Sunday Photo Fun!!! (sorry couldn't wait)

[Anonymous]

Well, its 12:15 ET, so I guess this qualifies as Sunday.  I know I don't usually start this thread, but I couldn't wait to post my pics today!  Frank, I think you and some others on here will like these for obvious reasons.

Today is my birthday and I got to go shopping about 24 hours early; picked up these two K-Line cars '55 Caddy, and a '56 Chrysler 300

I also picked up my new tubular track!  I love it!  Not only is it 1/2 the price of the ballasted stuff, but it also 100% quieter than Fastrack.  I couldn't believe the difference between the two types of track.  Not to bad for a $53 birthday gift!

On another funny note;

When I got to the LHS today, I was showing my brother the protable layout table that I stole my design from the last time I was in there.  After showing it to him the worker at the shop said; "I'll sell you one of those for $300." (He was very proud of himself)  I responded, "Well, last time I was in here I checked this one out and built my own for $35!"  He wasn't so proud, he then said, "well...ours are complete with trim and grey paint."  Ohhhh, I thought, so it would cost me all of $45!  I kept that last bit to myself.  They don't lay track, they don't wire, all they do is build the floating table top, and they are charging $300!  Dang, I should start selling them for $150!

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Happy Birthday

Here is the new to me sawmill on the layout.  Still working on detail ideas.  Suggestions????

Jim

[traindaddy1]

ATSJer: You are certainly on the right track!

[Blueberryhill RR]

ATSJer....Welcome to the wonderful world of tubular track.

AND.........

[Frank53]

I also picked up my new tubular track!  I love it!  Not only is it 1/2 the price of the ballasted stuff, but it also 100% quieter than Fastrack.

with age comes wisdom, grasshopper.

I couldn't believe the difference between the two types of track.

only those with keen insight do.

Not to bad for a $53 birthday gift!

Tubular track?

53?

Coincidence?

Me thinks not.

ps: Happy Birthday

[Frank53]

More of the trains we grew up with - New York Central Gondolas. A Post War 2026 on the upper level, a 726 on the bottom with Lehigh Valley Hoppers.

 

 

 

 

[Frank53]

Still overworking the detail on the east wall section:

[csxt30]

Nice pictures everyone !! Here's some pictures of my finished loads with the tiedown chain I recently got from E-bay !

  

Here's my latest load, a bunch of aluminum can metal cut up in a gon.

Here is a loading ramp in the beginning stage, all brass soldered up !

Here it is with a little more stuff, A light I added & ramp for between the car & dock & tried some wear marks or weathering. Have to add ground cover & scenery if I leave it here !!

 

Thanks, John 

[csxt30]

I was working on my post same time as 53 !!  I think his consist of empty gons is on the way here to get loaded !! We're making money already !!

Nice pictures Frank !!

Thanks, John

[Frank53]

I was working on my post same time as 53 !!  I think his consist of empty gons is on the way here to get loaded !! We're making money already !!

Thanks John - I thought this one looked familar:

yeow - nice brass loading dock.

[ChiefEagles]

Great photos.  John F, post picture of your scratch built stock yard and laoding ramps.  Really a nice job on his layout.  Gates even open and close with hinges.  Later

[csxt30]

I was working on my post same time as 53 !!  I think his consist of empty gons is on the way here to get loaded !! We're making money already !!

Thanks John - I thought this one looked familar:

yeow - nice brass loading dock.

Thanks Frank !!  Oh, be sure to come over to Lisa's scratch building thread, she needs help or ideas on a factory, if you can !! I'm not to good at it !!

  http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1071888/ShowPost.aspx

Thanks, John

[railfan23]

Giving new meaning to the phrase tin plate meet.

 

[Frank53]

be sure to come over to Lisa's scratch building thread, she needs help or ideas on a factory,

looks like she is doing pretty well.

As an aside, if the trees aren't made from furnace filters, can you still call it "Apitz Forest?"

[MartyE]

[MartyE]

be sure to come over to Lisa's scratch building thread, she needs help or ideas on a factory,

looks like she is doing pretty well.

As an aside, if the trees aren't made from furnace filters, can you still call it "Apitz Forest?"

 

I think I see an Amish Carpenter trapped under a falling boulder in that picture coming soon Frank.  Looks like the one behind the F3 and under the platform for the tower is about to go! 

[Frank53]

I think I see an Amish Carpenter trapped under a falling boulder in that picture coming soon Frank.  Looks like the one behind the F3 and under the platform for the tower is about to go! 

say what?

[MartyE]

And for my next psychic trick I shall predict that the sun will slowly give way to darkness about 7pm local time...  Poor amish dude... gets 'em everytime.

[Buckeye Riveter]

AMTRAK

Make sure you click the link at the bottom to see AMTRAK running past control tower.

 .

See more AMTRAK action at:

http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w79/pfoh/?action=view&current=AmtrakatControlTower.flv

 

[Frank53]

Had hoped to at least finish all of the cross members for the bridge this weekend

Not even close. It is, however, strong and stable, and much more consistent and accurate than my last stab at this (which is now in the trash, oh bye the way)

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!  It was a very good day, worship service was great and afterwards I found out that I was the victim of a conspiracy of grace.  For the last two months my wife has been secretly organizing a surprise birthday party for me, and almost the entire church was in on it!!  I must be completely oblivious, but it does live up to the rule that the pastor is always the last one to know what's going on in the church. 

Frank53 I love the Hope sign next to the dark tunnel, the symbolism there is so thick I could cut it with a knife.  I don't know if it was intentional or not but it sure caught my eye.  Oh, and I love the trestle work you're doing.  I'm glad to see that you are making at least one of your upper level loops with the trestle, it will look very nice indeed.

Buckeye Riveter that's a beautiful Amtrack set up that you have, and I really like the "house on fire" accesory, very cool.

MartyE I've really enjoyed your videos as of late and I'm glad that I finally get to see some of your village.  My guess is that they suffer from their fair share of flooding in that town.   Very nicely done.

railfan23 I'm not much into tinplate, but I know enough to respect your set-up, very nice.

csxt30 Those steel loads look great!  I love that chain, is that chain specifically for model loads or did you use something else and make it fit your needs?

Sturgeon-Phish I like the saw mill very much, I assume it loads wood onto a car?  Your postwar style layout looks to be a very busy place indeed.  Very nice to look at.

Couple more pics before Sunday runs out on us.

Got the train facing the "right" way now, because now I get to watch it come at me down the straightaway.

I can almost fit the entire train on the straightway, almost.

Experimenting with my camera work; this one is my ghost train.

[Anonymous]

On the way to getting one corner of the layout fully scenicked.  Who else buys bouquets of roses for their wife with the alterior motive of using the left over dried babys breath for tree making?

Bruce Webster

[laz 57]

Cool photos as usual GIZ.

laz57

[johnandjulie13]

Frank:

I can't believe you are getting all of this done in such a short amount of time.  I love the bridge.  Keep up the good work.

Regards,

John O

[Anonymous]

A closer shot for more detail.  the gap between tracks will eventually be a weedy, swampy pond area.  Still need to add telephone poles, fencing and a bit more clutter.

Bruce Webster

[weldman87]

great pictures every one. I cant wait to take my kids to the store this week and let them pick out a starter set. I was thinking of the polar express for them.

[Frank53]

Weekends over - didn't finish teh bridge as I had hoped - but made some pretty decent progress on it:

[FJ and G]

On Saturday, attended NMRA's Potomac Chapter meet in Annandale with Martin B. Martin hosted a morning class on getting your MRR certificate (for writing/publishing). And an afternoon class in kitbuilding (milk station, flatcar and something else).

The MRR class was rather interesting. A couple of the attendees told me later that getting involved in the hobby to an extreme extent has pretty much ruined their social lives (and more). :-)

O scale was not represented there in the modular layouts so Martin's creations he brought along actually got more looks (and awards) than the N and HO stuff. Martin also brought along Ed Reutling's steam locomotive and coal cars, which won best train. Two of the coal cars were built by the late & great Armstrong. And Armstrong picked up a first place prize. I'm sure he's smiling from the grave, if that's possible.

Unfortunately for Martin, a tree building class was going on simultaneously to his in the afternoon, and it sucked away a couple dozen people and there was just myself and another attendee at the kit building class. I was happy b/c there was the more one-on-one and I could ask a lot of questions.

Since Martin works for NIH and has familiarity with things medical, he uses a scalpel for cutting and surgical silk, the latter of which is hard to come by.

In the photo, you can see that the silk was used in the construction of the flatcar (vice brass or copper tubing). Good old super glue (the goey variety) was the primary glue holding everything together along with a touch here and there of Walther's Goo. I'm actually going to add  toy train trucks and couplers on this flatcar and run in on 3-rails and 2 rails as well.

One difference between RTR and kits, is that oftentimes, kits don't contain everything you need. For instance, couplers and trucks were not included and neither were the brake line assembly. Since I'm not OCD, and can't see the brake line detail even at eye level, that's fine with me. But the key here, is when you are buying a kit, you really need to ask what's in the kit!

The other missing elements were the stake holder brackets for the sides. These I do want and will send Martin an email for these. :-)

His flatcar kits are $15 and come with a mix of items from other companies and castings he makes himself. Kit lovers tend to mix and match stuff!

Incidentally, you don't need a lot of tools to make kits but a pin vice comes in handy with multiple bits. I tend to brake these a lot.

Last night, I found that you can take a 1/16 bit (the smallest size available at hardware stores) and insert it in a wine cork and use that as a pin vice. If you need the hole smaller, just fill it in with wood filler or make your own wood filler with fine sawdust and wood glue mixed together. So see, you can actually do everything in a kit with regular tools you have at home.

Anway, here's the unfinished flatcar and mwb's award-winning 19th century version of Wal-Mart. Notice that he did the interior pretty nicely and freely admitted being OCD about it, doing even stuff you'd never see unless a twister removed the roof or something.
















As a bonus photo, here's a scene from my O gauge layout yesterday evening

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Sturgeon-Phish I like the saw mill very much, I assume it loads wood onto a car?  Your postwar style layout looks to be a very busy place indeed.  Very nice to look at.

The sawmill illusion objective is the log on the cart rolls into the spinning saw blade, which cuts off a plank.  The cut off plank falls to a trough where it is picked up by tongs on a carrier which then travels up a boom hanging over the track and when the carrier reaches the end of the boom, the tongs dump the plank into a waiting car.  The illusion is very effective.  The illusion of the planks being cut off the log is very convincing.  The mechanism by which the unit works is a simple and ingenious. 

Jim

[Anonymous]

The sawmill illusion objective is the log on the cart rolls into the spinning saw blade, which cuts off a plank.  The cut off plank falls to a trough where it is picked up by tongs on a carrier which then travels up a boom hanging over the track and when the carrier reaches the end of the boom, the tongs dump the plank into a waiting car.  The illusion is very effective.  The illusion of the planks being cut off the log is very convincing.  The mechanism by which the unit works is a simple and ingenious. 

Jim

Very cool.  I found that video!  I like that a lot.

Operating sawmill

I put my Windows media player on repeat and it looks very cool.