Jonathan's Layout #3

[jonathan]

I'm having Deja vu. I think we've chatted before.

My locos on the layout are all Bachmann. Most of my rolling stock are craftsman kits, though some shake the box kits are there. The brass, Varneys, mantuas, and Bowsers come out once in a while.

I am intrigued by the air switches. Do u have pics to show? Is the compressor noisy? This is as close to social media that I usually get. 

Regards,

Jonathan

[ebtnut]

There was a company out there that made a full system for air-operated turnout controls.  Doubt that it is still around, but who knows?  IIRC, you could use "canned air" to power the system.  It took very little to operate a turnout so a can lasted a good while. 

[Len]

Still around, sort of...
https://portlines.com/delaire.htm

Len

[jonathan]

Fascinating!  Looks like it would be real hard to find components (2010?)

OK. I've got the fascia panels up.  Just need to fill in a few cracks, then the hard part... picking a color.  I've done black and boxcar red.  Some sort of hunter green seems to be real popular. As I am color blind, I always get stuck when it comes to shades of whatever.

Anyway, here are few shots...

This is the crawl space under the layout. I cleaned up a bit for the photo:

DSC_0299_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0298 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0297 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0296_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Guess I'm on a roll this week.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Terry Toenges]

Perhaps laying some track under the crawl space and a motorized dolly with a seat are in order.

[jonathan]

You made my chuckle, Terry.  Though, a rolling track with a seat might just come in handy. 

Since, I have no scenery supplies at the moment, I have begun adding feeder wires to my lit vehicles:

DSC_0300 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I have a half-dozen SMDs left to use. So, I added lights in two more vehicles.  After disassembly, I put some black paint on the inside of the shells, to prevent any glowing body work:

DSC_0302 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

The pick-up has room for the resistor under the hood. While the sedan will get its resistor in the trunk.

In the truck, I drilled holes in the support panels to thread the SMD magnet wire.  It takes some care to manage the soldering and getting all the excess wire under the hood.  Not sure which photo is better, so here's two shots of the lights and wiring all done:

DSC_0303_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0304 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

A test of the lights after re-assembly:

DSC_0305_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

It's hard to see, but I added a driver, and cut out the driver's window (rolled down):

DSC_0306 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0308 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

This is the sedan all done.  It has a driver, too:

DSC_0310 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Now that all the lit vehicles have feeder wires, I can decide where to place them and wire them to the lighting bus.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Joe323]

Might just be the angle but that last car looks like the right headlight is out.  Don't want a ticket now 

[jonathan]

  I think the SMD shifted on the driver's side headlight.  I'll have to open the car up, again, to adjust it.  Razzafraz.

Regards,

Jonathan

[J3a-614]

I think the SMD shifted on the driver's side headlight.  I'll have to open the car up, again, to adjust it.  Razzafraz.

Regards,

Jonathan

(Sigh) Those things happen.

At the same time, one could have car with one light out.  How many of us have seen just that over the years, maybe had to drive for a time on one light ourselves?

Of course, you don't want to do it too long!!  Besides the prospect of getting stopped and having to pay for a ticket, it's possible for the second light to go out at any time.  After all, they were both put in at the same time.

I would regularly change out both lights when one went out for just that reason.

Oh, and as to the railroad, it's coming along great!!  I at first thought it wasn't going to be that good with the big bridge dominating things like it seems to do, but when you move in, you have some great scenes there!!

[Trainman203]

The last time I could go through a crawl space like that was 35 yr ago

[jonathan]

Well, I really gave myself more wrinkles ruminating over fascia colors.  In the end, I went with the "East of the Mississippi" mentality, and painted the fascia green.  It's the darkest green I could find.  It's called 'eastern bamboo' from the olive green family.  Most of the other greens had too much blue in it:

DSC_0311 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0312_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I did not enhance this photo--to give you an idea the darkness of this green:

DSC_0313 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I plan to work my flora scenery down to this shade eventually.

Next project is to add scenery lighting.  Some of you may remember all the homemade yard lights and street lights I slapped together from my last two layouts:

DSC_0315_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Oops.  These are some store-bought lights, that might look nice around the passenger station:

DSC_0316 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

More homemade lights:

DSC_0320_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Gratuitous shot:

DSC_0321 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Regards,

Jonathan

[Ken Huck]

Thanks Johathan for all the pictures you (and Sid too) have been putting up.  That's the reason I haven't
been posting anything.  I get soooo busy and absorbed in all these nice pictures that I get distracted. 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it !

Mostly I've been reworking some scenery on my old trestle, it just didn't sit right.  The approach to the
trestle 'banked' to the right a little and it was only a matter of time before an entire train came tumbling
down.

Terry:  I've got a Bachmann coach and a combine.  I repainted the combine and the truss rods seem to
           'shrink' a bit in appearance because of the 'flat' paint.  They fit in with the timeline of my layout.

Keep up the good work everybody and keep putting more pics so all of us who are quarantined can sit
back and watch.

Ken

[Terry Toenges]

Ken - The flat paint is an idea. I might try that.

[jonathan]

Installed around 30 more lights in the past week.  These are all leftovers from previous layouts.  Saves time... other than the soldering under the layout... oy.

Still have a bunch more lights I can add.  Time for a break from crawling underneath.

Here are some shots of the lights "at night".  Had a tough time convincing my camera that I wanted nighttime shots.  Anyway:

DSC_0323 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0324 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0325_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0326 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0327 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0328 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0329 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0330 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0332 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0333 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Regards,

Jonathan

[jonathan]

I was in the mood for planting some trees, you know, since I can't get plaster cloth, ballast, and ground foam right now.

I have 400-500 trees leftover my past layouts. Good thing, because it takes forever to make trees.  Though, planting them takes a while, too. 

I managed to get about 150 trees in the ground this past week.  In the photos you may see a bit of white glue still drying.  Some trees planted firm into wood and didn't need glue. Other trees went into plaster and cardboard.  I like to put a bit of glue in those.  I also plant the trees close so they can help each other stand up straight.

I spent some time weathering my trestle, then planting trees below the trestle.  This reminds me of some place I've seen in the past, though I can't remember where:

DSC_0338_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0339_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0341 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0344 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0345 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0346_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I need to look for some kind of "dead fall" to throw under the trees.  One more thing to do.

I also installed the last couple of tunnel portals I need:

DSC_0347 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Just for fun here's a couple of pics I set up.  Just did a quick inventory of all the Bachmann Locos I run at train shows and my home layout.

Half the locos are DC, and the other half are a mixture of straight DCC, Sound Value, and Soundtraxx Tsunami:

DSC_0337_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0335 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I have a couple other Bachmann locos that I left out.  Got lazy.

Regards,

Jonathan