Beautiful video, Lee.
Looks great, Lee!!
Big day for the dude!
A year ago, I paid $3 for an Althearn 34 foot ribbed PRR hopper. The kit was perfectly assembled, but the owner couldn't get the couplers
attached. To my surprise, when the store owner gave me the box, the couplers were inside.
It's my only Althearn, and none of my other cars had a similar coupling system. I figured that since the hopper was perfectly assembled, the builder must have been right to give up on the couplers.
Today I carefully disassembled the trucks, and after carefully trying different set-ups, I got the couplers installed. It runs great, even pulling heavy cars behind it.
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Bob and Mark thanks for the encouraging words on getting the power working.
Johan, that is one nice switcher.
Lee, enjoyed the video and thanks for the compliment on the crossover. I wanted to try something different. And because of all the good pics of your vehicles you have started another quest for me to look for trucks.
So today I got to the train show. It was 95% S gauge but it was nice to get out for something train related. The rest of the day was planting flowers. But a highlight was the mail person dropped off two trucks I found at die cast direct for a reasonable price. They were 1/43 but they should work. Pics.............Paul 2
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Vincent, Mark thanks for the complements it was fun to get it out again
Paul thanks for the complement glad you enjoyed it. I have several of those Pete’s and KWs they are nice that van trailer is awesome and should work well Patrick and others use them all the time and the look good. Newray just re- realeased those last year good score. Here’s one of those Pete’s I Customize I put it on a AMT frame to give you some ideas
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early morning postwar run.......
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Perfect, Gandydancer. That vignette has everything a model railroader would want.
FrankM
paul 2 posted:Bob and Mark thanks for the encouraging words on getting the power working.
Johan, that is one nice switcher.
Lee, enjoyed the video and thanks for the compliment on the crossover. I wanted to try something different. And because of all the good pics of your vehicles you have started another quest for me to look for trucks.
So today I got to the train show. It was 95% S gauge but it was nice to get out for something train related. The rest of the day was planting flowers. But a highlight was the mail person dropped off two trucks I found at die cast direct for a reasonable price. They were 1/43 but they should work. Pics.............Paul 2
Paul. Thanks. That is a my scratch built Alco HH660.
Johan.
lee drennen posted:Guys everyone has so much great stuff going on
Brian great yards very nice
Elliot. I also will be praying for you This September I’ll be driving 30yrs I’m 50 and had hip and knee trouble since my teens. I feel your pain
Paul. I like that crossover and your layout is looking nice
Johan. Always enjoy your reefers cars I have a soft spot for them
John. That’s a great pic of your layout
Mike. Your layout is really coming together and thanks for the complement
Lee. Thank you. I am glad you like it. You have always really nice looking stuff there.🤝
Johan
So for those of you who has seen my carpet central set up in my girlfriend’s living room on Sundays, I ran into a problem today. I have been running a Williams GP7 but today I ran my FARR number 4 set and I forgot steam engines weigh more than diesels. The track kept moving down into the carpet so I broke down a big amazon box and used it as a platform. She said, “that is some redneck engineering!”
The trains ran well but I did try using my super-o switches and that was interesting...they definitely need some work. But off to the work bench!
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Hi everyone, I hop you all had a great weekend!
Johan, I was an Embassy guard in Sofia, Bulgaria and Vienna, Austria. Love the time I spent there. A buddy and I would travel everywhere we could on the train!
Nice work on the Altoona car, but then again everything you do turns out looking wonderful!
John, Looks great! Really like all the action you have going in! Very well done!
Elliot, I sure hope you are doing ok after your fall! Don't you know we are all getting a little old to be falling! LOL Please get better soon and prayers out to you!
Paul 2, I am so glad you got your track problem fixed! Now you don't have to pull up any stair treads! LOL The 2 new trucks look really nice, they should fit on your layout perfect!
Yardmaster, Congratulation! Nice looking room and very impressive work!
Butch, very nice work! Sure looks like alot of popsicles! You must be stuffed! LOL
Brian, Looks like you had a lot of chores to do this weekend. Sure is a good thing you have a beer delivery train at your house!
Lee D, Great pictures and nice little video Thanks for sharing!
Vincent, Way to keep at it, sometimes you just need to try different things! Look nice!
Lee, all I can say is wow! It's amazing how your layout looks, just show why you get published! Nice worrk!
Nice work Mike, All the buildings look great! The rotating party light in "Oak Point Nuclear Power Plant" is a trip ... especially with the lights out ... lol
Rusty
On the second day with my new building I began by properly finishing reinstalling 14 feet of fence. I swept the building and made careful measurements. I established the main board height at 30 inches. I finally get to use my laser level! I attached a full length 2x4 to 3 walls and a forth board four feet from the back wall. I found a piece of plywood just for a picture. I will clear my original 4x8 setup and cut it to 4x7' 3". I'm still looking at track plans as a starting point.
One thing is bothering me early on. I think I want to turn the building 90 degrees. This would fix a problem with water running off one building on to the porch the other. By time I gave out, I was working by the light of a kerosene lamp. I put an engine and caboose in the building to make it all official. Track soon.
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p51 posted:Just playing around my cell phone a little this afternoon...
Lee. Really nice pics, fabulous scenery. Please, check out of July Classic Toy Trains Magazine, there is a six pages story to our Shark Bay R.R.👍
Johan
I made some aged signage for around the peddler's stand, and now it's time for a camera close up... since I really can't focus on this stuff well anymore. Thick craft acrylics don't flow well either. This was tough this small as the bush was drying, needed cleaning, every 6-8.
"Jerky" needs shortening on the J's hook, K&Y suck. I might just skip that sign too. The blob in the "Duck" K needs smoothing...or not. Like the two colors in "Rabbit"; it's only immediately discernable by camera. To the eye it is "one color" for most folk viewed at 2-3 ft off.
That's not all folks! 🐷 
Always count your change mon. 
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mike g. posted:Hi everyone, I hop you all had a great weekend!
Johan, I was an Embassy guard in Sofia, Bulgaria and Vienna, Austria. Love the time I spent there. A buddy and I would travel everywhere we could on the train!
John, Looks great! Really like all the action you have going in! Very well done!
Elliot, I sure hope you are doing ok after your fall! Don't you know we are all getting a little old to be falling! LOL Please get better soon and prayers out to you!
Paul 2, I am so glad you got your track problem fixed! Now you don't have to pull up any stair treads! LOL The 2 new trucks look really nice, they should fit on your layout perfect!
Yardmaster, Congratulation! Nice looking room and very impressive work!
Butch, very nice work! Sure looks like alot of popsicles! You must be stuffed! LOL
Brian, Looks like you had a lot of chores to do this weekend. Sure is a good thing you have a beer delivery train at your house!
Lee D, Great pictures and nice little video Thanks for sharing!
Vincent, Way to keep at it, sometimes you just need to try different things! Look nice!
Lee, all I can say is wow! It's amazing how your layout looks, just show why you get published! Nice worrk!
Mike. Thanks. Never visit in Bulgaria, but in Austria couple a times. I like a lot their Zillertal narrow gauge line and Achensee Bahn. Jenbach is a small nice town, where you can see a three different gauges, 1435mm, 1000mm and 760mm.
Johan
Bill. great start! Now that shows dedication working by the old lamp!
Butch, I think all the signs will work just fine for your little peddlers stand!
Johan, Everywhere we went was mostly by rail, either city transit or country to country rail! I would really like to go back again!
Well its Monday, have to go tubbing today then come home and clean the pond. Not sure if I will get anything done in the train room today. I will check in later to see what wonderful work you all have done today!
Everyone have a great Monday and start of the week!
Lee, those are great black and whites pics
Johan, that is one awesome kitbash. What did you start with as an engine to do this project.
Mike g, sounds like you have a fun day ahead of you tubing. Wish I could say the same thing but the wife gave me a list of things to do along with what I have to do outside. The only thing I can say that is train related is one of her things for me is to clean off the dining room table so that may be my only train fun today. But there is always tomorrow.......Paul 2
Happy Monday- no train time again this weekend. We actually had two consecutive days of sunshine! Got lot's of yard work done. My son power washed all of the patio furniture and we set it out for the season among other things.
I mentioned the other day that I was pondering a change to one of my elevated loops. Both grades are way too steep, better than 3%, but the one on the right through the pass is the worst of the two. A loco pulling more than one or two cars can't make the top without help from the hand of god. Gotta hold your breath on the down hill run with free-wheeling post war locos too. So I'm considering eliminating this grade and making two spurs out of the track, one on the base level and the other elevated. This would give me a little more room to park equipment and more switching options, and since I rarely run a train up that grade it's really wasted track which is at a premium on a small layout. I played around in SCARM last night and came up with this. It should work. Now I gotta make some time to do it.
I can still run trains between the two loops on the left side which is something I don't want to totally give up.
Bob
This is the hill my locos can't climb.
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We are celebrating our 42nd wedding anniversary today. But Nancy is angry at me:
Last night she was watching the final episode of Game of Thrones, which I do not watch. I walked in just as Daenerys and John Snow were kissing in front of the Iron Throne, and I said "One of them is going to stab the other one."
Now my wife is mad at me for spoiling the surprise.
SPOILER ALERT. For those who have to watch it on DVD when it comes out because they don't get HBO.
I'm a spoiler factory too. Most drama is just too predictable once the right card are showing. I'd be hunting down a first release next day air or video subscription Vincent.
@RSJB18 , before you tear things down hastily, take a strip of two sided tape and run it on one of the inclined rails. Don't worry, it won't come loose.
Detack it with your fingers, and maybe some layout dust . One strip lasts up to a few years. It nearly vanishes once applied because it's nearly transparent. Doesn't come loose, and doesn't noticibly gunk things up. (for a while at least, it picks up dirt off the wheels.)
Even if you want a track change, give this a try for the experience please. It's gonna make you laugh how much better you can climb. I can pull a dozen up a 5%, all on thr grade, with an single boogie drive pulmore. You may be looking for an excuse to change, but breathing some new life into the grade for a bit isn't hard either imo, and I think you've lost out a bit on fun in that respect. Grades let you constantly test locos, but that also means vigilant attention is required, even when not desired. Blocks can make it a no hands affair.
For the decline.. (are you running one dircetion only?) , I use a block set to barely deliver enough voltage to nudge it downhill (cclkw travel; pre-w Z, lower left big dial-C=ground level; big D= uphill; sm. top right dial B= elevated lvl; sm top left A= downhill. B is set higher than C because it needs to finish off some of the grade work.)
A 25w transformer could likely be dedicated to your downhill to minimize that pita. Maybe a 5v acc line lol..
One wire, two slices with the dremel, and an open power tap. Blocks are soooo useful. Once your base layout wires are done, block expansion is zip,zip,1 wire on track center to switch, 1wire from sw. to power, 2 blocks all done.
E.g. 4 blocks, A 4PDT (2 pos, 4 circuit) and you can be back to manual(1 main throttle) or (2 block) semi-auto downhill (or climb) or "full" auto-pilot (X?-blocks) with a click or two and one wire per block.
I use the skinny 1/2" Frost King tape for winter window shrink-plastic. It is rubbery, maybe vinyl, peels off in one piece pretty well, and is exacty the right size for tube track. Use a rubbery tape vs some plasticy Scotch types that might break on removal...pita (? Scotch might be rubbery too?). I would avoid or at least detack both sides of a plasticy tape
New mag came in.
200 pages, including the covers.
Only read to page 15 but, so far, very impressive.
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BAR GP7 #63 posted:p51 posted:Just playing around my cell phone a little this afternoon...
Lee. Really nice pics, fabulous scenery. Please, check out of July Classic Toy Trains Magazine, there is a six pages story to our Shark Bay R.R.👍
Johan
Johan,
Thanks for the kind words, really.
I rarely ever check out CTT magazine but I will for sure look for your article as I'm a big fan of your layout!
Brian, quite the selection of NYCS Engines! Very Nice!
Butch, some great information there. If I were to use it I would have to read it 4 or 5 times for it to sink in, then another 10 time to understand it! But Its o cool you are sharing I the information!
Sam, look like a good read, next time I go to the store I will have to see if they have it in stock!
Lee, nice looking new door to the train room! I hope you don't get stuck in there without a door knob! LOL
I didn't get anything done today in the train room. Got home and the wife thought it would be a good idea to clean the fish pond before the big weekend, it really didn't matter that it was raining! LOL Lucky me! I don't think I will get anything done tomorrow or the next day as I have tubbing and then work right after words. But you never, we will see.
I hope everyone has a great Tuesday and have some fun with trains tomorrow!
I'm a spoiler factory too. Most drama is just too predictable once the right card are showing. I'd be hunting down a first release next day air or video subscription Vincent.
@RSJB18 , before you tear things down hastily, take a strip of two sided tape and run it on one of the inclined rails. Don't worry, it won't come loose.
Detack it with your fingers, and maybe some layout dust . One strip lasts up to a few years. It nearly vanishes once applied because it's nearly transparent. Doesn't come loose, and doesn't noticibly gunk things up. (for a while at least, it picks up dirt off the wheels.)
Even if you want a track change, give this a try for the experience please. It's gonna make you laugh how much better you can climb. I can pull a dozen up a 5%, all cars on the grade, with an single boogie drive pulmore. You may just be looking for an excuse to change, but breathing some new life into the grade for a bit isn't hard either imo, and I think you've lost out some on fun in that respect.
Grades let you constantly test loco ability, but that also means vigilant attention is required, even when not desired. Blocks can make it a no hands affair.
For the decline.. (are you running one dircetion only?) , I use a block set to barely deliver enough voltage to nudge it downhill (cclkw travel; pre-w Z, lower left big dial-C=ground level; big D= uphill; sm. top right dial B= elevated lvl; sm top left A= downhill. B is set higher than C because it needs to finish off some of the grade work.)
A 25w transformer could likely be dedicated to your downhill to minimize that pita. Maybe a 5v acc line lol..
One wire, two slices with the dremel, and an open power tap, thats it. Blocks are soooo useful. Once your base layout wires are done, block expansion is zip,zip,1 wire on track center to switch, 1wire from sw. to power, 2 blocks all done.
E.g. 4 blocks, A 4PDT (2 pos, 4 circuit) and you can be back to manual(1 main throttle) or (2 block) semi-auto downhill (or climb) or "full" auto-pilot (X?-blocks) with a click or two and one wire per block.
I use the skinny 1/2" Frost King tape for winter window shrink-plastic. It is rubbery, maybe vinyl, peels off in one piece pretty well, and is exacty the right size for tube track. Use a rubbery tape vs some plasticy Scotch types that might break on removal...pita (? Scotch might be rubbery too?). I would avoid or at least detack both sides of a plasticy tape
Replaced my Plasticville Station with a Marx Girard Station that I recently acquired:
Added these Bachmann Scenescape construction figures, a Corgi back-hoe, a Mathcbox King Size Crane in addition to the woodland scenics trees and the 2 Tamiya brick features. Soldiers in this "commy" area overseeing the construction, diecast figure in the lower right is a spy.
Model Power Styrene brick that I'm using as a transition area around this station and station platform. Wellys Escalade, Matchbox Classic Series Benz(broken down, husband is pushing from the back). CIA & Army meeting at the bottom. Construction worker is a lookout undercover.
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Thanks for the tips @Adriatic.
Bob
paul 2 posted:Lee, those are great black and whites pics
Johan, that is one awesome kitbash. What did you start with as an engine to do this project.
Mike g, sounds like you have a fun day ahead of you tubing. Wish I could say the same thing but the wife gave me a list of things to do along with what I have to do outside. The only thing I can say that is train related is one of her things for me is to clean off the dining room table so that may be my only train fun today. But there is always tomorrow.......Paul 2
Paul. Thank you. Alco HH660 is a one of mine fav. engine, waiting many years but MTH, Lionel or Atlas dont like made them. So i start the project. I found one Lionel TMCC Alco S2 where was a broken body, but i can use the cab, trucks, motor, TMCC. All another is a scratch build. Maybe next time i use 3D printer.
Johan
p51 posted:BAR GP7 #63 posted:p51 posted:Just playing around my cell phone a little this afternoon...
Lee. Really nice pics, fabulous scenery. Please, check out of July Classic Toy Trains Magazine, there is a six pages story to our Shark Bay R.R.👍
Johan
Johan,
Thanks for the kind words, really.
I rarely ever check out CTT magazine but I will for sure look for your article as I'm a big fan of your layout!
Lee. You are welcome. It's a big honer to us. My work is only made a scenery, build a some buildings and weathering all.
Thanks again,
Johan
mike g. posted:So this weekend we had Family over and I didn't get a lot of time in the train room. But I did get a chance to get a couple building wired up for lights. Here are a couple pictures! Enjoy and I hope everyone has a good Monday!
Mike, The lighting looks great! By the looks of it, the nuclear power station is going the way of Chernobyl!! 
Brian, great pictures from yesterday!
Mark, thank you, but I have to tone down the Morton Salt building, just a little to bright for me.
As I thought I didn't get any train room time yesterday and probably not again today. Oh well that's what life does to you!
I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!
Mike- didn't comment before but I like the lighting too. I agree that the Morton's factory is a bit bright. Maybe that's why the nuke plant is glowing 
.
Bob
Mike I have the Ambulance Station 21, Morton Salt and the Pepsi Plant from Menards. Let me say THEY ARE ALL EXTREMELY BRIGHT! I agree they need to be toned down just a little. Everyone laughs at the Ambulance Station because the Ambulance Headlights light up a 4 foot by 6 foot area. But I love the buildings. Going to add the greatest drink ever to the Pepsi Plant. The Drink every on talks about. Everyone ask "What's Up?" Of course the answer is 7. Seven Up, 7Up. Can you tell I like 7Up? LOL
Curtish, i really want the fire station and police plaza, but only after I get the Brewery! Can you tell I like beer! LOL
I've been in at Augsburg University in Minneapolis all of last week attending and performing at an international music conference and festival. Lots of great music and great times!
I also enjoyed the light rail system in Minneapolis too!
Once I got home Tuesday morning at 12:15 a.m. I immediately went to the train room and ran trains for a bit. Nothing like seeing my N&W Y6b emerge from a tunnel lugging a long mixed freight! Seeing that was music to my eyes!
