Good morning everyone! For the layout, I was able to finish this product review. Hope you enjoy and happy railroading!
I was finally able to put my purchases made during during york sales on the layout.
Some new 30k tankers
Also picked up some lionscale acfx 4 bay covered hoppers. I was expecting the color to be a light gray. They are more of a brown gray, not a deal breaker just surprised. It's hard to find plain covered hoppers.
I also received a box of goodies from lionel on Friday that I purchased during the half off sale to upgrade my conventional santa fe dash-9 I bought new 20 years ago. The command and railsounds upgrades were straight forward as this was a command upgradable unit. Installing the electrocouplers however was a bit more of a challenge. I ordered the right ones but the wire leads were too short to plug into the motherboard so some splicing and soldering was needed. Test run indicated everything is working as intended!
Have a great weekend everyone!
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no pix?????
@mike g. Thanks! Just a single upper line. The tracks below are mainly command control so I wanted to keep a line dedicated to the conventional engines. The bridges make it the most fun line to run!
And we are up and running! Hopefully this video upload works. Enjoy!
...and yes, there is a Disney Frozen train on the layout. My daughters made it clear that this is the most important train on the table. 
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Chris, That is fantastic! You got all the track down and wired really fast!! It really looks great!!
@RSJB18 posted:no pix?????
Thanks for the heads up, I fixed the original post! Not sure what happened.
Chris, great job on the track laying and wiring! Everything looks so nice and neat. The best part is that all your trains looked to run flawlessly!
Even the Frozen train that stood its ground!
The video was wonderful and a joy to watch! I am guessing your not having anymore fires in the basement! LOL If I did something like that the CEO would fire me and find someone new!
Well guys I did get anything done on the layout yesterday. But it was still a great day as I received a Norfolk Southern SD-80MAC from a forum member. I know its not my BNSF colors but I always like there paint graphics. The surprising thing to me is how big this engine is! It makes my ES44AC look small. Of course I had to open it and put it on the track for a few laps and WOW what a great running and sounding engine! Here it is!
I hope to run it some more today after chores! LOL I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday! Please stay safe and Healthy!
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@Chris1985 posted:And we are up and running! Hopefully this video upload works. Enjoy!
...and yes, there is a Disney Frozen train on the layout. My daughters made it clear that this is the most important train on the table.
The layout looks great Chris. Very quick transition from benchwork to trains running.
Bob
Thank you for the kind words on my update video! Been great to become more involved with this community. Visited Dad’s layout today and ran some trains. Dad’s layout is referred to as “The OG” in our family. Top table has the High Rail layout with scenery. Lower table has the Post War/ Conventional set-up. Lots of fun! Many elements of this layout inspired the layout I just built in my own home.
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@mike g. Gotta love those NS engines. That one is huge!
Wow Chris, your dad has one beautiful layout! Just by chance is he a forum member also? For some reason I think I seen that layout before.
Thanks for the comment on the Norfolk Southern. It's the biggest diesel engine I ever saw in person! I thought my 44ac was big, but this one is huge!
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
@Chris1985 posted:Thank you for the kind words on my update video! Been great to become more involved with this community. Visited Dad’s layout today and ran some trains. Dad’s layout is referred to as “The OG” in our family. Top table has the High Rail layout with scenery. Lower table has the Post War/ Conventional set-up. Lots of fun! Many elements of this layout inspired the layout I just built in my own home.
So you've been holding out on us Chris. Now we know where you got your inspiration.
Your Dad has great layout too!
Today I spent a couple of pleasant hours at the workbench, putting the last drybrush highlights on a weathered Pittsburg & Shawmut caboose. MTH marketed one of these, which I saw advertised recently at north of $150. Nope, not for me.
I picked up a brand new Chicago Northwestern caboose with interior details and lighting on eBay for $28 and did a repaint, with new decals from Highball Graphics. I made a few enhancements to the conductor/brakeman figure and took the reflectors out, as the cabin lighting seemed too bright IMO. With some basic weathering, here's the end result. About $50 in components, and hours of creative fun in the process.
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Chris, I have to love it! Your Dad's video starts out with Western Maryland Speedletter!!! 
Tell him there are lots of other "old guys" here on the Forum! I put 'old guys' in quotes, because if you love model and toy trains, you are never really an old guy even if your birthdate says you are 100!!
Planning the yards for the layout I hope to start building next year, I'd like to build a locomotive terminal big enough to host all my operational postwar lionels (not including the duplicates) on the layout at all times (~60 currently). I plan on having my 2-4-2's run mixed freight and fill yard duties while I look for another postwar switcher, my 2-6-4's on mixed duties, my 4-6-4's on passenger and heavy freight, the 6-8-6's on passenger and heavy freights, and my 0-4-0 on yard duties and work trains. My Alcos (except for 230 which was my first lionel) will be mainly on freight and the NW2's will do freight and yard work, the boxcab will be doing yard work, my GG1 will be mixed duties, the 221 marines and 44 missile will be military train duties, and the vulcans will be mixed duty except for 53 which will do work trains. Trolleys, gang cars, and the cleaning car will be on their obvious duties. I plan to build a service track, roundhouse, diesel shop and back shops to accommodate the rest of the engines while not running. I'll probably make the roundhouse 10-12 stalls and the diesel shops have 4-6 rows, ditto with the back shops.
After noon guys, I was about to get out to the train room and mostly finish my little town area. I hard wired 2 Menards ambulance's with the help from John H. From the forum, then I had it create an accident scene to justify the 2 ambulance's. Here is a photo and small video.
I hope you all had a great day and an even better tomorrow!
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Wow Mike! That's great! Now you need a big wrecker to turn over that truck and haul it out! I think it is too late for the people in the accident to sign up for Medicare Advantage to help defray the cost of this accident! 
Looks fantastic Mike.
@Mark Boyce posted:Wow Mike! That's great! Now you need a big wrecker to turn over that truck and haul it out! I think it is too late for the people in the accident to sign up for Medicare Advantage to help defray the cost of this accident!
Thanks Mark, I might get a wrecker one day!
Nice creative touch there @mike g.!
Thanks Dave and Chris, I was just trying to have some fun with what I had on hand. But it is kind of nice having that end of the layout pretty much done.
The thing is all the building give off so much light, now I dont need all the street lights I converted to LED's. LOL
Well, I could not help myself so I added another elevated line on the other side of the layout. Getting into the Spirit of the Season I decided to get the Christmas bridge. I think it was the right call. Plus, my daughters love it!
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Chris, Very nice bridge. While watching the end of the video, the train coming in from the right looked like it was running on top of the approach span structure. For a couple seconds, I thought it was a double deck bridge! What is the total length of the Christmas lights bridge?
Chris, things are really looking good. What a wonderful Christmas bridge! I am just amazed how far you have come in such a short time. Thanks for sharing!8
Well I had to run to town this morning and while at the store I found a fence for my future park that the CEO really wants. I am going to have to go back and get 4 more sections. It's not bad @$3 per 2 feet.
Here is a photo of the rough start.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and please be safe!
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Well, the layout room is a mess! I can hardly get in. The carpets were way overdue for a cleaning, so we got them done yesterday so they dry before Mrs B gets me to put the Christmas tree up and she starts decorating. Everything that was on the floor in the family room she was sorting migrated into the train room Monday. Oh, my aching lower back! 
So, I am starting to move things back since the thin pile carpet in the family room is dry first.
Good luck with that Mark. You should get the daughters with there husband's over to help! Then you can just feed them tomorrow! Lol
OK so all the @Miller Engineering signs are glued on the layout. I am so glad I went with their transformer option. If you have not ordered from there - what are you waiting for??!!??
I let this sit in my basement for the past two months and finally did it. I feel like I hit a home run. I have 5 signs and they are pretty amazing.
Videos to come tonight. I have a few ghosts in the machine to work on but tonight it will be Lionel NYC and SP steam on the mainline. Troop / Military train and passenger daylight train.
Happy Thanksgiving.
john
Hope to get this recent purchase on the layout later today.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Bob
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@RSJB18 posted:Hope to get this recent purchase on the layout later today.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Bob
Beautiful, Bob. Another command control engine, eh???? Hmmmmmmm....
Happy Thanksgiving, Bob 🦃 🦃 🦃
@Apples55 posted:Beautiful, Bob. Another command control engine, eh???? Hmmmmmmm....
Happy Thanksgiving, Bob 🦃 🦃 🦃
Yes Paul.....slowly I turn, step by step, inch by inch......
Bob
😊 great work. Your assembly skills are the best!
Now the wonderful fun begins. Modeling imagination will take over. Your mind will not allow you to rest now by thinking of the curves, straights, three rails and second levels and how to make all this connect and happen.
Your wood working skills are now taken over by the electronic connections and soldering...
Enough of the big long words.
All dog gonnit!
its just great fun!
https://ogrforum.com/...4#152477234033059224
Hey Chris, very well done! And congrats on listening to your young conductors. I have three grandsons and they like the Polar Express passenger cars... SO... Santa found a way to make sure they are on the floor layout under the tree. Not my first choice for a passenger set, but it is theirs, so it warms my heart just the same.
QUESTION: I set up a trestle last season..... and had a slow long climb to the elevated height, 6 inches (to clear tallest locomotive)...... exited on a spiral back down to carpet level....... Thought was to build a backdrop and trestle for the "FUN" part of the layout. tested the climb and spiral with my postwar GG1. Bad idea..... terrible crash as the temporary trestle tipped and the crane service had to be called to the scene of the wreck. (Luckily, soft carpet landing....)
HOW do you keep the train on the elevated? auto slow speed? no shifting loads?
thanks, and nice work Chris
Yesterday I ran some trains and made some videos. Finally got the videos of my @Miller Engineering signs as well as a bunch of trains from @MrMuffin'sTrains.
Enjoy
John
I've been on a makeover kick lately. Today I finished weathering an Atlas RS-1 (TMCC) that I repainted in a Pennsy scheme. I kept the original number boards, which do not match a real PRR engine. The engineer figure was replaced (Woodland Scenics), and I opened up the side window--otherwise the locomotive is bone stock. The Atlas is a heavy, smooth runner. My only complaint is that the speaker is wimpy compared to Legacy diesels. I've ordered a Fatboy speaker in hopes of hearing some improvement in the bass response.
Alongside the RS-1 is a Lionel TMCC K-4 which will soon get a light weathering job. It too is a good runner, but I'm seriously considering replacing the smoke unit with a "Super Chuffer" or similar upgrade. Any recommendations?
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