Robert Macfie posted:
That's got to be the smallest layout I've ever seen, where are the trains?
P51
this was just the light house , it sits at the end of the train table you might want to go back a couple of pages where I posted some photos of some of my trains
nate the tank posted:Got a little board at work while waiting for another job.
You can't guess "how close to home" this is for me, lol. I did it "large scale" though.
It started as a few people waiting on parts, and took on a life of its own.
The smallest was a steamshovel about 10" wide, 2½' long and a foot high, plus the boom and shovel it ate up 2x5x5 foot of space. The largest were pieces in furniture sets. Parts used were very theme related and mostly recognizable as such. (Steamshovel was steam, crane, shovel, etc. parts only., airplanes from airplane parts, train from train stuff, etc.)
A buddy even bought a little building just to keep it all out of our hair and away from the cars. I have photos of some of the hot rod junk art, but with the trains, cranes, and furniture (like a one ton rocking chair of gear chain 
), the images are still on mini-disks, lol.
We used train springs in the top half of a set of near wineglass shaped set of bar stools. 
Some of it was so heavy as a set, it "had to be" shipped by rail, lol. Some was also heavy, but too fragile and unstable to tie down in a narrow semi truck and still be safe to take a curb tilt. The train car offered a bit more room to do it right, lol. Getting it all there was just as fun! The looks from traffic gawking at the art on the big forklift or special carts rolling down the slow lane was priceless.
Careful, or you'll end up making money off that crap 
Robert Macfie posted:P51
this was just the light house , it sits at the end of the train table you might want to go back a couple of pages where I posted some photos of some of my trains
I know, it was a joke.
I've been wondering how plastic might do outside with all that sun you seem to get Macfie? It may fade or even crumble after a season or two. Once I saw the lighthouse, I figured I had to show you these.
A bit too big of a base for MY layout and not quite enough sun, these are all-weather, solor powered garden lights. They are made out of somekind of pottery AND some mortor and stones in the base. Kinda light, but strong. The tower's top is metal and comes off with an easy twist (for access to the L.E.D. and battery) The arched door is 2⅞", but I figure the door would be rather large for equipment, etc. (?). I've seen them red & white striped too.
It fact, because the camera sometimes see's more than we do, if you look close, you can see shadows in the paint that tells me that these were once white and red striped at the factory too, but then painted over again later in off white, grey, and brown.
The open roof frame is for the solor panel's exposure. Tin, hot glue, and moving the solar panel off the top would be easy.
A good garden shop/ nursery usually has a lighthouse or two.
Similarly, whatever you do, lighting might be easiest by just powering leds with the garden lights seen at all the "dollar stores". Just clip off the led, and add wire to move it, set the top down, hang the panel, etc. ( each panel is about 1.5vdc in the sun, hook up a rechargable AA, (or a C or D for extremely long lasting power) and add an led.
If those trucks were large scale, you could use those garden lights as parking lot/street lamps, lol.
....Gee I'm old.....I'm sitting here dwelling on when "dollar stores" were still "Dime Stores". ( and everything but penny candy was at least a quarter )
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Adriatic Thanks for the ideas, as far as plastic goes I have not had any problems so far . most of me outdoor set is covered each night and I put a lot of stuff back on the shelves in garage once I decide it is time to close up I have seen some fading on my paper building, but if they get too bad I just reprint and start again . Evans design says their light works in day light so I should be ok and the power comes from a 9 volt battery I can place in side the house
after all the light house was just an add on , I had the puzzle so I figured might as well put it on display
Layout 0 Mr. Brown one. Mr. Brown dropped off the rest of the family today. So with noting else coming for a while unless I surf the net looking for something it is time to finally get busy and get that table under the stairs out of the way. No more goofing around and putting it on the back burner. Pic...........Paul
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The composer is screwing up again, I can hardly even see one line of text.
So I cant easily review whats written below, let alone edit it yet. Here goes nothing.......
You could hook a bright 1.5v led directly to one of those little solar panels, or stack panels and use a rechargable 9v on the Evans too(likely at least)...I'm a bulb lover over LED, but I'd take advantage of the sun outside. I hate it when I forget and leave things on and hate buying batteries even more. The solar option works great outside.
An LED of an off color can help too. Those lighthouses originaly had a soft orange tint. They are old and weather beaten; wires were corroding off etc. I clipped the solar panel wires on each and swapped in the guts from the $1 store versions.(some turn off& on based on the solar output voltage, some use a seperate "eye". These all use voltage sensing.)
I tried a "UV & weather test" on the large scale plastic track. It lasted about 5 years fully exposed (Michigan winters too) before getting extremly brittle. A decent bump will shatter rails now. I plan on "canning it" when the sun starts to set today. I fadded half a Marx caboose by forgetting it in the window after Christmas; 3 months.
Renewable paper products just may be the best answer
Well I was true to my word. I got the table cut for under the stairs and got it right. It is a bit of a tight squeeze. I am hoping once I make up the frame and get the legs on I still will be able to slide it into place. Once I do that I will be adding another section in front to bring the table out more. But that is it for tonight. I have to relax. It was a lot of pressure on me to cut it right the first time. LOL Pics..............Paul
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paul 2 posted:Well I was true to my word. I got the table cut for under the stairs and got it right. It is a bit of a tight squeeze. I am hoping once I make up the frame and get the legs on I still will be able to slide it into place. Once I do that I will be adding another section in front to bring the table out more. But that is it for tonight. I have to relax. It was a lot of pressure on me to cut it right the first time. LOL Pics..............Paul
measure twice cut once 
Looking good Paul.
paul 2 posted:Well I was true to my word. I got the table cut for under the stairs and got it right. It is a bit of a tight squeeze. I am hoping once I make up the frame and get the legs on I still will be able to slide it into place. Once I do that I will be adding another section in front to bring the table out more. But that is it for tonight. I have to relax. It was a lot of pressure on me to cut it right the first time. LOL Pics..............Paul
Paul, you the man! First eve remote and you then a table with. I legs! You just make magic happen. Love it!
Work continues on the relay panel and the control panel relocation project. I got all the crimp connectors on the wires that needed them. These will just slide onto the switch terminals, sort of plug n' play.
The other end of the cable, all the wires are connected to the terminal blocks.
Next up, bring relay power over to the panel and plug in the relays, then test. Up until then the layout remains operational. The downtime should be minimal, as all the prep will be done before cutting out and moving the control panel.
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Looks great Paul!!! I can't wait to see trackage and trains running !
Mike
Nice work Elliot !
Mike
Thanks Mike. I know wiring can be a little dull, but there are so many people here asking questions about it, I think it's important to share.
Paul,
Great job getting the cuts right!! You are on your way!!
decoynh posted:Worked on a couple crossings in the door factory & warehouse sidings. Used black core poster board WS ballasts & cinders.
Very nice!
My modest little two loop carpet layout needed some TLC so I replaced two short sections of Standard gauge track on two sides with one piece per side. Eliminated a rail joint on each side then eliminated a slight link on a third side. Also dug out my Red & Tacky to lube the several engines I am using. The plan is to bring out different O and Standard engines periodically, run them, get the working good and then rotate them in to storage. Also plan to pack up the 3 Standard gauge passenger cars I fixed up and going to bring out a bunch of Standard gauge freight cars that I have. So far I have enjoyed this and the variety.
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Thanks Mike. I know wiring can be a little dull, but there are so many people here asking questions about it, I think it's important to share.
Looking good Elliot. having spent 25+ years in the electrical trade I can sympathize with your plight running all of those wires. The old telco wire does make it easier though. I remember a job years ago watching the NY Telephone lineman punching down 2- 200 pair cables into the building switches, its monotonous to say the least.
Bob
Bob,
Two 200-pair cables is not much. I'm glad I don't have to do that any more. I did more wire wrapping on the frames in the central offices though. It got so hard for me to see the individual pins, that more than once I tied down new wire onto live circuits! I don't know what properties a 500-foot roll of cross connect wire caused to Ethernet circuits! LOL Oh well. Maybe it was a good thing moving to engineering 9 years ago. Now with cataracts, who knows what a mess I would be making!! LOL
Elliot,
Great job!!!
The foam is glued together and ready for shaping. 
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Thanks Bob and Mark. I was having trouble seeing the wires and the color stripes, but I think I got it. I really liked that piece of wire because it had ten basic colors, five conductors of each. I have lots of other telephone cables that don't have some of them, making the task more difficult.
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Thanks Mike. I know wiring can be a little dull, but there are so many people here asking questions about it, I think it's important to share.
I'm not sure that wiring is "a little dull".. lol I appreciate the fact that you are sharing your progress with us!!! It's always interesting, to me, to see everyone's thoughts and ideas!!
Had to take a break from cutting wood. This table has a lot of different lengths of wood to make up the frame. Three more cuts and I can start gluing and screwing the frame together. Still have to cut some legs. And looking at the area I think to get the table into place I am going to have to drill the holes in the frame for the legs and bolt them in after it is place..................Paul
A lot of cutting and measuring but I got the frame done. Tomorrow I'll make the legs up and screw the plywood to the frame. I'll have to add the cork, track, ballast and ground turf to the table before I slide it into place...Pics.......Paul
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I hung this picture to brighten the place up a little. 
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This has become a really neat thread, we ran a new MTH premier Long Island Passenger train belonging to a close friend..and some of my own...Always fun with friends...
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Nice equipment,and especially love the C-liner! Is it an MTH loco?
Thanks;
Mike
I did some shaping on the hill. This is how it looks right now.
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https://ogrforum.com/...56#73791479787757556
ProTip of the day: The pilot truck gets the short mounting screw, and the trailing truck gets the long mounting screw. Otherwise, the screw hits the pickup shoe, and a short circuit results.
Don't ask me how I know this.
Oh, well, that stupid old wiring harness shoulda been replaced anyway.
Mitch
did quit a bit of running today. cleaned a little track arranged some boxes under the layout making room for this old fat man get under and do some wiring. seams like it never ends with the wiring.
Today was a good one in terms of satisfaction. I started with one of the more dreaded tasks of this panel relocation project, pulling the relay power wires from the supply over to the new panel, about 40'. I got those wires hooked up, and it was time to plug the relays into their sockets.
At this point I was ready to do my first system test. I went over to the desk, took the main ground lead, and touched it to each relay lead. The first five groups worked fine, but when I tried the purple group, nothing! It didn't take long before it hit me, I forgot to hook up a power daisy chain to that short row of relays at the bottom. DUH!!!
This is the point of no return. I disconnected the big hidden yard panel. I can't run trains through it until everything is reconnected.
This is going to look really different when I get the backdrop and fascia done here.
I had my wife come down and help me with the next phase of testing. I sat and watched the relays, while she flipped each switch. BINGO!
Tomorrow I have to bring the stopping zone and turnout wires over to the panel and hook them up. Then repeat the process with the small hidden yard. Still shooting for the end of the month to wrap this whole thing up.
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Yesterday, Friday, was to be a work session on the basement layout but we got hit with a power failure which lasted long enough to wipe out my time to work on the layout. Today is my birthday ( please no presents LOL ) but my kids sent me, for the first time train related gifts. All will be displayed, especially the Psychiatric Booth, on the layouts so the kids finally realized my addiction for trains. Today as a present to myself I will be getting the table ready for going into position. Pics..................Paul
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Happy birthday Paul! Great kids, I love the clock and am also a Peanuts fan. The station platform is nice, too. As for the layout, thats my motto, do something for thy self. The enjoyment you get from the finished project will be priceless. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Mike
Happy Belated Birthday, Paul. You got some great gifts.
Happy Birthday Paul!
Nice work Elliot- happy to hear that the wiring went well. Not being able to run trains should be inspiration enough to finish the project quickly.
Bob
Started building my small engine yard. It will be split into 3 blocks so that I can squeeze an extra switcher onto the turnout and kill the power. Put the track down last night and dropped the wires through the table. Need to wire them up today and test. I went with a manual switch since this is right in front of me when I'm running trains. Thought it would be more prototypical and I will put a track worker figure at the turnout lever when I do the scenery. The yard lights will need to be moved and I will probably add a couple more.
Bob
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