Post by: Terry on February 14, 2021, 11:31:47 PM
The goal with the standard gauge layout is to showcase the neat Lionel trains and accessories from the classic period. Basically the brass trim items from 1924-1935, but I do have a few later nickel trim trains and accessories.
The layout will be tiered with a pair of wide radius ovals around the outside with parking sidings on the long faces, and then about 3.5" higher two smaller layouts with a river separating them.
You can see the wide radius curves in the lower photos. That's 72 and 84 inch diameter track with a 72 inch MTH switch.
The smaller layout closer to the stairs will have the Lionel Plots and 922 scenic park along with a big station and stuff.
The farther smaller layout will have more industrial stuff like the roundhouse and power station.
All the wood is cut, drilled and painted before going downstairs which adds a lot of time. The wood that is currently up is the used wood from my dad's layouts. A lot of it is warped and twisted and can't be used in long spans so I cut it up for a shorter spans.
Here's some pictures:
Here's some of the lights and such for the layout with the 3 sections of the 920 scenic parks below:
Here's a shot of the work in the garage. That's new lumber i bought today for the longer runs. That will do the raised yard and industrial area.
I should have the layout decked by the end of the month.
I don't know what I'm looking forward to more. Either getting the boxes of trains that are piled up everywhere emptied, or running the big trains.
Post by: pjdog350 on February 15, 2021, 03:51:41 AM
Thanks for sharing your progress.
Post by: starfire700 on February 15, 2021, 05:04:15 AM
Terry, is there a way you can design your track plan for standard so at least some areas are on an open grid of supports, so the layout below is more visible, especially at edges and corners?
Post by: Terry on February 15, 2021, 01:09:15 PM
On Miles Butler's layout, I spent years adding small details like moving clowns and working windmills. Miles would walk people in the door, start the trains running and then walk them around pointing out each detail. I used to joke with himthat we'd hang arrows from the ceiling to point at interesting things.
This is Miles' layout:
https://train99.com/layouts/miles-butlers-dream-high-rail-layout/
Looking at the pictures of Miles' layout reminds me how much I learned on that. We spent months figuring out how to do great lighting for night scenes. I spent 2 or 3 nights a week over there for 8 years.
Post by: starfire700 on February 16, 2021, 04:56:05 AM
Post by: Terry on February 16, 2021, 12:41:26 PM
The roundhouse is one huge building - it had a full interior that wasn't visible - on a sheet of plywood that fit into a cut out on the layout. Miles built it from a Buildings Unlimited kit and some extensions on a table in the workshop next door. Then we used the scooter to bring it in because it was too heavy to safely carry and shift through the doors. It was a full four hours to put that one building on the layout.
The turntable was by Diamond Scale and had a Bowser indexing kit. You turned a rotating selector to the track you wanted, selected the direction of travel, and pushed start. It would grind it's way around to the right track and stop.
Post by: pjdog350 on February 17, 2021, 05:57:41 AM
Post by: Terry on February 22, 2021, 03:44:03 AM
The two sides of the layout are divided by a river. The river will run at the lower level with the two hellgates on the raised level.
The front edge of the layout will have two thru tracks and a long passing siding I can park a long freight on. Should be 16-18 feet of straight siding there.
I decided to add a siding along the west edge so I can park a work train on it. This will be the only parking siding with a bumper.
Here's a view from where the hinged bridge will be into the control area. The two lower loops go over the hinged bridge and along the wall where the TV and tools are now.
I need to add some cross braces in areas where I will be climbing up when trains derail. Then I can put the sheeting on.
Post by: pjdog350 on February 22, 2021, 04:05:15 AM
Post by: pjdog350 on February 28, 2021, 03:51:14 AM
Post by: Terry on February 28, 2021, 11:02:58 AM
I was thinking of cutting plexiglass into strips, but found I can buy tempered glass shelves for $2-3 a foot. The corner areas on the upper levels will ahve dowels like the little fences shown.
Here's a shot from the stairs. Cardboard sheet is about what a glass sheet would be.
Long sidings against south wall. The track in the air will get a hinge up bridge.
Longs sidings from other end.
The front face with the Hellsgate. Three tracks in front with the rear being either one or two sidings. The 72" curve switches take a long run to make a siding so I don't know if I can park a train on the shorter siding. The MTH 72" switches require the cutting of the rails and repositioning of the ties.
Here's the west end. The east end has the upper curve as a 90 degree curve. Here I'm doing two 45 degree curves with a straight section between them. Makes it a little different.
I put away all the tools and cleaned up. Then I put the couch whre it goes. Sitting on the couch you get a great view of the front of the O gauge layout. With the handheld I can run the trains from the couch.
I bought wire the other day. I wanted 16 gauge stranded, and the Lowes website said they had it. They didn't have it, and ordering it online to pay with cash at the store was a hassle so the manager sold me 14 gauge for $12 off a roll.
When I got home it turned out I'd been usunbg 14 gauge wire all along!
Post by: pjdog350 on February 28, 2021, 11:39:54 AM
Your track all looks new. SO does the O gauge track. You must have come into lots of cash for that!
Looking forward to a video of the standard gauge in action! you do real good work!
Post by: Terry on March 02, 2021, 11:43:22 PM
The standard gauge track was made by Richie Bimmer of Antique Trains in NJ. My dad was a stocking distributer in the early 1990s and I have a few cases of it still unopened. That's in 42" and 72" circles. Plus the straights with widely spaced ties. The 84" circles are MTH. They sell on ebay for $250-300 a circle. I bought a circle from Walthers for $120 postpaid last spring.
I think I found some more of the xtra tie straights. I was going to cut wooden ties or move ties from one section to another to add them, but if I can buy the sections and then sell the wide ties to recoup most of my money that will be easier.
Tonight I ran some wire and spent some time looking at the control area. I'm going to run buss wires under the layout for each center rail, and then pull from them with relays to energize the track sections. Each circle of track gets it's own buss wire. This way, I have a relay for each block that I can also use to work the signals.
Tomorrow I'll build the control panel and paint it.
I also spent some time pushing trains back and forth to see if they'll hit. Here's some pictures of that. I didn't dust the trains when I packed them so some have dust on them.
Hey look! There is already a slot on the loco for a coupler.
Post by: pjdog350 on March 03, 2021, 09:45:37 AM
Post by: CNJRR on March 07, 2021, 01:15:54 PM
Do you plan on adding a lot of items on top that will need to be wired in?
Post by: Terry on March 08, 2021, 01:18:05 PM
I can kneel 4 feet in under the layout and reach another 2 feet. I am using scotchlock type connectors that just need to be squeezed to make connection. (The generic scotchlock connectors are harder plastic and work better. The 3M ones sometimes twist when you squeeze them shut.)
I made the control panel yesterday and it is in the garage waiting for a second coat of paint.
While the panel dries I have to put these Christmas light strings on so they light the underside.
The white LED strings run on 9 volts so I can just use an ho transformer with the voltage fixed. The blue lights should be good for night time appearance. They are 110V so need special treatment.
Post by: Terry on March 10, 2021, 01:30:17 PM
All the wiring is done except for a few connections on the back of the panel board and sizing the wires that connect to the transformer.
I need to rewire the 1121-C prewar 027 switch controllers so they will operate the standard gauge switches. Also I need to make up the relays with terminal strips on my work desk so I can connect them quickly.
The blue Christmas lights make for a night time scene.
The back of the control panel:
Wirng diagram:
Front of control panel:
With transformers:
And a picture of my helper:
Post by: pjdog350 on March 10, 2021, 03:56:46 PM
Looks like you making lots of progress. I like your helper. I also have a helper. Benjamin. He is a super smart dog. A Sheltie.
Post by: Terry on March 14, 2021, 12:58:26 AM
I got all the decking down except two small areas. For the small one on the lower level I had a scrap that fit, but it wasn't painted so it's in the garage drying. I want to avoid doing visible seams as much as posible on the decking so I'll get a 4 by 4 sheet for the bigger hole. I have sonme put aside for the smaller layouts, but will have to go get it on Monday.
Next is the soundboard and the transitions between the lower level and the mid level. That's the 4 inches you see in these pictures. Mostly that will be easy, but I have a curve that slopes in one corner. Like a section cut out of a funnel.
Here's some photos:
The color is from the lights and the chipboard.
Post by: Terry on March 14, 2021, 11:22:56 PM
Here's a straight transition:
I wasted an hour trying to make those angled sections from 2x6" scraps. The table saw would stall and blow the breaker every 4-6 inches. I started getting frustrated, and it's never good to be frustrated around a table saw so I used 1X6 wood instead.
I have one rounded corner. I cut a bunch of strips from the 2X6" wood that I did manage to rip. I should be able to glue them in pace so they make a circle and then either coat with sandable plaster or use a section of thin metal flashing over. If I can't figure it out I'll mae the corner exposed rock.
Here's a strip of carpet on the straight transition by the walk under bridge to give you an idea:
Here's a shot of the Schoenhut town with the blue lights and no other room lights:
Same shot without the blue lights under the standard layout:
The blue adds a lot of clarity to the night scene.
Post by: pjdog350 on March 15, 2021, 05:00:14 AM
Post by: starfire700 on March 16, 2021, 05:07:33 AM
Also running lighted passenger cars with the car lights reflecting can produce a nice effect.
Post by: starfire700 on March 16, 2021, 05:21:14 AM
I am having a problem with a V. It was rebuilt long ago, I think by Ken Koehler when we were in the Chicago area. It must have a faulty/wear circuit-breaker, because after a few minutes running a single train or even just for lighting, the red CB light starts flashing and the output pulses, eventually trips-off. I have worked on ZW's but not the V or Z types, so it will be a new experience figuring this out. I am hoping I can just replace the CB. Too bad that Ken K, Mr ZW, is not still around.
Post by: pjdog350 on March 23, 2021, 02:16:16 PM
Post by: Terry on March 28, 2021, 07:40:02 PM
I did get down today to figure out the fence. Here's some photos:
I had the angles in for the difference in levels before. I need to sand all that as the mastic for the carpet won't stick to painted wood.
Here's the fence with one rod:
With a second rod held in place:
I might do three rods because the small dowels are cheap and it's quick to drill the holes.
The hard work is drilling the holes square in the layout. I made a jig for that:
Here's the jig for drilling holes in dowels. For the second hole I'll just move the brown stop and put a pin in to put the upper hole in so the holes are aligned.
I'm still not decided on the treatment for the river. Vertical sides with a stone pattern would be easiest. I have a few more weeks of things to do before I lay the carpet so I can decide later.
Post by: Terry on April 04, 2021, 04:14:08 PM
Joann's Fabrics sells felt by the yard so I bought some light blue felt. I also bought a bunch of cheap 4 ounce bottles of acrylic paint so I can stipple the felt to get a less uniform look. They sell all kinds of craft items and were more helpful than Micheal's. Much closer too!
When I put the green carpet down, I'll cut through the carpet and the felt to make a nice edge. Then I'll blot some thick colors around the seams to hide them.
Here's pictures:
On the west side by the turntable the transition will be a stone wall rather than a slope so I have room for the work train on a siding. Rather than do the pole fence, I'm going to do a board fence. Here's the holes for the posts.
That was the last of the drilling and sanding. I'll start cleaning the lower O gauge layout, and putting the side trim on the standard layout. The trim has to go on so I can see how the edges of the carpet will look with the glass.
One other thing I looked at was a Department 56 Operating Skating rink. I got it years ago with some trains and never took it out of the box. I finally looked at it and decided it was not the look I want for the layout.
Post by: pjdog350 on April 04, 2021, 05:15:58 PM
Layout is coming along very well. Wish the O gauge was in the picture! That’s just me. I really liked the O gauge but I’ll clam up!
Post by: Terry on April 04, 2021, 06:13:44 PM
The o gauge should be up and running again this week. Now that all the big cutting is done, I can vacuum up the mess and put the trains back on.
Post by: starfire700 on April 05, 2021, 05:02:26 AM
Post by: pjdog350 on April 05, 2021, 05:18:45 AM
I don’t know anything about standard gauge. I do remember when I was a little kid in New Jersey I was in the hospital for a long time. A guy came in and put a standard gauge around the Christmas tree. My bed was in line of site of the tree & train. I was in love with that big train. It was green and big.
Post by: starfire700 on April 06, 2021, 04:21:21 AM
In the mid 1970's my wife worked in a small metal-stamping shop. They would eventually produce our tin litho trains when we licensed the Marx name, but that is a different story.
The owner told Debby, when he learned of our involvement in trains, that his Dad had a large green train with STATE names on the passenger cars stored in a loft at the shop.
When she showed obvious interest, he said that just a few months before they had thrown it in the trash and "why was it worth anything???"
I forget what the 1974 value of a green State set was, but it was enough to make him realize what a dumb thing he had done. That may be why he went on to keep at least one production sample and 1 uncut sheet of litho for every item that Marx Trains produced.
Post by: pjdog350 on April 06, 2021, 05:26:01 AM
I was confined to bed so I didn’t get to go to the party which was fine I wanted to see the train. I remember it yesterday. That was 1947! I remember the ward I was in with lots of other kids and I remember one nurse. She seemed to always be looking after me. Every time I looked up there she was.
Funny the things that stick in you memory. I can still remember my grandmother phone number! A light bulb just came on. The nurse. She lived down the street from my grandmother. She had a big Collie dog that was beautiful.
Post by: Terry on April 07, 2021, 05:19:47 PM
Here's the latest on the layout. The carpet is there and resting. My Work week starts tonight so I'll glue it down on Saturday evening. Then It should be cool enough to open the windows and blow the stench out.
When I bought the blue felt, I also got some gray for the roadbed. I don't like the way it looks. It's too thin and doesn't lay flat.
On the layout I did 30 years ago, I used gray carpet, but that is not available anymore. I'll try using spray starch and an warm iron to make the felt lay flat. Also might be able to use a spray adhesive?
Here's the area for the 00 layout:
I can do a 7 by 13 feet with a 30-36" aisle all the way around. I need to get the standard gauge up so I can empty those boxes to make room.
And over in this area, I'll do a Marklin Ho layout with a Lionel tinplate layout underneath so I have a place to put my 130 tunnel. That's 46 inches by just over 10 feet.
Post by: Terry on April 08, 2021, 01:12:24 AM
Here's the layout:
It goes above the control panel on the supports you see here and comes out to about the red mark by the yardstick:
I was trying to figure out if I can cut the corner off, but I'll have to put the track down on the middle level to see how everything fits.
I don't need a lot of clearance because I'll just run the coal train around it and put some hoppers on the siding. I might put the 442 weighing scale up there, but right now I plan on putting the scale in the industrial area.
Post by: Terry on April 12, 2021, 01:52:34 AM
Here's some pictures:
I painted the trim wood a week ago and cut it and put it in today except around the hinged bridge. I out strips of plywood along the layout so the trim sits out 1/4 inch. The carpet tucks down into the groove, and then a 3/16" sheet of glass goes in to keep the trains on the layout.
The glass is tempered display shelves and costs about 2.50 a foot, but is cheaper than plexiglass and requires no cutting.
I'm not happy with the seam between teh grass and the river so I played with painting scraps in the garage. The first is just black spray paint along the seam, second is brown.
This has the blue felt and the green painted with a brush.
I like the spray paint better. I'll try lightly misting the blue felt with some white, gray and different shades of blue and then spraying the edge with brown and black.
Post by: starfire700 on April 20, 2021, 05:41:38 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-xzHebA8k&t=78s
Post by: pjdog350 on April 20, 2021, 06:03:45 AM
are the people in the movie you friends or family? Did they help you with the move.
Can I come live with you. I will NOT touch anything and I’ll clean the layout for you. Track cleaning and such. This makes me realize there must be billions of O gauge trains out there for you to have so much and yet there’s still some for us!
More O gauge hole in the wall movies. I hope you have some more to share with us!
A big thanks!
Post by: Terry on April 20, 2021, 09:45:53 AM
Jim -- I hope my trains run that well.
I've been so frustrated with the layout progress. Either the dog is messing with me or I have ghosts down there. Tools just disappear. Some one hid the drill from me and I spent an hour looking for it. Yesterday I spent 20 minutes looking for the hook-blade knife, then just hacked off the carpet with a straight razor. I measure and then go upstairs to cut wood outside and then come back and it's too short. Or it's too long.
I have cases of track, but no 42" curve track. I unpacked a bunch of accessories just to get boxes emptied. I "borrowed" some from a friend.
Saturday afternoon, I put the upper level together where I'm going to use the 1930s Lionel rubber roadbed. I could only find straight roadbed. $*&^*% I'll just run it to make sure it clears the 140 tunnel.
I have a repainted 8 with a great looking motor for testing. The repro wheels are warped. The black 318 has worse original wheels. The ghost or dog hid the mohave 318. Those are the only small locos I have. Everything else I have is bigger.
I have bags of reproduction wheels and a press to put them on. Can't loose the press, and it has the wheel pressing parts mounted to it. So that means I can't find the wheels.
Friday night I sat down at my work desk to check out a postwar 2023 alco I bought for resale. I have a computer over the desk I watch TV shows on as I work. The ghost has allowed Windows 10 to update and the new version has no sound.
I put together the Marklin layout wood so I can sort boxes into the underside to get them out of the way.
I can't find the 104 bridges that I was going to use here. I think I sold them.
This corner layout will have Lionel O gauge from the late 1920s and early 30s on the bottom and Marklin HO from 1952-63 on the top.
Look -- the ghost shows up in the pictures:
And here's the other troublemaker:
Post by: pjdog350 on April 20, 2021, 10:42:09 AM
Post by: Terry on April 26, 2021, 12:24:33 AM
1929 Lionel outfit 340E going around on the upper layout. Tunnel is a 140. Power station is 840. Cardboard mountains in background are copies of the mountains included in the 199 Scenic Railway cataloged from 1924-28.
That's running at top speed. The motor has oil wicks on both ends of each axel and on both ends of the armature shaft. It's also got a resisitor in the line so it runs slow. That's as fast as it goes. That motor and frame was in the mohave 318E loco that my dad and I ran at displays. It was modified so we could just let it go and not pay attention to it. I need to clean the brushes so it stops whining. That motor is 93 years old.
Post by: pjdog350 on April 26, 2021, 03:54:08 AM
Could we get another O gauge movie form under the standard gauge. I’d like to see how that will display after the standard gauge was added. I’m an o gauge lover at heart!!!
Post by: Terry on April 26, 2021, 11:04:53 AM
Post by: pjdog350 on April 26, 2021, 11:46:53 AM
Post by: Terry on April 26, 2021, 04:43:17 PM
Post by: Terry on April 30, 2021, 02:11:38 AM
Here's some pictures:
view from the stairs.
I made this small almost 4 foot by 10.5 foot layout for Marklin HO on top and Lionel O gauge from 1924-34 on the bottom. I closed in one end with shelves to make the O guage a lkittle hidden, and give me a place to put the smaller sets.
I made the shelves high enough to hold standard gauge so I can use the area for pictures. I need to get some LED bulbs with better light for photos.
Here's some photos of the big O gauge layout now that I've cleaned it.
Post by: pjdog350 on April 30, 2021, 09:55:15 AM
Post by: Terry on April 30, 2021, 12:10:24 PM
Post by: Terry on May 01, 2021, 06:29:53 PM
That will live on that loop. It fits perfect on the siding behind the 922 scenic plot:
Here's end views showing clearance to the switches:
The little red wires are jumpers until I get the blocks wired. Tommorrow I'll do the industrial area.
Post by: starfire700 on May 02, 2021, 05:24:03 AM
Post by: Terry on May 03, 2021, 12:41:36 AM
Here's the westside running:
That's my youngest standard gauge train set. I was surprise it ran right out of the box. The lead and trailing wheels on the loco have swelled a bit, but I was able to pull them off the axles and switch them around so they work.
I also unboxed a bunch of items and put them out and cleaned the shelves under the layout in the walk in aisle so I can put the standard gauge operating trains out.
I started to do the track around the 840 powerstation, but the roadbed was filthy. I have a few boxes of original Lionel rubber roadbed from the 1930s. A lot of it is just trashed. I picked out enough to do the circle and switch and popped them into the washer:
The laundry room is on the other side of the wall my desk is at. The washer has been banging, clanking and whirring for a while now. We'll see how it comes out.
Post by: pjdog350 on May 03, 2021, 06:45:53 PM
Post by: CNJRR on May 05, 2021, 11:31:54 AM
Ha Ha Ha, popped them in the washer. :)
My old "young" lady would have a fit if I did that. lol
Post by: Terry on May 05, 2021, 12:01:40 PM
Post by: cndctr111 on May 05, 2021, 02:08:23 PM
Post by: Terry on May 05, 2021, 08:38:45 PM
The white trim board is mounted to a 5/16" plywood spacer. The carpet wraps down leaving a gap slightly smaller than the glass. The carpet compresses. The glass pulls out if I need to get up on the layout.
I also made fencing with dowels which will go between the middle level and tyhe lower mainlines once I get most of the middle houses and such wired. I think I posted pictures earlier of the dowels.
Post by: pjdog350 on May 06, 2021, 05:21:50 AM
Post by: Terry on May 12, 2021, 01:20:07 AM
Providing The Layout With Power
On my standard gauge layout I need lots of power so I have my own power station and run a special coal unit train to provide energy. We have power to burn. We also have a windmill so we can water our horses.
This is a 1929 Lionel 318 coal train running around on original period track and rubber roadbed. The train came with the black loco, three hoppers with coal loads and the black roofed red caboose. I added a few more hoppers because they are cheap and neat.
The 840 power station and the 140 sheet brass tunnel are the two biggest Lionel accessories. The cardboard mountains are copies of original 1925 Lionel backdrops. The tin fence is from the 1930s. The windmill is from a 1950s kit.
There are currently four Lionel 250 Watt Z transformers, and a small 100 watt fixed voltage transformer under this area of the layout.
Post by: Terry on May 12, 2021, 02:38:20 AM
This is the first time I ever ran the American Flyer wide gauge. I bought that set without the stock car from the original owner about 14 years ago. It runs nice.
Post by: pjdog350 on May 12, 2021, 04:46:36 AM
Post by: Terry on May 20, 2021, 12:48:11 PM
I've been working on adding these bridges to the mains:
The depth of the water wasn't low enough so I had to lower it:
I have a Dremel Oscillating Cutter which is slow, but worked well and didn't throw too much dust. It did burn a bit so the house smelt like I'd had some cub scouts playing with wood buring kits in the basement.
The ties on the new track are not wide enough to fit on the bridges. I only had American Flyer teis and some were too long so I cut them down:
Sincer I had the Dremel out I also started cutting the switches to make the closely spaced yard that will be in front of the turntable:
I broke all the shafts I had. The reinforced cutting disks don't break, the little screws that hold them on break.
Post by: starfire700 on June 14, 2021, 02:36:58 PM
Post by: Terry on June 14, 2021, 05:01:08 PM
I really like the way your track (Jim) winds around and among the accessories, but I want to run long trains with little supervision. With the 00 and Marklin I'll try to do less of an oval layout.
Post by: starfire700 on June 16, 2021, 04:33:24 AM
Post by: Terry on June 16, 2021, 12:53:02 PM
One thing I've learned is to put the loco on the track by the transformer. I don't know how many miles I walked because I put the train on by the 101 bridges and then walked around the layout to the transformers.
Post by: starfire700 on June 16, 2021, 05:09:34 PM
I have 2 control locations to help with this, but I also have a Garman.
Post by: pjdog350 on June 16, 2021, 06:46:29 PM
Post by: Terry on June 16, 2021, 07:24:42 PM
I've been packing eBay sales for 90 minutes while the poodle sits and gives me looks:
She doesn't know it yet, but tonight we're going to see the c-h-i-c-k-e-n-s.
Post by: pjdog350 on June 17, 2021, 03:04:26 AM
Post by: Terry on June 28, 2021, 12:16:25 AM
I need 4 more feet of track and about 15 heads. I also need to figure out the lights.
Here's some photos:
Without the track lights:
Same view with the track lights:
The 9 set with three 65 watt bulbs aimed at it:
A few shots with the camera flash and the track lights. See the glare on the ceiling?
Here's some shots with the camera flash off:
This picture shows 65 watt bulbs on the right and two 40 watt bulbs on the left. I can't see a difference.
These are all LED bulbs so the watts are the equivalence listed on the box. The 65 watt bulbs are 50 cents each. The 40 watt bulbs are $4 each. I'll try hooking a dimmer into the circuit and see what happens. The 40 watts are the dimmest ones I can find.
I'm sure some of the glare is the low ceiling - only 94 inches. Some might be the ceiling is painted high gloss white like the doors and trim.
Post by: pjdog350 on June 28, 2021, 08:49:50 AM
Post by: Terry on June 30, 2021, 12:23:48 AM
I've been modifing Lionel switches so they make closer sidings. I cut the switch machine part off and also cut the straight off at the frog. Then I put the switch machine onto the other side and painted everything.
I think you can never have enough lights on the layout so I made sure the lights work. The switches don't work, but that wouldn't have been much more work.
Here's some photos:
I need to cut track, but it's too late at night to fire up the chop saw in the garage.
I'll put a bunch of freight cars on the sidings.
Post by: pjdog350 on June 30, 2021, 06:24:11 AM
Post by: starfire700 on July 02, 2021, 11:38:31 AM
Post by: Terry on July 02, 2021, 12:09:07 PM
The coffee shop the dog and I go to has rope lights from Amazon that will work.
Post by: pjdog350 on July 02, 2021, 02:12:02 PM
Post by: Terry on November 06, 2021, 01:30:20 PM
I got almost all the wood trim up on the layout. The lower trim comes off so I can get to the O gauge wiring.
I ran all the different trains around and parked them on their sidings and ran other trains on the same track. The industrial area still has the temporary wiring so the 380 set just went around in circles until it dumped the cars into the river.
The 380 has derailed there before, and the 1835E loco pulling the blue/aluminum cars had problems in the same area. I'll change out the switch and the curve when I put the permanant wire in.
Here's pictures of the town area with the houses and streetlights in. All the exposed bulbs are vintage. I have a bunch of Kenton, Hubley and Arcade cast iron vehicles similar to the few that are already out to put on the roads.
Here's the town view with the lights on. The two bulbs in the 124 station must be at least 100 years old and look FINE.
Cookies from the bakery. There was a box of butter cookies too!
Post by: CNJRR on November 09, 2021, 04:43:55 PM
"Neat "looking layout, :) love the old road vehicles you show on the roads.
Car hauler too? How old are they?
Post by: Terry on November 10, 2021, 12:05:10 PM
Here's a scrap of wood to see what a shelf would look like.
Here's some more Barclays.
The shelf wood went up from $9 to almost $13 for a 1X6 eight feet long since August. It's MDF particle board, and the glue formula changed too.
Post by: CNJRR on November 15, 2021, 04:00:04 PM
Post by: Terry on November 15, 2021, 07:32:15 PM
Post by: Terry on November 20, 2021, 05:07:43 PM
Today, I was about 6 feet away and it was real loud. Turns out it's the cast heads on the 440 signal bridges.
This is the one that went today:
Looks like it cracked too!
Post by: Terry on December 01, 2021, 04:29:40 PM
Here's no lights but for the train layout:
Here's the same area with blue lights:
A few pictures of other areas with the blue lights:
These are Phillips Party LED bulbs from the Grocery Store. There are 5 on the ceiling in cans.
Post by: starfire700 on December 02, 2021, 10:20:53 AM
Post by: Terry on January 22, 2022, 11:50:17 PM
Here's some shots of the west end of the layout with the trains back on. I need to iron the felt roadway and put some more cars on.
if you look at the maroon walled 126 station above the blue comet loco, you can see what I did with the box from the backdrop. The figures don't stand on the carpet well so I cut the cardboard to make little platforms at some of the stations. I don't know if it's worth the effort to paint the cardboard.
Post by: Terry on February 27, 2022, 02:13:09 PM
Post by: Terry on February 27, 2022, 02:19:21 PM
I thought this rubber mat would look cheap, but it came out nice. Lemax makes 3 styles of mat so I can do some more when I find more. I'll add a bunch of figures.
Here's a shot of the next layout in the series:
I started unpacking last night and was amazed by the quality of the trains.
Post by: Terry on April 02, 2022, 01:08:58 PM
I added the under shelves for figures, but the one end is near the Marklin layout so I put trains on it.
I ran all the trains on the layout today for visitors except the coal train and the Blue Comet. The 392E and Flyer freight sets ran without problems. The blue and alum 309 cars ran well. The State set derailed on one switch three times. The 402 and 380 sets each derailed once for no reason. The 9 knocked a bunch of items over that I'd put too close to the track, but otherwise ran well.
Here's some pictures of the current state of affairs:
Post by: CNJRR on September 16, 2022, 04:10:12 PM
I use to buy those till everyone thought they were gold, I refuse to finance those sellers. I have not looked for them for a while now.
You said in a post the some figures won't stand in the grass and you used card board.
Another option is to try clear plastic from things you buy in packages. There are different thicknesses some work better then others.
I use them for my O gauge people, where ever they stand on your (dirt, grass, whatever) the color of the dirt or grass makes them blend in nice, you can hardly see them.
And I can move them around the table easy. I don't know how they would work on standard gauge people.
Nice pictures, you do have a bunch of trains! :)
Post by: Terry on September 16, 2022, 07:48:34 PM
I got some upholstery tacks for use under the trees. The tacks go into the celotex easily and are easy to glue onto the bottom of the trees.
Tacks won't work for figures because the bases are too small.
I'm thinking about shoving pins into the bottoms of the figures and using hot melt glue to hold them. Some have hollow legs. I think I could also bend pins twice and them glue them onto the figures.
The hot melt glue sticks well, but peels off easily without leaving a mark. I have trains that had hot melt glue on them for 35+ years and the paint has been uneffected.