Winter Projects...what do you do when you cant do that voodoo you do!

[vsmith]

OK its gotten really dang slow around here.[V]


I realize thats cause were all cooped up inside with Old Man Winter blowing that white frosty stuff outside and our garden RR's are buried under 6 feet of snow so we cant work on them , or it seams even talk about them.[:(]
(its actually 65 and clear here in LA but thats besides the point)

[banghead][banghead][banghead]

So in a desperate attempt to get things going around here. Describe what you do during the "off season" to keep interested.[:p]

Do you detail, weather, or customize your trains in preperation for spring?[8D]

Do you build new structures? if so what?[;)]

Do you kitbash or scratchbuild, if so what are you working on now?[:I]

Do you sketch out the next phase of your empire?[|)]

Do you stock up on construction material to be prepared for spring?[^]

Do you get out into the cold and "just do it!" [8D]

Do you have a snow plow and winter operating sessions?[:p]

OR

Do sit on the sofa eating DingDongs while staring blankley at your trains sitting on the shelf waiting for the spring thaw?[:o)]


I personally try to do alot of the "workshop" type projects when its raining too much to or too cold to be outside in the garage. Current projects incude, kitbashing a new tender for a Bachman 0-4-0 and modifying a Centerville structure with a porch and corrigated aluminum roofing. Also a few other projects on a "work at leasure" timeframe.[:D]

So speak up its winter, we cant all run our trains but we can talk about what we are doing? right?[8D]

[Marty Cozad]

Funny you ask this, My wife said JUST last night," Don't you have a building or switch to build? Get out of my hair go to the shop". I told her my mind has been blank on projects, I usually go through Walthers HO cat and look for structures and trackside ideas. Man , my brain is just COLD.

[BudSteinhoff]

This time of year is when I do my outside things to the layout before the heat of the summer moves in.
Opposite of the snow birds, I hibernate in the summer.
Bud[8D][:D]

[bman36]

vsmith,
Winter time is building time. That or I will tear a loco completely apart for a repaint and detail job. Currently I have an Aristo 0-4-0 and tender in pieces. Started out as a Napa train and is now wearing LD&C Mountainview RR colours. That is two tone green. Just needs decalling and reassembly. That is if I can remember how it all goes back together! Oh well, just part of the fun. Anybody ever find a nice brass bell for these? Don't like the plastic one. Also working on my basement layout. Not running yet but I'm in no hurry. Want it to look nice. Later eh...Brian.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bman36

vsmith,
Winter time is building time. That or I will tear a loco completely apart for a repaint and detail job. Currently I have an Aristo 0-4-0 and tender in pieces. Started out as a Napa train and is now wearing LD&C Mountainview RR colours. That is two tone green. Just needs decalling and reassembly. That is if I can remember how it all goes back together! Oh well, just part of the fun. Anybody ever find a nice brass bell for these? Don't like the plastic one. Also working on my basement layout. Not running yet but I'm in no hurry. Want it to look nice. Later eh...Brian.

Accucraft sells a great brass bell and Trackside Details sells a really good brass kit.

I have started to turn my attention to the scenery on my indoor layout. I hate scenery, it helped do in my earlier HOn30 layouts but I'm muleheaded determined to get it done this time, that and continuing the cut levers on my cars. As you say, no hurry, nothing but time, want to do it right.

[Anonymous]

I have a much different problem, I have no snow, no cold days, nothing to keep me indoors; I live within a days drive of the tropic of capricorn. What can you do in summer when its 32 deg C nearly every day? well I run my trains and get into the pool and watch them go round. I may also do a bit of the stuff you guys do in winter as well such as workshop activities.

Winter is the time to do outdoor work as the daytime temperature drops to about 20 deg C and the night temperature to about 10 C so you have plenty of energy as you have been able to get a good nights sleep.

Right now I am planning works for next winter which will be about 70 m track in a double flopped dogsbone roughly. I have hopes of constructing this new area layout after the local Glasshouse Mountains with a few mountains I can get made locally out of ferro cement. I will have a tunnel, a major bridge several overpasses and tracks going around the side of the mountains.

My big problem is connectiong up this new area (area 3), with the one around my pool (area 2) problem is i have the pumphouse for the pool in between. Going over or under it is not practicle, in front of it is, but has a few drawbacks .

After months of self argument and soulsearching I have decided to go behind it . The space between the pumpouse and the backfence only 135 mm (about 5 1/2") and thats not enough also there is a big post in the middle.

We had a visit from my stepson who is a qualified civil engineer and this is how we overcame these tough problmes, incidentally the problem is made mucgh worse as we have a very classy area directly behind our place which has been "Streetscaped", a new word for me.

The fence has been lapped and capped and has two horizontal members near the bottom 200 mm (about 8") apart, not quite enough room vertically and 50 mm wide. So we built the road bed up to about 25 mm below the bottom horizontal memeber thgis hgave us just over 200 clearance on one side and the other side and middle clearance is unlimited. We put the rail sleepers (ties) right up against the horizontal member giving us about 5 to 10 mm clearance on either side for out largest Loco a DR Mallet, and yes it runs up there quite well for the limited length of test track we have down.

But what about the post blocking everything, we are confident we can overcome this problem but I am concerned over the local ordinances I will have to pull a number of paling off the back fence and this is a very classy and public place but I will bite the bullet and do it . We need to get a spacer of about 1M long X 50 mm wide X 20 mm thicj to jam between post and the back wall of the pumphouse. Thence with a speedboreI will bore three or four 16 mm holes through the post and the spacer. Getting a long masonary bit I will then ecxtend these holes right through the 200 mm thick concrete block wall of the pumphouse. Passing some coach bolts through and putting a nut and washer inside the pumphouse will secure the post firmly to the pumhouse wall.

The with a cirular saw I will cut the post of flush under the top horizontal member and abour 25 mm below the top of the bottom horizontal member. The way will be clear right through and the post will still do its job and hold the fence up.

After I come back from being interogated by the police as i will have to do all this in full public view and someone will dob me in for sure., I can then run the tracks through and voila are 2 and area 3 will be connected together.

I have photographs of all this but I do not know how to attache them using your system.

If anyone has anything too offer I would be pleased to hear from them.



Regards Ian

[GRR7315]

NO, NO, get out there and run 'em!!!! I'm a 325 lb Gandy Dancer when I put the track maintenance hat on and in another topic " someone mentioned the loco stops at a point and a little push gets it going....... yeah, I have that in the summer and at 10 deg. F!)
look at the alligator jumpers I have to keep em going.... ENJOY.... I manage with 3 loco's, 4 is best only my G motive power has been thinnnnned out... had 19 at one point in time, easy to get caught up in a hobby.
http:\\homepage.mac.com\mapakubasko

[GRR7315]

oh, oh - that should have been forward slashes, NOT backslashes for the winter running homepage [:(] http://homepage.mac.com//mapakubasko

[Anonymous]

Hi guys and gals,
Mr. Smith you are not far off with that 6' of snow thing, we just had 14" of the cold white stuff dumped on us. If the wind picks up more snow will drift off the garage roof and land on the layout, GOOD GRIEF when will this end!
I like to keep a short section of track next to our sidewalk shoveled off so I won't forget what it looks like.

As for winter projects, I am working on the HONEY-DO list before it gets any longer.

Frozen in Minnesota........OLD DAD

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by HUDSONG1

NO, NO, get out there and run 'em!!!! I'm a 325 lb Gandy Dancer when I put the track maintenance hat on and in another topic " someone mentioned the loco stops at a point and a little push gets it going....... yeah, I have that in the summer and at 10 deg. F!)
look at the alligator jumpers I have to keep em going.... ENJOY.... I manage with 3 loco's, 4 is best only my G motive power has been thinnnnned out... had 19 at one point in time, easy to get caught up in a hobby.
http:\\homepage.mac.com\mapakubasko

Wow, those trains look real good running in the snow, you look like you need to invest in one of those operating rotary snowplows. I've seen video of them in action on an outdoor layout and they really work well...[:D]

[Anonymous]

OVER THE WINTER I BUILD NEW BUILDINGS AND REPAIR AND REPAINT THE OLD ONES ,AND I CLEAN AND GREASE THE WHEELS OF MY ROLLING STOCK, AND CLEAN THE ENGINE WHEELS. BEN ---PA.[:)][:D]

[Anonymous]

Further to my post of the 9th January great headway has been made with my problem of connecting area 2 up with area 3, pictures to follow. We have actually got the palings off the back fence, attached the post to the pumphouse wall and cut out a great big bit of wood out of the post. Finally got our ballast down and are now forming up the track to connect up the origonal piece of track from out of area 2 and taking it out in the correct place in area 3.

You all can guess what has happened, we have hafd another visit from my wifes son wjho is not only a civil engineer, but he is alsi a strong smart young man and he virtually did it for me! Hooray.


More to come on this,


Ian, Kawana.

PS its nearly winter here so this could be regarded as a winter projetc.

[Anonymous]

Hi Ian,
Well done to the lad for doing the donkey work. Hope you didn't get into any trouble over the fence panels coming off overlooking the 'classy public place'. Thinking about it, you could leave the panels off and replace them with clear perspex so the trains can be seen, that should improve the public area no end!
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

[Anonymous]

hi all
Well it's going down too 2c tonight so the fire is going.
and I just about finished the front of an old time shop something similar to what you would expect to see on a western movie.
It uses slab construction something the OZ people will know about.
When finished will have a corrugated iron roof and veranda so will look early Australian I hope..
The main matierials used are ice cream sticks and 4mm X 2mm ramin I think the wood is called.
regards John