Does yr layout have a grade from lower level to upper, or is the upper completely seperated? I tend to start with sheets of plywood as a (noisy) surface, temporariiy lay out track, mark location, and then cut into the plywood along my marks for grades, deforming the plywood up or down. Naturally, there is alway a place that I cross from one sheet to the neighboring sheet. I am frequently unhappy at these borders of one sheet and another, where i need to join the track boards together to continue; seems it is always on a curve in such a way that the boundary is somewhat along the centerline of the track. This makes for a flimsy joint.
Don't think i saw any bridges crossing areas depressed below the basic level. My sheets of plywood are on L girder construction, on the crosspieces, so I can have a depressed area below track level. Is that the way to go, or can you put plywood right on the L girder, and adopt another approach to riverbeds.
Like to see some more. As I looked at yr early pics, I wondered if you had done a scaled track plan? It seemed as if your method was to lay track on table and arrange it as you went. I find the scaled plans which one makes with software often dont quite fit the theoretical space. So what was your method of track plan development?
Thank you all! Hopefully as the weather cools and my weekends get less crazy, I'll have some more progress to come.
BLT by Lionel - nice progress and happy you shared some update pics!
Regards, Roy
dlagrua ...I have not seen many layouts where this track is used...
...I have not seen many layouts where this track is used...
Rob
I always thought that Lionel Super O track looked great but it was only offered for a short time and was never reissued. I have not seen many layouts where this track is used. Its nice to see that you are building a classic layout with it. Takes you back to the 1950's or was it 1960's. Great job!
John,
Fantastic! You have captured the magic, and the look of the dealer displays!
Paul
Here are a few pictures of my mountain in progress. I made some alterations from my original plan to have the upper loop cross over the two main lines utilizing girder bridges. It just didn't fit the space and I'm glad I was able to have a spot for the #356 Operating Station and #30 Water Tower along with the derricks.
Ok... heres another attempt. If it works, here are two small hills to display my #455 Oil Derricks (green and red top variations). I'm using plaster cloth and eventually will paint and sprinle on some #919 grass in spots to finish.
Thank you Paul. I'm not sure what happened because Flickr always worked for me in the past. I'll have to take your advice and try another. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon. Thanks again and I'll see you on the GR side
Hi BLT-By-Lionel,
I knew I remembered you from a previous thread, and now it's coming back to me! What a fantastic layout ! Really looking great!
Just wanted to share with you that I have had problems getting Flickr to work properly from my iPad, and switched to Shutterfly at the moment. It seems to perform reliably. Some of the share sites seem to have their own set of issues....
If one doesn't work, try another one...
IMG_6109 by John Ward, on Flickr" />
Hello all,
Sorry for the radio silence. Its been an eventful year for us as I'm sure it's been the same for many of you. I hope everyone is healthy and happy as is possible in today's world. I haven't been on this forum for a while and wanted to post a few updates on progress. Here are a few pictures on my mountain in-progress along with the #455 oil derricks near by. I'm using scrap wood and other filler to create the rocks and then plaster strips for the surface.
On a side note, I've started testing the waters in the world of Garden Railroading. I should be posting a progress thread down the road on their forum as well.
I am curious if you have any updated pictures you could share or if your layout was featured in the CTT magazine. Very nice work!
Thanks for posting. It's always a pleasure to know that I helped someone.
Bob Nelson
Hi Bob. You make a good point and that's why I like these 91 circuit breakers Lionel offered. Depending on the load I have on each loop (NW2 switcher vs twin motor F3's) I can easily adjust it so it doesn't trip when, for example, a whistle motor in need of some oil is trying to run. I actually just had a derailment and it instantly tripped which is reassuring... the ZW didn't have time to react.
On a side note Bob, an old topic you posted on activating signals like the #153 Block Signal and #450 Signal bridge using a GE57 bulb (instead of a relay) was extremely helpful. You bring a lot of great information to this forum for sure. Thanks!
Circuit breakers are often deliberately designed to trip after some delay, to model the heating of the wires in the load circuit. The idea is to trip before that heat reaches a dangerous level, but not so much earlier that the circuit is unnecessarily opened--called "nuisance tripping". Motor and incandescent-lamp loads in particular benefit from this arrangement.
Good luck on the move, Paul. I was there not too long ago and hopefully won't be for a long time haha.
The gray controls are #91 Circuit Breakers produced by Lionel from 1957-1960. Lionel made a different style circuit breaker with the same number years earlier. These later versions were equipped with an electromagnet breaker. I'm pretty sure this is different from the transformers' built in breakers which take a while to trip sometimes.
What I love about these (besides their look) is that they have an adjusting knob to have the breaker trip anywhere between 1-6 amps. This is perfect because I only run 1 train per loop and won't exceed 5 amps. They work faster than the transformer breakers and give me a little peace of mind dealing with all this older stuff.
Paul -
What do the 5 gray controls on the left hand side of your control panel do? I don't recall seing anything like them before.
Thanks.
Train room looking great !!
we finish moving this week, hope to start on mine when the dust settles
Paul,
I had a similar experience with wiring my station. I tried a few different wiring combinations over a couple of days and kept having the same issue: the inside loop's train would stop and not start again. I figured out the isolated block wasn't getting power and assumed it was the way I had it wired. As a last resort I tugged the wire to the lockon and VOILA!!! it worked. The wire was just loose The solution usually is easier than you think...
Not much getting done on the layout right now but I did pick up a Lionel Stool for the control panel. Also found a good spot to display some of my boxes in a window sill. Never had any water get in since its covered by a deck and slightly above ground so they should be fine.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Cool looking layout! I like the display layout inspiration!
Paul - good story!
Your wiring diagram reminds me of a little story :
so, I have the Flyer 326 Hudson from the mid 50's.
Roger Carp did a piece on this engine a few years back in "Focus on Classics", and he talked about all the fine features this engine has, including an electronic whistle. I was at a train show 3 years ago, and I picked up the whistle controller for cheap.
I was so excited to hear this whistle ! I downloaded the wiring diagram off the internet, and proceeded to make this girl sing !
upon completing a fairly convoluted wiring hookup, I pushed, and pushed that whistle button, and nothing happened. What could have gone wrong? Rechecked my wiring, everything is good.
Finally, I opened up the tender to discover some previous owner had removed the speaker !
your wiring diagram looks great, and I know you'll fair much better than I did !
The latest task I've tackled is figuring out a way to get my #132 Auto-Stop Station up and running.... but with a twist. I have two of the main loops that run through my passenger terminal and I wanted to be able to utilize the auto-stop feature on either track. Sticking with my theme of utilizing only postwar controls, I was able to wire a 390C (Double Pole, Double Throw) and a 364C (Single Pole, Double Throw) to accomplish this. Here's a rough diagram:
When both switches are in the UP position, the inside loop's isolated center control rail gets constant power from the ZW's D terminal (otherwise the train would just stop in the isolated section of track) Meanwhile, the outside loop's control rail is powered by the station's auto-stop feature (via ZW terminal A).
When the switches are in the DOWN position, the ZW's A terminal powers the outer loops isolated section and the inner loops control rail is powered by the station (via ZW terminal D). The auto-stop feature can be disabled by adjusting the lever inside the station.
Thanks! Everyone has different things they want to get out of the hobby and there are so many options. For me, postwar is so appealing because of the simplicity to operate, cost vs newer items, quality, durability, nostalgia, and of course.... the smell of ozone and SP smoke. I personally love the challenge of not having command control. Planning out power blocks, uncoupler/control rail placement, etc is half the fun of it.
That'S a clever use for the yard lights. You've got some great ideas !
I like the postwar trains, too. But everybody finds what they like best, and that's o.k., too.
I am really impressed with your layout. I really enjoy running the postwar trains. I have a few Lionel and MTH command control trains, but they are shelf queens. I only run them occasionally to exercise the electronics and back on the shelf they go.
I do run some Williams loco. I like the Williams for their robustness and reliability. But my heart is still with postwar Lionel and American Flyer. I like to grab the handles of a ZW or KW and operate the trains. That is much more satisfying, to me, then turning a little dial on a remote control.
Earl
Thanks, RT. I had a few extra #70 Yard Lights and thought a cool way to use them would be to illuminate the control panel. I added a 364C switch to control the 2 lights and positioned them so they illuminate most of the panel.
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