What did you do on your layout today?

Mike G. It did take a couple of days working at the kitchen island with football games to ease the pain. Tonight I painted the inside and out with rattle can expresso brown. Fortunately, I remembered to mask the inside of the windows before I painted. Yikes, all that time cutting and fitting with a toothpick.

Jim Pastorious. I have a great affection for them as well. As I drive by homes in my area it is amazing how similar the basic architecture and detailing is to the small stations.  I have an Atlas station in the town area of my layout and this one will be at the other end. I have decided to use a fine point red marker to color the mullions in the windows with the brown frame and detail. But I am still looking for acrylic depot buff in local stores to brush paint the rest of the building. There isin't much area left to paint after the windows, so rather than mask off the windows I will just use a fine brush.  Your thoughts?

TJ. Nice clean work. 

I have a video on stations and recently bought a book on them. Plus have checked out a bunch that are left in western Pa., especially the P&LE ones. Beautiful, functional buildings. The smaller, wooden ones are interesting, too. Not many of them left though.

The last thing I did last year was watch my C&O Berk crawl to a stop and too much smoke come out of the stack.

 It had a fresh top off of fluid so I parked it and today I "took the day off" and did nothing, allowing some evaporation of the fluid. But its after midnight so I'm about to see what this things problem is

   After 6 fast rounds of assembly and disassembly I was done with the Berk.,

    I found the high heat cloth insulation had inched its way out of the smoke chambers lid and the wire was shorting on the lid. The excess smoke was from smoke fluid that had saturated the cloth insulation. I fed it back inside, and to stop the cloth from creeping I also fed an extra 3/8"-1/2" into the chamber. I bent the excess wire inside in a V; away from the tab and element, then back to the hole. Once out of the hole it bends in the opposite dirrection, sort of hooking on the lid.  The length and "hook" should keep it from creeping out that far again. Time 45 min. +playtime

Adriatic posted:

   After 6 fast rounds of assembly and disassembly I was done with the Berk.,

    I found the high heat cloth insulation had inched its way out of the smoke chambers lid and the wire was shorting on the lid. The excess smoke was from smoke fluid that had saturated the cloth insulation. I fed it back inside, and to stop the cloth from creeping I also fed an extra 3/8"-1/2" into the chamber. I bent the excess wire inside in a V; away from the tab and element, then back to the hole. Once out of the hole it bends in the opposite dirrection, sort of hooking on the lid.  The length and "hook" should keep it from creeping out that far again. Time 45 min. +playtime

Attaboy! 

theteejmiester posted:

And it roughly in place on the module 

Looking good TJ, What are you using for the roll up doors?

Mike,thank you. And as to your question... I am just scribbing the panels on foam core. I did two different panel spacings based on what I found online. Actually doesnt look bad surprisingly. Think with a little more work it will be convincing. 

theteejmiester posted:

Mike,thank you. And as to your question... I am just scribbing the panels on foam core. I did two different panel spacings based on what I found online. Actually doesnt look bad surprisingly. Think with a little more work it will be convincing. 

 

Tj, thanks for the info, I think they look just fine, I might have to try that down the road.

Mark Boyce posted:

I helped my daughter and son-in-law move almost everything left in her art studio on the rear of our house to their house last evening.  I decided to take some photos of the room after I placed some trains on some shelves she left behind.  Yes, the pink paint will be covered with blue.  I plan to start a topic soon for layout planning for this 11' 6" x 11' 4" room.  As the photos show, there is a door to the basement in one corner and a big sliding glass door on an adjacent wall.  The brick wall was the exterior of the house before my in-laws put on the addition, and the washer and dryer are on the other side of the brick wall.  The Ceiling Central RR is in the wood paneled room right outside the small door.

 

Mark, When you start the new thread on your layout, please post the link here or message it to me.  I'm eager to follow your process!

So the 1:48 crew finished the cliff, no work place injuries reported...... the riggers are on the way to set it in place

RSJB18, nice job with your cliff. I like the way it turned out. For me today it is back to the drawing board. The ideas I had for industries is not panning out in that area. My idea I am going to work with now is a small yard and maybe a small engine servicing area. I'll see how this will fit in after lunch.............Paul

I've had a bit of extra time over the holidays to work on my layout.  I've been laying track, wiring, and testing DCS.

Anthony K posted:

I've had a bit of extra time over the holidays to work on my layout.  I've been laying track, wiring, and testing DC

Looks like a place for unlimited fun. Enjoy.

frankM

Spiked the track on my Rio Grande switching layout.  Still have some plaster work, install the backdrop and then start scenic work.  Overall a very productive 2016.

Fixed one of my prized buildings that had a fluorescent light fall on it

Before:

After:

The riggers finished up early and the MOW crew cleared the line for a test run.     I was going to place a roadway bridge that I built in front onto the platform above the tunnel. Now that the cliff is done I don't want to block the view of it. Back to the drawing board again I guess.........

RSJB , lets see the arch in place. It may block the rock some, but the intricacy of the corner may win out. There's something to be said for contrasts in a small area. I thought the height build up was interesting too.

Sam..any lean will look prototypical, lol. But I'm sure your heart skipped a beat before it came crashing down. Its looking good from here.

Anthony....Wow! That's it, just wow.

John D. posted:

Mark Boyce posted: I plan to start a topic soon for layout planning for this 11' 6" x 11' 4" room.

 

Mark, When you start the new thread on your layout, please post the link here or message it to me.  I'm eager to follow your process!

Absolutely John!!  I am so glad you are interested.  I will put something out there on the FaceBook group for the North Penn O Gaugers too, since all of you have shared so much with me.  

RSJB18 posted:

The riggers finished up early and the MOW crew cleared the line for a test run.     I was going to place a roadway bridge that I built in front onto the platform above the tunnel. Now that the cliff is done I don't want to block the view of it. Back to the drawing board again I guess.........

 

It looks excellent!!  Always glad to know no injuries were incurred!!

Moonson posted:

Anthony K posted:

I've had a bit of extra time over the holidays to work on my layout.  I've been laying track, wiring, and testing DC

Looks like a place for unlimited fun. Enjoy.

frankM

Your layout is really taking shape Anthony!!  Frank always says it so well!

What plans do you have for scenery around that big column in the middle of the big turn loop?

I finished the Ford Plant steps. The first three aisles of the layout have a raised floor that is a foot above the concrete, but aisle 4 doesn't. So I added two 8' x15" fold down platforms that are 15" high for operators to stand on.

Here are the completed steps.

The 1x4 at the bottom of the legs ties all three together and helps keep them from folding when in use.

Here's one of the steps in the up position.

The view from the step toward the plant.

Looking the other direction toward the St Paul Avenue overflow yard.

A few beers and that step could be treacherous !!

I think its perfect for short folks like me!! Great work Elliot.

jim pastorius posted:

A few beers and that step could be treacherous !!

Rule G Jim.

Translation: railroad speak for no drinking on the job.

I was up there for a while, all 350 pounds of me. A less round person would do even better.

Some nice work guys. Your bench work is clean and tight. Today I worked on the arch area and placed the station with 2 cotes of expresso. I painted it last night so it should be cured tomorrow for some dull cote. Close up is a poor photo of an acrylic color I'm considering. In my light it is a yellow gold. The florescent light is really bright there. Tedious assembly work of a Lionel power house. Two of the walls were warped but I added some inside bracing to eliminate almost all of the warp on the problem wall. 

BTW, I tried an ultra fine red marker on the window sashes of an Atlas tower. The trim is brown and it's difficult to pickup the red sashes. 

Well tonight was a demolition and construction. Started off thinking I could take apart my IHC engine shed. Boy I was wrong. After all these years the glue I used bonded it together too well. Ended up losing most of the building. Managed to saved a few walls and some of the roof. Moving on from that I finally decided on a spot for the Sauerkraut Factory. I marked it out and glued down the cork roadbed. I went with track to both sides. One track will be for box cars or refrigerator cars the other track which will be just a short track will hold a K Line Vinegar car. Couple of pics...........Paul

pennsynut posted:

Some nice work guys. Your bench work is clean and tight. Today I worked on the arch area and placed the station with 2 cotes of expresso. I painted it last night so it should be cured tomorrow for some dull cote. Close up is a poor photo of an acrylic color I'm considering. In my light it is a yellow gold. The florescent light is really bright there. Tedious assembly work of a Lionel power house. Two of the walls were warped but I added some inside bracing to eliminate almost all of the warp on the problem wall. 

BTW, I tried an ultra fine red marker on the window sashes of an Atlas tower. The trim is brown and it's difficult to pickup the red sashes. 

 

I think the gold color looks wonderful, and maybe if you put a second coat of red on it stand out more. I sure hope you have the stairs for the second floor or its going to be one hell of a drop! LOL

paul 2 posted:

Well tonight was a demolition and construction. Started off thinking I could take apart my IHC engine shed. Boy I was wrong. After all these years the glue I used bonded it together too well. Ended up losing most of the building. Managed to saved a few walls and some of the roof. Moving on from that I finally decided on a spot for the Sauerkraut Factory. I marked it out and glued down the cork roadbed. I went with track to both sides. One track will be for box cars or refrigerator cars the other track which will be just a short track will hold a K Line Vinegar car. Couple of pics...........Paul

Hey Paul, sorry about the shed, but you can always scratch build something if you cant put it back together. I like the new track work for the new building, I think it will look really nice once its done!

I've found heat to be an effective means of separating parts that are glued together.  I use an RC airplane blower but a hair dryer may also work.  The parts that I separated were wood so there is no affect from the heat, however, with plastic, one may need to be cautious on the amount of heat used.

KRM posted:

Nothing on the layout but something on a layout project.

Got the last powered A-unit finished today from an idea of 8N's.

 Great idea and makes for a great set.

Works Great but sure lets the ZW know it is feeding something with it and six lit passenger cars behind it..  I had a 218 shell on a frame with a 2 position e-unit motor in it that I pulled the motor, pick up truck and e-unit out of and installed the new motor, A unit dummy front truck and wired pigtails to the motor so it all runs off the E-unit in the lead engine. So there is 8 axles with magnets pulling. So a post war 218 leads the way for the twin motor 8021 B unit and 8020 powered A unit. Works GREAT!!!

that's a nice set I have the same but just the front one is powered I converted it over to TMCC then ran it awhile it now makes some noise out of the gears I think so I don't run it anymore until I find the issue

ChessieMD posted:

Spiked the track on my Rio Grande switching layout.  Still have some plaster work, install the backdrop and then start scenic work.  Overall a very productive 2016.

 

That's a pretty herky track screw for sure!

Adriatic posted:

RSJB , lets see the arch in place. It may block the rock some, but the intricacy of the corner may win out. There's something to be said for contrasts in a small area. I thought the height build up was interesting too.

Sam..any lean will look prototypical, lol. But I'm sure your heart skipped a beat before it came crashing down. Its looking good from here.

Anthony....Wow! That's it, just wow.

Adriatic- I will set it in place later and post some pix this evening. I am open to suggestions so any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks

Here's the 2065 resplendent in its two-tone paint scheme! 

Still have to paint the coal, install new headlight and marker lenses, and have custom decals made...  ;-)

Mitch

I have been working on a parking garage that will serve my Union Station and Greyhound Bus Depot.  It started as a Korber power plant office building and I adapted it as a 3" deep backdrop building.  Here are two pictures, one on the bench and another test fit in the space on the backdrop.

I am adding 4 more stories in a modern concrete style and have to make additional signage.

Art

Chugman, Very Cool. 

Chugman, looks great, you going to put ramps in?

mike g. posted:

Chugman, looks great, you going to put ramps in?

Not between floors, but I will store cars on the floors in a random pattern that will be visible through the openings.  It's only three inches deep so it is hard to do much on the inside.

Art

Chugman posted:

mike g. posted:

Chugman, looks great, you going to put ramps in?

Not between floors, but I will store cars on the floors in a random pattern that will be visible through the openings.  It's only three inches deep so it is hard to do much on the inside.

Art

Still a great idea and a great build!

Today was a good day. No demolition.  With the glue dry I applied paint to the cork. After letting that dry I put down the ballast. Having to let the glue dry I'll let it go the rest of today. I've also got to get some more Masonite so I can do behind the table. Got a Tuesday night train get together so really no time later. Few pics...................Paul

looking good, Its getting there Paul!!!