Happy Birthday, MrB. Has it been a whole year? I forgot that we share March as a birthday month.
Beer and chocolate chip cookies go well together.
Larry does the electronics work for our layout. He had some serious issues with decoders with our MDC's. Once he discovered that they were wired backwards, he was able to straighten them out. We did give up on sound with them. $$$$
Mike, If I had layouts in different rooms, I would not focus well.
JB, I love when you guys reference different locations on your layouts. We need to name our different towns. Thanks for the motivation.
Chuck, Our rain is back after a couple of weeks of occasional sprinkles. When we get taxed out of Washington, we will probably move to Nevada. We have considered the Carsen City area.
Let's party all day with MrB.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Good morning: A big breakfast and an Irish coffee this morning if you please.
We're back in the freezer again last night and this morning! After a warm day yesterday...It's only up to 8 above so far today!! Don't know that I want to move to Nevada just yet, but Carson City is a pretty nice area!
Sue, I did give A LOT of thought to the names and locations on the CCRY. Even though freelanced, it is a "What If" scenario and is based on an actual location (Minnesota's Arrowhead), actual trackage (mostly long gone) and a purpose. Doing that research was fun too! I should post a trackplan someday, as reference to the sites talked about.
I did finish up my "Turnout Tutorial" and posted it this morning. Terry, I hope that it addresses any questions that you may have. Actually, with it being my first attempt at writing a "how to" to post here, I hope it turned out helpful and easy enough to understand.
Gotta' get after the chores and projects...So latter all.
Morning all. Joe, I'll have the ham and eggs breakfast this morning.
colvin, The layout in the out building is mostly history as of last Wednesday. Not much out there but the tables, some track and mountains with trees which will be removed as I need them. I did get to run the trolly and it runs but not good, the lights don't flicker but it doesn't run smooth and makes a lot of noise, like maybe a gear problem. I think I am going to take it apart and have a look at the gears and do a good cleaning, luberication on and see what happens from there. Any advice? Mike
I'll have a Bloody Mary, thru the garden again,Joe.
Saw the thread,JB, that was GREAT! I ,and another guy, do have a ? Where did you get the piping and other stuff? Napa or the like?
Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
Yes, a bloody Mary sounds great.
Just got in from work...I'll buy you one Sue!
Been too busy with other stuff to get out to the Trainroom...But I'm hoping to get there this week yet!
Terry, I hope that I answered your questions on the "turnout thread". I have some questions too, and asked but haven't gotten a responce yet...Maybe!
I've got another long day tomorrow with union stuff, and it's getting late, so I'd better hit the hay!
Thanks, JB. I know that it is 5:00 somewhere.
We did some switching last night. It is always fun watching the long train stretch out.
I have an appointment with our tax lady on Saturday. That should take some of the stress off.
Oh, yeah. I placed an order with Walthers on Monday. They had some of our yard structures on sale. The wood coal tower for one. I can't wait to replace the paper footprints with actual structures.
Later, Sue
I'll buy a round...And get by pretty cheap by the looks of it.
What's everybody up to?
I've been WAY busy with union stuff...We may even have a contract soon.
Not much activity here. I hope that means that everyone has been busy with their layouts.
Happy St. Patricks Day.
gear-jammer wrote: Happy St. Patricks Day.Sue
And the top o' the marnin' to ye, Sue. Would ye care ta jine me in an Irish Coffee? (My two Irish grandmothers are probably talking to God about now. Something about aiming a thunderbolt...)
Found something in one of those bits of medical junk mail that seem to shower down on folks old enough to qualify for Medicare. Seems that Irish Coffee might be useful in immediate first aid for stroke. Something about the alcohol relaxing the blood vessels and the caffiene(sp?) speeding up blood flow...
Lately, my time has been spent connecting short pieces of wire from solder lugs on electrical switches to stud terminals on the Nonomura panel terminal block. When I mentioned that the MZL system is user-friendly, I was referring to the operator's view. The installation is rather like wiring an analog computer. Not complaining, I knew what I was letting myself in for - but I've been proving the second half of Cheop's Law (Everything ... takes longer.)
The fact that I've totally disrupted my sleep cycle, napping during what would ordinarily be prime building time so I can watch the Osaka Basho (Grand Sumo Tournament) between midnight and 0200, hasn't sped up the process. The good part is that several rishiki my wife and I like have already secured their places by winning eight matches - and there are still six days to go...
Looking at a couple of threads has me suspecting that everyone's favorite troll has reincarnated himself as "softball fanatic." I haven't checked to see if Bergie has driven a stake through his heart yet.
Well, I'm off to the races - the turtle races, that being my speed lately.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
And a Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all and let me buy a round...And then...
Even though you have to really use your imagination, I just sang "Here's a Health to the Company" (old traditional folk) and now have a pt. or two in front of me to put down. Also a good old tradition...Sing a song for a pt. of ale!!
Chuck, it sounds like you have a major project going. Is this wiring for cab control?
I've been overwhelmed with other work of late and haven't gotten out to the Trainroom. I do, however, hope to get there for a bit this afternoon...Looking to bash a barn to add to a homestead scene on the E. side of the upper peninsula.
Aye'd rather a bottle in front a me thien a frontal lobotomy, on me Friend JB,too!
Terry(O'Brien)
Am I too late to join you for that Irish Coffee, Chuck?
I know that JB & Terry have been in.
I was hoping that my order from Walthers would greet tonight. Maybe tomorrow.
I keep thinking that I will get back to my photos, but that would mean cleaning the junk off the layout. It makes such a great work bench.
gear-jammer wrote: Am I too late to join you for that Irish Coffee, Chuck?
Not at all, Sue. Two Irish Coffees, Joe, and keep the change.
I keep thinking that I will get back to my photos, but that would mean cleaning the junk off the layout. It makes such a great work bench.Sue
Mine resembles that! Not so much the area that will eventually be the Tomikawa Tani Tetsudo, but the other peninsula that's intended to become Haruyama and the site of the Harukawa Rintetsu. I'm going to have to build some rollaway cabinets to go under the benchwork to give all that 'stuff' a home.
JB, I wish my panels were as simple as cab control. It took articles in four different months of MR back in 1974 to describe the original version. Mine is similar, but not quite the same. It is VERY flexible:
Effectively, there are TWO sets of cab selectors, plus panel-to-panel signal circuits and paralleled controls for key turnouts. Hence the complication! OTOH, once installed, it's really simple to use.
I see that somebody cleaned up a bunch of troll-prints. Thanks, to whoever did it.
Good morning, all. I'll have some coffee and a Mexican omelette this morning, with an English muffin for crunchiness. Thanks.
Still skiing up here in the frozen North. Even though it's almost spring, we haven't seen much in the way of spring skiing. It's been cold, and we even had a dusting-to-2-inches each night up at Sunday River. Piles and piles of snow up there, despite the generally brown appearance of the landscape in Massachusetts. We're hoping for a long season this year.
I keeping with my winter philosophy of doing small, completeable projects, I've been building a fence behind the gas station. Once I put in the detail stuff, I realized that it was getting "lost" next to the tracks. So, I decided a wood fence would border it nicely, and provide a background against which the details would show up better. I liberated a few wood coffee stirrers from work, and then sliced them in 2 lengthwise to get thinner boards. Then I used wood stain with India Ink to color them. Since I've got an air hose for pumping tires at the Star Garage, I made up a decal that says "AIR" for the fence, and while I was at it, I found a Moxie ad online and made some of those, too. (I used to read MAD Magazine a lot, you see.) The decals are printed now, but I'm letting them dry completely before putting on the sealer coat. I painted white rectangles on the fence last night, so that the colors will come out right when I apply the decals.
My Walthers stuff should be in to my LHS the end of the week. I noticed that they had those Proto 2K Mather box cars on sale, RTR for $13.98. I bought kits for $16.98 last year, and the RTR's were around $25. These are really nice models, with old-style brake wheels mounted horizontally on the top of the car, metal grabs and metal wheels. I'll have to swap out the plastic couplers, but other than that I think these cars are a steal.
How about some pictures? I hope to get the fence up by the end of the week, and that will be my next scene. Chuck, how about an under-table shot of Mission Control? Sue, how are the new structures coming along? Mike, how's the Honey-I-Shrunk-The-Trains layout coming?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Good morning. A mexican omelette sounds tasty.
Just a short note before I head out for work. I am crossing my fingers that the structures will arrive today while I am at work. The trouble with Walthers is their use of snail mail instead of UPS. Who knows when it will arrive. My last order came when I was a home, and the mail carrier asked enough questions that I showed him the layout. I delayed everyone elses mail that day, but it was great fun.
Must be time for a Hot Toddy!!! I'm nursing a repertory flu...I and I don't like it.
I have spent some time in the Trainroom bashing a barn for the east peninsula scene, but with a fever I'm having a bit of trouble concentrating! ((Oh look, a chicken!))
Chuck, you say "I wish my panels were as simple as cab control". I've got to put a WOW in there as I always felt that wiring for the districts, rotary switches and all, with that type of control was a pain. That is why I went with DCC on the CCRY!
My mind sees hundreds of thousands of miles of wire with what you described! I hope you can make it all work as planned.
And as for MR articles in 1974: That was my period of absence from MRRing with my other life, with my other wife! So I didn't have opportunity to read up on this control system. I do have to say it sounds VERY interesting.
I'm thinking that I should get after a few chores (at least bring in some fire-wood) and then either take a nap or see how much damage I can do to that barn!
Hey all! I'll have a tall tap, joe. Thanks.
Here's a second attempt at chain link fences.Whadaya think
Ah, hump day. I'll have a Strumpet IPA, and a round for those that can stomach the stuff. JB, sorry, stay away from it 'till your lungs clear up.
Terry, could we get a tighter shot of the fence? How did you make it? We've both been "on the fence" this week. I made mine with coffee stirrers. I had to slice them in two lengthwise to get the right size, but overall the project didn't take much time. I'm saving the wider view for Photo Phun this week, but I like this one better because it shows the Moxie sign:
End to end, the fence is only about 6 inches long, but it was fun and I think it really adds to the gas station.
Nasty and cold here. Windy, about 35 degrees and raining. The good news is that a few miles to the north it's snow, and yes, we will be taking The Whale (our white Toyota van) up to Sunday River again this week and the next, so the rain/snow line is right where we want it.
I plan to go to my LHS tomorrow, though, and pick up the booty from my latest raid on Walthers. I'm also going to bring in the trolley and see if we can program the sound decoder with trolley sounds, so we can get it to stop sounding like a steam engine. He's got a Digitrax programmer, but he hasn't done one of these, yet. Should be an interesting experience.
I will have a Strumpet. It sounds like just the ticket after a strenuous evening at the rock gym.
MrB, I love the sign on the fence. Did you do the decals on the barrels, too? My Walthers order came. Larry wanted the water tank from the sale catalog. I didn't read well. Was I shocked when it was a built-up. He was tickled. Just leave the hard stuff for me.
Morning all. Joe I'll have a few flap-jacks this morning with my morning coffee, Thanks.
I spent last weekend in Okla. City, Had a DR. appt. Monday morning. I went up Sat. afternoon and came home Tuesday afternoon. I had a good visit with my brother and nieces and nephew. My nephew drove me around while I was there, he knows the City much better than me. After the DR. appt. we went to Whistle Stop, My first time in a Hobby Shop. I was like a kid in a candy store, although I had very little $$$. I did pick some Kadee couplers for a couple of locos that I have had some trouble getting them to stay coupled. We also drove to several Hobby Lobby stores with a pocket full of 40% coupons I got enough N scale track to finish the main line for the N scale. I will more than likely be laying track today.
I played with the HO scale last night, Had 48 cars, 2 GP38-2's, and a caboose. Looked pretty good and ran without any problems at all. I am trying to run the trains for a while on the track to make sure I like what I am doing so I will not have to change it around after I do the ballasting. Be good to each other. Mike
Joe, I think that I will have a waffle and just coffee. It is a little early to start spicing it up even if it is 5:00 somewhere.
colvinbackshop wrote:
JB, How is this project coming?
Mike, Hobby shops can be dangerous to your pocket book. Sounds like you controlled yourself.
MrB, Did you get around to painting that CMX cleaning car? Or did you leave it brass colored?
George, We haven't heard from you lately. Are you still dropping by to keep a eye on us? With a project as large as yours, it could be easy to forget everything else.
Actually Sue...Very little! Remember the part about me jumping from project to project? I did get some done here, but I have been on the other side of the peninsula for a while.
As for the SL Backshop: I cut the "plastic foundation" from in-between the big doors so that the trackage would fit better and I would be able to remove the structure if and when needed. I also got the cork (interior floor) painted a flat black, now ready for some detail and a partition and a light installed for the office area.
The thought here is to lay wood planking, some interior and mostly exterior, to depict the major maintenance work area. I also have a Brownhoist Pillar Crane and numerous details for the planked area directly it front of the shop. Sadly....That all may be well off in the future! But I am plugging away!
Maintenance time...
I'm looking this thread.... please feel free to start a "part II" if you wish.
Again, this is simply maintenance... the forum is dragging around a thread with 109 pages and over 2100 posts. Probably not the best thing for performace.
Thanks,Bergie