What did you do on your layout today?

Let's try another shot of my small layout. Four loops (one Flyer). Small but works.

A couple of weeks ago I added another LCS Sensor track.

In the new Lionel 2020 Volume 2 catalog, Lionel introduced a UP Genset decorated with some graffiti, however, cancelled the sale do to UP guidelines. The reason I brought this up is BNSF must have allowed Lionel to decorate their gondolas with graffiti. I was going to pull these cars with the genset. Lee Drennen, I like your UP Be Specific Box Car, cool. Happy Railroading Everyone 

Mike. Thanks for the complement I’m just hard on myself because I knew better not to put thick layers on. If it has your stamp of approval the it’s done 

Larry. Nice pics 

Grzyboski's Trains have two 2027260 Colorado Eagle Vista Vision Camera cars.  The Kenefick Business car that was shipped in a factory-sealed 2027260 shipping carton is on its way back. They will ship a replacement for the Colorado Eagle.

Opening the Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera Car to paint the interior.  I have one coat of paint on the lower level and two on the Dome seats.  I usually apply three coats of paint.

Have a good night.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Simply scoping out my wiring plan is all I did.  I'm hoping to get started soon so I won't have a collection of alligator clips everywhere.    There really isn't that much wiring to do now that I have almost all the jumpers connected to the track.  I just have to do it.

Assembled my K-line kitbash baggage after the paint cured. I'm a little underwhelmed with the overall results. But it was a worthwhile experiment. It's way too glossy and I want to dull it but I need to wait until it's decaled. The lights really throw off the color especially with the gloss finish. I compared it to my MTH cars and it's fairly close. I thought it would be more red. FWIW, here's some pics. It does look a little more Pennsy I think.

Loose Caboose--ahhh--conventional operation--that explains everything--like 32 blocks. I gave up conventional operation specifically because of the number of blocks required and the extra wiring required to support those blocks. I decided to run only DCS and operate TMCC through DCS--no Legacy or conventional. That decision saved me a ton of work plus a bunch of money and has held up well over time. I've made plenty of bad layout decisions. But that wasn't one of them!

Don Merz

The last Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People arrived today, September 3, 2020.  I can't find any more.  I put the Flesh colored paint on the 24 figures in order to prepare them for a Dome Vista Vision Camera Car.  While they dry, I will put the final coat of paint on the seats of the Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera Car.

Update:  Well, I let the passenger car set because I realized I need specific people for the camera car when it is done.  I painted the Parents with babies.  The parents come in four, three and two pieces that must be glued together after painting. My eyesight is not very good tonight, so this is where I stop.

Another Day, Another Update:  I continued working on my last three Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.  I glued some of the parents with babies together and painted other figures.

Have a good night.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Hey John. I have a 5 car ghost train - MTH Milwaukee Road Hiawatha that is being pulled by an EP2 thanks to ScaleRail and his Last Run videos. I am going to have to go down your path at painting an entire set of passengers for this set. Where do you get your clothing color ideas from?

What colors did people from Milwaukee wear back then? - Just kidding. I just know everyone did not have black hair and no faces.

I'll post a short video in homage to ScaleRail in the next few days, of course the quality will not come close to what he produces.  Funny thing - MTH says minimum 72 dia curves on the EP2, it takes my one 42 dia 90 degree curve with no problems. Nice running engine and nice puller.  Jeff

Since getting settled in,  thought I'd take advantage of my newfound space to give my custom Frankenloco Pennsy 2-8-0 a workout and see just how tough she is. 

Here she's pulling a consist of 16 cars,  most modern MTH stuff but several PW cars with some serious drag.  

The engine has a Pittman worm drive that's geared way down (don't know exact ratio) so top speed at 19 volts is relatively slow but she has absolutely no problem with torque to pull this heavy load. 

Jeff, You worked fast getting something set up to run a train.  The Frankenloco looks and runs great!

Just came up from the train cave. I have ten 2 bay coal hoppers and all except 4 have coal loads. I have wanted to make coal loads for the empties for a long time. Tonight I started the process. Scrap foam board for base cut and fit. Glued some bunched newspaper to the base for contour and glued strips of newspaper to smooth things. After they dry I will check for fit in the cars, liberally apply glue to the surface, then cover with coal. Spray flat or gloss black. I ran a mixed freight with a Pennsy M1a, then the ten car coal train with a Pennsy Decapod. You regulars are busy too!

Got the ERR Cruise Commander installed on my Lionel Commodore Vanderbilt this evening. Now All I need is my motor conversion from Timko. It shouldn't take as long to get it back this time since he doesn't have to make a gear for it.

Rscott, are you using the original railsounds?

@romiller49 posted:

Rscott, are you using the original railsounds?

Yes Rod I am using the original Railsounds. I love that whistle. It sounds so sad and lonely.  I have powered it up and checked out all sounds work along with lights. 

Jeff. I liked the train run how big is you table?  

John. The figures look great as always the ones in the dome look neat 

pennynut. I’ve been workIng on a old Weaver Hopper I’m on the fence about adding coal your pics look great 

Here’s a old Weaver I re-painted and decaled. I’m using some old Champ decals for this project. I’ve gave it a light coat of clear so far. 

Spent a lot of time working on train projects today.

1. I painted the shell of my K-line kitbash Baggage mail car. Windows next.

2. Glued coal on four load inserts for some 2 bay hoppers.

3. Received GGD PRR BM70 car and inserted it in my fast mail train. My lighting is really off so my pics don't do this car justice. But the color next to the B70 baggage car I bought recently is definitely different. And examining the sides toward the ends of the car, reveals that the decal info for the postal end vs. the baggage end is reversed on both sides. Don't really want to send it back. Its a nice car otherwise. I subtituted the car into the mail train consist for a stock K-line version and when I applied power, the K-line K4 moved a short distance then quickly stopped. I reversed applied power and it did the same thing. Back and forth and then I put the loco on the bench. Found that the linkage on one side was lose, and linkage on the otherside was binding. There is a part about in the middle of both sides where two small lever arms connect sharing a pin screw. That part is brass and had moved putting the connection and operation of one arm in a bind. I had to remove the shell (twice) to get to the screw that mounts the part on the engine. I really tightened it finally, but was unsure about it reoccurring, so I ran to the town so I could watch it better. 

I may change out the fluorescent bulbs for a soft white or other type to get a less harsh appearance. Enjoy the weekend. Cheers.

My progress had been minimal. I got lights wired into my two buildings and added a small accessory transformer for them. I also went around my track with a small plastic mallet and hammered all the joints together the best I could and temporarily screwed the track down to keep it tight. It's amazing how much of a difference that made in noise and power. The night before last, I pulled all of my rolling stock out of the box, oiled the axles and cleaned the wheels. It made  a huge difference in the amount of cars I can pull vs voltage. I went from needing 16 volts to only 12, even after adding 5 more cars to the consist. I may start on my mountain/tunnel tonight.

I showed it to an 11 year old boy whose grandfather is a friend of mine.  The boy just got his BSA Railroading Merit Badge.  He was fascinated!!  Maybe someday a model railroader! 

My coal loads are still drying from glue spray. Finished with my K-line kitbash. Here's a before/after pic. The paint job, it's not great so I will weather it after decals. Ran a few trains today Cheers.

I was a little close to the edge so I changed the table size from 63 x 18.9 to 69 x 19.11. I can still reach the middle easily. 

Dave...been watching your progress with interest...I was intrigued by the surface of your table.  Did you coat it with something?  It almost looks like you fiber-glassed the top.  Did you?

Don

Don, Its just 2 x 4 drop ceiling tile turned upside down and glued to 1/2 inch plywood. It provides good sound deadening and is easy to work with.

Thanks Dave, I got it.  It is a good idea, sound proofing as well as flat surface.  It just looked odd in the picture.

Don

These are some O scale AHM I’ve been working on. I’m converting them to 3rail.   The Lackawanna I painted/decaled last year with Tichy Train Group decals today I put a new floor in it and added some Lionel sprung trucks which I drilled out all the ones I have and removed that pin/ button.  Next was a Union Pacific car I used some old left over Microscale decals I had I also made a new floor for that. I’ll be adding some On the carriage detail like crossmembershon the carriage detail to these and some stirrups.

Today I made some small progress, painted the backdrop walls blue to start, installed a blocking panel over the left basement window & fashioned a piece of 1/8" Masonite to hide the piping in the far corner but still allow removability for access.  Also painted some track... still trying to find a suitable rust-colored paint in a rattle can, I'm getting closer !

3.98 inches of rain at Cleveland Hopkins Airport kept me inside painting.  Flood warnings were issued as area creeks overflowed their banks.  The Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera car will use more than one 24-pack of Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.  I painted some extra figures from China.

The Alaska Vista Vision Dome used 30 people. This car may have a couple more.  My next car is in transit, but was sent to the wrong post office by Downtown Cleveland Sorting.  It arrived Tuesday.

John Rowlen

After a 2 month hiatus I finally got some train room time and got the inside loop wired today. Don’t mind the bench work mess haha. 

@John Rowlen posted:

3.98 inches of rain at Cleveland Hopkins Airport kept me inside painting.  Flood warnings were issued as area creeks overflowed their banks.  The Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera car will use more than one 24-pack of Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.  I painted some extra figures from China.

John Rowlen

@John Rowlen, given the thousands of figures you've painted, how have your techniques and materials changed over time:  such as, paints, brushes, application of colors, grinding, and so forth?

In short, how is what you do now different from what you did when you started?

@trestleking posted:

Today I made some small progress, painted the backdrop walls blue to start, installed a blocking panel over the left basement window & fashioned a piece of 1/8" Masonite to hide the piping in the far corner but still allow removability for access.  Also painted some track... still trying to find a suitable rust-colored paint in a rattle can, I'm getting closer !

Not advice, just recalling my attempt long ago. Everyone has color preferences when it comes to weathering track and ties. I have Atlas and I tried the marker technique and acrylics for coloring. But the marker just didn't capture the look I envisioned. When I did my "Not quite a complete redo" I had a lot of track to do and the Atlas ties as well. I just used Rusto earth brown camo and it has worked for me for the light on my layout. The most important thing for me was dulling the track shine and plastic looking ties. Hope to see more of your work.

Filled in the middle and sealed all the seems. It'll all be covered eventually anyway but it makes me feel better about it.

Spent this rainy day working on a YT video & then had Labor Day left overs in the train room.  Spare ribs and Baby Reds Mashed Potatoes. Railroad Bon appetit.

Gary 🚂

Carl,

Changes in my painting and installation of Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.

1.  Paints are still Testor's Acryl Flat Paints.  Custom colors start with Flat White plus tinting color like blue or red to create pastel colors.  I started my detailing right before Easter many years ago, therefore the Spring colors.

2.  Fitting people into the cars was done by much hand sanding with emery nail boards and files.  The use of a Dremel battery rechargeable Handheld with grinding drum changed my process and improved my work.

3.  I have used Preiser 65602 white blanks, except at times when I could not purchase them.  Five years ago and then now, there was an interruption in supply of the seated People.  I have had to purchase blanks from EveModel on Ebay.  The figures from China need an extra coat of paint to fully cover the pink plastic,  Molded details are not as sharp as Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People.

4.  Tamiya 87153, 87154, and 87155 Quality Paint Brushes have improved my painting.  At $12.00 each from Omnimodels  on Ebay, they perform better than the previous brushes I used.

Other than the new brushes and the Dremel grinder, I am doing the same old thing.  On a good night I can complete 12 people.  Add a couple more nights to install the people in the passenger cars.

I paint my own people because Preiser charges $5.00 to $7.50 to factory paint these individual figures.  The factory painted figures are very hard to find in any quantity,  At a minimum of 30 people in the Vista Vision Dome Camera passenger cars, the $150.00 would have stopped me from using the quality Preiser figures.  I spend for the blanks and paint, and can create figures in a variety of clothing colors.  Preiser factory-painted figures look the same, sometimes in two color choices.

5.  It seems to be taking me longer to paint the figures.  I have lost center vision in my left eye.  The use of a battery headlamp to illuminate what I paint, helps me get a better paint job.

Have a good week.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, Outstanding list and description of your products used.  I hope you are getting that eye looked at.

@John Rowlen posted:

 

5.  It seems to be taking me longer to paint the figures.  I have lost center vision in my left eye.  The use of a battery headlamp to illuminate what I paint, helps me get a better paint job.

Have a good week.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, please see an eye doctor soonest! Macular degeneration can present like this and there is now treatment. My wife noticed loss of vision in the lower right quadrant and it turned out to be [wet] MD. She receives an eye injection monthly and the progress of the disease has been arrested. Had she caught it sooner the lost vision might have been completely restored. Medicare covers the cost, other than a $15 office-visit copay.

@John Rowlen, THANKS for the taking the time to provide such a detailed and informative reply to my question.

Mark, Lew and Carl,

Thank you for your interest and information.  My eye doctor says a burst of cholesterol invaded the center of my left eye.  It is not MD.  Perhaps stress and extreme exertion caused the damage twelve years ago when I had my print shop.  Moving heavy boxes and some of my printing presses around my shop may have contributed to it.

The painting has become an escape from the covid-19 virus and my caregiver duties for Mom,  We are fortunate that she is better and getting ready to celebrate her 94th birthday in November. At age 70, I am running slower, ... and I don't like it, ... but I am still moving.

I am giving the Pennsylvania "Catenary View" Vista Vision Camera passenger car the last coat of paint on the seats.  Tonight I plan the placement and grind the figures for gluing.  A little paint touch-up may be necessary on the figures.  I completed 93 new figures in the past week.

UPDATE:  The car is now detailed with 36 Seated People including babies.  I will use Dulcote to cover any shiny glue and close the car and test it tomorrow.

Have a good week

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Hello John !

Painting 93 little figures is most definitely a labor of love !!!

I'm 65 in Dec. and the hands feel twice that age.

Glad to hear your eyesight problem wasn't MD ... whew!  I hope they can help fix your eye problem.

Also, my wife's family owned a Print Shop in NJ for decades; very heavy lifting indeed! 

I bet you have hands of steel!

Good to 'know' you !

EB