What did you do on your layout today?

hi guys I put up another wall today with a window! No pictures today as I plan on putting up the last wall maybe tomorrow. I say maybe cause I am a little soar right now! LOL

Good deal, Mike!  I want to see it, Don’t overdo it!

Nothing earth shattering but got my train tables are shaping up.  The loop will be completed with some more plywood and a swing out door with 3 tracks (one a double decker with light rails [trolley] underneath the cross country O72 loop).

Wife was away so it was a "stealth" installation.  If you don't hear from me again then call the authorities. 

TedW posted:

Looks like a nice crowd Clem... 

 

Good one Ted !

Clem

warning, warning unauthorized train passing flamingo 

headquarters, alert the squadrons to load the

p--p chutes

Finally got around to hooking up and testing my DCS components on the single long loop of temporary track I currently have down, and all appears to be working well. Will be connecting the DCS WiFi today and giving it a trial run. That will be followed by adding the Legacy/TMCC components to the setup. At some later point, after a final track plan is determined, I will be adding some HO trackage for the On30 and DCC.

FrankM: the maurading deer who trek thru the yard every day EAT EVERYTHING, except the Blue Spruce.

Maybe you could try something like this!  

  OR

OR my solution 

briansilvermustang posted:

RSJB18 posted:

clem k posted:

OK I got it all cleaned up, now to figure out what to do with the space ? 

Brian I like the tunnel ! 

Step 1 Benchwork

Step 2 Trackplan

Step 3 Wiring

Step 4 Scenery

Step 5 RUN MORE TRAINS!

          forgot Step _   ... for BEER break Bob...

OOPS

Thought that was implied.....

   "Thought that was implied....."              yep, my bad....

Worked on a few things yesterday. Ballasted a few sections of track and switches. I did the grade crossing about a year ago. Finally got the track around it done.

Also been playing with an idea to silence the solenoids in my 5121 turnouts. The buzzing noise bugs me so I coated two thirds of the activating rail with clear poly. The electrical tape was for testing.  Seems to help. before and after videos (turn the sound up).

I ordered some project board for my signal project. Once they arrive I can start on them.

Bob

Ballast is looking good and wow, what a great idea for your switch noise! Who would have known! LOL

Thanks Mike.

Do you know why solenoids humm????????

Cause they don't know the words!!!!!  

Sorry, old electricians joke......

Springfield, MO train show yesterday.   Gi-raffes were in evidence.  Picked up a couple of waif gondolas and a hopper car for 25¢ each; they are in the process of being resuscitated. Traded my prewar 253 passenger consist for a Bowser double-truck Brill and some future draft picks cash.   Got another Texaco tank car for the Jack Benny project, and a Lionel DC Santa Fe 0-4-0 with matching bobber caboose. 

Photos a bit later...  

Mitch 

it may not be relevant to the switch solenoids, but I had a

marx crossing gate that would hum when it was operated. drove me

nuts, too. I finally figured out it was because the solenoid was not going

the full distance so it would sit there and chatter/hum  trying to 

complete its cycle until the power to it was shut off. With the crossing gate

I solved the problem by trimming off a bit of the downrod on the gate

so the solenoid could go the full distance. As you can see, the rod no longer

touches the table, the solenoid goes full distance and so no noise

John

Test wired the signals. 9V is a bit much for the green for sure.

The Trackside Tavern is under construction and is causing concern at the local city council meetings.  Some residents are concerned that it will bring an undesirable clientele into the area and others say that they are already here.  They are also worried that its presence might reduce the amount of railroad travelers at the under construction Savanna depot.

Meanwhile Otis is getting mighty thirsty and wishes they would hurry up already.  He suggested they should get a hair dryer down to the shop to speed up the paint drying.  

Art

Bob, that's ok, I don't know the words either! LOL As far as the green being to bright, Green is good!LOL

Brian, great pictures, did you every try and see if one engine for the Amtrak will pull 10 cars?

Art, the building is looking nice! A little bit at a time and its going to look great!

As for me I got 1 and 3/4 walls up this weekend! Ran out of 2x4's! But one step closer!

Bob, yes, I hate that humm noise. 

Mike, You are a hoss!!

Thanks Mark!

Trying to get these fuel columns done and on the layout. 

Listed several things on the bay, my bay is jgjg49 if anyone is interested. 

Put a few more laps on the JEP, it keeps getting better. Ran the childhood

1953 scout set dangerously close to flamingo HQ. No nascar today which is

good, I may have some form of cable by tomorrow to watch the race.

John

As promised, pics from Springfield:

https://ogrforum.com/...o-train-show-3-24-18

Mitch 

mike g. posted:

Brian, great pictures, did you every try and see if one engine for the Amtrak will pull 10 cars?

          not yet, call me when you can...

As for me I got 1 and 3/4 walls up this weekend! Ran out of 2x4's! But one step closer!

                           looks good Mike !  great job !!   getting closer !!! 

mike g. posted:

Bob, that's ok, I don't know the words either! LOL As far as the green being to bright, Green is good!LOL

Brian, great pictures, did you every try and see if one engine for the Amtrak will pull 10 cars?

Art, the building is looking nice! A little bit at a time and its going to look great!

As for me I got 1 and 3/4 walls up this weekend! Ran out of 2x4's! But one step closer!

Great progress Mike!  I hate it when those 2x4's disappear when you need them the most.  Have you chosen a place for the "time capsule" and will there be a ceremony with dignitaries?  If I don't respond to all your updates, please know that I'm following your progress.  What are you using for siding, T-111?  Take care & God bless.

Bought used American Flyer track off the Bay and laid my loop out on upper loop. Got a nice #312 at local show. Made its inaugural trip around the loop successfully. So I've entered the world of Flyer at the young age of seventy five.

Put down a big loop of 072 track  and ran a bunch of my  O gauge engines.  In recognition as the first Lionel engine I ever bought, I ran my 2018  Lionel steamer  for awhile. I am guessing  it is about  60 years old. Ran my 726, 736, 2065,  the F units and more. Carpet layouts are hard on the knees but after 11 months in storage, all ran well. I also ran the 2360 GG1 I recently acquired and the 4907 which I ran conventionally. Sweet runner.  Went antiquing later but anything Lionel was too expensive or I didn't want. Bought a wooden rocking chair to rock away on the porch this summer, cheaper than pills. Trying to decide what color to paint it and might go with dark green and a medium green to match some Lionel passenger cars I have. How cool is that ??

Mike G,

Fantastic progress on the Train Room, I love it!

Radar493,

Never to late to Tin Plate!

PCRR/Dave

Mike, it is really taking on the look of a train room. Good job. Art, I like look of the building. Mark, your layout is going to come out great ...........Paul

The train room is looking good Mike. I see Brian advanced your progress meter a bit too!

Art- Don't worry about the rif-raf, the locals will adjust.

Deuce- the fuel columns look good .

Bob

Thanks Brian, Dave, Paul, Bob and Matt for the nice words ! It's funny here where I live it's cheaper to buy 2x4x12's and cut them down to what I need then it is to buy 2x4x8's. So at the rate I need 3 more 2x4x12 and the framing will be done! 

Matt I do plan on using T-111 to side it as that is what I already have on the rest of the garage. Trying to make it match the best I can.

Now here is the kicker about this whole train room build. The wife wasn't sure about it at first, but now that I have the walls framed and the roof pretty much on she thinks it cool! Also she showed me where she would like the train to run outside in the yard among the trees which in time will add an extra 200' of track! But that is way down the road!

mike g. posted:

Now here is the kicker about this whole train room build. The wife wasn't sure about it at first, but now that I have the walls framed and the roof pretty much on she thinks it cool! Also she showed me where she would like the train to run outside in the yard among the trees which in time will add an extra 200' of track! But that is way down the road!

      here you go Mike... make it the same height as your inside layout, indoor/outdoor layout...

briansilvermustang posted:

mike g. posted:

Now here is the kicker about this whole train room build. The wife wasn't sure about it at first, but now that I have the walls framed and the roof pretty much on she thinks it cool! Also she showed me where she would like the train to run outside in the yard among the trees which in time will add an extra 200' of track! But that is way down the road!

      here you go Mike... make it the same height as your inside layout, indoor/outdoor layout...

 

Hey Brian, that's kind of my plan, keep it off the ground, make it easy to wire and maintain. But I do think I might drop it down to 30" not sure yet. But that's way down the road!

Looks great, Mike.  I'm glad your wife's enthusiasm is building!!  By all means keep it off the ground!!  Good suggestions, Brian!

clem k posted:

OK I got it all cleaned up, now to figure out what to do with the space ?

          extend the layout into the next room...

                    then run a loop around the complete basement... then... 

So a little more work on fastening the track. The loop is final aligned and set and fastened to the table. The work continued across the bridge as well.  Fidelling with the track in adjusting things, the track on the bridge shifted slightly to one side about a quarter of an inch. so Now I guess Sceneray will hide that. Thinking a walkway on the wider side might be just the effect that will work. Couple of photos for you. The Cal Zephyr cars continue to be the clearance checkers. 

Have a fewmore screws to set on the track in the above photo. Then maybe some jumpers and  a little power to see how a train runs on the upper level. 

A belated thanks to Mark, Art, Paul and Bob. Sorry it's taken so long to get back here, but you'll see why in a minute. I've been working on the railroad (all the livelong day)...

Patrick came over on Saturday, which explains why there are pictures of me at work. I'm using the wire brush to carve the last section of ceiling tile. There's a fan behind me, blowing into a box with a filter. It works great to keep the dust down.

I put primer over all of it, to seal and soften it.

I whipped up a base color from paint I had on hand. It kind of looks like Dijon mustard.

I found that to be a bit strong, so I randomly added some white as I went along, for a much more pleasing effect. It looked much more natural.

The next pass was done with my asphalt color and a lot of water, making it more of a wash than paint.

Get some greenery in here, and that will just about do it.

Patrick spent the day carving roadbed and caulking gaps to keep the ballast and glue from falling through.

He finished Midway...

the duck under...

and Frogtown, as well as Park Junction and East Minneapolis. There's just the Short Line Hill over in the Western Avenue scene and The Amtrak depot on top of the bookshelves, left to do.

Sunday, I glued the tops on the foam bluff sections.

I used the special foam adhesive, and put drywall screws in to hold it in place. They actually work, but you have to be gentle with the screw gun.

Then I painted the foam my earth color, so no pink will show through the trees, in case I miss a spot.

I also painted the bare OSB, and the white caulk. The OSB in the back, will mostly be covered with foam. As soon as I get that installed, I'll paint it all brown.

My wife has been sifting chicken grit for me. We're just a little short for Western. I need to get three more bags, to do East Minneapolis.

BTW, those are just a small sample of the Woodand Scenics trees I have, on the floor. The two white buckets are full of the clump foliage, and there are boxes of armatures in the other room.

                                         looks GREAT Elliot...

Looking great Elliot. I love reading this thread ... so many useful tips for improving a layout.

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Quickie Photoshop of my proposed Jack Benny Texaco tank car...  

Mitch 

Dang Mitch, that's going to go right over the kid's heads, probably over their parent's too. Heck, it's almost over mine!