Thanks Ted and Paul, I sure it exists, I am heading there soon for my shift, so the wife can come home~! Its a nice little place, lot of great people. The guys that come in for coffee helped do my slab for the train room, so it only cost me the price of the mud and the wife made them breakfast a few times when they came into the store for coffee! What a deal!
That’s a deal!!!
Spent yesterday planning the kitbashed building for the Mine Run module... Using (2) Lionel Electrical Substation kits and (1) Lionel Municipal Building that I had already assembled..... Got 99% of the parts cut on the table saw, and finalized the layout. Been removing windows from the existing building and priming all the brick work today.
Attachments
Images (3)
Chris, that is going to be one interesting building. Nice work.............Paul
So table number two is up and running! I cut the necessary fill in custom pieces and track /switch tweaking is happening. Need to do some wiring and get the track screws in, and make sure the transitions are as smooth as possible. It was a joy to see Lionel FA make multiple return loops on the two tables. History repeats itself, the pendulum has swung!
Attachments
Images (1)
Chris, that’s going to be a substantial building when done!
Leroof, keep up the good work!
This is the overview of this layout thus far. It will be PW Lionel type as it was formerly.
interesting to note that this plan had its origins in Peter Riddle's designs offering an operators maximum action in a minimum space, giving the operator a variety of routes over which the trains can travel. Each loop has a reverse loop in it a train can travel continuously from table to table, reversing direction via those loops, without operator intervention. This is the beauty of Lionel 022 in full swing.
just add some sidings and speciality track for accessory action. It worked flawlessly in the former layout. The modification may include an additional foot with on the table number three. More photos as progress is pursued.
Btw: Thank you for such an interesting read on all of Your projects.
Attachments
Images (1)
Mark Boyce posted:Chris, that’s going to be a substantial building when done!
Leroof, keep up the good work!
Seriously!
Chris, would love to see a track plan of your layout! Super interesting how you complete each module from bench work through scenery before moving on to the next module. It really makes the layout look complete as you go along!
Not much for me. I just got back to the good ol' US of A from Europe, yesterday. This is why none of you have seen much from me for the last three weeks.
We flew to London, then went to Paris, Normandy, then Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Yes, I rode trains, there, too, including the Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel and passenger trains through Normandy.
These are photos at two of my favorite places, as I was walking up Omaha Beach, and later in front of the church at Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy, France (thanks to the photo skills of my ever-patient wife). I've been wanting to get there for most of my life. Anyone who has followed my posts or articles in the hobby press over the last year can imagine how special these places are to me.
Attachments
Images (2)
My former layout was full of life photo taken 2005.
as the original plan was primarily for one engine operation, I added live catenary for the electrics.
I still have the poles so I may engage half the layout with live wires.
anyway nice to rebuild this again. It will be simplified with more visual space.
back to humble beginings .
My Standard gauge loop developed a short but finally found it and repaired same. New Chinese rail made with soft insulating material on the center rail. Replaced it. This is about the 5th or 6th one. Going to look for better made track.
Paul and Mark, Thanks for the kind words.... Just finished doing some of the mortar work after the different brick colors and the clear coat dried.
Atanz: As I am not sure whether I will move again, I am designing and building this layout in modules that I can disassemble and move. Going to be 60 this summer, and having to start over from scratch is not an option. The modules aren't uniform in size or shape, but after my dad passed away, my son and I were able to move the 3 modules from my home to his condo and got them set up in short order. I will try to take some overhead photos as I did about 2 years ago when asked about the overall layout. I may also elect to shoot a short walk around video, just can't do it right now as I have layout/scenery construction stuff all over the place. The coal mine and the mine run modules will be difficult to get to, so I really want to get the scenery work done back there. I did build a lift out removable section in the coal mine mountain is there is ever a derailment up there on one of the sidings.... The table going in front of the mine run grade will only be 32 inches deep so I could potentially get to it in an emergency without having to levitate !!
I was working in the prior version of RR Track software, but kind of deviated in a few places and never went back to update the cad file..... What I have so far is roughly 23 x 28 feet, no curves less than 096, up to 0120 in alot of areas, 2 levels currently, plus the mine run is about 6 inches above the upper level. All the backdrops are 1/8 inch masonite and are hanging on a simple rail system I made.
For the most part the wiring is modular as well, critical modules have local sub control panels which would travel with the module, this kept vast amounts of wiring for signals and switches and sidings from having to cross long distances. I also wired all my block signals with plugs and the relay panels are close to where the signals are, so the signals can be unplugged and packed up without too much pain.
Lee,
It's fitting that you were able to visit those hallowed places around the Memorial Day Holiday. I'm sure that's an experience you will never forget.
chris a posted:Spent yesterday planning the kitbashed building for the Mine Run module... Using (2) Lionel Electrical Substation kits and (1) Lionel Municipal Building that I had already assembled..... Got 99% of the parts cut on the table saw, and finalized the layout. Been removing windows from the existing building and priming all the brick work today.
Chris, that is going to be one big station! The work you doing just looks amazing! I can't wait to see the finished building!
Lee, Its nice to see you able to visit places like that with your background and with all the military stuff you collect and how you model it in your layout! I am very happy for you and glad you enjoyed your trip!
LEROOF, you sure are moving at a fast pace! Thing are coming together so fast, Keep up the nice work!
Chris, there is a lot of wisdom in building in modules. I don’t plan to move, but having moved several times in the past, it could happen again. I plan to build my layout modular. Of course the chances of finding a space the same shape and size are slim, but I could use choice parts. Making the wiring modular is a great idea too!
Chris, take your time working on the layout before cleaning up certain areas so we can see an overall photograph representation!
Pat Kn posted:Lee,
It's fitting that you were able to visit those hallowed places around the Memorial Day Holiday. I'm sure that's an experience you will never forget.
Yep, it meant a great deal to me, and was at the top of my bucket list of places I still hadn't been to.
Trains were cool, too, though I didn't see ONE model train store the entire time I was there...
Attachments
Images (3)
FrankM - thanks for the compliments on the rolling hillside, I will pass your comment along to my daughter who painted them for me.... She's really talented and I am blessed to have a 21 year old who likes to help me do scenery on the layout.... Before she left for her summer internship she painted, spray glued and put flock and leaves on an entire box of Super Trees for me.
Making continued progress on this kitbash.... I am thinking it's going to be machine shop for heavy machinery repair ... main customer - the mine is right up the road.
I really have to start adapting the "good enough" philosophy, instead of the "perfectionist approach" I ended up with 3 different brick colors, then seal it, then 2 different shades of mortar, then seal it again....
Hope to start weathering windows, build the flat roof, and the clapboard "bump out" for the 2nd floor of the main 3 story building tomorrow. Then it's on to the oak loading dock about 26 total inches in length x 1 3/4 " wide, at least I have all the oak stock cut for it.
Attachments
Images (4)
Now, that's progress, Chris A !!!!
Chris, I adopted the good enough approach on my current layout. Actually the very basic
good enough. Grass is green paint, ballast is black paint, road is grey paint. Mine is 54 x 80,
O34 loop, O27 loop, one siding, a bunch of prewar cardboard buildings. Some garage sale trees.
I don't have many visitors so this is for my benefit and I am happy with it. Yours looks great,
good luck with it. Oh yeah and a couple of dozen flamingos!!
My layout is 4 x 16 and occupies one half of my two-car garage in southwest Florida; it consists of an outer loop of 042 Gargraves with an inner loop of 036 Fastrack. The garage is not air-conditioned so I only put the layout up for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays when the humidity is low. Having recently decided to change from Super O track to Fastrack on the inner loop this coming season, I needed to do a revision to my previous track plan and village layout. What you see in the pictures is a “dry fit” for the upcoming season. The buildings are all Department 56 Snow Village pieces with a Plasticville crossing shanty and switch tower.
Although I appreciate and enjoy prototypical hi-rail layouts, my heart is with the postwar Lionel trains of the late 40s and early 50s which bring back memories of the simpler and more innocent times of my youth. All my motive power have mechanical e units with the exception of a pair of MTH D&H Alco PAs released in 1998. Travel back in time to 1974 and indulge me in a little whimsy where the O&W didn’t give up the ghost in 1957 and was still using a venerable pair of GM cab units and the Erie didn't merge with the Lackawanna and kept a couple of serviceable Alco FAs on its roster. The D&H did run an employee excursion in the fall of 1974 out of Hudson Yard that terminated near Scranton; head end power was a pair of D&H Also PAs pulling a consist of D&H streamlined cars used on the Adirondack. I was on that excursion with my wife, son, mother and my father who worked at that time as an engineer out of Green Ridge, and I had the honor of sitting in the right hand side of the cab of one of the PAs before the northbound run. And no, I wasn’t allowed to blow the horn.
An early fall snow storm in 1974 hasn’t dampened the spirits of the folks on a Delaware & Hudson employee excursion. The excursion originated in Wilkes-Barre’s Hudson Yard where employees and their families were treated to a buffet lunch served in the head end baggage car before travelling north to Carbondale. D&H celebrity PAs, #s17 and 19, have been turned on the Carbondale wye and are back on the point for the return trip to Hudson Yard. As the PAs prepare to depart, a pair of Alco brethren Erie FAs rumble past with an abbreviated northbound coal drag of Lackawanna, D&H and O&W two bay hoppers filled with northeastern Pennsylvania anthracite; since the consist today is a short one there’s no need for a helper on the Penn Division’s tough grade between Carbondale, Forest City and Ararat. Meanwhile, O&W F3s, 821 and 822 are preparing to deliver a hopper of malt purchased from Wilkes-Barre’s Stegmaier beer for micro brewer Fell Brewery, an O&W milk car for Mulholland’s, a local ice cream factory as well as a reefer of Wyoming Valley kielbasa, Mrs. T’s pierogi, and other goodies for the residents of Carbondale and Simpson, its neighbor town to the north. These pix taken by me with my phone camera; hope to have more and better pix tomorrow when my granddaughter comes to visit and take some pix with her Canon.
Attachments
Images (3)
Nice layout. Occasionally I get discouraged looking at all the massive, fantastically detailed layouts on here.
Then I just have to realize that that is out of my income bracket, and being handicapped, now out of
my skill set. These guys are all doing great and I enjoy looking at their layouts. Guess I gotta just make
some friends so I can pack up my prewar streamliners and run them at at lightspeed on one of
these layouts. I'll put that on my bucket list.
Chris, I am sure whatever you make it its going to be great! Just one question, are you going to make all the roof's the same as to seam the building was all built at the same time, or leave as add on's?
Chris side note, your right about the lighting!
Coal, that sure is a nice garage layout! Must be a lot of work to put it up and take it down!
Mike I am going to have different roof profiles. Some time back I had seen some photos of kit-bashed and scratch-built buildings on Norm Charbonneau's layout. Norm is a fellow OGR forum member. His work is outstanding. Anyway, I asked him to send me some additional photos of a similar building combination that he did, and he was nice enough to forward me 3 great photos.
I liked his work on this project so much, I figured I'd eventually find a prominent place on my layout to build something similar.... Copies of the photos Norm C sent me are below.
Attachments
Images (3)
Leroof posted:So table number two is up and running! I cut the necessary fill in custom pieces and track /switch tweaking is happening. Need to do some wiring and get the track screws in, and make sure the transitions are as smooth as possible. It was a joy to see Lionel FA make multiple return loops on the two tables. History repeats itself, the pendulum has swung!
I have a pretty elaborate layout that I’m working on but when I see pictures like this with platforms and tubular track it takes me back to the good ole days. Great job and we can tell you are having a great time. If I had a bigger basement I’d add a layout like yours.
Nice pictures Chris, I now see where you going with this! Its going to be a great addition to your layout!
Norm does great work! Chris, I can see how you are interested in the general layout of his building and where you are going with yours.
Today I got two of my four packages compliments of Mr. Postman. Found another Weaver TOFC on the Bay and my order from Scenic Express came. Still to come another set of Weaver die cast trucks and the rest of the building flats to start working on my brewery. Tonight for the first time in a while the wife will be watching her Cavs and I'll have a chance to finally get back to the layout. Since I finished off the area where the two sidings are with scenery I now have no where to work on any projects so for right now I am going to take measurements to put a sturdy pull out piece of plywood from the edge of the table for a work bench. Pics..............Paul
Attachments
Images (4)
Cool TOFC car Paul. Gonna need one of these to pull it.
At least the Cavs made the Finals so you get at least 4 more games. I lived about 5 minutes from Amityville for a while when I got married.
Bob
Ran trains last night for about twenty minutes. Added some fifty ton hopper cars to my call train and put a B & O SW 9 on the point. Enjoyed every moment too! Took a few photos the other night too.
Attachments
Images (6)
RSJB18 posted:Cool TOFC car Paul. Gonna need one of these to pull it.
At least the Cavs made the Finals so you get at least 4 more games. I lived about 5 minutes from Amityville for a while when I got married.
Bob
Is this Amityville where the Horror came from?? I never watched it.
Yes, Paul, you are really racking up a real train of those piggyback cars!!
Mike, I never know most of the time how they are going to ship to me until I get the email to say how it is coming. Mark, just when I think I am done buying a Weaver TOFC along comes another one and I can't say no. It is more like I gotta have it. Bob, that is a nice looking engine but on the basement layout the roads will be TH&B, South Buffalo and Buffalo Creek. The game is on and here I am on the internet looking for bargains. ............Paul
Mark Boyce posted:RSJB18 posted:Cool TOFC car Paul. Gonna need one of these to pull it.
At least the Cavs made the Finals so you get at least 4 more games. I lived about 5 minutes from Amityville for a while when I got married.
Bob
Is this Amityville where the Horror came from?? I never watched it.
Yes, Paul, you are really racking up a real train of those piggyback cars!!
Yep- the same. The house is still there. Every once and a while it will go up for sale and the local news will run the same old stories about it.
How about that, Bob! Yes, I can imagine the news people latching onto something like that. 
Did you use 1 or 2 LED's?
modeltrainsparts posted:Did you use 1 or 2 LED's?
It's one LED with two holes for the light to shine through. The LED actually mounts facing the side and the direction-facing side is just another hole at a 90 degree angle to the 1st. Simple enough but Williams installs red lenses on every corner of the locomotive. The side lens comes out and gets replaced with the shaft of the LED. The extra red lens is not a problem on the "red" end of the locomotive but has to come out on the "green" end. Williams quality control being what it is/was, sometimes these little lens just pop out and sometimes they're a real pain to get out and usually must be very carefully drilled out . I've done a bunch of Williams stuff so far and sometimes these factory marker lights lenses are just pressed in and sometimes they've been glued.
-RM
Latest from the Razorback Traction Co. shops: A Mister Rogers tribute trolley!
https://ogrforum.com/...gers-tribute-trolley
Mitch
Attachments
M. Mitchell Marmel posted:Latest from the Razorback Traction Co. shops: A Mister Rogers tribute trolley!
https://ogrforum.com/...gers-tribute-trolley
Mitch
Mitch;
Looks like Shop Superintendent Norma B. is slacking off... your depot could use a good dusting. She needs to get Fortesque busy with the (flamingo) feather duster 
Very nice Trolley 🚋 🚋 🚋
