I started a little steeple cab electric a couple of years ago but with the move, new layout and selling off a lot of 40's, 50's and 60's Lionel that I will never run again, I just haven't had the chance to work on that little loco. I think about it all the time but it has to be on the back burner for now.
Do you have a project waiting for your attention? Don
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My Grandfather's 265E has been waiting for a rewire for about a year now. I also have one of the new Lionel Water tower that pumps the water when the train is being filled that has needed a new pump for over two years now (but I did get the pump last August lol). I am also working on adding lights to my layout since summer. Oh, and the oldest one is the painting of ballast on my layout which I started 2.5 years ago!
Two categories of projects that have been pushed aside for more urgent things:
1. Painting and re-decaling some locomotives. My Lionel Mikado needs to become Milwaukee Road, as do a couple of other engines. I have a sandblasted 381E waiting for primer and paint, as well as some small Standard Gauge locomotives and passenger sets.
2. My layout. I've been trying to find time to install the fascia and build a control panel so I can get the switches and accessories working. I've got trains running on all four lines, but no sidings or accessories are wired yet.
What's in the way? Christmas with family and friends in California, projects for the toy train museum, houseguests, and my part-time job teaching college. Plus the challenges of home ownership: so far in the last couple of months I've had to replace or repair the garage door opener, the computer, the roof, the automatic pool cleaner, and a few other items. Plus one car is sitting in the garage, not running, because I haven't had time to put a new battery in it. Not to mention weeding the yard and trimming the mesquite trees. Gotta get out the chain saw. I'm tired just looking at the list.
Cleaning up the basement so we can put up a table for a layout....
A layout or a simple loop of track to run mine trains.
My layout has woefully inadequate sidings for the many passenger trains I need to run without recourse to the 0-5-0! For more than a year I have been brainstorming a lower level coach yard addition to my railroad with six 26-foot sidings, and I need to get it built.
I want to get back to scratchbuilding/heavily bashing 'Streets cars that will go slow, smoothly. No 'Streets vehicle I have will run real smoothly at scale speeds much below 45 mph. I'd like some cabs that would cruise through my downtown at 20-25 mph tops, etc.: flywheels and/or gearing would probably do it, as they do on my buses and tractor-trailers. But getting either, and particularly both, in a car . . . I want to get back to trying.
Replacing my 060 FasTrack curves with 072 with command control 072 switches.
Steve, Lady and Tex
I started building a Lionel Dealer Display Layout right before Thanksgiving (the D-105, 5x9). Very excited about this project but things have been on hold because of the holiday season and other commitments.
Hoping to to dive back in next weekend, 
A while ago, I started working on modeling an O gauge Canadian Pacific Holiday Train. As I acquired the needed pieces of rolling stock, I hit a bump with a bad decal vendor(should have checked with the good folks of this forum first). Realizing that I would never see these decals in my lifetime, I searched for appropriate cars. I found the high cubes I needed, thanks to the Want to Buy forum.
Anywho, I started rolling along on the project, but had to pack it away for the Holidays. I knew it would be a long term project and that I would be putting it away for a few months. This project excites me and I can't wait to get back to it. Mostly, I can't wait to start lighting up the cars...many more holes to drill first. During this downtime, I did find a few of the passenger cars that will work well with it. This project is in a good place right now and my hope is that it will be ready to debut for the 2014 Christmas season.
The project on the back burner has a lot to do with my involvement in more than one scale. The O scale phase of collecting is over, the layout finished. I now enjoy sometimes an hour or so sometimes more off and on running the trains forgetting about stresses and strains. So..now I am am thinking more and more about expanding the garden railroad,in terms of enjoying the summer weather..going from the back burner to the front burner...looking forward to Spring.. which itself has been on the back burner in the post Christmas blahs...
For me just to get back to working on my incomplete layout in general after well over two years of disabling health issues that hopefully will be corrected by upcoming spinal surgery to repair a couple of old fractures.
The "Sawbones" is optimistic that my 82 year old frame will become a B+.I'll take it.
Photo shows what my wife calls "the mess"---it is definitely "uncoupled".
A few years ago I picked up some Lionel F Units on eBay. I painted the A units into the Alaska Railroad scheme I wanted. My gal didn't want me to paint the B unit, she said it was too nice to paint. It was full of scratches, the Silver paint had a lot of black showing. So I didn't paint it. I crammed the Dummy A unit with the sound system & TMCC boards. The volume was low, wasn't happy & read that the speaker needed to be in a baffle. I finally decided to paint that B Unit & put the sound system in it. Almost there, needs decals & boards mounted.
Too many to list
My layout.
I started to dismantle it and rebuild it with a totally new track configuration on a smaller table. I only got less than half way right after Thanksgiving. The holidays and things that I "must" do when you own a house keep getting in the way. As soon as Christmas is packed up, I think I will be able to go at it full force. I miss not being able to run my trains.
C. Sam, best wishes as you begin your new career. Hopefully in the near future one of the homes you sell will be to yourself. Hang in there.
Mike
putting the motor and PC board in my Plymouth Switcher. Had the parts for two-three years now, just waiting for a "Rainey day" !!!
getting my freight yard and finishing my my Mt. and getting my legacy system sine i got a new legacy Conrail sd80mac.
Benchwork in the unfinished side of my attic layout. I did get a lot done on Saturday and will be back up there this evening. If I don't get this layout done and the "train stuff" cleared out of the bonus room, my wife just may kill me. So, yes potentially I'm dying to get this done.
Gilly
Custom detailing the diner I have with a lit roof top sign using Miller Engineering's EL exp. kits,Miller's EL wire around the roofline,repainting the exterior and better interior lighting.
Dan
Dan, will you still answer if it rings?
Just kidding. I have one on my layout and it's not connected either. It's a really good "O" structure.
Back to the topic. I'm still backed up with a few train repairs but after they're done I need to install some new acquisitions on the layout: Kolber Wig Wag; Flyer rotating beacon trestle; Lionel HO Radar Tower.
About the only project I have to get BACK to is scenery, seems like I keep tearing up more than I put down. (TIP: run your layout for 1 year BEFORE putting down scenery, it'll save you $$$ on aspirin later on)
Projects yet to be started:
PS2 install in 4-6-0
Build bridge to replace the ugly drop down access section to the room
Obtain Budd 10-6 passenger car body from OK Engines and convert to a Pullman 10-6 (need to remove some fluting above the windows)
I need to keep things relatively simple (aka less $$$ spent) this year.
I installed new LEDs on the 2012 Atlas Coca-Cola truck and successfully tested at the house. I then installed it on the layout, and in the transport process, the wiring was effected and it did not work. I have to get back to this project and fix the lights so they work on the layout.
I'm waiting for the weather to get warmer so I can resume work on my layout in the Flagg stop. It's time to invest in a heating System so I can play in comfort.
Installing a 2046w whistle in my dad's 783 Hudson's tender.
Due to domestic chores and expenses, and the holidays, I have gotten nothing done,
but have a feed mill kit I want to convert into a grain elevator, by greatly enhancing the tower, and thus get back to structure building. And my pursuit of a layout kit (commercial) was also derailed for these, worse luck, continuing reasons.
A second level EL to the layout. Need more loops!
Just need to find the right system to fashion the framework on my tinplate pike. Right now I'm testing everything from erector sets to drywall corner beads.
Command upgrade for my 1990s Scale Lionel Turbine.
I have the engine and tender all apart. I upgraded the tail lights in the tender with new leds and lens caps. I got a Railsounds 4 board from Lionel for the Turbine sounds. I just need to get the railsounds commander and the ac commander to finish the job.
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