What did you do on your layout today?

Hello guys and gals.....

 

i don't have layout but did some work on mine S.F. 5011 tender using black marker to get rid of the shiney wheel sets, it turned out much better than expected.

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5011

Tiffany

Worked on the Backdrop, cleaned up the garage where my Layout is and started a 85' brick chimney flat for my backdrop.

My railway time was mainly spent on locomotive maintenance. I had been awaiting some replacement parts from Lionel which arrived in the post yesterday. So I was busy swapping out a smoke fan motor and replacing the pilots on my F7s. The Legacy F units are such an absolute dream to work on, they are my favourite locomotives. 

I re-wired up a CW80 transformer that will power all my accessories on the layout this morning.  I also am running trains with my son again.   Tomorrow i am off of work and hope to get a few hours while the kids nap to get more plaster cloth on.  

Bought some metal shelving at Ocean State Job Lot to organize my "warehouse" room of trains. At $20 to $40 they are a great buy and I haven't been able to find them anywhere else. These are ALL METAL, no partical board so they are light in weight while still strong enough for storing boxed cars, engins, accessories etc.. The room is a mess right now and I have to get it organized!!!

 

Paul Goodness

I messed around with the ETD on the new Lionel BNSF Autocarrier and I plan to do some scenery tonight.

Run trains, finished a corner of the layout with my son.

I am working on my Korber Roundhouse to put on my newly built 3' X 5' roll around yard with Atlas O 2 rail track

My grandson and I repaired one uncoupler controller and put in a new uncoupling section, rewired a Miller Engineering sign and reprogrammed two switches to work by TMCC.  Next job is to complete some scenery around the Railway Express Terminal.

Hi,

 

Well after getting better lighting in my basement and electrical, the electrin left

and I finished installing 3 Z-Stuff signal and bridge lights.

Tomorrow start wiring the structure accessories to my AIU.

 

Trackahead

My TIU and remote arrived today and some 260 bumpers.  Bumpers installed, now I have to figure out how I am going to rearrange my control panel to fit in my TW.

Got halfway through finishing Smith Street. Hope to be completely done by houseplant appreciation day.

Converted from conventional to legacy today.I am going to sleep with my cab2 remote.

I ran trains for a friend and his kids who stopped by.

I found a place to buy styrofoam in custom cut pieces, so I bought some six inch by twelve inch by forty eight inch blocks that I could use for raising the track up to the higher elevation I needed.

Hey, I like this thread so much I'm posting to it !

 

I am trying to work on the layout every day. Not drudge jobs, though. I did too much of that prior to the Holidays.

 

Today I finished the wood planking for platforms by Munoz Station and weathered the tracks with Bragdon powders. I also started work on a small section house. Took some photos of the interior detail of my diesel shed.

 

eliot

 

Grandson Micah arrives 7:00AM (Sat. 1/05/13) with his GP20.  We spent some time hooking-up a TIU, Passive mode, signal only to the tracks.
The GP20 did not smoke well so we spent some more time improving smoke output. Re-arranged the fiber wading in the smoke fluid chamber. Added smoke fluid to the dry fiber wading.   By the time his father came, 1:00 AM, we had the GP20 running well. Still a little gear noise, but I think it will wear in.

What did I learn today from a 10 year old. ?
(1.) You can crash you engine without crashing it. Apparently there is a DCS crash sound sequence.
(2.) There are (3) different smoke volume controls.  Low, medium, high.
(3.) The number boards can be turned on an off.
(4.) There is a special place on the train shelves for his engine.

(5.) We'll run the engine "shiney" for awhile, until it gets older, then we'll weather it with grimmy black to make it look used.  
(6.) Lunch is at 11:45AM.

 Now that was a GREAT Day

Mike

Mike,

Isn't it great to share the hobby with the little ones? I never had so much enjoyment before my Grandson's got interested.

 

Great layout pics, thanks for sharing!

I 100% agree.  I have a 2 1/2 year old son and his eyes just light up every time he sees a train.  I have really enjoyed just running trains with him, and he is learning how to use the Legacy remote to control his favorite train, the PM 1225.

 

As for the work ont he layout today I was able to switch out some pins on some of my Fastrack Switches to make it mate better with my Gargraves track to leads to the wye. I used some Gargraves to Tubular track pins that a forum member sent me and it worked great.  I had to open up the switch and pull out the Fastrack pins.  Took me about 10 minutes per track and now the transition is so much more smooth then what it was.  

I haven't had much time to work on the layout over the last 2 weeks with my inlaws in town.  But they left on Wednesday and my progress has started to move forward on the layout again.  I have started to install a covered bridge that forum member Alex Malliae has built for me.  He also should have a water wheel done for me by next week, and after I receive it I will finish cutting my river out exactly how I want it.  I will spend the next 2 or 3 weeks laying plaster cloth over the entire layout.  

 

What have you done on your layout today?

Can you post photos and explain how you apply the plaster cloth and if you are making your own, how you do it.

 

Thanks

 

Jim Miller

Finalized the plans for scenery around our Railway Express Transfer Warehouse and ordered some supplies. Made bases for two Woodland Scenic buildings so they match the bases on the MTH buildings. Cut Masonite to use as streets.

I started applying Roberts Brick Mortar on my new MTH Heartbreak Hotel.  Started building a new Clever Model's structure, just waiting for my lights to show up from China. Started scenicing a yard area on the layout.  I am going to work on another Clever Models Structure tonight and probably weather the Hotel and a Lionelville structure.

 

Stared at it, daydreamed, coughed 23 times, ran out of Kleenex, returned downstairs for more meds and water and to continue rassling the recliner. 

 

So, the answer is I did nothing to the layout. But I will catchup.

[there is no bacteria on this post---cough, cough].

 

 

Some mighty good looking work shown up above.

I put together a dummy K-line MP-15 today.

Last Tuesday a friend showed up at my layout with 2 K-line Alco FA's and 2 K-line EMD MP-15's. Only 1 FA would run. By the end of the day I improved the Alco FA that would run. Replaced the E unit in one of the MP-15's with one that I had, Installed the trucks from the damaged MP-15(broken shell) on to the second FA. Just like the 1 to 1 scale railroads we had to do some cutting on EMD trucks to get them under the Alco FA.

For my repair work my friend gave me the MP-15 frame and the broken shell.

Today installed Lionel dummy trucks under the MP-15 frame and added my good non-damaged K-line shell to make a new dummy engine. The engine will go to the paint shop in the near future. For now it looks like "Johnny Cash" built it. 

All I did on today on my portable O-gauge layout was look at it because I am working on some N-scale projects right now.

 

I got the painting and track completed over the last few weeks. The weather is going to be great this weekend and I have three days off, so I will get a good start on the scenery starting tomorrow.

I hooked some power to my on30 logging line and then stapled all lose wires that needed it. Hooked up a small building with some LEDs .

Blacked out the center rail on 15 ft of track. Put new traction tires on both stream engines. Ran all three trains for half an hour.

Making a switch control panel out if oak. It will control 16 turnouts. Indicator lights will be tiny LEDs. Keeping it very small so it tends to blend in with the layout front. I  have Legacy control of the switches also. These are just for fun.  Using different color LEDs to represent different areas for turnouts; such as yards, crossovers, coaling area. Routes will light with different LED colors which I'm hoping my mind will recognize after using for awhile which patterns set which routes. Time will tell. Just blew first try by drilling one hole out of place. I'm staining and sanding second attempt now.

 A start on the things you don't want to do. Primer on homasote for the new layout. Not done but progress! Terry

I'm still working on my two elevated 072 loops. Trying to catch my dream of a layout like the 1934 Lionel Showroom Layout.

Extended one of the locomotive service tracks by four inches.

Still working on the plaster roundhouse...slow but coming along. Interesting thread.

I like the beer garden.

 

I ran trains.  My 5 year old wanted to run trains.  He likes them but is more interested in the "guys" on the layout.  It was entertaining as I have a nice bridge and he is more interested in the guy fishing by it than the 5 engines running around him.

 

John

Got out my old Lionel 2056 engine from 1952 and ran it for the first time in 30 years. Started right up and ran like it did all those years ago.

I have my first postwar Lionel FA loco serviced and operational, except the E-unit needs more work for automatic reversing. AT&SF 212, runs nice and the horn works.

Started to take the layout down! Looking at moving and need to clean out the train room. I'm planning on setting up at least an 8x8 so I can run something while the process moves forward.

I put a TV and comfy chair in the room so my wife can be with me evenings while I work on the layout.

 

I’m trying to finish my engine service area. This weekend, I hope to add some handrails and ground cover around the water spout. I may not get the whole service area done since I can’t seem to find a suitable product for sand. All part of the fun!

 

 

 

 

I am looking at re-arranging the setup of my buildings inside the wye.  In my head it would have looked really good but after the buildings are set in place it looks way too crowded.