Tulle!  What a Scrabble word.  Couldn't remember how to spell it to save my life.  Thanks! There's a "JoAnn" Fabrics not far.  Been there more than once for "train" stuff.  I've had that mesh for quite a while.  The hard part was using CA to attach it to the wire.  Stuff did not want to stick for a long time.

Thanks gents.  Cheers.

Regards,

Jonathan

Little burned out on modeling. Time to take a break and do some assessment with some photos.

Putting in a chain link fence behind the roundhouse, to separate the edge of a town.

I soldered some 0.025 phosphor bronze wire together for a frame:

DSC_0559_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Added the tool (sp?):

DSC_0560 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Then a little paint and rust--then planted the fence.  The gates swing open. I'll put some sort of backdrop behind the "edge of town" structures, to represent a town of some kind:

DSC_0540_02 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I had a lot of leftover ballast, of a few colors and sizes... which I put down up to the level of the ties.  I then covered that with brown ballast up on the rails, as high as I thought reasonable for running model trains.  Here, you can see the leftover ballast:

DSC_0549_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Building a laser cut yard office:

DSC_0537_02 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Installed some more fascia.  I'm using a really old Bachmann controller to power the turntable.  The Spectrum controller runs the stall tracks:

DSC_0536_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

And a few shots of other stuff:

DSC_0550_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0548_02 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0547_02 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0545_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0544_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0538_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Regards,

Jonathan

Caveat:

You will also get the no d, if you install the decoder backwards.  Ask me how I know.

Regards,

Jonathan

If you head to the parts tab, HO section, and type "screw" into the search box, a bunch of choices pop up. For instance, there are four types of screws used to assemble the 70 tonner.

All the products are assembled in the same place overseas. Hence, there about a half dozen types of screws used to assemble all the HO products.  If you purchase several sizes for the HO products (they are cheap), chances are very good you'll get what you need.

I don't have the wherewithal to measure and determine screw sizes. I have found if you get the screws that Bachmann uses, they pretty much fit all their products.

Regards,

Jonathan

They are a bit saggy. To tighten up the coupler box, I've put a shim on the frame just above the inside half of the coupler box.  Or you can put a shim in the coupler box, just below the coupler shank. A very thin piece of plastic is sufficient--too thick and you'll restrict coupler movement.

Also, trackwork matters. I can't run the passenger cars on our club's modular layout because the trackwork is too irregular.  They run fine on my home layout where the trackwork is smoother.

I never found a way to tighten up the linkage on inside mechanics you mentioned.

Kadee couplers have a thicker shank than the EZMates. That helps the sagging a little, too.  Good luck.

Regards,

Jonathan

On my to do list... . R, jv

DSC_0454 (2) by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

There are a half dozen SMDs around this structure.  Lights up the area well.

r,
JV

I use surface mount LEDs (SMD), soldered to magnet wire. They are great for building exteriors, vehicle headlights, skinny lampposts, and the like. I have also dabbled with brass lamp shades. I think they're from A-Line. Been a long time. Memory is cloudy on that.

If you wire the SMDs yourself, you can hide the resistors inside the structures or under the layout. 

If you flip through my layout photos, you'll see some examples.

Regards,

Jonathan

Roger,

Don't have the Pacific, but I do have a number of the sound value locos, which have all run ok on digitrax systems.

This is a real shot in the dark, but I have experienced some occupancy/response issues.

When is the last time you cleared the memory of your system?  Every now and then we had to clear and recycle our club system (digitrax).  If you don't, you start to experience runaway trains, unexplained stopping through a block, or non-response to certain addresses.

This may not be your problem, but its the most common problem I can think of.

Also, occasionally a booster would get accidentally set to "N" instead of "HO".  Wouldn't notice it right away because some locos will run fine on lower voltage.

Just a couple of thoughts for you.

Regards,

Jonathan

Gonna be sharp.  Those little details are tough but really make the model.  Great stuff.

Regards,

Jonathan

Preliminary night shots:

DSC_0558 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0557_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0556 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0555 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

The roof isn't secured to the roundhouse right now, but:

DSC_0554_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Regards,

Jonathan

Yes. Yes. I know.  It's just that I spent so much time on the front of my locomotives; jewels in class lights and so on--I like looking at 'em. 

Regards,

Jonathan

Thanks, Gents!

Regards,

Jonathan

Looks like fun!

Stupid question time.  When I paint brass, I etch it first... so it will hold paint.  Of course, that's with a loco.  Do you have to treat the brass parts to hold paint on a stationary model?

Regards,

Jonathan

Thanks!

Sheldon,

Not ready for night shots, yet.

The end of the layout is against the basement back door, and it's daylight out:

DSC_0549 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Also, taking advantage of the daylight to work on wiring under the layout.  I've got some lights, and all the stall tracks wired.  I like the cacophony of wiring that appears when working around a roundhouse:

DSC_0550 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Making progress on the control panel:

DSC_0551 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Making good progress on the area.  It will take a while longer.  As soon as I get all the lights working, I'll make a night shot.

For now here's a few more shots:

DSC_0548_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0547_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_0546_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Regards,

Jonathan