What did you do on your layout today?

After adding the green felt, I'm getting ready to work on streets.

Finished lighting the last 6 of my 60 Dept 56 buildings....put down the last of the "snow" and ran the trains for awhile.

Just finishing a couple projects

I got the awning put on my Korber building.

 

 

Mitch, thanks for the pictures on the forum of the club meeting on Friday night.  My 2 year old grandson can operate a Cab1 controller, mostly the horn and bell. We had members with "Z" to "G" model railroads at the meeting.  Pizza and O gauge trains, it don't get better than that...

 

Also, The A&M passenger train is back up and running.  Come ride the A&M.

I finally got a chance to try my DCS system again on the Patio Pacific RR.  Since I have to set up and take down everything outside, it has been a while when it wouldn't work.  Last time it couldn't find the engine on the track.  Same today, then I read in the book how to make the track active (I still don't know how it got un-active anyway, but who cares now) then it was able to find my MTH N&W Y6b.  I finally was able to add it as a second engine.  I had already been successful with my MTH NYC Hudson this summer.  I was able to run forward and reverse, blow the whistle, bell, open coupler and all that jazz. 

 

Then I added my newest cars, a Weaver B&A wooden gondola, a MTH B&O PS2 hopper and a Lionel NYC caboose with smoke.  (I already have a little of everything) The train ran great. 

 

I then tried the smoke for the first time in the caboose and Y6b.  The caboose smoked nicely, so much so that I shut it off because the wind was blowing coal smoke in my face.    I then noticed some fluid was dripping out the bottom.  Oops, must have overfilled.  Call in the EPA!!  I got lazy and did not turn the Y6b over to turn the screw smoke adjustment on the tender.  I just tried turning it on with the DCS remote.  Each time I tried it I got a whining sound from inside the smokebox.  The last try a little smoke came out the bottom, so I shut it off to worry about later.

 

I am going to try to post a couple short videos; my first try.  After I carried everything inside, I realized I had forgotten to take any still photos.  So here goes the Patio Pacific RR Autumn Leaf Extravaganza!

 

Today I built long needed shelves to store cars and locomotives in so I can start ballasting part of the layout.  I had passenger and freight cars with locos everywhere.

"passenger and freight cars with locos everywhere"?  Does that happen?

I have been lax or lazy this fall and gotten little done and that slowly.  I finished

the porch railing on the saloon, put in its swinging doors, and painted some ribbed

plastic roofing material for a "tin" roof, although I am not sure I will use that.

Ron,

Those shelves look great!  I see you have some depth to put some cars in front first to save room.  The track looks good, and now you have room to continue work!  

MarkB. Very nice videos. I've only been in DCS for about a year but once you know how to solve these minor problems you will thoroughly enjoy the system. If you don't own Barry's book yet I would suggest purchasing it. Very helpful.

not much work on the layout played a little. spent my b-day (Saturday) putting a new ignition in my z28 wife lost the keys now it starts again with a key. then played trains with Bella she wanted Thomas running. so I did that. but I did have a new purchase not train related although it might get me to rail fan a little more. also a facebook group I belong to had posted a pic of a Camaro with a bnsf so I figured I would post it too. here's my new toy and the photo.

J,

 

I really like your green 5.0. I raced mustangs for years. You need about 500 HP to start playing with the new vettes all achievable with coyote bolt ons.  The lambo Gayrardos are pretty weak too.

 

Just don't go up against the Z06s, they are monsters.

 

Wishing you loads of fun with the mustang.

 

Ron 427 Z06

well on paper and you tube videos my son's 07 vette is 12.6 in the 1/4 and this 5.0 is 12.6 so it should be a good match I haven't even had it 24 hrs yet picked it up about 9 last night. I kept my old one too. here it is some people are beginning to think I have a car fetish along with trains this is what I have in my garages now .

 

the 01 mustang Roush stage 2 clone everything but swaybars has been done to it. couldn't find them.

1986 Iroc Camaro with a ls6 454 th400 yea fun to drive.

1991 z28 bone stock not so much fun to drive nice to cruise.

and then of course the 13 5.0 gt premium with 20's and brembo's and roush exhaust.

 

Very nice!!!

 

My 2007 Z06 runs 11.4s on the street on stock tires. Really don't like to launch it against all wheel drive GTR or souped up 911 turbos, no way to hook as fast as they do, but from a 2nd gear punch It's not been beat 43 kills and still undefeated. Now in Houston there are 1200 and 1400 hp lambos GTRs and vettes that run at 2:30 to 3: am on the frwy. They would definitely crush my car. It's all power to weight.

 

Beware of the loser run byes on your beautiful green stang.

 

My son has the cleanest SRT4 you've ever seen running mid 11s with stock internals.

 

Best Hot Rod Regards,

Ron

Over the weekend we had a halloween party.  Folks asked about the train layout (I keep it to myself).  Got to demonstrate it and amazingly everything worked.  Numerous positive comments were received.  Very motivating to make it even better.

 

Spence,

I do have Barry's book, and have been reading it, but summer activities got in the way.  Thank you for the encouragement considering you haven't had DCS that long.  My biggest problem has been I don't have a set place to leave the trains setup.  That is changing since our younger daughter recently married.  I will set up a table in her room with my wife's Dept 56 and other brands buildings and run trains there.  After we put away the buildings for the year, I am going to do some more elaborate things with the table trying some things with a mind of what I will do once our other daughter leaves home and I take over her art studio room.    Hate to see them go, but they need to spread their wings, and a room specially for trains is an added bonus. 

Was plastering this afternoon. But going back up to the layout to finish the last of the plastering. Tomorrow I can then color it. That whole are will be done.....Paul

It's that time of year to begin daily work on the layout.  I bought some rock art tile at a habitat for humanity outlet for a dollar a piece 12" x 12". I found out they sell retail for $12 a square.  These are grey stone. With the addition of some Scenic Express flexible wall I have been working on my mountain. 

 

Worked on a new YT Thumbnail, using Photoshop.

 

Cool

Gary,

Thanks for the effort you put into those.

Worked on my Subway system which operates below my train table on two reversing loops.  I also added strobing lights to my two police vehicle that are racing to a 1957 chevy Belair that has struck a light pole and is catching fire.  Lighting for this was through Evan Design.

 

Here's a video of my work in progress.

 

-Pete

 

We been workin on the opposite side of the engine service area. Got the storage tracks in, kitbashed a Lionel yard light to be double sided, added Hayes style bumpers, wheel stops, storage tanks for fuel oil, used up the rest of the N scale cork just to eat up some of the space that will get filled in with dirt. Needs lots of ground cover now to bury theses tracks.

Yesterday, I finished the second of these saloon kits, except I want a lot more beer

and other signs on it.  Commecially available signs seem to be both narrow in scope and expensive for a few.  I have a couple of big sheets of old signs I found at a show

years ago, but they are almost shredded with holes from which most have been cut.

I went into breweriana on the net and scared up a number of Colorado beer brands

I had not heard of: apparently made by Tivoli-Union in Denver, Tivoli I was aware of..

Top Hat, and Denver Beer I was not.  I was also familiar with Walter's in Pueblo,

related to Walter's in Wisconsin....I discovered they apparently bought Berghoff's

in Ft. Wayne, Ind. (there is an Atlas car for that), offered Berghoff beer in Wisconsin, AND offered it in Pueblo.  So there are more Colorado beers to be found than just Coor's and Schneider's Century.  I have a lot of signs to print and cover this saloon with.  The upstairs hotel on this building has been designated the Hotel Ritz, mostly because. obviously, ritzy it ain't.

Harrison Trains and Scenes is between train shows and our commissioned work is on schedule, so, I actually have some time to put in on our layout, the Great Northeastern Railway. I finally finished the substructure of the snow mountain that links our middle to our upper level and have installed some lights. It is a small step, but, at least it is progress.

I measured a bit.  Starting to think about exactly what I do to revise the layout.  Several weeks, maybe still several months, from starting.

Cuting gargrave track with a black and decker compactsaw.And puting gargraves and atlas o mating pins.Just loads of fun,Man sometimes this hobby seem a little like work than fun.

Using the right tools makes the hobby more fun than work. Get yourself a dremel tool and cutting wheel to cut track.

Wife and I had a little Halloween party.  After trick or treating with kids came back to my house and fired up the layout.  First time since April!  Had 5 kids over and all had a blast running trains even the dads!  

If you really want to make working with Gargraves and Ross track easy, get yourself a bench top 1" belt sander and a pair of tin snips. Just lop with the snips 1/4" longer than desired length then sand the crushed part away. Nice clean square ends.

 

 

The Dremel with cutoff wheels will never be able to do that without a lot of work and broken wheels. What a pain!

 

I've been doing it this way for more than 20 years.

Worked on the layout getting ready for Sunday's operating session.  Jim updated my three TIU's to the latest software version.  Cleaning track and cleaning engines.  Put together the walls on my engine house.  Built a mockup of my Wonder Bread bakery and realized when I build the final building I need to place the semi loading doors in a different place so the trucks can back up to the building.

 

Today I have to clean the garage and layout room.  Also want to get more done on my curved stone arch bridge.

 

Yesterday was an interesting day with flu shots, shopping, doctor appts, trick or treaters and the first snow flakes of the season.

 

Art

Art, remember I said "Don't make me come down there" a couple pages ago? Look at you go!!! I'm excited to see it.

All I did was add a few lamps to my basement layout.

I ran some trains, switched out some locos - two or three on the shelf, a new three onto the layout, etc.  Spent about two hours measuring and thinking.  I'm homing in on the revision i want to do, and how, but start of construction is still several weeks away.

Floor lamps, I might add.

We wired the last two switches on the upper level by the future, steam servicing yard and turntable. We also put down the first layer of snow blankets over the area. It is starting to take shape. Progress is being made.

Stared.....measured.....visualized.....stared and measured some more...and finally concluded, "yeah....I am doing this!".  Took up all of my Fastrack and started laying down Aristocraft G scale stainless steel track.  I have decided to put down 8-foot diameter G scale as my ground level  perimeter track and will rebuild my O gauge beginning with the 2nd level.  Ultimately, I will have 2 possibly 3 levels of O above the G.  Not worried about the difference in scale as I will be running one or the other at any given time.  The goal is to have at least 2 levels completed by Thanksgiving so I can start putting in my Dept 56 Christmas Village prices and scenery.

 

Rick

 

 

Took some inventory on an app called Model Inventory, should check it out. Ran our Dash-8 around a bit and warmed up our Postwar 2-6-2 with our old Lionel Lines passenger cars. 

Today was a jumping around day. Started the day off by recoloring a couple of spots I was not quite happy with on the scenery. Then I went to work on the table I built for the transformers. I cut a few pieces of wood for underneath. One a shelf for the TIU's and Legacy base with room for a larger terminal strip with more plugs to eliminate the two smaller ones. I mounted a back plate to hold terminal blocks for future wiring.....Paul

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