# Birth of a (Train) Nation



## RonthePirate

Well, awhile back it was suggested that I start a construction thread about my new train room.
Here it is. I'm going rather slow right now, as you will read why.
But I intend this to be done by Christmas. Trouble is, I can only do as much as our retirement checks will allow.

"...........In the beginning"









September 20th, 2015: My honey said it was OK to start work on the Train Room. Yay! Overjoyed! I drew up plans, and got busy. Here's the before shot:

October 1st, 2015 Bought the lumber for the floor. Out here with this heat in Arizona, you insulate! Heavily! The 2x4's will have 3 1/2" insulation in between them, covered by 1/2" OSB. (No pix yet, will post)









October 4th. Finished "bones" of the floor, 2x4's and black plastic. Thank goodness I didn't have time to install the insulation or cover it with the (OSB) plywood.
It rained last night. And not just rain.......kitties and puppies type rain. You can see where there's still some standing water in the middle.
Had I insulated and covered with the OSB, it would have been ruined.

Slight setback. I was unloading plywood from my roof rack, and a 4x8 fell about two feet and landed on my left big toe. You don't want to see it. It looks black from the blood coagualating. Plus bruised all over.
I will be able to work, just not as fast as I want to. I want to get the framing done so I can put the Tyvek on. We have a storm possibly on Thursday.









Oct. 8th. Final results on my subfloor! All insulated with r-13 fiberglass, and covered with 1/2 inch OSB. 
I never had any air tools before. I finally got a compressor with a brad nail gun. What a difference! I completed each side in a day, two days total.
Next comes the real pleasure parts: the wall.

I will be adding to this thread each time something "earth-shaking" is completed.
(Mods, I hope I put this in the right section, please move it if it's not)


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## Tucgary

Looks like you have a solid plan and are off to a great start.[except toe]. I had a 4x8 on our patio here in Tucson. 
The wife wouldn't let me enclose it so I set up in half the garage. 
Now it's finally cooling off,we can get some work done. Tucgary


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## Big Ed

O going in there or N?

If O, Did you think about kicking it out some more in the back?
The more room the better, easier to do it now.

Windows going in?


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## RonthePirate

big ed said:


> O going in there or N?
> 
> If O, Did you think about kicking it out some more in the back?
> The more room the better, easier to do it now.
> 
> Windows going in?


Good questions!

Yes. O *AND* N are going in. 

I am O gauge. Nothing but the big stuff for me. I have mostly tinplate-based equipment, especially with that 1926 engine and tender I just bought from stauff in our member-to-member section.
But I did make commitments.

Flashback: remember, I'm the guy that inherited the N stuff from our Meals on Wheels client.
The main part of that inheritance is a 3x6 layout, completely landscaped,but in need of minor repair.
I will set that up in one section, as I promised his wife. I also will get a small plaque, "These trains run in memory of George Williams". (That was my idea)

If I extended it any more, I seriously would not have any back yard left. These lots in this section of Bullhead City were notoriously small.

And yes. Two windows, one facing you in that last pic, and on in the left-hand wall. Both will be 24w x 30 high. The door will be on the right-hand wall.

And with my toe looking as horrible as it does, "kicking" is not in my vocabulary for awhile! 

Tucgary:


> Looks like you have a solid plan and are off to a great start.[except toe]. I had a 4x8 on our patio here in Tucson.
> The wife wouldn't let me enclose it so I set up in half the garage.
> Now it's finally cooling off,we can get some work done. Tucgary


I would normally agree with you, but I saw the weather report. Over 102 Mon-Thur.
Thank you! Actually, the plans were all thought up in my head, then transferred to paper.
With your dry air there, you might consider putting a swamper in the garage. We run ours whenever the humidity lets low enough to permit it.
Sure would be nice when the temps are about 98 or so.


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## Big Ed

RonthePirate said:


> Good questions!
> 
> Yes. O *AND* N are going in.
> 
> I am O gauge. Nothing but the big stuff for me. I have mostly tinplate-based equipment, especially with that 1926 engine and tender I just bought from stauff in our member-to-member section.
> 
> Where did you get the 1926 for the year of the Locomotive? You did get the 1668? They were made from 1937 - 1941. I don't think anything he is offering goes back to 1926.
> 
> And with my toe looking as horrible as it does, "kicking" is not in my vocabulary for awhile!


I was going to add> *don't you have some work boots with the steel or composite toe*, but I did not want to rub it in.

What do you need a yard for? Garden trains? Don't you guys grow any grass out there?

Kick it out 4x8 and stick the George Williams (may he R.I.P.) Memorial N layout in the space. :thumbsup:
I am only kidding, but if you could it would give you more room for the O.

What you could also do, is just kick it out enough to add the N on the wall like a hide-a-bed compartment. That way when you want to run the N you just pull the layout down to run it.
And when you play with the O it goes back into the wall. 

I notice a hinge on the fence, is what your building on, would that have been a carport originally?

I was going to say something about rainfall, but you don't get much out there. What do you get maybe 6" a year? 
And it has to rain when your working on something outside? What are the odds.hwell:


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## RonthePirate

big ed said:


> I was going to add> *don't you have some work boots with the steel or composite toe*, but I did not want to rub it in.
> 
> What do you need a yard for? Garden trains? Don't you guys grow any grass out there?
> 
> Kick it out 4x8 and stick the George Williams (may he R.I.P.) Memorial N layout in the space. :thumbsup:
> I am only kidding, but if you could it would give you more room for the O.
> 
> What you could also do, is just kick it out enough to add the N on the wall like a hide-a-bed compartment. That way when you want to run the N you just pull the layout down to run it.
> And when you play with the O it goes back into the wall.
> 
> I notice a hinge on the fence, is what your building on, would that have been a carport originally?
> 
> I was going to say something about rainfall, but you don't get much out there. What do you get maybe 6" a year?
> And it has to rain when your working on something outside? What are the odds.hwell:


Ahhhh......boots. Yes, I keep thinking how they would have helped. 
I owned/operated an auto window tinting shop for 30 years. Outside of maybe someone that couldn't drive and ran over my foot, haven't had a need for them. (That never happened, BTW)

You can't see it in these shots, but the garage is just to the right. OK, I'll come clean: There was a tradeoff on space with my wife. Yes, I got to use the covered patio but I now have to build an attached deck with cover onto the garage. That space would be to the right of where I'm standing in the last two shots. So no, I cannot expand. 

You did plant a seed about the hide-a-bed theory though. Let's see what my mind can do about that.

Grass? I have memories, recollections.........ah yes! That's the stuff the casinos grow to attract the snowbirds. 
Trivia: artificial turf has taken off like a bandit here. They're selling a lot of it because of the no watering. And of course, water is not taken lightly out here.

The hinge is a gate. (A good indicator of how narrow the yard sare here.) We're good friends with the people that own that house, but they only come on holidays, etc. So I just cut a section of fence, added hinges,and voila: a gate. That way, we can just go over and do a house check whenever. (Squatters are thick as thieves here)
We also have them call when they come down in summer. It takes four hours of A/C running to cool down a house, so by the time they get here, it's tolerable inside.
And the very first shot is taken from under the carport. The garage is to the left.


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## RonthePirate

The weekend work load.

It wasn't as productive as I had hoped. The structure had some unforseen difficulties. I got the south wall (the one with the wooden fence next to it) framed. I'm not exactly sure of the window width, so I made the opening very flexible as to size. 
It just went slow. Plus one of my captains from the site I admin is here, so I went to visit him. You rarely get to meet your online friends in real life.
But it still is down time.
And the fact that I am still Hoppalong with my toe messed up. 

I hope to complete the framing on the east and north walls tomorrow (Monday) Then I'll do the pic thing.
Have to get it framed so I can Tyvek the walls by Thursday. That's when the showers are coming.


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## RonthePirate

A NEW DAWN

Framing is complete. Also the house wrap has been applied, no thanks to the wind out here. Kept ripping the wrap off the staples.
The door installed with minor setbacks. Just needs fine tuning.

Hopefully, this weekend, I can start installing the exterior siding. Keep the rain out.
And put the two windows in.
Then I have to start worrying if I can find my electrical guy. 

My batteries are dead in my camera, so that's why no pics. They'll be added later.


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## RonthePirate

Framing and house wrapping is 100%. Did that today.
The next shots you see will be that of the windows, with completed outside paneling.


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## sjm9911

Cool ron, hope it's going well. Can't wait for the pictures.


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## RonthePirate

*Finally!*

Yeah! As I promised, here are further pics in my construction of my RailRoad Room.
I finally got batteries, so here we go!

The first two pics show the inside from the door. I got the windows framed out, just waiting on their purchase to do the final cut.
Stuck a bit of insulation in that I had left over.
A travel trailer was being hauled away for scrap where we deliver our meals-on-wheels route.
I asked them if I could have the air conditioner. A big yes! Free air! Yay!

















These next two show the exterior. Apologies, but I still haven't put on all the exterior siding.
I was waitin' for my windows, but they never came in. Oh well, $300.00 refund!
The one is the front door. Unfinished front.









The back and side. I did the bird board uptop, saved some time later. Like I said, I haven't cut out the window openings yet.









OK, that's it for now. The next step is get the four exterior panels to complete that small part in front. Then I'll buy the windows and throw them in.


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## Magic

Starting to shape up nicely. Better hurry cold weather is on the way.

Magic


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## RonthePirate

Hi, Magic. You know, the cold really doesn't bother me too much. (it really doesn't get COLD here, just kinda chilly. I'm an ex-Chicago boy..........I *KNOW* cold!)
It's the blasted wind. You just cannot work in that stuff. Try to fix a roof, or, like in my case here, try to put up a piece of siding. Wheeee..........there it goes, flying away!

But after I get the windows in, the last four pieces of siding, the trim and paint, the rest of the job is inside. Finishing work. The actual fun part of the project. 
I just redid a laundry room the same way. It was open, with a ceiling. Added walls, insulation, dropped ceiling, paneling, and a vinyl tile floor. It did turn out pretty good, for my first time actually building something. Here's what that looks like:

I built the A/C unit into the wall. Gonna do the same for the RailRoad Room.








Being I have a mobile home, the door presented a problem with being too high.
Solved by raising that small section of the dropped ceiling. (An engineering nightmare!)








My wife, Georgeann got a bonus! Half the laundry area is now her workout room, complete with cable TV.


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## RonthePirate

Update: I just put the windows in today. Pics will come in a day or so.
Monday's my birthday, so my honey is taking me to Las Vegas for the day.:hah:
I am not allowed to work that day.


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## RonthePirate

As promised, here's the pics of the new windows.

They're small, but I wanted them that way. Helps keep undesirables from crawling through windows.
Sure made it bright inside, though!


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## Tucgary

Ron, You have done a really nice job making 2 nice work areas. 
Hope Vegas was good to you on your birthday. Tucgary


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## RonthePirate

Tucgary said:


> Ron, You have done a really nice job making 2 nice work areas.
> Hope Vegas was good to you on your birthday. Tucgary


Thanks, Gary! Well, the video poker Gods weren't so kind to us. Came back with less than what we left with.
But I finally put the last exterior panels up. Now comes the paint and trim.
Then of course, the inside gets started.


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## RonthePirate

Yee-haaa! I finally got the paint on. Now thew only thing left on the exterior is the trim wood.:appl:
And another accomplishment: I'm now wired! (My room, not me!):goofball:

Later on, I will post about how I think I'm going to put the layout. Then I sure could use some help from you experienced guys on where the best place for the controls would be.

Meanwhile, here's the pics on the painting:



























And one on the wiring:









Now it's mostly inside work. Of course, the insulation will be next. Wall, then ceiling after the interior walls are up.
Oh, and I got a wire right above the door for a motion detector! Can't live without that kid!
Nice timing too, with the cool weather almost here.


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## RonthePirate

*Finally!*

And my RailRoad Room is complete outside. I just finished the trim and painting of the same.
Pics will follow in a day. My legs are too sore from going up & down that ladder.


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## RonthePirate

As promised, here are my pics of the completed (exterior) RailRoad Room. 

Looks small,but there is an alcove just past the door, where the dryer exhaust is. And my Jeep Cherokee headlight!









The East wall. Small windows to keep people from crawling in.









And south. The air conditioned wall.









I couldn't wait to finish the interior. I put my N gauge layout in and had some fun! 









Now all I need to do is finish the interior. I'm going to wait till after Christmas to start that.
But the nice thing is, I won't be exposed to the elements while I work anymore.

I have been toying around with SCARM. I think I have the basic layout I want for my O gauge system. Trouble is, I didn't understand how to work the elevations for raising the track, so it looks like all one level.
I did mark what I wanted elevated a different way. It's crude, but readable. Remember, it is 027, standard radius, three level total.
Let me have your opinions on the setup. I haven't put a yard in yet, looking for suggestions on that.


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## RonthePirate

I redid this track setup with TRAX. It turned out a lot different looking.
The curves are tighter, and the meeting places in the center are very different:









I like the look better here. It's easier to picture the elevations.


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## traction fan

*Grade(elevation) suggestion*



RonthePirate said:


> I redid this track setup with TRAX. It turned out a lot different looking.
> The curves are tighter, and the meeting places in the center are very different:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I like the look better here. It's easier to picture the elevations.


 Ron:
The second plan does look better than the first. I recommend one change though, where the three loops cross over one another. What now appears to be the middle elevation(the tight horseshoe with the open end down) might work better if it were the top level,instead of the middle. As for grades, most modelers keep them at four percent or less(the lower the percentage the easier it will be for a train to climb.) To determine the percentage, measure the vertical distance you have to climb to clear a lower track. Then measure the horizontal distance you have, approaching that cross over point. If a track rises one inch vertically,
in one hundred inches of horizontal travel; that's a one percent grade. If it gains four inches vertically, in the same one hundred inches of horizontal travel, it's a four percent grade.
It's a good idea to start, and end, a four percent grade with a section of one, or two, percent grade. These sections are called vertical easements, and make it easier for the train to transition from level track to the grade. They can also prevent things like a front coupler catching on a tie where this transition is too severe.
You seem to have room for a yard at the bottom of your second plan.
If you want to use the hide a bed for the N scale layout idea, check out a book called,
"John Armstrong on Creative Layout Design". He has a plan called "the Murphy Bed and Cadenza" that should work perfectly for your situation. I don't mean changing your late friend's track plan: just using Armstrong's very clever folding support system to hold the existing N scale layout. The book publisher is at www.kalmbach.com However the book is old, and possibly out of print. You could try www.amazon.com for a used copy.

Looks great so far, keep the photos coming! 
Traction Fan


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## RonthePirate

> From traction fan
> The second plan does look better than the first. I recommend one change though, where the three loops cross over one another. What now appears to be the middle elevation(the tight horseshoe with the open end down) might work better if it were the top level,instead of the middle


That is so funny you mention the change. I did it last night. After I logged out, I looked and looked really hard at that plan.
And I noticed the same thing you did. It has more track to decrease the rate of ascent.
Thereby making it easier for the engines to climb the grade.

Great minds think alike!


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## traction fan

*"Great minds"*



RonthePirate said:


> That is so funny you mention the change. I did it last night. After I logged out, I looked and looked really hard at that plan.
> And I noticed the same thing you did. It has more track to decrease the rate of ascent.
> Thereby making it easier for the engines to climb the grade.
> 
> Great minds think alike!


 Or maybe; "Senile seniors swap similar silliness?" 
Is Bullhead City anywhere near Phoenix?

Traction Fan


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## RonthePirate

> Or maybe; "Senile seniors swap similar silliness?"
> Is Bullhead City anywhere near Phoenix?


hahahaha!!! "The five esses of latter years"

Somewhat near, 3 1/2 hours north. Right across the Colorado River from Laughlin, NV.
I have made the drive a few times. Unfortunately, no freeways go through.
My wife's brother and family live in a Phoenix suburb. A pretty route, but Arizona has perpetual road work on those roads.
Gets old very very quickly.


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## RonthePirate

You all thought this shed was dead. Nope.
I just got my floor today. Beautiful laminate. Goin' high class.
Gonna do the install today (Saturday) and tomorrow.
Pics will follow.


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## RonthePirate

RonthePirate said:


> You all thought this shed was dead. Nope.
> I just got my floor today. Beautiful laminate. Goin' high class.
> Gonna do the install today (Saturday) and tomorrow.
> Pics will follow.


 As I said, here's the new floor. Fifteen year laminate for 79 cents a S/F. Can't beat that. My other half says she like this one so much that I have to remove the older laminate from the house and replace it with this
Fat chance in Hell that'll happen.

Walls are next.


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## leadsled

Lookin good!

I kinda did something similar a few years ago, I installed laminate in three rooms, then later we did a our bedroom with some slightly different stuff. Wife said I need to rip up the rest of the old laminate and put the newer type stuff down!

Your Train Room looks really nice!


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## Fire21

leadsled said:


> Lookin good!
> 
> Your Train Room looks really nice!


:appl::appl::appl:


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## Magic

I'm no carpenter but it looks like you had better run that Romax inside the studs or your drywall or paneling won't lay flat. Either drill holes or cut groves for it.

The floor looks great, you really should do the rest of the house. :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos:  


Magic


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## RonthePirate

Magic said:


> I'm no carpenter but it looks like you had better run that Romax inside the studs or your drywall or paneling won't lay flat. Either drill holes or cut groves for it.
> 
> The floor looks great, you really should do the rest of the house. :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos:
> 
> 
> Magic


Thanks, Magic. You can't see them, but there are notches cut in the studs that the Romax is set in. I admit, it looks like it's right on the side of the stud.
Oh that would be paneling Hell!

And thank you but I'll pass on the redo of the rest of the house!

Leadsled knows what I'm talking about hehe, his wife must be my wife's sis separated at birth.

Thank you also, Leadsled and Fire21!


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## RonthePirate

*Train Room Completed!​*
Finally! After buying material from paycheck to paycheck (retirement checks, once a month) it is DONE.
I just completed the first coat of paint two hours ago.
Of course, I don't have my pics yet.They will be on in a day........maybe two.

Next step: (after second coat of paint) I'm thinking lay my tracks on the floor, in the layouts I designed.
Three reasons:
1.) To see what I like better.
2.) To see what the tables will look like.
3.) To see what fits better.

I hope to have track down in two-three weeks.


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## RonthePirate

As promised, here are pics. I do need one more coat.
White is the best option to keep it bright in there.

































Now starts the real fun! The building of tables, planning the track, scenery, towns, etc.
NOW I feel more into the hobby than ever.


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## Fire21

Nice room, Ron. It ought to be fun starting with a new clean room! Good luck!


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## Magic

Looking great Pirate. :appl: :appl:

Now on to the trains. :smilie_daumenpos:

Magic


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## RonthePirate

I got antsy! I put the layout down on the floor I'm thinking of using.
Couldn't wait........they run well!


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## RonthePirate

Oh brother..........did I goof.

The tables are done. They have 2 x 4 sides, 1 x 4 ends and braces. Two are 58" wide. They also have access ports in them as they are so wide.
The small one is 36" x 6'.
The two large ones fit together end to end, forming one long table. The small one makes an L.

My wife and I hauled them in.........no small task. The small one fits perfectly:









However, when we put the two large ones together, they were too large........the second overlapped the first:

























I added wrong. My totals were 2 inches over the room's length.
Now I have to cut that excess off. Blargh!

Haste makes waste. Maybe now I will learn to add.
Fortunately, the piece I have to trim doesn't have legs attached. It uses the legs from the first table.
So it's only three pieces of wood to cut.


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## Guest

I've just discovered this thread. The new train room looks great. Don't feel bad about the benchwork error, Ron, I've made similar type mistakes and I'm sure other's have as well. Our brains sometimes make the same mistake over and over again. Fortunately, it's an easy fix.


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## Fire21

Just don't do like my Father-in-law...he was cutting a shelf, and after a few cuts to make it fit, he declared in frustration, "Every time I cut this, it gets shorter!" It was then he realized what he had been doing!! :laugh:


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## RonthePirate

Fire21 said:


> Just don't do like my Father-in-law...he was cutting a shelf, and after a few cuts to make it fit, he declared in frustration, "Every time I cut this, it gets shorter!" It was then he realized what he had been doing!! :laugh:


:appl: :laugh::laugh::laugh:
Good one! I fixed it. I cut four inches off (no more) rescrewed the end 1 x 4 and now it fits fine.
And yeah, Country Joe, it was a really easy fix. For a change. I usually get the harder ones.
I put the hardboard on top of the frame. At least 1" foam will follow.
Towards the rear corner, I am going to make a gentle grade. The peak will be the curve. 
I am going to make a trestle. A small one, maybe 2 inches high. 
I am also going to use grey foam roadbed. I like the unique sound deadening qualities.

Pic will come after the track is just starting to get laid out.


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## Big Ed

I was always told measure twice, cut once. You should measure three times.

The room is looking more like a train room every post.:smilie_daumenpos:


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## RonthePirate

First, thank you, biged for the compliment on the room.

Again, as promised, here are interim pics of what's going on. The foam is all laid out. there will be a grade on the very back track, going over a ravine in the back.
The roadbed is that soft foam stuff. A bit harder to wrap the curves (especially 027), but I like the sound-deadening quality.
I tested a few engines, the blocks work. 
Now it's just keep on going, lay the rest of the track and finish the scenery.

Oh: the large grey rectangle is an access hole. I am going to put a passenger station there to help camouflage it. I'll paint the grey to black and make it look like a parking lot. The other access hole will have Mel's Diner on it.


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## RonthePirate

One other thing: as you can see, walking space is limited. That leaves me where to put the control panel.

The best place (I think) is in the back, and sit between the N scale and the big table.

I thought of having a panel that would swing out from under the table.
Is that feasible? Does anyone have an idea on how to engineer that?

Or maybe there's a better way?
Sure could use some help with that.


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## IlliniViking

RonthePirate said:


> One other thing: as you can see, walking space is limited. That leaves me where to put the control panel.
> 
> The best place (I think) is in the back, and sit between the N scale and the big table.
> 
> I thought of having a panel that would swing out from under the table.
> Is that feasible? Does anyone have an idea on how to engineer that?
> 
> Or maybe there's a better way?
> Sure could use some help with that.


I built a swing out panel on my old N scale layout.

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=5127

I just built a box out of 1x4 and put a piece of plywood on top. Then I used a piano hinge and some hook and eye's (I think that is the proper term). It would hook in the up, usable position with two hooks, one one each side, then when it was folded away, it would hook underneath the table. Just make sure you attach everything to the panel, or it will fall when folded of course. 

Another option, would be one that slides under the table. Then you could still easily push it back while trains are running.


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## Tucgary

Sure is coming along nicely Ron. Here's a picture of my transformer stand. It's an old living room table that was in our shed. Harbor Freight castors and its's ready to go for $12.00.
Tucgary


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## Big Ed

Ron, Are you going to add some kind of window covers, shades, curtains?
A backdrop?
I guess you can't get to the backside of the table? 
Is it up against the wall, it looks that way?

Or can you temporarily pull the table out to get back in there?


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## Mr.Buchholz

The fact that you built AN ENTIRELY NEW ROOM for your trains just shows how high your level of awesome really is! 

-J.


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## dsertdog56

Mr.Buchholz said:


> The fact that you built AN ENTIRELY NEW ROOM for your trains just shows how high your level of awesome really is!
> 
> -J.


Agreed! :appl::smilie_daumenpos:


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## Lehigh74

Tucgary said:


> Sure is coming along nicely Ron. Here's a picture of my transformer stand. It's an old living room table that was in our shed. Harbor Freight castors and its's ready to go for $12.00.


That pretty cool Gary. I never realized your platform is on castors. And it looks like your control stand has all the equipment you need


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## RonthePirate

IlliniViking, I like your layout! I love the (almost) tie-by-tie pics.
You gave me a great idea: I'll go to Lowe's (to my wife's dismay. Not the money, but me standing around talking to the employees. We now know each other very well)
I'll get a slide-out drawer mechanism, build a box, and put the controls in there!
That way, I'll be able to weasel in and out of that small space easier!
Now to find a Lionel stool............

P.S. I love that IC diesel set you got. I just picked up a six car set of the IC passenger cars in that color combo.

Gary, that has to be the nicest rolling control stand I've ever seen! Sure serves the purpose!
Even a place for your lunch down below. You have good sounds also with your Zenith transistor radio! And thank you! 
(And I want that lunch box!!)  

Ed, that has been a dilemma to me. The only thing I'm good at drawing is my retirement checks. (Joke joke)
But I wondered about a backdrop. Possibly just a California horizon. That's rolling hills, very few trees, all blended together.
Any place you might suggest to buy something like that?

I can get to the back. I have those two access holes I made, which I find invaluable in laying track back there. 
Shades: my sweet honey is looking for railroad print cloth, wants to sew me some curtains.
Tell me that ain't cool of her.

I can move the tables, but not much. It would be a lot more if that L section wasn't also attached. But since I have those holes, I really don't have to..

Mr.Buchholz, than is probably the nicest compliment I have ever gotten! Thank you!
My mobile home is all full up on the inside. I needed a place to put my "stuff"
Oh: I never built anything before. (Besides a laundry room renovation)
I find out I'm good at that at 67! Wish it would have been earlier.

Thanks to you too, dsertdog56. I like the name! 'Cause I live in the Arizona desert.


----------



## Mark Boyce

Ron, I have seen many of your posts before, but totally missed Birth of a Train Nation until now. I am looking forward to catching up. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## RonthePirate

Here I am again. The next steps have been finished, or are on the way.

I decided to build a mountain with a tunnel at the north end of the layout.
I actually used two Lionel tunnel portals I had laying around. They look good!
Going to use fiberglass window screen and drywall compound.
Never attempted that compound before, hope it works.

The south end is almost complete, waiting on a shipment of foam roadbed to come in the mail. I'm three pieces short.
If you haven't tried it, that foam roadbed is great! The noise cancelling is phenomenal. And very easy to work with.

For the flat areas of the layout, I thought of just going TT (total tinplate) and using green indoor-outdoor carpet laid out between the tracks. It looks OK and covers ground quick.
I can always remove it and do other procedures later.

And, as usual, pics will follow either tomorrow or Friday. Didn't get a chance to take them today.


----------



## VegasN

*Sweet*

My wife has me in the middle of a complete house remodel, so Betzville is confined to a table in the bedroom. My garage? Good question....I converted that into a woodworking shop years ago. As soon as I build our shed, I am hoping to close off our patio for a train room.


----------



## RonthePirate

VegasN said:


> My wife has me in the middle of a complete house remodel, so Betzville is confined to a table in the bedroom. My garage? Good question....I converted that into a woodworking shop years ago. As soon as I build our shed, I am hoping to close off our patio for a train room.


Cool! Doing the work yourself? Just curious.
What size will your train room be?

North Las Vegas......well, you're about the closest member to me that I know of. TucsonGary is in Tucson, but that's not close.
One of the few that can understand the desert heat (and cold) because you live it.


----------



## RonthePirate

As promised, here's my pics. (Be gentle, don't forget ZI work on a very small budget)
North end. Decided to put a mountain and tunnel here. Using foam board with fiberglass screen.
Gonna try wallboard filler. Supposed to be easy to work with.









South end. Did what I could with Mel's Diner. It sits on top of the access hole cover. I tried to make the board look like the driveway.
Also you can see my attempt at a wooden trestle build. It holds the trains well.









Another view of Mels and my trestle. I plan to put a pic of a dry wash on the wall behind it.









Where the south end meets the "L".










This is a drawer pull-out I built. I'm going to mounts it under the table where I will sit.
When I get done, it will be a pull-out control panel.
(Not quite ready yet)


----------



## VegasN

RonthePirate said:


> Cool! Doing the work yourself? Just curious.
> What size will your train room be?
> 
> North Las Vegas......well, you're about the closest member to me that I know of. TucsonGary is in Tucson, but that's not close.
> One of the few that can understand the desert heat (and cold) because you live it.



Yes. I am actually doing ALL the work myself, floors, walls, cabinets, building all new furniture, closet organizer....the works.
I am not sure what size the patio is, I am thinking maybe about 100 sq ft(ish).
Ahh, yes, (fake tourist voice)"but it's a dry heat". Screw that, it gets friggin hot here and in your neck of the woods. A blow dryer is a dry heat, would you stand in one?
How is the model train scene there across the river? I sure hope it's better than Vegas.


----------



## VegasN

Very cool Ron. Good bench work. I am digging the diner. I like the pull out drawer. Good idea. If the wallboard filler is the same as joint compound, it does work good, but mainly to smooth out foam and such. To fully fill in a mountain, not sure about that. Maybe someone else would have more insight than I.


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## RonthePirate

VegasN said:


> Yes. I am actually doing ALL the work myself, floors, walls, cabinets, building all new furniture, closet organizer....the works.
> 
> How is the model train scene there across the river? I sure hope it's better than Vegas.


ALL the work! I love it! Someone not scared to get "dirty".
But building all new furniture?? Now that's gonna take forever, isn't it?

Haha, dry heat. I actually like it. It's nearly cured my wife's bad back and legs. if it's humid, she suffers. But if it's the usual 2% humidity, she never once complains.

The model train scene? YUK. This is Bullhead City, not Phoenix. Ebay, hobby store links are it.
Monday, April 3rd, I and my wife are driving to Henderson. That's "The Train Engineer" LHS. 
And boy, is it a "good ol' boy" place! You cannot walk the aisles straight. You have to go sideways. He has so much stock, it's phenomenal! I bought a K-line yardgoat there. It had been there since 94! Unopened!
I saw a collection of passenger cars from 1961. In the boxes! Unopened!

He's a bit high on prices, but if you need it, it's there.
Oh........the reason I'm going is to get my 115 year commemorative boxcar. The one with all the engines on it.
I really wanted that one!
(May get another diesel if I can find a Illinois Central at a decent price)

Yeah, the wallboard filler is the same as joint compound. It should work OK. It's lightweight, and easy as heck to shape.
Haven't gotten into ii yet, been working on that sliding control panel.
Never made a cabinet before. Kinda tough getting everything straight.


----------



## VegasN

*New Info*



RonthePirate said:


> ALL the work! I love it! Someone not scared to get "dirty".
> But building all new furniture?? Now that's gonna take forever, isn't it?
> 
> Haha, dry heat. I actually like it. It's nearly cured my wife's bad back and legs. if it's humid, she suffers. But if it's the usual 2% humidity, she never once complains.
> 
> The model train scene? YUK. This is Bullhead City, not Phoenix. Ebay, hobby store links are it.
> Monday, April 3rd, I and my wife are driving to Henderson. That's "The Train Engineer" LHS.
> And boy, is it a "good ol' boy" place! You cannot walk the aisles straight. You have to go sideways. He has so much stock, it's phenomenal! I bought a K-line yardgoat there. It had been there since 94! Unopened!
> I saw a collection of passenger cars from 1961. In the boxes! Unopened!
> 
> He's a bit high on prices, but if you need it, it's there.
> Oh........the reason I'm going is to get my 115 year commemorative boxcar. The one with all the engines on it.
> I really wanted that one!
> (May get another diesel if I can find a Illinois Central at a decent price)
> 
> Yeah, the wallboard filler is the same as joint compound. It should work OK. It's lightweight, and easy as heck to shape.
> Haven't gotten into ii yet, been working on that sliding control panel.
> Never made a cabinet before. Kinda tough getting everything straight.



April 3rd? "The Train Engineer" LHS? I may really want to check that out. Although "pricey" is like very long nails on a very large chalkboard, but I am finding that this is NOT a cheap hobby.
And yes, it will take time for sure. I have renamed my "To Do" list. It is now called "The Never In A Million Years Will I Have Enough Time To Do All This Crap" list.


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## RonthePirate

Very appropriate new name!  I know I couldn't do all that in the foreseeable future.

Footnote to the wallboard compound: Yes, it does work well, BUT!
It takes a lot to cover the screen. It has to be real thick, which of course wastes a lot of it.
One container, about 1/2 gallon worth only covered a small section.
But end result is very pleasing. (almost looks like I frosted a cake!)

P.S. Gonna switch to light Hydrocal, or possible plaster.


----------



## VegasN

Agree. I haven't tried the hydrocal yet. But, yes, the joint compound is for small areas and small coverings. I used it as a skim coat applied just by hand all over the foam hills. Created a more natural looking texture to landscape over. Wouldn't want to use it over large areas.


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## RonthePirate

Here's the mountain/tunnel I made. Not real realistic looking, but for a guy who hasn't done thi is over forty years..........
Wait! What is on that tunnel portal?? Why it's a dragon!

Haha! My wife is a dragon collector. This is one I had on my computer desk.
She put it on that portal, and I have to admit, it's different.

Looking for those stock cars, I guess..........


----------



## RonthePirate

VegasN said:


> Agree. I haven't tried the hydrocal yet. But, yes, the joint compound is for small areas and small coverings. I used it as a skim coat applied just by hand all over the foam hills. Created a more natural looking texture to landscape over. Wouldn't want to use it over large areas.


That compound gave me large rock-like cracks in the main wall of the tunnel. I don't think you could get more realistic.
But yes.........bad for all over. Too heavy!

I switched to Hydrocal, dipping paper towels in the soup, then draping them over the screen.
No texture, but good got grassy areas.


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## Mark Boyce

That was quick work! Looking good! Yes, I've had success with hydrocal dipped paper towels. The dragon reminds me of the surprises I find on my layout. My wife loves that and so does our last daughter at home. Won't be long until the daughter moves out. She just got her wedding dress today.


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## Lemonhawk

I wouldn't go near that tunnel. that Dragon is set to attack anything that attempts entrance!


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## Lehigh74

The dragon could be a last minute entry in Lee's contest.


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## VegasN

I think the tunnel and mountain look great. I can't wait to expand and try my hand at a mountain again. Love the dragon by the way. Would love my wife to show ant interest in my hobby/passion.


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## RonthePirate

Thanks, guys. Georgeann thanks you too! :smilie_daumenpos:

Mark, congratz to your daughter! May she have a hubby that appreciates a dragon on a tunnel as much as I! 

Lee's contest? What contest? Is a dragon allowed to enter?  :laugh:


----------



## Lehigh74

Here's the contest, but it ended yesterday.

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?p=1012017#post1012017


----------



## Mark Boyce

RonthePirate said:


> Thanks, guys. Georgeann thanks you too! :smilie_daumenpos:
> 
> Mark, congratz to your daughter! May she have a hubby that appreciates a dragon on a tunnel as much as I!
> 
> Lee's contest? What contest? Is a dragon allowed to enter?  :laugh:


Ron,
Thank you! Yes, he would appreciate the dragon! He is a fine fellow, and we are very pleased with him as we are with our other daughter's husband!


----------



## Tucgary

Ron: Very nice job.:appl: You stayed right after it and gott'r done. 
The dragon looks right at home in the grassy mountain top.
Tucgary


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## RonthePirate

Tucgary said:


> Ron: Very nice job.:appl: You stayed right after it and gott'r done.
> The dragon looks right at home in the grassy mountain top.
> Tucgary


Thanks, Gary!   

Have to get a passenger station next! I'm going to place it on that other access hole I have. (opposite of Mel's)
As usual, budget preceeds everything else. So I have to be careful!


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## RonthePirate

OK. trying something new and exciting.
I'm going to use Astro-Turf as ground cover.
So far, the only drawback is, it's taller than I think is real looking.
But the coloring is just like real grass.
And it's easy to trim, and lays down flat.

The dragon approves. I'll post pics later. 
(Personally, I like it)

Oh, and you have to make sure you get the direction of the flow the same when joining pieces.
The grass has a definite "grain" to it. If you get the flow going east on one section, and south on another, it stands out badly.

And you'd better trim the grass on the pieces by the roadbed.
Otherwise, the trains will pick it up and spread the loose pieces around.


----------



## RonthePirate

Major setback! I started getting short circuits. First in one block, then in two.

I searched for the problem(s). No luck. 
I have since ripped all the old track wire out.
The accessories are fine. They were wired later, with more care. They can stay.

I actually feel OK about doing that. The old wire was not done very well.
Nothing in any kind of order. No color codes, no real plan of attack.

I am redoing in 16 ga speaker wire. All copper is positive, aluminum is neg.
All connections either soldered or connectors.
I even rebuilt my control panel. Made it bigger and a bit nicer looking.








The space at the back is for turnout controls. Haven't put them on yet.


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## VegasN

Sorry to hear about the electrical issues, bummer. Silver lining, the new electrical sounds much better. And the control box.......nice! I am looking forward to having one of those some day.


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## Guest

Color coding is a good idea. It's better you had the problem now rather than later and got it fixed. The new control panel looks very good.


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## RonthePirate

That's the way I have to look at it too, Joe. Better now, than much later, when everything has been finished.

Moral of this is: Do it right the first time.
Second moral: Haste makes waste.

Thanks, Vegas. Kinda proud of that myself. That's a plastic top I stole from a shelf unit my wife was gonna toss.
The first row of toggles are the track blocks.
I only have seven blocks, but plan ahead, right?
The second row are the accessories. Lights, etc.

Just finished the track wiring today. Now completing the accessory wires.
That's easy at this point. I don't have my town built yet.
So there's only three wiring points at the moment.
But the buss bars are all ready to handle 10 sets of wires.
That's 10 from the block and 10 from the acc toggles.
And there's an 18V transformer (fused) just ready for all the city lights.


----------



## Lemonhawk

Ron, when you say "All copper is positive, aluminum is neg" your not actually using aluminum wire are you? I guess that since you said speaker wire that it has one side copper looking and the other aluminum looking but its all copper, so that's OK.


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## RonthePirate

Lemonhawk said:


> Ron, when you say "All copper is positive, aluminum is neg" your not actually using aluminum wire are you? I guess that since you said speaker wire that it has one side copper looking and the other aluminum looking but its all copper, so that's OK.


No, the package does say aluminum. Kinda messed up my mind too. But here's the truth:









Aluminum is a safe wire to use. But the thing that makes it unsafe is when it's joined to copper.
If you use a special flux, it makes a good bond between the copper and aluminum.
But this is only a problem in 120V structures. The 18V from the transformer will have no effect on the wires.

Edit: Any speaker wire that is copper and silver color is copper and aluminum.


----------



## Mark Boyce

Ditto on the haste makes waste; do it right the first time. In the past since I have limited time for trains, I have been guilty of doing things too quickly even though folks that know me say I am a very patient man. 

Wanting to get trains running erases the patience. Just now one of my loops on my Ceiling Central Railroad needs some work, but I have been working over a lot of boxed up collectibles and art paraphernalia belonging to our last daughter at home. I'm on a short step ladder, with my head jammed up at the ceiling, and leaning over stuff underneath. I finally decided it will wait until she moves everything out, which she started doing this past week. Yippee!!!


----------



## RonthePirate

Mark Boyce said:


> I'm on a short step ladder, with my head jammed up at the ceiling, and leaning over stuff underneath.


Hehe......kinda hard to type from that angle, isn't it?? :laugh::laugh:

Yeah, I know.........I was in such a big hurry to get trains running I took short cuts, lowered my standards.
It sounds snobby, but I do have high expectations of my work.
That comes after running my window tint shop for 30 years. If it wasn't right, my customers wouldn't like it.
Then they wouldn't come back or spread the good word about me.

Gonna be an empty nester? I bet you a cookie that you will love the silence.
And you'll have a new vacant room to start a new layout!


----------



## Mark Boyce

RonthePirate said:


> Hehe......kinda hard to type from that angle, isn't it?? :laugh::laugh:
> 
> Gonna be an empty nester? I bet you a cookie that you will love the silence.
> And you'll have a new vacant room to start a new layout!


Good one on the typing at that angle, Ron!! 

Yes, I will like the quiet!


----------



## sjm9911

Ron I used speaker wire to controll my switches, no problems at all and I did use one for power and one for ground too


----------



## sjm9911

Dam, just remembered I was supposed to look for switches......


----------



## RonthePirate

sjm9911 said:


> Dam, just remembered I was supposed to look for switches......


:laugh: :laugh: 

Better late than never...........:smilie_daumenpos:


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## RonthePirate

Another disaster. But this one could have been more expensive than the wiring one.

I just got a brand new diesel, an Alco from Lionel.
Two "A"s", one dummy.
I'll get the numbers later.
I had just pulled out my line of passenger cars from the yard.
(My wife was standing right there. She loves trains)
I went around the layout once, everything operating perfectly.
Then disaster. The engine derailed.
Not only derailed, it hit the floor.

Someone forgot to throw the turnout back to green from the yard.
That someone is me.

My poor wife said, "Honey, I didn't do anything......" Poor gal was almost in tears.
I looked at the engine. The PLASTIC rear truck had broken off at the truck bolster. The pin that the snap ring fits on was gone.

But there's some light at the end of this tunnel. I took my dummy "A" unit and pulled the truck.
I took the part that was broken and replaced it with the good part from the dummy unit.
Fingers crossed, I gave a test run.
Success. The engine runs fine.

I called the LHS (The Train Engineer in Las Vegas) and told Martin what happened.
He wants me to send him the broken truck. He said he may have a spare laying around that I could have,

Talk about service! This man will get my railroad money from now on.

The moral of this? I am Lowe's bound in a few minutes.
I'm going to buy that clear Lucite or acrylic for the sides.
I dodged a bullet......it could have been a .50 cal.


----------



## Overkast

RonthePirate said:


> Another disaster. But this one could have been more expensive than the wiring one.
> 
> I just got a brand new diesel, an Alco from Lionel.
> Two "A"s", one dummy.
> I'll get the numbers later.
> I had just pulled out my line of passenger cars from the yard.
> (My wife was standing right there. She loves trains)
> I went around the layout once, everything operating perfectly.
> Then disaster. The engine derailed.
> Not only derailed, it hit the floor.
> 
> Someone forgot to throw the turnout back to green from the yard.
> That someone is me.
> 
> My poor wife said, "Honey, I didn't do anything......" Poor gal was almost in tears.
> I looked at the engine. The PLASTIC rear truck had broken off at the truck bolster. The pin that the snap ring fits on was gone.
> 
> But there's some light at the end of this tunnel. I took my dummy "A" unit and pulled the truck.
> I took the part that was broken and replaced it with the good part from the dummy unit.
> Fingers crossed, I gave a test run.
> Success. The engine runs fine.
> 
> I called the LHS (The Train Engineer in Las Vegas) and told Martin what happened.
> He wants me to send him the broken truck. He said he may have a spare laying around that I could have,
> 
> Talk about service! This man will get my railroad money from now on.
> 
> The moral of this? I am Lowe's bound in a few minutes.
> I'm going to buy that clear Lucite or acrylic for the sides.
> I dodged a bullet......it could have been a .50 cal.


That really stinks Ron!!! But luckily all was not lost.

I did the acrylic thing on my layout as well and it was totally worth the expense.


----------



## VegasN

oh my heart aches just hearing this story. I realized after I left the other day, I never got to see the new locomotive you got. I was just so excited to get home and rummage through my goodies (which I will have pics up soon)


----------



## RonthePirate

Been awhile between posts. But I have some good shots of the layout.
And except for adding details, the layout is done.
(Oh, I know they're never done! But at least there's no pink looking at you)

This is the mountain on the north side of the layout. Of course, there's Horace the dragon keeping watch for stock cars carrying sheep.
He's not allowed to "play" with cows.









A few views of the town and yard. I made a model of my old window tint shop.
I know the town is not complete. I need more houses and stores in.
But it's not bad for a start:




















The new coal company on top of the hill. The long trestle winds its way up there.
Oh, please excuse the mess underneath.










I also added my streetlights, lights in the buildings, and new LED headlamps to my engines. You'd be surprised at how much light they really do give off.


----------



## Magic

Looking good Pirate :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos:
Like the tint shop and Mel's diner. 

No pink foam is always a good thing. :appl: :appl:

Magic


----------



## RonthePirate

Yeah, pink starts looking at you after awhile!
Thanks, Magic.


----------



## time warp

Looks great, nice job. Actually building it, not just talking about it! Thanks for letting us see !!!!:appl:


----------



## Big Ed

The grass needs cutting! 

Looking good Ron.:smilie_daumenpos:

A thought, I was thinking? (smoke smoke).
How about adding a grass cutting type of tractor in the field somewhere, you can cut some of the grass behind it making it look like it is cutting/mowing the grass?


----------



## Guest

The layout looks great! You've gotten a lot done in a very short time. Excellent work.


----------



## time warp

Big Ed said:


> The grass needs cutting!
> 
> Looking good Ron.:smilie_daumenpos:
> 
> A thought, I was thinking? (smoke smoke).
> How about adding a grass cutting type of tractor in the field somewhere, you can cut some of the grass behind it making it look like it is cutting/mowing the grass?


HEY, Hay field!


----------



## Big Ed

time warp said:


> HEY, Hay field!



I was thinking that too.
Put a wagon with the tractor and make up some bales to place around.
An Amish man with a horse and wagon?


----------



## Mark Boyce

Ron, it is shaping up very nicely!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## VegasN

Nice Ron. It's good to see more of the layout. Excellent job!!


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## Overkast

The layout looks great Ron, and I can't believe you've gone from building a room to a near-completion of the layout in less than 1 year! Man, I am jealous... I still have so much more pink stuff to go!!! lol


----------



## RonthePirate

Thanks, Joe, Mark T.W. and VegasN! Appreciate the compliments!

Joe, there was a "haste makes waste" moment there. I had to rewire all my track. I started getting short circuits. That was from going too fast.
NOW, it's wired right. Color coded, tagged with either a + or - or the number on the circuit board.
And soldered and taped all connections.

Ed: I like your idea! I can get Amish (and Andyish.....joke joke) but they don't use tractors, remember? They're all manual labor guys.
But yeah, still a cool thought. Lemme try to expand on it a bit.
And I REALLY like the hay bales idea. There's a nice square field in there, just waiting to be shocked. (I think that's the right word)

Thank you, Overkast, and you're right, it has been less than a year. OMG!
I didn't even think about that.

You know that's a sad thing.........finding out you're good in construction at 67 years old!  
Makes me think I kinda missed my real calling.
Now the wife wants a new front porch.
OK, but she's gonna have to wait till the temps get below 90.
And maybe a bit longer to pay off the Lowe's bill.


----------



## Big Ed

RonthePirate said:


> Thanks, Joe, Mark T.W. and VegasN! Appreciate the compliments!
> 
> 
> 
> Ed: I like your idea! I can get Amish (and Andyish.....joke joke) but they don't use tractors, remember? They're all manual labor guys.
> But yeah, still a cool thought. Lemme try to expand on it a bit.
> And I REALLY like the hay bales idea. There's a nice square field in there, just waiting to be shocked. (I think that's the right word)


That is why I said "An Amish man with a horse and wagon?"

I get to drive through quite a lot of Amish land in Delaware,Pa and Maryland. We deliver to a couple of Amish farms in Delaware, we bring them their lamp oil, a blend that we blend up. They have a store, horse buggies come and go while I am pumping off.
We also picked up a lot of Amish hardware stores, nurseries and farms out in the greater Harrisburg area.

While I am trucking down the back roads I see them plowing the fields. Some of the Amish men remind me of the gladiators the way they plow the fields with 4 horses in front of them. 
They move right along, probably better then what a tractor could do.
And they deposit free fertilizer as they run around.


----------



## Lehigh74

I’ve been following this thread since you started and I have to agree with overcast. It’s impressive what you have accomplished in eight months.


----------



## RonthePirate

Big Ed said:


> That is why I said "An Amish man with a horse and wagon?"
> 
> While I am trucking down the back roads I see them plowing the fields. Some of the Amish men remind me of the gladiators the way they plow the fields with 4 horses in front of them.
> They move right along, probably better then what a tractor could do.
> And they deposit free fertilizer as they run around.


They use four horses?? Kind of a surprise. You would think one, maybe two would be enough.
(Oh, maybe for the extra fertilizer)
And yes.....you did say that. My bad, I didn't read.
I'm still on the tractor/hay idea. thinking....thinking.....

Lehigh74........thank you. I did rush too much at one point and ended up rewiring the track.
Shorts kept popping up. NOW it's done right.


----------



## RonthePirate

*A Brand New Main Line!*
I got bored with just the one line that goes in and out, so I put an addition to me elevated tracks.
It really doesn't have a purpose, passenger or freight, but it's fun to have two trains running at once.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Multi level is always neat, nice addition. :thumbsup:


----------



## Fire21

RonthePirate said:


> *
> It really doesn't have a purpose, passenger or freight, but it's fun to have two trains running at once.
> *


*

Well, there ya go...the primary purpose of any model railroad...FUN! :smilie_daumenpos:*


----------



## Guest

I like the elevated line a lot, Ron. Two trains running are much more fun than one.


----------



## RonthePirate

TY John, Fire21! So true about the fun.
Thanks to you too, Country! Yeah, cool to watch.


----------



## VegasN

Nice!! Good job Ron! Yes, I agree, more than one train running is so much more fun!!


----------



## ExONRcarman

But your dragon is gone! another poor animal pushed out of his habitat by the ever increasing invasion of the humans. He needs a higher mountain perch with a cave for a home. A shelf maybe?

In your one pic you have some unknown lage bird on your orange derrick, is your layout infested with large predatory avions? If so i can send my military train over for some target practice! lol
But you have done an amazing job, from the start!


----------



## time warp

I like it! Looks like lots of fun .

What's the significance of #6654?


----------



## Tucgary

Very nice addition Ron. Double your pleasure and double your fun!

Tucgary


----------



## IlliniViking

Very Nice Ron. I love the IC passenger set.


----------



## RonthePirate

ExONRcarman said:


> But your dragon is gone! another poor animal pushed out of his habitat by the ever increasing invasion of the humans. He needs a higher mountain perch with a cave for a home. A shelf maybe?
> 
> In your one pic you have some unknown lage bird on your orange derrick, is your layout infested with large predatory avions? If so i can send my military train over for some target practice! lol
> But you have done an amazing job, from the start!


 Someone remembered! Yes, my wife put Horace back in the house. He now guards the new UHD TV.

Our National bird was just repainted. He goes on top of my flag pole.
I thought it kinda looked like Rodan up there.
Godzilla comin' through the fields? (Just FYI: there is a remake of our world-famous dinosaur:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4262980/?ref_=nv_sr_2 )

By all means, route that military train over. But to make it look perfect, change the decals to Japanese! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh::laugh:


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## VegasN

That would be perfect!!


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## balidas

Nice work! And the 2nd level is a great addition altho I was thinking you would be doing that all along. It also looks like all your switches are now Marx.


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## RonthePirate

balidas said:


> Nice work! And the 2nd level is a great addition altho I was thinking you would be doing that all along. It also looks like all your switches are now Marx.


 Yes they are! There is a reason for that, and it involves only one piece of equipment.
My Ives 351. The Lionel turnouts would derail the Ives 100% of the time.
I think it's because the flanges are extra big on the engine.

Not one derail with the Marx turnouts with that engine
And to me, they seem to work better. Just better "kicking in", for lack of a better term.
Only thing is, some of the seem to get stuck and not go completely into the lock position sometimes. That causes derails, if I don't see it in time. I put oil on the moving switch point regularly.

I hadn't thought of that L route (Chicago boy in me, The L) at first. But I did see an awful lot of open space that said, fill me.
So I did.


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## VegasN




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## Guest

Thanks for the excellent video, Vegas.

Ron, you have made a lot of progress on the layout. It looks and runs great.


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## Mark VerMurlen

Yes, looks great!

Mark


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## VegasN

Country Joe said:


> Thanks for the excellent video, Vegas.
> 
> Ron, you have made a lot of progress on the layout. It looks and runs great.


My pleasure. Ron built a great train room, and built a nice layout to put in it!


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## RonthePirate

Thank you Joe, Mark. I appreciate the kind words.
Vegas, I can't thank you enough for a great video of my trains. I love the Taupe you went with. when the old stuff came rolling out.
I am glad you and the family stopped by. 
The silver was all accounted for.   
Anytime you want a replay, just call. 
We'll hit that Chinese buffet.


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## VegasN

Deal!

*of course the silver is intact.....I was looking for the gold*


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## RonthePirate

Well, thank you Photobucket for absoultely NOTHING! 
In your pre menopausal greed, you ruined the look of everything I worked on.
So I took snapshots of my pics in your gallery. You can't fight that, can you!
Anyway, fellow MTF people, here's what Photobucket took away from me:
Outside walls up, floor down.








Finished product:


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## MichaelE

Very nice. That's great to have your own building for the railroad.

And yes, Photobucket shot themselves in the foot. People I know abandoned them in droves when they tried extorting money from account holders.


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## MichaelE

RonthePirate said:


> *A Brand New Main Line!*
> I got bored with just the one line that goes in and out, so I put an addition to me elevated tracks.
> It really doesn't have a purpose, passenger or freight, *but it's fun to have two trains running at once.*
> 
> 
> I wouldn't build a layout where I couldn't run two unattended trains at once.
> 
> Good job.


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## RonthePirate

MichaelE said:


> RonthePirate said:
> 
> 
> 
> *A Brand New Main Line!*
> I got bored with just the one line that goes in and out, so I put an addition to me elevated tracks.
> It really doesn't have a purpose, passenger or freight, *but it's fun to have two trains running at once.*
> 
> 
> I wouldn't build a layout where I couldn't run two unattended trains at once.
> 
> Good job.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks, Michael. Unfortunately, because of the grades, I still have to keep a hand on the throttles. We don't want the City of New Orleans flying right into The Mississippi.
> 
> But yes, this was a labor of love.
> 
> And Photobucket was not acting alone.
> AOL, after years of free service, decided to start charging for their "free" account.
> Went to Protonmail.com.
> But the biggest greed factor was a chat site called Ryver. Great site, much nicer than Skype.
> They just sent out letters, their monthly fees will be $79.00 a month. For a CHAT LINE??
> Ryver just went down the river.
Click to expand...


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## VegasN

Hey, Ive seen that building.....


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