Last week I was having a bad day on the layout. So I fixed my 042 turnout the other day. Today I took a closer look at the switch at the end of my yard lead.
The switch had a hitch in its giddyup....and wouldn't throw to the diverging track. Despite the difficult access I pulled the guts apart and found that the solenoid core would not move freely.
I scrounged another one from my spares and it works just fine now!
On to the next one....
Bob
Bob: Don't you feel good when you can actually "fix" something that you can find what the problem was to start with!!!
Like you said....."on to the next one"
Peter.......Buco Australia
Getting started on the upper level project. I'm building a simple girder bridge and decided to add a Lionel signal tower that I will control with a 153IR. Both have been sitting under the layout for years.
My railroad usually runs counter clockwise so the signal will be red until a train hits the IR and drops it to green.
I shot this horizontally, don't know why it posted vertical. You get the idea....
Bob
@RSJB18 posted:Last week I was having a bad day on the layout. So I fixed my 042 turnout the other day. Today I took a closer look at the switch at the end of my yard lead.
The switch had a hitch in its giddyup....and wouldn't throw to the diverging track. Despite the difficult access I pulled the guts apart and found that the solenoid core would not move freely.
I scrounged another one from my spares and it works just fine now!
On to the next one....
Bob
Nice work Bob, but are you sure your not Aunt man? LOL 
@RSJB18 posted:Getting started on the upper level project. I'm building a simple girder bridge and decided to add a Lionel signal tower that I will control with a 153IR. Both have been sitting under the layout for years.
My railroad usually runs counter clockwise so the signal will be red until a train hits the IR and drops it to green.
I shot this horizontally, don't know why it posted vertical. You get the idea....
Bob
looks like a great project, I cant wait to see the finished product! I am just wondering is under the layout full of project as to keep you busy! lol
@mike g.- I wish! Getting my big hands in and around those bridge piers was a challenge. I had to use a phillips screw gun tip to get the screw out of the cover.
I can't say that there's an endless stash under the layout but at least I remembered that I had them.
Thanks
Finally installed the forgotten telephone poles on the layout that were hiden and stored under the train table...can't imagine how the city got power for the past couple of years...
Hung more shelves around the train room and already filled them up. Also made progress on the scenery. Going for heavy vegetation that is common in my area. Also going for a fall color scheme.
Made and added railings to a section of the upper level.
A postwar Lionel Milwaukee Road F3 is entering the newly protected section in this pic
For every MTH Illinois Central orange brown 18" passenger car, took a Dremel and wire brush to each wheel to clean gunk off, and lubed each axle point. Put some Menards military trucks on a Weaver IC flat car as a load. Tried to change the trucks to MTH-Weaver but the screws are too short.
I got the girder bridge roughed in today. I also swapped the incandescent bulbs in the signal to LED's. Same bayonet base as the lamps I bought for the K-line switch lamps.
I cut the beveled corners off of the girder plates to fit the 2 pieces together.
Painted the baseboard black to hide any misses when I add ballast and ground cover.
Bob
Looking good Bob! 👍
Continued wiring up my 4 power districts with their respective track feeders, love those Wagos ! I resisted the temptation to just throw some wires out there & run some trains, trying to take my time & document all those wires running everywhere. So much for an inaugural run by (last) Thanksgiving ! Rich in WV
@trestleking posted:Continued wiring up my 4 power districts with their respective track feeders, love those Wagos ! I resisted the temptation to just throw some wires out there & run some trains, trying to take my time & document all those wires running everywhere. So much for an inaugural run by (last) Thanksgiving ! Rich in WV
I hope when the time comes I can force myself to take time while wiring!
@mike g. posted:I hope when the time comes I can force myself to take time while wiring!
Mike, Like Rich, I like the WAGO connectors. They really save time and aggravation.
I have some, but I think I might need better ones. 🤔
@mike g. posted:I have some, but I think I might need better ones. 🤔
The clear ones are slimmer and aren’t as stiff as the gray ones
@Mark Boyce posted:The clear ones are slimmer and aren’t as stiff as the gray ones
Thanks Mark, I will PM you for where you got them! Probably tomorrow.
@jstraw124 posted:Hung more shelves around the train room and already filled them up. Also made progress on the scenery. Going for heavy vegetation that is common in my area. Also going for a fall color scheme.
Looking good. Who makes the shelving?
Dave
@RSJB18 posted:I got the girder bridge roughed in today. I also swapped the incandescent bulbs in the signal to LED's. Same bayonet base as the lamps I bought for the K-line switch lamps.
I cut the beveled corners off of the girder plates to fit the 2 pieces together.
Painted the baseboard black to hide any misses when I add ballast and ground cover.
Bob
Nice work Bob!
@Lionelski posted:Made and added railings to a section of the upper level.
A postwar Lionel Milwaukee Road F3 is entering the newly protected section in this pic
Nice detail! I like the crew working track on the trestle. Is that aluminum edge trim on the railings? I had a similar idea but haven’t tried it yet. If not ,that still looks fantastic whatever it is you used!
@Mark Boyce posted:Mike, Like Rich, I like the WAGO connectors. They really save time and aggravation.
I spent many hours using suitcase connecters for all of my feeder wires. It was a pain in the butt. I realized that it wasn't cutting through the heavy plastic coating of my 14ga bus so, I had to use a utility knife to nick it each time and then make sure the suitcase blade was lined up with the nick. ALL of that and I was still having issues with consistent power. I read about the WAGOs on here (why hadn't I ever heard of them before?) and purchased. Then I spent many hours once again to pry off the suitcases at which time I discovered that not only weren't they cutting through the bus but the feeder as well! The WAGOs are SO MUCH easier to work with and now I have much smoother running. I still have a few more to put in for perfection. In my opinion, they are worth the cost.
Mikki
I recently added a couple of modules to my layout. I also made a small change that wasn't all that small.
The change was to put in a wye switch to have the trains head back to the roundhouse area. Basically it'll make the outside a massive loop when it said and done. I'm still missing a 3" piece of track and a right hand switch. I have two and a half more modules to build and the left side of my layout (bench wise) will be complete. I also now have to build a support structure under the wye track.
The area next to the basement escape windows is now finally complete. In theroy this is to be my passenger station area. The section of track where the freight station is was originally a dead end track.
As of now, O-72 is my smallest radius curve.
@Jayhawk500 posted:I recently added a couple of modules to my layout. I also made a small change that wasn't all that small.
The change was to put in a wye switch to have the trains head back to the roundhouse area. Basically it'll make the outside a massive loop when it said and done. I'm still missing a 3" piece of track and a right hand switch. I have two and a half more modules to build and the left side of my layout (bench wise) will be complete. I also now have to build a support structure under the wye track.
The area next to the basement escape windows is now finally complete. In theroy this is to be my passenger station area. The section of track where the freight station is was originally a dead end track.
As of now, O-72 is my smallest radius curve.
Looking good Chris! Big change ! I didn't know the made a y in fast track. Your train room is so different then mine, yours is so clean! 😀
Keep up the wonderful work and keep us posted.
looking great, Chris; It's really fun to see your new layout develop. Looks like you have a great space to utilize. I think I have space envy… Craig
@Tim A#1 posted:Nice detail! I like the crew working track on the trestle. Is that aluminum edge trim on the railings? I had a similar idea but haven’t tried it yet. If not ,that still looks fantastic whatever it is you used!
Thanks Tim.
Tile edge trim, plastic sprayed with a flat brown primer
Plastic that’s more forgiving and pliable than the aluminum. It looks as good as I hoped it would. Keep up the nice work!
Craig and Mike, Thank you both for the kind comments.
Chris, your new building and the others really add a touch of realism to your layout. You set the bar high.
on another topic, My Rail king Burlington Zephyr was acting a bit erratic, so I thought I should check the battery since this unit is relatively new to me. It appears the previous owner had put in a 9 V energizer rechargeable battery. So, I decided to replace it with the BCR, and I discovered something. The BCR did not quite fit in the battery cradle, appears to be about a 64th of an inch longer than the standard batteries in the cradle. The cradle was unforgiving. I should have taken the time to file down the tab that was not giving the battery enough room . My mistake I tried to force the BCR and snapped off part of the tab. Well now the BCR fits And a little electrical tape will help to hold it in. now I can enjoy reconnecting my engine to the remaining passenger cars. I see why rail King abandoned this type of connection system because it is not much fun To take apart and reconnect. I wonder if that particular design engineer is still with them…
Chris, really like your backdrop; really accents your buildings. I am working on a snow village for my layout and am looking for a snowy mountain background. Would love any leads on such backgrounds; not finding styles or sizes I want on the Intetnet. Trainjunkies, Trackside, and Faller have a few options but maybe there is something I've missed.
@luvindemtrains posted:Looking good. Who makes the shelving?
Dave
My apologies for the delay in response. All my shelving is from Mr. Trains. I picked my first batch of used at York and stuck with it for consistency.
@illinoiscentral posted:For every MTH Illinois Central orange brown 18" passenger car, took a Dremel and wire brush to each wheel to clean gunk off, and lubed each axle point. Put some Menards military trucks on a Weaver IC flat car as a load. Tried to change the trucks to MTH-Weaver but the screws are too short.
You might want to take the flatcar and the MTH-Weaver trucks with you to an Ace Hardware, Lowes or some other hardware store that has a large Hillman fastener display. I did that when I needed screws to attach Weaver trucks to two Weaver pieces of rolling stock which were sold without them. Less than five minutes later, I had the screws I needed in hand for less than a buck. I did the same thing with a couple of other rolling stock trucks that had lost a rivet or screw before I owned them.
Morning folks I wasn't today but yesterday, buy the time I got done I was to tired to post it last night! As some of you know I am starting a new layout and yesterday I was able to get the Millhouse River TT Installed.
Next will be moving everything on top of the tables so I can start laying out my plywood so I can start cutting the roadbed.
As for the bridge in the pit on the TT don't worry it is just for photo Op's it and the lift bridge are going to be the highlight of the layout to start!
I hope you all have a great day and find time to have fun with your layouts and trains!
P.S. Please stay warm and dry!
Mike, your table has the makings of a great layout...you've made some real headway in the past few days...!
@Capetrainman posted:Mike, your table has the makings of a great layout...you've made some real headway in the past few days...!
Thanks Paul, after yesterday today is a mandatory day off! Lol It's nice when I make the rules!
As we hibernate from the deep cold with wind chill and the flu epidemic here in southwest Ohio, I continued to work on installing the new layout's Ross roadbed and track.
When I ordered the additional track and all the Ross Roadbed for the new layout, I miscalculated how many pieces of Ross Roadbed I needed for under my # 4 switches. As a result, I had to place an "emergency order" with Steve at RCS for the two needed pieces. You can see them in this photo "au naturel" in their pink foam color when I was double-checking that they fit the switches.
Last Saturday when the temperatures hit a high of 40 Degrees F with 97% humidity (otherwise known as a cold mist almost like rainy fog, but not quite rain), I went outdoors and spraypainted those pieces of Roadbed.
For the record, I am pleased to report Krylon's Textured Granite Fusion All-in-One® spray paint works well under those conditions, even drying to the touch within 3 hours in my unheated garage. 
I think it took longer for my hands to get warm afterwards!
Yesterday I installed those newly painted pieces of roadbed along with a fitter piece.
If you look between the jaws of the needle-nosed pliers you'll see where I had to trim some of the roadbed foam. The "sin" of the missing roadbed and the spaces between the edges of the roadbed will be hidden when I ballast later in the layout construction project. You can tell the straight pieces of track came from my last layout (2006-2019) by the holes left from the track holding screws (Gargraves # 4 blackened screws).
As of right now, the outer loop's track and roadbed are in place, but not screwed down, from the yellow tape measure in the upper left corner of the photo to the end of the track in the lower right corner. I have enough 6 1/2" open space on this side of the layout from the edge of the switch's roadbed to the edge of the layout. There's eight inches clear on the far edge of the layout and seven inches on the front side. This is more than enough space for two lane O-scale road around almost 2/3 of the layout. Tip for newbies: Keep a printed copy of your track plan handy. I find I'm referring to mine quite often to make sure I'm putting the right track section in the right place. I also make notes on where I moved pieces to improve things, such as the location of track with power clips, so I can update the plan to "as built" later in RR-Track.
More track work is on the agenda for the next week or so. Today or tomorrow's task includes installing the O-64 curves, fitter and roadbed for the other end of the outer loop. Once that's done, I have to custom cut two track pieces with my new chop saw, a new tool I've never used before, as part of completing the outer loop. The chop saw has got to be an improvement over a hacksaw and a vise that I used years ago! You can see the inner loop's curve laying there, but it's not in the right position yet.
@Pat Shediack posted:As we hibernate from the deep cold with wind chill and the flu epidemic here in southwest Ohio, I continued to work on installing the new layout's Ross roadbed and track.
When I ordered the additional track and all the Ross Roadbed for the new layout, I miscalculated how many pieces of Ross Roadbed I needed for under my # 4 switches. As a result, I had to place an "emergency order" with Steve at RCS for the two needed pieces. You can see them in this photo "au naturel" in their pink foam color when I was double-checking that they fit the switches.
Last Saturday when the temperatures hit a high of 40 Degrees F with 97% humidity (otherwise known as a cold mist almost like rainy fog, but not quite rain), I went outdoors and spraypainted those pieces of Roadbed.
For the record, I am pleased to report Krylon's Textured Granite Fusion All-in-One® spray paint works well under those conditions, even drying to the touch within 3 hours in my unheated garage.
Yesterday I installed those newly painted pieces of roadbed along with a fitter piece.
If you look between the jaws of the needle-nosed pliers you'll see where I had to trim some of the roadbed foam. The "sin" of the missing roadbed and the spaces between the edges of the roadbed will be hidden when I ballast later in the layout construction project. You can tell the straight pieces of track came from my last layout (2006-2019) by the holes left from the track holding screws (Gargraves # 4 blackened screws).
As of right now, the outer loop's track and roadbed are in place, but not screwed down, from the yellow tape measure in the upper left corner of the photo to the end of the track in the lower right corner. I have enough 6 1/2" open space on this side of the layout from the edge of the switch's roadbed to the edge of the layout. There's eight inches clear on the far edge of the layout and seven inches on the front side. This is more than enough space for two lane O-scale road around almost 2/3 of the layout. Tip for newbies: Keep a printed copy of your track plan handy. I find I'm referring to mine quite often to make sure I'm putting the right track section in the right place. I also make notes on where I moved pieces to improve things, such as the location of track with power clips, so I can update the plan to "as built" later in RR-Track.
More track work is on the agenda for the next week or so. Today or tomorrow's task includes installing the O-64 curves, fitter and roadbed for the other end of the outer loop. Once that's done, I have to custom cut two track pieces with my new chop saw, a new tool I've never used before, as part of completing the outer loop. The chop saw has got to be an improvement over a hacksaw and a vise that I used years ago! You can see the inner loop's curve laying there, but it's not in the right position yet.
Wow Pat you sure have been busy! It's cold here, but luckily I have a heated train room in the shop! The only thing that sucks is the 20' walk from the house to the shop! Lol
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