Hi all, just joined the forum so hoping to get this right. I'm working on a D-63 layout in northern Virginia. I loved seeing all the photos because the one I have is missing most of the skyscrapers. It only has the lower yellow building the highway was mounted on. Does anyone have the dimensions posted of the other buildings? Also, has anyone scanned the windows and created jpeg images? II guess I'll need to make the cardboard windows from scratch. Would it also be crazy to think someone might have a scanned image of the entire backdrop? I know a good print shop can print it one piece for a small fortune. Just trying to figure out how much I'll have to do. For those interested I do have an RRTracks file where I rebuilt the track diagram. Pretty ingenious how they made it all happen. Also, the table is dated 21 October 1952 on the underside and signed by two Lionel employees. Very cool.
I know this particular thread has been fairly inactive so I hope someone is out there. Thanks.
Very cool videos. I'll need to show those to my dad. We are currently planning our April trip to York and to Steamtown and would like to detour a bit to see the layout and take thorough pictures to help our restoration be as authentic as possible.
It looks like you've got several things that weren't original on yours such as the searchlights, water tower, and the bridge, and of course the people. That looks like a fun layout.
To all. I just posted (3) videos on You tube for your enjoyment. Search "Lionel D63 1952 dealer display" You should run across all 3 of them posted a little while ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e07WDsr_KSA.
Great talking with you on the phone. Look forward to the pictures
ricklyons@tds.net
go ahead and call me, ill email pictures to you .
Guys i have pictures of mine, just dont know how to insert on this web site. these sets are very valuable.
Rick, my dad and I will be up on your side of the country in April. We'd love to come by to get some detailed pictures of yours if possible so we can try to be as thorough and original with our restoration.
Search this site for D-63, and there are some phots of a layout. Also in the classic toy trains Nov 2000 I believe has an article on the layout. If no luck let me know-Rick
Do you guys have a link or a picture of what the D-63 layout is supposed to look like?
Sorry, I never got the freeway down from the garage attic to get any pictures. I did get the rest of the layout out and have only just started to clean the first pieces up. This summer is when my dad and I plan to really get working on it. Perhaps skylane could provide some pictures of his freeway in the meantime?
I have been following this discuussion with interest. I would love to get some photos of the roadway and how it is powered (chain, rope however) how the cars are attached, how the motor is geared, etc. Any info you would have would be appreciated. I saw your number posted--could I call you, my number is 317-294-8948. Thanks Rick Lyons
Any luck on some detail photos on the roadway?? I am very interested in the mechanism, how the cars are attached and any details on the road itself. I would like to create the road on my layout Thanks, hope things are well for you in Texas!
Rick
Fred, i live in upstate NY, you can come by anytime. I have taken a few pictures. Everything works on the basic set. a am building control station and will rewire the entire thing so all the automatic switches work ect. give me a call and ill send you pictures 585-721-5277.
CTT did an article on one I believe in 1998 which shows the wiring diagram. This layout was designed to run 2 trains at a time in a certain order. Due to the way it is wired, if you try to just run one train at a time you'll probably run into derailing issues as switches randomly throw under the train.
I have this exact layout, it was given to me in 1995. This was give to me by my grandmother, It was my grandfathers. He purchased right after christmas 1952, it was the christmas window display set at woolworth's department store in downtown albany. The elevated highway works with thecars, but it needs a little work in the wiring area to get the automatic track switchers and stuff to be work. Is this valuable?
Well got the apartment lined up. It's not the one I originally thought. It's better and right across the street from the original one I was going to get. It too has a dedicated room that I can do with as I please. It's still not large at only 10' X 13' or so but again, still large enough for the 5 X 9 D-63. Move in is April 14th but realistically with the wedding a week and a half later and a honeymoon, it'll be the beginning of May before everything gets settled in. Fortunately I've been doing lots of clean up and prep work so much of what needs to be done will be taken care of fairly quickly. That means I will be able to start restoration sometime in May!!!
I've already thought of how I want to rebuild it. Specifically the base. I am currently drawing it up in 3D CAD through Inventor. As I get some designs done, which may be a while, I'll post them here for all to see. The base itself will not be true to the original but will be a tribute to the layout. The original table was nothing more than 6 legs bolted to a simple wooden frame. The new table will be just like the Lionel table that can be seen in pictures of Jerry Calabrese's office. I don't know which company built it but it will look much like a bridge with the word LIONEL cutout in front. It's hard to describe without a picture and I hope someone can figure out what I'm referring to. I'm going to take it one step farther though. On each table end I'm going to add words as well. The front and rear sections will say LIONEL. One side of the table will say D-63, and the other side will say 1952. I think that's a fitting tribute. It will also be built as 4 columnar legs with the front and sides merely sliding and locking into place for ease of transportation. I was going to paint it green but at my dad's suggestion I may paint the whole thing blue with the words painted in bright orange. Basically mimicking the Lionel colors on their boxes.
The actual layout itself will have a 1 x 4 framework. It will be 3 pieces. Each will join together underneath with simple bolts and wingnuts. There will be contact plates for all of the wiring that will automatically connect when assembled. I won't have to worry about connecting wires or harnesses. The whole assembly will lower down into the custom built table with the table frame sides extending on the outside of the layout. It will be completely secure yet easy to disassemble and reassemble. Again, it's a bit hard to describe but I've got it all planned out and it should be a very fitting display to a very wonderfull piece of Lionel history. As I get the designs drawn up, I'll show them off and ask for feedback.
I've decided on a course of action for restoring the main layout itself. I'm going to just clean everything up as good as I can and reassemble it without touching anything up. Once this is done I will evaluate what will or will not need work and then deal with it then. If all looks nice as is, I'll leave it alone. With the exception of the tunnel of course which no longer exists. That I will have to build. I'd prefer to not have to repaint or rebuild anything as all original is certainly the favored way to keep it. I'll worry about that when I get there. By then it should actually be running again.
The layout will be in my apartment right near downtown Houston (literally within walking distance) so when completed if there is anyone in Houston or who is passing through who would like to see it, I'll be more than happy to open it up. That will probably be no sooner than this fall though.
More to come...
Fred......Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Sorry to hear that the jobs are on opposite ends, but such is life. But we are a patient bunch. Thank you for all of the pictures and history during the past 3 months. Can't wait to see the finished product, though in this case it sounds like patience will be rewarded.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
Well my pending wedding date is getting closer and closer (April 25) and we've been seriously thinking about where we are going to live/work. The unfortunate thing is that with the economy the way it is, now is not a good time for either of us to be switching jobs. That means we need to move towards the middle and each drive. I work in Magnolia, TX about an hour north of Houston and she works an hour south in Galveston. Yikes! We are going to settle on an apartment right in midtown for at least a year until the economy recovers and we feel more at ease with transferring jobs and finding a house. This means the big layout room is still going to be nothing more than a dream for a while longer. However all is not lost!
The apartment we have settled on is a one bedroom but with a study. The study is going to be my dedicated train/hobby room which means there are no restrictions on it's use as there is no furniture. While I have no plans to build a permanent layout in an apartment that we only plan to be in for a year or so, I may actually work on restoring the D-63 there. It's a small room at only 9-1/2' x 9-1/2' but that's just large enough for the 5' x 9' D-63! Keep in mind that I'm also going to build it as 3 separable pieces so moving it later isn't going to be that big of a deal either. Move in date is currently set at April 10th but realistically it'll be a month or so after that before I start working on anything. It may live again this summer though! Pictures will of course follow.
I still need to get pictures taken of all of the trains and buildings in their current conditions. It all looks pretty nice.
I decided to take some measurements of some of the buildings tonight.I found something interestings. They used a form of forced perspective when they built them. One of the buildings the buildings that I measured (the gray block shaped building that trains enter from the front) is .75" lower in back than it is in the front. This building does not go all the way to the back as there is another building behind it. The building behind it does not continue the effect though and maintains it's height. The front building loses that .75" over a distance of 13.125". The painted backdrop does try to convey a sense of depth as well but the buildings were the surprise. I thought they'd be completely squared up. The windows are printed out on paper and glued on and even they match the contour of the building so it was clearly intentional and not just a construction flaw. It's just another fine subtle little thing to document!
I do want to be detailed about the restoration. I need to get ahold of a better camera and then stage each picture a little better. At least better than dark shots on a garage floor. Since my job is 2D drafting and 3D modelling, I'm going to do detailed 3D CAD models of all of the buildings and the freeway so that anyone in the future who may wish to copy them could do so. Maybe that would make a nice book! "Restoring the D-63, with complete plans to recreate your very own". I still haven't had a chance to get any other photos uploaded. I have a couple of shots of the small areas that I cleaned quickly to show the difference. I still need to unpack all of the trains, and layout accessories and get photos of them. They are in the house boxed up and in good shape. There is normal wear and tear on them and I'm not touching any of them from a restoration standpoint. Just cleaning them. It's just normal play wear and everything works great.
Great story and project for you! I agree with those who have said to take many, many pics of the progress. As a person who restores cars, I can tell you that this approach is important for many reasons. First, people who are interested in some future purchase require that they see such shots. Secondly, progress shots remind you what you have done, where you did it, and so forth. Finally, as suggested by others, documenting your procedures and processes, both right and wrong, will provide excellent reference information for those who attempt this work on similar items.
Good luck with all this. Everyone here looks forward to seeing your progress next summer.
This story is VERY interesting. I also think that you should find someone experienced with restoring something like this so you can have a good plan before you start and do it right the first time. Keep us posted when you start.
I hope to make a suggestion without being presumptuous. You may want to make some high quality digital images with your camera of the layout and your progress as you restore this wonderful piece. I think that CTT would be interested in such a story with photos. You may even find some authors who do books on old lionel layouts who would help you with your work in exchange for photos and history to augment their projects.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Fred, That is just awesome!
I wonder how many of these layouts are sitting out there in unsuspecting hands still waiting to be discovered!
A pleasant surprise! I took a damp cloth to a small section of gray painted "roadbed" to clean some of the grime off. What appears in my pictures to be water damage and faded paint is actually decades worth of dirt and grime on top of the paint!!! I was shocked to see a near perfect gray surface staring back at me after some scrubbing. The less I have to repaint the better as keeping it as close to original as possible is the goal. The hardest area will be the green "grass" areas as they are painted green but there are small woodchips on top. Cleaning these surfaces without rubbing off the wood chips will be very time consuming. It'll probably involve a small brush and lots of patience. I took a couple of pictures of a small cleaned up area next to an area that I didn't touch. When I get a chance I'll upload them. It's quite a difference.
...will the gift registry be at Grzyboski's, or Lone Star...?
Much of the rough look is just dirt. I cleaned the top of 2 of the buildings and it's amazing how different it looks. The windows on the buildings are paper that is glued to the structures. It's very brittle. I'm going to have to think about the best way to tackle them. I'm thinking about steaming them off very carefully and the scanning and cleaning them up in photoshop. I will try to reuse as much of the originals as possible but will use other options to patch the missing and damaged areas.
For now I'm going to store everything in my climate controlled unit until I get a house. My wedding is April 25th so the earliest I'll work on this will be sometime next summer. I may take some measurement and make some prints but I probably won't begin any restoration efforts until the next house. Next chance I get I'll take some pictures of the trains and the structures that were on the table. I'll also try to get the freeway down and get pictures of it. It's pretty simple. We need to look for the cars. I don't know where they are but my dad has an idea of where to look. If we've got those, all that is missing is the original paper machier tunnel and that's not hard to recreate.
I thought it might be a nice gesture when I restore it to build a clone of it with a few modern modelling techniques and then donate the recreation to the Galveston RR museum. I love that place and it was all but destroyed when we got hit by Hurricane Ike this year. Their layouts including their Lionel layout were completely destroyed.
She's pretty rough, but in all honesty, it doesn't look as bad as I had feared. Thanks for keeping us updated, Fred.
- Clint
I love those ART DECO style buildings. Depending on where you set this up, it would be very tempting to carry that theme onto a backdrop that bolts on to one or two sides. I would shun any new scenery methods, and give it the colored sawdust (or maybe static grass) for the greenery.
This deserves all the love that a rusty '57 would get...
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