What did you do on your layout today?

Great work everyone! I hope you all have a fun and safe 4th!

M.O.W. (maintenance of Way) or as I like to call it - "Model Train Yoga".  I'm standing, I'm kneeling, I'm crawling around under the layout, on my back, on my stomach, on my side, working from odd positions.  When it's all done believe me, I feel like I just had a workout. 

Redoing some track work and investigating 4 switches that went south.  3 of the turnouts needed new switch motors and the last  was a wiring issue.  Track work - just when you think your're done...I noticed that certain locos would derail in certain spots "every once in a while". Aggravating when the train will go around successfully a bizillion times and the bizillion +1 time there's a problem and only certain finicky locos and only a certain spot. 

Anyway, all's well now.  No photos to share with you. Most of the work I did was underneath and no one can tell I did anything except that now the trains run smoothly and the switches work. 

Happy 4th everyone!

Nice pictures Brian!

Ralph, sorry you had some issues with the layout, but sure am glad you have everything running smooth now!

                                thanks Mike !!

Brian, More great photographs!  Excellent!

Ralph, That sounds miserable to me!  I used to do all those things without a second thought, but not any more.  I now know what people mean when they say the hurt in places they never knew they had!!  I'm glad you got the fixing done!!

                                                thanks Mark !!

                                  have a GREAT 4th everyone !! 

Tried running some trains on the 12" to the foot layout again today. 

The Lake Tahoe lumber and fluming Co. GLENBROOK narrow gauge

2-6-0, fully restored. It can only haul lumber, etc because it was 

restored to original specs and therefore the brakes do not meet

current standards to haul passengers. Another short vid of the 

V&T No. 25 2-6-0. A very short vid of the Mckeen car, this is where

my camera died.  And a few stills of the GLENBROOK and V&T

INYO. And a turntable detail. 

Managed to find  few minutes and was able to glue the windows into four flats. That's all till we get back....Pic......Paul

Ooh!!!  Looking great, Paul!

                              the tunnel cleaning crew was out last night...

                               and the tunnels were busy this morning...

Not much done on the layout,  but a bit of 12" to the foot action on the A&M today!

https://ogrforum.com/...-on-the-aandm-7-6-18

Mitch 

Last night, I was standing on a stool on one side of the layout room to see something and then I realized I could see the entire layout. I managed to get this with my cell, the only photo ever showing pretty much the entire layout. Only the far wall to the left is missing, and that's just a backdrop and some trees. But for the most part, it's all here:

                                  pretty neat Lee  !  looks GREAT !!

I haven't touched the layout this week. I know it's working because I had it running last Sunday for NYC Z-man (Jim).

My nephews came over on Tuesday, and helped me move the chop saw and some other stuff out to the shop. The rest of the week has been spent on doctor visits and picking up for tomorrow's open house / picnic. Paul, Dave and Ray Marion are coming over. If Menards keeps doing the show, the open house will become an annual event.

I'll get back to work Sunday. I'll probably have another week before the surgery, and then I'll be pretty limited in what I can do.

briansilvermustang posted:

                                  pretty neat Lee  !  looks GREAT !!

Thanks!

With a small layout, though, such a photo can be disconcerting. You see it all in one shot and think, "Man, that's all there is to it?" I usually take measure of my layout one small section at a time. To see it all like that, I don't know...

p51 posted:

briansilvermustang posted:

                                  pretty neat Lee  !  looks GREAT !!

Thanks!

With a small layout, though, such a photo can be disconcerting. You see it all in one shot and think, "Man, that's all there is to it?" I usually take measure of my layout one small section at a time. To see it all like that, I don't know...

Really kinda depends on your perspective, right Lee?

Great job Paul! The flats are nice and will b e waiting for you when you get back!

Love the pictures Brian!

Lee, Wonderful layout, shows how you get great pictures!

That was the Google Earth view of Lee's layout!!!  Very nice!

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

I haven't touched the layout this week. I know it's working because I had it running last Sunday for NYC Z-man (Jim).

My nephews came over on Tuesday, and helped me move the chop saw and some other stuff out to the shop. The rest of the week has been spent on doctor visits and picking up for tomorrow's open house / picnic. Paul, Dave and Ray Marion are coming over. If Menards keeps doing the show, the open house will become an annual event.

I'll get back to work Sunday. I'll probably have another week before the surgery, and then I'll be pretty limited in what I can do.

Better get a move on!  I'm catching up to you on ballasting, Elliot.  Finished a full 6' of it this week. 😉 

Here's hoping all goes well with the surgery.  Best of luck.

Bruce

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

I haven't touched the layout this week. I know it's working because I had it running last Sunday for NYC Z-man (Jim).

My nephews came over on Tuesday, and helped me move the chop saw and some other stuff out to the shop. The rest of the week has been spent on doctor visits and picking up for tomorrow's open house / picnic. Paul, Dave and Ray Marion are coming over. If Menards keeps doing the show, the open house will become an annual event.

I'll get back to work Sunday. I'll probably have another week before the surgery, and then I'll be pretty limited in what I can do.

Prayers for a successful surgery, Eliot.

Pete

Not much going on here lately.  I did checkout my Premier FA-2 ABBA set that I am meeting a fellow Forum member next weekend to complete a trade.  I just have to box it up so it doesn't get broken before I can deliver it.  

p51 posted:

Last night, I was standing on a stool on one side of the layout room to see something and then I realized I could see the entire layout. I managed to get this with my cell, the only photo ever showing pretty much the entire layout. Only the far wall to the left is missing, and that's just a backdrop and some trees. But for the most part, it's all here:

Lee, your layout is very inspirational indeed!

"What did you do on your layout today?"

Take a guess...

After many years of searching, and losing out for various reasons, I was finally able to procure a rare 1952 edition of  the Lionel Trains salesman "answer book'...

gandydancer1950 posted:

After many years of searching, and losing out for various reasons, I was finally able to procure a rare 1952 edition of  the Lionel Trains salesman "answer book'...

What a great find.  Congratulations

Al

While prepping a couple of gi-raffe shells for shipping,  I did a bit of research on Joe D.'s Plexiglas gi-raffe ramps.  

While they do a fine job with the gi-raffes: 

They do tend to foul siderods a bit:  

So, they'll have to be used with narrower locomotives.   

Mitch 

I've been down, but not out. I didn't hit the lotto like I fantasized, so I built one. Two of these led gimmick games games with sales literature in the mail. (That used to be a railline swingbridge)

.A 2"x2" fan blows styrofoam balls around in a cut down $1store led solar lawn lamp's lens, inverted

A "gaming" train is in the works I guess. I wanted a short gondola, and wanted an ore car. I found one long mpc=2 if one is nearly squared 

Actual colors are yet t9 be determined. The Gon is slightly shorter than a 6112 now. Better on the 0-21" micro track.

The next split might allow a this ore that prize car 

Speaking of fantasy, I wanted a figure for my Island of Misfits Toys but had no luck. The loco & passenger car that has square wheels; was a must. So I made one from wood; elve style . It's about 1.5" long

I've railnpowered and at least partially lit 4 VW busses now.  No two are driven identically. 1 Worm&gear, the rest are pulley & rubber band, but no two motors or pulley ratios are the same. .  Low volt champ needs just 2v.- 9v max., Two can take 14v, other two at 24v and excepting the one, they start and run at 7v.

One sprung contact shoe for now; not turnout friendly.

The police van is done.

I have ambulance decals. It needs flahers.

I need fire dept. decals. It's bubble lights, but I need to work out a pulsing mech. (Pulse vs a flasher 

And I need "taxi" or MOW/road name logo for black and yellow.

   I have old decal making image lifting "paint" called "decal it" . So, if I can find two identical images, anything goes.

 You paint a coat or a few coats, dry, wash away the paper in warm soap&water and you are left with a rubbery decal. Kind of thick, but strong.

 Not super high quality, but I was impressed with my three coat test on a PRR keystone in a magazine.  The problem was a slight opacity. The background must be similar to the paper stock or the opacity becomes easy to see.  I think one coat decals can be done with care. ( Stick them with more compund. A gloss.)

So that's some of my spring projects; time for me to catch up on yours

You have been very imaginative and resourceful once again!!

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

While prepping a couple of gi-raffe shells for shipping,  I did a bit of research on Joe D.'s Plexiglas gi-raffe ramps.  

While they do a fine job with the gi-raffes: 

They do tend to foul siderods a bit:  

So, they'll have to be used with narrower locomotives.   

Mitch 

And I am sure the Gi-raffs will greatly appreciate the absence of steamers heading up their consists... would you  want to be sucking in smoke and cinders??? I am very surprised your shop steward allowed this unhealthy practice   

Paul is absolutely correct!  We rode the Western Maryland Scenic RR with standing room only tickets.  Open vestibule.  That’s okay for people, but cruelty to animals!!!!!!!!!!       LOL

Now I know what my Mum and Dad meant when they said they would have cinders and ash on them when riding to and from Pittsburgh on the B&O.

p51 posted:

Last night, I was standing on a stool on one side of the layout room to see something and then I realized I could see the entire layout. I managed to get this with my cell, the only photo ever showing pretty much the entire layout. Only the far wall to the left is missing, and that's just a backdrop and some trees. But for the most part, it's all here:

Very nice!!! I like it.  It’s point to point?

WP posted:

p51 posted:

Last night, I was standing on a stool on one side of the layout room to see something and then I realized I could see the entire layout. I managed to get this with my cell, the only photo ever showing pretty much the entire layout. Only the far wall to the left is missing, and that's just a backdrop and some trees. But for the most part, it's all here:

Very nice!!! I like it.  It’s point to point?

 Thanks!

Yep, it's point to point. Early on, I thought of a continuous run but the more op sessions I went to on other layouts, the less appealing that seemed to me. I'm very happy with it as it is for the most part, in terms of the operating scheme. I built it primarily for that, and to develop my skills.

Tonight, I decided to try switch lists instead of car cards for op sessions, and I'm going to put out the 'bat signal' soon for an op session to test it. I have a set of 5 moves for the same cars on the layout, which means the final puts them all back where they were at the start. That way, if I ever run a series of op sessions in one day (which happens in the Fall, for 'Oly Ops'), I don't need to swap cars around.

Anyway, it took me most of the evening to ID the cars, where they'd go in each move and where they'd wind up so each siding has the right number of cars. But at this point, even if I wanted to swap a few cars around, it wouldn't take much to change all the switch lists...

Layout pictures; enjoy!

https://ogrforum.com/...68#80128401260837068

Ran a couple trains...  😏🚂

The night scene is terrific. Great.