What did you do on your layout today?

Aha! Pics, so it happened, Mike 

I'd say you got a lot accomplished, Mike. The power plant now has a parking lot with a low wall to keep disaster at bay.

darlander posted:

mike g. posted

Well I didn't get much done yesterday, but did get a little work done. I am not sure if I like the vegetation that I have put in sofar, but that's easy enough to change. There will be no work on the layout for the next 2 days as I am here at the wonderful store! LOL Here are a couple photos!

Looking good mike.   What about a stone or rock embankment with some scrub vegetation?   It would blend more with the embankment (brown wall) you have on the left.   Just a thought!

Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave , after I quit last night I thought of the same thing! So when I get a chance I am going to put the same brick pattern along the bottom of the hill side. about the same height of the truck sitting there!

geysergazer posted:

Aha! Pics, so it happened, Mike 

I'd say you got a lot accomplished, Mike. The power plant now has a parking lot with a low wall to keep disaster at bay.

Thanks Lew, there is still a lot more to do there. I hope to get the parking lot paved Thursday along with a couple of other things! Kind of a surprise! LOL

GANDYDANCER, very nice night scene.

Mike g, power station area is coming to life.

Johan, diesel looks good against that backdrop.

 Today for some reason I only got done changing out three cars from two rail to three real but they are ready to head to the attic. But when I was moving the office building for the power plant I squeezed too hard and popped a wall open so I had to re glue it. Guess I better learn to grab much lighter. Tonight it is a Tuesday night so that means a Tuesday night train crew gathering again. So tomorrow maybe I can get back to the layout. Pics...........Paul 2

Mike G, I feel a little dumb saying this after all the compliments you just got, but that sure is a sharp-looking truck.

As part of my ongoing recovery,  I'm slowly getting back to projects from before my cancer surgery in March.  

One of these was the Blue Beauty, which suffered a catastrophic failure at the Sugar Creek show the weekend before my operation.  It literally sizzled to a halt, and, opening it some seven months later, I can see why...

This, as they say, is an ex-motor!  It's deader than that famous Norwegian Blue parrot of Monty Python fame...

Anybody have a spare knocking about, perchance? 

Mitch

briansilvermustang posted:

 

        thanks Lee...

 

 

Sweet!! Thank you for posting. I Custom painted and decaled one of these in HO scale one time 

mike g. posted:

Mitch, What happened? It was looking so promising!

The Holiday Trolley was MTH's first bump and go.  As such, I rather suspect they didn't have the plastic formula quite right over at Glorious People's Plastic Train And Chopstick Factory #47.  These cars are notorious for losing steps if you look at them sideways,  which is why I was willing to sacrifice the shell for SCIENCE!  

Anyhow,  I was using a power screwdriver to drive the last mounting screw into place, when it started stripping the head.  I pushed down a little bit and WHAM!  

Onwards and upwards,  as they say...

Mitch

mike g. posted:

 

B&O Fan, Great looking little diner! Love the delivery truck also! The building fecades look perfect!

Mitch, What happened? It was looking so promising!

Johan, Great before and after photo, it really shows your skills! You sure building an amazing RR Fleet!

Lee D, Sorry to hear your arthritis is getting so bad! I hope things get better with it! It sucks to see the Acar go, but you have some wonderful memories with your dad! My dad has been gone for 15 years now and I still have great memories!

Bill, oil is great for the engines, but not so much for the track! Its nice to see you have an easy and fun way to clean them!

Tom Tee, sure sounds like a lot of work! But can you do me a favor and post some pictures on how you are doing it?

Howard, Great job on the lights! It really brings the street and yard to life!

Brian, from the looks of it there is way to much worked planned! LOL Why not give one of those crews a break today ! Great Photo!

Well I didn't get much done yesterday, but did get a little work done. I am not sure if I like the vegetation that I have put in sofar, but that's easy enough to change. There will be no work on the layout for the next 2 days as I am here at the wonderful store! LOL Here are a couple photos!

I hope you all have a great day and please find time for your trains and layouts!

 

Thanks Mike I think I have my priorities in line. My dad won’t want to see it rust down. 

Your layout looks great like the pics 

paul 2 posted:

GANDYDANCER, very nice night scene.

Mike g, power station area is coming to life.

Johan, diesel looks good against that backdrop.

 Today for some reason I only got done changing out three cars from two rail to three real but they are ready to head to the attic. But when I was moving the office building for the power plant I squeezed too hard and popped a wall open so I had to re glue it. Guess I better learn to grab much lighter. Tonight it is a Tuesday night so that means a Tuesday night train crew gathering again. So tomorrow maybe I can get back to the layout. Pics...........Paul 2

Paul

very nice be fore long your going to have the whole Weaver piggyback collection 

geysergazer posted:

lee drennen posted:

 

geysergazer posted:

lee drennen posted:

Sorry Guys I haven’t been here. Saturday a guy came over and bought more HO scale stuff. I’m selling my 1.1 Autocar next weekend getting it ready. My arthritis is so bad I can’t take care of it like I use to so I decided to sell it and let some one else enjoy it. 

Everyones projects are looking just families and a lot of work being done through a bunch of likes out there maybe things will slow down a little bit and I can get back to reality Model train life

Lee, do you have a Big Car?

Yes a 1976 Acar I’ve had it for 18yrs my dad and I restored it before he passed. He got to go to one Truck show with me before he passed that following winter. Here’s a pic of it I haven’t messed with it since 2012 I’ve never let it look like this that’s why I’m selling it I can’t give it the attention it needs do to my physical condition 

Lee, I sure feel for you. Time to pass it forward then. Find someone who will keep that piece of History alive. You have the memory of a project with your Dad and that is a big deal. Remember it like it was on this day:

          

Thanks Lew

I will always remember the fun we had restoring the old Acar I am blessed to have such a great Father. 

   I put up a new kitchen shelf for my bride.  She suggested I might want to work on my railroad next.  What a great woman.  I have been thinking about a high shelf for storing some rolling stock.   I rummaged a bit in the garage and found three long 1x8's.  Enough to do three walls of the train building.  Once they were cut to length, I considered how to attach them to the walls.  I managed to scrounge four mismatched brackets.  Not good enough.  A 2x4 offered it's service.  A little quality time with my compound miter saw resulted in thirteen matching brackets.  I like simple.  I got one board up before I gave out.  Tomorrow.......

This weekend, while watching our Canes beat down FSU, we added foam strips on the Woodland Scenics inclines...being that they don't make them wide enough for our MTH Realtrax this worked out pretty good.  My little man did a great job...lots more to do but progress being made.

Odenville Bill posted:

   I put up a new kitchen shelf for my bride.  She suggested I might want to work on my railroad next.  What a great woman.  I have been thinking about a high shelf for storing some rolling stock.   I rummaged a bit in the garage and found three long 1x8's.  Enough to do three walls of the train building.  Once they were cut to length, I considered how to attach them to the walls.  I managed to scrounge four mismatched brackets.  Not good enough.  A 2x4 offered it's service.  A little quality time with my compound miter saw resulted in thirteen matching brackets.  I like simple.  I got one board up before I gave out.  Tomorrow.......

 

Very nice bill can we have a close up of that caboose 

Glad to Lee.

mike g. posted:

 

B&O Fan, Great looking little diner! Love the delivery truck also! The building fecades look perfect!

Mitch, What happened? It was looking so promising!

Johan, Great before and after photo, it really shows your skills! You sure building an amazing RR Fleet!

Lee D, Sorry to hear your arthritis is getting so bad! I hope things get better with it! It sucks to see the Acar go, but you have some wonderful memories with your dad! My dad has been gone for 15 years now and I still have great memories!

Bill, oil is great for the engines, but not so much for the track! Its nice to see you have an easy and fun way to clean them!

Tom Tee, sure sounds like a lot of work! But can you do me a favor and post some pictures on how you are doing it?

Howard, Great job on the lights! It really brings the street and yard to life!

Brian, from the looks of it there is way to much worked planned! LOL Why not give one of those crews a break today ! Great Photo!

Well I didn't get much done yesterday, but did get a little work done. I am not sure if I like the vegetation that I have put in sofar, but that's easy enough to change. There will be no work on the layout for the next 2 days as I am here at the wonderful store! LOL Here are a couple photos!

I hope you all have a great day and please find time for your trains and layouts!

 

Mike, One trick with vegetation might be something similar to what I did.

Ollie wanted to just run trains... who am I to say no.

mike g. posted:

darlander posted:

mike g. posted

Well I didn't get much done yesterday, but did get a little work done. I am not sure if I like the vegetation that I have put in sofar, but that's easy enough to change. There will be no work on the layout for the next 2 days as I am here at the wonderful store! LOL Here are a couple photos!

Looking good mike.   What about a stone or rock embankment with some scrub vegetation?   It would blend more with the embankment (brown wall) you have on the left.   Just a thought!

Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave , after I quit last night I thought of the same thing! So when I get a chance I am going to put the same brick pattern along the bottom of the hill side. about the same height of the truck sitting there!

More food for thought Mike!  A great example of a vegetative embankment - Pictures are from Elliot Feinberg's (aka big_boy_4005) layout.

Cheers, Dave

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

As part of my ongoing recovery,  I'm slowly getting back to projects from before my cancer surgery in March.  

One of these was the Blue Beauty, which suffered a catastrophic failure at the Sugar Creek show the weekend before my operation.  It literally sizzled to a halt, and, opening it some seven months later, I can see why...

This, as they say, is an ex-motor!  It's deader than that famous Norwegian Blue parrot of Monty Python fame...

Anybody have a spare knocking about, perchance? 

Mitch

The field looks ok. You just need a replacement armature. Lionel part number is 2028-109. A Postwar or modern version will drop right in. 

Aldovar posted:

Ollie wanted to just run trains... who am I to say no.

 

That boy is going to turn out well.

Lou1985 posted:

The field looks ok. You just need a replacement armature. Lionel part number is 2028-109. A Postwar or modern version will drop right in. 

Tried that, and the field started smoking.  The whole thing needs replacing;  I have a temporary motor installed from another loco, but will need a permanent replacement at some point.  

Mitch

Odenville Bill posted:

Glad to Lee.

 

Thanks Bill 

l like it. Did you use a Lionel? 

Lee,

The caboose started out as a Lionel 6059.  I bought it, with a broken coupler, for $1.00 at a yard sale.  I used it as a test subject to learn customizing techniques.  I bought a group of five broken, early post war cabooses that provided a smoke stack, ladder, roller pickup, light socket, tool boxes, and window insert.  The amber color in the windows is from a cut up plastic medicine bottle.  I found three forgotten cans of green spray paint hiding in my garage.  My daughter in law had starting to make decals with a "cricket" about that time.  It all just seemed to come together.  Now it is my favorite car.

Made some pretty good progress on the lift gate in the past 2 days...  It's late, I'll be more chatty tomorrow.  Sorry for the mess in the photos....  Just one of those non-stop construction days with stuff building up everywhere....   This is the last wide radius curve with the lift gate and the main line will be continuous, connecting the upper level and lower level into one long single track main line.   Pretty motivated to get trains running non-stop by the end of this weekend. 

Odenville Bill posted "My daughter in law had starting to make decals with a "cricket" about that time.  It all just seemed to come together.  Now it is my favorite car".

So this cricket can make decals? Is this the machine they sell at Joann Fabrics? It's a "multi cutter"  for crafting.

Steve

Hi Steve,

I saw one for sale at Hobby Lobby.  Multi cutter is an accurate description.  The substance comes in colors and has adhesive on one side.  I send her a .jpg and maximum dimensions and I get decals with excellent detail.  Here are a couple more examples.

Bill

Thank you Steve and Bill!  Looks great Bill!!

Odenville Bill posted:

Lee,

The caboose started out as a Lionel 6059.  I bought it, with a broken coupler, for $1.00 at a yard sale.  I used it as a test subject to learn customizing techniques.  I bought a group of five broken, early post war cabooses that provided a smoke stack, ladder, roller pickup, light socket, tool boxes, and window insert.  The amber color in the windows is from a cut up plastic medicine bottle.  I found three forgotten cans of green spray paint hiding in my garage.  My daughter in law had starting to make decals with a "cricket" about that time.  It all just seemed to come together.  Now it is my favorite car.

 

Bill

you did a great job on it and i also like the way it was before. Thanks for posting those pics for me 

Paul 2, Thank you! The cars are looking good, I am glad you were able to get the office fixed! I hope you had fun at the train group meeting!

Vincent, Thank you! The truck is a Menards truck!

Bill, nice display shelf! I agree with Lee nice looking caboose!

CANES RR, Looks like a nice track plan, also looks like you have some great helpers!

Modeltrainspart, I really like the look, but I am building on a low budget soe I am working with what I have on hand right now!

ALDOVER, You are right, You cant say no to train time! LOL

Dave, I would love to do it like Elliot's, but 2 things are holding me back. 1. I don't have those skills yet and 2. I don't have the funds right now so as I told Modetrains I am working with what I have on hand!

Chris a. The lift gate sure looks good! That sure is some thick plywood. What mess? I don't see any mess! LOL

Well no train work for me again today. I hope everyone has a great day and finds time for there layout and trains!

                 " Well no train work for me again today.

          I hope everyone has a great day and finds time for there layout and trains!"

                           have a great day Mike !!

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

                 " Well no train work for me again today.

          I hope everyone has a great day and finds time for there layout and trains!"

 

       

                           have a great day Mike !!

 

WOW, That looks great Brian!

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

                 " Well no train work for me again today.

          I hope everyone has a great day and finds time for there layout and trains!"

 

       

                           have a great day Mike !!

 

Brian, It's gotta be work just thinking of how many trains you have LOL.  And this scene came out really nice  thanks for the step by step photos.

          thanks Mike !

mike g. posted:

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

                 " Well no train work for me again today.

          I hope everyone has a great day and finds time for there layout and trains!"

 

       

                           have a great day Mike !!

 

WOW, That looks great Brian!

Trust Brian on this, Mike!

sniff   They're gone! Gone! After four days of delays I finally got my entire lay-out disassembled and properly stored.  sniff   My biggest delay was having a container properly packed, and then finding a piece in another box and having to do it over. I was also surprised at how much extra room I had when I packed everything properly.

But  sniff  they're gone. The Archie Harrison Super-computer, the Bruce Wayne Super-Hero Vacation Resort, and Circuit City  sniff Gone!

But today I'll start assembling my Disney Christmas Lay-out and then I'll feel better.

mike g. posted:

briansilvermustang posted:

 

 

                 " Well no train work for me again today.

          I hope everyone has a great day and finds time for there layout and trains!"

 

       

                           have a great day Mike !!

 

WOW, That looks great Brian!

Now you know how to finish off that corner Mike. Brian makes it look easy doesn't he?

A few quick updates on our layout:

Had some extra styrofoam laying around and wanted to add a bit more dimension to the layout, so I built a hill for the houses on the West side of the street - it's subtle but helps add some depth to the layout and "hides" the back straight a bit more giving more an illusion of distance. We also painted the inside of the white house with some black acrylic paint to reduce light bleeding through the walls:

I picked up a Woodland Scenics cabin from Legacy Station for the base of the cliff. For whatever reason, this model doesn't come with a conversion board for AC power, so unless you modify it, you have to use WS's lighting system with the wallwart. I opted to replace the factory installed LED with my own set using two warm white LEDs wired in series, a 1N4002 diode, and a 470ohm resistor (using 14VAC for accessor power):

And lastly, we picked up the new MTH operating water tower complete with sound - it's a hoot!

Now that the hill is painted and complete, we're going to start laying down ground cover and ballast!

Just finished adding some Christmas trees to the Palms to Pines tunnel structure. It's about 80 degrees outside, beautiful day!

John

In a definite sign of the apocalypse Paul 2 and I are teaming up and joined our new local Lionel module group the MOD SQUAD.  Paul and I will be sharing one of the modules and now must come up with our theme and get approval from the group.  Stay tuned for updates as Paul does most of the work since he is retired.  I will call him daily during lunch to make sure he isn't slacking and getting OUR module down.  

I'm sure Paul will chime in shortly. 

I’m looking forward to seeing your’s and Paul’s module, Bryan!