Living the dream.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another brand new weekend, and my favorite thread of the week!
This week my share is...
I have been talking about this layout since I joined this group, and I thought there were no existing pictures of it. This was the second N scale layout I built.
My Uncle Roger in New York has been going through all kinds of items from his mothers and brothers estates. He found these pictures in a collection of my Uncle Robert's labelled "Trip to Florida 1992".
These are never pictures I would have taken. They are just overview snapshots, but they are the only images I have of this layout.
Picture 1 and 2 each show one of the cities. I have long since forgotton what I named these cities.
Picture 3 shows one of the 30 inch radius curves... so nice in N scale. There is also a mock-up of the turntable and a Stratton And Gillette big Alco diesel parked there. I don't think I ever built that turntable.
Picture 4 was a bit of a surprise for me. This elevated city scene hid a curve that was "tight", about 20 inches if I remember correctly. I remember that most N scale building in the 1980s were European prototype, but I thought I found a bunch that looked American enough. That was not true, this does not look American at all.
There you have it... some pictures of the N scale empire I was building in my mid 20s.
I do wish I had good pictures, taken from appropriate levels, with a good camera, but these will need to do.
I don't even remember Uncle Robert ever visiting me in my dream house.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone else's photographs.
-Kevin
Kevin. - Thanks for starting WPF.
Ah! The Dream House Layout. Made many of them on paper.
Myself. - The track layout at Crown Point Yard was partly successful. The big challenge was traffic was virtually impossible to get from the yard to Leeds Sovereign Street. I have a spare 3 way point. A little juggling of the track and success.
IMG_2567 by David Harrison, on Flickr
Now trains can access and leave the yard at both ends.
The unconnected track holds rolling stock 'on show' and can be placed on the running track if wanted.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good morning from mostly cloudy, cold and snowy Northeast Ohio!
Kevin, thanks for starting us out, those are some neat old pictures thanks for showing us them.
Dan, your work on beer cars is going wild, far outstrips my Anderson converted hopper cars.
David, nice solution to your movement problem on the layout.
This week there are no new cars, I have been involved in the Ohio State Bowling Tournament with both participating and helping administer the event, will be that way for 10 weeks, may get a few cars done in the meantime but no schedule for them. Will be posting some of my old club photo's in the meantime.
A Pair of Southern Athearn GP38-2's with a train made up of all IPD cars running on the Strongsville Club layout.
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Have a great weekend, I will be up at 5:00 am to get to the bowling alleys to check the lanes and tape them before bowling starts.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Nice pics everyone. Kevin, I'm so glad you are able to have some visual record of your old layout. I can imagine how that feels. I've lost so many photos I wish I had now.
I'm trying to figure out how to use Flickr instead of my old blog, which is filling up with forum pics and will eventually max out. So this is my first attempt. I may have to delete this post or edit it a frillion times.
Oh! It seems to have worked.
You guys may be getting sick of seeing Perkins' Produce, but it's all I have to share lately. I've finally gotten the building mounted in what will evenually be its hillside location. The "ground" underneath the building and shed is actually a piece of wood hanging off the edge of the upper level, screwed and glued extra securely I can assure you. The top of the building is still just sitting on the stone foundation and is still a bit wonky; I'm waiting for my LED distro board from WeHonest to arrive from China, and then I have to do a lot of wiring and plugging of the light leaks. Even then, I believe I will not glue the top levels to the lower because I may want to take the building off the layout in work sessions. It's awfully tall and when I'm in the access hole my elbows swing around quite cataclysmically.
So... still lots of work ahead, but at least it's in place and I can roll a boxcar up to it.
-Matt
Returning to model railroading after 40 years and taking unconscionable liberties with the SP&S, Northern Pacific and Great Northern roads in the '40s and '50s.
Oh, I DO have another photo to share that is NOT of the Perkins.
This is none of my work, but it's such a pretty locomotive I can't resist posting a photo of it. I was at the return of the sprawling train show in Monroe last weekend -- it had been cancelled three years in a row -- and late in the day I came across this beauty for too much money. It's not something you'd have seen on SP&S tracks, because SI was a small road that was eventually bought by rival UP. Still, this early premerger scheme is gorgeous.
I said it was a beauty but out of my range, thanked them, and walked away as the sellers, two young men and an older gentlemen I assumed was their dad, were barking out lower numbers at me. I smiled back but kept going. A few minutes later, I realized that I wanted that engine very badly, so I turned around -- they were only three tables back across the aisle -- and they had vanished! Gone. Like they'd never been there.
I ran outside, my head swivelling. Two gates at opposite ends of the fairgrounds. Which way to go? They would park close, I thought. I might catch them loading up. It had only been fifteen minutes. I ran out the near gate, pausing just long enough for the woman with the ink pad to stamp my hand with a little dark blue smiling bunny, and started scanning the sea of tall pickups and SUVs. Nothing moved. Then I saw several humans hefting boxes into a pickup bed and ran toward them. I wasn't sure it was them but called out anyway and they paused in their labors.
"Decided you want that engine after all?" said one young man, and I said if they were still offering that price they'd mentioned, I'd take it. They opened every single box in their pickup bed looking for it, slicing the newly applied tape, and found it at the bottom of the last one. I was puny with shame and apology for delaying them and making them do all this extra work after they were almost ready to hit the road. "That's alright," they said. "Good to know it'll go to a good home."
It's in a good home.
terrific storytelling, crossthedog. you had me holding on by my fingernails. your persistence paid off, good for you! your find is indeed a beauty, congrats.
it took me years to find my very rare atlas rs-3 lehigh hudson river online, just as beautiful as your prize. when it turned up as a buy it now, at a great price no less, I grabbed it so fast I almost broke my mouse button. it's in a display case. -rob
Kevin, Thanks for opening the WPF, old layout pics turning up is a special kind of fun.
Thanks to all the contributors and viewers. Have a good weekend. Regards, Peter
Peter, that's a nice photo, but we're supposed to be showing pictures of models.
Thanks for opening, Kevin, and nice pictures of the early work.
Pike 62 2 more nice additions. I like yellow reefers.
David, good work on tackling a challenging track problem.
Rick. No cars this week. Just when we thought you couldnt surprise us! Nice club photo though.
Matt, nice wip picture of the infrastructure going into your great looking model, and a great looking engine. I', glad you made the score!
Crossthedog: Peter thinks that because he has a shrinking machine he can post his pictures here. Somehow he gets away with it.
Ok...I have a bit of a cold, not bad enough to keep me from chiping away at a new model. First...
A few years ago I got fooled by a photoshopped picture of an Alco small switcher. I decided to build it.
The mechanism is built on a Kato Blomberg truck with a CD player motor, and flywheels. Note that one side of the Blomberg frames have been clipped off, allowing the 4 wheels to equalize over any uneven track, as if I have any.
It runs great. I was looking at it's drive while fiddling around with a Keystone 44 tonner, and realized that something a bit more grounded in reality, a GE 35 tonner could be made from a combo of these components.
A defunct Bachmann 70 tonner gave up it's ends and running boards, a Keystone 44 tonner provided the cab (with lower part removed) and a hood.
The new drive has a larger single flywheel with a larger diameter ring. This allows the front of the hood to be filled with lead. Compare the 2 drives. Also pictured are the Bachmann pieces, and the brass frame, adding 1.25 oz of needed weight.
What is planned for the Keystone 44 tonner's drive is a subject for an upcoming WPF. Progress of all these projects will of course be posted here. Dan
The stL&H is based on a prototype. It was that grimey. Lots of projects came to the end and othes alot closer. One thing I noticed with this is I need better pics that show the weathering alot better.
The 1500 and geep were there. I just didnt feel like moving them
SHane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Was it such a nice weekend that nobody posted since Saturday night? Or just one where everybody did stuff bu t. It didn't finish any projects just progressed them
Excellent contributions by all. Well done.
After adding new turnouts at Crown Point Yard, basically I just ran trains to see how it worked.
Even the Class 52 and 55 ran well.
IMG_2570 by David Harrison, on Flickr
Trains to Leeds Sovereign Street Station ran as wanted.
IMG_2571 by David Harrison, on Flickr
Because of the slight alterations some scenery now needs some attention.
Thank you to everyone that has contributed to this weeks thread.
Pike-62: Your beer hopper cars are really looking great. I don't remember if you said where you were getting all these decals. Good work.
David: I have two three-way turnouts stashed for future use if needed. It is great that you were able to solve your problem.
Rick: Enjoy your bowling tournament. Your GP38-2s look good running long hood forward.
Matt: I never get sick of Perkin's Produce. That same kit was one of the first mass produced craftsman kits available in N scale back in the 1980s, and it became a landmark on many layouts. Great story about the RS-1 purchase. You were lucky. It seems every time I change my mind at a train show someone else made the purchase while I was thinking it over.
Mr Mikado: Great to see you here again!
Peter: Your scenes are always remarkable. This week was another fine example.
Dan: Great work on the custom critters. The "nose-only" RS-3 was actaully massed produced in G Scale. Yours looks very good. Thanks for all the work-in-progress photographs.
Shane: Those are some great photographs of your layout. Your weathering on those locomotives is fantastic.
I will see everyone next week.