What did you do on your layout today?

Good evening everyone! Man, it has been a long time since I have posted anything here on this great forum. My studies have kept me busy from fun stuff but I have found some time.
Tonight I wanted to share my latest project. Two weeks ago I was given a Williams aluminum baggage car that was in need of a new home. At first, I did not know what to do with it until I saw some videos of SF 2926 hitting the high iron. She was pulling a silver support baggage car during her travels. Taking inspiration, I decided to turn this lemon into lemonade!

First, the car needs a wood floor. I took some scrap wood and started to scour the wood to look like individual planks.

Next came the fun stuff. Not really knowing what exactly goes into a support car I decided to include storage and “living” areas. I built two shelves to hold tools and other equipment, a bunk for crew to take a quick nap, a table with a couple of chairs, and a storage box. I also left an area open to be left for barrels or anything of that size.

I stained the floor and added some black streaks on it to make it look weathered and stained from grease.

I plan on probably replacing the shelves, table and chairs with scale models to make it look better, but for now this will do.
I’ll post a video of it running on the layout when I get the time.
Thanks for reading and have a good night.

@Trainmaster04 your floor and interior items look great so far.  You will make a lemon into lemonade for sure!!

Great posts guys! I weathered and installed another few sections of fence for the park.

Andy

Made a little more progress on the concrete wall separating the lower track and the upper town. The arched panels are fixed to the supports behind with disc magnets providing access to the track behind and underneath the town. If I had been paying attention, the magnets would have been behind the arches - easily fixed.

I got really tired of ducking under and/or removing track when working on this section and there is a lot more work pending. I made my own version of a lift up using full extension drawer slides with locks. End result no more crawling, I only have to bow my head to access the middle of the layout. Now to reinstall the connecting track and provide power. I made this assembly as light as I could and still provide enough stiffness to avoid racking. Seems to work pretty well.  I'll build up a base to lay in the roadbed.

@ScoutingDad posted:

Made a little more progress on the concrete wall separating the lower track and the upper town. The arched panels are fixed to the supports behind with disc magnets providing access to the track behind and underneath the town. If I had been paying attention, the magnets would have been behind the arches - easily fixed.

I got really tired of ducking under and/or removing track when working on this section and there is a lot more work pending. I made my own version of a lift up using full extension drawer slides with locks. End result no more crawling, I only have to bow my head to access the middle of the layout. Now to reinstall the connecting track and provide power. I made this assembly as light as I could and still provide enough stiffness to avoid racking. Seems to work pretty well.  I'll build up a base to lay in the roadbed.

That looks great Jeff. Barely any scenery and you're tired of ducking already????? 🤣🤣🤣

Bob

@RSJB18 yup - I'd be on one side - oops need the ruler, get that, now where is that drill oops over there, get that, now where is the star bit, darn over there. I was more a yo-yo going back and forth than doing any work. Taking the 4 tracks off is fine for access but then I am not going to reconnect to run trains for a little while when I still have a lot of work to do. In reality the exercise was probably good for me, just got tedious.

Looks great Jeff, nice job.

Andy

@ScoutingDad posted:

@RSJB18 yup - I'd be on one side - oops need the ruler, get that, now where is that drill oops over there, get that, now where is the star bit, darn over there. I was more a yo-yo going back and forth than doing any work. Taking the 4 tracks off is fine for access but then I am not going to reconnect to run trains for a little while when I still have a lot of work to do. In reality the exercise was probably good for me, just got tedious.

I feel your pain. Back in my electrical contracting days, I'd do the same thing when in a difficult spot like an attic. Get up there with everything I THOUGHT I NEEDED, only to realize I forgot something. 

Bob

@ScoutingDad Jeff, the lift-up looks great!  Building it was well worth the trouble.  Yes, bending down is tough.  If I have my bridges down with trains on the lower one, I can roll under with the stool, but really have to duck my head.  It's isn't that great.  It is far better to move or split the train and lift the bridge.

Did some more wiring under the train layout. With my legs, knees, and back it's hard to get down and back up. To lay on for getting under the layout, I use an old plastic Bread Rack roller, ½ inch plywood top screwed into the plastic rack, ( a Mechanic's Creeper is too narrow for me to get on and not go off the edge, I found that out the hard way! ) 6 layers of foam workout mats cut to fit, held together and to the plywood with velcro tape to lay on with 3 extra pieces at the head end for support and comfort for my head. Fairly comfortable while working on it, I just have to use the top of the layout and the built in cabinet counter height putting my arms on them both so I can get back up, fortunately, they're both at the same height, part of my preplan😁. I try to make sure I have everything I need before I get down there. Writing a list and checking it off helps. Top of my layout is at 30 inches because I have built in cabinets on the back wall, the bottom is 38 inches, that the trains have to run under it for clearance in a old bedroom now my train room.

I added a few more sections of fence along the park/yard area.
Andy

@Steamfan77 posted:

Wow! Excellent work. Is that smoke in the trees, perhaps from a recently passed steam locomotive? Is the tree background a photographed back drop with some model trees in the foreground? Very well integrated if so.

Bob

@Gary P posted:

Did some more wiring under the train layout. With my legs, knees, and back it's hard to get down and back up. To lay on for getting under the layout, I use an old plastic Bread Rack roller, ½ inch plywood top screwed into the plastic rack, ( a Mechanic's Creeper is too narrow for me to get on and not go off the edge, I found that out the hard way! ) 6 layers of foam workout mats cut to fit, held together and to the plywood with velcro tape to lay on with 3 extra pieces at the head end for support and comfort for my head. Fairly comfortable while working on it, I just have to use the top of the layout and the built in cabinet counter height putting my arms on them both so I can get back up, fortunately, they're both at the same height, part of my preplan😁. I try to make sure I have everything I need before I get down there. Writing a list and checking it off helps. Top of my layout is at 30 inches because I have built in cabinets on the back wall, the bottom is 38 inches, that the trains have to run under it for clearance in a old bedroom now my train room.

Gary, where there's a will, there's a way!!  Keep at it when you can!

@Bob "O" posted:

Wow! Excellent work. Is that smoke in the trees, perhaps from a recently passed steam locomotive? Is the tree background a photographed back drop with some model trees in the foreground? Very well integrated if so.

Bob

Thanks Bob. It’s a photographed backdrop with trees in front. I’m going to make some more trees to fill in the area behind the fence to give the scene more depth.

Andy

@Mark Boyce posted:

@ScoutingDad Jeff, the lift-up looks great!  Building it was well worth the trouble.  Yes, bending down is tough.  If I have my bridges down with trains on the lower one, I can roll under with the stool, but really have to duck my head.  It's isn't that great.  It is far better to move or split the train and lift the bridge.

Like Mark I roll under on a mechanics stool I picked up at harbor freight. It’s still a job going back and forth and getting up in the hole. I try to think of everything I’ll need and place in reach on the layout. My last effort was installing catwalk railing for the subway. I brought a 1 step stool in and still had trouble reaching. I leaned a little too far at one point and separated the crank wheel from the shaft of a stationary crane. I’m not sure what it will take to repair. I’ll have to go back in and disconnect it. Bright ideas to enhance an established layout should sometimes be abandoned.

@pennsyfan posted:

Bright ideas to enhance an established layout should sometimes be abandoned.

Boy, that's a motto I should learn to live with! Can I get that on a cross-stitch sampler?

Actually, never mind:

@Steve Tyler posted:

Boy, that's a motto I should learn to live with! Can I get that on a cross-stitch sampler?

Actually, never mind:

Very cool Steve

@ScoutingDad posted:

Made a little more progress on the concrete wall separating the lower track and the upper town. The arched panels are fixed to the supports behind with disc magnets providing access to the track behind and underneath the town. If I had been paying attention, the magnets would have been behind the arches - easily fixed.

I got really tired of ducking under and/or removing track when working on this section and there is a lot more work pending. I made my own version of a lift up using full extension drawer slides with locks. End result no more crawling, I only have to bow my head to access the middle of the layout. Now to reinstall the connecting track and provide power. I made this assembly as light as I could and still provide enough stiffness to avoid racking. Seems to work pretty well.  I'll build up a base to lay in the roadbed.

Well done!

Peter

@ScoutingDad I love the way your train boxes are neatly stacked and organized.  Good job on the lift-up section.  We may need to see a video tutorial of that in action!

Rick

Made a little progress with the two rail outside third rail upper level...  Getting closer

@ScoutingDad posted:

Made a little more progress on the concrete wall separating the lower track and the upper town. The arched panels are fixed to the supports behind with disc magnets providing access to the track behind and underneath the town. If I had been paying attention, the magnets would have been behind the arches - easily fixed.

I got really tired of ducking under and/or removing track when working on this section and there is a lot more work pending. I made my own version of a lift up using full extension drawer slides with locks. End result no more crawling, I only have to bow my head to access the middle of the layout. Now to reinstall the connecting track and provide power. I made this assembly as light as I could and still provide enough stiffness to avoid racking. Seems to work pretty well.  I'll build up a base to lay in the roadbed.

I'm Liking your lift bridge here!  Going to do have to do something on my upper level too, probably won't be this refined but I really like what you have here and give some good food for thought.

@Steve Tyler posted:

Boy, that's a motto I should learn to live with! Can I get that on a cross-stitch sampler?

Actually, never mind:

I'm gonna frame this and hang it next to the layout for the next time I have a brain fart.....

Been moving equipment and running trains for a change. Not much left to "do" on my layout but I've got a couple irons in the fire for potential winter projects. Then again, it has rained here on Long Island for the past 7 weekends in a row so I have gotten a head start on the winter (right after I review my previous post of course.....)

Bob

Making a little more progress on the lift bridge. Finally figured out a way to mount the track base deck so that it will be adjustable to account for wear and seasonal movement. It will basically have 4 support points easily adjustable to "perfectly" match the track base deck to the layout base.

Its a little awkward to lift needing 3 arms/hands; two to pull each lock and one to lift. Its weight is OK for now, but if I add anything substantial it will need a helper to begin the lift. Right now I can rack one side to free it from one lock and then unlock the other side to fully lift.  I have 72 inches clearance from floor to bottom of the bridge. While I do not want to go there - this may need jack screws to provide a motorized lift.

I’m with you Bob, I’ve made more progress in general, but the weather has certainly been a plus indoor activity wise.
Jeff, the lift is great, and you are wise to think ahead regarding a solo lift and maneuvering.

Andy

I finished the fence in the park area. All 16’ of it. I need to make some adjustments, but it’s weathered and installed. After that I can start making more trees for the park area.

Andy

@Steamfan77 posted:

I finished the fence in the park area. All 16’ of it. I need to make some adjustments, but it’s weathered and installed. After that I can start making more trees for the park area.

Andy

Looks Great!!!! I have been away for quite sometime so if this is a repeat question my apologies in advance, Where did you get the fencing?

Guys....we received quite a few alerts that this thread in the last few hours has had posts that have nothing to do with the topic or purpose of the thread or in fact this forum.  Those posts were deleted.  I have warned about doing this because it basically hijacks the thread.  Folks come here to talk about trains and not about needle point, etc.  Some of you that participated in these posts have been warned previously yet I guess you can't help yourself.  Is it not enough that OGR provides you with profiles and emails that you can use to discuss off topic subjects with each other.  AND keep in mind you have private messaging we also provide.  By cluttering up threads with chit chat having nothing to do with the purpose of this forum, you cause others to have to search through all of those posts as well as cost OGR financially to take time to "fix" the thread.  We also are charged by page views / posts so the kind of posts that are not train / hobby related run up costs for everyone.  How about helping all of us out by contacting each other to discuss of topic subjects rather than doing it in a thread.  I am just about out of warnings at this point.

Thanks to all of you that understand and follow the TOS.  We certainly appreciate it.

@Aegis21 posted:

Looks Great!!!! I have been away for quite sometime so if this is a repeat question my apologies in advance, Where did you get the fencing?

Thanks Aegis21, the fencing is from Woodland Scenics. Easy to work with.

Andy

For those of you that have seen my whole layout and how it custom fits into my bay window, may wonder how I get to the backside of the layout in the bay window. It's a pain, I have to pull the layout out whenever I service or modify the bay window side of the layout. The layout legs do have soft felt on the bottom, but it's still pretty difficult for me, one guy, to pull out 240 pounds of wood etc. I also don't like pulling it across the red oak wood floor. So today I install casters that extend and retract! I wish I had found these casters sooner, now its really easy to move around with the casters.

Here's a photo of the layout in the bay window.

Here it is pulled out from the bay window enough to work on the layout.

Here's one of the 4 new lever casters I installed today. I got them at Home Depot. A set of 4 are rated at 400 pounds, so 250 (estimated) is no problem. I can flip the wheels down lifting the table up 3/4 inch with one hand on the lever. In the photo the caster is in the down position. Flipping the lever up requires two hands to set the table down gently. The wheels are Neoprene, soft enough to protect the hard would floor, but hard enough to roll the table around easily. Awesome, life is easy again. LoL Looks like a cow went down! I move the cows around to change things up, so they're not glued in place.

After I finished the casters and had the table pulled out I cleaned the track, it had been awhile! Then I replaced a Lionel Fastrack switch that the motor had died after many years of use. New switch below.

The casters were easy to install, they came with a template for drilling the holes and some heavy duty wood screws. Crawling around on my knees wasn't much fun though! And then I remembered I have knee pads!! Doh! I did use the knee pads to install the last two casters. What a relieve! All in all, a successful day working on the layout.

Happy railroading

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

For those of you that have seen my whole layout and how it custom fits into my bay window, may wonder how I get to the backside of the layout in the bay window. It's a pain, I have to pull the layout out whenever I service or modify the bay window side of the layout. The layout legs do have soft felt on the bottom, but it's still pretty difficult for me, one guy, to pull out 240 pounds of wood etc. I also don't like pulling it across the red oak wood floor. So today I install casters that extend and retract! I wish I had found these casters sooner, now its really easy to move around with the casters.

Here's a photo of the layout in the bay window.

Here's one of the 4 new lever casters I installed today. I got them at Home Depot. A set of 4 are rated at 400 pounds, so 250 (estimated) is no problem. I can flip the wheels down lifting the table up 3/4 inch with one hand on the lever. In the photo the caster is in the down position. Flipping the lever up requires two hands to set the table down gently. The wheels are Neoprene, soft enough to protect the hard would floor, but hard enough to roll the table around easily. Awesome, life is easy again. LoL Looks like a cow went down! I move the cows around to change things up, so they're not glued in place.

The casters were easy to install, they came with a template for drilling the holes and some heavy duty wood screws. Crawling around on my knees wasn't much fun though! And then I remembered I have knee pads!! Doh! I did use the knee pads to install the last two casters. What a relieve! All in all, a successful day working on the layout.

Happy railroading

I guess climbing through an open window is not an option......

That is a great solution for an existing layout that needs to be moved.
Make sure you ice your knees. I find that a small glass of ice and some single malt work well.
Nice work Scott.

Bob

@WesternPacific2217 Great job! Can we see a shot of the overall layout in the room?
Rick

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

For those of you that have seen my whole layout and how it custom fits into my bay window, may wonder how I get to the backside of the layout in the bay window. It's a pain, I have to pull the layout out whenever I service or modify the bay window side of the layout. The layout legs do have soft felt on the bottom, but it's still pretty difficult for me, one guy, to pull out 240 pounds of wood etc. I also don't like pulling it across the red oak wood floor. So today I install casters that extend and retract! I wish I had found these casters sooner, now its really easy to move around with the casters.

Here's a photo of the layout in the bay window.

Here it is pulled out from the bay window enough to work on the layout.

Here's one of the 4 new lever casters I installed today. I got them at Home Depot. A set of 4 are rated at 400 pounds, so 250 (estimated) is no problem. I can flip the wheels down lifting the table up 3/4 inch with one hand on the lever. In the photo the caster is in the down position. Flipping the lever up requires two hands to set the table down gently. The wheels are Neoprene, soft enough to protect the hard would floor, but hard enough to roll the table around easily. Awesome, life is easy again. LoL Looks like a cow went down! I move the cows around to change things up, so they're not glued in place.

After I finished the casters and had the table pulled out I cleaned the track, it had been awhile! Then I replaced a Lionel Fastrack switch that the motor had died after many years of use. New switch below.

The casters were easy to install, they came with a template for drilling the holes and some heavy duty wood screws. Crawling around on my knees wasn't much fun though! And then I remembered I have knee pads!! Doh! I did use the knee pads to install the last two casters. What a relieve! All in all, a successful day working on the layout.

Happy railroading

Good job Scott! I used those same casters on my work bench; which is a clockmakers bench.  Before we moved I built a layout in the living room of the second floor apartment. I wanted to keep the work bench in the unused kitchen. That didn’t seem well; so I put the casters on and was able to move the workbench from room to room when the guys came over. Now my main layout fills the loft. Last year I took over the loft bedroom to build a small tinplate layout.  To be able to get to the shelves I ordered the Mianne benchwork with casters. Oh and I rolled that workbench out of the main train room into a two door closet in the former bedroom.

@Rixster posted:

@WesternPacific2217 Great job! Can we see a shot of the overall layout in the room?
Rick

Hi Rick, I guess I should have posted this photo too! Here's the whole layout in the bay window. The layout is 12' x 9'. It started out as a Xmas display and evolved into what it is today! It is still a Xmas display, however much more elaborate now then from when it started 14 years ago. the Xmas tree still goes on the layout in the middle, along with lighted buildings and the Polar Express of course.

Scott, thank you for the information about adding casters to your layout!  The photographs of it look great. Yes, moving a 12x9 layout without them would be a task indeed!  That's one foot longer and one foot wider than my walk-in layout.  I can't imagine moving it!!!

Something small I've been wanting to try, took a while to find the right can.

I have a new batch of trees in progress for the park scene.

Andy

Just added some leaves to this bunch to get them ready to “plant”.

Andy

Another corner area.  Not real sure what I'm going to do with it, but this is the start.

@42trainman posted:

Another corner area.  Not real sure what I'm going to do with it, but this is the start.

Can't see the pix