# First outing for our modular club!



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The day is finished, and it was long but fun!  My day started before 8 AM and I got back home around 6:30. I'm TIRED! 

Our modular club took it's modules on the road for the first time. AAMOF, we powered them up at the display location for the first time as well. As you can guess, we had some issues with wiring between modules, not everyone followed the plan exactly. However, with some manipulation, we were able to run both mainlines and get a bunch of trains out for a run. Not too many surprises, and a good time was had by all.

I think one of the favorites of the show for the kids was my little NYC Fire Car, since we were in a fire station, it seemed appropriate to have a fire car in the mix.

At one point, I had three trains running on one loop while a couple were on the other mainline. If you've never tried to manage three trains with a Legacy controller, it's quite a balancing act! 

Only a couple of casualties, my PARR 4-4-4-4 T1 lost a screw on a rod and promptly flopped on it's side when the rod flipped it off the track. No damage done, other than hunting down the screw.

We also burned out a smoke unit on another guy's engine, since the smoke was so popular, we had that running all day. 

We have big plans for the future, including a big staging yard for the middle of the layout to have other trains waiting so we can change stuff without turning off the power.

For our first time out, it was a great day, and there were lots of folks that came by and admired the trains. Kids really love this stuff, it was really fun seeing the big smiles and watching them run around the layout chasing their favorite train as it ran. 

Pictures to follow, my daughter took a bunch of them, so I have to rescue them from her iPad and post them.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Pictures?
You should have took a video.

First time out things are bound to go wrong. The more time you guy's do it the better it will be.

Where did you show John?
Is this a fairly new club or has it been around for a while?

Are you Sergeant of arms yet?:thumbsup:


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## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

Awesome sounds like fun I cannot wait to see the pictures!!!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Didn't know you were in a modular club ...sounds great. Lookin' forward to the pics.

TJ


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

Sounds like it was a resounding success glad you guys (and gals?) had a great time. Looking forward to pics and/or videos.

Carl


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

:rippedhand: :ttiwwop:

Sounded like a blast, good fun making the kiddos happy. Now come on, quit teasing us, where are the pictures


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have to capture my daughter's iPad and get the pictures and videos off, they'll be coming. She's on the move a lot.

We did have a great time, and I'm looking forward to improvements and additions to make the layout larger. 

My grandson was really feeling important, he got to stand in the middle with me while the trains ran.


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## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

That sounds like a lot of fun. Bring on the pictures.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, I haven't gotten the pictures my daughter took, but here's some that another club member took as we set up, and during the run.

Note that this being the very first outing, many modules are not complete, and we didn't have the modesty skirt yet for the front of the layout. We hope to have a much nicer looking display for the next show in a couple of months.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Here's some random shots of the building process as we assembled the modules.


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## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

Looks like you all had a blast......which one is you?


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

That's a really nice looking layout. I joined the Glancy Trains modular group over a year ago now and I always have a blast hanging out at the shows with them. It gives me the opportunity to talk trains with fellow club members, teach visitors to the layout about TMCC/Legacy and trains in general, and see the look on the kids faces when my Lionel JLC scale GG1 goes by with a 20 car freight train at about 80 MPH 

And we don't have dues. Just try your best to be there to help set up and take down the layout and do some minor maintenance work occasionally when things act up. That's what really got me interested, and the setup/teardown really isn't that bad. We can have a 50x50 layout up and running in about a half hour (if all goes well). The HO groups are usually watching in amazement when I fire up a locomotive and they're still trying to get their first two modules put up. :laugh:


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## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

nice looking pictures!! thanks for sharing!!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Carl said:


> Looks like you all had a blast......which one is you?


I'm the guy in the first picture holding the Legacy remote and trying to run three trains on one of the loops.  We had five going at one time.

Thank heavens for cruise control, it's the only way you could do that I suspect.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

santafe158 said:


> That's a really nice looking layout. I joined the Glancy Trains modular group over a year ago now and I always have a blast hanging out at the shows with them. It gives me the opportunity to talk trains with fellow club members, teach visitors to the layout about TMCC/Legacy and trains in general, and see the look on the kids faces when my Lionel JLC scale GG1 goes by with a 20 car freight train at about 80 MPH


For our very first time applying power, I think it came up pretty quickly. Next time I expect a smoother startup as now I know I have to check each guy's module wiring! 

Funny thing, the most popular thing with the kids was my little NYC Fire Car set, a number of them ran around the layout as it went along watching it. It was quite a hoot. We ran about an hour late, people were still looking and asking questions, kinda' hard to say no.

When my PARR T-1 dropped a rod and derailed at close to an hour late, I took it as a sign that I was done. Hunted for about 15 minutes to find the screw, now I need some purple LockTite to make sure we don't have that issue again! I was going to use the blue, but Harry suggested the weakest stuff, the purple, so I'll give that a go.


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## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I'm the guy in the first picture holding the Legacy remote and trying to run three trains on one of the loops.  We had five going at one time.
> 
> Thank heavens for cruise control, it's the only way you could do that I suspect.


I saw that first pic and I was like I bet thats John holding the controller..


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I have a hard enough time running one train on the glancy layout  always have to watch out for younger kids reaching over the tracks to point at something since our layout is built low on the metal legs used on those portable plastic banquet tables and we don't use a plexiglass barrier. No big deal, just have to be careful and watch what's going on.

We almost always have some sort of a gremlin in our electrical system. It's pretty foolproof when it comes to setting up, but occasionally something needs to be reconnected. We use extension cord plugs to connect our modules together which makes it easy, but you have to watch to make sure you're connecting the right ones together (they're all numbered to make that easy).


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

We used Anderson Power Poles for the interconnections. They're bulletproof if they're wired correctly. 

We ended up running on two of the four power bricks, but it was enough power to get a number of trains running, we just couldn't run more than one passenger train. I should have brought a set of cars with LED lighting, but I wasn't ready.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

WOW! That's a great job John. Were there only the three of you to build all that or were there more people involved? Was there a special occasion for the show? Who are the three guys in the pictures and are they all on the forum? Very nice set up and glad you all had a good time. pete


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## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

John...nice to put a face with a name. Gee, if you guys are good with the electrical stuff, might want to jump into the old pickup truck and head to the Gulf for a little work putting the electrical supply systems back in place.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

norgale said:


> WOW! That's a great job John. Were there only the three of you to build all that or were there more people involved? Was there a special occasion for the show? Who are the three guys in the pictures and are they all on the forum? Very nice set up and glad you all had a good time. pete


There are about 8 people in the club now, and we're entertaining new possibilities. We're hoping the next show in early November we have a staging yard down the center and a few more modules to make a larger display.

I'd also like to have an extra set of corners so we could have a more complex layout with a couple aisles to walk into and have trains making more corners, generate a little more interest.

Big plans... big plans... 




Carl said:


> John...nice to put a face with a name. Gee, if you guys are good with the electrical stuff, might want to jump into the old pickup truck and head to the Gulf for a little work putting the electrical supply systems back in place.


Uhh... I don't do good wiring when I'm over my head in water!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

John,

Great pics / beginnings. We're all jealous, of course!

Sorry if this has already been asked/answered, but ... Who/what/where has provided the real-estate for this initial get-together?

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

We were at a local firehouse for the public showing. The build area is in one of the guy's basement. We get together a couple nights a week for build nights and spend a few hours working on modules. It's been a great learning experience, some really talented guys in the club. I'm the resident electronics guru, so I don't feel totally left out.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks, John ... sounds like a great group of guys, and lots of fun!


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> We were at a local firehouse for the public showing. The build area is in one of the guy's basement. We get together a couple nights a week for build nights and spend a few hours working on modules. It's been a great learning experience, some really talented guys in the club. I'm the resident electronics guru, so I don't feel totally left out.


I know what you mean John, im the resident (unofficial) electronics, computer, runner, automator guy...the one that people say "hey hes the one who can wire up this new fangled stuff and run it on his computer!" LOL!!! sounds like I would have had a blast helping build the club stuff too!





gunrunnerjohn said:


> For our very first time applying power, I think it came up pretty quickly. Next time I expect a smoother startup as now I know I have to check each guy's module wiring!
> 
> Funny thing, the most popular thing with the kids was my little NYC Fire Car set, a number of them ran around the layout as it went along watching it. It was quite a hoot. We ran about an hour late, people were still looking and asking questions, kinda' hard to say no.
> 
> When my PARR T-1 dropped a rod and derailed at close to an hour late, I took it as a sign that I was done. Hunted for about 15 minutes to find the screw, now I need some purple LockTite to make sure we don't have that issue again! I was going to use the blue, but Harry suggested the weakest stuff, the purple, so I'll give that a go.



John, I agree with the club member, yes purple is weaker but in honesty I would still use a tiny dab of blue, yea its stronger but I can still break it any day of the week I want and I use it on all my stuff that has screws I don't want coming undone, yea it takes a bit of extra mussel but I can still pop it out carefully, so in reality the blue or purple will work great!! just thought I would share!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, the screws are small, so I'm not willing to risk breaking it in the wheel, hence the lighter grip stuff. Harry Henning recommended not using the blue, and he's been doing this stuff for a lot longer than me. That's his basement you see in the above pictures. 

It has been a lot of fun getting ready and running, can't wait for some of the improvements and the next public outing.


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## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> The build area is in one of the guy's basement.



what is this basement thing you speak of


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It's complicated, especially for those of us that live below sea level.  There we call it an indoor pool.


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## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> It's complicated, especially for those of us that live below sea level.  There we call it an indoor pool.



oh I know all bout dem tings my neighbor cletus got one riht der next to hes house


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Well, the screws are small, so I'm not willing to risk breaking it in the wheel, hence the lighter grip stuff. Harry Henning recommended not using the blue, and he's been doing this stuff for a lot longer than me. That's his basement you see in the above pictures.
> 
> It has been a lot of fun getting ready and running, can't wait for some of the improvements and the next public outing.


ah yes the small wheel screws....ok I would agree use purple on them, what type of engine was it? any pics of it runing? or even of the "damage" it had?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There's a picture in the Got Anything New thread, it's a Legacy T-1 Duplex 4-4-4-4. There was no damage, just some plaster from the layout that I had to clean off.  

I have the screw, just want to get the right stuff to secure it. While I'm at it, I'm going to do all of them. This is the second time for a rod coming off a running engine, so I'll start doing all the locomotives.


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## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> There's a picture in the Got Anything New thread, it's a Legacy T-1 Duplex 4-4-4-4. There was no damage, just some plaster from the layout that I had to clean off.
> 
> I have the screw, just want to get the right stuff to secure it. While I'm at it, I'm going to do all of them. This is the second time for a rod coming off a running engine, so I'll start doing all the locomotives.


I wonder how often that happened in real life..


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, I've heard that locomotives like the Camelback were dangerous to the crew because they were right above the wheels and rod failures were known to kill the engineer, so I guess it did happen.


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