@RSJB18 posted:Great work Gents!
Put the ballast down on the new siding and added some weeds under the loading dock. The jib boom is all assembled. I have to paint it and rig the pulleys and chain.
Bob
Bob, that area with the new building is coming along very nicely
Thanks Ray. I'm really happy with how its turning out. The old grade to the upper level was hardly used because it was so steep, so it was a real waste of what precious real estate I have on a small layout.
Bob
@RSJB18 posted:May the 4th be with you!The sun was shining all weekend so no time was spent indoors for me. I did grab a few minutes last night to start building some kits I bought from Tichy Trains for the new factory area on the layout.
Got a set of 8 pallets and a jib crane. The pallets were a piece of cake but the crane has some tiny parts. Thank god its O scale and not N
I use the blue tape to hold one side of the piece in place which during assembly but it releases the parts easily when done.
Bob, Do you like the Jib? I was thinking about ordering that kit.
Finally, we made some layout progress. With my son on the platform marking Gar Graves track to be cut to size and me sitting on the side with my Dremel equipped with an abrasive cut-off wheel, we fitted the track and switches to our new industrial siding as well as a pair of O-100 switches to allow smooth passage between the inner and outer loops of our track around the City of Christopolis. We still have to cut and lay the balance of the outer loop around the city and add another two O-100 switches for a return to the inner loop from the outer loop. The work today took about 3 hours. We also roughly placed a turnout from the outer loop onto the wharf at the harbor. It was fun. but, there is much more ahead of us.
@sidehack posted:That is a nice looking kit and when done mine will look similar, although I'm not sure about the office structure as I would like a combination office and barrel construction company but not sure how to pull that off yet.
I am printing the pieces now, this shows how it is going together before gluing with all alignment pins in place.
Ray,
I hear that 3-D printing is addictive and from the look of your recent projects this may be true. I certainly could understand if it was, with the results you have been showing.
Dave
Going round with a voltmeter and fitting droppers where the voltage seemed low, around the 45deg crossing
@Dave Ripp. posted:Bob, Do you like the Jib? I was thinking about ordering that kit.
@Dave Ripp.- yea, I like it. The kit is simple to assemble. I thought it was a little small at first but I held it up next to a box car and it looks OK. The instructions are easy to follow too. They recommend rigging the chain before mounting the pulleys but I'm living on the edge and doing it after I paint it. The winch was probably the trickiest to assemble. I lost one half of it twice on my bench when it jumped out if the tweezers. 
Hey Randy, what I did with the ERR components was to follow the instructions that come with the ERR AC Commander kit. To me, it wasn't difficult however I had a little confusion when it came to soldering the resistors to the engines. That's when I called out the troops at OGR and they pitched in and helped me out. Hopefully you won't have to do that. I'm attaching a photo of the final results, the F3 runs after you assign it a TMCC I.D just like a TMCC or Legacy train. It doesn't run extremely slow but the slow speeds are good enough to me considering. Any additional boards that you add on are your own preferences as to what you want the train to do (ex. sounds, smoke, etc.) Good luck and I hope that this info helps somewhat. -- MARSHELANGELO
@marshelangelo posted:Hey Randy, what I did with the ERR components was to follow the instructions that come with the ERR AC Commander kit. To me, it wasn't difficult however I had a little confusion when it came to soldering the resistors to the engines. That's when I called out the troops at OGR and they pitched in and helped me out. Hopefully you won't have to do that. I'm attaching a photo of the final results, the F3 runs after you assign it a TMCC I.D just like a TMCC or Legacy train. It doesn't run extremely slow but the slow speeds are good enough to me considering. Any additional boards that you add on are your own preferences as to what you want the train to do (ex. sounds, smoke, etc.) Good luck and I hope that this info helps somewhat. -- MARSHELANGELO
Thanks for the information. I may sic my son the electronics whiz on it.
RSJB18 Bob, Wow, the corner siding looks awesome, great work, the other project looks promising, great ideas. Randy Harrison, just wanted to say the pictures of your past layout are wonderful, I’m you have fond memories. I agree letting the grandson help with the electronics is a good idea. Lancer, that’s a nice looking train area, neat table, I know your excited to get to laying track. Keep us posted. Everyone have a great weekend, stay safe, stay healthy, enjoy your trains. Happy Railroading
LP
I have ben working on Wiring upgrades and some housekeeping on the New York division these days. Interesting findings I must say as there was quite a bit of temporary wiring in service from the time I was building the layout andhad some temporary jumpers to get a train running on the track. Thought I converted everything to star wiring but didn't as I found out. Had one last connection to go last night . Before I did it, thought I would power up the main and run a train to confirm what I had done so far was good. So the train ran around the layout ok up to the point where it met a track section believed to be disconnected as part of the work so far, You can imagine my surprise when it ran to the supposedly disconnected track just fine. So the track gang went out on the route and we found a pair of jumpers from the temporary days that was still in place. What is interesting is that I get pretty good working with the DCS system with this homogenized wiring instatllation. Inclined to leave it as it is since it works ok.. If uts not broke don't fix it.
I went in and looked at it several times today, yay! I may run a train or two before the night's over. The only constructive thing I did in relationship to the layout is compile a list of rolling stock I have. Even though I don't model a single road name I do want to make sure many of the aspects of the layout are prototypical. On the list I not only listed the car type but the industry it is related to or serves. This will help as I continue to add buildings and other structures on the layout.
So you see, it wasn't a completely wasted day!
Dave
Painting the toilets and sinks Flat white in my fifth 611 Steam Excursion 21" passenger private car, N&W "Pohattan Arrow" Coach. I have run out of cars to detail. I will paint Preiser 65602 Seated People for a while.
I have an unknown package from Germany that USPS tried to deliver yesterday. I signed the signature card the mailman left and put it in the mailbox. Hopefully the four Preiser 65602 lost in the German mail system in early March 2020 have been found. German hobby stores are not shipping to the USA at this time. They will take your money on Ebay, but they can't ship.
UPDATE: The N&W Pohattan Arrow Coach interior is painted. I am now searching through many boxes of extra Preiser 65602 people and doing painting of figures I plan to put in the car.
UPDATE 2: The Norfolk and Western "Pohattan Arrow" coach in the 611 Steam Excursion train is done. This is where I planned to stop, but the two-pack of Norfolk Southern cars is headed my way. I realize I am avoiding some major revision needed on my layout. It is Productive Procrastination.
Sincerely, John Rowlen
So on the Northport Division. I went and made the last connection today to the section originally thought to have been deenergized. Test run with a Williams loco at minimum voltage showed a nearly steady speed over all track sections at the initial 5 volt setting on the DCS handheld and much improved in the area that had experienced conventional slowing. Also Ran a new PS-3 Railking RS-3 through the rewired areas . Nice speeds and control. No check Track messages so signal should be good.
Will continue with the layout cleanup and perhaps some new trackwork as time permits. .
Today I got the lettering done for my tobacco warehouse building facade. Found some old photos to use as a guide. Now a little more details and a light box and it will be done. Also found some vagabonds in the freight yard.
Stay safe
Scott
Scott,
Very nice. In the second pic what size windows are those? I can't tell from the pic what material they are. I like how you have some opened. That's a nice touch of detail.
Dave
Added a few more details to the section house. I put some chairs with the table for the crew, some lockers, a work table on top of a couple of oil drums, a lamp and a few books on the desk, and a brass lamp and lantern courtesy of Andre from Riverleaf Models. Thank you Andre! I will add a coal bin for the stove. I already have the shovel. I will call Evan Designs on Monday to order the lighting.
Andy
Finished loading a flatcar.
Very nice work folks. Had a mixed bag today, some layout stuff, some honey-do stuff, some quasi-layout stuff- building a shelf unit to hold my two DeWalt drills and chargers.
On the layout front, I finished the jib crane and mounted it to the loading dock. I'm happy with how it turned out. I glued the base to the dock but didn't glue the jib into the base (as suggested in the instructions), so I can position it where I want.
Don't forget to wish Mom and SWMBO a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow.
Bob
Nice work Bob, the jib boom and the scene looks great. I had a heck of a time with mine too. The parts are really small.
Andy
I thought I had better get the rest of the backdrop in before I go any farther. Check this link to Blackwater Canyon Line for details and a surprise.
I haven't been satisfied with what I've found out there for corrugated roofing so tried making my own dies to produce a stronger scale sheet and this is what I came up with.
Simple dies that can be compressed in a vise 
Tried heavy duty aluminum foil and worked fine but didn't like it being so flimsy and easily dented etc. (it is only .001 thick) I had viewed this fellow using a cheap baking pan and was able to procure one from my wife. There are enough flat areas to remove what I needed to test the dies. It is .006 thick which can take take more abuse than the alum foil. Cut it to 1x3, placed in dies and put the whole setup into a small vise. When done finish cut it to .8" x 2" (a 38" x 8' sheet) and am very pleased with the finish and strength of it. The thickness is over scale but acceptable to my eyes.
These pans are very inexpensive and the whole procedure is a simple one. The dies were made on a 3D printer and seem to be plenty strong and should wear well in making a lot of pieces.
Now to test that V8 juice can.
Bob, very nice work on the siding and building. Plus the added details look good too.
Mark, nice progress on your layout. It is starting to come together.
And to everyone else you have made for some good reading.
I haven't done much lately. Outside work has taken up some time and I am at the point now where I am out of material to move forward. I also have been rethinking one of the first areas I worked on. I decided to add switch motors to the switches at the back of the table instead of trying to reack to throw them manually and to add uncocuplers to the sidings and mainline. Today I worked on the space between the silos and power plant. I was originally was going to use just the Korber building in that area but after thinking more about it the front of the building seemed wrong. I had made up a Korber building flat to use along the wall but after putting in the last fronts it wasn't needed. I came up with the idea of gluing it to the front of the office building giving me a loading dock . The building and silos block the track coming around from the power plant so when I back loaded hopper cars into the plant they will be hid behind them. Also I am going to shorten the siding to fit the building in. Pics.............Paul 2
Paul, Thank you!
I really like that Korber flat with the loading dock. I agree it looks better there than the original building.
Bob and Andy, Those jib booms really look great on those loading docks.
@luvindemtrains posted:Scott,
Very nice. In the second pic what size windows are those? I can't tell from the pic what material they are. I like how you have some opened. That's a nice touch of detail.
Dave
Dave,
The material is plastic sheets that the windows appear to have been printed on. They're about 1&1/2x1&3/4 in. The kit is from K&P Brick and Building co.
Thanks, Scott
RSJB18 Bob, Wow, I like the Hoist, It’s so cool and adds a lot of interest to your building platform. I like your corner scene very much. Where did you get this neat kit? Mark Boyce, your making great progress on your layout, your overhead clearance looks promising. Do to what I am running on my layout, I have 6-3/4 clearances to accommodate the intermodal cars, scale like GG1, scale like auto carrier cars, and during construction it was a little easier to make this decision. It caused me to have longer grades to keep with 2% grades. I had planned this layout over many years and still needed more room for other things like Command Control crane cars, etc. Paul 2, I understand clearly what it’s like to run out of material, it’s frustrating. Everyone have a great weekend, if your mother’s living, mine has past, give her a shout or call, or text, or better yet, go give her a hug. Our moms in most cases are our best friends, (other than our spouses). My mother promoted my hobby, (I was adopted at age 6 weeks old) and I thank the Lord for her, she was awesome. Happy Railroading 
Thanks for the likes and comments gents 
Andy- The winch was the toughest. I lost one half of it twice when it decided to jump to it's death from my tweezers. Fortunately I was able to locate it. Yours looks great too. So does the building interior.
Paul- Been a long time since you built the power plant area. I like the building addition.
Ray- no end to the ways to use a 3D printer. The roofing looks good.
Larry- the jib is from Tichy Train Group https://www.tichytraingroup.co.../p/8007/Default.aspx
Mark- Heading to your thread next....can't wait to see what the surprise is.
Scott- the lettering looks great. Is that guy climbing in or falling out??????
LIRR- If it ain't broke don't fix it!
SIRT- What are you building?
Ross- nice loads on that flat.
Have a great day everyone.
Bob
Clifford,
Great job on the repaint, nice crisp job.
Bob,
It's a question of balance, if lost, falling out. LOL!
Scott
Bought 2x4 drop ceiling tiles for sound deadener under my Realtrax. Also worked with David Detert DoubleDAZ or Mr. helpful to many who have needed help with deigning their layout. Here it is.
Larry, Thank you very much!! In an 11x11 room, I only have so much space to gain elevation. 
As always, your photographs are great!
Clifford, You did a great job on the GP7 repaint!!!
Shot myself in the foot, but in a nice way. See, I picked up a Minitoys trolley cheap on eBay. The seller listed it as only working in one direction, so I figured, "Great! Parts for projects!" Trolley arrived, I tinkered with it a bit and now the little indefinite is working perfectly. I simply don't have the heart to tear it down now! 
Mitch
Today was a lousy day here in Chicago. I spent a fair amount of time running trains. Here are some videos from the past week that I made.
New to the roster is the MTH Premier grey New York Central E8. Also featured is a Union Pacific engine painted in Southern Pacific Legacy scheme. Hope you enjoy.
John
John, The E8 looks great pulling that streamliner on your wonderfully sceniced layout!
I pulled a dumb move a few years ago. I got a great deal here on the Forum on a set of B&O Premier E8 ABA and 70-foot streamline cars. Wow they looked great until I realized I couldn't run them on 042 curves! Duh!! I sold them to another forum member, so everyone was happy in the long run!!
Mark Boyce : Just read about your 042 shortfall. Just so you don't feel too bad, I had acquired 2 Lionel GG1's, my favorite locomotive and one I rode behind a great deal in my youth commuting on the eastern corridor. 2 weeks ago I finally had to put them away, as no matter how hard I tried the clearance on my new (smaller) layout could not stand their overhangs on the curves and the overhead clearance would not support the pantographs being up. I fooled and fooled with moving things on the layout until I finally gave up. Guess they will have to patiently wait for more room.
Don McErlean
@CLIFFORD posted:Finished a repaint today! Started life as a NYC GP7 and ended as a B&O, see pics.
Very nice, the b & o is my favorite. If you don't mind me asking what is the blue paint you used. Thanks
@Don McErlean posted:Mark Boyce : Just read about your 042 shortfall. Just so you don't feel too bad, I had acquired 2 Lionel GG1's, my favorite locomotive and one I rode behind a great deal in my youth commuting on the eastern corridor. 2 weeks ago I finally had to put them away, as no matter how hard I tried the clearance on my new (smaller) layout could not stand their overhangs on the curves and the overhead clearance would not support the pantographs being up. I fooled and fooled with moving things on the layout until I finally gave up. Guess they will have to patiently wait for more room.
Don McErlean
Don, Here is my MTH Premier version. Yes it needs 072 curves, and I still have 042. I knew I wouldn't be able to run it on the layout, but another Forum member offered it for a great price. This is the only one I can't run on the layout. I just test it out on straightaways.
Added a number board above the steps down to my 
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