Unboxed my first MTH engine, the RailKing Imperial UP4141, as well as got my DCS TIU out and started installation on the layout. I will be adding DCS in addition to the current TMCC. Also picked up the UP RailKing baggage car that carried the casket on the funeral train (not pictured).
Just about layout ready. Restoration and assembly nearly complete. A prewar Lionel No. 297W Pennsy Torpedo set, circa 1936...
gandydancer1950 posted:Just about layout ready. Restoration and assembly nearly complete. A prewar Lionel No. 297W Pennsy Torpedo set, circa 1936...
Amazing... at 80+ years, it looks beautiful and runs smoothly and quietly. Great job 
The torpedo looks great, Howard.
Brewcrew, the 4141 looks great! Congratulations
Tonight, I decalled my new Bachmann On30 trench 2-6-2T locomotive as a WW2 era stateside engine. This was a long process, one character at a time! Here is is with my Bachmann 50 tonner, also Army marked.
I hit the areas of the decals with some dullcote, let that dry, then test ran it. I then programmed it on my DCC, with the new Road number. Next, comes weathering.
So, why that locomotive number? 5069 fits into the series for these engines as they came from Baldwin.
50 as I turned that age last month, 69 for the year I was born, 1969.
Seemed right as this was a birthday present to myself...
Sometime in the next day or two, I'm going to create a correct number plate with the right Road number, and add that to the smokebox. Then, I'll add some real call to the tender deck, and onto the footplate where it would have been in real life, after the weathering is done.
new train year, just ahead...
Lee, the decal work looks great on that nice engine!
Brian, Did Izzy get a boxcar for Christmas? 
Over the holidays I completed the last part of my industry sidings area and had some fun modifying the Herman's Sauerkraut building with a new sign and re-lamped. All set to go with a fresh load of Old Bay. Working on finishing the raised city area next.
Have a Great New Year's!
Scott
Apples55 posted:gandydancer1950 posted:Just about layout ready. Restoration and assembly nearly complete. A prewar Lionel No. 297W Pennsy Torpedo set, circa 1936...
Amazing... at 80+ years, it looks beautiful and runs smoothly and quietly. Great job
That looks great Howard. If you didn't say it was an original I'd think it was a modern repro set. Where did you find it? And I thought my UP Streamliner was in good shape. 
Bob
Howard and Bob, you both have done great with those classics
Scott, excellent scene!
gandydancer1950 posted:
Thanks for the memories boost. I grew up with a similar set. Pictured below is my brother - Christmas 1939. Thank goodness he treated it kindly thru the years as this was taken 13 months before I was born. Unfortunately, I sold it when I was in high school. Dumb move on my part!!!
Cheers and Happy New Years to all!
Dave
B&O Fan posted:Over the holidays I completed the last part of my industry sidings area and had some fun modifying the Herman's Sauerkraut building with a new sign and re-lamped. All set to go with a fresh load of Old Bay. Working on finishing the raised city area next.
Have a Great New Year's!
Scott
Need more pics of this layout, lol! Looks like it's something special.
Dave
chris a posted:
Dave, the modified pilot looks really good, nice work. Can't say I have ever seen a pilot design like that very unique. Glad I am not a cow.
The consolidation is back on the track sporting the new pilot. It's no longer a NYC machine but not yet lettered to the DM&IRR. That's my first project in the new year!
Chris, Yes it is a unique pilot but not to the DM&IRR. Knowing that, I had to make the change!
There are many other modification I could make but this project will satisfy me for awhile!
Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy New Years!
Cheers, Dave
Dave / Mark,
Thanks for the comments, it's still a work in progress. I'm a year into the build as of next month and I'm not half way yet for my planned layout. The city has taken up a huge amount of time due to the structures as I didn't have many to start with and I'm using mostly kits. I've started the final section of the city and it looks like I'll have to build about 5 buildings for it. I'll post more as I move along. After this portion it's on to the railyard, and I already have a pile of kits for that. I should invest in some adhesive companies the way it's going.
Happy New Year!
Scott
A more BAR stuff.
I gritted my teeth, swallowed my pride such as it is when it comes to model train customization, grabbed my tube of Tamiya Putty and 3M Wet/Dry sandpaper, and continued to work on creating smooth-sided passenger cars for a Great Northern Empire Builder train set using LIONEL 15" TCA aluminum passenger cars as donors.
Most recently, this morning I sanded (again, after an yet another application of the putty yesterday) the five cars remaining and am screwing up the determination to return to this dreaded process.
Photos will follow once the cars are ready for paint. In the meantime, Happy New Year to all.
Getting ready to head out to a neighborhood party. The Party Train to Boston & NYC had a small glitch today as a coupler let go near Exeter NH today. Quick maintenance with some bailing wire got it going and everyone will be partying in Boston tonight.
Happy New Year to all my OGR friends and God bless you all.
Spent a little time this afternoon troubleshooting a issue with my MTH LIRR RS-3. It kept stalling and shutting down on one particular switch on my main line. I took the shell off and checked all connections. Checked both power pickups to common and all is well with the engine.
So I turned to the trackage. The spot in question has a UCS adjacent to a 5122 switch. I checked the spacing of the UCS contact and the frog which are 7.5" apart, exactly the same as the space between the pick up rollers on the RS-3. 
So obviously the engine is shutting down because it thinks the power to the rails has been shut off. To prove my theory, I ran the loco though the spot at a higher speed and it slides through the area and keeps going. At slow scale speed it stops.
Work orders have been submitted to the MOW shop to re-locate the UCS contact a couple of scale feet to the south. 
Hoping everyone has a Happy New Year! 
Bob
A few weekends back I bought a 1/2 sheet of 1/2" plywood to create an equipment shelf for beneath the layout and cut it to size - 26 1/2 x 17. I made it large enough to hold a TIU, AIU, PowerHouse 180 brick and TMCC command base - with some room to spare.
On Sunday I got the shelf installed and yesterday I got the TIU, AIU and PowerHouse set up:
I was running with an MTH Z-1000 - the PowerHouse upgrade should provide a bit more power. I also moved all the track wiring to a proper star wiring configuration, got three power drops in for a previously unpowered siding and phased all the power sources.
I have a bit more to do around wiring management, but definitely made good progress on getting the power reworked and the TIU off of a box on the floor.
Matt, Nice run!! I'm glad quick maintenance got the train back on schedule!
Bob, I'm glad troubleshooting found the problem area. Will the maintenance crew work on double-time tomorrow or wait for straight time? Trains have to keep rolling!!
Luther, neat looking shelf installation!
Just "sweating the details" here in my engine service terminal.... Decided once the GGD Ogle coal tower was done that I'd alter the tracks beneath it, making the track under the tower the new "Arrival" track...
So today, I cut through the table top and fabricated a new ash pit for that track, as it seemed about as much work as trying to move the existing ash pit from the adjacent track... Put concrete sidewalk around this one, using cork roadbed.... Got it done and the major painting and weathering of all the concrete work is done, track is powered, and anchored and now goes all the way to the turntable... (it used to be coal and sand service spur)...
I have pretty well decided on rotating the ash pit conveyor 90 degrees and converting it to a "sand delivery conveyor"....
Also finished the 2nd BAR 40 foot boxcar and got them put back together after light fading and weathering.
Hope everyone here has a Safe, Happy & Healthy New Year !!!!
Chris, you were very busy today! The ash pit looks great, as do the BAR cars!
Mark, Thanks very much.... You're right, I was really busy. Like most jobs, I grossly underestimated how long it would take me to do this, but I am pleased with the result and glad I took about an hour searching Bing and Google images for ash pit photos. I would have never done the concrete sidewalk pad around the perimeter until I started seeing both models and real pits with concrete pads... makes total sense once you see the prototypes. Now I am really close to having a green light to finishing the ground cover in the yard.
chris a posted:Mark, Thanks very much.... You're right, I was really busy. Like most jobs, I grossly underestimated how long it would take me to do this, but I am pleased with the result and glad I took about an hour searching Bing and Google images for ash pit photos. I would have never done the concrete sidewalk pad around the perimeter until I started seeing both models and real pits with concrete pads... makes total sense once you see the prototypes. Now I am really close to having a green light to finishing the ground cover in the yard.
Nice job!! Following!!
Chris, it is amazing the things you don’t notice until you really look into it! All jobs I do take longer than I would think. I’ll be glad to see the new progress
Mark Boyce posted:Bob, I'm glad troubleshooting found the problem area. Will the maintenance crew work on double-time tomorrow or wait for straight time? Trains have to keep rolling!!
We will see how it goes Mark. The crew is always willing to work. Depends on weather the CEO will allow it 
Chris- great job on the ash pit and detailing. The engine yard is going to look great. I like the weathering on the SOM cars too. Gotta give it a try one day.
Bob
Chris, every time I view your posts, I get a severe case of layout envy! I greatly admire your work and your attention to detail. Your layout is truly inspirational. Thanks for sharing!!!
Cheers, Dave
mike g. posted:geysergazer posted:mike g. posted:Johan, wonderful scene! Are those kit buildings in the background or is it just a backdrop? Either way it so real looking!
Mitch very cool with the tiplate!
Brian, very cool pictures for a Monday morning!
I plan on going out to clean more track today and maybe build that track cleaning car that I have been putting off! If I get it built I will share some photos!
Lew, Just wondering how you hide the control cable that goes to your crane?
Mike, I just drilled a big old hole in the deck and fed the flat cable through it and under the benchwork. Easy to do because there was no controller with this crane when I bought it so I just use toggle switches.
Lew, you wouldn't happen to have any close ups of the toggle switches you used would you! also how it come up from under the table?
Mike, here are a couple pics. This works with the Post War 282 but the setup would be different for the modern re-issue (because it uses two DC motors, one for lift and one for swing instead of one motor with a clutch).
A simple hole through the deck sized for a bit of a squeeze-fit for the flat ribbon cable:
The OEM Lionel ribbon-cable is so flexible no strain-relief is needed. The extra wire is power for the lights I added. Ground for the lights is taken from the OEM ground wire.
I used what I had on hand for control switches. The important thing is that a MOMENTARY SPDT center-off toggle switch is needed to run the motor in forward and reverse. I used a DPDT version just leaving one side unused. Two SPST toggle switches are also needed to activate the electromagnet and to operate the clutch (the clutch shifting between hoist and swing):
I have since acquired some nice SPST toggle switches and one of these days I'll replace those Lionel slide switches.
From the backside:
One side unused. The center post goes to ground and the outside posts connect to the motor field winding wires. The PW282 uses a double field winding with two ends in common then in series with the armature and the other ends going to the control box. For a PW Gantry Crane that does it.
Happy New Year Everyone, we ran trains yesterday and rearranged the visiting area for watching the new Videos by OGR, and other companies. It appears that everyone had a nice Christmas and 2020 should be our best year yet. 
Bob, Dave and all those who hit the "like button"... thanks. Dave, the DM&IRR pilot came out really great, you totally captured the proportion of the prototype...
I really share the photos and "how I did it" details here with the hope that it helps fellow members find some new ideas and ways of doing things. For well over a decade I have been reading OGR threads/posts and studying photos and coming to the conclusion that if "they could do it, then I could probably do it also" if I keep an open mind, keep trying new techniques, and keep persevering. Besides the 1121 in the photo above Dave, the track/ballast weathering and vegetation work in that scene is excellent.... Thanks for the very kind words.
Along those lines: I weathered a bunch of wheel trucks and other rusty parts lately, and didn't want them to all look exactly like the last batch of 20... so I ended up mixing my previous "go to" base coat color which is Krylon Cover MAXX - RED/OXIDE Primer with Rustoleum Camouflage Dark Brown (which the spray paint I always have on hand to weather Ross/Gargraves track.....
I ended up spraying about equal parts of each into an empty tuna fish can and brush painting about 16 - 4 wheel trucks and wheel sets. It is a really good likeness to rusty weathered cast iron. What is also cool is since it's oil base flat, and really "thin" paint coming out of the spray can it flows well, dries fast and is chalky flat....... I just spray it into the small can out in the garage then bring it inside to do the brush work.
LEAPINLARRY: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AS WELL! Outstanding photos, I need to start planning for "train watching recliner" in my layout room....
Guys: Thanks for the pictures, I am currently involved in our "east coast" family holiday trip so I am 1,155 miles from my layout, but I will get back to work next week. Chris, the coal tower and ash pit are just super, what real skills you have and it truly shows. Scott...having lived south of Baltimore in St. Mary's County, it appreciated the "Old Bay" boxcar and your work on the sauerkraut factory. However I was also intrigued by the PCC car on the elevated loop in the background and the elevated passenger platform. I remember the PCC cars that were still running on the "T" in Boston when we lived there in the early 80's. Did you build the elevated line and station or did you find a source that made them? gandydancer1950 thanks for identification of the 1936 set 297W, I also have a 238E and the freight cars but had no data on information as to what might have gone in an "outfit" as Lionel called them. Dave sent the catalog pictures and I can now see the full picture, thank you.
Well thanks everyone for their pictures, I try and stay connected through the site even when I am "remote"
Happy New Year
Don
Scott, nice looking urban scene.
Chris a, great work done on the coaling and sanding area. I like the idea with the lofting elevator for the sand.
Johan, you always post such great pics. You definately have a good eye for staging the pics.
Well I guess I have sluffed off through the holidays and time to get busy again. The project ahead of me is clening off the table so I can work on the area. Took pics of what I have to clean up. The biggest problem is figuring out where I can put ll the stuff. .....................Paul 2
Some may recall the back story, I wasn’t able to setup my regular Christmas layout because of recovering from knee replacement surgery. Instead, I made this little diorama on my new layout that I started earlier this year. I only got the last item on it Christmas Eve. I haven’t had time to dig out the Polar Express, so this Western Maryland equipment is standing in.
And yes, I am going to PT as directed and am doing some exercises as I type on the phone. :-)
Don,
The trestle system and elevated station are from Jim Robinson, aka Bridge Boss. Slight mods to make it all work and fit in. Baltimore actually did have an elevated trolley track right down Guilford Ave. to get over the Northern Central tracks on the street.
Thanks, Scott
Applied another primer coat to the five soon-to-be GN Empire Builder streamline cars and will examine them to determine where each requires more bodywork and undertake that this evening.
I have completed (ready for paint) two offset vista dome cars in addition to the continuing struggle to finish the current five cars' bodywork.
The fact is I am awful at bodywork as attested to by the inordinate amount of putty, sandpaper, and primer paint I've used thus far. When they are all ready for paint, I will post the total for each (as well as photos) used--it is a stunning quantity of each for such a modest project.
Happy New Year once again!
Larry- One of the best train/ man caves on the forum.
Paul- looks like the days of moving the pile from table to table are over.
Mark- We will forgive the lack of a Polar Express Berk due to your physical condition this year. However, you do have excellent taste in alternate power.
Dave- I hadn't commented before but the pilot turned out great. Looks like a factory original.
Johan- Agreed, your subject matter is always spot on.
As for me- the MOW crew was cleared to work on the Holiday so the track work on the main line was completed. The UCS track was reversed to create more live rail between it and the switch. Testing with the suspect engine was successful and the RS-3 runs through the area without shutting down.
Bob
Thank you Bob!! Here are some additional photographs
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