What did you do on your layout today?

Took it down. Final step today after two weeks of disassembly. Framework removal. 

Gandy

Cleared all the excess stuff out of the layout room tonight. We were putting hardwood floors in the living and dining rooms and all that had to go somewhere. Every room in the house was stuffed and even the layout room (a place normally has a 'nothing else comes here' caveat as I refuse to allow my wife to start a precedent), so I couldn't do anything for the last few days. I have templates cut for plywood risers to raise the level of the turntable pits to match the rail height. Once those are cut and put in, I can re-install the pits, alligne the approach tracks and finally get trains running to the tables to spin the locomotives around.

These flooring geniuses took all the doors off the back rooms before they cut the tile out of the kitchen so now I have a very thin layer of fine dust in the room. not happy with that at all.

Still no clue how I'm gonna wire them, though, for DCC. So they'll have to be pushed onto and off of for now or maybe I'll use feeder wires and clips temporarily.

But once the track is totally ready to go, I can finally start scenery. I have a flurry of activity in August and September getting the benchwork, track and wiring good to go, so now I need to get this thing finally running.

All my rolling stock is in boxes, in two lagre tupperware comtainers. All that needs to come out so I can start actually operating trains.

It won't keep its 'Plywood Central' look for long, though, once the track and tables are ready to go.

Carving stones in foam for my bridge and painting foam that has already been carved.  Got the 6 under arches all carved now and the base coat of paint on the last two.

Art

Art, should I come over next week?

BTW, the video is in the mail.

I started cleaning some used Tortoises that I picked up on the bay. I would have finished the job, but the power went out. Everything's back to normal now. Let's see if I can get those done tonight. 

Patrick had car troubles today, so I'm on my own until next week. I already know that the weekend is shot. Could be a slow month. 

Elliot - Thanks for taking, posting, and sending me a copy of the video.  I should have tried talking you into installing some Tortoises while you were here. 

I'm taking a break from carving stones in foam for the second strip on the back inside.  My hand gets sore after awhile and I have to take a break.  My wife thinks that break would be a good time for me to bring in the patio furniture.  You have to be careful about making public announcements about taking a break. 

Art

I dusted off a "59 Cadillac, '59 Olds, '56 Dodge, and removed 3 dead ladybugs.

Just a few things replaced a few buildings, Repaired/Modified/Built a few kits, Experimented with my cell phone camera, and made changes to the wood base in preparation to put the tree up at the end of the month.

Below photos done with cell phone.

 Kits, All Nation, Athearn, Intermountain, and Atlas Rocco.  Main thing reattached frames, Most cars trucks were replaced with Ahearn 2R trucks with high rail wheel sets. On one Intermountain car that was RTR I replaced the wheels with 2R wheel sets from the 70s Atlas/Rocco ( No derailments in reverse on Fast track turn outs) One car that arrived today(not pictured) replaced broken truck and running the 2R wheel sets that came with it. No derailments in reverse. The Atlas/Rocco(Plastic) and the metal Wheel sets have bigger flanges than the other 2R wheel sets. Not much but enough that they navigate the frogs on the fast track turn outs 060 and 072.

Hey Art, Elliot doesn't install the Tortoises, I do

Matt - It certainly looks like you have had a lot of practice lately.  Come on down for a visit.

Art

I declared the second saloon kit of these three similar old kits done.  I had been done

about a week, except for old beer signs that I needed to find on the net and print.  I

have found them, but have not printed them.  But I began the third kit.  These are very similar wide false fronts with little depth.  The first was single story, the second

is the largest, with a second story and wider than the other two, so I made the second

story a hotel.  The third has a second story, also, that I may make into a bordello, with

an added outside stair to the back.  Even so, these buildings are so similar, they will have to go in different towns even with different painting and trimming.  The first two took standard Tichy/Grandt Line windows (instead of the stick built wood ones provided in the kit), The last has odd size windows for which I have no plastic windows of the right size, but I may enlarge the opening, and I will, as on the first two, add in a

Grandt Line back door.  I found the original price on this last kit....even with a zip code in the maker's address (meaning it was not that old), it was just $7.75.

  Why different towns ?. Most construction would be similar in a towns business district. Even if its an older area that has houses of ill repute.

Cold day outside good for layout work. Last night put plaster on the bare plywood. This morning I took earth color and colored it. I decided to take a chance and recolor some of the old scenery. I was able to lighten up the darker color I had there and made it so it blends better with the new scenery I have put in. After a break for lunch I'll finish painting the bottom table. I used black and it has changed the look of the bottom layout. It stands out great now.........................Paul

Painting and prepping some AmeriTown building flats for the background.

I will have to show the similarity when I get pictures up after the last buiding is finished.  The kit maker used the same horizontal scribed wood, the same buiilding

ends, same roofs, one longer, and same back walls, one longer.  I did get sheets of

"metal" defunct Colorado beer brand signs, at least eight of them, although there are

more, printed,  so I will add more to these buildings.  Shoulda done this for earlier saloon models, instead of just printing enough for those. Having spent a lot of time in

ghost towns such as Bannack, Garnet, etc., including recently, I haven't seen a lot of similarity in the architecture, for those that lasted beyond the tent and log cabin stage.

(to see that in print, check out the recent series in Narrow Gauge and Short Line

Gazette on the buildings in the surviving California ghost town, Bodie)

The really big news on my layout was the arrival today of a Weaver Baldwin 2-8-0,

UNLETTERED, so it doesn't have to be painted over, and can go into service with

my custom decals, UNLESS I think it looks close to one of the Great Western's

Consolidations, with some modification, and should get those changes and decals.

NOW I am glad I spent nothing at York.

I worked on a removable tunnel.  The base is made out of foam panels and it is covered with plaster cloth.  This is just the start.

Suzukovich,

I like your Christmas layout, and the photos with the cell phone camera came out well.  The snow is very convincing.

JMiller310,

The foam tunnel is turning out very well.  I like the braces along the way that match the ends.

Spent 45 minutes drying track parts because AC fluid leaked out and splashed on them.

Accepted two boxes from my postlady that contained the Gargraves sectional track I purchased from two forum members for an under the Christmas tree display.

And so it begins.

Carl

I never would have guessed the snow was bathroom mats.  Very good.

Art, I'd love to come visit. Maybe during a wheaton weekend this winter

Force ventilate!(pump/pump from low, its heavier than air) You can literally drown in AC gas! Clean everything well, it contains oils and other things that may still be working towards damaging your train things. And cover things well so your HVAC guy can work easy! (a torch needed at spot is likely, molten drips can happen)

i haven't chimed in on this topic for a very long time, but I do have a  rather major project that I've been working on that has my whole layout out of service for the time being.

On my layout, my "downtown" area consists of a main street with perhaps 20 buildings spread along one side of the street.   The street is about 16 ft long and runs from the "Union Station" on the left all the way to a basement wall on which is placed a mirror to double the effective appearance of the downtown street.  The other side of the street has a concrete retaining wall that overlooks the passenger loading platforms for my "Union Station".  The unseen purpose of this row of commercial buildings is to hide a track which runs behind the buildings, each of which has been cut away in back to clear trains passing on this track.   In fact, the entire street, plus the next town over, also hide about 50 ft of main line track with a passing siding.

I recently bought one of Ameritown's six story hotel buildings to replace a crummy little two story, old K-Line building and I have completed the building as the "Hotel Notel" adding lights, an interior on the 1st floor plus other details.  But when I went to install the building, I got "inspired" to upgrade the whole downtown street.  I always intended to install streetlights on this street and have bought up about ten sets of K-Line double lights for the job.  I also have purchased a number of Miller Engineering lighted "neon" signs for some of the buildings.  Also want to upgrade some of the other buildings that are on the street to have them make a better impression.  Finally, I've always wanted a streetcar track in that street but never got around to installing it properly.

So, my minor building installation job has mushroomed into a complete remake or upgrade of my downtown street.  It's coming along, very slowly, but I hope to have it all done and in place in time for our relatives Christmas visits.  Big job, but certainly something that needed to be done.

Paul Fischer

Building a BTS MD cabin that is very challenging, but worth it. The details are superb and I want to add some lights before closing it up. I'm thinking LED lights, but not sure how to do it. Been reading up on LEDs on this forum. Want to keep it simple since I'm not savvy with a solder gun.

The how to question may be worthy of its own thread with such nicely built buildings.

Have you checked structures section? LED basics? Enamel coated motor winding wire works great for hiding. Individual, numerous, more easily hidden or prototypically wired, "bulbs" can be used without bulky wire insulation cluttering interiors. Clear, red, and green are common colors to keep stuff organized. Hot glue/caulk in place.

  I think Gun Runner John and/or Hennings Trains has a new LED kits out, maybe one could be used, or modified, for simplifying this project too. Worth checking out!

Thank you. I have been researching LEDs, and it's very easy to analyze to the point of becoming paralyzed. 

Yep, lots of data you'll never use is there too. For under $20 you should be able to build about 3 "fixed"or"track" fed LED supplies. Find a circuit and try it once. Touch one to a battery, you will feel better & can move forward from there.(better have two ready in case you mess up). Remember, its cheap parts vs experience. Eventually you win.  

Dollar stores often have small key chains, small holiday light sets, toys, etc., that you can tear apart for cheap experimenting. Those and a bridge rectifier/diodes, resistors, and a few different transistor sized voltage regulators is still less than $20  

Very little accomplished yesterday.....just added the beer signs to both of the finished saloons in this series, and mulled over kitbashing the third one.  Like the first two it

will get back doors.  Studied the oddball window size problem again, with no conclusion (these kits just provided strip wood to frame the windows...time consuming and care

demanding, so....Grandt Line or Tichy)  and decided to make the rooms upstairs accessible by an outside staircase.  This one, unlike #2,  does not have a railed balcony or door out to it over the porch, so may add that.  #2 with balcony, trim, modifications, and signs looks good, better than I hoped.  Guess you can trim up a box.

I've been working on a new layout for a few months now. Track was down in August, but I still had a dead spot on a section of track. I finally resolved that yesterday by replacing two sections of track. Next up: Scenery and signaling.

Yesterday I began the third saloon, (thought up a name, "Shaft House Saloon", and decided I'd add a rudimentary mine hoist to the roof)  (maybe it needs a working

whistle to call the miners in at shift change).  Serious work on it was the

enlarging of two of the windows for Tichy/Grandt Line windows in the front panel, and the addition of upper floor windows across the back.  Side entrance and outside stairs will be next addition.  Tested the paint color to see how it worked: barn red.  Since all three of these kit side walls are the same depth, I should enlarge the side walls and the roof of this one, to make this one different, certainly before I cut that side door!  Then that leads to a possible leanto or wing, which equal a still larger space eating footprint! (thinking out loud)

I was ready to rip out my S gauge Gargraves loop of track but decided to try to fix it first, which I did. Glad of that plus I worked on my biggest AF engine, a 4-8-4 Northern and got it running pretty good. These 60+ year old AF engines can be finicky and cranky but when they run, they go nice. The Northern is a bit too big for my layout's curves whih doesn't help. Like the 6 drivered engines the best.

Put up shelving!

And its still not enough storage space!

I also test fit a new flat car load acquired from a forum member. 

I love when the weather is lousy outside. It makes for a good layout day. I finally got all of the bottom level frame work painted black. Then it was on to repainting the old scenery to lighten it up and sort of blend in with the new scenery. Broke for lunch and during lunch Mr. Brown dropped off the rest of my wire. After ordering the wire for the switches as I was painting the base of the control panel I decided to order color coded wire for the power leads to all four mainlines to replace the wire I have there now. I had solid wire but it is hard to work with so 14 gauge stranded will go in. Got a train meeting tonight so done for the day................Paul

I was able to finish building and placing Korber's Radio Tower. Only difference is that I got greedy and decided to add two more section to give it that WOW factor. After all it is supposed to be a tall antenna. Just got a few touchups and add the lettering.

Enjoy. 

Finally got back (absent since August) up to the train room today.  Put down a couple of sections of track to complete my outer loop and ran my PW UP 2033 AA units pulling a consist of passenger cars.  Sure felt good to get back to what I really enjoy!!!  Now need to check further into GRJ's new product to eliminate the flicker in these passenger cars and coaches.  

Now all you need is a base jumper figure, on the ground. Looking up with a wind meter in one hand, chute in the other. I really missed seeing the "red stars" in the dark night near were I stayed with 911 blackouts.

With no Bulb halo, I thought the pink on the garage door rails was paint overspray for a second! 

Having moved my WWII monument to a safer corner where it won't keep getting knocked over, I added a flower bed from Scenic Express.

Not on the layout yet today, that comes after lunch.  

I finally threw out this monster old cathode-ray-tube TV-in-a-box that sat in the cornerof my workbench.  I have three square feet of "new bench space now, and it permited me to install these new shelves you see, - badly needed, and a nice 19" flat screen TV as shown.  I even put a little box on the wall above the TV to hold the remote, so there is some chance I will be able to find it.