Thanks Len, out of curiosity, was that "Empire Builders to Milwaukee" by Pentrex? That's the one I have. I keep watching it, running some of them by in slow motion. They have another title that I want to get, called "Early Amtrak Across Wisconsin". Now I see it's on sale. Just happened this week, because I checked last week and it was full price. Not sure how much of that title is rehash, but at the sale price, it's worth a shot!
Had a great day yesterday working on my fascia. My son Jim and I got a lot done and hope to finish most of the rest today. We continued cutting the corners back and rounding them which I feel makes a huge difference in the looks and flow of the layout. We are leaving the areas that abut the control panels until he has a chance to get the new ones made so we don't have any wasted efforts. The big goal today is to get the fascia installed in my river valley area and the tunnels behind the curved stone arch bridge. This will allow me to start constructing the plaster scenery in these areas.
I will post pictures tonight or in the morning. It's great to be finally making progress again on the layout.
Art
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Thanks Len, out of curiosity, was that "Empire Builders to Milwaukee" by Pentrex? That's the one I have. I keep watching it, running some of them by in slow motion. They have another title that I want to get, called "Early Amtrak Across Wisconsin".
It looks like I have the one you want and you have the one I want. There probably is a lot of overlap between the two, but I would still like the Milwaukee title, especially if there is decent of footage of SE Wisconsin - mainly Pewaukee on into town.
Len B posted:Big_Boy_4005 posted:Thanks Len, out of curiosity, was that "Empire Builders to Milwaukee" by Pentrex? That's the one I have. I keep watching it, running some of them by in slow motion. They have another title that I want to get, called "Early Amtrak Across Wisconsin".
It looks like I have the one you want and you have the one I want. There probably is a lot of overlap between the two, but I would still like the Milwaukee title, especially if there is decent of footage of SE Wisconsin - mainly Pewaukee on into town.
Looks like we're both in luck, because they're both on sale. I think Pewaukee is one of the locations. Most of it is shot west of the city. There's also some south.
Elliot - I just shot you a private email regarding a Ross transfer table that has just come up for sale. Jim seemed to think that you may expressed some interest in one when he visited you last year.
Art
Happy New Year Everyone!
Finally 12 sheets of homosote were delivered today - track laying will soon start. Still making minor changes on track plan though. Hope everyone is enjoying the new year!
Regards,
Paul
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CHUGMAN, nice start to the layout. Nice size basement allowing for future expansion............Paul
Today after letting the plaster dry overnight I applied my first coat of color. I'll let that dry and see if I need another coat. Mark, it is definitely the lighting, same color but different looking. Other side of the wall is lit by a LED shop light and where I just colored I still have a Fluorescent light bulb the two lights give different shades to the earth color. In the meantime I am going to start to layout the small fiddler yard and engine servicing facility I am done with that area till I get Masonite up behind the factory....Pics..................Paul
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Looking very good. Unless you're modeling the southwest, you need to add quite a bit of grey to the earth. To get a good idea of what the color should be; take an empty paper towel tube and look through it with the other eye closed at an area (ie. a light to medium industrial site near a RR siding) similar to the one you're trying to model; see what the basic color is. I found that here in the Northeast grey was dominate.
paul 2 posted:Today after letting the plaster dry overnight I applied my first coat of color. I'll let that dry and see if I need another coat. Mark, it is definitely the lighting, same color but different looking. Other side of the wall is lit by a LED shop light and where I just colored I still have a Fluorescent light bulb the two lights give different shades to the earth color. In the meantime I am going to start to layout the small fiddler yard and engine servicing facility I am done with that area till I get Masonite up behind the factory....Pics..................Paul
Gee, I guessed right. Glad you solved the mystery!!
Won 2 turnouts today on da-bay I needed and ended up @ $25.60 each with shipping. A left and a right. I have a worn out right I need to replace.
Got some paint and I am primer painting 3 ALCO 200 series shells I have restored. My original 202 shell from 1957 and two TX special 210 shells I replaced the front skirts pilot aprons on. They look darn good to me.. Not much on the lay out table today.
been doing some cleaning of the layout. did some wiring of a Marx light tower, and a Kramer double street light. My 397 coal loader wasn't running right, so I pulled it apart and gave it a good cleaning and fixed a loose wire on the motor, and now it runs great. didn't relize how dirty the coal bin was until I cleaned it!
Busy day on the layout today. I started by unpacking the last three cars for the rainbow.
The last of the K-line BSB cars, a Pullman.
A GGD GN coach.
And a CB&Q duplex sleeper.
Sixteen feet of rainbow!
Back to actually working on the layout. With rail paint, ballast and scenery on the horizon. it is time to fill in all of the openings in the benchwork. Using scraps of plywood from the floor decking replacement, I filled in the section between the fascia and the track.
I'll continue to fill in all the little slivers, then calk all of the seams. This will stop any ballast glue from dripping down into the hidden yard below. Also closing these gaps will allow me to safely airbrush the track.
After accidentally knocking over my signal bridge and breaking one of the masts off, I re-glued it and secured the whole thing with a screw.
The other thing I worked on was carving the roadbed profile.
My plan is to get all of the filling and carving done on this section by the end of the week
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That's an impressive layout, Elliot. By the way, what's the black thing sticking out of the drill in photo #4.....LOL My corded drills rarely see life outside of their storage drawer these days.
Thanks Dan, I'm old school. I have one cordless set of regular and impact, but I still love my corded drills. I have three of them, and they have been used a lot to build this thing.
I don't even have a cell phone, just a land line.
Had part of the day off. Started handlaying the first section of trackage. The realtrax wasn't doing it for me. Looks much better imo.
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OK, I'm getting on my bandstand on cordless drills.
1. in ten years, my corded drill will still work. I have my dad's old black and decker from the 60's and it still works: very small so it's nice in tight quarters.
2. I'm not sure why it's such a hassle to plug in a drill! In my shop, I have an outlet 4' high and every 4' and I can drill all day without losing power. I've got a 20K shop of tools and they're all the plug into the wall type, or air.
3. I'm not really the environmentally friendly type but I'm surprised at how many people have cordless drills. I'm betting that the bulk of owners use them very little in a year, and when they do, the battery is probably not charged, or has gone bad. A lot of money and materials are needed to make and replace all those old batteries. Batteries don't last forever and as they get older, their power depreciates. None of that is needed for a corded drill.
4. corded drills are very cost effective: ie, much cheaper to buy, and they last forever. I bet a lot of people could have bought a really expensive engine for what they have inputted into cordless tools over the years. Most of us only have 'so many bucks' to spend, so choose wisely 'grass hopper'.
5. I've had the same two drills 3/8" and 1/2" chuck for decades with no replacements needed. How many cordless drills have been bought and the batteries no longer work, or a better (meaning more power) battery has become available?
6. I can see using them in wet surroundings or on new homes when the power is not available.
7. I watch a lot of tool shows on PBS and it amazes me how they 'whore out' on using cordless drills by their sponsors.
8. I have one of the original cordless drills and it IS many times over 10 years old:
OK, your turn!
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samparfitt posted:
2. I'm not sure why it's such a hassle to plug in a drill! In my shop, I have an outlet 4' high and every 4' and I can drill all day without losing power.
I'm not sure of the "bandstand," exactly. I can say that building an around the room layout in a modest room to lay Gargraves track was much easier with two cordless drills: one drill fitted with a countersink bit, and the other with a bit to drive the track screws. This was especially true since the walls were "finished" and outlets above layout height to use wired drills was not in the cards; nor, was putting them lower, under the layout to plug/unplug corded drills tedious.
I've never found discovering a cordless drill dead was a big deal; usually, I plan ahead, but if I don't it takes little time to recharge it. In any case, I do have a corded drill handy if necessary.
To sum up, without addressing all of the previous OP's points, the utility of cordless v. corded drills is a function of circumstance and personal preference.\
I'm sure there are circumstances when the OP is glad to have a cordless drill on hand for a specific task where it is a super tool to one of his corded variety.
I didn't mean to start a cord vs cordless debate here. Frankly, I like and use both, but for specific tasks. I generally don't like cordless for actual drilling. I feel that I get more power and better control with the corded. Driving screws, cordless all the way. One big reason I don't mind corded is that I have plenty of outlets that are easily accessible around the perimeter of the layout.
BTW, I counted incorrectly in my earlier post. I have five standard corded units including a 1/2", and two hammer drills, but for the layout it's mainly the three. I also forgot another cordless which is only a 12V and has very low power. I mainly use it for track screws.
samparfitt posted:
In aviation we call this a Hurdy Gurdy. The ultimate "cordless" drill.
samparfitt posted:OK, I'm getting on my bandstand on cordless drills.
1. in ten years, my corded drill will still work. I have my dad's old black and decker from the 60's and it still works: very small so it's nice in tight quarters.
2. I'm not sure why it's such a hassle to plug in a drill! In my shop, I have an outlet 4' high and every 4' and I can drill all day without losing power. I've got a 20K shop of tools and they're all the plug into the wall type, or air.
3. I'm not really the environmentally friendly type but I'm surprised at how many people have cordless drills. I'm betting that the bulk of owners use them very little in a year, and when they do, the battery is probably not charged, or has gone bad. A lot of money and materials are needed to make and replace all those old batteries. Batteries don't last forever and as they get older, their power depreciates. None of that is needed for a corded drill.
4. corded drills are very cost effective: ie, much cheaper to buy, and they last forever. I bet a lot of people could have bought a really expensive engine for what they have inputted into cordless tools over the years. Most of us only have 'so many bucks' to spend, so choose wisely 'grass hopper'.
5. I've had the same two drills 3/8" and 1/2" chuck for decades with no replacements needed. How many cordless drills have been bought and the batteries no longer work, or a better (meaning more power) battery has become available?
6. I can see using them in wet surroundings or on new homes when the power is not available.
7. I watch a lot of tool shows on PBS and it amazes me how they 'whore out' on using cordless drills by their sponsors.
8. I have one of the original cordless drills and it IS many times over 10 years old:
OK, your turn!
I have both corded and cordless and still use them all. The batteries are a costly expense to replace...almost cheaper to by a new drill kit at HD or Lowes then just replacing batteries.
Still can't beat the old reliable. (belonged to my wife's grandfather, a cabinet maker, probably close to 100 years old and still works) 
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theteejmiester posted:Had part of the day off. Started handlaying the first section of trackage. The realtrax wasn't doing it for me. Looks much better imo.
TJ,
The track looks very good! I didn't care for Realtrax either, but a lot of folks like it. Whatever works for each individual is they way they should go.
Today I was finally able to finish the assembly and installation of 1 of 2 grated road beds on the bridge. Hopefully the majority of parts will be here today or tomorrow, barring any weather delays, for the second one. On the second one I will have to measure and order two sections of railing once I complete most of the assembly. And a somewhat belated Happy New Year to all.
bd
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We had another productive day working on the layout yesterday. Over the last two days we hung many feet of fascia on the layout and curved all the corners that we could. We have two major areas left to do: the ends behind my curved stone arch bridge and all the places where we are going to replace the current control panels. Below are pictures of our progress.
I also got my parking garage project in the paint booth and will add the floors for each floor last and then it will be done and ready to install on the layout. Jim assembled the Korber fire escapes, I painted them, and we put them on the kitbashed Korber factory building. I will post pictures of them when they are finished later in the day.
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Art,
I have so missed your posts and photos of your layout! I am very glad you are back at it and posting again! The facia looks great! I love that stone arch bridge you posted a year ago.
I wish I had a Jim to handle delicate things like the fire escape. I have trouble with small, tedious things these days, even though I am getting some relief from my arthritis!
Keep posting!
Chugman - I dare you to put the front half of a car in your garage with it sticking through the wall with a woman there with her hands in the air- like "Oh my ! What did I do?"
Thanks, Mark. It does feel really good to be back at it again. And I couldn't do it without my son. He tells me to figure out what I want to do and he will help make it happen. I have been intimated by portions of the fascia, but he made it seem easy so far.
Jim - Fortunately my layout is in the basement and not my garage, but it would be a funny sight gag. We see pictures every day of cars going through businesses and homes, pretty scary.
Art
jim pastorius posted:Chugman - I dare you to put the front half of a car in your garage with it sticking through the wall with a woman there with her hands in the air- like "Oh my ! What did I do?"
Better yet, a Mini 1000 and Mr. Bean...
Looking good Art! The forum is a much better place with you here. I kind of wish my son would help me.
Yes Elliot; wouldn't it had been nice if my daughters married young men who were interested in trains. They are fine young men, but their interests are elsewhere.
Art, Your layout looks fantastic. It's good to have you back.
Elliott and Art. Great work. Enjoy following your progress, creativity and problem solving. Many others have also been inspiring.
Yesterday after inside chores and shoveling a little snow I sprayed dullcote on passenger station, removed masking from window panes. Spent too much time researching old one story brick freight houses. The architecture for some reason I can't explain draws my interest. Same for passenger stations. Ironically the freight houses are not complicated structures. I approximated the dimensions from online photos and drew some designs. Thought about buying a couple of one story or one two story Ameri-towne bldgs to kitbash. Instead, I went to my scrap bin and after 8 or so cuts of masonite, glue and rattle can paint I have the basic bldg. 21 x 6 x 5. I plan to print out brick paper, make a 1 inch foundation (I forgot to extend the height for that when measuring) and detail.
Now waiting for the glue on pieces of foam on rock face to cure before I carve them. 
In the meantime, I'll ponder paint color for Rico bldg.
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Pennsynut when you get done with this we can custom make you a sign for the ends of the building check out our website for laser engraved signs LASER ENGRAVED SIGNS. we also have other Pennsy signs and can make you almost anything you would want.
Mark Boyce posted:Yes Elliot; wouldn't it had been nice if my daughters married young men who were interested in trains. They are fine young men, but their interests are elsewhere.
Actually Mark, I may have better luck with my daughter helping me with scenic elements of the layout. She'll be moving back here when she's done with school in May.
Scale City Designs posted:Pennsynut when you get done with this we can custom make you a sign for the ends of the building check out our website for laser engraved signs LASER ENGRAVED SIGNS. we also have other Pennsy signs and can make you almost anything you would want.
Thanks. Got so many details on the burner. You do good work.
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Mark Boyce posted:Yes Elliot; wouldn't it had been nice if my daughters married young men who were interested in trains. They are fine young men, but their interests are elsewhere.
Actually Mark, I may have better luck with my daughter helping me with scenic elements of the layout. She'll be moving back here when she's done with school in May.
Sign her up!!
One of my daughters is an artist, but I was never able to coerce her into any scenery work. Since I never did sign her car over to her, since I paid for it, I should tell her I need it back unless she does a backdrop for the new layout room, which incidentally used to be her studio! lol
Really cold out so I decided to work on my Standard gauge track. Installed the 072 curves I bought a couple of days ago. Took my time and most things went pretty smooth. The curved track seems pretty rugged but the 36" straights I use,not so much. Made it a little hard to cut some pieces that were a little too long. The trains really run smooth on the track, though. This is all pre-war Lionel & Ives. The tighter 042 curves that are almost new go to the bedroom layout where I have some old curved track that don't conduct electricity as well. Very little gets thrown out.
TRied to run my Standard gauge train and it wouldn't go-then the breaker tripped. A very slight short and I suspected the new curves so turned it on again and felt the new curves. Sure enough felt a warm spot, took the piece out and replaced it with an extra. everything OK. I suspect the center rail and the thin piece of cardboard they use for insulation. Had the same issue when I put the 36" straights in. An extra piece or two always helps.
I removed all the buildings I've built and bought that have been stored on the top of the layout. First, I'm also going to redo my background and then do some ballasting and detailing on a hard to reach area. Next I will finalize laying and wiring the yard track.
