What did you do on your layout today?

chris a posted:

Elliot,  take care of that foot so you can heal as fast as possible.   It's got to be frustrating in the middle of the railroad build, but don't let it get worse, you'll really be out of service.

Lou,  Really nice job on the road and city scene over the passenger storage tracks, is there a station planned in that scene so passengers can buy tickets and board ?

Ross,  great work on the portals, good choice of colors.   

Here's my progress today on the mine run today.   Managed to carve 4 cast rocks and fit them together to make one large outcropping  with some depth and height....  Now I can start final building placements, prepare the grounds around the buildings, start working on the curb for the concrete roadway where it meets the base of the hill and installing LED lights while I wait for the scenery to dry, then I can add more vegetation, scrub, trees etc.   

 

Awesome!!!!

mike g. posted:

Brian, I just love those Superliners! Great Picture!

Mark, pulling wires are a lot more fun then painting!

NS6770FAN, good looking control panel, Make sure you show some pictures when your done!

First off let me tell you that painting SUCK'S! But I got it all done along with the trim! Now I can work on the inside!, Next time I will save up and pay someone to do the painting! LOL Probably not!And this is what Tank did while I was painting! Went to the dark side and let the cat sleep in his bed!

Mike- I knew there was a joke in there somewhere.....I remembered it earlier....

Very nice of you to take in your neighbors cat. Glad they are getting along.

Well I feel pretty dumb Lou.....  Saw the bank building and never read the signage over the front door...   It's not the first reading test I have failed.   Nice work on the entire scene.  Chris

The main road has streetlights. Just need to add parking lot lights and traffic signals and the area is done, sans cars, people and details.

        morning run...  here comes the sun...  looks like a nice day today !!

Very nice Lou!  I didn't realize the tracks are underneath for passenger service!  Very nice indeed!

Chris The hillside is looking Great!

Bob, Man I had forgotten all about that movie! Nice find! LOL

Lou, that sure looks great! I love the night pictures! If you don't mind me asking what is the spacing of your lights on the sidewalk ?

More great pictures Brian, I don't know how you keep track of all your engines! LOL

Forestation continues on the summit slopes but I need to pick up some more Grand Central Gems’ large and medium sized pine and spruce trees to finish the southern and southeastern slope.   I have been harvesting outdoor plantings for suitable items to use.   Last years crop of dried Sedum "Autumn Joy" flower heads are wonderful for low filler vegetation.   A dash of 3-M spray adhesive and some coarse turf makes for a quick and easy bush/tree.   I have also found several shrubs that yield suitable armatures for both living and dead trees.   Nothing like going shopping in the front and back yard; can’t beat it for convenience and price.

Elliot, my foot aches for you!   Take care of yourself and fruitful mending to you!   Dave

South/southeast slope:

                       awesome photos Dave !!    scenery is looking great !

                                       really like this one !!!   great shot !

WOW that sure looks sweet! Great work!

Boy, I'll say!  That facility on the forested mountain looks like it belongs there as in a lifesize place.  You are really soing a great job with your homegrown forest!

Dave- the scene is getting better looking every day.

Are you going to power the tracks at the mine and be able to move cars around with a small switcher?

Bob

I’ve got a stash going myself, Dave. 

Thanks for all of your concern and well wishes guys. I really appreciate that! I'm still in very good spirits in spite of the injury. I do still heal pretty well, and Doc seemed impressed with my blood flow, pretty good for a diabetic.

My wife changed the dressing this morning, and it looked about the same, certainly no worse. Doc gave me an interesting ointment to use on it, called Medi-Honey. It's just what it sounds like, a medical grade honey, from bees.  Remembering to keep off it is the tricky part, because normally when we walk, we push off with our toes. I've been limping around on my left heel. Getting one of those knee scooters on Friday. Crutches would be the death of me!

As long as we're doing Bill Murray movie clips...

I did reach my goal of getting three bags of ballast sifted yesterday, but it was a little more involved since the material was so wet, and needed to be dried first. When it's wet, it looks almost black. Fortunately, I never got rid of my kids' old snow saucers.

They came in real handy as ballast dryers.

The little green sieve on the left is a #8. I haven't been able to find a larger one for this, to make it go faster. The stuff in the white tub, is all the reject material.

This is the good stuff. I took this shot mid afternoon. The level is about 4" higher. I just sit there with my tunes on, and tap the sieve against side of the can, to the beat. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

Beautiful scene, great lighting and details.....

mike g. 

Lou, that sure looks great! I love the night pictures! If you don't mind me asking what is the spacing of your lights on the sidewalk ?

I spaced the lights about 12 inches apart. I fugged it in a couple of spots for visual appeal.

RSJB18 posted:

Dave- the scene is getting better looking every day.

Are you going to power the tracks at the mine and be able to move cars around with a small switcher?

Bob

Bob, No power to the track although I will display an engine up there.   It is currently on order.  This scene was planned only to be a static display.   

Dave

Checking in and finding a lot of great posts with awesome pics.

Elliot, good to see you moving forward but doing it off your foot so it will heal quickly.

CHRIS A, your chugging along is turning out fantastic.

Brian, great pic or is Izzy counting engines for you LOL or does Izzy pick the engines and you just take the pics of them LOL.

ROSS, very nice pics of you project.

DARLANDER, your scene came out looking real.

Me I am still stuck catching up with the yard work but did manage to get a coat of stain on the timber this morning and after dinner I put a second coat on. In the morning after it has dried for the night I might add a third coat. Then I can glue them in place and wire up the tracks in the yard for the crane and the track. A couple of pics..................Paul

Dave things look so great its hard to put in words!

Lou, thanks for all the information your sharing with your layout! I know I am going to need it!

Elliot, I am glad like the rest that you are able to keep moving forward! Maybe you could get yourself a motorized wheel char? But then you would have to build ramps, Bad idea! LOL

Paul, Its nice to see you still plugging away! Cant wait to see everything put together!

I am so sorry if I missed anyone, I am just trying to keep up but there is so much great work being done here!

Paul, it is a shame yard work intrudes into layout time!  Keep up a little st a time!

Mark, you mean Paul has been out side working in the yard? I thought when he said yard work he was adding a yard to his layout! LOL

Mike,

Maybe I misunderstood Paul’s post!  Paul will have to provide photographic proof!  LOL

Mother nature has taken me away from layout building because it has not been raining enough to qualify for layout time. I tried to do a rain dance but all I did was get blisters on my feet LOL. But when I have had a chance to hit the forum it is great to see all that everyone is doing on here.............Paul

Wonderful Paul!!

Paul,  those buildings in the back of the yard are outstanding.  did you scratchbuild them ?  I'd love to know more about them and see some more photos

Chris is right Paul, the building flats really give your railroad yard a great authentic look!

                     a couple friends, a few beers, and a nice fire last night...

                                    feeling a little foggy this morning...

                               HEY !   can you turn the lights down...

Brian, I thought that was smoke, but I do see it does look like fog!  

CHRIS A, I got those buildings from Angietracksideflats on the BAY. They came on a roll. Because of the size, O gauge he cannot ship them individually which is fine I just got black foam from Hobby Lobby and glued them myself after I cut them from the roll. Since that roll I have bought numerous offerings from him. On my mainstreet scene I used HO and N building flats..................Pics...............Paul

Paul,   thanks very  much for the info.   I would have never guessed they were 2D printed images from your photos....  I'll check out his current offerings as I have an area that I would like to improve the depth of scene by mounting some of these larger warehouse type buildings behind my existing scene.    

CHRIS, here is one more pic to show mainstreet I am working on. O gauge buildings in front, HO next then one or two N gauge buildings behind them. While doing this I put another coat of stain on my timbers. I'll let that dry and then apply another coat. I'm thinking darker will be better to show aged wood. Pics.........Paul

Looking good Paul, don't forget to distress the wood!

Mike, I was going to put another coat of stain on. After that how would I get the look of distressed wood. I have some indigo ink watered down left over from doing the scenery. Would that work and how would I apply it ....dab it on in spots?????.........................Paul

paul 2 posted:

Mike, I was going to put another coat of stain on. After that how would I get the look of distressed wood. I have some indigo ink watered down left over from doing the scenery. Would that work and how would I apply it ....dab it on in spots?????.........................Paul

Paul, I have no idea on how to do it, but I was thinking if your going to use it for bins for rock, coal and stuff  I would think they would have dents in them from the loader dropping things on them. I know in real life I dropped some good size rock in some old wooden bins and dented them!

paul 2 posted:

CHRIS, here is one more pic to show mainstreet I am working on. O gauge buildings in front, HO next then one or two N gauge buildings behind them. While doing this I put another coat of stain on my timbers. I'll let that dry and then apply another coat. I'm thinking darker will be better to show aged wood. Pics.........Paul

Great modeling!

Paul, nice work. If I could make a suggestion, I would use a much finer grained wood to 

make your timbers, perhaps basswood or poplar. I think no matter how much you stain the 

ones you have those big knots and that grain will not look realistic amongst all your other

realistic details. Also a much darker stain, almost black to resemble creosote. 

John

also, if you want them to look a bit aged and weathered I would hit the faces and tops with

a wire brush to get a bit of distress on them. Then I would brush on a couple of coats of your india

ink and wipe it off pretty quick, then apply the stain. The knots in your present timbers would

be 2 or three feet in real life, which rarely occurs naturally. 

First group of shelves was getting filled up so had the choice of buying no more trains or building more shelves.  You can see what won out.  Also got the grass sections of my baseball field down. 

Nice Bryan, Everything looks nice! and your baseball field looks great!

Finishing up my accessories & train yard wiring to control panel for 12' x 7' layout.