What did you do on your layout today?

Morning everyone, I hope you all had a great Saturday!

Paul 2, Just wondering if you looked in the remote holder? LOL

Johan, once again wonderful scene!

Lee, outstanding work on the hoppers and thanks for the neat little video!

Mike H, The shelving looks good and it works! That's what matters!

Dave, thanks for the nice words. Photos of the outside route to fallow at the bottom of this post.

Mark, Looking good! Keep up the nice work but don't over do it! I am sure Lew will figure there is something under the paper, unless your good enough to make paper float in place! LOL

Gerhardt, Nice work on the bunkbed layout, its nice your getting your son into the hobby! Also great idea for the work bench!

Well guys I did get out to the train room yesterday and got a little done. First I installed another section of retaining wall below the upper level that will be going outside. Then I worked on adding more land for a small city scene. I have more buildings the land so it was needed. And last but not least I got my tunnel for going outside cut to length and painted. I took a couple of photos and some to so the route of the future outside track run. I hope you all enjoy!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and finds time to have fun with there trains and layouts!

Please be safe and stay healthy!

geysergazer posted:

mike g. posted:

Hi all,

Randy, the tunnel is the exit and entrance out to the wife's rock garden. I have been thinking of using MTH Scale Trax same that I have inside! But now you have me thinking it over again, but its going to be a bit before I head outside, I just wanted to get the track and tunnel put in so I can stop climbing on the layout so much!

 

Well I was able to work on my plexi glass tunnel for the back corner! It took awhile cause I didn't want to melt or break it, I know its long, but I still need to cut it down just a little bigger then the wall thickness. Here is what I ended up with so far!

Everyone have a great night and I will check in in the morning on all the great stuff your doing!

Mike, every Pike needs a tunnel through a wall:

        

In my case it provides storage for the Dinner Train.....behind Roomie's ironing table. 

Lew, that looks great! I love all your old photos you have on the wall also!

Looks good Mike. The outdoor track is going to require some serious trestle construction. Have you thought about how you are going to do it yet?

Here's a shot across the city and a detail pic of the rowhouse kit. Really enjoyed that one. Everyone have a relaxing Sunday.

Be Safe,

Scott

mike g. posted:

Mike,  Is the yellow building the "she shed" and if so, do you plan to shelf the track on the wall?   Also, is that your fence and if so, is it stable enough to shelf more track on the fence?   I assume that ground frost is not a problem in your area.   I also assume that this run will be level track at the same grade as your exit tunnel.    What a fun and interesting addition to your layout.   Will this be a summer project this year?   Sorry for all the questions, but inquiring minds need to know!

Thank goodness we all have our trains to help divert our attention away from the Covid-19.   

Stay safe & Cheers to all, Dave

B&O Fan :  I lived in southern MD for over 10 years with the Navy at Patuxent River NAS and I just wanted to compliment you on your modeling.  You have absolutely captured the look of Baltimore.  WOW what a great job!  One question, where did you get the figure of the lady scrubbing the stairs...something we saw all the time when we went to "The Big City" from down south.  Did you make it? 

Best Regards,

Don McErlean

B&O Fan posted:

Here's a shot across the city and a detail pic of the rowhouse kit. Really enjoyed that one. Everyone have a relaxing Sunday.

Be Safe,

Scott

OUTSTANDING modeling!!!! Again, you have captured downtown Baltimore, Maryland extremely well. Your building placement shows you have an artist's eye. Your backdrops are well composed and blended into  the 3-D portin of the scenery. Bravo on a great layout and thank you for sharing it.

Don McErlean posted:

B&O Fan :  I lived in southern MD for over 10 years with the Navy at Patuxent River NAS and I just wanted to compliment you on your modeling.  You have absolutely captured the look of Baltimore.  WOW what a great job!  One question, where did you get the figure of the lady scrubbing the stairs...something we saw all the time when we went to "The Big City" from down south.  Did you make it? 

Best Regards,

Don McErlean

Don, the lady scrubbing the stairs is included in the Bachmann O scale - Sidewalk People set: 33167.

Cheers, Dave

Mike, I have been doing pretty well not overdoing it with the layout and with home chores inside and out!  Since both of us had knees replaced last year, we can appreciate when each other needs a break;.  However, not too long a sitting break, or the knees really stiffen up.    Thank you for reminding me!!   So it looks like the extra space for buildings is two swing down sections for access!  Good idea!  The outside section of layout looks like a nice long run.  Yes, I am curious if you intend to support it with the building and fence or all posts.

This may seem like an inconsequential item but I've always wanted a better looking mailbox so tried 3D printing it.

The one on the left I bought but would not put that on my layout, so the one to the right was my first attempt. I think once smoothed and painted it would look alright on layout.

2 piece as printed 

mike g. posted:

 

Well guys I did get out to the train room yesterday and got a little done. First I installed another section of retaining wall below the upper level that will be going outside. Then I worked on adding more land for a small city scene. I have more buildings the land so it was needed. And last but not least I got my tunnel for going outside cut to length and painted. I took a couple of photos and some to so the route of the future outside track run. I hope you all enjoy!

 

Mike,

Great work. It's amazing the progress you've made in such a short time!

Sidehack : Great mailbox.  Remember that from 1945 until 4 July 1955 mailboxes were painted olive drab - left over Army paint from WWII.  On 4 July 1955 the Postmaster decreed that all mailboxes would be painted red,white, and blue as they remain today.  Great mailbox printing, these not inconsequential and are somewhat hard to find although I think Dinky make a cast one in olive drab, at least they did in HO as I have one.

Don McErlean

Darlander: Thanks for the source data on the lady scrubbing the stairs, one of those is going to come my way, just too realistic to pass up esp if you lived in the urban East.

Don McErlean

Don McErlean posted:

Darlander: Thanks for the source data on the lady scrubbing the stairs, one of those is going to come my way, just too realistic to pass up esp if you lived in the urban East.

Don McErlean

You're welcome!  She is also currently doing some cleaning on my layout!    

Cheers, Dave

Don McErlean posted:

Sidehack : Great mailbox.  Remember that from 1945 until 4 July 1955 mailboxes were painted olive drab - left over Army paint from WWII.  On 4 July 1955 the Postmaster decreed that all mailboxes would be painted red,white, and blue as they remain today.  Great mailbox printing, these not inconsequential and are somewhat hard to find although I think Dinky make a cast one in olive drab, at least they did in HO as I have one.

Don McErlean

yes, trying to get that military green shade

Sidehack, that mailbox looks GREAT!

As for my hoppers for the final details, I ground down some plastic molded Gondola loads, from Bachmann On30 gondolas. I'm really glad I kept those, because they're already moulded black, and in reasonable shapes. Once I ground them all down to fit each car, I coated them and white glue, and covered them with scale coal. As soon as they're dry, I can just drop them right in.
On the ends, they'll probably be slightly bowed, which won't look exactly perfect, but I'll be able to remove them much easier that way if needed.
The one car I decided to model empty, I dabbed some white glue at the bottom, where I thought loose Cole would still be after it was last dumped. Then, I sprinkled a bunch of scale coal over top of that, let it sit for a little bit, then upended the car to get the remainder out.
I think it looks pretty good, what an empty car should look like.

Randy Harrison posted:

B&O Fan posted:

Here's a shot across the city and a detail pic of the rowhouse kit. Really enjoyed that one. Everyone have a relaxing Sunday.

Be Safe,

Scott

OUTSTANDING modeling!!!! Again, you have captured downtown Baltimore, Maryland extremely well. Your building placement shows you have an artist's eye. Your backdrops are well composed and blended into  the 3-D portin of the scenery. Bravo on a great layout and thank you for sharing it.

Randy / Don,

Thank you both for the gracious comments. This is the largest layout I've attempted and it's been fun. Some things get planned to be added and then scrapped because of the reality that space isn't always available. 

Thanks,

Scott 

I'm painting two former LIONEL 15" UP offset domes in NP North Coast Limited Lowey scheme and, with the bodywork complete, the shells and end pieces were prepped for a coat of white paint which will supply the thin white stripe on each side that separates the two greens.

The shells are painted with the end pieces attached and the frame installed so that the striping and two tone greens can extend to the car ends per the prototype.

Also, to prevent overspray hitting the interiors of the shells (since these cars have interiors and people), the windows were masked (using printer paper) as were the dome openings.

The photos show the components pre-assembly and before final paint.  They were later assembled and sprayed a final white coat for the stripe, then wet sanded (after the masking was removed) and left to dry.   The 2mm masking tape for the stripe will be applied later this evening after the cars are thoroughly dry and reassembled.  The area above the stripe will be masked and the light green paint applied below the stripe tomorrow.

These two domes will complete a four car set I painted 25+ years ago that are pulled by PW LIONEL F-3 AB units.  The diner of the set will provide the template for placement of the stripes on the two domes.  When the diner was disassembled today, I noticed only one of the roller pick-ups was used to supply the LED lighting previously installed a couple of years ago.  So, out came the 30 awg wire, the heatshrink tubing, etc. and the second roller pick-up wired for use.  

Yes, I could have painted an NP NCL done a dome 25 years ago, but it would not have been offset and for some reason that departure from the prototype bugged me enough not to paint a centered dome car.  Alas, the donors I am using differ tremendously from NP NCL's prototype (fluted v. smooth roof; and, vestibule v. no vestibule being the most noticeable to me)  but that's life in the model train world of 15" aluminum car projects--at least these are offset which is enough for me.

Everyone stay healthy and safe.

darlander posted:

mike g. posted:

Mike,  Is the yellow building the "she shed" and if so, do you plan to shelf the track on the wall? The yellow building is the she shed, I plan on attaching it to the back of the wall right under the window's so the wife can see the train go by!

  Also, is that your fence and if so, is it stable enough to shelf more track on the fence? The fence is mine, but once I leave the back of the she shed I plan on sinking steel post in a meandering path among the trees and around the rock garden for the return loop!

  I assume that ground frost is not a problem in your area.   I also assume that this run will be level track at the same grade as your exit tunnel. As for level track, Nope. I plan to slope it down to about 2 feet off the ground by the time it reaches the start of the reverse loop, then climb back up again!    What a fun and interesting addition to your layout.   Will this be a summer project this year? I might get some work done on it this summer, the reason I am putting in the tunnel now is so I can try and work my way out of that section of the layout so I can stop climbing up in the layout! But the nice thing is now that the wife has seen the tunnel coming outside its on her rader!

   Sorry for all the questions, but inquiring minds need to know! Dont worry about all the questions, Tomorrow I am going to try and fly my drone the path I plan on building and if I dont crash it I hope to have a video to post tomorrow afternoon!

Thank goodness we all have our trains to help divert our attention away from the Covid-19.   

Stay safe & Cheers to all, Dave

I hope you and your family are staying safe and Healthy!

Evening guys, I didn't get much time in the train room today, but I did get my tunnel and plug built for it. So I am happy, I will post photos at the end of this post!

Bob Havent really thought about trestles, but I am thinking about using Trex decking cut into strips kind of like a girder system so rain and snow can fall threw.

Scott, What a wonderful city scene! Great looking layout!

Lee, thank you Sir! It's no where near your layout, but its fun when I get a chance to work on it! One of these days I am going to have to clean things up so I can sit back with a cold on and just watch the trains! LOL

Ray, Outstanding on printing the mail box! But isn't it spose to be blue! LOL

Carl, You have been working on these cars for a while now and the attention to detail really show! I cant wait to see the finished products!

Here are the photos I said I would post. 

I hope everyone is safe and happy! Please stay healthy!

Spent the day building a second level on part of my layout. All 048 up top. It’s not finished by any means, but a test run seemed necessary.  

mike g. posted:

I hope everyone is safe and happy! Please stay healthy!

Mike, I love the exterior tunnel portal!!  It's perfect for the building!  I'll be glad to see photographs from the drone.  Looks like you have a lot of structures and trees to navigate!!  Fly safely!! 

Mike , nice work on the portal. The layout is looking real good.

Lee, those hoppers look great on the layout. Very nice.

Mark, pacing yourself you are coming along.

This afternoon I finally got some work done on the layout. Most of the projects are waiting for stuff ordered. But I had some plaster left so I laid down the drywall adhesive tape and then mixed up some plaster adding some color to it. Had a small amount left over so I did the front of the silos.  When that dries tomorrow I can put down some ballast in those spots. Pics...........Paul 2

This whole staying at home thing is leading to unprecedented progress for me, which means I’ll have more time to baby proof the layout!

Working on cleaning up the layout

So decided to take some time off and run a train. This one was giving some problem with becoming unresponsive to legacy throttle when first run. This run was about 20 minutes before initiating additional throttle commands and seemed to work ok. Its a nice train but the technology can be a pest sometimes. 

Road construction continues...causing quite a traffic backup way into the city

Mentioned some cleanup so here is a small team yard that I was working on. Probably still needs some simplification 

Had this derailment  about 5 p.m. Sunday. 

I am probably 50 pages behind !!!   Anyway, replaced a 096/072 curved switch with a wider radius 0120/096 then two days later, the wall wart transformer on my Legacy Base failed...  Thanks to Gunrunnerjohn's help via email, I was able to open it up and found a failing connection off the 8 volt AC secondary side of the transformer on a small circuit board...  So thankfully the Legacy base station and controllers are  back up and running....  Still wiring the remaining B & O CPL signal heads,  down to about 7 to go out of 22....  Ran some trains tonight, moved some locos and back drop buildings around and took some photos.  Hope everyone is safe and healthy.  

Chris, I'm glad John was able to guide you to the solution of the problem!  He has always been a great help to me and so many others!!!

mike g. posted:

I hope everyone is safe and happy! Please stay healthy!

Looks great Mike. I think a little custom painting is in order

Another great weekend of progress by everyone.

Yesterday I put the building together, not permanently yet but ready to go on the layout. I'm waiting for some outside lights to arrive so I can't close it up until I get them. I hooked up the lights to see how they look. I'm pleased with the look. I put two lights on the main floor and one on top so they do look different from the exterior. My test power is 5v but I think the layout is a little higher so they will be a little brighter.

Ended the day by running some trains

Bob

Yes Mark,  John is  so unbelievably generous with his time and expertise.   I had called Lionel, and they did answer the phone, and commit to send me a new Legacy Power Supply transformer, but said it wouldn't ship till May..... 

After that call, I went and reconfigured the TMCC/Legacy Base stations disabling the Legacy System, so that I could at least run trains with the older TMCC Cab1.   Then I thought,  I should send a note out to John and see if there is any possible way to open the transformer and make a repair....   I am really thankful for John's help as I definitely prefer to run the Legacy engines with the Cab2 Legacy handhelds....   

Paul 2 -  That whole section you're working on looks great,  nice job with the background buildings.  

Scott,   amazing job on capturing the character of Baltimore,  thanks for sharing the photo below....   

Bob, The flooring inside the building shows up great in all the lit windows!!

Finally found a Precision Scale O scale oil column for a reasonable price. Painted it black and added it to the outbound locomotive service area. I model the ATSF and SP, so I only run oil fired steam locomotives. No coal tower or ash pits on my layout. I still need to pick up an Atlas O or Walthers water tower to complete the scene. Got sand house, diesel, and fuel oil tanks, so I need the water tank to finish it off.

Since the track is clean, I decided to run my Hudson today! 

Very handsome piece, Lou--surely a major feature on your layout.

After wiring the second roller of my home-grown NP North Coast Limited diner, yesterday, I got out the roomette car to fix what I had noted on its box as a "buzzing" sound when I last ran the car Christmas 2018.

Well, no buzzing sound, but I had only one roller hooked up.  Easy fix so the other two cars in the set will get checked.  Can't understand wiring only one roller since wiring both is simple.  

No painting today.  Needed to run weekly errands and stock-up to avoid the grocery store for two weeks.  I live alone and it's doable.  Families with kids not possible for most.

Stay safe, healthy, and carry on.

I carved a big V slot in the plastic steamer's weight I had added to my SF diesel switcher bash in order to add the other coupler. Two dremel wheels and one very hot dremel later I hit the drill press. I would have went there first but rently discovered every surfacing bit I owned is gone. (idiot kid renter destroyed/lost two lifetimes worth of tools a few years back.... the main cause of the most "manic days" in my life. His presence is still felt some days, jeese 

I used another PW switcher dummy coupler. The top pivot is in a Jenga block but I think it will last a few years before it needs a metal bushing inserted in the wood. It sits a little high on the frame which makes it pull down in the back, then ride a wheelie and derail. It needs about 3oz up front to be balanced, even though I removed an ounce or so from the rear pilot beam. I had the same issue with the stock coupler on the other end. They pull the engine down, so a shorty pops a wheelie; no long counterbalance. (the brass is an old repair I did when found it; This one should have died long ago; "hit" is being nice. (the whole grill was gone back then )

Sunday night I was running some trains - had a blast

#mthtrains #lioneltrains #newyorkcentral. The military has gotten involved and required the #nyc to help stop COVID-19. Here we see ambulances, medical gear, and a mobile hospital along with some reinforcements as necessary. Special thanks for Miller donating to the cause. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/9MVphU0kvcc

https://youtu.be/FlWZ6jq67n8

https://youtu.be/HBUtjLpwu1c

https://youtu.be/7xLRq1Z7jow 

Morning guys its Tuesday in case some of you have forgot what day it is now that they all run together!

Mark, Thank you! I didn't get a chance to fly the path of the future path for the outside run of my layout. Maybe today!

Paul 2, The plaster looks great! How do you get the texture the way you do for the uneven ground>

Paul, I hope the road construction ends soon so folks can get back on there way!

Chris A. I am glad you were able to get your transformer fixed! John is a great resource on this forum and seams to always willing to help! The signals and layout are looking amazing!

Bob, Thank you! I agree on the custom painting! I might see if the wife would like to take on painting a mountain around the tunnel! The building looks great and nice job on the lights!

Lou, Your service area looks just wonderful! A little clean, but very nice!

Adriatic, Looks like a perfect fix for a small switcher that could!

John, Nice videos! Its nice to see the military stepping up to the plate to help out!

Well guy, I didn't get anything new done, did get a little clean up but that's about it! I am trying to check in here at least once a day as it takes a lot to get up to speed!

I hope everyone has a great day and please be safe!

OH an have fun with your layout and trains!