What did you do on your layout today?

Hey guys. Well nothing with the trains but this Christmas things are going to be different. I put up the Christmas tree last night. This after noon I ran to Walmart picked up 2 strings of lights for the outside. And I also took some photos of the trains sitting along the tracks. I still need to decorate the tree that will happen to night or tomorrow. Then I will set something up under the tree. And I put up Lights oh the house,  So Merry Christmas Everyone.

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I'm not sure what he's thinking either. 

This is the single most popular topic on the forum, HANDS DOWN. It has more views and more member likes than any other. It is totally democratic, and not about any one person's layout. People come here to share their progress and ideas. My guess is that even people without layouts like to follow this for inspiration and tips.

This topic is nearly 2 years old, and I hope it goes on forever. The only reason it might go away would be if it became technically unwieldy, in which case it should be locked and restarted. But, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

End what ?  Is there a reason anybody should be concerned?

Doug 

The only directional piece of my layout bench work deck  I cut upside down. Cant flip it since the homasote is attached to it already

better luck next weekend

Took a saber saw to one edge of the plywood that sticks out beyond the 1X4 and would make laying fascia almost impossible. Another section was too close to tracks for that to work, so a new wood saw blade for my dremel made easy work of it.

I also found a crazy good deal online for another sound-equipped ten-wheeler in On30 (only 121 bucks including postage), now I have ET&WNC # 14 on the way. That engine was gone from the RR by the timeframe I model, having been bought by the Army for the White Pass & Yukon, but I decided to do an alternate reality where it never left. I'm keeping it in green and gold as it was never painted back to black in ET&WNC service, but I was be weathering the heck of it as her gold lettering was almost worn off by mid 1942.

Not a bad to way to spend my 45th birthday...

Spent the last three days rewiring and adding lights to the layout. Nice thing about these lights (12) I will be able to connect them to the transformer once the tree comes down. replaced a section of track and weathered with snow.

Happy Birthday p51. What's "the main train" you run to celebrate with today?

I didn't run my On30 layout on my birthday (which was yesterday), but I did do some minor chores on it.

Hi Lee and Happy Birthday.

Great to see someone modeling the ET&WNC Ry. When we moved to Banner Elk in 1985 I started collecting the ET&WNC [and Southern] in large scale, planning to build an Garden layout. After a couple of trials at building on trestle bents and concrete roadbed between the boulders, I realized the terrain I had was too rough and the weather too hostile at 3,500' and switched to "O"[inside].

I also collected a lot of East Tennessee and Western N.C. history and "Tweetsie" prints by artists Ted Laws and Don Iverson. The stuff is headed for the Linville Depot in Newland, now a Museum. The Linville Depot had been used as living quarters but was finally moved from Linville to Newland and restored.

In 2008 I dismantled my Banner Elk 14x32, 5 track shelf layout as health issues forced a move to Greensboro. I used to shop for electricals and lumber at a building supply in your town of Elizabethon, Tennessee.  

Dewey,

It's amazing how many people know of the ET&WNC today when you consider how little coverage in the RR press it got when it was running.

My folks were born and raised in the Stoney creek area, just to the East of Elizabethton but moved away in the early 60s. All of our relatives lived in that area when I was growing up but most of them have passed away other than some cousins. I still have an uncle who lives right along the shore of the Watauga river there. We used to go up there at least once a year. I'm sure you looked at my site and saw the photos I have taken in the area. Sadly, I never got to live there and now live on the West Coast, but I always consider the Elizabethton area as a second home growing up.

I know all about the museum at Newland, I can't wait to get back there some year to finally get to see caboose 505. For the rest of you, this was the only hack the RR had after 1941. Most people thought it was scrapped when it apparently dropped off the face of the earth. Rumors abounded that 'someone' had saved it until someone confirmed it with photos that it was on someone's property. A family owned it, knew what it was, but kept the location Top Secret for decades. They recently donated it to the museum at Newland, NC to sit with the formr ET&WNC depot from Linville:

got some street lights moved and hooked up. Finished attaching feeder lines to the tracks.Still need to figure out where the Christmas Tree lot will end up.Had trains running on all three mains until a pesky box couple would free the rest of the train (only when I wasn't watching it). Sure hope Santa brings me some more lights so I can get better pics taken.

Enjoyed some time running trains tonight.  It was very nice, I was joined by my wife, dog, and one cat.  All had a good time!  My wife got to see some of my recent scenery work and the trains seemed to run very well.  

Got my MTH Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny set from Nassau Hobbies today. Also, planted some trees and shrubs.

Wow, huge difference in grade there, almost looks like a trolley grade it's going up!

Spent some time refamiliarizing myself with Legacy now that the leap from 1.0 to 1.52 has been made.  The lousy picture is of my K-Line Torpedo which I thoroughly love in command control

Then worked some on the repaint of this Lionel switcher to Pennsy colors.  Added the real coal load plus an electro-coupler at the rear

thanks Dennis, nothing fancy, just painted plywood.

Nothing to fancy for me, I found some brick work hiding in my storage and laid it down to be a brick road and put a couple vehicles to go with.  My layout is very temporary as I move often so this works for now (can't wait to build a more permanent layout.

I've also been slowly adding TMCC upgrade to my Hogwarts.  Hopefully tonight the tender will be done and then I can move on to the wires in the engine and be up and running this weekend.  It is my first upgrade so I have been taking my time to really enjoy and try and do a quality install.  So far the run/program switch are in, an electrocoupler, and power to the board.  I also tested it in conventional and she moved (a good sign )

Test ran my new On30 ten-wheeler. That makes 4 on the layout, way more than I need.

As I stated in my intro thread, I am just starting over in 0 gauge. Today, rather yesterday, I purchased an MTH ES44AC DCS locomotive to begin the process of adding some power on the point locomotives.

My layout is floor mounted you see until my basement is redone in the future. Which gives me time to get things together. I really love this hobby and 0 gauge is perfect for me. A good solid fit.

I plan on doing a rail yard of some sort with allot of traffic.

Pete

nothing for the next seven, had to go back to the salt mines....

Used the Dremel to cut two previously shortened sections of Gargraves plastic tie 031 track to make-up a standard length piece to complete an around the tree loop--the shortening had been done before I purchased the track.  The two pieces I made, wonder of wonders, mated perfectly to match the stock 031 pieces.

Also, bought for the layout the Dept. 56 Lionel Store and Harley Davidson factory "Seasons Greetings" buildings.  Now I wait for their arrival. 

Lee,

Those are all really nice looking!!

Pete,

I may have mentioned I have been in the hobby 45 years, but just switched to O gauge about 3 years ago.  Due to space constraints, I have been doing something similar as you.  I am glad you have plans for when your basement is finished.  I am waiting for our last grown daughter to move out so I can take over a 12 x 12 room.  It will be enough space for me.

Thanks!

It looks so cool with a stable of different-numbered ET&WNC ten-wheelers on the layout right now. Not too many people can say they have more locomotives than the actual RR they model had. I just had to have a green-gold ET locomotive, even if it makes no sense for the timeframe of 1943. The RR had gotten rid of #14 a year before the time of the timeframe my layout depicts, having been sent by the government to the White Pass & Yukon along with # 10. But I badly wanted a green-gold locomotive with the special paint for the RR’s 50^th anniversary in the 30s. But that paint job vanished early in 1943 for basic black with gold trim. 10 and 14 soldiered through their first winter in Alaska with their green paint still intact, but with the original road name painted over on the tender and cab. They were both send down to the NP shops at South Tacoma (ironic, as I don't live all that far away from there) for a total rebuild and returned for a few months in WP&Y black. Photos taken as the engines arrived for the rebuild after the first winter in Alaska confirm they still carried ET green paint. After a substantial rebuild and return to Alaska, they were both damaged beyond repair in a roundhouse fire at Whitehorse on Christmas Day, 1943 and were each later scrapped at the NP yard in Auburn (again ironic as I've driven past that very spot countless times) in 1945, though the books all say it was in Seattle.

My 'alternate reality' premise for my layout is that the ET&WNC diverted 14 to Army use for the Stoney Creek branch (a line branch that never existed and is based on a short-lived logging RR into Elizabethton, TN, torn out by the early 30s) and 10 went ont o Alaska alone. I'm going to weather the heck out that pretty green paint job as the lettering looked awful by the time all the other engines were painted black.

Working on my new Hogwart's Express.  Doing some prototypical painting on the engine and tender (cars too soon) and putting in a Mini Cruise Commander for TMCC and Cruise Control.  I also NeoLube blackened the drivers since Lionel made them silver.  

The interior of the cab was painted flat black, along with the inside visible parts of the locomotive shell, lower steps, accent pieces, window interior seals, and the inside portions of the tender along with the rear steps and maker plate.  

Coming soon are the TMCC/Cruise module, LED headlight, and some carriage detailing.

I was building a display case for my locos(4'high X 27" wide for behind the entrance door. Also I am wiring up the layout,one item at a time using color coded dedicated runs to all accesories. I am using MTH track and Atlas control switches.

There is an historic house in the area that specializes in old clothing and teaches young ladies how to sew-with a treadle sewing machine  II Nice people- I donated a nice Lionel Scout train to go around a vintage Xmas tree they have.  I guess that qualifies as a layout.  Work on mine a little bit every day, just about.

Jon was over Wednesday, and we did more junk removal on the last aisle, which had served as a dumping ground for decades worth of accumulation.

Patrick was over Thursday, and it felt like old times. I feel some new motivation to work on the layout again.

We started by adding a single section of track, because it was still easy enough to reach.


We got the final pieces of backdrop on this section of the upper deck. Getting that curve wasn't easy.


On the lower deck we added 24' of fiberboard and the same amount of Masonite.


The upper deck will be the Ford plant and the lower deck will be the Hiawatha milling district... 


nearly 40' each.


Just another 16' and the fiberboard will be done.


I promised Patrick I would have everything cleaned up by next week. I've got some work to do.

Elliot; It's hard to find words that haven't been used to describe your layout. I just keep coming back to "AMAZING".

Thanks Spence. The next trick will be to make it all work.

I have way to much to do on my layout but can't stand a Christmas tree with no train.

So I slapped up a quick one with some old dept 56 gifts from the kids over the decades . And, Elvis instead of Polar Express this years change.

Now, all I need is a little Elvis Christmas music and a cold Coors light...Life is good.

You can see however my dog is not impressed.

Larry

Tree went up on the layout

Elliot - Great to see action on your layout again.  I haven't seen you post much since you were over.  Looks good.

Art

I haven't made a post on here in forever.  My layout is 100% gone now.  I hope to put together a simple Christmas layout in a post war style scenery.  I will use white felt or fleece for the "snow". O27 track, and my old Plasticville buildings.    

I also set up my childhood train around the tree yesterday.  Here is a shot of my 3 year old enjoying it!