What did you do on your layout today?

Went to a train show Sunday in Arbutus, Maryland with my friend Randy.  Invested in some cheap real estate ( buildings ).

This morning i created a vignette of a boxcar being unloaded on a team track.  I'll get pictures up in a later post.

Later today I stopped by Michaels Crafts on a wim and bought a Lemax field light. I've never seen these items before but thought I'd give it a try.  It may work just fine for my new Tucker Town dealership new car lot. 

That about sums it up from Patsburg and the Free State Junction RR.

This evening I did some prep on an American Standard Car Co. gas electric kit, by

removing flashing from castings, but couldn't get interested, and since I had  to hunt

to find an old kit-built water standpipe for photos of water towers I'd just built, and

found a Berkshire Valley standpipe kit, I began it.  It is a lot of little parts and more

difficult than the older kit-built one I had.  It is also a different style. There was a thread on here asking about a need for a water tower kit....while searching, I found there were at least two others including a Canadian kit available, in addition to the three I had built.

Still cleaning under the tables but running trains at the same time..........Paul

Worked on Patsburg Westend, adding a movie theatre, deleting and adding vehicles, illuminating the new car lot at Tucker Town Motors.  Also tweaked foliage around the tunnel that carries a main line under Patsburg Westend.  Also started visualizing where the yard light towers will go on the layout.  Fun times in Patsburg!!!

Continued to make up circuit boards to activate accessories. I got the Wile E Coyote shack working well. Made up flasher and timer circuits for highway flashers and warning bells.

LINK

Dale H

  Moved a small cabinet into the living room, and got it half filled while moving rolling stock around and, pre-assembling some trains on the layout and it's shelves.

  To celebrate, I gave a rectified DC Atlantic Coast 2-4-2, some big sinkers for extra traction, cleaned the works up, and painted white walls on her.

  It hiccupped, sneezed, and coughed to get the attention. Feeling, and looking better, it ran it around air drying its pedicure for an hour or so. 

 I've also come to the conclusion there is a difference in track cleanliness, after bringing it up off the floor.

   I seldom, if every cleaned my track often throughout life.

 Till I was 30, I think I only sat down and cleaned it, only three times....ever.

   But find myself cleaning every month or so now.

 Even my youthful under bed boards, that sat months without use someetimes, stayed clean enough to run any old time at all.

 On the present layout, the elevation gets dirty again at twice the rate of the table height track.   

I've been thinking about Pat Kn's layout's, Capt. Sparrow's Fish Market.

Yesterday after my last post, I had some great tuna & dill sandwiches that kicked off thinking about Pat's, fishing, and eventually "bigger boats".  

But who needs big boats when you can fish from a little dockside?

Cool Train.  Is the crane the fishing line for that big fish?

All your fault Pat!('morning)

Good thing it isn't part of a catch and release program.....

Jesse

Oddest looking Sharknose *I* ever saw...

-MMM-

Another day spent under the tables cleaning and sorting. I got the first storage area about half full but as I am putting boxes in there I am looking through them and labeling the outside to know what is in them. Another plus was I found three of my South Buffalo hopper cars. I have 6. They were made by Buffalo Creek Graphics years ago. Tomorrow a fresh start and cutting the second storage door...All the while up there I had trains running..........Paul

I finished the Bershire Valley water column.  This kit has a lot of parts, like rods and

levers, that have to be glued and waited on, to finish.  I have another column built

from another kit that uses that wheel out at the spout to "operate" it, and I like the

looks of it better, and it is a lot simpler to build.  I glued together the body sheel for

the American Standard Car Co. gas electric kit, but decided to wait until I get the

power chassis in before doing more on it.  So, I began the Menard's feed mill, replaced all the signs, and started the kitbash to raise the tower into an elevator.

Additional panels have to be cut to conform to the angles of roof and that went a whole lot easier and quicker than expected. Once those are glued in as a base, raising the

tower will be easy.

 Paul - reading about your organizing the under the table area of your layout is beginning to inspire me to do the same.  The hardest  part of that task for me is mustering up the mojo  to do it.  Once I make the mental commitment I'll "get her done"!  Your posts are driving me  to make an " under the table" deal with myself.

Thanks!!

Does looking at your layout count for working on the layout?  If so that is all the work I did today.

Just thinking about layout work can be exhausting

Well, I did toddle the Amtrak consist around for a few loops, if that counts.  I DO love the effect of two electronic horns at once; just enough difference between 'em to make a nice chorus... 

Mitch

Colorado would really like to see some pictures of the changes to the Menards building. Have one but have not gotten to it yet.

Have fixed up my Standard gauge loop with more new track and light cardboard underneath to keep it from sinking in to the carpet, cleaned and oiled the 3 Lionel passenger cars from my "youth"(a long time ago) and ran them behind the big 1835 steamer last night. Really ran nice but the weight makes the track flex. Don't like carpet layouts but all I have right now. My son is supposed to take some furniture home with him this weekend and that will give me space to get the Standard gauge off the floor. If he doesn't take it I chop it up and burn it. Soon my house will have only a layout for furniture but that will be OK.  This train has been with me for 78 yrs so it is a bit special.

Spent part of the last 3 days making and installing an additional 40 feet of my homemade train shelves.  That brings the total footage in my train room to a little over 325 feet, lined up with trains coupler to coupler.  That is all the wall space available so what doesn't fit will to to the Forum "For Sale" list.

To get the new shelves to match the weathered and oxidized shiplap walls, I use a coat of amber shellac before I apply semigloss poly.

Jim

Good day today. I got the second storage door done. This has the most storage space so once I vacuum out the years of dust in there and I see what goodies the other people may have had left in there I can get to storing more of my things in there. All the time of working I was running trains. Don't know if I will get much done tomorrow. Going to the train show in Berea................Paul

Jim, those shelves look beautiful.  I especially like your warm finish on them.

New industry locates along the Great Northeastern Railway (GNR) to avail themselves of the superior GNR freight service. New arrivals, The Garfield Belt Company and the Fartzwell Baked Beans factory join Unoco Motor oil and the Doggy Doo Canine Laxative company as new GNR freight customers.

Thanks, "TrainsRMe", 

In the beginning I was going to use extruded aluminum shelves but wanted something a bit more "formal".  I  have a large workshop, all the equipment needed, some helpful jigs I made and  the time to make them, especially in the colder months.  The last 8 shelves I made that are pictured took me a total of about 10 hours including finishing.

Thanks again for you compliments.

Jim

Still pulling wire, wish battery RC was further along!!

Nice room Jim.

 I'm lucky enough to have the knotty look here & there too.

It being around always makes it "home" for me.

 Good morning,

Get your coffee, and wash your hands so you can scratch your groggy head on this mess ....

 I started a fantasy paint scheme on the old MPC caboose on which I would slap a very plain but shiny, spoon silver.

 It was inspired in part by the "Bigger boat" train from my earlier post.

 That train unintentionally begins a conceptual continuity() that trumps it without discarding it.... if you're the type to play the fish in your hands.

And it looks like I'm going to have a straight run with it.

  The crazy cab forward #8, once pulled the Marvin the Martian train, before the rocket engine was built for his WAR. Once finished it was "rats, screwed"  while it got reduced to mostly taking out the Trash, maintenance train duty.

  A favorite little loco of mime, its no shelf queen. Its my Ace, in the hole.

 Its pull is rated numero uno. I doubt it that the Garbage job was enjoyed.

I didn't it didn't suit it well, but what was I to do? Run it solitaire?

 I thought the little king might easily find a small carnival for it to draw for eventually, but I think the waiting has come to a pass. This play should trump that one.

 The engines harlequin paint should be a decent contrast to the choice of the crummy's upcoming, similar, but monocrome graphics, creating a nice pair.

Candy colored mono chromed cars, are next I think.

But, I wonder where this old crow will actaully Rook his pallet from. 

An Old Dutch Cleanser car is on the radar now too. I don't think they are being Maid.

Did you Take the Train? "Are you playing along? Passsing Pay attention"()

Or thinking I'm not dealing with a full deck?

 Any guesses as to the overall theme at hand? 

 Or still don't know Jack, Evens if it slapped you card on your rosy cheek, or dotted you in one eye. ..... Theres Suicide...Just kidding, bad one.

 Gin or juice, for you, Rummy? 

Euchred have passed on reading. Canasta back out now, but its really a wasted bid. 

Ok "I'm out!" of references 

 If you "get it". Open a new package, and right there facing up, the upcoming crummy's graphics are normally on top I chose "Smiling" brand for my wild idea .

The Imperial Bauer Associated Lines

Imperial Express-Nonstop And Limited Layovers

(National Excursion Rail Deals Inc).

I bet can have Cuoco and Shatner "chip in", in no time with my....

I.B.A.L. I.E-N.A.L.L. N.E.R.D.I  

Imperial Bower... Yep, that's the ticket!

Just finished filling out some more job applications. Now I will have some breakfast and after I might finally start on a project I was thinking about last night. Might also clean up some of my train stuff that have taken over my workbench again. Hope everyone has a great Saturday

Yesterday I ripped 8 pieces of Homosote, 6"x4 ft. for Standard gauge roadbed for my carpet RR under my O gauge layout. Laid them down under the track, the ends need trimmed for a better fit but they really work well.  Ran my old Lionel passenger cars with the 318 and worked well. I have 3 old Lionel passenger cars that are really long-longest they made, I understand- and want to try them. I forget the number. Paint is rough but got them cheap at a TCA show.  Actually they are pretty big to run all three on the loop.

Protip of the day:  If you have a Plasticville barn which is missing the roof ventilators, small hair rubber bands may be employed as a quick fix:

This solution is Mary Christmas approved! 

In other news, I used "materials on hand" to recreate Amtrak's early glory days of the "Rainbow Era": 

The two Alcos took the increased consist in their stride! 

Mitch

Mitch,

last night, I too discovered a scrounge for chef's hat type ventilators and stacks.

Schrader Valve caps (for inner tubes & tires).

Small older knurled ones look like small "chef""spinners"

A larger custom set (a piston?) looks like a larger polished stainless upright stack. 

Wow Randy!! Great!  Having more freight customers to service is a good thing!!  Does the Doggie Do factory receive hoppers or boxcars?  How bout Fartzwell Baked beens ...  any methane gas tankers? 

Your photos look GREAT!!!!

Pat:

Thank you for the kind words. Both the Doggy Doo and the bean factory are set up to receive boxcars.

Today I meet with a few other club members and worked on our 4000 sf layout.  Almost finished a two track road crossing on our branch lines,  planned a staircase where we have a second small beach  and glued more of the figures we are using on our river front scene.  VBG.   During the week I have to finish the road crossing and do another one else where on our main lines.  Then to paint about 250 figures I bought on Ebay for the layout. 

Got my Wabash caboose all set up for Giraffe Express service!

https://ogrforum.com/t...ose-in-12-hours-flat

Mitch

Working on Lionel 11" flats, 5411-2 molds, for carrying Army equipment loads.

Adding wooden decks, metal non-skid surfaces to decking ends as simulated on cars.

Have LBR decals to apply for US ARMY Transportation Corps designations.  Will be

using scale chain for tie-down with fabricated turnbuckles, chocking of wheels/tank

treads.  Hope to be posting pics soon, depending upon work schedule with clearing

of storm debris on land and taking care of animals. 

Ran trains

Decided to pull eight wires at a time from multiple wire reels.

Tinplate Pullmans (pre and postwar) are like coat hangars and O27 track; they multiply on ya when you're not looking: 

After all 64 wheels were oiled, one broken truck replaced and one finger bandaged (that truck died taking casualties with it!), the Amtrak Alcos took the whole menage for a spin...

The fourth car in the consist is my adapter car, with a prewar coupler on one end and postwar on the other.  And the postwar observation has been edited so that it has a coupler in the back... 

Mitch

Had a break from the rain (first we get a heat wave, then we get rain) and decided to test fit the "street" surface for the street-running section of my corner switching layout. The narrow blade MTH uses for ScaleTrax leaves nice narrow flangeways if you use 1/2" wide strips but they're wide enough to clear the hi-rail flanges of the equipment I use.

2-rail. (flange is hard to see on this converted car.

3-rail MTH box car.

Ran my newly acquired #8 Standard gauge and the 2046. They are both good runners. Plus fixed the cord on the V transformer and checked it out OK. Saw a set of Strasburg passenger cars at the TCA show but too rich for me.