# Vincent's Railroad Empire begins!



## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Three weeks overdue, the table arrived today, and one of the leaves is not level with the rest of the table.

My first engine, a German-built bullet train, works fine and the table makes it rumble nicely.

Thomas the Tank Engine (Hey, it was all that was available at the hobby shop) runs great.

More tomorrow!


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Do you intend to use the fold down leaf or was it just a standard feature of the table? If you don’t need it to fold down, I would add an extra layer of plywood across the whole table top to remove the unevenness.

Mark


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Mark VerMurlen said:


> Do you intend to use the fold down leaf or was it just a standard feature of the table? If you don’t need it to fold down, I would add an extra layer of plywood across the whole table top to remove the unevenness.
> 
> Mark


 Not a bad idea, Mark. But the wifeypoo wants to be able to remove the leaves on occasion. Since she paid for the table...


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

So is the train track going to be temporarily laid out on the table when you want to run trains or are you going to fasten down the track? If you’re going to fasten down the track and cut the track where it crosses the joint (so the leaf can be folded down), you’re going to need the leaf to be very close to level with the main tabletop. If it isn’t, I think you’ll have derailment problems. If the track is just sitting on the table temporarily, the track can probably bridge the unevenness.

Mark


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Mark VerMurlen said:


> So is the train track going to be temporarily laid out on the table when you want to run trains or are you going to fasten down the track? If you’re going to fasten down the track and cut the track where it crosses the joint (so the leaf can be folded down), you’re going to need the leaf to be very close to level with the main tabletop. If it isn’t, I think you’ll have derailment problems. If the track is just sitting on the table temporarily, the track can probably bridge the unevenness.
> 
> Mark[/QUOTEBoth trains are crossing the uneven part with no problems. Yes it is a temporary lay-out. I am adding various displays and am looking for a suitable third and even fourth train set.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Next, two structures to keep the wires off the tracks. And then, my first-ever railroad construction was a bridge for the wires (when my lay-out was still on the floor). It isn't impressive, but for sentimental reasons I am keeping it as a shed in the railyard.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Nice start.


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## Midnight Goat (Dec 19, 2017)

Nice! Glad to see it was resolved at least for the most part. It looks like you could probably slide a 2x4 or 2 under the leaf to make it level (from the picture it looks like it's just sagging since the end is unsupported). Then when you take the leaf off you can just stick the 2x4 in the garage or corner.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Looks like a good table. Very realistic - the real world isn't even and flat either.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Midnight Goat said:


> Nice! Glad to see it was resolved at least for the most part. It looks like you could probably slide a 2x4 or 2 under the leaf to make it level (from the picture it looks like it's just sagging since the end is unsupported). Then when you take the leaf off you can just stick the 2x4 in the garage or corner.


Great idea, but they already built it that way. I think they allowed the leaf to warp. Still, it isn't giving me any trouble, and I'm having a blast putting things together.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Next, I set up the railyard. Using Lego knock-offs to build construction equipment is bad enough, but they often have missing parts, extra parts, wrong parts, etc.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Next came the displays:

1) an antique Bachman passenger car that works fine
2) an off-brand crane tender with a searchlight. It works, but the contacts rub the wheels so tightly that the locomotive has to spin its wheels as it moves around the track
3) a caboose that has knuckle couplings that do not fit any of my trains
4) a beautiful PRR hopper with no couplings
5) a nice-looking tank car with a broken coupling


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Next came the knights and dragons. I started with Ray Bradbury's unsuccessful science fiction short story "The Dragon." A knight is sent to kill a dragon and gets run over by a train.

Interesting side note here: I was walking my dog when I saw three broken toy railcars in someone's trash. I looked around, grabbed all three, and got two of them suitable for display.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

That searchlight car looks like Tyco. I had one in Santa Fe livery in my first train set when I was seven. That was over 40 years ago.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

MichaelE said:


> That searchlight car looks like Tyco. I had one in Santa Fe livery in my first train set when I was seven. That was over 40 years ago.


It's a beauty all right, and it works. It's made by "Model Power" and uses a type of coupling that disappeared over eight years ago. The contacts press so strongly against the wheels that when I use a loco to push it, the loco's wheels spin.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

All of that is my original set-up. Five days later my lovely wifeypoo and I have made some improvements.

The day after we got the table, I spent four hours assembling this dragon for "Dovahkiin!" in which a peasant finds out that he is the only one who can kill dragons. It is a scene from the game "Skyrim."


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Nancy ( my wife) and Vilkis are attacked by a dragon in the game "Skyrim."
Fortunately, they win.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Having set up VRE, I began making improvements.

Having failed to kill the dragon (He got run over by a train), Sir Lehigh was replaced by Sir Conrail. The government promised everyone that Conrail would solve the problem, so you know it must be true.

But don't worry about Sir Lehigh. After getting out of the hospital, he successfully battled the death knights in the game "Diablo 2."


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Vincent, bend those contacts back a bit. They do have to touch the wheels but they do not
need to apply so much pressure that the car hardly rolls. Spinning the locomotive wheels is not good. You may have to experiment with the pressure a few times but you will get it.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

mopac said:


> Vincent, bend those contacts back a bit. They do have to touch the wheels but they do not
> need to apply so much pressure that the car hardly rolls. Spinning the locomotive wheels is not good. You may have to experiment with the pressure a few times but you will get it.


Good suggestion, Mopac. But the searchlight car has couplings that are incompatible with all of my other stock. Since I only use it for display, I'm not in a hurry to experiment with it.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Vincent said:


> It's a beauty all right, and it works. It's made by "Model Power" and uses a type of coupling that disappeared over eight years ago. The contacts press so strongly against the wheels that when I use a loco to push it, the loco's wheels spin.


I thought it was Sante Fe, but it was Pennsylvania.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Vincent said:


> Good suggestion, Mopac. But the searchlight car has couplings that are incompatible with all of my other stock. Since I only use it for display, I'm not in a hurry to experiment with it.


Those are older hook-horn couplers. It's not that hard to swap them out with a knuckle coupler (Kadee or Walthers Protomaxx are the best). Since it's a Tyco, it probably has truck-mounted coupler boxes, so you may want to cut those off and mount a new one to the frame. Again, not too hard to do.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

My neighbor gave me this 1978 Matchbox replica of a 1912 Model T delivery truck. Unfortunately, the rear wheels were gone. After trying to display it with the rear axle hidden, I added some over-size wheels. Later I changed them for under-sized wheels.

I have to find the right size because this forty-year-old truck is a perfectly-preserved masterpiece.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

That is a cool old truck. Just my vote. I like the oversized tires better than the smaller ones. The whole truck is a little oversized for your HO trains. Matchbox vehicles are 1/64 scale and you need 1/87 scale vehicles. It will work for now.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Find a friend with a 3d printer.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

mopac said:


> That is a cool old truck. Just my vote. I like the oversized tires better than the smaller ones. The whole truck is a little oversized for your HO trains. Matchbox vehicles are 1/64 scale and you need 1/87 scale vehicles. It will work for now.


Mopac, the over-sized tires do look better in the photo. But here in my layout where I see it from a variety of angles, the undersized tires are better. Finding someone with a 3-D printer could work.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I got this good-condition double-decker bus for 30 cents. Notice that all the tires are missing, with a little damage to the wheels. It advertises "Holy Times News," explaining "We tell the truth." An internet search shows that the Vatican has an online news service by that title but I would guess that the real bus would pre-date it.

So I have it on display, with my own slogan "We tell the truth and we never get tired."


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## Nikola (Jun 11, 2012)

Vincent said:


> I got this good-condition double-decker bus for 30 cents. Notice that all the tires are missing, with a little damage to the wheels. It advertises "Holy Times News," explaining "We tell the truth." An internet search shows that the Vatican has an online news service by that title but I would guess that the real bus would pre-date it.
> 
> So I have it on display, with my own slogan "We tell the truth and we never get tired."


You realize, of course, that Cardinal Secolla can never become pope, right?


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I had dismantled a cheap plastic toy and glued on a piece of cardboard to create a flatcar--my first railcar. Later I bought a Lego knock-off crane discovering that one of the wheels was melted down.

This is my kit-bash.


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## highvoltage (Apr 6, 2014)

Nikola said:


> You realize, of course, that Cardinal Secolla can never become pope, right?


Right, because you can't have a Pope Secola (only Coke).


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

highvoltage said:


> Right, because you can't have a Pope Secola (only Coke).


.....and the award for the pun of the year goes to HighVoltage.......


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## Nikola (Jun 11, 2012)

highvoltage said:


> Right, because you can't have a Pope Secola (only Coke).





RonthePirate said:


> .....and the award for the pun of the year goes to HighVoltage.......


Hey, he stepped on my punch line!


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

Arrrggghhhh........sorry, Nikola.
You get the next one! Promise.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

This overhead rotating crane started life as a cardstock truck. Then it got kit-bashed.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

You are having a lot of fun!!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Think how much more fun he'll have when the actual railroad gets started.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

MichaelE said:


> Think how much more fun he'll have when the actual railroad gets started.


I have two trains running, and Yes, they are a lot of fun.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

It's been a good week for Sir Lehigh. I found a stationary store that sold a set of armored knights that I had never seen before. Two problems: they're all evil, and they're all unarmed.

I used up all the extra weapons I had, and Sir Lehigh was set up to battle "Death Knights" from the game "Diablo 2." But without the battle-axe in his sheath to balance him out, Lehigh kept falling forward. I glued a toothpick to his shield to steady him. Since the toothpick and my unpainted table are the same color, it's hard to see.

I had bought a set of cheap plastic knights to get parts. Using a razor knife, I carefully cut a sword out of the hands of one of them, adding another Death Knight to the scene.

Behind the Death Knights, you can see the Hell Forge, that Lehigh is determined to destroy.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I enjoyed the three hours I spent assembling this abominable imitation of a cargo helicopter. The instructions were so tiny that I couldn't distinguish the parts, even when I used a large magnifying glass. So I put it together by looking at the picture.

My wife likes it and I hate it, but it's an interesting part of my lay-out.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

A strange contraption, that's for sure. Must have been fun to put together, though.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I worked for two years at the Inland Steel Mill in Indiana. And someone had it "in" for Joe Slomka.

You would find "SLOMKA JOE" painted in bright yellow letters in various places. One night while crawling through a narrow access tunnel, the guy ahead of me yelled for me to roll onto my back. When I did, I saw "SLOMKA JOE" painted above me.

One employee was vacationing in Florida in a rented car when he got stopped at a railroad crossing. A boxcar rolled by with "SLOMKA JOE" painted on it.

Inland Steel had a large water tower, and one morning the sun rose to reveal "SLOMKA JOE" painted on it.

And so, after four days of construction work, I present:


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

I think I saw this whole setup in, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

RonthePirate said:


> I think I saw this whole setup in, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars.


That guy who had it "in" for Joe Slomka really got around.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I can't believe I found this dragon for less than $3 at a small toy store today. Sir Conrail didn't do a good job of solving the problem in the Lehigh Valley (The government sent him to kill a dragon, and a train ran over him) so we'll let him battle the new dragon. Meanwhile, we've sent Sirs Norfolk & Southern to solve the train problem, and I think they can succeed.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I found this 1932 Mercedes Benz fire engine while searching our cabinets today. The body was manufactured in 1993, but it wasn't assembled until 2000 in China.

Our foster son gave it to me for Christmas around 17 years ago, and it remains a treasured memento.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Vincent said:


> The body was manufactured in 1993, but it wasn't assembled until 2000 in China


Just wondering how you would, or could, know that.....?


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Old_Hobo said:


> Just wondering how you would, or could, know that.....?


The metal body has "1993" molded into it. The plastic bottom has "2000 Made in China" stamped onto it.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Long, long ago, in a railyard far, far away, a stolen space freighter sits in a junk pile.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Vincent said:


> The metal body has "1993" molded into it. The plastic bottom has "2000 Made in China" stamped onto it.


Quite common to have different dates.....1993 is the date the body was first cast and trademarked, and was probably produced back then as a complete vehicle......your vehicle with the 2000 stamped on it is a subsequent production run, with a newer (2000) plastic base......

Hot wheels cars come out like this all the time.....they are re-issued in different colours and packaging quite frequently....and the original year of the car is always cast on the bottom....


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Old_Hobo said:


> Quite common to have different dates.....1993 is the date the body was first cast and trademarked, and was probably produced back then as a complete vehicle......your vehicle with the 2000 stamped on it is a subsequent production run, with a newer (2000) plastic base......
> 
> Hot wheels cars come out like this all the time.....they are re-issued in different colours and packaging quite frequently....and the original year of the car is always cast on the bottom....


Thank you, Old Hobo. That does explain it.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

If you venture into the dwarven ruins, you can salvage their scrap metal. But the ruins are protected by powerful robots, the most dreaded of which is the centurion. Of course if you defeat a centurion, you can salvage its scrap metal.

Our hero was loading dwarven scrap metal into a railcar when a centurion attacked.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Why did I spend three hours assembling this awful-looking monstrosity?

1) The price was reduced to less than 50% (I can see why).
2) The directions only showed a blow-up with all the parts. I would assemble something and then have to disassemble it to get it to fit inside another section.
3) I got what I wanted: a metal frame and a metal crane, because IT'S KIT-BASH TIME!


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I'm not sure what it is, but it looks like it is tough enough to do the job.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Lee Willis said:


> I'm not sure what it is, but it looks like it is tough enough to do the job.


The worst part, Lee, is that it's SUPPOSED to look this way.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I'm working on my Christmas display, collecting parts that are stored away until December 1. But I got ten figures for $6 at an open-air market here in Mexico yesterday All in perfect condition, manufactured for Coca-Cola. They seem to be O scale.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Yard sale. Six bucks. What can I say?


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

We had a wonderful time at Jobbees (the only model train shop in the state of Jalisco). I bought a German HO train set that runs great and a revolving searchlight tower, as well as some Bachman tracks.

And then I...I..I mean...uh...I bought a..uhm...beautiful...er...battery-powered HO train set (HANG that sorry rascal!) for 9 dollars US.

The last wheels kept de-railing because they bounced off the track. After I taped a small coin over them, the problem disappeared.


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## MatroxD (Jan 19, 2018)

Lol, that battery operated train, is the same one my wife purchased for me (which is what started the current layout). One suggestion on it: nimh rechargeable batteries.. It runs slower because of the lower voltage, and then, depending on the mah, you can get some decent run times. The largest I could fit, were 2500mah...

Sent from my Note8 using Tapatalk


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

MatroxD said:


> Lol, that battery operated train, is the same one my wife purchased for me (which is what started the current layout). One suggestion on it: nimh rechargeable batteries.. It runs slower because of the lower voltage, and then, depending on the mah, you can get some decent run times. The largest I could fit, were 2500mah...
> 
> Sent from my Note8 using Tapatalk


You know, Matrox, I wonder how many other people on this forum don't want people to know that they have battery-powered trains.

I have a AA battery recharger, and I will buy two more rechargeables for the train. Good suggestion.


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## Dieseler (Jan 29, 2014)

Vincent sounds like your having fun !


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Dieseler said:


> Vincent sounds like your having fun !


I'm having a blast! The challenge of re-working my entire lay-out to fit in two more trains was actually enjoyable.

To celebrate the occasion, I have added a photo of the residential section of Lehigh Valley:


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

I became fascinated by a dilapidated building labelled "Kryptonite Mining Company" (first two photos). After researching the fictional history of the operation, I have begun construction.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

$1.25 at an open air market! It needs a paint job, and I have to open it to see if I can get the music box to work.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Definitely. You are having too much fun!!


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Lee Willis said:


> Definitely. You are having too much fun!!


Thank you I got it open, and it needs three AAA batteries. But the battery section is covered with corrosion. I scraped it out, but it will be a miracle if the music box works.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Vinegar to soak the terminals. They're called alkaline batteries for a reason, so acid is good to clean them up. Don't leave the vinegar on too long, just enough to remove all the crud from the battery. I use an old toothbrush to scrub them. No, I don't brush my teeth with it after this use!


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Thanks, Gunrunnerjohn. I tried the vinegar, but there is stil no response. The screws are stripped, so I can't open the house to get to the music box. But it is well worth the $1.25 I paid for it.

Meanwhile, construction on the Kryptonite Mining Company is complete! We now have an airstrip for the two aircraft. Powered by a propeller in the front and rockets in the back, they have removable wings so they can also be used as land vehicles.

Tomorrow, our story begins!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

How do they get off the roof?


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> How do they get off the roof?


 They can either install their removable wings and blast off (powered by a large propeller and three rocket engines) or be lowered by either of the two nearby cranes. If used without their wings, they can serve as high-speed land vehicles.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

And now, our story (carefully-researched for historical accuracy) begins!


Jobs were scarce during the Great Depression of the 1930's, so a new American company, located in the Mexican desert, had no problem finding highly-qualified employees to operate their scientifically-advanced equipment.


Arriving at the site, the new hires were taken aback to learn that their boss was a bald-headed teen-ager who had recently lost his hair in a laboratory accident. But there was no denying the advanced technology of the equipment he claimed to have invented himself.

The boss explained that they were digging up Kryptonite, a glowing green substance that had fallen to Earth in a meteor shower. A few of the scientists in the group glanced at each other. They knew that Krypton is a "Noble" element that cannot unite with anything else to form molecules. Kr3O2 (one of the suggested structures of Kryptonite) cannot possibly exist.
One scientist later quipped that it would take a force powerful enough to blow up a planet to form Kryptonite.


But the pay was good so they set to work.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

The boss was a strange one. He insisted on a searchlight tower to watch the sky for an approaching enemy. The large green Kryptonite storage silo had to be lead-lined. 


He named his small railroad "B & T.A.R.," explaining that it stood for "Bald and Totally After Revenge." One employee laughed, and after the next day he was never heard from again.

But he knew what he was doing--on the second day, they found Kryptonite and began loading the silo.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

The boss labored furiously in his makeshift lab. He learned that doubling the amount of Kryptonite doubled its radiation, but not its distance--the radiation only reached a few inches. He couldn't shape it, melt it, or mold it. He couldn't make a decent weapon out of it. He had a hard time staying awake.


He needed more money to build up his ramshackle lab on his parents' farm, so he set out to create life. Without enough money, equipment, room, or time, he had done it! Tiny life had appeared in one of his petri dishes! But in the crowded confines of his lab, he had gotten things mixed up--he wasn't sure which dish this was, or what he had done to it. And they would laugh at him. They would use his ideas and create life themselves and take all the credit. They would patent his invention for themselves and use the profits to fund their own research, leaving him behind as the fool who created life and forgot how.

He worked late, skipping school, meals, and sleep as he tried desperately to re-produce his results. He had a hard time staying awake, trying to concentrate, when he realized that his lab was on fire. With his powerful chemicals and wooden shed blazing away, he ran to the petri dish, getting to it before the caustic smoke did.


Suddenly a super burst of wind swept through the lab, blowing out the flames but rushing the caustic smoke over him. The smoke destroyed his hair and killed everything in the petri dish.


He woke up with a start, and once again, he swore revenge.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

They were done. There was no Kryptonite left. All of it was stored inside the lead-lined silo. The boss paid off the workers and sent them away. He was determined to keep experimenting until he found a way to harness the power of Kryptonite.

But when he got up the next morning, the silo was gone. No tracks, no noise, no evidence; the large, heavy silo was just gone.

So the boss sold off everything except the main building, which is now on display at the Railroad Museum of Chapala.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Folks, I've had a great three weeks, topped off by adding a fourth HO train to my lay-out. But here are some other additions to my empire.

1) My wifey-poo needed five hours to assemble this Big Ben, but it came out perfect! (Like her).

2) Yes, that is the 1960's TV show "Batmobile" parked near Big Ben.

3) The Dinosaur Lab turned out right, but I decided to improve it. I placed the guard tower and the laboratory in the Kryptonite Mining Company and added a few more dinosaurs.


4) That small building was the laboratory at the Dinosaur Lab, but now it is used for studying Kryptonite.


5) Quite an accomplishment! This cardstock palace came with four sheets of parts--and one sheet was missing.


6) This beautiful 1940 Ford pick-up truck (made in 1997) was a beat-up yellow when I bought it for 65 cents this morning. It is now a bright, cheery yellow, and a nice addition to my lay-out.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Nice! I think the real Big Ben is down for maintenance. Did your wife add chimes?


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Lemonhawk said:


> Nice! I think the real Big Ben is down for maintenance. Did your wife add chimes?


No, but she spent a lot of time whining about how difficult it was to assemble.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

This is the second cardstock frigate I have built. After I finish a third one (They are all different) I plan to kit bash them for various parts of my lay-out.


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## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Over the years, I bought a few small wind-up trains as Christmas decorations. Three different brands, all incompatible with the other two.

I included some when my lay-out consisted of two HO sets on the floor and have gradually reboxed them as I got better accessories, plus two more HO sets. 

And then I saw this, for $1.40 US, at an open-air market. Its cars and tracks are incompatible with the other three brands, but the loco and caboose (Those and the tracks are all it has) are beautiful enough to be display pieces.


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