measuring 3”. Not a very big building. I did have some difficulty with the windows but I made them work. Maybe next time I will snag some out of a kit. Next, I made the last three walls, two with windows, and the back wall also having a peak. I finished the structure by adding a roof and an awning to the front.

Finally, I finished today’s work by adding shingles to the roof. I did this by using black construction paper (which I probably have had since the 3rd grade) and cut it into strips. I glued the strips on top of each other and there yeah go, a decent looking roof.

Tomorrow I will get it painted and maybe alter the roof so that it can be taken off so an interior can be added later. For now, it sits peacefully on the layout waiting for a train to pass by.

Thanks for reading and have a good night!

Trainmaster, that’s an impressive undertaking and the course of a day, wow. Looks forward to seeing the finished product.

Jay

Morning guys I hope your all doing well, not a lot from me today as the CEO has had me a little busy with other projects and it didn't help having the power out for most of the day yesterday!

@SIRT Steve nice work on the abandoned track area! Same thing here as with Bob, they removed the track from the road, but left the track on both sides. I guess if the RR ever wants to reclaim the track for use again, it is cheaper to replace the 60' of track.

@farmerjohn John, everything you add to your layout just makes things so amazing! Your attention to detail is fun to watch you add to!

@Trainmaster04 Nice work on the miner shack! All it needs is a couple chairs and a small table for drinks! I am sure you have a wonderful plan already figured out for that area!

Here is all I have gotten done that last couple days.

First I worked on building a new control cart. As you can see I still have a long way to go.

Yesterday I had planned to work on it, but as I said the power was out most of the day so I used my tailgate on my truck for a work table as it was the only good light! LOL

Power is still on for now so I will see what I can get done!

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

Worked on tower area. Parts added from old yard module.

Good evening everyone!

Work continued with the shack today with me painting it and adding a stove pipe chimney to it. I used some deep green paint my dad used on a HO stock pen as a base. To add some contrast I also painted the posts and floor in a brown.

I do not think I will make a chair for it as that might be my limit of building. I will probably get one off online and maybe even a side table. For now, this little guy is done until I can no longer stand idle with it.
Onto another project. I also started making a possible wooden observation car that will serve as my RR’s executive car. I say possible because this is just a test to see how far I can go. Here is what I have so far.

Next time, I will probably be taking a break from this observation car to another building for the mine. Maybe a blacksmith next or another shack. We shall see!

finished another building. Redoing buildings with updated 12 volt LED lighting, repainting, renaming and pictures of family members.

Hello everyone!
I am probably going to go crazy before the week is over but as they say, you can’t keep a good man down!

I took a break from the executive car and built the blacksmith for the mine. Like the miner shack the shop is inspired by a Banta kit I had originally planned on purchasing.
Work began with the base and walls. Instead of making the walls individual slats I cut each panel out with the slats partially cut through. It allowed me to save time on cutting and have less gaps between sections.

To allow enough light to enter into the building I built in two doorways. One in the front and side. Next, came the roof. I made it simple by cutting out two sections and place them on angled supports.

Since this building is open I decided to add a couple of forges with stacks. My father gave me a tub of clay he could not use for his vet clinic and was able to make two temporary forges. I also added two vents to the forges out of tooth picks and black construction paper. To finish them off, I took a plastic straw, painted it black, and fed it through the roof to the forges. I will probably purchase two scale premade forges when I look for blacksmith figures and anvils.
I finished this project by painting it and adding shingles to the roof. Now it sits at the mine waiting to be populated.

This will probably be the last building I will make this week as my fingers are about to revolt and I don’t want that to happen!
Thanks for reading and have a good one!

I populated, weathered, and illuminated my station platform over the waiting periods of working on my passenger cars. Im going to start working on making crossovers from town over two tracks and to the station .

Some happy snaps I took this morning at the J. Reilly McCarren Transportation Museum...

This "Littler Joe" was kitbashed by me from a Lionel EP-5 shell and an RMT GG-1 chassis...

The big mountain, sculpted by the late Gene Austin, has been reinstalled and is seen in its glory alongside the Frisco/MKT Texas Special and the Giraffe Express...

The Gi-raffe Express has been expanded to ten cars, a fodder gondola and Fortescue's caboose...

Don't say you haven't been warned. 

Mitch

Trainmaster04. Really nice buildings!

obxtrainman, nice detailing the passenger platform.

Mitch, nice looking Little Joe!  I’m glad to see the gi-raffes are multiplying!

Here are some photographs of my Golden Spike celebration.  I now have all the track tested and In service.  On to scenery.

Bentley approves!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Here are some photographs of my Golden Spike celebration.  I now have all the track tested and In service.  On to scenery.

Looking good Mark. Looks like the 3 ring binder is packed with documentation.

Gene

@Genemed posted:

Looking good Mark. Looks like the 3 ring binder is packed with documentation.

Gene

Thank you, Gene!  It’s like a project when I was still working, I got to the point where I kept more documentation than required, just in case I couldn’t remember; which was often.  Every manual and my own documentation specific to this layout is here.

Another milestone Mark. Congratulations looks great. Now the fun part...

Been a while since I've posted on TPRR, finally got around to working on the lower yard. Ended up removing most of the track and doing a basic reconfiguration. Most would not realize there has been a change. Thanks to @Bill Webb on suggestions on how to (easily) install Tortoise operators. Resolved potential connectivity issues, as some of my curved switches are Ross ready while others were not. A little more benchwork is warranted plus a little wiring. Should be only a couple of days before I can post videos and photos of the lower level. Nice thing is I can run a modest switching operation without the upper level in place.  I just have to get my new engines on this section to test them out. 2 Milwaukee Road - an MTH Little Joe and the 6 wheeled Weaver Brass Hiawatha steamer and 3 MTH Burlington engines (from @Berwyns Toys and Trains) I have never been able to run due to the move from Illinois to Michigan. (That does not include a Pennsy Mountain and others that found their way home recently, funny how that happens?)

@Mark Boyce  if you would be so kind, please send the outline (or tips) you use to document your wiring. Your recent post is outstanding. I can wire, I am terrible at documentation and my wiring ends up looking like a bird's nest. If there is a problem its easier to tear it out and start all over since I cannot figure out what is what.

@ScoutingDad posted:

@Mark Boyce  if you would be so kind, please send the outline (or tips) you use to document your wiring. Your recent post is outstanding. I can wire, I am terrible at documentation and my wiring ends up looking like a bird's nest. If there is a problem its easier to tear it out and start all over since I cannot figure out what is what.

Jeff, I'll be glad to send you the documentation.  I'll try to do that tomorrow.

@obxtrainman

I like your conduit idea. I used J hooks along the table edge; yours is event easier on the back!

@M. Mitchell Marmel

Joe looks great! Your giraffe xpress is an eye catcher.

@Mark Boyce

Layout is looking fantastic! Congrats on achieving the Golden Spike.

pennsyfan Thank you very much!  I think I will be using some method like you and @obxtrainman used to run wires for lighting etc.  Even the wiring I have done under the layout, right at the layout edge will be a bit hard to maintain in the future.

Oddly enough, I'm starting some projects going into the summer. But first, here's some Conrail!

Current project is bridge piers. My buddy Dave is 3D printing samples for me to test.

Dave reversed the print so we could try to make a plaster mold. Unfortunately, our efforts to prevent the plaster from sticking to the mold failed, and the plaster structure split right in half. Back to the drawing board. Fun project regardless.

- Jason

@jdstucks posted:

Oddly enough, I'm starting some projects going into the summer. But first, here's some Conrail!

Current project is bridge piers. My buddy Dave is 3D printing samples for me to test.

Dave reversed the print so we could try to make a plaster mold. Unfortunately, our efforts to prevent the plaster from sticking to the mold failed, and the plaster structure split right in half. Back to the drawing board. Fun project regardless.

- Jason

Why not make them in sections and then fasten them in place?

You could use that one to make an abandoned line in a scene somewhere on the layout.

Good evening everyone!

The break I took yesterday proved to be beneficial to my fingers. However, I ended up cutting the end of my middle finger while working on today’s project. It was not too serious but the bandage did prove to be bothersome as I played my banjo.
Anyway, onto the project! What was meant to be a bobber caboose ended up being scrapped and turned into another building for the mine. Like everything else, first came the floors and then the walls.

Once the walls were up I painted the exterior in red and the interior with green. (Thinking it was going to be a caboose). While the interior was still accessible I went ahead and added interior details. I added a desk, with stool, a couple of shelves, and a book shelf (which was going to be the ladder to the cupola). I also fashioned a door that I later removed.

Realizing which way I tried the idea of a bobber caboose was not going to work. As a result, I took the big bulky sliding door off and added a pitched roof.

What originally was going to be a caboose is now a miner punch clock shed where miners with their ID coins check in/out. I have placed it at the entrance of the mine so that workers can make sure they check in/out and get paid what they are owed.

Though the project did not turn out as planned it was still able to be adapted into something better.
Thanks for reading and have a good night!

                                              COAL / FUEL YARD FINISHED!

@SIRT posted:

                                              COAL / FUEL YARD FINISHED!

Great scene; attention to detail is amazing.