What did you do on your layout today?

Patrick, you should have let me know you were coming to town. Everyone on the forum is invited to visit my layout. On the other hand, this week was a little rough with my most recent knee injury.

Thanks to all of you for the well wishes from Friday. Saturday, I went in for an x-ray, which came back negative, so that's good, but it still hurts.

Good news on the knee, Elliot!  Hopefully the pain will go away soon.

Thanks Mark, since it's my right knee, I haven't been able to drive since I dd it. You have no idea how much I hate the way my wife drives, so maybe by Friday I'll get back behind the wheel, even if it hurts a little.

Too much time on my hands... I decided to do this Lionel PW F3 a favor and give it a make over as a B&O F unit in later blue dip scheme (just a dummy unit).

More of a paint test than anything else. It all looks good until you put it next to a scale F unit. The lack of detail and slightly smaller size become apparent then. And while I was at it, I figured that if model train manufacturers can sell you an F3 shell and call it an F7, so can I.  I gave it an F7 number and painted the grilles to add to the illusion.  

I'm going to do this again with scale stuff. Even with its faults, I'm sure that this is the happiest this PW F3 has ever been!  

Ralph, the F3-7 looks great!

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

Patrick, you should have let me know you were coming to town. Everyone on the forum is invited to visit my layout. On the other hand, this week was a little rough with my most recent knee injury.

Thanks to all of you for the well wishes from Friday. Saturday, I went in for an x-ray, which came back negative, so that's good, but it still hurts.

Good News!   Now stay out of trouble!!!!!!      Happy mending!

Cheers, Dave

Hey Y'all,

Me again.  I been building the benchwork in my new railroad building.  Progress has been halting but not painful.  I am no carpenter and a worse plumber.  If you want a hot rod built, I'm your man.  The CFO said $0.00 budget for the move and that is where we are.  I used only what I had on hand.  The patchwork 1/2" bench top will be covered by a single, thinner sheet of plywood that my trains use now.  It's not pretty but it's square and level.

  I put 200 pounds of sweaty fat guy on the bench for proof testing.  By the time I pick up my toys it will be dark and the kerosene lamp will be lit not to hammer and screw but to look at my favorite caboose in my new building.  I still want to turn the building 90 degrees.  Y'all busy Saturday?

Bill That is an excellent job!!!  Square and level is what counts!!  Keeping the CFO happy is priority!!  Using what you have on hand or can scrounge from wherever (without stealing) is admirable!  Now that I’m on Social Security and working for a few bucks part time, keeping cost down is important!  Sorry I’m to far to help you to spin it!  Years ago I jacked up a shed and corner of a garage by myself because the previous owner had let them go to pot!  Now my low back and sciatic nerve bark at me lifting 20 pounds!  I’m looking forward to seeing the layout progress!!!

I placed a newly acquired switch tower on my layout. Thanks to TIMOTHY SPRAGUE this is a kit that I didn't have to build.

Nice job Tim!

In the future I will install some lights and a interior; as well as ballast the track and do the landscaping.

Nice tower Bob and Tim!

Last day with students today so I started to prioritize the train projects I want to get done while on summer break.  I'm hoping to finish my elevated line, the last subway station, and the lake area.  Starting tomorrow I will get to feel like Paul and see how "retirement" (albeit only for the summer) feels. 

Well grasshopper (Bryan) once you get a taste of "retirement" you may wish you were back teaching. Now you will see the pressure I am under every single day.........Paul 2

Ralph M posted:

Too much time on my hands... I decided to do this Lionel PW F3 a favor and give it a make over as a B&O F unit in later blue dip scheme (just a dummy unit).

More of a paint test than anything else. It all looks good until you put it next to a scale F unit. The lack of detail and slightly smaller size become apparent then. And while I was at it, I figured that if model train manufacturers can sell you an F3 shell and call it an F7, so can I.  I gave it an F7 number and painted the grilles to add to the illusion.  

I'm going to do this again with scale stuff. Even with its faults, I'm sure that this is the happiest this PW F3 has ever been!  

Ralph, I am not a great lover of diesels but that B&O locomotive really looks sharp.

paul 2 posted:

Well grasshopper (Bryan) once you get a taste of "retirement" you may wish you were back teaching. Now you will see the pressure I am under every single day.........Paul 2

Thanks Dave. It's pretty hard to get into trouble sitting at the kitchen table doing jigsaw puzzles. I suppose if anyone can, it would be me.

Patrick, sounds like you had a great week! But also sounds like you missed your trains. Must be an honor to perform there! Congrats!

Elliot, I am glad nothing is broken! Don't worry about driving, you will be back behind the wheel in no time! I cant do jig saw puzzles as they are to hard on my brain, kind of like wiring! LOL

Ralph, Nice work on the F-3 unit!

Bill looks like a nice start, I am with Mark square and level is priority! Don't tell the CFO and sneak a buck here and there! LOL

Bob, the tower looks good on your layout Tim did a wonderful job!

Brian, enjoy the summer and trains! Don't rush the retirement, when you don't work you will find out there are a lot of other things the wife can find for you to do! Like Laundry in your basement train room while your trying to work on your layout! LOL

Well its almost the weekend and I don't have to work today or tomorrow, but do have to work the weekend which sucks! I hope to get something done even if its just running my train around and around! LOL

Everyone have a great Thursday and remember tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Ralph M posted:

Too much time on my hands... I decided to do this Lionel PW F3 a favor and give it a make over as a B&O F unit in later blue dip scheme (just a dummy unit).

More of a paint test than anything else. It all looks good until you put it next to a scale F unit. The lack of detail and slightly smaller size become apparent then. And while I was at it, I figured that if model train manufacturers can sell you an F3 shell and call it an F7, so can I.  I gave it an F7 number and painted the grilles to add to the illusion.  

I'm going to do this again with scale stuff. Even with its faults, I'm sure that this is the happiest this PW F3 has ever been!  

Thanks everyone. Here is an example of my inspiration. As you can see this ol' F7 was pretty beat up by 1974.

(photo by  Kim Piersol via RRPicture Archives.NET)

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, you better be careful - with all of the lights and beer drinking, a dance party might break out in there! haha 

Looks great!

I continue to make alterations to the scenery base.  Looking forward to the long weekend and saying goodbye to the pink.  

The mail person just dropped these off to me today. A couple of older type trucks from Diecast Direct. With these I am going to see how a Weaver trailer looks with them. I have bought a bunch of undecorated trailers for future painting. These past few days I have not had anytime for the layout. Friday I have to do a day run to western New York. I hope this weekend I can get something done on the layout. Pic of the trucks..............Paul 2

I need more of these!!! So cool

jgtrh62, thanks for the compliment. The trucks are 1/43. I had no other option to go with so I had to make the liftout in that area. I did not have enough real estate to curve behind the washer/dryer and I did not want to go over the front of the washer and dryer. ......Paul 2

Bill you are moving fast!  Excellent!

When it rains outside, I get a chance to work on projects around the layout. I decided it wouldn't take long to get another car weathered. I just have the wheels left to do. I make them a dusty, oily black from ''leaky journals.'' Wonder if it'll still be raining tomorrow?  Have fun guys. 

My train layout runs behind washer and dryer also

Thanks Mike and John. 

Mike - I went to see my regular doctor today. Saturday was just a walk-in clinic visit to get the x-ray done. Unfortunately, It's almost an hour drive across town, but I got behind the wheel. It went well, but after about half an hour, the knee started barking a bit. He poked at it, and really pinpointed what I had done to it. He explained how things in the lower leg are connected, and why the pain radiates down my shin to my ankle. It's been a week already, and it's way better than when I first did it. Patrick and I were going work on the layout Saturday, but I told him I wasn't going to be up to it, so we'll try again next week. When it comes to jigsaw puzzles, I have always liked them, and been pretty good at them. They may help exercise parts of the brain that we use in model railroading. If you want to build that skill, two suggestions. First, start with a small number of pieces, probably under 500. Second, find a picture that you like! A lot of my puzzles are train related, but not all.

Here are a couple I did recently:

This one was 2000 pieces of the Las Vegas Strip. I loved the bright colors, and we stayed at the Luxor in the lower left corner when we visited a few years ago.

I got this Larry Fisher print, from Larry himself, back at the 1999 NMRA National Convention when it was in St Paul. He did this and a second Minneapolis piece  for the convention.

Some local train guys recently pointed out that it was available as a puzzle, so I had to have it. It was fun until I got to the sky. Then it became a real pain.

Elliot, if I may ask,  what did the doc do to the knee?  Patch or long term fix?

Thanks JD, I don't get enough people over for a dance party so I am safe there! But I am glad you like it!

Paul 2, the trucks will look wonderful on your layout!

John, Looks like a bold plan! I sure hope you don't get any leaks from the water lines. Are you going to go down to 2 tracks behind the washer and dryer?

Bill, very cool video! I will have to remember that load for when the grandkids are here!

Myles, wonderful job on the weathering! Looks great!

Elliot, I am glad to hear your on the mend, sorry you have to put off train work for another week! I really love the print you have, Buti am still not into jigsaw puzzles, my layout is enough puzzle for me. The wife does them all the time!

So my plan yesterday was to get out to the train room, but that went out the window when there was a deadly accident near the store and the employee's couldn't get to the store. So Mike to the rescue and went to work so the wife could get out of there. By the time I got home it was 6 PM time for dinner a little T.V. then bed. Maybe later today after I mow the lawn and blow the roofs off! LOL We will see.

Well its Friday of a 3 day weekend! I hope everyone has fun and please be safe! Enjoy your family, friends and please take a minute to remember all vets!

Tom Tee posted:

Elliot, if I may ask,  what did the doc do to the knee?  Patch or long term fix?

Nothing really Tom. It's essentially a bruise in a particularly sore spot just below the actual knee cap. I just have to wait it out. It is getting better, much more quickly than when I did the left one back in November. He did renew my pain med prescription. Fortunately, I had some left over from the last time.

Did a little 1:1 modeling today. Paints done, and the labeling now complete.  All that's left is to install the new number boards. Loco is a GP 38-2 now equipped with phase 3 electronics. This one began life as leased GM 2267, now after de-greasing, air sanding, and a spray coat of DuPont industrial urathane gloss black paint , the Loco rolls out as CCGX 4207!!   Gotta get it out in the sun! Now we'll go home and run a train.  

I got the door to the layout room done.

Before this, it was the cheap plywood panel door that came with the house.

Behind the door, I'd had a hug stack of large paper pads and portable drawing surfaces, completed drawings and paper stuff in large flat photo negative boxes (from when I worked in a newspaper ages ago) and other random stuff. Replacing door forced me to relocate a lot of that and send a great deal of it to Goodwill or the recycling bin. I was glad it was done when I was finished as that door couldn't be opened all the way in a very long time. When people would walk in the door, it was only opened about at a 45 degree angle as that was as wide as it'd go. On the short wall facing you as you open that door, I have the first page from every published model RR magazine article I've had done (and the cover from one that featured my layout). Naturally, my OGR article in there, which I'm very proud of. Anyway, you couldn't see those very well before and they're very clear now that you can open the door all the way.

jgtrh62 posted:

paul 2 posted:

 

Great stuff guys! Paul, love those ERTL vintage trucks, are they 1:43 scale? I also liked what you did with your bench work to get across the laundry room. I've come to a similar situation and am going to route behind them, I am going to name this town... Kenmore.

Elliot, really glad to hear you're doing better!
Johan, incredible modeling and weathering as always!
Mike G, your layout is really looking great, the various lighting really looks cool!
Lee Drennen, your layout is really looking great, loved the video too! Looks like you have a really good collection of very nice O scale tractor trailers.
Lee, (P51), very cool B&W photos of your layout, it's amazing how nice of images cell phone cameras can capture, I use mine all the time to take photos and seldom ever use my DSLR anymore.

Sorry if I missed anyone else, really enjoy seeing what everyone's got going!

John: Thank you very much. 

Johan

jgtrh62 posted:

paul 2 posted:

 

Great stuff guys! Paul, love those ERTL vintage trucks, are they 1:43 scale? I also liked what you did with your bench work to get across the laundry room. I've come to a similar situation and am going to route behind them, I am going to name this town... Kenmore.

Elliot, really glad to hear you're doing better!
Johan, incredible modeling and weathering as always!
Mike G, your layout is really looking great, the various lighting really looks cool!
Lee Drennen, your layout is really looking great, loved the video too! Looks like you have a really good collection of very nice O scale tractor trailers.
Lee, (P51), very cool B&W photos of your layout, it's amazing how nice of images cell phone cameras can capture, I use mine all the time to take photos and seldom ever use my DSLR anymore.

Sorry if I missed anyone else, really enjoy seeing what everyone's got going!

Love that 2 rail

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

I love this shot. Among many virtues of this shot, it proves that 3-rail doesn't have to look toy like!

romiller49 posted:

jgtrh62 posted:

paul 2 posted:

 

Great stuff guys! Paul, love those ERTL vintage trucks, are they 1:43 scale? I also liked what you did with your bench work to get across the laundry room. I've come to a similar situation and am going to route behind them, I am going to name this town... Kenmore.

Elliot, really glad to hear you're doing better!
Johan, incredible modeling and weathering as always!
Mike G, your layout is really looking great, the various lighting really looks cool!
Lee Drennen, your layout is really looking great, loved the video too! Looks like you have a really good collection of very nice O scale tractor trailers.
Lee, (P51), very cool B&W photos of your layout, it's amazing how nice of images cell phone cameras can capture, I use mine all the time to take photos and seldom ever use my DSLR anymore.

Sorry if I missed anyone else, really enjoy seeing what everyone's got going!

Love that 2 rail

You guys running behind washing machines.....Is this the modern Water Level Route????

Doing some paint work on trestle and mountain scenery behind washer and dryed