WHAT’S ON THE WORKBENCH AT THE MOMENT

Yikes @RSJB18!

What size LEDs make the flickering fire up? I'm guessing they're smaller than the 1.8mm LEDs?

Wow....the wire lead connections sound really fragile!

You do realize you can buy 3mm flickering LED's in various colors and roll-your-own without having to use solid #32 wire, right?

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You do realize you can buy 3mm flickering LED's in various colors and roll-your-own without having to use solid #32 wire, right?

Yes but try and fit 3- 3mm leds in a 4mm barrel........

Obviously more than one way to skin a cat.......

@RSJB18 posted:

Yes but try and fit 3- 3mm leds in a 4mm barrel........

I have a press!

@Junior,

Thanks.  Yep, I had to install a collector and ground strap, and that was the hardest part.  Refer to this thread for more info.  If I had to do it again, I would look for a junker car on the bay that had collectors already installed.  The hard part for that would be to make sure that truck could be installed on the frame.  I had to take the shell off, but it was a piece of cake for this car.  The outer frame had tabs that fit into slots in the frame.

The first set of Fire LEDs I got from Evans Design were the pico, like Bob used in his picture.  They're really small and could easily fit in my barrel.  After my first failed attempt I went to the nano size, definitely bigger but still small enough to fit after enlarging the access hole.  I ended up using two of the 3 LED strings in the barrel.  I just went straight to two strings, I didn't even try one, and I now think that one could have worked.  Interestingly, the light output from the pico is about the same as the nano.

@RSJB18,

Thanks.  I have banana fingers so working with small stuff is not something I do well.  I'm glad you pointed out the Fire LEDs from Evans, it looks great.  The flickering looks so much better seeing it in the car.  The original iPhone video on the phone looks pretty good, but the movie that got posted here is marginal.

I yanked the factory EOB setup in my 3rd Rail Southern Pacific MT-5. It always ran jerky at low speed and overall wasn't enjoyable to run. I replaced it with an ERR Cruise Commander and a RS 5.5 (early Legacy) GS4 sound board. 100% improvement in operation and it actually sounds like a SP steam locomotive now.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I have a press!

LOL! Old electrician's joke- sending the helper out to get the U-lamp bender to convert a 4' fluorescent lamp in to a u-6 for a 2' fixture.......

@Junior posted:

Yikes @RSJB18!

What size LEDs make the flickering fire up? I'm guessing they're smaller than the 1.8mm LEDs?

Wow....the wire lead connections sound really fragile!

Here's a video I took during testing with a good view of the wires below the barrel. As John said, 32 ga solid is tiny stuff.

@Lou1985 posted:

I yanked the factory EOB setup in my 3rd Rail Southern Pacific MT-5. It always ran jerky at low speed and overall wasn't enjoyable to run. I replaced it with an ERR Cruise Commander and a RS 5.5 (early Legacy) GS4 sound board. 100% improvement in operation and it actually sounds like a SP steam locomotive now.

Very Cool @Lou1985!

Was the Lionel Legacy sound board a “plug and play” onto the ERR board?

@RSJB18 posted:

Here's a video I took during testing with a good view of the wires below the barrel. As John said, 32 ga solid is tiny stuff.

Yeah….very tiny wires. I’m surprised Evans didn’t used flexible silicon covered wires. Guess solid wire is cheaper? IMHO flexible wire would’ve help mitigate the chances of breaking a lead off of those tiny LEDs.

Thanks for all the great follow up!

@Junior posted:

Very Cool @Lou1985!

Was the Lionel Legacy sound board a “plug and play” onto the ERR board?

I'm using an ERR Cruise Commander with the old ERR RS 4.0 powered motherboard, which had a RS 4.0 board that plugged into the motherboard. I just removed the RS 4.0 board and plugged in the RS 5.5 board, no other changes.

The RS boards I used are all old, no longer available components, so you would have to scrounge around to find them. You can't connect any of the currently available Legacy RS components from Lionel to the ERR Cruise Commander.   

@Lou1985 posted:

I'm using an ERR Cruise Commander with the old ERR RS 4.0 powered motherboard, which had a RS 4.0 board that plugged into the motherboard. I just removed the RS 4.0 board and plugged in the RS 5.5 board, no other changes.

The RS boards I used are all old, no longer available components, so you would have to scrounge around to find them. You can't connect any of the currently available Legacy RS components from Lionel to the ERR Cruise Commander.   

Wow!! You're a mind reader too?!! You knew exactly where I was heading.

This started life as a K-Line B&A Berkshire. When Lionel released the engine they redesigned the chassis to fit a large Pittman or Canon motor. The shell fits the Lionel chassis without modification. Rather than trying to modify the K-Line chassis for a larger motor its a no brainer to use Lionels. Now with a Pittman and fan driven smoke unit this is how it runs.

This engine came with an incredible amount of detail but was missing a few items.

Added were class lamp lenses, scale pilot wheels, cab apron, cab curtains, drawbar to help close the gap and a whistle.

Thanks to forum members Gary Superwarp and Mario Centralfan1976 for pointing out that missing whistle.

Pete

First post on this thread in almost a month. I guess everyone's trains are working perfectly!

I got back to my RS-27 with zinc-rotted trucks yesterday. I installed the new trucks and put the chassis back together. Engine fires right up, sounds start, but it still won't move. I even left it for a while to make sure all the caps and BCR were charged up.

Back to the drawing board at this point. Gotta go through the boards and check for loose wires/ plugs.

Bob

I need to spend weeks at my work bench. The last time I was in the train room I was getting a PW steam engine for my son to run at his home. I went through 3 engines and tenders before I found a good pair. 🥵 If I put all the engines needing work around my work bench it would look like my mechanic’s yard. 😱

@RSJB18 posted:

First post on this thread in almost a month. I guess everyone's trains are working perfectly!

I got back to my RS-27 with zinc-rotted trucks yesterday. I installed the new trucks and put the chassis back together. Engine fires right up, sounds start, but it still won't move. I even left it for a while to make sure all the caps and BCR were charged up.

Back to the drawing board at this point. Gotta go through the boards and check for loose wires/ plugs.

Bob

That’s frustrating 🤔

@RSJB18 posted:

First post on this thread in almost a month. I guess everyone's trains are working perfectly!

I got back to my RS-27 with zinc-rotted trucks yesterday. I installed the new trucks and put the chassis back together. Engine fires right up, sounds start, but it still won't move. I even left it for a while to make sure all the caps and BCR were charged up.

Back to the drawing board at this point. Gotta go through the boards and check for loose wires/ plugs.

Bob

Hey Bob, it might be just like a Ford and need a little nudge when the power is on to get it going~! LOL

Good Luck, I hope it's an easy fix!

I purchased this used Williams 44 tonner originally in Union Pacific decor. The Rio Grande's were black and yellow. I printed black and clear on Microscale yellow and used yellow numbers from their early RG diesel sets. An ERR minicommander 2 works well. Installing Kadees was not as bad as electrocouplers, but it was no cakewalk. Winterized window, side louvers, and side reflectors finished it off.

A better question might be, what *isn't* on the workbench at the moment!

In addition to all the maintenance and repair projects from the main layout that have backed up (most of which I intend to continue to ignore, for now!), recently I've been wrestling with a whole new master project -- repurposing my old "test layout" (nee my original around-the-tree layout from three decades ago) into an animation showcase of sorts. It already has a newly installed loop of track (added to accommodate my recently-acquired GG-1) with siding, and an upgraded MTH operating McDonalds. The plan is to remove the track and everything else, install a layer of foam board and paper-backed grass, then repopulate the layout with the new track and an assortment of additional animated pieces.

In anticipation of beginning this project, in the last month or two I've been buying a bunch of used animated pieces, some in marginal condition. For instance, I acquired a Menards burnt engine shed (like this one, listed on eBay) which had non-functional lights, so I bought six Evan Design flickering orange LEDs and installed them among the 'embers' inside the burnt building, and am in the process of adding an ultrasonic transducer to simulate 'smoke' rising from the 'embers'. Next, I bought an MTH Citgo operating station (like this one), which lit up and the bay door opened and closed when tested, but the '57 Chevy refused to move between the bay and pumps as designed. At the same time, I also acquired a K-Line Starlite operating diner (like this one), with a separate lighted and animated billboard promoting the diner (something like this one, only with "Starlite Diner" on the billboard). The lights on the billboard were broken loose (quickly repaired with a few dabs of superglue), but both the lights and animation worked as advertised. Similarly, the lights and sound worked on the diner, but no smoke -- odd, since the lights dim a bit when the smoke feature is activated, but no visible smoke or indication the unit is heating.

Tonight I finished evaluating the pieces and decided where they would fit best on the layout, and also tentatively decided to redo the layout and install the pieces as-is, without waiting to first repair what's still non-functional, in order to get it ready in time for a family holiday get-together later this upcoming week. I'll post pics here or on a separate thread as progress warrants -- stay tuned!

[Oh, and today I also completed the replacement of my home-brew thunder and lightning system with its original inspiration, the recently restocked BLI Lightning & Thunder set, which I was able to pick up at a decent discount! The Arduino components from my version will be recycled into another animation project -- at least that's the current plan!]

@Steve Tyler- that's quite a list......

I solved the problem with my RS27 last night. Helps when you read the operating instructions (don't tell my wife). I had to do a reset of the boards. I haven't worked with a older QSI PS1 engine in a while and they only require about 10v. I'm used to PS2's and 3's that need higher voltage to start up.

After the reset the engine behaved as it should. I can finally get this off my bench!

Bob

Morning guys I see your all busy and having fun at the same time!

@Steve Tyler Steve that sure sounds like a lot to do! That could take me a full year! LOL

@RSJB18 Bob, I am glad you got it figured out! I was guessing it wouldn't be too hard for you, but then again, I also didn't thing you needed instructions! LOL Looks like a real smooth runner!

@RSJB18 posted:

First post on this thread in almost a month. I guess everyone's trains are working perfectly!

I got back to my RS-27 with zinc-rotted trucks yesterday. I installed the new trucks and put the chassis back together. Engine fires right up, sounds start, but it still won't move. I even left it for a while to make sure all the caps and BCR were charged up.

Back to the drawing board at this point. Gotta go through the boards and check for loose wires/ plugs.

Bob

NICE  GOING  BOB............

.........you provoked me into running my RK  ps3  Clinfield  Challenger with that talk about everyone's trains must be running perfectly  ......

I dragged the steamer out and ran it around the layout and found that it kept stopping and sometimes shutting down completely. 

I though it happened only on some of my curves ( O31s )  but then it stoppped on a straight track in my long tunnel  .

I was fortunate in having the UP and WM challengers to help track down the problem by isolating the tender as the problem by switching tenders.     

PROBLEM .....one of the speaker wires was frayed and a couple strands of the wire were touching the speaker frame .   The speaker wires were zip tied to the main harness and I think the occasional  movement of the harness finally worked on the offending speaker wire........ I guess I was lucky since a speaker frame shorted to the tender floor has been reported to blow a board.

The Clincfield now runs flawlessly.     I can't wait to see how your non- runner gets ffixed.

Have a good one Bob.   God speed.

@RSJB18 posted:

@Steve Tyler- that's quite a list......

I solved the problem with my RS27 last night. Helps when you read the operating instructions (don't tell my wife). I had to do a reset of the boards. I haven't worked with a older QSI PS1 engine in a while and they only require about 10v. I'm used to PS2's and 3's that need higher voltage to start up.

After the reset the engine behaved as it should. I can finally get this off my bench!

Bob

YAAAAAY ......BOB.   .

@Dallas Joseph posted:

YAAAAAY ......BOB.   .

Thanks Dallas,

Consider yourself lucky that the speaker wire didn't take the boards out.

Bob

A mess!

@mike g. posted:

@Steve Tyler Steve that sure sounds like a lot to do! That could take me a full year! LOL

Well, hold on to your hat, 'cause I had another over-the-top day (at least by my current standards!) . . .

First, having stripped the test layout of track and everything else, I lifted it off the sawhorses that I'd been using to elevate the formerly floor-level layout to mid-level height (about 32"), then installed 2X3 legs using lag bolts. The layout is ridiculously overbuilt, using 2X4's in a slide-together, two section format for the originally around-the-tree layout (which I screwed together when I repurposed it for permanent use a few years ago), and is correspondingly very heavy and hard to lift, but I persisted. Next, I covered the top with half-inch foam board, cutting and fitting the 4 X 8 sheet to fit the 6 X 5-1/2 top (using part of a half-inch styrofoam sheet to fill the shortfall, for those math nerds who might have otherwise objected that a 32 square foot sheet couldn't possibly cover a 33 square foot surface! ):

Then, I opened and unrolled the roll of Bachmann paper-backed grass sheet I'd bought earlier. Math being what it is, I *was* able to cut and piece the 100 by 50 inch sheet to cover the top. Unlike my main layout, I did not fold the grass mat around the edges and staple it under the top, but rather will use spray adhesive to adhere the mat to the foam sheet, and also rely on the split foam insulation tubes around the edges( as seen in the pics below). Pending such attachment, I put weights on top, to help uncurl the mat.

In a last burst of energy, I returned the track and accessories to the top of the layout, in a sort of test fit to find the desired location of all the animated pieces:

Tomorrow (the good Lord willin' and the tide don't rise!), I plan to finalize and mark the location of the accessory pieces on the mat, then remove them in order to cut through the mat and underlying foam board so the accessories can be recessed into the surface (most have thick fixed bases, which I want to try to 'disappear'). Then, I'll glue the foam board down to the top and use spray adhesive to adhere the grass mat to cover it. I'll then reinstall the foam edge, track and accessories, and wire everything up. Stay tuned . . .

@Mike D posted:

A mess!

Looks like a FUN MESS  Mike.

(  I get an anxious feeling when I have a clear workbench. )

Bob you are going to put a body shell on the RS27 before taking it off the work bench?

@coach joe posted:

Bob you are going to put a body shell on the RS27 before taking it off the work bench?

AND COVER UP ALL MY HARD WORK???????????

Yea- next chance I get. maybe tonight. The screws on this one are kind of buried under the trucks.  A bit of a PITA but we will keep calm and O Gauge on.

@Steve Tyler- An ambitious project to say the least.

@Mike D- What are those little tiny trains doing on you bench??????

       @Mike D- What are those little tiny trains doing on you bench??????

@RSJB18  Bob - just where do you think all the big trains come from ??? 

  The car will be lettered for Fort Worth & Denver Rwy.

The trucks are Weaver.

@ScoutingDad posted:

       @Mike D- What are those little tiny trains doing on you bench??????

@RSJB18  Bob - just where do you think all the big trains come from ???

You beat me to it!

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Looks like a FUN MESS  Mike.

(  I get an anxious feeling when I have a clear workbench. )

Not much fun anymore. With time comes more stuff to do and more stuff to fix. Building and repairing is now a chore, but worth the effort when it's all done.

I actually get happy when I don't have anything on the work bench. With all the stuff I have to build, upgrade and repair that won't be happening anytime soon.

Well, more progress on the animation showcase layout makeover -- after outlining the location of the animation pieces yesterday, I cut through the grass mat and foam board, and removed the cutouts:

I then removed the grass mat and foam board sections, and used the adhesive (the tubes shown above) to adhere the foam board to the original OSB and plywood top (visible above through the cutouts). After letting the adhesive set up overnight, today I tackled sticking the grass mat down atop the foam board. In spite of the spray can stating it covers 75 square feet, more than twice the less than 33 square feet I needed to adhere, I ran low on spray adhesive about 2/3rds through the biggest piece of the mat, with no spare! I did the best I could with what I had, knowing I didn't have time to get another can before the adhesive set up.

Bottom line: it more or less worked, albeit with a few wrinkles and less-than-perfectly-adhered sections of grass mat. After effecting what repairs I could, I reinstalled the foam edging and test-fit the animation pieces and other equipment on the layout:

Tomorrow I plan to complete the fitting of the animation pieces (mostly, trimming the edges and adding spacers to recess the bases into the foam), re-lay the track, and start wiring everything up. With all the additional pieces I'm adding, I ordered a terminal block to help distribute auxiliary power to the various items needing it, and it should arrive tomorrow. The wheels I added to the ends of the new legs are working well, and removing the sawhorses I used before to support the layout will, in the short term, allow better access underneath to do the wiring, and. in the longer term, provide additional storage space. Dunno if it will all get done by our scheduled Christmas Eve family get-together, but if not, I'll know the reason why!

Looks good, Steve, but you are certainly cutting it close!  

After finishing my most recent project (see: Standard Gauge "Junk" to a Observation Car Tribute (warrenvillerailroad.com) , I cleaned off the workbench for four more winter projects:

I think that the Milwaukee Road passenger car will become a diner, the "mint" car will be redone in a Warrenville RR livery, the searchlight caboose maybe Union Pacific and the Standard Gauge caboose into a patriotic red-white-blue scheme.

So one more trip to the bench......had to replace the speaker. Fortunately I had a 8 ohm 48mm speaker in my spare inventory. It came out of a K-line MP-15 from their old horn board set up.

Now it's done!

Bob

So how much time went into this Bob?

Jay

@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:

So how much time went into this Bob?

Jay

Way too much time when into trying to rescue the old trucks. The new ones went in pretty fast. The couple programming issues worked themselves out, and the speaker swap took about 1/2 hour.

I started messing with it on October 3rd..........

@RSJB18 posted:

I started messing with it on October 3rd..........

And I thought some of my projects were slow!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

And I thought some of my projects were slow!

Yea- In actual man-hours it was probably around 12. If life didn't keep getting in the way I could get a lot more done on the trains.

At least I made some room on my bench for the next four or five......

Bob

I had a postwar 6517 bay caboose in a big ol' parts box that was looking poorly with some cleaning/chemicals that had spoiled the finish. (I should have taken a 'before' picture) After a bit of cleaning and light sanding - it received a fresh rattle-can coat of red and some k4 waterslide decals to give it another turn around the table as a Wabash caboose

I'm waiting for a replacement stack in the mail.

- i kinda wish I had left the yellow ladders and rails alone. the rattle-can yellow didn't stick or perform as nicely on the raw plastic as the red did on body.

Nice work on that caboose woodsy!!

Fabricated an interior for the LIRR switcher. Just some styrene sheet but it will cover the board, motor, and all the wiring from view.

The engineer was laying down on the job so the foreman had to show him who's boss.....

Bob

*Link to my build thread below my signature.

Just came off the workbench. . .added an e unit lock out switch to a Marx Western Pacific (green) E7A.  I already put a Lionel coupler on the front of the dummy A.  That way I can use it to pull Lionel consists.  Marx locomotives have a 2 position E unit with no lock out.  If you have dirty track you can get an unexpected reverse.

Last November I was given an MTH Lehigh Valley "big hook" crane car in exchange for the promise to repaint his Lionel Santa Fe tugboat to the DM&IR’s Edna G. Had so much fun repainting the LV crane that I decided to do a MTH RailKing American crane car that I found on eBay for a good price.    Actually I’m more impressed with the detail of this model than the other.    The Boom Car I made to pair with the "Big Hook X-7" was more suited for the American crane, thus the need for the buy.  It has been awhile since I dissembled the Erie Crane so today I had some frustrating moments trying to get it back together - finally got the cab assembled properly.  The next challenge was to undo the tangle mess of the boom cables.  The model did come with an instruction book which was very helpful. It’s now back in good working condition but still needing additional decal markings. Now I’m on the lookout for another 50’ flat car to make the proper Boom Car for the “Big Hook”.

A few pictures of the repaint:

Happy New Year to all!

Cheers, Dave

Big hook looks great, Dave!

Morning guys, I know it's most likely my fault for being so far behind, but yawl need to slow down and pace yourselves! It takes some work to get caught up to everyone's wonderful work!

@Steve Tyler Steve Man when you get started on a project you just go hog wild! LOL looks great!

@Mike D Mike get a bigger work bench and it would look so bad for a while! LOL

@RSJB18 Bob great looking engine! I am glad you were able to get everything worked out! As for the LIRR switcher it sure looks like the engineer was tossing back a cold one, the foreman looks better prepared! But I do have to say if you look close, they could be twins! LOL

@woodsyT The yellow might not have stuck like you wanted, but I think you did an OUTSTANDING job!

@darlander Dave Great work! I probably have a flatcar, but it wont help as everything is packed up till the move and we get re settled!

I hope you all have a great New Years and cant wait to see what projects you have coming up next!

@mike g. posted:

@Steve Tyler Steve Man when you get started on a project you just go hog wild! LOL looks great!

Thanks, Mike! I've been slowed up a bit by the holiday season, but I finally got around to shooting and editing a bit of video to mark progress so far on the planned animation showcase:

In addition to recessing the animation piece bases into the foam top layer and wiring everything up, I had to figure out where the roads needed to go, cut them out of tar paper, and fit them in place, as well as trim the edges of the recesses. There's still a lot left for me to do to repair and upgrade some of the animation pieces, and a *whole* lot of landscaping, vehicles and people to add, but all in good time!

@Steve Tyler posted:

Thanks, Mike! I've been slowed up a bit by the holiday season, but I finally got around to shooting and editing a bit of video to mark progress so far on the planned animation showcase:

Steve everything is looking great! One day I am going to have to find me a McD's!

Looks like you're off to a great start Pup!

Lionel’s 2017 run of NW2s suffered loose truck screws from the factory. My newly purchased PRR unit was no exception. The trucks were hanging low and only by a few threads.

In order to tighten the screws, you must remove the shell. Screw 1 is under the cab/ speaker and screw 2 is under a circuit board. Not convenient but it was well worth the effort. The trucks are much more secure now. Shout out to everyone who posted how-tos in past threads.

It was a tight loco to work on, but taking photos along the way helped. It was a good reminder for keeping wiring exactly how it was originally routed. A lot of care is needed to avoid pinched wires. There’s not much tolerance in this thing!

Here’s the loco patched up and ready for action:

Hey Alex - do you put any Purple Loctite on screws/bolts in situations like that?

@Berkshire President posted:

Hey Alex - do you put any Purple Loctite on screws/bolts in situations like that?

I did not use loctite as the screw felt tight enough when adjusted. That said, I’m not a repair expert by any means. I’ll have to give it some time to see if they loosen up again.

Took one of my MTH 0-4-0t's off the shelf today to give it some run time. Anyone who has one knows about the scored drive wheels that MTH did on these models (no tires). The scoring generates a lot of noise, like a coffee grinder running on the layout. I also noticed that one set of drive rods were bent and scraping on the wheels. So since it was heading to the shop, I decided to grind the wheels down to remove the score marks. These engines have cast bodies and are heavy for their size so no worries about traction.

Here's the results.

Bob

Finishing up my Weaver Brass Caboose project. Had a hard life before arriving here. This will be a stand in until an actual Erie caboose arrives.

Before.

After.

Pete

Funny how someone would spend the money on a nice brass caboose.....and then let it get beat up like that.

Then again, life happens......I suppose.

The Lemax Christmas Carousel we had this year on the Polar Express part of the Christmas layout was lacking  ( what I thought )  a connection to the PE..........so rectifying that and getting a head start for next Christmas I jumped to the workbench .Some paintto convert ' sitting passengers ' to imitate elves.......and glue.

Maybe add more of Santa's elves  ???  .

Have a great weekend  .God speed all. 

@Dallas Joseph posted:

The Lemax Christmas Carousel we had this year on the Polar Express part of the Christmas layout was lacking ( what I thought )  a connection to the PE..........so rectifying that and getting a head start for next Christmas I jumped to the workbench .Some paintto convert ' sitting passengers ' to imitate elves.......and glue.

Maybe add more of Santa's elves  ???  .

Have a great weekend  .God speed all. 

Great idea Dallas! The elves look right at home.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

Great idea Dallas! The elves look right at home.

Bob

Thanks Bob.

Got the chance to replace some of my plastic Frisco Meteor cars with nicer aluminum cars. The plastic cars were shadowlined while these aluminum cars are actually fluted.  This Lionel Pullman was originally part of a 2 car Texas Special add-on.  It has received better lighting, new decals, and better diaphragms. The continuous strip of plastic which made the windows will be replaced with microscope slide glass. The new windows will then get blinds decals from Circus City.

Technically, this is just OFF the workbench.  About a year ago I got an unrun Lionel 41 switcher from Stout Auctions.  I never had one, so I was surprised that it had no lighting.  I installed an LED for the headlamp, and a blinking red LED for the taillight, and then put a little person inside the cab.  After that work i put it in the closet for a half year or so, but got it out last week when my brand new Lionel Legacy Cotton Belt GP20 wouldn't move, and I had to have something that pulled some culvert cars slowly into the TMCC Culvert Loader and Culvert Unloader stations to show my grandkid.

After the show and tell, I looked at the switcher and realized I could do more.  I installed clear glass all around the cab, added a second person inside the cab, and then put lighting in there so they could see.

@Rob Leese, do you cut down the slides to fit individual windows, does one slide span multiple windows?

@coach joe

I purchased a box of 24x50mm slide covers and had to cut approx 1/8” off each cover to treat one window. Leaving them full length was not going to work.
Using slide covers is a good technique, but they are very fragile and trimming them is a hazardous skill. I held them down in a 55 gallon trash barrel so it would catch flying shards. ***I have to work with ranch tools rather than fine instruments***

@Dallas Joseph posted:

The Lemax Christmas Carousel we had this year on the Polar Express part of the Christmas layout was lacking ( what I thought )  a connection to the PE..........so rectifying that and getting a head start for next Christmas I jumped to the workbench .Some paintto convert ' sitting passengers ' to imitate elves.......and glue.

Maybe add more of Santa's elves  ???  .

Have a great weekend  .God speed all. 

That is a unique idea Dallas. I’m moving in that direction(Lemax and Dept 56) for the second level of my layout. I will be incorporating this approach. Thank you.

Jay

I've got to hand it to you Rob.  I have enough trouble trying to cut 1/8" off anything let alone a sliver of glass like a slide cover.

@Rob Leese posted:

@coach joe

I purchased a box of 24x50mm slide covers and had to cut approx 1/8” off each cover to treat one window. Leaving them full length was not going to work.
Using slide covers is a good technique, but they are very fragile and trimming them is a hazardous skill. I held them down in a 55 gallon trash barrel so it would catch flying shards. ***I have to work with ranch tools rather than fine instruments***

Rob, what did you use as a cutter? I have done this with mixed success using a carbide scribe but its not ideal.

Pete

@Norton

my method is less than ideal but it does work.  My needlenose pliers have a smooth area near the pivot point. I hold the amount of slide cover to remove inside that area of the pliers.  An index finger applying pressure up against the remainder will easily snap the cover. This will produce a jagged but suitable cut and also small flying shards, so that is why I do this process with my hands down in a large trash can.
This should have all the fine modelers on this forum shaking their heads, and rightly so.  I have always openly described myself as a somewhat crude modeler so this should not come as a surprise.  The outside appearence looks okay. A person would have to peer closely inside a car window to see the roughness within.
So don’t do that. :-P

I think I only tried to install the glass inside the frames maybe one time, this over 50 years ago. The scribe was nearly new and sharp. After it dulls down you end up wasting a lot of glass. I used to install auto glass many years ago and we had a wet belt sander to smooth the edges. Wet carbide paper is effective.

Pere

@RSJB18 posted:

Took one of my MTH 0-4-0t's off the shelf today to give it some run time. Anyone who has one knows about the scored drive wheels that MTH did on these models (no tires). The scoring generates a lot of noise, like a coffee grinder running on the layout. I also noticed that one set of drive rods were bent and scraping on the wheels. So since it was heading to the shop, I decided to grind the wheels down to remove the score marks. These engines have cast bodies and are heavy for their size so no worries about traction.

Here's the results.

Bob

I did that with the one I recently converted to a cab-forward. Your's look a bit smoother than mine, but the g-r-r-r is indeed gone.

@Rob Leese posted:

@Norton

my method is less than ideal but it does work.  My needlenose pliers have a smooth area near the pivot point. I hold the amount of slide cover to remove inside that area of the pliers.  An index finger applying pressure up against the remainder will easily snap the cover. This will produce a jagged but suitable cut and also small flying shards, so that is why I do this process with my hands down in a large trash can.
This should have all the fine modelers on this forum shaking their heads, and rightly so.  I have always openly described myself as a somewhat crude modeler so this should not come as a surprise.  The outside appearence looks okay. A person would have to peer closely inside a car window to see the roughness within.
So don’t do that. :-P

@Norton posted:

I think I only tried to install the glass inside the frames maybe one time, this over 50 years ago. The scribe was nearly new and sharp. After it dulls down you end up wasting a lot of glass. I used to install auto glass many years ago and we had a wet belt sander to smooth the edges. Wet carbide paper is effective.

Pere

FWIW- I use the hard plastic clamshells from battery packages. Not crystal clear but not bad either.

Bob

@D500 posted:

I did that with the one I recently converted to a cab-forward. Your's look a bit smoother than mine, but the g-r-r-r is indeed gone.

That's a neat project.

I have 2 more to do one day......

I want to go over the wheels one more time with a finer grinding wheel to smooth the wheels out a little more.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

FWIW- I use the hard plastic clamshells from battery packages. Not crystal clear but not bad either.

Bob

I have plastic cover slips too. They are very flat and distortion free but rarely try to fit either plastic or glass inside the frame. More likely just glue them on the inside like all the manufacturers do.

Pete

Building another caboose, this one for my C&O Allegheny. Thanks to a couple of forum members, one for the kit, both for the inspiration I am trying to get this as close to a prototype which I can’t show here.

Just finished the awnings and rather than using the wood provided decided to use brass. I had some .020” sheet which is the same dimension as the kit provided.

Cupola supports were cut at 60 degrees and body supports at 45 degrees.

Roof will remain removable for interior detailing.

Pete

Pete, that is a wonderful looking scratch building project!

The weather was adequate enough to prime the detail parts on my shop switcher today.

Link to the build below my signature.

Bob

A mess on my workbench. My wife had both Carpal Tunnel and Pinched Nerve Relocation Surgery in her elbow about 2½ weeks ago on her right dominant hand and arm. She's in a sling so I haven't have a chance to do anything with either the layout or the workbench. Getting her feeling better and trying to keep the house going has been a full time job and higher priority. Your loved ones have to come first.❤️

@Gary P posted:

A mess on my workbench. My wife had both Carpal Tunnel and Pinched Nerve Relocation Surgery in her elbow about 2½ weeks ago on her right dominant hand and arm. She's in a sling so I haven't have a chance to do anything with either the layout or the workbench. Getting her feeling better and trying to keep the house going has been a full time job and higher HAVE. Your loved ones have to come first.❤️

Hope the little lady heals well Gary.

Judy just had a procedure for tendonitis in her wrist and doing really well.    I have a hard time keeping her slowed down.  If she persists I'm going to have her move a bunch of my heavy o scale steamers.

@Tranquil Hollow RR

That is a unique idea Dallas. I’m moving in that direction(Lemax and Dept 56) for the second level of my layout. I will be incorporating this approach. Thank you.

Jay

Thanks Jay.

The carousel had large PE size figures so the regular o scale size figures worked well as elves.             On the North Pole toy factory entrance yarn building that Judy made for the Christmas PE I had to modify ( I had to cut thelegs off the figures ugh. ) the O scale figures to look right.   

I had to make 100 elves.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Hope the little lady heals well Gary.

Judy just had a procedure for tendonitis in her wrist and doing really well.    I have a hard time keeping her slowed down.  If she persists I'm going to have her move a bunch of my heavy o scale steamers.

Moving one or more of those fish fry deals ought to slow her down some.  Then again that could trigger some more tendinitis.

Some of you may remember that in exchange for a gifted LV MTH crane car, I took on the task of converting a Lionel Santa Fe tugboat to the Edna-G, a steam powered tugboat owned by the DM&IRR.   PS: the steam tug is in pristine condition and afloat in Two Harbors, MN .   The conversion is nearing completion but awaiting some miner detail additions and decals.   It has been a fun project.  Hoping soon to get back to the layout!    

Cheers, Dave

A friend of mine gave me his Santa Fe 2-8-8-2 Lionel 6-38030. A bracket broke off the engine frame (die cast) which I then repaired with JP Weld and added a brass support. All is good. But going through the engine, I found that the center rollers were gummed up and would not move, fixed 'em.

All the driving wheels were sticky and needed cleaning and oil. Same for the gear boxes. The head light did not work and the steam generator was loose and bent out of shape. Again, all fixed up. So now it runs good but I might need to do some more adjustments on the rear driver - the front driver turns smoothly.

Next up is a Milwaukee Road Legacy 4-8-4, 6-11229. Not much to do with this one, the engine works and it runs very smooth. So just oiled and greased. Only issue is with the sound system. Can not get any Legacy features to work. No bell, whistle, crew talk, chuffing, etc. I do hear the sound of a pump at start-up. However, when I place the tender with another Legacy engine, all the features work. I wonder if maybe something to do with the IR connection on the engine?

RAY

Pulled an engine off the shelf today that needed work. It's a Lionel MPC era (I think) Deleware and Hudson RS-3. Base model with the motors in the trucks. It has a really bad horn too.

I had re-wired the motors in series a while back and couldn't get the engine to run. I hit the proverbial wall with it so before the engine hit the actual wall....I closed it up to live to see another day.

So I pulled it apart today and started dissecting the wiring. I had a dead short across the power side so I went to the beginning and worked my way up. Dropped a truck and found the problem immediately. The motor leads and power leads are reversed from what I expected. The trucks have 4 wires, red, black, blue, yellow. Typically for all engines I've done before, red/ black are power, and blue/ yellow are the motor.

Well leave it to Lionel to reverse the pairs.......

So with that sorted out, I corrected the splices and put the engine back together. Quite a mess of wire for such a basic engine.

Runs reasonably slow at 8v for a conventional engine.

Bob

Very nice Job on the RS-3 Bob!  The D&H paint scheme looks great on any diesel.

@RSJB18 Nice clean wiring job! Big fan of the D&H

Making bridge supports out of ceiling tiles.  First two are larger, next 4 are thinner.

@coach joe posted:

Moving one or more of those fish fry deals ought to slow her down some.  Then again that could trigger some more tendinitis.

........and the Lenten Fish Fry Dinners begin this week Joe    

( If the CEO develops tendinitis again I'll have to suffer and carry the load of steam engines    )

@Mark Boyce posted:

Very nice Job on the RS-3 Bob!  The D&H paint scheme looks great on any diesel.

@T-Bone1214 posted:

@RSJB18 Nice clean wiring job! Big fan of the D&H

Thanks guys.

The D&H is a favorite of mine too.

Bob

Bob, could that RS-3 be LTI?  I thought the RS-3 was newer production than MPC.

Fish Fry is on so I'll be on the forum Saturday for sure.

@coach joe posted:

Bob, could that RS-3 be LTI?  I thought the RS-3 was newer production than MPC.

Probably is Joe. It came in the black and white box, not the red MPC era. After I wrote my post it occurred to me that MPC engines had pullmore motors and mechanical e-units.

Bob

Nice job on the RS-3 Bob!  I'm a kid that grew up with MPC.  The RS-3s came out in the late '80s, LTI for sure.  If it's a keeper, you could also think about lowering the fuel tank by inserting a block of wood or styrene between the tank and the chassis, painted to match.  A friend did that to my brother's RS-3, and it improved the appearance as much as series wiring improved the operation!

@RSJB18 posted:

Pulled an engine off the shelf today that needed work. It's a Lionel MPC era (I think) Deleware and Hudson RS-3. Base model with the motors in the trucks. It has a really bad horn too.

I had re-wired the motors in series a while back and couldn't get the engine to run. I hit the proverbial wall with it so before the engine hit the actual wall....I closed it up to live to see another day.

So I pulled it apart today and started dissecting the wiring. I had a dead short across the power side so I went to the beginning and worked my way up. Dropped a truck and found the problem immediately. The motor leads and power leads are reversed from what I expected. The trucks have 4 wires, red, black, blue, yellow. Typically for all engines I've done before, red/ black are power, and blue/ yellow are the motor.

Well leave it to Lionel to reverse the pairs.......

So with that sorted out, I corrected the splices and put the engine back together. Quite a mess of wire for such a basic engine.

Runs reasonably slow at 8v for a conventional engine.

Bob

As usual, excellent problem solving Bob. Thank for sharing your experience because it provides insights for the rest of us to look at things differently. That’s an ability that is very unique. Reward yourself with a malted beverage.

Jay

Bob, Had a similar problem with my MTH E6. Would startup but any movement would create sparks flying at the lead truck pickup. Thought there might be a loose wire. Ended up rotating the power pickup lead 45 degrees to increase the clearance from the frame common lead. Very little gap between the two as wired but at least the wiring was correct.

@franktrain posted:

Working on rewiring American Flyer wide gauge motors. The biggest problem are the wheels especially when removing without distorting them.

Great job, I am working on an American Flyer 1218, very similar design, but no screws to splat the case.

I normally wouldn't post the addition of a single detail to engine here but I wanted to add Lionel 8041-T13 water scoops to my fleet of NYC Hudsons and a sole Pacific I have.  I had added one to a MTH Rail King Mohawk that I converted from ATSF to NYC and it was pretty straight forward and relatively easy, add some double sided Gorilla tape position between the tender trucks and apply some pressure.  Slotted to get the scoops, a Lionel 785 Hudson, a MTH Rail King Commodore Vanderbilt, A MTH Rail King Empire State Express, a K-Line Dreyfuss 20th Century Limited and a K-Line 3010 4-6-2.  I had forgotten about the locating tabs on the scoop so they had to be filed off and paint needed touchup. For one scoop no big deal, for 5, that's a lot of cleaning the file.  So 5 scoops filed, painted, taped and ready to be applied.  The 785 and the K-line Dreyfuss, no problems.  The K-line 4-6-2 not so much.  Being a much shorter tender and having openings for the air whistle the base of the water scoop was too long and would cover part of the whistle openings so one scoop would need surgery.  So on to the two MTH Rail King models.  The ESE installation was straight forward, however I'm so glad I did a test fit on each tender before applying the Gorilla tape.  The trucks of the CV tender were hitting the base of the scoop limiting the turning radius of each truck.  A second surgery candidate. 

Out to the garage for Dremel work and magnification lamp because I didn't want to get into the scoop itself.  The first one took several cut-off wheels because I snapped some re-entering my cut or changing the angle of attack.  Smoothing and rounding edgers was done with a flat grinding bit.  The second scoop must have been from a different batch made with a different alloy.  Material would accumulate on cut-off wheels as if the alloy was melting, even when using a slower s speed resulting in changing cut-off wheels frequently.  When the flat grinding wheel was used for final smoothing and rounding it was quickly clogged and final smoothing was done with a coarser cylindrical grinding wheel.  Finally the last two scoops were ready for paint and application.

The as purchased water scoop attached to the K-Line Dreyfus and the shortened base needed for the Pacific.

You can see how much shorter the base had to be.

As can bee seen in the following pictures the two MTH Rail King Hudson tenders were dramatically different.  The Commodore Vanderbilt tender appears more massive then the similar 6 axle Empire State Express tender it is 1/4" wider and it is taller.  The trucks are longer than the ESE trucks, the side frames are thicker and the leading truck is set back further than the ESE's leading trucks decreasing the space between trucks for the water scoop.  This differences would be understandable if these were from different mfrs but from the same manufacturer and the same trim line was totally unexpected.

Looks great Joe! I can feel your pain when it comes to doing more than 1 or 2 cars. I know when I have a new layout up I will have about 6-7 Amtrak cats to work on the couplers!

Like anything else, it not the time, its deciding to allocate the time to do something. While I am sure this will got through several iterations,  I wanted to make a dual track tunnel portal for a portion of the layout which will be very visible and a spot for photos and videos.

This is a first iteration of the portal cut out of 2 inch foam. I used a couple of different methods for scribing the stone blocks - a fine tip soldering iron on low heat and a sharp razor - each has its +/- .

At the far right I wanted to have a column type seam to cover the joint and allow for the removal of the arched sides which provide track access.

I had several cast urethane walls and columns but none close to the 10 inch height I needed for the area. In addition the fellow who made these columns and walls shut down during covid. So what the heck, I tried my hand at making a latex mold for a suitably tall column. The mold master is two sections glued together. The finished mold is 8 layers of heavy latex molding rubber with 2 layers of cheese cloth added to strengthen the mold.  That took about 3 days to build accounting for drying time. The as cast column is modeling plaster - raw unfinished. The mold held up nicely when removing the casting. Now for finishing the plaster casting. The copy is not 100% but is way better than I could do by hand. Stone relief is deeper than it appears.

Jeff that looks great and I would have never thought of making my own mold! I have been throwing around the idea of buying a 3D printer and have been studying them all day! I first thought I wanted one type now I have changed my mind 3 times! LOL

I think I have settled on the Bambu Lab A1 3D printer combo. It looks easy to set up and easy enough for someone like me to operate! LOL

ScoutingDad

I was thinking the same thing for a retaining wall I have. Could you make multiple columns with that rubber mold?

Next run of the UP Trackside Warehouse, this time the 3-story version. Had put out an APB about the run and asked for any preferences of overall length. With no replies we went with two at 12", two at 24" and one at 36". They are primed now and ready for cast stone color tomorrow.