What did you do on your layout today?

I added a sign on the front of the store. The owner name is correct for the store it represents. I made the sign on photo shop and printed it on photo paper.

Also made some "bronze" plaques for a civil war memorial but more on that soon...

Yesterday: Unboxed and set up my Lionel Irvington Factory. Not wired up yet on the layout. A bit dwarfed by the litho dollhouses, but I'm okay with that. It is a very nice addition. 

Well on Sunday 6/5 the layout was down I thought I would be sad but I was Philosophical about it what a new adventure to do.  Finally take all that I have learned and put it to use,  so now I have to fix the floor and prepare to build again

I finally finished packing up all the rolling stock and started with the accessories.   Cleaned a corner of the basement as well.

Getting closer to a rebuild.

-Greg

I don't envy you Greg. I decided rather then tear down all I built in the attic. I moved to the basement. Cleaned it out and started building a new layout there incorporating things I couldn't do in the attic. If you can, when you can, show pictures of the rebuild.........Good luck.................Paul

It is a new beginning, and I'm sure you will in time say it was. the right decision!  I too want to follow along as I hope to sharing my new build starting this winter

More teardown of my classroom layout; sorting, boxing, bagging, recycling, carting up and putting into the car of MANY items associated with the layout. Not done yet, but I'm exhausted...

Well I finally got started on a couple of unfinished projects. One to complete a 1/100 scale Doyusha airliner Ive had for a long time. BTW I decided to add some LED lights to give the model some pop.  I had one built a while back but its in bad shape. I decided to keep it since its sentimental to me. I hung it above the layout using 30lb fish line. The other is to complete the oil refinery section of the layout. 

Love the L1011 Tony!!  I'd like to have one flying over my layout!

Today I finally got to do something train related.  No work on the basement layout I focused on making the shelf for the Z4000's on the control panel in the attic. Decided to use a little thicker plywood and one by fours for strength to support the two transformers. All I have to do now is drill holes for screwing the transformers down and then paint the shelf. Probably wasn't much but at least I got something done. Pic of the shelf.........Paul

Todd Knoll posted:

Love the L1011 Tony!!  I'd like to have one flying over my layout!

Many years ago in the Atlanta area I saw a HO layout that had a track system in the ceiling and had some manner of slot car operation with strings coming through slots into the room, with model airplanes suspended underneath them. He had airliners going by every few minutes and also had a ME-109 being chased by a Spitfire. The props were solid clear disks if memory serves. Sort of crude by today's standards but it was pretty neat anyway.

The ultimate model RR airplane action is here.

Today: more tear down the classroom layout- putting figures and buildings in containers, and transporting them back to the house.

Started wrapping this Indiana grain elevator kit in its thin real metal corrugated shell.    Am using the green tube "metal and wood" Testor's.  I prefer two part epoxy as more permanent, but mixing enough two part epoxy to sheath even a model grain elevator is not appealing.   I have scratchbuilt elevators using currugated sheet styrene, and was much more comfortable that nothing wlll go "sproing!" over time, even with plastic glue fastening styrene to a basswood frame.

Got a package together to send to niece and nephew.  They live near Denver.  Have a set of train magazines, real and model.  One is the resent R&R with the articles about the steamers in Durango, and the new commuter lines in Denver.  So I guess that is working on future layouts!

This morning I laid out where the transformers will go and drilled holes for them and in the back of the shelf where the wires will go through. I got a coat of paint on it and when that dries I can flip it over and do the bottoms of the 1X4's then it is ready to go up to the attic. I get that in place and I can start to lay out the top for the control panel with the switch and uncoupling buttons. Pic of the shelf...................Paul

Unpacked my first Korber Komplete product that came yesterday. Nicely done.

dobermann posted:

Unpacked my first Korber Komplete product that came yesterday. Nicely done.

Doberman,

It looks great!  I saw they had that and you just reminded me I want to order one!  Thank you!

dobermann posted:

Unpacked my first Korber Komplete product that came yesterday. Nicely done.

I know it's a fire tower but all the fire towers I ever saw were much taller than that. That tower looks like it needs some Germans, a spotlight and a machine gun on the railings...

Thanks again Lee. Somewhere I have a guy looking through binoculars that will be perfect in there. Maybe I can pop the roof off without breaking anything else. I should have asked them to leave the roof off. Hopefully if I surround it with some large HO pines it will appear to be taller

Mark Boyce posted:

dobermann posted:

Unpacked my first Korber Komplete product that came yesterday. Nicely done.

Doberman,

It looks great!  I saw they had that and you just reminded me I want to order one!  Thank you!

If you do you might want to have them leave the roof loose.

Finished this

dobermann posted:

Thanks again Lee. Somewhere I have a guy looking through binoculars that will be perfect in there. Maybe I can pop the roof off without breaking anything else. I should have asked them to leave the roof off. Hopefully if I surround it with some large HO pines it will appear to be taller

Here is the fire tower I had in mind; Cook Forest State Park, Pennsylvania.  I just look at the Korber as being selective compression.  Yes Lee, it would be a good guard tower too. 

Not a bad idea to have them not glue the roof on!  Thanks

News Flash!!

I just ordered one!  Yes, I ordered a built up one.  My hands aren't up to building the frame any more I'm sure.  But I did request that they not glue the roof on.  Thank you Doberman!!

More classroom layout buildings taken from the classroom to the car. Exhausting. The layout boards go out and taken home tomorrow.

   I made two "slide shoe" power pick-ups, and adapted one light bulb base, to light two previously dark Marx semi-scale passenger cars.

   I punched a 5/16 hole in two brass feeler gauges (.015 & .040), and bent the metal over brass tubes mounted on the axles. Then I soldered them in place.    

  One set has the feeler gauge soldered at an angle, and the tubes "offset" to mimic the originals side to side slide limiting function, and still reach the center rail, but also still miss hitting the twist coupler's "un-coupling tab" on the bottom. The other homemade set, was swapped onto an observation car, and was soldered straight, not offset & angled, since there was no coupler on the rear of that car. The original observation cars shoe was there, but moved to a regular car, to avoid some harder soldering, and trimming the tubes for limiting the side play again for clearing the coupler.

 In the feeler gauges,  in the 5/16 holes I press fit isolation bushings, leaving a hole up the center of the plastic bushings I used. I then soldered a wire lead onto a low/wide head grade 8 steel rivet for one botton, and a large upholstery finishing tack for the other one, just to see which is best (the rivet so far).  So the "slide shoes" or "buttons", are mounted solid to, and isolated electrically from the feeler gauge. And that got bent to lightly rub the top rail, and the springiness of the feeler gauge works nice; the buttons drag smooth across all my turnouts too.

  Mounted a tad closer to the truck's pivot, my shoes also stay centered on the middle rail in curves even better than the stock ones.

   I would have spent about $15 a car for "new stock parts", and I only spent near that on the cars to begin with. All is reversible, so if I spot a stock one for cheap enough to suit me I'll do it.

Continued patch/ weathering of this non-powered GP60.

Looking good Chris.

Lot of great work since the last time I had a chance to really look.

Cary it just to bad you have to take down the class room layout as it turned out very nice.

Lee, your layout is just getting better with time. 

Here is my contribution..

Installed Kadee #743 Type E Couplers on my GN SD45s #400 and #411 yesterday

Part List:  #743 Type E Couplers Short Centerset with Short Plastic Gearbox 

           Shapeways  Lionel O scale EMD GP7/GP9 pilot Kadee coupler mou in Black Strong & Flexible by       mscalzo3

I had to modify the Lionel Kadee mounts I ordered from Shapways to fit the opening in the MTH Pilots.

In this case I used the GP9 mounts.

This just give you an idea just how much from the sides that needed to be removed.

Once modified they were Kadees were installed into the mounts and painted. Once paint was dry, they were installed into the pilots using the same mounting holes that were already been predrilled by MTH.

Here are pictures of completed project.

GN SD45#400 with GN GP35 #3040. You also will note That I didn't fix the pilots. I know sacrilegious for 3RS but this allows me to run on O81 curves on the main and 072 for the yard without any issues. 

 MTH GN GP35#3040 (Shapeways  Lionel O scale EMD GP7/GP9 pilot Kadee coupler mou in Black Strong & Flexible by mscalzo3 ) with Lionel GN GP35 #2519 for comparison using Lionel O scale EMD GP30 pilot Kadee coupler mount in Black Strong & Flexible  by mscalzo3.

I just completed the war memorial for the O scale civil war 12 pounder barrel my father made for me.

The barrel isn't weathered to compare to the pedestal but I couldn't bring myself to mess with Dad's handiwork...

Yesterday now.. but I pulled up a turnout to a spur on my Super O line, and laid in a plain curve, just so I could run "all Marx", including 3 fat wheel engines. Then I noticed a slow down in train speeds that I thought was low power, knowing everyone in town was running the A.C. hard in the heat.

   I just put new bushings in a couple of motors, but better safe than sorry, so I lubed them again, and it turns out, just in time. So I've been running just a bit too long between oilings with all the running I do now . So after I cleaned and lubed 64 wheels, and 6 gears, I had to reduce certain throttles up to 25% .

   I had also moved the layout, & rearranged the living room last week; so last night, I painted "foam rock" that had been forgotten about, hidden against a wall for the last year

   I used a flack black base, then granite grey for dry brushing, and even got in a black & brown wash coat seeing how things dried so quick .

If you go into the hair care section of your local pharmacy, you'll find little black elastic hair rings.  These are dandy for couplers with weak springs what keep poppin' open... 

Also, if you have fixed couplers which fly apart on rough track, one of these bands will hold the cars together.  

Mitch

p51 posted:

I just completed the war memorial for the O scale civil war 12 pounder barrel my father made for me.

The barrel isn't weathered to compare to the pedestal but I couldn't bring myself to mess with Dad's handiwork...

Hi Lee, You and your dad do great work together!

I am visiting my son in the Raleigh area and I set up some Standard gauge track with an LW transformer so I could run the  the #33 engine and two passenger cars.  I gave these to him at least 15 years ago and the first run since then.  I had to clean the  armature and lube it good.  Runs great.

  Mitch,

   If you're out of rubber bands, but in need, ask a kid with braces.

    The orthodontic bands are another "perfect fit", and though usually clear, they do have colored ones too, including black.

Lee,

All you really need is "that old vet" with a polishing cloth.

..... and maybe an "Old Dutch Cleanser" boxcar

suzukovich posted: pictures

 

You know,..from this view KD's look "funny" to me; too tall..

The boxcar's, often seem too squat..maybe it's the bars, or un-couplers?

 But this is  a big improvement   

Adriatic posted:

  Mitch,

   If you're out of rubber bands, but in need, ask a kid with braces.

    The orthodontic bands are another "perfect fit", and though usually clear, they do have colored ones too, including black.

Yep.  I useta hit my dentist up for orthodontic bands; they're great for tensioning overhead trolley wires!

Mitch

Not a darn thing. Just a relaxing, not-doing-much kind of day.

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

If you go into the hair care section of your local pharmacy, you'll find little black elastic hair rings.  These are dandy for couplers with weak springs what keep poppin' open... 

Also, if you have fixed couplers which fly apart on rough track, one of these bands will hold the cars together.  

Mitch

Mitch,

Those little hair bands are a great idea.  My wife buys them to tie up the dog's hair then puts a bow there for dress up. 

I haven't used them on couplers, but have for other uses.  I have noticed they are amazingly strong and resilient!  

jim pastorius posted:

I am visiting my son in the Raleigh area and I set up some Standard gauge track with an LW transformer so I could run the  the #33 engine and two passenger cars.  I gave these to him at least 15 years ago and the first run since then.  I had to clean the  armature and lube it good.  Runs great.

Jim,

Sounds like you are having a good visit helping your son! 

Adriatic posted:

 

suzukovich posted: pictures

You know,..from this view KD's look "funny" to me; too tall..

The 743 seem to be a little more bulkier then the 806. The Mario's Kadee mounts were designed for the his Lionel GP9/30/SD40s. So they are actually shimmed at the correct height. On a whim I decided to see if I could make them work on MTH and Weaver engines. The first MTH engine was the GP35.. I figured at the worst I would have to increase or decrease shim height.  Turned out I didn't have to do nether.  For the Weaver pilots I am going to have to shave the GP30 Kadee Mounts a little of the top to decrease the height. Learned this with the RS 11 conversion.

The boxcar's, often seem too squat..maybe it's the bars, or un-couplers?

Actually I the think it depend manufacture of the rolling stock. In this case its an All Nation car that I had rebuilt and upgraded to kadees and Weaver wheel sets.  

But this is  a big improvement   

I gave my TMCC engines a rest and ran strictly conventional. I started with my Williams Rock Island AA Alco units and finished with my Lionel 0-8-0 Union Pacific Switcher.