A new layout for the new house!

[Joe323]

I am guessing that at some point you will have the grade crossing on the bottom?

[wiley209]

Which one? Next to the station platforms? Sort of; I'm going to make a foam road incline that goes to the rerailer track.

[Joe323]

I was looking at the one near the Burger King.

[wiley209]

Ah; I will work on that one when I get the chance.

But anyways, I was finally able to restock on some landscaping materials (paint and ground cover) and make a lot more progress with the layout!


More painting and ground cover planting has been done now!


I've finally been able to paint and sprinkle ground cover on this ledge as well! Makes a big difference.


Just after more landscaping...


The same area with structures placed on hours later.


In the downtown area I am still using the Walthers Cornerstone street system for the roads. In other areas once they come out I will use the new Walthers SceneMaster adhesive roads.


The residential area from another angle, now with more detailing applied to the farm! I still need to get the stuff ready to make the water body under the bridge.


An overview with two trains set up on the layout!

[Joe323]

Coming along nicely thanks for the update.

I didn't know that Walthers was coming out with adhesive roadway.

[Len]

It will be part of their 'SceneMaster' (Mfg#: 949) line. There will be 'vintage' (white center and edge markings) and 'modern' (yellow center and white edge markings) versions.
https://www.walthers.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=SceneMaster+Roadway

Len

[wiley209]

Yet more pictures...


The Life-Like SceneMaster operating semaphore in action. I will either disguise the wire with lychen, or once I finally get an extended-length drill bit so I can drill through the insulation foam and plywood tabletop I can run the wires underneath.


Showing some more installations of the Walthers Cornerstone Street System sections. I will soon get around to striping them.


I now have the Life-Like operating logging mill set up, along with having applied ground cover to the roadway behind it. Soon I will get some kind of material for the creek to simulate the water (either Artist's Gloss or the Woodland Scenics Realistic Water system.)


The TYCO billboard (need to get a new bulb for it) and some animal figures are placed on this ledge.


The farm now set up with fencing and figures.


I have now posed a couple of hoboes (Woodland Scenics figures) in one of my boxcars!


More hoboes found in the rail yard with a small bonfire. The Bachmann brakeman figure is to mark where an undertrack magnet is located.


The Amtrak train stopped at the downtown train station. The stairs I bought from a Chinese manufacturer on eBay.


Another shot of the downtown area showing some more of the Street System in place.


Yet another shot of downtown showing the 1982 TYCO Center St. Series building kits in place, with figures on them too.


The industrial rail yard section of my layout with landscaping, structures and such in place.


An overview from a different angle of the layout.

[Terry Toenges]

It's looking real good so far. So much going on there with all the different scenes is cool.

[wiley209]

Thanks! And there's more where that came from...


I've added a vegetable garden to the farm! It's from a Bachmann "Scenic Classics" kit from cira 1979. It was kind of tricky applying the "vegetables" to the garden, but I am pleased with how it came out. The kit was missing the little wooden poles to apply tomatoes to, but I suppose I can make them myself. It also came with a couple of unpainted figures, wheelbarrow and a PINK tree. (What was Bachmann thinking back in 1979?) Maybe I'll get around to painting the figures at some point; I have the paints I would need already...


Some action at the commuter train station platform next to the coal yard and gas station.


Since the switches and trains were currently configured not to run on that outer curve in the photo, I placed my TYCO crane car and boom tender there for now. (Again, I went with the Santa Fe versions from the 70s to fit with my BNSF freight trains.)


Camping underneath the railroad line here! The brakeman figure you see is, again, to mark an undertrack magnet for any freight operations with the nearby logging mill.


An overview of the residential area, along with the gas station, some of the coal yard, two of the schools, the library and church, and the TYCO Freight Unloading Depot and Lighted Signal Crossing.


I thought seeing the Amtrak train going around the curve through the woods looked pretty cool, so I figured I'd get a shot of it. As for the trees, I may get pins to drill into the bottom of the trunks after clipping the bases to "plant" them into the ground firmly.

[Len]

I picked up some 3/8" x 5" and 3/8" x 12" drill bits at Home Depot for running wires through the top structure of the layout I maintain for a local shopping center. I needed the 12" long bit for installing a ski lift on a pretty tall hill.

Len

[bbmiroku]

Just a suggestion though, but instead of drilling up from beneath after you've put up scenery, why not just take a small file to the insulation to make a wire-sized ditch?  Then you can cover it with green tape or something.

On the other hand, I always enjoy seeing models that I have on someone else's railroad.

[wiley209]

Well, I got me a couple of extended-length drill bits, allowing me to now run wiring underneath my layout to power lights and accessories!


The TYCO Lighted Freight Station and the Life-Like KFC are the first to come on, wired up to the TYCO Pak on the control panel.


The TYCO Freight Unloading Depot is wired up now, too. I disguised the wire going from the back into the hole with lychen.


The control panel is neater-looking on this end, now that I re-routed the wiring to underneath the panel. I'll still need a way to drill slits to fit each of the Bachmann remote switch connectors though, due to their shape.


I also got the TYCO operating boxcar working on this layout as well! (Too bad Bachmann didn't make anything like this back in the 70s or 80s.) I plan to soon wire up the log dump car bin as well.


And here's the manual TYCO piggyback loader/unloader at work.


More lights on at this end! The TYCO Lighted Factory and Life-Like Lighted Yard Tower, and lights inside the TYCO Center. St drug store, furniture store and school.

[Len]

Looking good.

For the switch controls, mark where they're going to go on the plywood, then make a couple of marks about 1/2" in front of where the connector plugs will attach. Draw a line connecting the marks that runs the length of you control 'gang'. Drill a 1/4" holes along the length of the line, then use a keyhole saw, or a hacksaw blade wrapped with tape on one end, to connect the holes. Bring your switch wires up through the slot and connect to the controllers. Fasten the controllers down.

Len

[wiley209]

Good idea. I will definitely try that.
But in the meantime, here are more updates!


I also now have illuminated the Life-Like Ace Super Market!


And I got the TYCO log dump bin working as well!


Another shot of my hoboes together.


I found my Bachmann Plasticville swimming pool accessory and set it up behind the Plasticville split-level house.


The Bachmann LED blinking oil tank all wired up and in use now.


It's a bit hard to tell but I also have a light in the TYCO Arlee Station as well; one of those newer Bachmann LED ones. It has a yellowish color, most likely to emulate an incandescent light.


And of course, a shot of the layout in the dark showing most of the illuminated action!


Here's a workspace I've set up for building structures and such.


Just another shot of my current BNSF freight consist. I was able to stick a piece of plastic sprue from a building kit into the windmill seen there to keep it attached to the platform.


I have been able to stick my NJ International Griswold crossing signal on the layout. Once I get a crossing signal controller for there I will wire it up and such.


I've also been working on putting together the drive-in movie theater, even though I don't have the right-sized tablet to fit in the screen yet. Also note the Life-Like Al's General Store; the older version that had labels of actual products instead of the fictional counterparts Life-Like came up with later on so they wouldn't get sued.


Now for some Bachmann trivia! Did you know that back when Bachmann introduced the E-Z Track line in 1994, it was initially called the "Right Track" System? Then they shortly changed the name to "E-Z Track," which has stuck since. Maybe it was due to Atlas using the phrase "You're on the right track with Atlas!" or something. Back in 1994, all they had in E-Z Track was 18"-radius curves, 9" straights, left and right remote turnouts and a 9" straight terminal rerailer. It makes sense, since they were just starting out. That was all they also had for sectional steel track in 1994 as well, before finally phasing that out in 1997. Today, the steel E-Z Track lineup has some more options than that, but is still small compared to the wide variety of lengths, radii and turnout configurations in the nickel-silver E-Z Track line! (Which is why I used the nickel-silver E-Z Track on my current layout.)

[Joe323]

Wiley. You are better off with Nickle Silver track on the long run.  Itvis more conductive and requires less cleaning.

I also have a drive in on my layout but it is just the screen.  Since its against the wall in a corner I placed a speaker behind the screen now I am thinking of putting a flickering light behind the screen to simulate a movie playing.  I also have some of the same structures such as the swimming pool and the KFC.

So I am really enjoying watching your layout come to life.