What did you do on your layout today?

The park scene is far from done, but here are a couple of pictures.

Andy

@mike g. posted:

So,  after things worked for me I wired my other 4 relay board into the mix and was able to pre wire all 10 relays for isolated track sections. 3 on the main layout and the other 7 from the ramp going down to the future 6 staging tracks! I tried to keep it nice and neat like theirs! LOL

Thanks again to @Bill Webb and @Mark Boyce!

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

Thank you, Mike!  Your wiring looks great, but the main thing is the electrons know where to go!

I replaced my faulty Z transformer with a borrowed V transformer. The roller for the C dial failed.  That will be on the bench shortly.

Then I used a wooden wine box to store my tank cars in two levels with heavy bubble wrap between the layers. The box fits perfect ona wire shelf in the closet.

@Steamfan77

Dennis, I don’t see your pictures or video.

Andy

Will try it again

It looks great, Dennis!!

Yesterday I ran trains with the Shore Boyz Railroad Club in Harrington, DE. They have a mobile train layout. They travel around Delmarva sharing the joy of model railroading. 5 different levels of O and G gauge trains. We were parked next to the Delmarva Central/NS mainline through town and even caught a couple of trains come through. I ran my 1954 736 work train set with some extra cars. I also ran my Williams Baldwin sharks with the same cars. I'll have a video up on my youtube channel later this week covering the event.

To past the time until then, below is my newest video. Just running some trains on my 4x8 Super-O layout. I hope you enjoy!

https://youtu.be/-tvRwozij0M

Looks great Dennis, nice work.

Cody, those are some nice long runs.

Andy

While I’m wiring the layout, I added some LED rope lights. No more squinting or using my phone flash light!

@VinceL posted:

I have decided to completely redo the layout.  The wiring hubs and TIU's are mounted to plywood that is under the layout.  I have pulled them out from under the layout and will reposition them closer to center of the room.  And, the TIU's will be much higher.  I should be able to do a better job of star wiring which will hopefully result in better DCS performance.  And, with the TIU's higher, I will have more range using my remote.

I am putting padding on the plywood and will not screw the Fastrack down.  It will be loosely secured to the plywood by using nylon wire ties.  This should cut down on the noise level.

I find it increasingly difficult to crawl under the layout.  Another reason to get the TIU's and wiring hubs out from under the layout is that they will be much higher and better illuminated so I can see what I am doing and not crawling on my knees.

This going to be a l-o-n-g project.

The above post that I made is from 4/21/22.  As I said at the end, this is going to be a l-o-n-g project.

I have ordered a 4' x 18' extension that will come out into the middle of the room.  It will serve as a yard and also possibly for a track to make a reversing loop...will have to make a lift out section to avoid a duck under.

I am close to having all of the track and switches removed from the layout.  I have done some design of sections of the new track plan in SCARM.  Here are some pictures of the devastation that I have brought to my layout and trainroom.

Good evening everyone!

Decided to build a coaling tower as my next project. Inspired by the Rio Grande tower in Chama, New Mexico, I thought I would attempt to build a standard gauge version. First up, the winch house.
Simple little structure that is 6” long and 2” wide. Like the prototype I painted it red. I still need to put a roof on it and dirty it up.

With a part of the tower’s base finished, I moved my attention to the coal bunker. The entire structure is going to be about a foot tall once finished. Highly likely out of scale but oh well.
The front face is 10” by 6” and the back face is 5” by 6”. This gives me a slanted bottom and that iconic look. With the main structure built I then turned my attention to the shoot. As you can see it turned out pretty well.

I then messed with mounting the bunker to the winch house. Surprisingly, this thing is quite stable.

I still have to add the side panels and the coal elevator to the back. Now it sits on the layout at a possible permanent location.

There is still a ton of work to do but it is coming along. Thanks for reading!

@VinceL posted:

The above post that I made is from 4/21/22.  As I said at the end, this is going to be a l-o-n-g project.

I have ordered a 4' x 18' extension that will come out into the middle of the room.  It will serve as a yard and also possibly for a track to make a reversing loop...will have to make a lift out section to avoid a duck under.

I am close to having all of the track and switches removed from the layout.  I have done some design of sections of the new track plan in SCARM.  Here are some pictures of the devastation that I have brought to my layout and trainroom.

You’ll get there. Do something every day, even if it’s just planning for the next push.

@VinceL Bob is right.  I can’t do much at a time, but looking back, I am surprised what I get done.

Well, not so much on my layout as near my layout. Got the shelf hung and populated with freight cars. I think I have too many cars and engines. I need 2 more of these to put all the rest of my rolling stock and passenger cars, YIKES !!!   

@Mark Boyce  I thought I had far more colorful cars than this. At least there is some variety of color here.

I recently posted that I had to replace a Z accessory transformer. My buddy provided a V which is the same configuration with 4 dials; but 100 less Watts as rated by Lionel. This is not a problem since only a few accessories are ever on at the same time. I was attempting to phase the replacement with an adjacent ZW. With both transformers powered up and using a test lead from the common of the ZW to the common of the V; I couldn’t get any spark with the plug in either direction. So I resorted to the other test using a VOM. A good test with the VOM would a small amount of voltage with the plug in one direction and a high voltage reading with the plug in the other direction. Once again I couldn’t get any indication. I had bench checked the meter before I started; but just for grins I turned up the power on one handle of the ZW and went from that positive terminal to the common on the V and got a good reading. What am I forgetting??

Did you have all the “U” posts tied together first?

@David Johnston posted:

Did you have all the “U” posts tied together first?

The U posts in each transformer are strapped together.

@ScoutingDad posted:

Well, not so much on my layout as near my layout. Got the shelf hung and populated with freight cars. I think I have too many cars and engines. I need 2 more of these to put all the rest of my rolling stock and passenger cars, YIKES !!!   

@Mark Boyce  I thought I had far more colorful cars than this. At least there is some variety of color here.

I see a lot of yellow in your photograph, Jeff.  😉  I guess I was holding out a bit.

OK Mark, you do own cars beyond black and box car red - wow      Jeff

Regarding the yellow - I guess the road names I prefer liked yellow.   Although Great Northern had quite the rainbow of colors on their rolling stock.

The U post need to be connected from transformer to transformer.   Then turn the A throttle on each transformer to 12 volts. Use your meter to check the voltage from A post to A post on the different transformers. If the transformers are in phase, the voltage will be close to zero.  If the transformers are out of phase the voltage will be close to 24 volts.

@ScoutingDad posted:

Well, not so much on my layout as near my layout. Got the shelf hung and populated with freight cars. I think I have too many cars and engines. I need 2 more of these to put all the rest of my rolling stock and passenger cars, YIKES !!!   

@Mark Boyce  I thought I had far more colorful cars than this. At least there is some variety of color here.

The shelves look good Jeff. I like the colorful cars, adds variety to our trains.

Looks like you need more shelves BTW.....

Bob

Well said Bob, none of my K-Line die cast hopper cars are out, none of my K-Line Lionel stack or skeleton cars, none of the passenger car sets and just one of my engines out of 40ish - may have more. Now I am thinking 3 more shelf sets are needed as the passenger sets would take up an entire shelf set alone. (no space for that)  I may have gone a bit bonkers buying stuff for my grandkids. O BOY

Jeff, the black and boxcar red cars are the more detailed steam era cars.  Most of the cars on the shelves are Menards and RailKing.  

Evening guys and gals I hope your all having a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to you Dads out there!

Well its been a week since my last post and it seems like that is how it is going to be during the summer. I want to say everyone is doing wonderful work and wish I had more to share with you.

@ScoutingDad Jeff, I am going to reach out on a limb and say maybe instead of more shelves. Maybe you need to part with some of your extra stuff! LOL

Just so you don't think I am here just to poke fun at Jeff I really haven't done much, but today I did get all my isolated track sections wired up to my AIU and tested and the AIU works great, the only problem I have now it that it doesn't seem like my watch dog signal is working correctly.

I am sure I will figure it out with all the great help here. But I also have to make time for the CEO as she has found out how much fishing can be! LOL

I hope you all are doing well and find time to have fun with your layouts and trains!

LOL Mike,  get rid of stuff that will not fit on shelves? Why would I do something silly like that? 

There is a plan. Most of the additional rolling stock will fit in the lower yard - maybe. Half of the passenger sets will also have a home there. Once I get started on laying out the buildings I have room for another 3 or 4 tier shelf.  Things that do not fit from there may have to find a new home or I find a new home with a real train room space. Time will tell.

@ScoutingDad posted:

LOL Mike,  get rid of stuff that will not fit on shelves? Why would I do something silly like that?

There is a plan. Most of the additional rolling stock will fit in the lower yard - maybe. Half of the passenger sets will also have a home there. Once I get started on laying out the buildings I have room for another 3 or 4 tier shelf.  Things that do not fit from there may have to find a new home or I find a new home with a real train room space. Time will tell.

Depending on the square footage you have available on your accessible areas why not have maybe three shelf suspended shelves on pulleys to drop down for engine and rolling stock storage !?!

Dallas, storage is really not the issue. It's about getting everything out of their boxes so they can be seen. Seems Everytime I take an Atlas Master series or certain KLine out of their boxes, I break some small part off. 

Once I get the boxes squirreled away in the joists, I'll have an 80 car under table storage area open up. Most of the cars formerly there are on the shelves. Easier access but not out of box. I prefer to have anything out of box above four feet.

Hi Guys, my last post  noted I was still awaiting my switches from Ross.  Ain't got them yet but they're somewhere along the way.  Working now on finishing up my Mianne lift that I waited until the top was done to finish up the bridge.  Will be searching the forum soon for Mianne enhancement posts to upgrade my bridge as necessary.    After that I'm not looking forward  to the wiring start up.  

Tommy

I made a list of items that need my attention. There are 20+ on the list.
I have to prioritize the list and separate engines needing repair from layout, storage of runners, raw materials, construction / paint supplies, project parts.
I’m tired already.

@pennsyfan posted:

I made a list of items that need my attention. There are 20+ on the list.
I have to prioritize the list and separate engines needing repair from layout, storage of runners, raw materials, construction / paint supplies, project parts.
I’m tired already.

Last time I made a list, I stopped due to writer's cramps.....🤣🤣🤣🤣

@RSJB18 posted:

Last time I made a list, I stopped due to writer's cramps.....🤣🤣🤣🤣

😆😆😆😆😆

I went up to the layout today with the intention of clearing a dead spot on the inner loop. Strange, but I just realized that the two items that were stalling are both Williams. A camelback from Williams and a trolley that I’m not sure if it’s Williams or WBB. I used a lighted caboose with only a pick up on one end. I rolled it over the “dead spot” and the light didn’t flicker. On the other side of the layout I had put a Kusan RDC car on the track last night for a picture. I had noticed then that when I applied power to light it up; it didn’t move; no matter how many times I hit the direction button on the ZW. When I applied power this morning, The RDC was lighted; but it suddenly came to life as I took the caboose off the track. I let it run and it made several loops. Then I added the trolley in the mix and they both ran fine; albeit it looks like the trolley needs the typical Williams wiring modification to slow it down. So a pretty successful morning chasing three gremlins.

                                                               JUNK

Neat junk @SIRT

sunset salvage emblem reminds me of the current Chrysler emblem

I always enjoy seeing your photos

@pennsyfan

I need a Dairy Doll like in your video😄

is this original?

thanks

Seth

Grabbed a few moments here & there -away from house remodeling & got a few things done. Made 2 roll-around storage platforms, put up a 1x4 led panel light as a trial, I like it,  I’ll order more , and lastly fashioned a small work space under the stairs with a desk that was left behind.

Rich in WV

Afternoon everyone, I hope your all having a wonderful weekend!

I see you all have been busy with great projects. I wish I had something to share with you all but life got in the way of my plans on picking up some plywood to start building my lower staging yard. I am sure it will be an adventure and I will make sure to post anything I might get done!

I hope you all stay well and are finding time to have fun with your layouts and trains!

Took some more shots to tonight. I've gone through some hard times for my family this month, and it's only now that I've even fired up the layout:

@p51 Lee, sorry for your troubles. The hobby and especially this forum has been a source of solace for me these past 2 years.

Those are great pictures!

Searching for Chinese spy balloons.....

I've been doing a lot of cleaning up layout. I've got so many boxes under my layout it's hard to work underneath. Never good. Got some different engines and cars out the other day for a new video coming sometime soon. But, in the meantime, here is the latest from my channel. Hope y'all enjoy!

https://youtu.be/rgGxrCrBeCM