rws1225 JPD ne big problem is that I do not have a local hobby shop. I have to travel 80 miles to the nearest one. It is near my daughter's house, so I would usually visit her and then the hobby shop, but with the pandemic I have not been out to see her.
JPD
ne big problem is that I do not have a local hobby shop. I have to travel 80 miles to the nearest one. It is near my daughter's house, so I would usually visit her and then the hobby shop, but with the pandemic I have not been out to see her.
Wow Wayne, I am impressed, I now feel like a real slacker. Love the work you have done.
Great work everyone. I too work full-time but also have a young family. Carving time for MR requires a bit of time management and dedication. Instead of listing all that I've done this past year, I plan to focus on what's next: never stop learning and enjoying the hobby!
Well, the pandemic started out rough for me when my sewer drain backed up into my basement back in March. Same thing happened throughout the neighborhood due to heavy rains. The backup took out the water heater, and lighter stuff got put on the layout (thankfully no scenery yet) with other stuff getting taken upstairs. The water heater was replaced. The basement got cleaned up, and everything got reorganized with stuff on the floor getting put in plastic storage bins.
In May, got got several out of production Walthers tank car kits off Ebay for reasonable prices, expanding the number of tank cars on my layout from two to 13, which looks better than only a couple tank cars occasionally showing up on the layout.
In June, I got a phase III Amtrak SDP40F from Athearn through my local hobby store.
I'm still planning on starting scenery soon. Been focusing more on operations lately, and I also need to check a few of the joints between layout sections that might be a little off after having to rip out the carpet from under all of the legs of the layout.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
With the pandemic, I've been working from home rather than commuting 1 hour each way. So that gave me a bit more time each day for model railroading and other hobbies.
My main project was to add a second deck to one side of my layout. Back in late February, I was looking at the 'Camp A' side of the layout, and I realised that the scenery only went less than halfway up the height of the backdrop. So I planned out another logging camp, to take the place of the one represented in staging. Got the plywood and other hardware just before the pandemic hit.
Once the upper deck was in place, I built a train elevator to move the trains between the levels. The only downside is that the trains reverse onto the upper deck, but I'm going to explain that away as them having to go through a vertical switchback to get to that logging camp - 'off-screen'.
The Location: Forests of the Pacific Northwest, OregonThe Year: 1948The Scale: On30The Blog: http://bvlcorr.tumblr.com
My biggest model railroading accomplishment I think has been getting a work bench setup. I found a place in my family's basement storage room and got some things moved around, than a table and chair set up. An Ott-Lite helps a lot too. Another end of the basement works well for painting things. I put plastic sheets down and paint things there. I've done more model railroading related things in the last two months than I did in the prior 2.5 years. But again, nowhere to travel too. So, during this time I got some freight cars fixed up and other models worked on.
Alvie
Seems that all this hiding from the Covid has made me more lazy, yet I did finally tackle a little project long on the back burner; trickin' out a CMW truck to resemble my late Pop's ol' pick-up that was his daily ride in the early 60s.
Be safe and regards, Peter
Since March, I finished a coaling tower and a sand station:
20201225_195416 on Flickr
I also worked on my sawmill scene:
20200806_121804c on Flickr
But since I much prefer to work on locomotives and rolling stock, I spent more time kitbashing stuff for my HOn3 (e.g., caboose below) and HOn30 (gas engine) lines:
20200810_205736 on Flickr
20200801_173749b Flickr
Simon
Also during the pandemic shut down I got a bunch of my back log of kits done; one structure, several craftsman box cars, a Pennsy caboose for the D&M, three caboose kitbashes and good progress on 2 locomotive kitbashes. Whew.
JPDne big problem is that I do not have a local hobby shop. I have to travel 80 miles to the nearest one. It is near my daughter's house, so I would usually visit her and then the hobby shop, but with the pandemic I have not been out to see her.
I live in Berkley, MI too and there are 3 hobby shops within 20 miles so I hope this quote is a typo.
Earlier this year I surveyed a few remaining spots of bare plywood that have persisted on the layout:
This corner really didn't have a purpose. I have lots of tank cars so it became a chemical plant:
Chem_plant-bare by Edmund, on Flickr
and several weeks later:
Chem_pave-tar3 by Edmund, on Flickr
taking shape:
Harshaw_shipping1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Tank_car_fill by Edmund, on Flickr
At another spot I had a similar situation that needed attention:
Tower_April by Edmund, on Flickr
I made a lift out to access some track below:
Tower_grounds_9-24 by Edmund, on Flickr
Recently it looks like this:
PRR_SG_tower2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Again, in no-man's land behind the coal wharf:
Ready-track-east by Edmund, on Flickr
Starting to place cork to raise the ground a little.
Ready-track-night by Edmund, on Flickr
Now with lights around the inspection pit and a few details.
Regards, Ed
Much of the actual pandemic duration coincides with our yard/garden season in the PNW, so I have not done much on the layout. Prior to visiting our daughter and new grandson in late June, I laid out the ladder and yard complex, and then did squat for five months. In the past two weeks, I have wired it and am now about to spread out the gravel and cinders to cover the benchwork.
I have been scratchbuilding my way through Black Hawk Colorado. I added a 1'x8' section to the back side of my layout at the start of this mess. I have so far scratchbuilt four four buildings (including the station and the Boiler works both with full interiors) as well as six flats. I extensively kitbashed three more and two flats to match the prototypes. Still working on the scenery/ ballast and still have some more to scratchbuild.
The station- the stone walls actually started as scrapbooking paper. Over 1000 pieces
The boiler works
Dang!
You can take up all the time of mine you want Wayne, I always love looking at your work. It appears to me you have been busy this year
I started and have not finished two more bridges, expanded the layout 2" to make everything work out on the East end. Finished the construction of bridge #4 with the bents and that's it. But I do have six of the eight bridges constructed now and that's 75%
You can call me Ray or you can call me Jay but you doesn't have to call me Johnson or slower than molasses in January
TF
JPDWhat have you done during the pandemic?
Hmmm....
Built this...
...and these...
...and re-painted and re-built this...
...added these between-the-tracks platforms...
...then added ballast and some scenery to the adjacent areas...
...finished these areas behind the roundhouse...
...along with most of the area in front of the roundhouse...
....plus a team track...
...and a couple of sidestreets...
I also shortened this MDC "Palace" car...
...then painted and lettered it...
...and assembled and painted this Branchline 12-1 Pullman car, a gift from a friend...
...then, for the same friend, stripped this brass N-5-d, re-built the missing parts from the loco's front end, improved the current pick-up and the performance of the motor, then gave it a new paint job and new lettering, too...
This one was a minor repair job for another friend, but I also did some re-lettering and paint touch-up on it too...
When I had some more free time, I re-worked five of these Bowser (formerly Stewart) hoppers into more accurate versions of their re-built prototypes...
...then did the same for another three of the same cars not yet updated with AB brakes (I have another four to do, but they're currently quarantined with a friend in Ohio)...
Not too long prior to those, I also built three Tichy flatcars for the TH&B...
...along with pipe loads for all three...
Since that went fairly well, I built another five flatcars, but changed them into gondolas...
...with four of them also for the TH&B...
...but the fifth one, modified into a pretty-good representation of one of the real TH&B's cinder cars, got lettered for my freelanced EG&E, as seen here, near the Lowbanks shops...
There's probably some more to show, but I've already taken-up too much of viewers' time.
Wayne
Let's see...
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Little time has been spent on the layout, but soon winter cold will drive me indoors.
Plus, I'm retiring as of Jan 1, partly to avoid exposure to the bug. I do commercial floor maint a few hours a night. That will give me more time. I'm looking forward to getting back to the layout.
I should probably have mentioned that I am retired. So I should have time, I just rant out of excuses to avoid working on the layout because of the pandemic.
One big problem is that I do not have a local hobby shop. I have to travel 80 miles to the nearest one. It is near my daughter's house, so I would usually visit her and then the hobby shop, but with the pandemic I have not been out to see her.
I have been ordering things online, but it has take ages for somethings to arrive. The local hobby shop near my daughter's house did get all my track for me at a great price and dropped it off free. I try to send them as much business as I can.
Have to admit it, I blew it. Had nearly 3 months without school bus driving in the spring, then a summer of waiting for parts to fix equipment that kept breaking down.
I thought about it, just didn't want to take that first step of moving the old layout to get started. Now 4 year old great grandson likes to play "choo, choo", how am I going to take it down now? Hopefully I'll figure out a place to set the old 4x6 up and I can get to making progress onn a new one.
Hope most of you have had more success using the pandemic time than I have.
Good luck,
Richard
Made a lot of progress this year, got layout basics finished including all track and basic ground cover. This was not because not working (been retired most of my life) but because a lot of side things just did not happen this year like no vacations or even overnighters, no going out to eat and shopping has ben very curtailed.
Pandemic has made no difference for hobby or layout. I still work full time and am progressing as time allows on weekends or when wife isn't busying me with things -she is type A.
If anything there was a 5 month hiatus in layout work while we tore the deck down to the frame and rebuilt it and a few other things. Guess I'm envious of all you guys with tons of hobby time. But pandemic has not been a boon of free time here.
That said, I have been working on the layout and have much of branchline subroadbed laid and track. All of 11 track staging is laid and wire drops in.
I've got a good deal of the Mainline subroadbed cut, but wanted to get the branchline below because access is easier without the Mainline in the way. I should be getting to the Mainline subroadbed soon.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
You have been a busy lad JPD.
Just before the pandemic, so last winter, I resolved to try to find and correct all the examples I had of two (or more) cars with the same reporting marks sharing the same number. Curiously it wasn't always because I had two of the same kit although that was usually the cause. I added ACI labels while I was at it because I model the late 1960s. That did necessitate a few trips to the hobby shop to seek out decals and dry tranfers to use, but most of the supplies were on hand.
Anyway that project alerted me to the fact that I also had many cars which said "cushioned underframe" (or phrases that meant the car had a cushioned underframe) on the sides yet all I had was a standard coupler pocket. Fortunately I had a good supply of the Walthers after-market extended coupler pockets. That was also an opportunity to add ACI labels and do some basic weathering.
I am reasonably sure I would have gotten to that project eventually but there was something about the initial confinement period of the pandemic, and the inability to go to a hobby shop, that made it the perfect project for early on. Once that was over, most of my hobby time was spent seeking out prototype slides that I had never scanned but needed to. That is on-going. And similarly the advantage is that nothing needs to be purchased, it is purely a matter of time and overcoming intertia.
Just as some folks report that they did things during the pandemic like reorganizing their sock drawer, I also reorganized my workshop area as well as my shelves of kits and models and in general tried to tidy up. If I ever sell things at a swap meet again I have boxes full of fresh merchandise that is for sure!
Dave Nelson
Forgot to mention the backdrop with a few clouds.
I cannot be the only model railroader making progress on his layout during this pandemic. With nothing else to do and nowhere to go, since last February, my wife and I accomplished the following during this pandemic:
1.Built a cabinet for all the Digitrax DCC and electronic equipment. Installed and tested all the components. This included converting a computer supply for powering Tortoise switch machines and accessories.
2.Built the benchwork for an around the room layout with the switching layout I had built last year plugged into it as a peninsula.
3.Rewired all the Tortoise switch machines on the switching layout so they could be controlled by panels on both sides of the peninsula with push buttons.
4.Wired five DCC busses for the five power districts protected by PSX circuit breakers, wired a bus for the tortoises, and wired a bus for the accessories. Tested all the busses.
5.Built two trestle bridges and one long truss bridge.
6.Transferred my track plan from AnyRail to the benchwork.
7.And we are currently in the process of laying the cork sub-roadbed.
I confess that I am fairly lazy and have thought more about building a layout over the last decade than actually working on one. But since the pandemic, with my wife’s enthusiastic assistance, I can finally see my dream layout coming to life. Next week we hope to lay the track. Maybe be the end of January we will be running trains. And when this awful pandemic is over, I will be able to share a functioning layout with my grandchildren.
What have you done during the pandemic?