What did you do on your layout today?

John, Thank you very much!!  It has been a long time since my last layout other than Christmas layouts and my Ceiling Central RR, so I’m glad to get back at it

Took a break from the big layout today to get back to basics. Built this for my 6 year old in his room and he is absolutely thrilled. “Way better than your layout, Daddy.” So true. Cost to me: one hour of work. Big proud smile on my boy’s face - you just can’t buy it. 

Rail on, my friends. 

Tonight, I had the 5th year anniversary of the first train to each end of the layout. Same rolling stock, location of the train and camera position...

I'd put out an invite for an op session tonight but only got one commitment so I had to cancel. 

Morning folks, last time I was here was Thursday and WOW I have to say there has bee a lot of great work being done and some fun times being shared! I too like Mark handed out a lot of likes and I am sorry but there were 281 emails in my box and I cant comment on all of them. But I also do want to comment on a couple things!

BRIAN< Happy belated BIRTHDAY!

Mark, great looking Engine!

Jim and Kevin, its wonderful to see you guys doing trains with your kids! 

Well while I was gone I was doing yard work and honey do's, but I did get a chance to get the last 3 sections of track installed and everything works great! I will try and get some pictures posted later today! 

I hope everyone has a good Monday and gets some time for FUN!

"but I did get a chance to get the last 3 sections of track installed and everything works great! I will try and get some pictures posted later today! "

Mike, pics or it didn't happen 

Lew

Only had a few minutes this morning.  I mounted some junction boxes under the layout so I can had wire it into to electrical of the house.  I hope to run the wiring this evening.

Today I took everything "railroad", including tools, back to the train building.  It is just too hot out there.  However ... Last night I removed three remote control #6019 track sections from my main line.  In the comfort of the big house, I rewired them for fixed voltage operation.  I also rewired two very old L&N lanterns for 110VAC.  Easy y'all.  They were converted many, many years ago.  The electrical cords were cloth covered and scary looking.  I am installing those new LED flame bulbs.  I'll post pictures when the bulbs arrive.  Is there a way to put a date to these?  Even the globes are L&N.  I found more goodies in my father's 1:1 scale stuff.  He had a train orders stick(?) with an old set of orders that is begging to be hung on my wall.  I promise good pictures when the boss says I can go out and play trains again.

Lee,  I really like the look of the distant hills.  Did you paint them in and/or are they flocked with a fine or course turf?    They blend very nicely with the 3D vegetation.  Very nicely done!

I have an area that I would like to do something similar.   I need to blend in some distant hills to help frame the TV/Radio tower.    I was thinking of shaping and layering 1/4" foam core and covering them with shades of green paint and possibly flocking it with some fine or course turf?  

Any thoughts?

Cheers, Dave

p51 posted:

Tonight, I had the 5th year anniversary of the first train to each end of the layout. Same rolling stock, location of the train and camera position...

I'd put out an invite for an op session tonight but only got one commitment so I had to cancel. 

 

Lee - congratulations on celebrating your layout's 5th anniversary!  I totally enjoy seeing photos of your layout and find them most inspiring!  Additionally I enjoyed the OGR Magazine feature on your layout.  

Lee, congratulations on your 5TH anniversary. You accomplished a lot in those 5 years. I'll second what Patrick said. 

Mark, nice to see you can get to work on your layout. 

Jim, your progress is looking good. Lionelski is right. Make sure you allow enough clearance on both sides of the curved track allowing for overhang. .........Paul 2

darlander posted:

Lee,  I really like the look of the distant hills.  Did you paint them in and/or are they flocked with a fine or course turf?    They blend very nicely with the 3D vegetation.  Very nicely done!

I have an area that I would like to do something similar.   I need to blend in some distant hills to help frame the TV/Radio tower.    I was thinking of shaping and layering 1/4" foam core and covering them with shades of green paint and possibly flocking it with some fine or course turf?  

Dave,

Thanks for the kind words!

The photo of mine is probably around seven feet deep to the wall, and there's a walking aisle behind the train that you can sort of make out on the right of the shot.

I made the hill profiles with MDF board, cut with a saber cutter. I then painted them green and hit them with Woodland Scenics ground foam. I made a point of covering the delineation of horizontal to vertical with either bushes, trees or a one spot where neither would fit, a long fence.

Congratulations, Lee!!

Nice work Lee.

I am installing more of the YLB 10510 Batteries in my Lionel Pennsylvania H10 steam engines.  It is a tight fit in the #1773 low tender.  The Pennsylvania H10 #7109 has a little more room in the higher tender.  The Western Allegheny with the high tender should be the same.  The power wire needs to be spliced into the gray center roller wire on each of these engines. 

I am going to contact Lionel for longer arm pick-up rollers.  All three Legacy H10 engines stall at slow speeds on my #5 switch at the Village of Deichman.

I put a YLB 10510 in my Southern Pacific #4449 this afternoon. It pulled 10 passenger cars around the layout without any sound drop-off.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

p51 posted:

Thanks Lee for your reply and information.   I like your method and I am thinking that something similar might work in my situation.   I like the rich color and textured effect of the hills created by the flocking with ground foam.    I will give it a try and hopefully, will have something to post in a month or so.    Appreciate your input!

Cheers, Dave

PS:  You have created a fantastic layout.   Really like the scenes your create and your attention to history and detail is wonderful.    Also, I very much enjoy the special photographic posts you create with your layout.   Thanks again!

Lee, I like your layout very much, and your photography...Wow.. Your eye for scenic detail is awesome.  Happy Railroading 

Morning everyone, it looks like its going to be a nice Tuesday even though I have to work later!

Lew, at the bottom you will find the pictures to prove it happened! 

Lee, Every time I see a picture of your layout all I can say is WOW! You have such a great looking layout, with such detail its amazing! Also thanks for answering Dave's question. Now we all were able to learn something!

John, What a wonderful looking train! Nice work on the passengers also!

Ok folks here are the pictures Lew requested to show it really happened. Its not the greatest looking but it work and down the road it will look a lot better I hope!                                          Well Monday is over and its Tuesday time for some fun! Everyone have a great day!

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

      

                                        have a great weekend everyone !!!

 

 

                              thanks for all the Happy Birthday wishes everyone !!

                   Marci, Izzy and I had a great couple of days together just relaxing !

          I see you must not be able to say it's your birthday weekend, as that was deleted...

mike g. posted:

!

Well done Mike!   Your layout is progressing nicely!   Painted track looks great.   Are you planning to ballast and if so, what will you be using?

Cheers, Dave

briansilvermustang posted:

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

      

                                        have a great weekend everyone !!!

 

 

                              thanks for all the Happy Birthday wishes everyone !!

                   Marci, Izzy and I had a great couple of days together just relaxing !

          I see you must not be able to say it's your birthday weekend, as that was deleted...

 

 

Maybe it’s trademarked. 

darlander posted:

mike g. posted:

!

Well done Mike!   Your layout is progressing nicely!   Painted track looks great.   Are you planning to ballast and if so, what will you be using?

Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave, I do plan on ballasting, just not sure what yet. either woodland  or brennen's  its still up in the air!

p51 posted:

darlander posted:

Lee,  I really like the look of the distant hills.  Did you paint them in and/or are they flocked with a fine or course turf?    They blend very nicely with the 3D vegetation.  Very nicely done!

I have an area that I would like to do something similar.   I need to blend in some distant hills to help frame the TV/Radio tower.    I was thinking of shaping and layering 1/4" foam core and covering them with shades of green paint and possibly flocking it with some fine or course turf?  

Dave,

Thanks for the kind words!

The photo of mine is probably around seven feet deep to the wall, and there's a walking aisle behind the train that you can sort of make out on the right of the shot.

I made the hill profiles with MDF board, cut with a saber cutter. I then painted them green and hit them with Woodland Scenics ground foam. I made a point of covering the delineation of horizontal to vertical with either bushes, trees or a one spot where neither would fit, a long fence.

Lee, that’s a very nice scene.

mike g. posted:

Morning everyone, it looks like its going to be a nice Tuesday even though I have to work later!

Lew, at the bottom you will find the pictures to prove it happened! 

Lee, Every time I see a picture of your layout all I can say is WOW! You have such a great looking layout, with such detail its amazing! Also thanks for answering Dave's question. Now we all were able to learn something!

John, What a wonderful looking train! Nice work on the passengers also!

Ok folks here are the pictures Lew requested to show it really happened. Its not the greatest looking but it work and down the road it will look a lot better I hope!                                          Well Monday is over and its Tuesday time for some fun! Everyone have a great day!

Mike, that is a creative solution to not-quite-enough-space  That not-quite-enough-space monster sure makes trouble for model railroaders!

Tnx for the pics. I always enjoy work-in-progress pics.

Well I haven't been here, or working on the layout since early April when I returned to working after the fall and subsequent shoulder surgery... 

Anyway, after working pretty much nonstop since April,  I had a welcomed break in the schedule and decided to get downstairs yesterday and today.   Took quite a while to "wake up" my Gargraves track bending skills working on these concentric 48 and 52 + inch radius curves...  With all the tracks in this corner running on different grades, it was challenging building the roadbed. 

Finally got it so a large EM-1 or Allegeny articulated can safely pass the 21 inch California Zephyr cars on the main, and the transition "easements" are smooth.   

Figured I'd stop and take a break, take some photos,  before I remove the main line curve and layout the centerlines and screw down the passenger yard tracks beneath the bridge, then put the main line back in place. 

 Also got my balsa stock and made two more pine trees...  The 2 on the right hand side are the newer ones, the 2 on the left were made earlier this year.  Nice to be back working on trains for a week or two before I go back to working full time.   ....   

One of Grandpa's earlier careers was as a tower operator on the PRR. The Plywood Empire Route has an old long-unused tower on the property and every time I look at it I think of Granddad.

That guy going up the steps is carrying a railroad lantern, as my Granddad did.

Granddad's PRR railroad lantern.

My Great Uncle took this pic of my Grandpa sitting at the desk in Enslie Tower, c. 1910. I now own the photo.

I had heard about "Enslie Tower" verbally from my Dad so was unsure of the spelling. Then I ran across my Granddad's 1917 employee timetable:

And there it was:

On Edit: On July 8, 2004 several of us, including my Dad, went and found the location of Enslie Tower a mile from Dents Run, Pa.

The foundation for the semaphore at Enslie Tower. The tower (actually a one story building) foundation is in the weeds in the left foreground.

          glad you able to get back working on your trains Chris, can't wait to see more !!

             great pictures and stories Lew, pretty cool you have all them neat photos !!

                   gonna run some birthday trains tonight     ready to try them out !

....   

Great looking trees!!    How tall?           Cheers, Dave

Guys

looks like you've been busy this summer. The garden is done we had too much rain and it didn’t fair well. The grass is finally starting to stop growing and maybe I can get back to the layout. Good news I’m hope a friend of mine buys my HO layout in a couple weeks that will give me 15’x10’ more feet for my O scale layout. Well care on with those great layout action 

Lee, I'd put up a pic but......For once our tomato plants grew like they're supposed to and we have a tomato forest . Real estate acquisition is a wonderful thing, isn't it? The only way the Plywood Empire Route could grow would be out the window.....and that's two floors off the ground.

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

 

 

 

Brian, birthday trainz iz the best kind! 

Brian,  Thanks, it's great to be back in the basement. 

Dave,  thanks,  working across the photo of the 4 trees,  the heights are 13",  14"+,  12" and 11".    I found a good price on 1/2 x 1/2 x 36 inch balsa square stock after the first two I got the tapering process down to about 10 minutes, scribe them with a razor saw,  drill a 1/16 hole in the bottom and install some 1/16 inch steel rod with super glue for planting.

The branches are made from furnace filter material purchased at walmart, you have to tear it and tease it out or the tree gets to dense, then spray painted, then I used gorilla spray glue and short 2mm static grass on the branches.  There's a couple more photos below so you don't have to go find my post from February about making these. 

Mike, The lift-up looks great!

Chris, I'm glad the shoulder is holding up at work and glad you got to do some track bending and tree making!  Track bending is not my thing, but tree making is.  I used the same method to make N scale trees before our late-20s daughters were born.  Some adorn my Boyce Homestead diorama I still have.  I couldn't do N scale these days.

Brian, Looks like a used engine lot!!

Lew, Great story.  The photographs are great.  Models, the lantern, your grandfather, the timetable!  All great!  That was the era my maternal grandfather was a fireman won the B&O (BR&P) from Pittsburgh to Mt. Jewett.   1917.  He would leave soon for his second enlistment in the Marines at age 32 and later be disabled in France saving a fallen comrade from mustard gas.  I have a few mementos as well.

Chris, I definitely have tree envy . Great modeling!

Tnx for the pics. Inspirational is the term, I think.

geysergazer posted:

One of Grandpa's earlier careers was as a tower operator on the PRR. The Plywood Empire Route has an old long-unused tower on the property and every time I look at it I think of Granddad.

        

That guy going up the steps is carrying a railroad lantern, as my Granddad did.

                      

Granddad's PRR railroad lantern.

      

My Great Uncle took this pic of my Grandpa sitting at the desk in Enslie Tower, c. 1910. I now own the photo.

I had heard about "Enslie Tower" verbally from my Dad so was unsure of the spelling. Then I ran across my Granddad's 1917 employee timetable:

                     

And there it was:

                    

 

On Edit: On July 8, 2004 several of us, including my Dad, went and found the location of Enslie Tower a mile from Dents Run, Pa.

         

The foundation for the semaphore at Enslie Tower. The tower (actually a one story building) foundation is in the weeds in the right foreground.

Lew, Very nice post, great history with family ties, thanks.

Steve

Mark, my Dad grew up beside the tracks in Gumtown/Adrian/Montgomeryville. My Dad undoubtably watched your Granddad firing [probably] a Consolidation hard up the hill from Templeton to the tunnel South of Cowan on more than a few occasions. On of those small world things 

@geysergazer i really liked the pics especially the family member that worked on the railroad.  Those are off the charts cool.

chris a posted:

Brian,  Thanks, it's great to be back in the basement. 

Dave,  thanks,  working across the photo of the 4 trees,  the heights are 13",  14"+,  12" and 11".    I found a good price on 1/2 x 1/2 x 36 inch balsa square stock after the first two I got the tapering process down to about 10 minutes, scribe them with a razor saw,  drill a 1/16 hole in the bottom and install some 1/16 inch steel rod with super glue for planting.

The branches are made from furnace filter material purchased at walmart, you have to tear it and tease it out or the tree gets to dense, then spray painted, then I used gorilla spray glue and short 2mm static grass on the branches.  There's a couple more photos below so you don't have to go find my post from February about making these.

 

Wow - furnace filters!   Now I'm even more impressed.    I do vaguely remember a posts last February, but these new trees really caught my eye.   Did you use the 2mm static grass before?  That really finishes them off.    I see another project in my future!   Thanks for sharing.

Cheers again, Dave

geysergazer posted:

Mark, my Dad grew up beside the tracks in Gumtown/Adrian/Montgomeryville. My Dad undoubtably watched your Granddad firing [probably] a Consolidation hard up the hill from Templeton to the tunnel South of Cowan on more than a few occasions. On of those small world things 

Small world, Lew.  You are probably right!

Lew,  thanks for the positive feedback....   

To anyone interested here's the one you tube video I found the most helpful.  (BELOW THIS PARAGRAPH)..... I didn't follow it word for word,  but it's not that challenging, and the materials are inexpensive so you can't get in that much trouble, or lose a huge investment.   I found it worked better to open the filter material up... it starts around a 1/2 inch thick, it was over an and a half thick when I was done pulling it apart.    I just don't choose to spend $15, or more per tree.  There's some really nice trees on the market but they're expensive. 

Youtube link:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClCwvzT2VG4

Dave,  I found it worked just as well to glue the branch structure to the trunk then paint the whole tree.... after the paint dried,  I used a cardboard straight edge like 6 " x 18 " and held the tree behind it so I'd only spray the outer branches and not bury the trunk with the glue.   That way the static grass only sticks to the branches and doesn't adhere to the main trunk.   We added the dead branches at the bottom after the static grass was applied.   Just scrap branches from a wild cedar tree in the woods in the back yard. 

Mark, thanks for your thoughts.  The shoulder is really weak when my arm is away from my body and especially raising it, but it is what it is... Fortunately it doesn't ache all the time, but at 13 months since surgery it's probably about as good as it's going to get.   

The product from Walmart that I used is called Natural Aire, it's 20" x 30" dark green in color, I think it cost around $6.00 +/-.... I have made 5 trees to date and have used about 1/3 of a single filter.   

I suppose you are right Chris after 13 months.  My carpal tunnel was never right after the 1995 surgeries, much less after the 2015 surgeries.  We do our best!

Mark, hard to "like" that. But we do our best and that is all we can do! It's all good.