What did you do on your layout today?

I continued to make progress on having an operational layout.

I'm still looking for a few more MTH 30-9006 passenger platforms to provide as much covered area for passengers as possible. 

 Menards Dakota factory and UFO restaurant

 Main street is getting populated with Menards, MTH and Lionel buildings 

Transfer table and in the background the Lionel Steam and Wheel Grind and Menards Seed and Feed

Lionel MiJack and in the background a couple of MTH buildings

In testing DCS on the layout I was having a lot of out of range errors.  The TIU's were mounted below the table.  I raised them so they are higher than the table.  I'll be doing some testing tomorrow. 

Of course none of the buildings/accessories are wired yet.  My priority is to have my 3 mainlines operational in the next few days. 

Finish editing & publishing a new You Tube video.

RailKing's Southern Pacific - Cab Forward

See the action and hear all the sounds.

Gary

I added a Lionel station platform. It didn't have light's so I went to Ryder's Hobby in Grand Rapids, MI and bought some LED lights and a Woodland Scenics figures to put on the platform. Plus I took more pictures. The station is on the left on the top picture and on the right on the second picture.

Hopefully this means I've unfollowed this. Nevertheless awesome station there DennyM!

Today?? yep we did a little bridge maintenance on the big bascule. Tightened the belt and it's so much smoother. 

Absolutely stunning, Gregg!  Sorta puts the old 313 to shame, huh?  Could you share some particulars about it?

Bruce

Got an email saying my Menard's feed mill is at the store for pickup.  Also got in a Marx spoked driver I needed for a Marx motor I am going to use to power a project.

Today I added visors to windows (not shown in kit) but are in photos of the D&RGW

gas electric, cut a slot at the back of the body to fit the frame of the Ready Made

Toys chassis, and drilled the chassis for screws to mount the body when I get there.

Also began to shape the ends of the kit's milled clerestory roof.  If you are familiar

with Walther's O scale kits, this is similar and always leave me wondering why none

of these kit mfrs. milled the ends on these stupid roofs.  I tried other milled roofs

such as J-C, Rail Chief, other Walthers, and All-Nation hoping for one with a better

contour per the prototype photo I have.  The sides are too thick on this one, and

others do not have the interior milled out for clerestory windows as does the one in

the kit.  So I am stuck with it, and began the rasping and sanding to shape the ends.

Rail Chief, but the way, does have the ends milled.

Doesn't really count as "today" but I wanted to get this in.

Over the weekend, I removed one of my Woodland Scenics Mod-U-Rail Corner Modules as part of the transformation of my layout.  Gave it to my son so that he could create an "8-acre" property (technically 7.8 sq ft, LOL) for his Hamster.  He took part in the construction and enjoyed it.

Well not so much as working on the layout. Today I have to start cleaning up the mess from working on the layout. Next month I host my small local round robin group. Once I get the open area for moving around clear I can go back to working on it again. So for the time being I'll run trains while I cleanup and hopefully I can get er dun fast as Larry the cable guy says...................Paul

I finished shaping the wooden clerestory roof for the D&RGW gas electric. I don't have

all the roof appliances...need to get some of those in, bell, headlight (I have some but

want better ones)  This car had round fuel tanks on its roof.   Some of these roof

appliances are similar to those Brother Love just used on his excellent model of the

L&N doodlebug in his thread.  If sanding the shape to the roof was not boring enough, I began to impress rivets into the vinyl "plate" that runs from front of car sides back past the baggage door...

Not so much working on the layout but cleaning up the floor area. Been making my way to the front of the attic. The area in front of the transformers is suppose to be an open area. Looking at my own pics I feel like a hoarder with narrow aisle ways to get through.................Paul

In reply to Elliot's suggestion, here are a couple pics of my start on my 26 X 28 ft layout in my trainroom.  Doesn't look so neat right now...LOL!!  Will see about more pics later when I have cleaned up a little, put some empty boxes and totes back into the attic.

Very nice, and nobody here cares about the mess. We all know too well that it's part of the process. Great space! Large but manageable. Keep up the good work.

Matt will be here in a few minutes. I'll report back later.

I just cleaned the yard, the deck and the patio where the suspended layout is. A friend, her husband, daughter and father are coming over this evening to see the trains. She had hip surgery last November, and fell shortly after. The replacement didn't fuse, so it had to be re-done. after the second surgery, an infection set in; she had to have the replacement removed, and have an antibiotic spacer inserted, and a six week regimen of oral antibiotics. She was finally cleared for a third replacement surgery, and has been recovering at home for about three weeks. She is finally able to come over to see the trains. 

Don

Well the time to paint the floor has come . I washed the floor and etched it yesterday & now it has dried with the help from the fan. well hear are a few photos & my buddy Tanner.

I took more pictures

First  coat of paint today. Tomorrow hopefully the 2nd coating  Right now I am not sure I just took 3 Tylenol  Extra Strength   my body hurts.

Matt was here this afternoon, and continued working on what he has begun calling "Amish throws". I didn't ask him why he gave them that name, maybe it is the way they look, very plain. Or perhaps it is the simple wooden knobs they use.

Anyway, today he finished 7 and started another batch. Here he mugs for the camera.

The reason he didn't get more done was he ran into a difficult install on the double slip. The problem was it ended up on top of a structural support. After a bit of head scratching, he figured out a way to get it done.

You may be wondering what the colored tape on the rails is. Those are electrical reminders, indicating what color bus those track segments will be connected to.

While he was working on that, I was doing the final fitting on the ladder  for the "A" yard. The hard part is done, but there is still a lot of work left.

As Matt was setting up to start the next batch, he discovered a broken throw bar on this switch. I've replaced plenty of these, but never one that had been secured to the layout. Let me tell you, it is much easier on the workbench, but after a fair amount of cursing, I got it.

I've always been confident that I could repair these in place. It probably took about 45 minutes to do. I learned a few things along the way.

The painted floor looks great Scott!

A day of rest maybe  Sure looks like you've earned it

What gauge is the hamster? 

Mitch

Adriatic Well you are right. No work on the train layout today. After the drive home from the Dupage train show today my Legs just hurt so much. Time for some more Tylenol. I hate to take anything for pain but this is one of those times I need to. We will see if I work tomorrow or not.

Mitch,

That's a good question!  I am waiting for Amfleet's answer.  ;-)

Our older daughter had 10 different hamsters while growing up.  I have 10 little graves out under the rhododendron with flat stones from the creek as markers.  No the markers aren't headstones, they are just there so I know where they are, so I don't dig one up when I bury the next one.

Hers were all dwarf hamsters, I would say they were HO.  If I was a better electronics engineer, I would have tried generating electricity with their wheel.  It seems some of them will run the whole graveyard shift until they get old!!  

Question on of the day.  How many hamsters does it take to power an O gauge GEVO??

Elliot,

A fine photo of Matt hard at work!  Although the looks a little too happy to me.  Is he losing his mind with the number of these he has to do or has he been sniffing that glue he is holding in his hand?

On a serious note, you fellows in the Twin Cities area are really doing a great job!!  I am surely impressed.  Too bad, I am taking an early "retirement" from work!  I won't ever have the chance to get a trip on the company to the Land of a Zillion Lakes, where my manger is located.  I'll have to make a trip on my own dime!  ;-)

Hi Everybody--  Yesterday and Today, I have been wiring my toggle switch control panel as shown in the attached photo.. More darn wires needed than one is to believe.

FIVE toggle switches will apply power individually (14 volts) to the Oil Derrick, Sunoco gas storage tank "Yard Lamp", Sawmill, Railking interlocking tower, and the BIG Greyhound Bus Depot.  That unit takes up a lot of real estate on one's layout!

I fulfilled my childhood days growing up in Oakland, CA by having the THREE buses in the loading zone in this bus depot that I fondly remember:  Greyhound, Trailways and Peerless.  They look pretty sharp sitting together awaiting their passengers.

Other toggle switches on this control panel apply power (individually) at 18 volts to the Santa Fe passenger yard display tracks; the CSX SD-70ACe diesel loco display track; the Millenium Business Car display track, and the SP 4-8-8-2 AC-12 Cab Forward display track.

The cabling from the 022//072 switches has been run to Jones-type terminal strips at control center.  Using Red, Yellow, Green wires in phone cable.  Yellow equates to the Center post of the switch motors.  There are about five (5) Lionel 153 block signals (so far), hooked up across some of the switches to indicate switch position.

I've been doing all this WITHOUT a wiring sketch-- but after almost FIFTY years working in the switching department of various central offices of the old Bell System, I think I got it down pat !!  (grin)

More later.

KRK

Played with scenery a little and converted 8 2 rail cars to 3 rail. have 5 more to go added a nice railing on the edge by the station.

opps forgot a lot of things I also put grease in the gearbox of my Williams f3's runs much better. planted about 20 trees then made the hill plastered it then painted it then put ground cover on, the hill is on the ramp up to the main level. then did the railing after I painted the edge black. then on the upper level also did some railing. then back to the lower level I did the ground cover along one side then put trees and rocks down. also had trains running while I did all that. noticed the tmcc feature wasn't working on the dcs found out I plugged the cable in backwards now it works fine again.

so I actually did a lot

jhainer

Nice pics.  What did you use for the side of the elevated section in the first picture?

Al

http://www.twtrainworx.com/els_R41.html

    HHmmm??

Benchwork practice.  Built the 2nd of two shelves for the basement out of 8' long 2x4s & plywood.

Needed to clean up the basement as my wife & I try to slowly but surely consolidate two houses after getting married last fall.  Getting stuff off the floor is step one.  Further consolidation will then be necessary.

This half of the basement will be where the main body of the layout ("Phase 1" - here's a link: https://ogrforum.com/t...to-the-drawing-board) will reside.  My space is from the support post back - the wife gets the front half of the room for her area. 

After getting stuff onto the shelves all the stuff we keep from this room will need to be taken into the other room, the nasty carpet torn up and disposed of, and the godawful tiki beach walls painted over & paneling stripped.  We'll then clean the floor & use garage floor pain or some other sealer to make it nice.

Once that's done, we'll move the remaining crap into this side and do the floor of the other room/half of the basement.

After that, then I'll finally be able to begin Phase I construction.  Phase II will come through the boards dividing the two halves of the basement & run along the wall to the left. The turn-around loop will extend to the support posts.  Haven't told the wife about Phase II yet, though.  At least, not seriously.... 

Adriatic And the rest of the group I cheated I moved the what seemed  to be the 300lb step back into place today. Then I just painted the remainder of the floor. Who knows if I will be up to painting tomorrow? One thing you really notice is the entrance to the house. So now I need to resurface the door and repaint it    more work  . Oh well

What did I do today?

Finally decided on a format for my permanent layout*  It’s going to be a 36x80 HCD and eventually 2 HCD’s in a L-Shaped Format, but I need to get the trains running! 

Placed the HCD on top of the two 18x36 Mod-U-Rail modules that I had. Biggest deterrent to me doing a permanent layout was my obsession with having passenger trains continuous running (on O36 or wider) in addition to switching on the same layout but trying to squeeze it in a 36-inch wide layout.  

I then created a 3x6 layout from the MTH 3x6 Action and ThorTrains MTH Door layouts with a few accessories as my beginning track.  With the second HCD on the “L”, will probably use this one to fit in the Inglenook Sidings that I like very much.

Took a few photos of a potential setup.  Yes, the track types are all different, but I did that on purpose so that I could see the spatial differences myself instead of an electronic image.  Also the layout in the photos is missing the 5.5-inch tracks on the straights. Will be using ceiling tiles on top of the HCD for sound insulation.

My plan is to have the control panel on the long side.  When I used the 3x6 carpet on the door for effect, it left an empty space on the end that by default just screaming to be the control area.  Don’t know yet, because that extra length can make all the difference on a small layout.  Plus, I’m not sure about operating a layout from that vantage point.

*-My weekender 6x11 carpet on the tiles layout will still remain and get laid out each weekend.  This is where I will get my fix for continuous running for my passenger trains.  With my joining a club in June, I can get my fix of watching the passenger trains run through scenery. 

I really screwed up today.  I had unplugged one of my transformers and then plugged it back in with the plug reversed.  So, out of phase and the smell of something burning.   One of my transformers is the MRC Pure Power Dual, and it does not have a polarized plug.  It does now.  I took one of those 3-prong to 2-prong adapters (which has a polarized plug) and used some gorilla glue to secure the adapter to the plug of the transformer.

At first I thought I had fried a TIU.  I opened it up, checked the fuses, and looked for any discolored section of the PCB or burned components.  And, of course, I did the smell test.  The smell was coming from around the TIU, but it turned out I fried a couple of TVS's.  I use TVS-4's from Scott's Odds and Ends (now TrainElectric). 

I ordered a few TVS-4's from TrainElectric (after my order he will only have 2 left). 

The good news is that I got my Lionel lift bridge permanently mounted on the layout today. 

Holy buckets Scot, looking great

Just noticed your posts Mitch & Mark.  LOL. 

The Hamster's Name is Apollo and I will guess that he is "H" Scale. 

He spent his "day" at the ranch sleeping, of course.

Well, I got the framing for module #5 of 5 for my corner switching layout done. Also put the fascia boards on for additional rigidity. Unfortunately, the 1/4 ply isn't quite flexible enough for the front taper and cracked so I'll probably get a sheet of luan for the tapered modules.

Going to put the fascia boards on the other modules this week, then try to start on the scenery base material next week.

This nice MTH Gondola turned up in the mail today and as soon as it was unpacked I converted it to the Dark Side.

Kadee couplers, Weaver Trucks, Intermountain wheelsets and I made my own truck spacers on the lathe.

Now I have to weather it and it's finished but I might run it for a while because I like it looking new.

Roo.

 Finding a new pace, is harder than one might think.

Too much, is just too easy, when you've had a life of go-go-go, then, pow, nothing .

  I haven't done much of anything for myself in about a week as I've been helping with a sick dog in isolation.  It appears he missed his parvo shot.

  I spotted signs, and sure enough, 4 days worth of antibiotics and I.V.s were in his future. 

  Not really my dog, but he wouldn't eat, drink, or defecate when I left, so I went back and spent much of the last week relaxing quietly in a vets cage with him.

Least I can do for the dog that pulls out those loose layout wires for me

 He's been "out of jail" for 3 days now . Gaining weight fast, and dying to help under the layout as soon as I started again ......   

..... I took the single mth flashing LED crossing light I ended up with, added a diode(MTH=DC), and added it to the Lionel crossing gate circuit I had going with a #90 button.

 A bit mismatched, but it was as much about adding red light and shadows as it was about working. I'll separate them eventually, and pair them with better matching sizes.

Mismatched, but it did work; so never being one to leave well enough alone, I swapped the #90's input power to common, and moved the un-switched gate wire to constant hot.

  Now my #90 for the gate & MTH-lights, has a switched common.

So what? Well...

 That allowed my to test a 154c spring clamp isolated rail add-on; a 145c and 153c weight contactors out.

The 154c just needs a new blade rivet due to poor contact, no biggie.. 

 So here's what I'm thinking....

 I'll have two-3 track street crossings, on a small 4.5x9 oval, that need lights &/or crossing gates.

  On one side of the layout will be one "scale" gate, but only flashers on the other side of the 3 tracks. It will likely spend most or even all of the time down, so I might look into a slow, solenoid operated gate.

  On the other side of the layout, I want random crazy action!

   I'd like each track to have its own set of signal lights, 3 different types.

   The two outside tracks I want to have gates.

 But I want them all triggered separately, by different tracks.

  The idea being, with three trains looping, the different lights go on and off, gates go up and down (one will bounce off a car hood each time), but the road will always be blocked by at least one signal . 

 That way I can line up automobile traffic, bumper to bumper the whole layout     

We had a great time running trains with our guest George and his wife Pam.