What did you do on your layout today?

I’m not always at my parents house where the layout is so brought I some stuff to work on at my fiancé’s. Being a complete nerd here wacthing the Horseshoe Curve cam while painting  

Kon112H posted:

I’m not always at my parents house where the layout is so brought I some stuff to work on at my fiancé’s. Being a complete nerd here wacthing the Horseshoe Curve cam while painting  

Who is your 'helper' in the picture with you??

Woodson posted:

Kon112H posted:

I’m not always at my parents house where the layout is so brought I some stuff to work on at my fiancé’s. Being a complete nerd here wacthing the Horseshoe Curve cam while painting 

Who is your 'helper' in the picture with you??

Hoosier- our rescue She’ll be 2.5  in March. Border Collie, Healer and Aussy mix. She loves trains too she comes railfaning with me as well 

Kon112H posted:

Woodson posted:

Kon112H posted:

I’m not always at my parents house where the layout is so brought I some stuff to work on at my fiancé’s. Being a complete nerd here wacthing the Horseshoe Curve cam while painting 

Who is your 'helper' in the picture with you??

Hoosier- our rescue She’ll be 2.5  in March. Border Collie, Healer and Aussy mix. She loves trains too she comes railfaning with me as well 

No worries- just did the same thing..... (not the painting part)

Cool dog too.

I did not do a thing for a day after completing the CSX Theater Car.  Rest for my blurry eyes.

Tonight I open up the Union Pacific Theater Car and begin the painting process again.  Tomorrow I ship more repairs to Lionel and some returns to dealers.  Lionel has a new policy started this year that if I email Dean, Dean must email Service and tell them exactly what he told me in his email.  The service rep said it was to slow down the number of return repairs flooding Lionel. 

I called dealers and said I didn't need the headaches of dealing with Lionel.  They are taking some returns.

I will not be buying new Lionel for a while.  I don't have the time to sit on the phone for 35 minutes and then be told they can't do anything until Dean tells them to do it.  Now I have to email Dean and tell him to do what he is supposed to do in the first place.  Then I get to call Lionel Service again, wait on the phone, and see if Dean email them.  … And the warranty clock keeps on running, but the Lionel trains DO NOT.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Too much cool stuff on here this week to comment on as usual! Ill have to peak at this one more often to keep up! I started painting the dungeon walls this week. I haven't settled on a color yet. I was going to go for a gloomy day greyish blue, but with my available fluorescent lightning and tight space it was way too bright. I slapped up some darker blue that I had on hand and may go with something more along these lines. Time to go get some swatches!

Andy, looks like your having fun painting! What is Horseshoe Curve cam? You have a good looking buddy there!  They seam to have a ways to make us happy!

John, the CSX car looks great! I am sorry about the trouble you are having with Lionel. I wouldn't know as I only have 2 Lionel engines!

Here are a couple more pictures of my control panel so far! I still nee to add a few more switches, but will mount it tomorrow to the layout and install the switches when I get them!

mike g. posted:

Hi Guys, here are the pictures I promised of my control panel so far. I know its lame, but I have to wait for the paint to dry before I add power and turn out switches, along with pinstriping !                                                                 I hope to have the switches and pinstriping installed later today when everything is dry. Then I can mount it to the layour near my airport!

Mike, panels look good! I take it you are adding lights to the switchs? Are you going to use them for track power and for turnouts ?

I've been studying caboose types, trying to figure out what type to get for the era in trying to model. Turns out nearly any will work!

And I'm trying to figure out types of rolling stock and if other road names should be mixed in to the train.  

jim

Hi Jim thanks. No lights just switches for siding power and turnouts! I like you don't want my trains sitting on powered track!

What are caboose types?

Thanks @MikeG. Here’s the cam. https://youtu.be/j45InTaXwzs 

nice panel! 

@carsntrains I do study and research on so many things.  

I feel any wood cabooses look best for steam era into the 40s then 50s era line offsets ,NE and bay window.  It seems 60s the extended vision where popping up. I feel Steam era needs to have the most correct cabooses.   

And PRR , well they had lots of there own.  

Having finished a few pre-1941 medium duty trucks to fill that gap, l began a kit for a logging bunkhouse.  Had noticed that it looked very similar to a logging dining hall, so checked stash of scale lumber and decided could build a similar dining hall while assembling bunkhouse kit.  Did the skids for both buildings today, as well painted walls for the bunkhouse.

mike g. posted:

Hi Jim thanks. No lights just switches for siding power and turnouts! I like you don't want my trains sitting on powered track!

What are caboose types?

Mike I see on the second set of pictures you posted!  Pretty coo!  

Yep caboose type.   Woodside, plywood side , steel side, copula, non copula, bay window.  Seems on the Southern bay window caboose types were the majority in the 50s.  BUT steel sides and a few wood sides were still in use ..   Even as late as the 70s.  Been doing a lot of study on prototypes.  Even starting to like the PS4 flatcars in scale!!  UGGGG not me please!   But those things are cool!  AND they have two of them at the LHS with different numbers!  I made a mistake and bought one a while back.  

Jim

 Edit:   Added pictures of my PS4 flatcar and tarped load. And what I think is a bay window caboose?   I got it just because I got a smokin deal on it!   And its a LCCA club car! 

Thanks for the link Andy! How often do the train run by?

Oh Ok, got it Jim. One piece of advice, you better go buy the other one! LOL

mike g. posted:

Thanks for the link Andy! How often do the train run by?

Oh Ok, got it Jim. One piece of advice, you better go buy the other one! LOL

We live 3.5 HR from there it can be ultra busy at times.   That whole area is awesome railfan spots (Harrisburg to Pittsburgh).   

@carsntrains. Lionel PS4 flats are awesome. They did a killer job on them. We have a bunch of them. The best 50s-60s trailer flats besides the weavers. 

Kon112H posted:

Thanks @MikeG. Here’s the cam. https://youtu.be/j45InTaXwzs 

nice panel! 

 

@carsntrains I do study and research on so many things.  

I feel any wood cabooses look best for steam era into the 40s then 50s era line offsets ,NE and bay window.  It seems 60s the extended vision where popping up. I feel Steam era needs to have the most correct cabooses.   

And PRR , well they had lots of there own.  

Mike- the "World Famous Horseshoe Curve" was completed in 1854 by the PRR. It's on the  National Register of Historic Places. The curve was built to give a new route over the Allegheny Mountains.
Lots more info here.  The webcam is cool. Railfaning from your easy chair !

Bob

Watching a noisy train go by right now! LOL

Had a train meet this afternoon on Corner Field Model Railroad Museum with Lionel Vision Line UP 4-8-8-4 Big Boy #4012 pulling coal / loaded ore meeting Lionel JLC Legacy 4-8-8-4 Big Boy #4024 pulling a freight.  

Yea- lots of brake and wheel squeal around the curve.  Left to right on the screen is eastbound- down hill. Take a look tomorrow in the daylight and you will see more.

Bob

mike g. posted:

Watching a noisy train go by right now! LOL

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Trains are noisy??   Say it aint so!!!!!! LOL 

Jim 

RSJB18 posted:

Yea- lots of brake and wheel squeal around the curve.  Left to right on the screen is eastbound- down hill. Take a look tomorrow in the daylight and you will see more.

Bob

Yeah that’s the one of the negatives to the curve the noise( people and wheels ) lol.  My favorite is spot around there is Cassandra plus it’s dog friendly lol  

Not an exciting event today.  Last week I did a lot of cleaning in the basement so I knew I would need to clean track eventually.  But before I cleaned the track I ran my Lionel Atlantic 4-4-2 to see how it did.  I ran well.  Then I tried my K-Line K4 Pacific with fast mail cars and it ran well.  Finally tried my TMCC H9 Consolidation but it lurched and finally stalled on the main.  Its usually the rollers on this loco and tender that get that black ring from the center rail of the Atlas track.  Scotch brite got them clean and it ran well.  I have another loco that has sensitive rollers, an MTH Decapod with ERR upgrade.  That tender does not have rollers so it stalls on a long turn out in my engine yard.  

So then I decided to run my centerline track cleaner behind the Consolidation around the main a few times.  I usually run it with a one inch paint roller dry but jam a piece of scotch pad in front of the roller so it contacts the center rail.  Tonight I wrapped a piece of cotton cloth around the roller so I could compare the amount of dirt removed on each run.  It was quite effective.  I am going to try and do this more often.  While I can easily get to most track, there are corners and tunnels that are tough.

Worked on a distressed 1033 transformer today. It was dead, filthy, and sold to me without a case as junk. Generally cleaned it inside and out. The soldered points looked good and there was little caking around the circuit breaker screw. Wire insulation was generally ok but loose. So I replaced the gummy power cord with a new cord; removed the rectifier disc assembly and replaced it with a 16V diode; and detached power from the original circuit breaker and installed a new 6V thermal breaker secured by silicone on the right side base plate. Tested the whistle control on test track with excellent result. Checked voltage output at binding posts with multimeter, which showed nominal output readouts. Tomorrow, when silicone has cured I will load transformer with real track conditions to see how the breaker performs. If there is minimal heat I will consider the renovation a success.

Took delivery of some more Thomas equipment, including a second Thomas/Annie/Clarabelle,  a James,  a Percy and a couple of Troublesome Trucks.  The James loco has 1.5 oz of wheelweights added,  and is a little stump puller, managing the entire consist that I had the MPC Geep pulling...

Thomas II had a bit of a gear grinding issue, but a disassembly and reassembly got the motor seated properly.  

No photos, alas; was a bit too busy for happy snaps.   

Mitch 

mike g. posted:

Elliot, be sure to tell your wife they look wonderful!

Elliot, nice job! Just wondering how many do you have left to do?

Mike - I have been, and she says thank you. I think I have all my bridges done.

She went with me to the NMRA meeting yesterday, and brought her paints. A lot of the guys stopped by her table and talked with her, while everyone got to try out static grass. Good crowd too, for a change.

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Took delivery of some more Thomas equipment, including a second Thomas/Annie/Clarabelle,  a James,  a Percy and a couple of Troublesome Trucks.  The James loco has 1.5 oz of wheelweights added,  and is a little stump puller, managing the entire consist that I had the MPC Geep pulling...

Thomas II had a bit of a gear grinding issue, but a disassembly and reassembly got the motor seated properly.  

No photos, alas; was a bit too busy for happy snaps.   

Mitch 

When my oldest nephew was very young (he is now a 27 y.o. NYC cop), as the train fan in the family, I would get shanghaied to sit with him and watch Thomas videos... at least George Carlin played Mr. Conductor!!!

My ex and I took him to his first few baseball games - the Mets at Shea Stadium. From our seats, you could see the Flushing Line subway line which, at the time, ran the old red bird cars.

Every time a train would pass, he would point and say Clarabelle and Annie. The rugrat turned into a Yankee fan in his old age and never really caught the train bug - there is no accounting for taste!!!

Ran trains a bit last night before turning in.  As I watched them run I also got ideas for new vignettes.  There's always something new to create on our layouts.  Lots of fun! 

Apples55 posted:

When my oldest nephew was very young (he is now a 27 y.o. NYC cop), as the train fan in the family, I would get shanghaied to sit with him and watch Thomas videos... at least George Carlin played Mr. Conductor!!!

I was partial to Ringo as Mr. Conductor.   

My ex and I took him to his first few baseball games - the Mets at Shea Stadium. From our seats, you could see the Flushing Line subway line which, at the time, ran the old red bird cars.

Every time a train would pass, he would point and say Clarabelle and Annie. The rugrat turned into a Yankee fan in his old age and never really caught the train bug - there is no accounting for taste!!!

Hee!  

The following comes under the heading of "Had to be done"... 

Mitch 

Hi,  I spent five hours painting the interior of the Union Pacific Theater Car.  The interior is a dark gray and probably a better choice than the somewhat transparent cream colors used on the UP Excursion Train and the even lighter cream of the Union Pacific Challenger cars. There are wires and electronics under the floor that may not have been masked as well by the lighter transparent plastic.

The CSX car took three coats of paint on the seats.  The UP needed four plus coats to cover the gray.  My new Testor's paints just arrived and they may not have as much pigment in them as the paint I used on the CSX.  The colors mix the same and look the same when mixed, but the coverage is not as good.  The table tops have four coats of Flat White, and need two more for an even coverage.

I will start painting more Preiser 65602 Seated People for this car and the UP Challenger Dining Car.  (I have painted over 3,000 people for my 139  Lionel and Atlas O passenger cars.)  I set the Dining Car aside because I ran out of 0.40 Plastruct for the seat backs on the dining chairs.

I am almost done with the passenger cars and ready to start back to work on the layout.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I'm mulling renaming my Percy engine "Hermann"... 

The resemblance is remarkable.   

Still, little Hermann,  er, Percy can pull a respectable 7 postwar cars, including a couple of diecast spotlight flatcars... 

Mitch 

pennsynut posted:

Not an exciting event today.  Last week I did a lot of cleaning in the basement so I knew I would need to clean track eventually.  But before I cleaned the track I ran my Lionel Atlantic 4-4-2 to see how it did.  I ran well.  Then I tried my K-Line K4 Pacific with fast mail cars and it ran well.  Finally tried my TMCC H9 Consolidation but it lurched and finally stalled on the main.  Its usually the rollers on this loco and tender that get that black ring from the center rail of the Atlas track.  Scotch brite got them clean and it ran well.  I have another loco that has sensitive rollers, an MTH Decapod with ERR upgrade.  That tender does not have rollers so it stalls on a long turn out in my engine yard.  

So then I decided to run my centerline track cleaner behind the Consolidation around the main a few times.  I usually run it with a one inch paint roller dry but jam a piece of scotch pad in front of the roller so it contacts the center rail.  Tonight I wrapped a piece of cotton cloth around the roller so I could compare the amount of dirt removed on each run.  It was quite effective.  I am going to try and do this more often.  While I can easily get to most track, there are corners and tunnels that are tough.

Ever since I’ve been running my scotchbrite cars as part of a regular consist, I’ve noticed that I only have to solvent clean about once per quarter.  Also, short wheelbase cars do a better job on corners. I now use several different style cars. I’m going to look for some ore cars. I clean the scotchbrite once a month. 

Pete, I would say if it work properly you probably got a good deal! I don't know enough to get into one of those and would probably burn down the train room if I tried! LOL

Elliot, I was thinking your wife could probably sell her paintings to some of the train guys! They look so good and would look great in any train room!

Mitch, you are one of the biggest kids at heart I have ever seen! I just love how you have so much fun with the trains and share it with us! Keep being young at heart!

John, you sure do some fabulous work! Wow 139 passenger cars! I don't think I have that much rolling stock all put together! Great work!

Brian, love the pictures! Great way to start a Monday!

So guys I was thinking about making my airfield one runway and getting rid of the cross runway, but I wanted to get some input from you all! Please let me know what you think! It would give more room for building and such!

Received a phone call from North Lima Train Works in response to an email I sent yesterday regarding  parts I wanted to order, but had questions about one of them.  Went over what I wanted to order; confirmed they were in stock; got an answer to my question about one of the parts; received an email invoice; and, paid the invoice.  Now, just waiting on parts.  Sweeettt!!

I've been in and out of many rural airfields that only have one strip, especially in the mountains. Just weather it with some cracks, etc. unkept grass along the edges.  Not many people will question it.  Nice work so far.

Also with a rural airfield no control tower and maybe  only 1 hangar will do it.  A few planes tied down on one side will look good.

mike g. posted:

Pete, I would say if it work properly you probably got a good deal! I don't know enough to get into one of those and would probably burn down the train room if I tried! LOL

Elliot, I was thinking your wife could probably sell her paintings to some of the train guys! They look so good and would look great in any train room!

Mitch, you are one of the biggest kids at heart I have ever seen! I just love how you have so much fun with the trains and share it with us! Keep being young at heart!

John, you sure do some fabulous work! Wow 139 passenger cars! I don't think I have that much rolling stock all put together! Great work!

Brian, love the pictures! Great way to start a Monday!

So guys I was thinking about making my airfield one runway and getting rid of the cross runway, but I wanted to get some input from you all! Please let me know what you think! It would give more room for building and such!

Mike maybe leave it like it is and use one part to park a plane or two on one side with a building  and use the other side as a paved area to put building up to? 

Jim?

Pingman posted:

Received a phone call from North Lima Train Works in response to an email I sent yesterday regarding  parts I wanted to order, but had questions about one of them.  Went over what I wanted to order; confirmed they were in stock; got an answer to my question about one of the parts; received an email invoice; and, paid the invoice.  Now, just waiting on parts.  Sweeettt!!

Carl, it sure is nice when things go smooth like that! Sounds like great customer service!

          "Brian, love the pictures! Great way to start a Monday!"

                               Thanks Mike !!

              either way you do the runway, it is going to look great Mike

I have been away again since Saturday afternoon.  So many great projects, photographs, videos, and comments, I will just say that if your post got a 'Like' from me, I greatly appreciate what you are doing.

I do need to make a couple comments:

Mike, I think the tunnel under the airport will work out great!  Here is your prototype for the tracks tunneling under the airport.  Welton Tunnel, Cumberland, Maryland was in use until 1975.  http://www.wmwestsub.com/weltontunnel.htm

Tom Jr., That unplanned meet of the two Big Boys was fantastic!  I really like the industrial feel of the scene with the oil wells, power transmission towers, harbor, etc.  Keep up the great work!!!

Sam, Your collection of logging engines is great.  My favorite is the Shay.  I like all Shays.  Thank you for posting!

Andy, The link to the Horseshoe Curve Cam is great.  I see you can go back 4 hours in the past to view what you missed.  Ah, I hear someone on the radio right now.  I see the camera switches towards Altoona.  I see the lights and sunrise right now waiting for a train.  This would have been at about 6:54 am.  I have been told Cassandra is a great place to watch.  I believe so, as I have seen two trains going uphill as I drive down Rt 22 when the leaves are off.  I live about 2 hours to the west.

So I was doing something layout related the last couple of days.  I have found the need to part with some engines, rolling stock, and accessories because of lack of funds to build the layout!  LOL  I wasn't expecting the cut to part time then the layoff.  I'm supposed to go back to work late this month, but who knows.  I may just find myself signing up for Social Security instead.    Anyway, in the process I did buy the Premier Western Maryland Shay #6 from a friend on the Forum.  I have owned Shays in HO and On30 before moving exclusively to O gauge 3 rail.  But all in all, I have cut my 'collection' by about 40%.  And do you know what.  I'm getting over it just fine!  

While trying to light up some buildings using a newly purchased WS lighting hub, I managed to cross-up some other temporary wiring I had and burnt up a Lionel ITAD in the process.

One step forward, two steps back.

Matt, I have seen several rural airefields with just grass runways but  I will think about it for a little before I go to town cutting. I might keep one side for a helipad!

Mark, I am sorry to hear that your selling off some of your rolling stock! Also the employment situation doesn't sound very good. But I sure am happy for you that you were able to secure the Shay#6! Looks like a nice engine and will look great on your future layout! Best of luck and keep positive! Thanks for the link of the train tunnel!