Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
Dr. John wrote: Picked up a few Lemax items to use for the future layout. Not Christmas stuff, but their fall related items. I really like the "Al's Gas Station." I found it at K-Mart for $19 (Michael's carries it too). Very nice looking brick gas station with lots of neat detail. Also got a small vegetable stand and pumpkin stand too. I plan to have a fall theme on the layout - it will be quite an eclectic mix with Marx tin buildings, Lemax buildings, Plasticville, and some Lionel accessories. My benchwork is already constructed, but in pieces. Actually, my "benchwork" consists of hollow core doors with folding banquet legs attaced to 1x4 crosspieces. Strong, lightweight and flexible. I'll cover it with an inch of foam board.
Picked up a few Lemax items to use for the future layout. Not Christmas stuff, but their fall related items. I really like the "Al's Gas Station." I found it at K-Mart for $19 (Michael's carries it too). Very nice looking brick gas station with lots of neat detail. Also got a small vegetable stand and pumpkin stand too. I plan to have a fall theme on the layout - it will be quite an eclectic mix with Marx tin buildings, Lemax buildings, Plasticville, and some Lionel accessories. My benchwork is already constructed, but in pieces. Actually, my "benchwork" consists of hollow core doors with folding banquet legs attaced to 1x4 crosspieces. Strong, lightweight and flexible. I'll cover it with an inch of foam board.
Dr. John, Here a couple of pics of Al's Gas that I converted to Kimmy's Gas.
Had a nice workout this morning and then took a few ebay packages to the PO. Home for lunch and now back to the office for a little. Hope to get time yet today to clean up the flower beds a little. Can't take time away from York for that.
dwiemer wrote: Morning from a rainy day in Dixie. Currently 61, and going to the mid 80s. On call this week so I hope that I have some time to work on the layout. Chuck, could you conceal some catanery starting behind a building or some structure, higher than the pick ups, then slowly working them down to heighth to go under the tunnel, through the tunnel and then back up and stopped behind some other structure. This way you could solve the height restriction, but not have to run catanery the whole length of the layout. I have to tackle the same problem once I start laying track. Please let us know what you do so that we may learn. Have a great day everyone. Dennis
Morning from a rainy day in Dixie. Currently 61, and going to the mid 80s. On call this week so I hope that I have some time to work on the layout.
Chuck, could you conceal some catanery starting behind a building or some structure, higher than the pick ups, then slowly working them down to heighth to go under the tunnel, through the tunnel and then back up and stopped behind some other structure. This way you could solve the height restriction, but not have to run catanery the whole length of the layout. I have to tackle the same problem once I start laying track. Please let us know what you do so that we may learn.
Have a great day everyone.
Dennis
Here is the tunnel that I have to clear:
That's going to be a job, on a 42" curve. ( outside track )
Chuck
Blueberryhill RR wrote: dwiemer wrote: Here is the tunnel that I have to clear: That's going to be a job, on a 42" curve. ( outside track ) Chuck
dwiemer wrote:
Ouch! that is going to be a hard one to tackle. Perhaps you had the better idea of restricting the pick-ups. It does look good though. Would you be able to angle the top piece of the tunnel to a gentle slope and then keep a consistant ceiling throughout? Only issue would be high speed would not be kind to your loco. And we are back at your prior idea.
Good Luck,
TCA#09-63805
John, thanks for posting pics of Al's / Kimmy's gas station. Looks great on your layout! Pretty neat idea to change the name of the station - nicely done!
dwiemer wrote: Hey all, hope everyone is having a great day. We had a guest preacher as ours and a group from the church are in Israel for the week. The guest preacher did a fantastic job and I look forward to returning tonight. The film that our church made is doing well in theaters and is apparently opening in Washington DC and Albany, NY. After lunch, we went to the train room and did some more benchwork. I mostly did the work and my wife and two kids watched, got in the way, but were a part of it. From what I have read and seen, if the family is included, they are much more likely to enjoy it and allow us to enjoy it too. Besides, if you look at such layouts as Roger B's and see the scenery his wife does, well, it just looks great. Have a great day and rest of the week. Dennis
Hey all, hope everyone is having a great day. We had a guest preacher as ours and a group from the church are in Israel for the week. The guest preacher did a fantastic job and I look forward to returning tonight. The film that our church made is doing well in theaters and is apparently opening in Washington DC and Albany, NY.
After lunch, we went to the train room and did some more benchwork. I mostly did the work and my wife and two kids watched, got in the way, but were a part of it. From what I have read and seen, if the family is included, they are much more likely to enjoy it and allow us to enjoy it too. Besides, if you look at such layouts as Roger B's and see the scenery his wife does, well, it just looks great.
Have a great day and rest of the week.
Sorry Dennis, though the wife is encouraging her only contribution is the skirting.
Jim Fortner wrote: I used my Delta mitersaw to cut 3 pieces of track (just marked them in place and took them down and cut them). Actually cut off 5 pieces, but 2 didn't work out very well! I'm going to make a jig for future cuts that will hold the track flat and add support for each rail right up to the cut - When I do, I'll post some pics and let you know how it worked. Anyway, gotta get more work done - TTFN!
Jim, Have you thought of using an abrasive cutoff blade in the miter saw? That might be kinder to the rails. I assume you are cutting fast track? I have cut Realtrax, but always used a hacksaw for that.
Dr. John, I forgot to mention that Kimmy is my 3 year old granddaugher. She likes to give her Dad hands on assistance when he works on cars, so we thought it appropriate.
I just ordered a set of Williams F3 2343s (santa Fe). That's going to be my birthday/Christmas present.
Can't wait to see some pictures - I just purchase a set of the 2245's ! Did you get the traditional silver/red or black/red?
Good Evening.....
Dennis... I think I will cut the tunnel entrance and exit about 3/4 ". That will leave me about a quarter inch clearance between the top of the pantograph and ceiling of the tunnel. Either that or run the GG1 on the upper level only.
Today was a gloomy day. Have had trouble with Roadrunner all day with e-mail. The server is down and has been for 6 hours. And I thought they would be better than the other one.
Be back later.
Good Evening Everyone !! New guy started his first day at work today. Seems real nice, but after he gets broke in, there goes all my overtime.
Been getting more wires added to my layout lately, which will enhance my switching operations ! Only have 2 switches on the whole layout, but I have another to add later. I've been holding out for Ross switches but they are a lot more.
Supposed to get rain tomorrow, yuk .
Chuck : hope you get your email working, I did reply to your last one !!
Thanks, John
Roger Bielen wrote: dwiemer wrote: Sorry Dennis, though the wife is encouraging her only contribution is the skirting.
Sorry Roger, I do remember the discussion about your wife making the skirting. One of the other posters here had his wife doing much of the scenery, in either case it is great to have the families involved.
Blueberryhill RR wrote: Good Evening..... Dennis... I think I will cut the tunnel entrance and exit about 3/4 ". That will leave me about a quarter inch clearance between the top of the pantograph and ceiling of the tunnel. Either that or run the GG1 on the upper level only. Today was a gloomy day. Have had trouble with Roadrunner all day with e-mail. The server is down and has been for 6 hours. And I thought they would be better than the other one. Be back later.
Chuck, your discussion could not be more timely. Since I am building my benchwork, I will make sure that I leave enough clearance for a GG1 with pantographs up. What is the hieghth of the GG1 with pantographs fully extended? I am being lazy here as mine is packed in a box in my son's closet. I am sure this will be the highest piece of equipment that I will have to worry about.
Please post photos when your project is done. It seems I have much to learn and I appreciate a forum that lets us do so.
John wrote: I assume you are cutting fast track? I have cut Realtrax, but always used a hacksaw for that.
Nope - I bought about $100 worth of O27 track plus 4 switches at about $20 each about a month ago to use for this layout. I needed to be able to fit on 44 inches by 96 inches and still have a dogbone layout. I made a dogbone like a C with the reverse loops at the top and bottom ends of the line (offset a little) and then added a connecting track with 2 more switches, so I can have my train go around and around a loop or switch into a reverse loop in either direction. I think FT would cut more easily! I do have 2 starter loops of FT, but there wasn't enough room on the table to do anything fun with it. I bought remote switches, but I don't like my CW80's, so I'm currently using a K-Line transformer that came with a mining handcar set, but it doesn't have posts for accessories. I just won a MTH Z-1000 on ebay, hopefully it'll come soon. Some dirty dog is outbidding me on a cheap coal dump car right now - grrrrrr! LOL
We had a pretty good weekend, although train room progress was slow. I even took off Friday in hopes of getting some work done. I ended up working half of Friday anyway and spent the other half of the day on outdoor projects while the weather is still warm enough to paint. I also cleaned the wife's Jeep up.
We took Saturday as an away day. We drove across the north side of the state. We started out with some antique stores in Dillard. We the drove across over to “Apple Alley” as my wife calls it. We ended up at Burt's Pumpkin Farm where we picked out our Halloween pumpkin and other orange delectables. We then found an apple stand where we stocked up on apples and cider. We finally got home late – after 10:00 pm.
Sunday I finished up the outside work and did a ballast run to Garden Ridge. Ended up using some terrarium gravel as the chicken grit was too big for the spacing of the Atlas ties. There was an accident on the interstate and we sat there for over an hour in traffic that did not move an inch.
I was hoping to work from the house today and save 2.5 hours on the road. No luck – our phone and Internet connection went down around 7AM so I trekked in. I got home and found my wood side caboose waiting – finally! I have been looking for an appropriate woodside NYC semi-scale caboose for my J3 since late June. It was worth the wait. I should also have a 497 Coal Loader and some NYC passenger coaches arriving this week as well.
I worked out and had a nice dinner surprise. The wife made pork roast with Cuban rice and plantains. She topped it off with some creme brulee. A wonderful meal.
It has been much colder today – I think we barely saw 60. Rain started after lunch and is forecast to continue through the day tomorrow. If BellSouth cooperates, I should be able to avoid a rain soaked commute, which is always a joy, and work from the house tomorrow.
I hope everyone has a nice evening.
dwiemer wrote: Blueberryhill RR wrote: Good Evening..... Dennis... I think I will cut the tunnel entrance and exit about 3/4 ". That will leave me about a quarter inch clearance between the top of the pantograph and ceiling of the tunnel. Either that or run the GG1 on the upper level only. Today was a gloomy day. Have had trouble with Roadrunner all day with e-mail. The server is down and has been for 6 hours. And I thought they would be better than the other one. Be back later. Chuck, your discussion could not be more timely. Since I am building my benchwork, I will make sure that I leave enough clearance for a GG1 with pantographs up. What is the hieghth of the GG1 with pantographs fully extended? I am being lazy here as mine is packed in a box in my son's closet. I am sure this will be the highest piece of equipment that I will have to worry about. Please post photos when your project is done. It seems I have much to learn and I appreciate a forum that lets us do so. Dennis
OK, Dennis....From the top of the center rail of Gargraves track to the top of the pantograph, in the furthest " up " position is 5 1/2 ". The ceiling of my tunnel is 6 ". That's close. I have to cut about 3/4" off of the bottom of the portal as it is 5 1/4" from the track. If I was to build the tunnel over, I'd go 7 " to be safe. My crane car clears now with the boom all the way down.
Thanks Chuck
You are welcome, Dennis.
John, ( csxt30 )..the e-mail is still down.
Jim, Have you checked out Just Trains ? They are having a pretty good sale on the K-Line stuff. I saw the coal and log dump cars but can't remember what they were listed at.
Wow, What is up with "Da Bears" ?
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
www.sd3r.org
Proud New Member Of The NRA
Chuck : just noticed you posted again a while ago ! I had my computer set to get emails & just now checked the forum again. This is murder when your email is down !! Ha!!
Also, if anyone might get those dbl. stack cars down the road, I think you need at least 7 inches of clearance .
Breaker one nine...........Breaker one nine
The Roadrunner is still down.
Come on..............
Blueberryhill RR wrote: Breaker one nine...........Breaker one nine The Roadrunner is still down. Come on..............
Hey Chuck : We're in the wrong hobby !! I just figured it out !! We should be in Ham Radio !! We would only have to worry about the electric going off then !! Oh, wait, we could get one of those generators !! Remember the ones in the old Army movies, where they would have a crank to get power !! I always liked those !!
csxt30 wrote: Blueberryhill RR wrote: Breaker one nine...........Breaker one nine The Roadrunner is still down. Come on.............. Hey Chuck : We're in the wrong hobby !! I just figured it out !! We should be in Ham Radio !! We would only have to worry about the electric going off then !! Oh, wait, we could get one of those generators !! Remember the ones in the old Army movies, where they would have a crank to get power !! I always liked those !! Thanks, John
Yep, they were fun to crank. I think the Coyote got the Roadrunner !!
Good Night All.
Trying to update my avatar since 2020
MartyE and Kodi the Husky Dog! ( 3/31/90-9/28/04 ) www.MartyE.com My O Gauge Web Page and Home of Kodiak Junction!
FEClionel wrote:I just ordered a set of Williams F3 2343s (santa Fe). That's going to be my birthday/Christmas present. Can't wait to see some pictures - I just purchase a set of the 2245's ! Did you get the traditional silver/red or black/red?
Morning all, got up dark early as I had to go do an emergency just before 3am. Wish I could be running trains.....soon, very soon Hope everyone has a great day.
HI GIZ,
54 and rainy here today suppose to get .75 inches of rain. Hope so we need it.
BEARS, win just bearly? But a win is a win even though as DARE|IN MAGAVIN from The Christmas Story would say, Monsters of the Midway,huh maybe chipmunks but monsters..... That what they looked like the whole first quarter. Didn't watch the rest got to get my beauty sleep?
Have a good one.
2 days till YORK.
laz57
Good morning all,
It is cloudy and mild in SE Indiana with temps heading into the 60s today. I ran the little Santa Fe steamer last night with the cars I upgraded the couplers. Everything worked ok. We got a lot of rain last night and this morning. Not much else going on. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
Good Morning from Blueberryhill....
It is a cold , rainy 54 degrees and only going up to 64 today. Rain is predicted for the entire day. Good train weather.
But, we have to go to Cambridge today and do some grocery shopping. Because we are going out for the day tomorrow. I am not looking forward to loading groceries in the rain.
No e-mail as of yet. Roadrunner has a big problem switching all the customers over from Adelphia. " A quick , easy changeover " is what they were advertising. Something didn't co-operate.
Later, today I will run trains and figure out the best way to cut the tunnel portals larger, by an inch. Someone from the South suggested that I just saw an inch off the table legs. LOL
I'm off to the Dining Car and breakfast.
Y'all have a great Tuesday.
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