# old photos



## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

A few shots of what my landlord (a hardwood floorman) and I (a plumber) built back in ancient DC times; the 1980s. Amateur from construction to photography, but maybe worth sharing.


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

One more, for those who know trains need lubrication to run right:


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## mustangcobra94 (Apr 28, 2014)

nice pics what ever became of the layout and trains


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

The layout kept growing until my buddy sold the house to his son and moved to SC in the late '90s, then got dismantled when he in turn resold it a few years later. I kept the structures and equipment, and rebuilt on a smaller scale (13 x 22') on one side of my basement around 2005, Had everything running, but never finished scenery. Finally took it down and packed everything in boxes around 2011. Got an e-mail from the son last year asking if I still had anything- he wanted to build a layout for his own grandkids (yeah, Pop; it's for the grandkids. Whose house did you say you were building it in?)

To make a long story short, he got a couple of MRC Tech II's, a bunch of reclaimed and some new flex track, almost all the old buildings, a dozen or so salvaged turnouts, switch machines, and a whole lot of Athearn and Roundhouse rolling stock, probably 50-60 cars- all with Kadee couplers. Assorted autos, trucks, trailers, people, and animals. I got a basement I could move in, and kept a few of the more sentimental buildings, all my engines, and a couple of Tech II's (just in case...)


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## Biggie (May 14, 2014)

Interesting layout. Must have been a lot of fun running trains on this one


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

It was. We had a double track main with an 8-track yard (plus 2 engine storage tracks) at one end, a reversing loop w/ working industry sidings in the middle, and that was before it started growing. Roughly 10'w x 12'l, plus the extra width for the yard at the end at the beginning. That was before the "lower yard" got built and it wrapped around the corner and down the adjacent wall another 15' and grew a town, a farm, a mess of bridges, and the trestle (and some more reversing loops). 5 or so distinct elevations, all DC, and it all worked from a single control panel at the end of the original table. Control? 4 engines (or consists) anywhere on the layout, if you were paying attention. Biggest problem we had was that I was never able to break him of the habit of flipping the danged direction switch on the transformer instead of the polarity toggle for the next block on the panel when a train stopped suddenly. Those old Athearns were built pretty tough, I guess.


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

It was.


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## mustangcobra94 (Apr 28, 2014)

thinking of starting a new layout?


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

Mustang, I'm not quite dead yet, so always thinking- but at 69 and after 40+ years of non-union construction plumbing, the knees and ankles don't like stairs much anymore and the back and arms aren't too crazy about reaching up under the table to run or fix wiring. I figure my best role now is to stick with giving mediocre advice based on personal experience. Anything new would have to be on the top of the dining room table, and I don't think Mama would be too happy with that!


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

I don;t know it would give new meaning to the term"Please pass the potatoes"
Potatoes in the gondola and gravy in the tank car. 

Magic


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

Thanks for sharing them. is that a PBR in the foreground of last picture?


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

jesteck said:


> Mustang, I'm not quite dead yet, so always thinking- but at 69 and after 40+ years of non-union construction plumbing, the knees and ankles don't like stairs much anymore and the back and arms aren't too crazy about reaching up under the table to run or fix wiring. I figure my best role now is to stick with giving mediocre advice based on personal experience. Anything new would have to be on the top of the dining room table, and I don't think Mama would be too happy with that!


There are ways to have your trains and age gracefully as well.

My current HO layout came into being a couple years ago when I
realized I had to find a hobby after giving up my cherished
Harley Road King at age 82. You could build a light weight
table and prewire it 'upside down', for example. Perhaps use a modified
modular construction to make a larger layout.

Don


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Magic said:


> I don;t know it would give new meaning to the term"Please pass the potatoes"
> Potatoes in the gondola and gravy in the tank car.
> 
> Magic


Like this? Fast forward to 4:27.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

DonR said:


> There are ways to have your trains and age gracefully as well.
> 
> My current HO layout came into being a couple years ago when I
> realized I had to find a hobby after giving up my cherished
> ...


Don you are correct sir!! I just turned 59 and my wife asked me what will I do when I can't squirm under the table...or over it for that matter...Hell..I'll hire out to the neighborhood kids!!:laugh::laugh: But in all seriousness, I love doing this so much that they might have to cremate me...gargage and all cuz I have so much joy in what this hobby brings to me!! There's always a way!! Thanks!!:thumbsup:


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*PBR me Brother!!*



golfermd said:


> Thanks for sharing them. is that a PBR in the foreground of last picture?


Yeah Golfermd....gotta be a PBR!! Showed this to a friend of mine who drinks nothing but Pabst and he just laughed his arse off!! :thumbsup:


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

Hah! It is indeed a PBR. One of many that "built" the RR. He had an old beater fridge in the basement that held a half nicely and fed up to a tap on the kitchen sink, complete with external CO2 tank and a spare that was often used to power our airbrush. That layout had PLENTY of lubrication.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*In the Day!!*



jesteck said:


> Hah! It is indeed a PBR. One of many that "built" the RR. He had an old beater fridge in the basement that held a half nicely and fed up to a tap on the kitchen sink, complete with external CO2 tank and a spare that was often used to power our airbrush. That layout had PLENTY of lubrication.


What every Model RR needed in the basement or garage to get those creative juices flowing...or just get juiced!! I really like the detail/weathering on that Pabst Brewery and of course...the Blatz reefer with the Old Heidlburg plastered on the side!!:smilie_daumenpos:


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