What did you do on your layout today?

Re-connected about half of the turnout controllers on the Frankenpanel and they worked so we're half way there!

Hi Guys! Just finished unpacking! I normally have a number of box cars along with my hobo/cop chase car but in honor of my hobos being at home once more, I ran three tank cars! And an extra long train running now about 10 cars long! Mike Maurice good night!

Worked on main line tracks 1 & 2 in the Southern Division. Re-installed the catenary towers in this area. I ran out of time as I have to install new ballast material in this area to complete it.

We called them No-Tell Motels. It took two hours to "make it"? And You call that a quickie? 

 

It's a tough call today, with the blue sky, sun shining, calling for 70*+ .... and I'm half way to having the turnout panel returned to operating status.

 

But ... duty calls ... wire wire wire ....

It was a work day, so layout time was limited, but I did finish installing the catenary towers and wires.

Moments ago I just finished the third building in this mining ghost town.   This one is

in better shape, having recently seen duty as U.S. Forest Ranger Station, after its

life as a land office and assay office.  However that sign as all the others are stacked

against the building and the shingles are stripping, windows broken, and deteriation

has begun.  Next and probably last will be the saloon, although the station's flag stop

post needs to be done.

1. Finished the work on the Southern Division of the layout.

2. Installed six lighted station platforms that are part of the new train station complex.

3. Started to install two blinking red lights for the top of the towers on the Newport Bridge.

Finished hooking the turnout control panel back up.  Today will add the wire to power the two caboose service tracks.

Friend is coming over to help with hanging the panel on a couple of hinges. 

This is "temporary" until we get the new enhanced control panel design finalized and constructed.

Woke up early this morning, wife already off to work, kids still asleep.  It was a bit too chilly out to have a cup of coffee on the porch so I want down to the layout and ran trains.

I finished the passenger stop signal for the decrepit station in the ghost town and am

well along on the "Sluicebox Saloon".  It, too, is returning to the earth.  Last building

will be a real ghost, as it will be only the foundation and cellar with a chimney sticking

out of it.  Then back to work on the creosote plant....

Started to install a new control system for the switch yard. There are 14 tracks with two rotary dials controlling tracks 1-7 & 8-14. By using this system, I am not putting power out to the sidings when the trains are in storage. I can activate just the track where I want to move a train. Considering they all will hold a passenger train, think about the power draw if the sidings were not controlled by a system similar to what I am using.

My Layout is FINISHED!!  Ran my new Lionel BNSF GENSET. A Great Engine with Great Sounds!!

 

Fredstrains

I worked on detailing some track for photography.  I took some shots of my GN GP30 and posted them to the forum.  And ran trains of course!

Wired up my new ZW-L

 

Peter

Looked at it.  It's still there

Completed 16 lane-feet of my country 'Streets road that involved four custom cuts of curves to strange angles to make special sections of a weird loop around my future industrial area.

Made some realistic load for my ICG railroad

I roughed in a foam incline to reach the bridge abutment of my swing bridge. This was an afterthought. I hadn't planned on using the bridge. One day I thought why not? It set me back a few weeks but I'm moving forward again. I completed the additional wiring for the bridge, the bridge approach, and two additional passenger yards that I added. They weren't on the plan either. There is a switch half way up the incline so that had to be addressed as well. I laid some track over the loose foam and just had to run an engine up to check it out. This also accomplised checking the bridge overhead clearence. This same engine, the Williams EF-4 doesn't make the Lionel 213 but does fine on this K-Line swing bridge. Where is Maury when you need him?

 

Today I completed the last two buildings in my ghost town, well, one is a cellar hole

with a chimney sticking out of it, and a rusty stove and other junk in it...the "Sluicebox Saloon", with its collapsed facade and sunken roof is done except for selecting rusty signs for the sides of the building.  Will have to search and print some Coors signs.

Added a rusty REA sign to the station ruins, and leaned a U.S. Forest Service sign

beside the now closed assay office/former Forest Ranger office.  May add a Conoco

sign to that to pile to give the building yet another, intermediary,  prior life as a gas station.

Next to assemble it in a temporary "town" shape and shoot some pictures of it.

Watched a MoPac freight go past the REA depot, then started building Signboard Hill.

I finished the wiring and testing of the new rotary switch control system for my switch yard, all 14 tracks work wonderfully. Big job out of the way. I can now see the finish line for my two month renovation project. Also started putting train sets back on the layout.

 

I have to put ballast and grass material down for the siding yard and then it is on to the large new train station complex.

Installed Lionel flagpole and MTH signal dispatch board.  Also started repairing an old Lionel Alco where the plastic shell cracked near the rear frame mounting screw.  Serviced it and applied a layer of fiberglass sheeting / epoxy to the area.  Serviced the loco and will likely install a tru-blast horn while it's open.

Didn't actually work on the layout today, I worked over it. Started to prep for the suspended ceiling. Got the first row of eye screws up. The next row will need Patrick's help, as it is directly over the layout.

Run trains for visitors. The houses that where open for Blissfield RR days we got together and visited everyones layouts. Some really nice model railroads in Blissfield

 

Clem

Started the last of the work in the siding yard by installing grass material. Four hours of work on my hands and knees. Hope to finish this phase today.

Just now I set the tree stumps around the cellar hole of the ghost town, and put the mail

box out in front...may add a  1920's Berkshire Valley gas pump if I have one(found a

later version, but this scene demands the glass top type), and a gas price sign...and cleared a table so I can set up the light box for pictures.  Just needs some operating

ghosts to float through...

I haven't done a thing since I painted the second deck girder bridge but I do have the rails on hand from gargraves to add the guard rails on both bridges.

won't get back to that until June as were basically on a retirement vacation most of May gee this retirement gig is rough LOL.

 

$oo 

Well today I got the table up and put another piece of plywood on top. I also got it bolted to the other 2 tables that I built. I still have some building to do  so I guess I'll have it done soon as I have enough cash on hand. This month is tough $$$ wise. So now I guess I'll I can lay some more track.

I continued work on two hot rods to sit in front of a speed shop I've made.

I finished the work in the central portion of my renovation project. There was a good deal of work on my hands and knees for hours on end. Thankfully, this portion of the renovation project is done.

 

Now I can load all of the trains back on the layout and then start work on the new train station complex that is easy to reach. The end of this project is now in sight.

Patrick was over yesterday, and we got about 3/4 of the way around the north section of the train room with the L for the suspended ceiling. We probably would have gotten it all done except for the fact that there was a section in one corner where the duct work hadn't been boxed in yet.

 

That was when disaster struck. We were fixing a spot that I had framed years ago, but wasn't quite straight. As he was trimming a 2x2 that was above his head, the saber saw slipped and bit the back of his hand. A few paper towels, a wrap of duct tape, and a couple of aspirin later, he was back to work. Patrick is one tough cookie.

 

Today, I picked up where we left off, and added another chunk to the soffit. There's still a section left to build, then it needs to be sheetrocked. I'm happy to save that for Patrick. Then I sanded some of the putty that Patrick had applied to the backdrop, and painted the section above Dayton's bluff. Finally, I did some vacuuming in preparation for $oo Line's visit Monday. There's a little more to do, but it'll have to wait til Sunday night when I get back from chasing 261.

 

Very little.....inspected a kit of a mining town store, and decided to kitbash it and add

it to my "completed" ghost town, so oversprayed the hydrocal brick and stone castings with a base color prior to  painting individual stones with acrylics.  I did put a "ghost", a shadowy white figure in the town's collapsing saloon where it can be seen back in the building through the vacant, glassless window.

A little glow in the dark paint here and there could make some ghosts "disappear" till dark when they would glow for a while.

I've been putting down Flexxbed roadbed the past two days. 

Started tearing out the 7 Gargraves switches in the freight yard and replacing them with the new Ross standard gauge switches.  The Ross operate on DC and the rest of the layout is powered by z4000 AC transformers, so this will also involve putting in a DC power supply and new wiring.   

 

The Ross toggle switches take up a lot more space than the toggles I was using, so I am also having to rebuild the control panel for the yard.  One thing leads to another.

 

Did some wiring for platform lights and other lighting accessories for the new traibn station complex. Also loaded all of the trains back on the layout.

im sorry to say that I took my layout down.  boy it took only 2 days to do it.  amazing the time spent to build it.  looking forward to design of the new one for winter this year.  Ill be weathering my buildings over the summer.  adding details inside of them.  good luck to all your continuing efforts guys!