Sunday photo fun 01/07

[RR Redneck]

Good lookin pictures y'all.

[thatboy37]

nice pics everyone keep up the great work.

[daan]

@Frank, you don't need to scrap those bridges because of a base being too small, in real life, they used sometimes extra beams angular to the structure to give extra basewidth.

Like this..

[Frank53]

Daan:

Those scenes are excellent. I am struggling with foliage and trees. I don't have a knack for it. Yours look very real.

Doug:

Yes, the bridges are a bit scary looking. I have run some trains in full-tilt boogie mode around both and they are very sturdy. However, as much as I hate to, I will probably be scrapping both of those bridges. On the one which is stained, I made the mistake of making the bents too upright. I need a wider base and I am going to rebuild this according to a new plan with a broader base, angles sides and a walkway at track level.

[cnw1995]

That is a great forest, Daan.

 Frank, it is scary to see those great post-war engines go around those curves. This looks like a dumb question: How do you know the trains are safe and not going to fall? Did you pre-run them especially on the curves before you finalized things?

[daan]

@Frank, now it's perfectly clear..Very nice bridges! For places where I can't reach I use boards which can be removed. I started with the forrest today, which is (I'm gald about that, saved me my back) on a seperate board.

The lights are wired with a connector, later on the board will be "porridged" into the layout with my latex and sand mixture..

A closer look in different angles.

The forrest is made with plastic trees bend in a nice position and glued with woodland clump foilage. Only the trees in front have the clumpfoilage applied all over, the ones in the back only the top half. Between the trees on the second row I squeezed loads of darkbrown and darkgreen irish moss (don't know if you call it that way) to mimic the deep forrest look. Here the background needs some tinkering to make it look bigger afterwards.

 

[Frank53]

Daan:

Thanks for your gracious comments. There is somewhat of a method to this madness.

I am forced to build this entire top level first due to the fact that once I build the main level benchwork, the top level will not be as accessible. In a way it is good discipline, as if I built all of the benchwork and wired it, I might get so caught up in running trains, I would never finish the scenery.

In the grander scheme - one end of the layout will eventually have this bridge and reversing loop:

that is this area:

The other end of the top level, shown below:

will use this bridge:

However, once I place the benchwork on which these bridges will be placed, it will be much more difficult to get to the top level and finish the scenery.

 

[Dr. John]

Great job, Dave. You never fail to come up with a creative solution to a problem!

Keep us posted with the progress on your project. 

[FJ and G]

Handrail and bell

I learned a couple of new skills over the weekend. As I was pouring over plans for a Plymouth diesel, I asked myself what the most difficult part of building it would be, as I like to do the hard part first to get it out of the way. The handrail/grill/bell portion looked the hardest, as it would require heat sinks. But I instead decided to solder it in one fell swoop. Here’s how I did it (thinking is harder and takes more time than actually doing portions of projects as many of you know!):

1. Got a piece of plumbing tube (you can’t beat the price of copper, at about a dollar a foot for inch diameter). Using a sledge and a piece of 1:1 rail, I beat the copper flat, then trimmed the edge with my bandsaw and unfolded it.

2. Cut the strips needed with the bandsaw and drilled the holes for the bell rod and deck mount

3. Got a piece of sacrificial pine.

4. Spiked the copper pieces to the pine (if I had pins, those would have been even better)

5. Fired up my large propane torch and took the project outside on the brick patio

6. fried the work and quickly added solder to all of the joints at one time (called “sweating” the piece)

7. filed a couple places where the solder blobbed

I then added the bell rod, which is a piece of Romex grounding wire, 14 gauge.

I tried making the bell out of clay but was unsatisfied with the results so I learned another new skill. I opened my unused woodcarving set and carved the bell out of the sacrificial pine that hadn’t been charred and drilled a hole thru the top.

Painted the handrails flat black and the bell a sort of rust-gold color.

Photo is below.

Of course I worked on 8 or 10 other projects as well, such as my Maine 2’ passenger trucks and even started on a tipple car for my 7/8n18.

Cheers

[daan]

@Frank, I'm each time amazed how you build your layout. I see track balancing in mid air, each time there is another few feet newly made.. Normally one builds the substructure, lay track and then after everything is laid down and wired, scenery is made. You do a few feet of track, make the scenery and start another few feet of track.. It's really fun to see the layout extending and growing over time. Also the first pictures of a new addition makes me wonder how you'll be able to make something out of it. It's narrow, all sorts of materials roughly shaped and glued on places where to me the function is not clear and a few photo's later you manage to make something really good out of what seemed a hopeless gathering of leftovers.

Your layout is more like a tree, it grows, but in every growstep the details are already in it. Something completely different in layout building. And a nice way to show that you don't need expensive materials and a lot of space to make a very realistic layout.

[Frank53]

trimmed out the cliffside and fit the tunnel:

[underworld]

Frank53 I'd heard of that being done...but hadn't ever seen it yet. I think there are some broken tiles in the back room at work...I'll have to ask the boss if he still wants them!!!

 

underworld

[Frank53]

Frank53 Is that cliff made from ceiling tile material? Looks great!

Yes, all indivicual strips cut from ceiling tiles.

[underworld]

Great pics as always guys!!!

Frank53 Is that cliff made from ceiling tile material? Looks great!

cnw1955 Does your camera have the ability to change shutter speed? If it does, try using a slower speed with flash like 1/60th or 1/30th. That will lighten up the back ground and give the shot more balanced lighting.

underworld

[MartyE]

Man that's Frank'n hilarious!

[Frank53]

Frank, I'll be Frank.  Good looking clifts and really like the retaining walls.

Frank:

While enjoying the aroma of Frankensense scented post war smoke pellets and watching "Young Frankenstein" while eating some Oscar Meyer Franks, it dawned on me that your Frankness is,quite Frankly, aways appreciated.

Frank

[Frank53]

The Apitz Forest is taking shape

 

[cnw1995]

Here are some photos - please forgive their quality - they're from a broken camera - handed down to me for train photos from the daughter and the bride
Christmas additions
The Apitz Forest is taking shape

I moved the farms together

Mt Eagles and the 520

 

[MartyE]

Here's a couple from my brothers PW layout...

 

[ChiefEagles]

Frank, I'll be Frank.  Good looking clifts and really like the retaining walls.

[Frank53]

Whoa! - My smileys and format commands are back!

 Finishing touches over in one corner, trying to keep the hooligans out:

Started building the new cliffside:

Going to build a traffic tunnel coming out of the cliff to theis freight station. The tunnel is made for an HO train - but the front half of a pickup truck will fit fine.

Lots of Elmers glue later:

Ballasting the lower level on this wall and reliving a little New York Central:

[ChiefEagles]

Great pictures guys.  One of my favorite engines [Lionel SD60] on a test run on new layout.

[mcattardo]

Great pics everyone. I hope to have some of my under construction layout next week. For now, I thought some of you may enjoy this 1:1 caboose I stumbled on. Sorry for the cheap camera phone image, but you get the idea

[weldman87]

Great pictures everone. Have a great sunday.

[dougdagrump]

Afternoon All !

Great photos as usual, we had a great run last friday. I still need to start learning the DCS operations. Don't know about you but I start reading it and the eyes kinda glaze over to the point of "the lights are on but ain't nobody home".

Anyway here's a couple of shots.

AT&SF, old and older.

Still need to find some passengers for my Overton coaches.

[luther_stanton]

Everyone's postings are looking good today. 

 I finally found some time to get some pictures of the progress made on the layout.

 Test fitting a #38 Water Tower (new release, not PW):

I also got my Gantry Crane back in action as well as a new (but not yet complete control panel made up in ACL colors):

And a new 497 coal loader (again, not true PW):

Enjoy!

- Luther

 

 

[pbjwilson]

My new little layout(see my micro layout post)

[Brutus]

Looks good - lots of action on your plan.

I've been (finally) updating my webpage and here are some pics from my Halloween 2005 layout after I went crazy and bought a bunch of Dept 56 stuff - I actually had 2 layouts for Halloween that year, before and after 10/31!

 

There are more on my website, just click on the link if you are logged in to CTT!

[johnandjulie13]

Hello Guys:

As usual, I love the pictures.  I have a contribution this week!  As I make glacial progress on my layout, I have finished putting the Vinlybed under my track.  Next up will be wiring.

Regards,

John O