What did you do on your layout today?

paul 2 posted:

 

 

Paul, is the center left tree at a unnatural angle or was the picture taken from a funny angle?    For what its worth, you could also add a few light trunks and branches to the trees in the far background.  This scene is really looking good and we're all looking forward to the addition of the bridges and track, etc.   Keep up the great work.   Cheers, Dave

mike g. posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

It was a nice day here yesterday too; 40 degrees and the last day of winter.  I cleaned up some of the leaves that I couldn't get done in the fall when I hurt my back.  Sore, but I survived.  

Mike, I have never heard if there is a transition track for Ross to ScaleTrack.  I hope there is.

Paul, Those are some nice buildings Lou gave you.  They should look good on your layout.

Brian, You are always on top of the photographs!

Mark, i spoke with Steve Ross from Ross switches, he states they will work just fine. I just have to shim scale trax up a little where the meet.

That's great, Mike! You are in business!

CSX Al posted:

Ralph M posted:

The transformation is complete. Still need a clear coat.

 

Ralph & Lee,  Nice job on the decals. I need to paint and decal a number of cars. I’ve never done a decal on a car before. I did pick. Up some micro sol set. I’ve been told to put the decal on a gloss surface then dulcoat when done.

Decal on glossy paint, let the decal dry, overcoat the entire piece in gloss coat, let dry, overcoat the entire piece in dull coat. The decal film will be unnoticeable. 

trumptrain posted:

Snapped this photo as I ran trains for a short time this morning.  An 0-8-0 pushing two hopper cars.  I weathered both hoppers some time ago. 

Very realistic weathering job on those hoppers......

Pat, the hoppers look great, as does the cabin, fireplace, picnic table and whole scene.

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Still recovering in hospital.  Thanks for the support and well wishes!  

Am making plans for an improved Mr Rogers O scale trolley and a Thomas The Gi-raffe Engine train...

Mitch

Mitch;

So glad to hear you’re on the mend. PLEASE get well soon... all this recuperation is giving you WAY too much time to concoct new and more bizarre trains   

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😃😃

Hi all

Been crazy at work lately. Actually have to work and not surf the OGR forum all day 😎

Paul- the backdrop looks great. I almost forgot about the trains going across the gorge.

Mike- good to hear your issue with Ross worked out ok.

Lee- another great box car. 

Patrick- another perfect scene. I like the weathering you did on that beautiful 0-4-0. Don't know if I could bring myself to do that to such a nice engine. 

John- perfect puzzle to do with Mom.

Gandy- I love the street scene you have been working on. Looks great.

I just read Barry's obit. I can't believe he was in Sanford Fl. Right where the Autotrain terminal is located. Been though there many times. RIP Barry. 

I need to run some trains.... Bye! 🚂🚋

Thanks guys for your nice complements the Boxcar was fun I have another one to do then it’s back on the Mack FK.  I ran my new steamer after work with an new Lionel REA reefer car I got in the mail and the custom one I just finished. I know I’m running some plug cars with my steamer I know the didn’t come along till the 1960s but I’m using my modelers  license on this one 

lee drennen posted:

Thanks guys for your nice complements the Boxcar was fun I have another one to do then it’s back on the Mack FK.  I ran my new steamer after work with an new Lionel REA reefer car I got in the mail and the custom one I just finished. I know I’m running some plug cars with my steamer I know the didn’t come along till the 1960s but I’m using my modelers  license on this one 

Oohhhhh... NYC Steam...   

darlander posted:

luvindemtrains posted:

Trees....

Dave

Very nice trees Dave.   Please share the recipe!    Cheers, Dave

Thanks Dave,

The trees on the left and rear are kits produced by Moose Creek. They have to be the easiest trees I have ever made. The others come from products made by a local gentleman and all I did was do some trimming and add the foliage I desired. No magic just time!

Dave

Gandydancer, Mark, and RSJB - thanks so much for your kind words about the cabin scene and weathered hoppers! 

I started painting 49 of the 100 figures from China (that arrived yesterday) while I did two loads of wash.

Mom and I went for a car ride and saw two trains at Berea Station parking lot: an east bound Norfolk Southern and a west bound Canadian Pacific on CSX tracks.  It was the first CP engines I have seen.  Stopped at Dairy Queen in Parma for two free ice cream cones, as they celebrated the first day of Spring.  We also bought two small Strawberry Sundaes for the freezer.

Happy Spring.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Dave, great looking trees. 

Darlander, I think it was the angle I took the pic at. I know I wasn't drinking. I did do faint trunks in the background but the last parts I added I did not. And if the trees are angled there is a tremendous wind coming up from the gorge LOL.

This morning I started adding ground cover and trees at the base of the backdrop and between the double and single track. After lunch I'll try to mix some light paint to put in some more tree trunks. Then it is adding more white highlight to the waterfalls. I get the gorge done I can lay in the bridges and track. Pics............Paul

briansilvermustang posted:

Apples55 posted:

 

RSJB18 posted:

 

Wait.......I'M A BAD INFLUENCE?????????

 

Come on guys... let’s all play nice. I think we can agree that we are ALL, to some or another extent, bad influences... just some of us (Brian) are badder that others    

Sincerely;

A. Nother Pot.

 

          he made me do it...

Likely excuse... I think we will need to get Izzie to have a chat with you   

paul 2 posted:

Dave, great looking trees. 

Darlander, I think it was the angle I took the pic at. I know I wasn't drinking. I did do faint trunks in the background but the last parts I added I did not. And if the trees are angled there is a tremendous wind coming up from the gorge LOL.

This morning I started adding ground cover and trees at the base of the backdrop and between the double and single track. After lunch I'll try to mix some light paint to put in some more tree trunks. Then it is adding more white highlight to the waterfalls. I get the gorge done I can lay in the bridges and track. Pics............Paul

WOW that looks GREAT Paul!   I can only wish someday I can do something like that!  Now get them choo choos rollin!!     

Finally got a minuter to visit yall.   Nothing on the layout.  Some A H drove their car in the shop yard and tore it up.  Made a few laps.   HMMM out of the next door neighbors driveway.  Thats bad enough but it has been wet and they drove over and sunk in the drain field we had put in new back in the summer! One of them I had already had a "talk" with about him doing the same thing!   This could get ugly!

Jim

I took DARLANDER's advice and added some trunks. I am not quite happy with the color of them so I have to think what I want to do. In the meantime I added trees on both side of the river. I would of like to have used taller trees but the space limitation between the brodge when it goes in and the back drop is not that much. But I may do Chris a's suggestion of cutting the backside off a tree. I'll have to see what taller evergrreens I have floating around. I added the last coat of white to the waterfalls. Applied ground cover in the gorge and then glued it down. I'll let that dry for a while and then add some larger ground turf and bushes in the gorge. Might add smaller trees in there too. Once that is done the back bridge is going in and the track to follow. I might  have later tonight and tomorrow after grocery shopping to work on it. Saturday will be at the train show in Mt Hope. Pics..............Paul

It's been raining all day, and I am putting shingles on a roof...

Excellent work Paul. The whole scene is really coming together. Nice touches and details to take in. 

Andy

Brian, Thanks for throwing in some BN Engines!

Paul, Amazing once again!

Pete, nice job on the roof!

Lew, I really like watching your plan come together! It gives me some ideas for down the road!

Nothing from me today! Just did yard work today!

Lots of great projects once again! 

Paul, I think the trees on the backdrop look great!  The waterfalls is looking great and with some vegetation, it will look even better!

I didn't get much done except trying different mocked up heights for the upper turn-back loop.  I hope to work on it tomorrow because it I don't have any appointments, and they are forecasting rain and snow.  Hopefully I'll have some photographs then.

Mark its all a work in progress! Mocking up is work on the layout! See so you did do something today! LOL

Absolutely correct Mike!  Thank you!!  You are always an encouragement!

Apples55 posted:

lee drennen posted:

Thanks guys for your nice complements the Boxcar was fun I have another one to do then it’s back on the Mack FK.  I ran my new steamer after work with an new Lionel REA reefer car I got in the mail and the custom one I just finished. I know I’m running some plug cars with my steamer I know the didn’t come along till the 1960s but I’m using my modelers  license on this one 

Oohhhhh... NYC Steam...   

Paul nice steamers but I love that building 

Had to grocery shop this morning. Yesterday USPS dropped off another of my bucket list items I had been looking for. Another Weaver woodchip hopper. Going to try to add some color to the distant tree trunks. Also I have to change out the evergreens I put in on both sides of the river. They are just too small. I just have to find the tall trees I have somewhere buried under the tables and half them so they will sit agaionst the backdrop. Pic........Paul

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

Brian, I generally do not like diesels, but I like this one. Definitely a beauty!

DL&W Pete posted:

It's been raining all day, and I am putting shingles on a roof...

looks great!

Not much today. I did find taller trees to put on the sides of the river. Then I worked on the wood chip hopper I just got. Had to get the chip load in there out so I could put my own in and took the trucks that came with the car off to put Weaver trucks on.. Pic.............Paul

[Virtual] real estate acquired so the Gandy Dancers went to work.

They cut a track switch into the Main Stem but learned that under the turf instead of bedrock there was plaster and wood framing? Fortunately I used L-Girder benchwork so it will be very simple to generate "bedrock" under the future location of Kovalchik Scrap.

Lew

Great work everybody, I haven't had much time to post or work on layout this week. I am slammed on getting turntables done for York.  It'll be this way until I get back from York. I did manage work on a cone tank for the Hooker Chemical plant though. Here is a screen shot of 4 tanks supported for 3D printing. These are 2.75" tall.  I'll let the printer run these tonight. 3hrs & 11 min. to print .

Here is the tank by itself

Thanks John 

Happy weekend everyone when I got home from work today I went Straight to the bench and re decaled this REA Boxcar  enjoy the pics 

jgtrh62 posted:

Al those are incredible! Is that Solid Works you are using for design? Thank you!

 

John, I use Fusion360 by Auto-cad. It is a great program to create in.

Nice pics Brian. Nice work Lee. Can’t wait to see those tanks Al.

Andy

Having finished the messy bits of the mountain, I set my sights on positioning and wiring up the various buildings and operating accessories on the layout. Here are a few photos of some of the buildings and scenes we're working on:

The local station platform (soon to be renamed)

The downtown - I used @Rich Battista's method for sidewalks using 1/8" hardboard. The VW Golf is a model of my second car, a Mk3 VW Golf

The suburban area - the car is a 1:48 model of my first car (Gen 2 Acura Integra) and the pup is our doggo, Toohey:

And lastly, we have a rural township on our elevated section that is roughly modeled after Blueridge, GA:

Next up will be the roads and grade crossings, along with street lamps and traffic signals, then ground cover

Thought I’d run the steamer in the dark just to see what it would look like 

Slowly moving forward with painting 49 China seated figures for my passenger cars.  It still takes a day to do 12 to 16 figures. Mom watches me paint for a while, then gets tired of watching paint dry.  When I start to cramp up from sitting too long, I lay down for an hour or two. 

A second Lionel Challenger Station Sounds Diner is on its way to me.  The first had the light plug glued in its connector socket by the factory.  They might as well have hard-wired it.  Why put in a connector and then glue it?  The Challenger Diner was the only diner with this issue. 

Lawn Fertilizer and mulch for around trees in tree lawn will take time on Sunday.

Happy weekend.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Paul, look next to the electrical tape you couldn't find and there will be the trees! The new hopper looks great! Hey look there you found the trees! They look great, just wondering was the tape there also? LOL

John, now that's quite the undertaking! I hope you keep us posted on how things go, its looking good!

Lew, I hope its going to be that easy! Right now it looks a little scary! LOL

CSX AL, Those look very cool! I cant wait to see more of this project! You do some amazing work!

Lee, Nice work on the boxcar decals! Looks great! Oh By the way the steam engine in the dark, Man its really dark! LOL

Matt, things are really starting to come to life on your layout! Wonderful work!

John R. wow how do you sleep at night after painting all those people? I would be afraid that they would come to life in my dreams and complain about there clothes colors! LOL Very nice work!

As for me all I did was remove the tape and pins holding down my cork and cleaned up a little in preparation for the new switch's coming Tuesday!

EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Steamfan77 posted:

CSX Al posted:

Andy lift up section looks good. Do you have an idea on how to conceal the hinges? What is going in that area of the layout?

Al,

The track plan is below. The first picture shows the main layout, and the second shows the staging under the yard. The hinged section is in the upper left corner of the layout in the first picture. This may give you and anyone interested a better perspective as to where the lift up section is in the room. I’ve also taken a few pictures looking into the room from the lift up. Al, nice turntable right up front in the second and third picture!

Andy

 

Andy,

Every glimpse of your layout leaves me wanting to see more. It looks stunning.

Dave

Finally out of the hospital!  A little celebrating with Fortescue, Thomas, and Norma B. Kitteh,  with Sylvia Siamese just offcamera...

Mitch