What did you do on your layout today?

Well i guess i wasnt done tonight. Painted the edge and part of the top plus installed 2 shelfs

Upgraded the firmware on all 3 WIU's

We are sponsering a figure painting contest til the end of March so it was an excuse to get a little sillier than usual!

I spent a lot of time contemplating my layout yesterday - things weren't quite working yet. Flipped some yard areas around - moved planned buildings from one area of layout to another, and now I'm hard at it...

spray painted back drop trees (Rust-Oleum camouflage colors are awesome - Forest Green with highlights of khaki and brown applied over my sky).  Now I'm working on a retaining wall to add to the illusion of depth.   Then I'll work on the next layer of scenery down to my yard

midnightwrecking posted:

We are sponsering a figure painting contest til the end of March so it was an excuse to get a little sillier than usual!

Looks like a wild place there! 

Jacobpaul81 posted:

I spent a lot of time contemplating my layout yesterday - things weren't quite working yet. Flipped some yard areas around - moved planned buildings from one area of layout to another, and now I'm hard at it...

spray painted back drop trees (Rust-Oleum camouflage colors are awesome - Forest Green with highlights of khaki and brown applied over my sky).  Now I'm working on a retaining wall to add to the illusion of depth.   Then I'll work on the next layer of scenery down to my yard.

That is a nice effect! 

Spent some more time on the layout today.

New shelves installed

Menards feed and seed

General clean up

general cleanup again

running a passenger train on lower level

new benchwork needs cleaned already ordered all the fastrack for this area last night from Nassau hobbies .

Completed install on a my signal bridge.  Installed a DZ-2500 switch machine and gave it a TMCC address.  plus ran some trains and made this video.

Tried my hand at painting a boxcar. Here is the results. Mixed the color myself

Over the past couple of days I assembled a temporary bridge to span a gap and close the reverse loop.  Far from complete, I plan to make this section hinged so that it can be folded away when access is needed. 

Bruce

Hung this

Finishing this tonight

Again I am ducking work. Just running trains again tonight.............Paul

Have an issue that doesnt make sence. Smoke unit works good in reverse. But not in forward

O-scale layout: just a very small amount done today. Having a locomotive clearance problem at the rock face edge of one side of the tunnel, and on an edge of a raised plywood building platform. Took in my fiancé's big ol' RASP to work on these. The plywood may necessitate using a saw.  Also, had the students sift through some dark sand with tiny rocks mixed in it that I procured on Saturday. The tiny rocks can be used at the edge of a small cliff embankment near the water and sand.

Today I decided to film some of the trains running and made a video and just posted it to YouTube. My YouTube account is also NSRailfan100, please go check it out!

Last night I ran Ivor a bit to stretch his 'legs' and then broke out some of my older British railways books to look for inspiration for a new project.

NSRailfan100 posted:

Today I decided to film some of the trains running and made a video and just posted it to YouTube. My YouTube account is also NSRailfan100, please go check it out!

Nice video and layout!  I like the PFA announcements on the passenger train.  I have fun with them with my Imperial N&W J 611.  What are the overall dimensions of your layout?

The Sugar Creek 2016 Model Railroad show was last Saturday, and was a grand success! 

Local weather wizard Dan Skoff has been a staunch supporter of the club for years, so the club asked me to put together a nice tribute pic for him...

Dan loved the pic! 

Here's how you can tell I live near Oklahoma: 

"All Gi-raffes, All The Time!" Seen after setup. 

The Nize Hat Mk II, a former Swiss conductor's cap, also made its debut at the Sugar Creek show...

And, of course, the kiddies loved the trains! 

And, of course, I scored a little show swag...

More pics below! 

Mitch

Mark Boyce posted:

NSRailfan100 posted:

Today I decided to film some of the trains running and made a video and just posted it to YouTube. My YouTube account is also NSRailfan100, please go check it out!

Nice video and layout!  I like the PFA announcements on the passenger train.  I have fun with them with my Imperial N&W J 611.  What are the overall dimensions of your layout?

12x18!

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

The Sugar Creek 2016 Model Railroad show was last Saturday, and was a grand success! 

Local weather wizard Dan Skoff has been a staunch supporter of the club for years, so the club asked me to put together a nice tribute pic for him...

Dan loved the pic! 

Here's how you can tell I live near Oklahoma: 

"All Gi-raffes, All The Time!" Seen after setup. 

The Nize Hat Mk II, a former Swiss conductor's cap, also made its debut at the Sugar Creek show...

And, of course, the kiddies loved the trains! 

And, of course, I scored a little show swag...

More pics below! 

Mitch

Mitch,

Very nice picture you presented!  Looks like another super show!!

NSRailfan100 posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

NSRailfan100 posted:

Today I decided to film some of the trains running and made a video and just posted it to YouTube. My YouTube account is also NSRailfan100, please go check it out!

Nice video and layout!  I like the PFA announcements on the passenger train.  I have fun with them with my Imperial N&W J 611.  What are the overall dimensions of your layout?

12x18!

That is a great sized space!

today the students and i worked on the black sand areas near the water and cliff faces. I put down the glue, then demo'd proper sand application.

Late last night I had some time to get into the train room and run trains!  Yes!!!

As I was running the trains I painted some barrels - actually barrel shaped packing inserts to keep Omega 3 capsules from sticking together - I find these in bottles of Omega3/ Salmon oil which I buy at Trader Joes - for me its sort of like getting the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks  They paint up real nice.  I'll have to get some photos up on the forum and let you all have a look.  

Additionally I did some organization in the trains room, throwing some stuff away, 

clearing off the control stand, and straightening up my locomotive shelf.

I also tweaked some scenery and vignettes and  as the trains were running.

Btw - here are some cliff walls I made ( over the Christmas break ) from aluminum foil in photo 1

Photo 2 - Foil walls between bridge abutment and real rock cliff.

Photo 3 - shows it all with scenic context.

I made the foil walls with heavy gauge aluminum foil purchased at the grocery store.  I crinkled the foil, then sprayed flat black paint ( about 3 coats ) then earth tone paints, spray glue, then just through tallis, ballast, earth, at the walls.  The rock is real ( and real heavy too ). I got this out of a nearby river bed.... as I use many real stones on my layout.

Did some more wall painting, Part 2.

Carey TeaRose posted:

today the students and i worked on the black sand areas near the water and cliff faces. I put down the glue, then demo'd proper sand application.

Carey,

I missed seeing, what grade are your students?  Does the layout building tie into any class work?  I have seen where other teachers have used trains, layouts, dioramas in the classroom.  Reminds me of when our grown daughters were in school.  One built a section of the Great Wall of China and another built the Coleseum in Rome.  They came up with the plans, I helped them pick materials and how to use them, then let them have at it.  Yes, we once had the Great Wall and the Coleseum in out attic!  Good thing the carpenters built the house very well!  Lol

Mark Boyce posted:

Carey TeaRose posted:

today the students and i worked on the black sand areas near the water and cliff faces. I put down the glue, then demo'd proper sand application.

Carey,

I missed seeing, what grade are your students?  Does the layout building tie into any class work?  I have seen where other teachers have used trains, layouts, dioramas in the classroom.  Reminds me of when our grown daughters were in school.  One built a section of the Great Wall of China and another built the Coleseum in Rome.  They came up with the plans, I helped them pick materials and how to use them, then let them have at it.  Yes, we once had the Great Wall and the Coleseum in out attic!  Good thing the carpenters built the house very well!  Lol

middle school, mostly 6th graders

Nothing much as I was in Florida for my Dad's 80th birthday (on Feb 29, so he's really 20?) for a week and got back very late last night.

That said, I did a lot of sketching for the scenery shapes for the back corners of the layout.

I think I bent something on the front trucks of my Bachmann On30 ten-wheelers when I removed them for track painting the day before I left. When I test-ran them, they wanted to bind badly on a 20" curve, which they should go through with no problems and always did before. I'll have to turn both on their sides to see what the heck I did.

While running trains I was working under the railroad. Opening up another area to use the shelves. Sure takes awhile to more things when they isn't much space to move them to. With each passing day doing this I am feeling more and more like a sardine. I know there is a light at the end of this and I know it would come quicker if I would stop buying for a bit.........Paul

Carey TeaRose posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Carey TeaRose posted:

today the students and i worked on the black sand areas near the water and cliff faces. I put down the glue, then demo'd proper sand application.

Carey,

I missed seeing, what grade are your students?  Does the layout building tie into any class work?  I have seen where other teachers have used trains, layouts, dioramas in the classroom.  Reminds me of when our grown daughters were in school.  One built a section of the Great Wall of China and another built the Coleseum in Rome.  They came up with the plans, I helped them pick materials and how to use them, then let them have at it.  Yes, we once had the Great Wall and the Coleseum in out attic!  Good thing the carpenters built the house very well!  Lol

middle school, mostly 6th graders

That I that is a great job you and they are doing!!  Thank you for sharing with us!

I ran trains last night briefly before going to bed.  Thats all I had time to do.  Short and sweet!

just a bit of ground cover on a small area of the homosote today, 

Shipment from Nassau Hobbies came in a bunch of fastrack for my yard. in scarm it showed 20 inches for the 4 lines in the yard in real life about 22 3/4 inches. I think I am still forgetting the 1 3/8 pieces on 072 switches in scarm so needless to say couldn't do it exactly how I had planned since the bench work was only 20 inches wide. but made it work in a different configuration just lost a little length to the 3rd line.after that I upgraded a old Union Pacific Engine it was the second engine I ever bought. its a gp20  6-18471 #1977 figure I can use it to move cars around in the yard . need to figure out remote couplers for it. but also did a tune up grease and oiled it started off not being able to pull 5 cars after it pulled all 5 no problems. should work for what I want it for it was nice to see it run again. it's very plain metal handrails but cool to see run again instead of sitting on a shelf.

After a short hiatus of running trains I got back to work adding more shelves under the layout. It sure takes time to take cars out of boxes but I have been coming across things from years and years ago. So for the rest of this week I'll be adding shelves. I also came to the decision that it is just too much to keep the shipping cartons for some of them and I think this way of storing the cars will make me change them out more often. A couple of pics...........Paul

Since the 8471 switcher I picked up this weekend didn't have a horn, I put one in, complete with patented MarmelTech(tm) Dixie cup resonator! 

The switcher now beeps around merrily!

Mitch

I got home from work and ran trains!!!  My Friday thing to do!!!   Took some photos for tomorrow's post on the Switcher Saturday thread here on OGR Forum too.

Unpacked a couple of TMCC engines and gave them their first few laps around the layout.   I had forgotten how throaty the whistle on the LionMaster PRR T1 was.  The echos have way of filling the room.

It's time to go around and correct some wiring issues while I brainstorm future layout vignettes .    I will probably be breaking the mainline into blocks to help improve the DCS signal.  Once I'm satisfied with the DCS,  I'll rough in the catenary located inside tunnels.   It's no fun having automatic directional pantographs when they remain permanently down.

Bruce

Future SPCA inspector thinking," Doz poor Jeerafs bin cooped up in doz cars too long.  Let dem out for a stretch! "

Bruce

I have been slowly and sporadically working on a combine coach/caboose to be appropriate for the pickle train that will be operated by my pickle packing plant.  It is a combination of different plastic shells.  The cutting up of shells has generated two other potential odd-ball cars, so I may get three for this company branch off a short line.

tried something new fixed the tether on an upgraded steam engine . still not 100% happy with it . but tried my hand at weathering.