# A new layout for my new house!



## wiley2012

I know I haven't posted here for a couple years now, because I've been more active on the Bachmann and TYCO forums. Well, the TYCO forums are down for now, and I want to find a way to share the new model railroad layout I built this year, so here I am.
First, a background: later last year, we were finally going to be moving to a new house, as my parents had enough on living in a very old house on a busy street corner. So I figured since we were going to move and I was going to have to dismantle the model railroad layout I had at the time that I built in spring 2014, I figured I might as well design and build a brand new HO-scale model railroad layout for the new house we moved into! It helps that the basement is much bigger and easier to get around than at our old house, so I was able to make this layout a bit bigger than the old one, and try out a couple new ideas.
Although I reused the 4x8 plywood from the old layout, I also built all-new benchwork, and as a result the layout is now at eye level when I sit down to operate it, and the space underneath allows for storage of the containers I put my extra model train stuff in as well, hehe. I also built this current layout not being against any walls this time, as my space was set to be near the furnace, and plus I wanted to be able to walk around all sides of the layout anyway to make it easier to access all parts of it. 








It is set up as an 11x8 L-shape, and in constructing this layout I used 2-inch layers of extruded insulation foam from Lowe's (they sell it in a greenish color instead of the more common blue, but it still worked great for me!) and I also went with Bachmann's nickel-silver E-Z Track. It's much easier to put and keep together and aligned than it was with the snap-track on my old layout.
The track plan is loosely based off one I saw in "The HO Model Railroading Handbook - 3rd Edition" from 1998, but I modified it with an extension to make the L-shape. The landscaping is also new, and I reused much of my existing structures and accessories, along with some new ones, along with reusing my existing locomotives and rolling stock (of course.)








Here's my TYCO manual operating container loader/unloader on the job. On this layout I'm using Bachmann's undertrack uncoupling magnets located near such accessories or whatever. That lighted bumper is actually from Model Power's short-lived "Lock-It" roadbed track line that was designed to be compatible with E-Z Track (Bachmann didn't like that idea and filed a lawsuit over it.)








The freight train after coupling back to the caboose. Yep, cabooses still live on with my layout! Also note the Model Power 3-light signal.








Both my current trains passing through the downtown area of my layout. The street here is the Walthers Cornerstone Asphalt street system.








My TYCO Burger King and Life-Like Kentucky Fried Chicken that are part of the fast food district on my layout. The reason I put them near a railroad crossing is to mirror how it is in a nearby town from where I am (the Burger King was originally an old train station in said town.)








My A.H.M./TYCO Pizza Hut next to the Walthers Merchants' Row I kit, with a Dunkin' Donuts shop!








The downtown train station, consisting of a Life-Like Snap-Loc Dickerson Station kit and a Bachmann Plasticville station platform kit, with an Amtrak Superliner train stopped here to pick up and discharge passengers.








This intersection has a working Walthers Cornerstone/SceneMaster traffic light! Also note the custom marquee on the TYCO Center St. Loew's Movie Theater.








Bachmann Plasticville Post Office and Life-Like Hampden Fire Engine building kits. I also set up an old TYCO blinking traffic light to use as a fire station signal.








My TYCO Center Street Series II building kits. The school was custom-painted by a friend to look more like some of the old school buildings in my hometown.

More images to come in a follow-up post!

And here's a recent video I shot of the layout in action...





Hope you all like it! This has so far been my most elaborate and realistic-looking HO-scale train layout.


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## DonR

Great fun. Lots of action. Lots of interesting scenic
sets to see. And so important, quiet smooth running
trains.

One thought...have you considered a hand held
controller?. That would make switching and operating
accessories easier. You carry it to where the action is.

I use mine chiefly for switching. I set a train running
on the main controller and use the hand held to
work the yards and spurs.



Don


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## Shdwdrgn

Unfortunately it doesn't look like any of your pictures posted, but the video did come through. And you have my favorite, the Tyco unloading hopper.  I actually have a large collection of those, including all of the different prints. For the ones I use on my layout, I'll be working on a way to use an electromagnet to unload them through.

Nice video, you've got a lot going on there!


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## trainmeup

Wow Wiley2012! I love the layout of this track. I wish that I had this much room around my house to make something like this. Maybe when my kids start moving out.:appl:


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## AmtrackJim

I also could not view any pictures other than the video.


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## wiley2012

AmtrackJim said:


> I also could not view any pictures other than the video.


I have them on DropBox. How can I show them here?


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## tankist

Never posted pics hostedn gdrive or Dropbox, but if it's visible to you (I can't see them either) I'd wager it has to do something with folder permissions


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## DonR

Wiley

To post pictures easily here on the forum you simply
write your text then look above at the icon strip. Click
on the paper clip. That will present a new screen
with lines of BROWZE. Click on one and it will take
you to the pictures folder in your computer. Select
the photo you want to post and click open. You
can post as many pics as you like.

When done, again click the paper clip and your
pics will be attached to your text.

Don


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## wiley2012

It's working; thanks!

Here are some more pics...








The industrial rail yard, with the TYCO unloading boxcar in action. For these old TYCO Prestomatic accessories I raised each one using a 1/4" Woodland Scenics styrofoam section cut to fit and made up with the rest of the landscaping, and am using Atlas Code 100 nickel-silver Snap Track connected to the E-Z Track sections with Mehano's track clips (the same kind that A.H.M. and TYCO included in their later train sets.)








The freight train drops off the boxcar on that siding and picks up the now-loaded hopper car that came with Life-Like's operating coal tipple. Also note the hobos seen in the upper left.








Another shot of my industrial area, with an auto-carrier train parked there.








Bachmann's E-Z Track operating dual crossing gates. It looks pretty cheesy when in operation, but I like how it's now prototypically colored, compared to the original 70s version. Also note the Atlas Gateman Tower building kit next to the crossing.








TYCO's operating crossing gate; this is the early version made some time between 1968 and 1971 that had a more detailed base, smoother operation, and the track section could be replaced (on this, I swapped the original 9" brass track section with a nickel-silver Atlas Code 100 track section for better conductivity and consistency with the rest of the layout.) You can really see the similarity with the Bachmann crossing gate. Next to this crossing is the Life-Like Belvedere Hotel kit.








Dumping logs from my TYCO Log Dump car...








Life-Like Ace Supermarket, Mt. Vernon Manufacturing Company and Town Church building kits, and the 90s Bachmann Plasticville Silver Series Library kit and an IHC Exxon kit. The roads are the new Walthers SceneMaster adhesive street system made by Busch with American colors.








TYCO's lighted signal crossing. It works pretty simply but still gives off a fairly realistic effect (and is much better than Bachmann's attempt from the 80s and 90s!)








Bachmann's blinking oil tank; this is the newer version that uses an LED flasher.








TYCO's freight-unloading depot. Again, I raised it with a decorated Woodland Scenics 1/4" Styrofoam square to allow it to operate well with the E-Z Track. Also note the Atlas Jefferson High School building kit.








Life-Like's Snap-Loc commuter station building kit, next to the Exxon gas station and my combination TYCO operating hopper car with unloader and Life-Like Coal Yard Build-A-Scene kit.








The Life-Like Union Avenue School building kit from the 90s with a playground. It's summer vacation right now, but some kids are still enjoying the playground. You can also see a few of the houses here.








More of the residential area, along with my Bachmann E-Z Track blinking bridge. Compared to the old one from the 70s to the 90s, it uses nickel-silver rails and an LED flasher, so it draws much less current and causes no interference with train operation.








A couple of nice backyard scenes.








Here's what may be the most unique new feature of my layout: my Walthers Cornerstone Skyview Drive-In Theater kit! I just had to buy it because my hometown of Brockton used to have a drive-in called the Skyview. The movie screen is designed so you can fit a 7.9" tablet in it; I put a cheap Android tablet in the screen that is streaming old drive-in intermission snack bar trailers and advertisements from YouTube.








The farm on my layout. The vegetable garden was made using an old Bachmann scenic kit from the early 80s.








My Life-Like operating logging mill! I still need to finish the water bodies I carved into the layout, but so far it's looking pretty good.








My TYCO Arlee Station building kit next to the older version of Life-Like's Al's General Store kit that used labels of actual products; in the early 90s Life-Like switched to using generic and parody product names to avoid getting sued. There's also an NJ International Griswold crossing signal here, but it's not hooked up yet. I plan to get some kind of crossing signal controller soon to use with it.








One of the ledges I carved using the foam, with some wildlife and an old TYCO billboard.








Another ledge, this time with a campsite.








The TYCO Lighted Freight Station.








My control panel setup, which I also use for quick repairs or whatever, hence the tools and such. The TYCO pack provides AC output for the turnouts and Prestomatic accessories, and any nearby lights. Other lighted accessories are operated by a couple other train set power packs underneath the layout (one is a 90s-style Bachmann power pack, the other is a blue Life-Like power pack.)








An overview from another angle.


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## Shdwdrgn

So many memories there, and so many of the Tyco cars that I still have. Good stuff! I have a couple of those Tyco power packs, one of them doesn't go through the range correctly any more but it works great for going from zero power to full-on. I use it to power my arduino projects as I test out DCC circuits.


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## Magic

Wiley, that's one heck of a cool Tyco layout.
I LIKE IT.
Looks like it was fun to build and fun to operate.

Magic


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## riogrande

Classic toy train layout - packed to the gills.


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## MichaelE

I had a lot of those Tyco animated industry accessories on layouts in the '70's. Seems I was always getting one or the other for Christmas or a birthday.


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## wiley2012

MichaelE said:


> I had a lot of those Tyco animated industry accessories on layouts in the '70's. Seems I was always getting one or the other for Christmas or a birthday.


Yep; with my layout I like to combine older and newer stuff, and I also like to have some animated action besides the trains themselves. I mean, you have modern landscaping techniques used on extruded insulation foam, magnetic uncoupling, DCC and Bachmann nickel-silver E-Z Track, but also a lot of older buildings and accessories and "toy"-quality freight cars that I've upgraded with knuckle couplers, and on some with metal wheels.

Also, I tend to find running freight trains more interesting than passenger trains. While I find passenger trains to look pretty nice, all you can really do for operation is have them stop at stations to pick up and discharge imaginary passengers. With freight trains, there's a bit more to do, such as loading and unloading cargo at various sidings and such (either imaginary freight or the actual operating cars from TYCO and such), dropping off certain cars and picking them up at sidings, switching and uncoupling operations, etc. Though on my current layout I tend to like having both a passenger train and at least one freight train running at the same time. Especially since my current layout also includes an inner loop in the downtown area so I can have two running at the same time that way (my previous layouts didn't have such a track plan, and I figured since I now use DCC I thought I'd give it a try).

Also, I'm still reminded of all those unprototypical fantasy railroads TYCO had for their locomotives and several freight cars in the 70s and 80s, like the Chattanooga, the Comin' Round the Mountain, the Clementine, the Durango, the Golden Eagle, and most famously the Silver Streak.








I will admit they do look pretty cool, but I prefer to run locomotives with real roadnames on them, mostly the BNSF Railway (along with ATSF and Burlington Northern equipment) and Amtrak, and there I prefer operating more modern and upscale locomotives, often with DCC and/or flywheel motors, including locos from Athearn, modern Bachmann, Walthers, Mantua Classics, etc. Plus, I've heard quite a few horror stories about that cheap TYCO PowerTorque pancake motor, and I remember how Bachmann used to also use those fairly cheap Kader-made pancake motors in their locomotives until some time in the late 90s, when their train set locomotives began to use all-wheel drive can motors. Yet Life-Like still continued using their PowerDrive pancake motors until Walthers discontinued the train sets a couple years ago.


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## MichaelE

My first HO scale 'boxed' set was the Burlington Northern with the GP20 diesel in red and gray. IIRC, it came with a yellow low sided open top car, a box car, caboose, and maybe another car or two. Oval track and standard TYCO transformer.

I received that for my eighth or ninth birthday in the very early '70's. I've been hooked on HO since.


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## wiley2012

Well, Christmas is coming to my layout!









A photo I took almost a month ago before prepping it for the holidays, showing my auto-carrier train passing the regular freight train. It consists of the Bachmann BNSF GP40 (again, this was my first DCC locomotive), an Athearn auto-carrier car, a TYCO auto-carrier car and a Life-Like auto-carrier car, followed by the Bachmann BNSF caboose.









My current Christmas train consist. An IHC Santa Fe Consolidation 2-8-0 steam locomotive and tender (analog) pulling an AHM Holiday 1979 boxcar, a Bachmann Merry Christmas boxcar, a Mantua/TYCO Season's Greetings boxcar, a TYCO 50th anniversary boxcar, a Bachmann animated reindeer stock car, a Life-Like Christmas gondola, and IHC Santa Fe streamlined cupola caboose.









The downtown train station has been decorated with a "Santa's Landing" roof!









Christmas at the town church!









An apple orchard at the farm!









There's also a farmstand out front now, too!









The freight train loads coal into the hopper as the Christmas train chugs past.









Both trains passing each other.


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## Chops

Great stuff, Wiley!


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## Eilif

Looking good. I keep thinking that I need to pick up that truck servicing building.


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## Terry T.

That's quite the Metropolis you have going on there Wiley. Good job.


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## wiley2012

Eilif said:


> Looking good. I keep thinking that I need to pick up that truck servicing building.


Right here...
https://www.walthers.com/truck-repair-shop-kit

It was also sold by TYCO and IHC in the past.


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## wiley2012

Got me a new locomotive...









A Bachmann Spectrum Baldwin Consolidation steam locomotive, in the ATSF roadname of course! This is the mid-2000s DCC-ready version. Aside from missing a couple details, when I first got it I was told it had a short in the tender, but it turns out it was because the wheels in the tender trucks were positioned incorrectly. So I re-installed them as shown on the diagram, plugged a TCS DPX2-UK decoder into the board, and now it runs very well. (Though after plugging in the decoder, I had to remove the original yellow capacitor as instructed on the TCS website, as the decoder has its' own capacitor built in.)
Very nicely detailed, and the shell even feels metallic. (Was it die-cast or something?)
Bachmann still makes this locomotive today, but it's no longer branded as a Spectrum model, but still has the same high quality.









Hey look! Santa Claus is in town! But wait, is it REALLY Santa? The neighbors say it's just the father of the kids living in that house, and every year on Christmas Eve he dresses up as Santa and goes down their chimney to lay the presents under the tree.









The Consolidation pulling my Christmas train through the town as the BNSF local freight passes on the other track.









Another nice shot of the Christmas train with its' new DCC motive power.


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## Shdwdrgn

It's funny, I have the 90's version of that loco in an 0-6-0 with the slope-back tender (marked as 2126), but I just finished converting it to a 2-6-0 and picked up the larger tender. I had to convert it to DCC myself but it seems to be a good running loco. I definitely like it better in this new configuration though.


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## wiley2012

Shdwdrgn said:


> It's funny, I have the 90's version of that loco in an 0-6-0 with the slope-back tender (marked as 2126), but I just finished converting it to a 2-6-0 and picked up the larger tender. I had to convert it to DCC myself but it seems to be a good running loco. I definitely like it better in this new configuration though.


Yeah, it's amazing how Bachmann is keeping so many older products alive, albeit in new and improved versions (at least for the locomotives and rolling stock, though their blinking bridge and oil tank also now use LED flashers). The Baldwin Consolidation also now comes in a DCC sound-equipped version.

I also shot a video this morning...


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## wiley2012

The Christmas train passing through one of the town railroad crossings. Imagine the drivers' surprise to see a train with a steam engine roll through the crossing instead one of the usual diesels!









The stream coming from the logging mill.









Rail travel gets pretty busy during the holidays!









The freight train now pulled by my Walthers BNSF "Fakebonnet" Dash 8-40BW, with the TYCO ATSF wide-vision caboose at the end.









An overview of my three trains currently on the layout.


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## wiley2012

Well, Christmas is over, so here's an interesting update...









I've got my Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive in revenue freight service now! Smaller freights, and it may be anachronistic with the rest of my layout, but so what? It looks cool!









Said freight train stopping at the logging mill...









Loading logs...









The steam-powered freight passing a more modern (and longer) BNSF freight train.


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## 89Suburban

Looks great!  What size radius tracks are you running there?


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## wiley2012

89Suburban said:


> Looks great!  What size radius tracks are you running there?


18" radius. It's cheaper and fits among the dimensions I need, and virtually all my equipment works well on it (even if my Amfleet and Superliner cars overhang a bit like Lionel passenger cars). I even have a Mehano-made Alco Century 628 12-wheeled diesel that handles the 18" radius turnouts pretty well (probably because it was aimed at consumers and often included in such train sets from companies like AHM, Life-Like, Model Power, even TYCO in their waning years!)


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## wiley2012

A few more new pics...









The back half of my longer BNSF freight currently has all TYCO rolling stock! Meanwhile, the steam engine crew is awaiting their next orders.









I already got a controller and detection unit for this railroad crossing, and will soon wire up the signals to it!









This part of the road still isn't finished yet, so I thought I'd close it off until I do! At least the train station can still be accessed by passing through the Pizza Hut parking lot.









The Amtrak train passing through the downtown station.









The BNSF freight dropping off crates at a TYCO Prestomatic bin...









It's pretty busy at this train station right now...









An overview of the residential area with the Amtrak train stopped at the nearby station.


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## Magic

That's a nice layout, looks like it was fun to build and even more fun to operate.

Magic


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## wiley2012

Magic said:


> That's a nice layout, looks like it was fun to build and even more fun to operate.
> 
> Magic


Sure is! And I've got more pics...









Giving my tracks a once-over in an anachronistic but cool manner!









A nighttime action shot at the residential area and the Skyview drive-in theater!









Another action shot in the dark. Looks a lot more like a real city or town this way!









The Skyview Drive-In is still doing well on my layout! Sorry for the crossbuck on the road; I was still positioning things.









For this run, I put my Walthers Trainline BNSF bay-window caboose at the end! It does look neat, but I find I like the look of a caboose with the cupola on top better.









Double Dash-8s! For pulling an HO-scale freight train with more than ten cars, I find consisting to help quite a bit, just like the real thing.









Trying some repositioning. I removed the TYCO lighted colonial house, as the interior lighting was broken anyways, and made a bit more space for the high school. I even put it right across from one of the elementary schools, like I've seen in some towns (the neighboring town of West Bridgewater, MA has both its' elementary schools and the middle/high school in one general area so they are close to each other.)









But I DID get a neat new structure: the Walthers Cornerstone Hole-In-One Donut Shop! Since it's molded in three colors and they recommend some painting for it, I thought I'd paint the decorative prop donut up like a Simpsons donut! I moved the Cornerstone newsstand over to a different, next door to the post office now.









The Exxon gas station now has an illuminated sign, made by Life-Like Trains.









An overview of this part of the layout, with new positioning of the high school with an added garage. This looks a bit more realistic now, especially with the TYCO freight unloading depot being so close to the high school originally. Maybe I'll put up a fence between that and the school parking lot.


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## J.Albert1949

wiley wrote:
_"The Skyview Drive-In is still doing well on my layout!"_

You're showing the wrong movie!
You should be showing the Burt Lancaster film, "The Train" !!
Or maybe "Von Ryan's Express" with Sinatra !!


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## wiley2012

J.Albert1949 said:


> You're showing the wrong movie!
> You should be showing the Burt Lancaster film, "The Train" !!
> Or maybe "Von Ryan's Express" with Sinatra !!


Relax; that's just the pre-movie intermission! 
But anyways, here are more new pics!









The current setup on this side of the Main St. area of downtown, with the new donut shop and relocating the newsstand. 









Disaster strikes! One of the turnouts apparently malfunctioned and opened by itself, leading to this head-on collision! At least the locomotives didn't blow up in the wreck, like in the movies or TV.









Some time after the train wreck. I disguised this leftover unused turnout wire with some lychen, as I often see shrubs growing next to railroad tracks in real life. (Because the turnout is right next to my control platform, there is no need for me to operate it via remote.)









Just a shot with both my operating crossing gates in action. Next to the station I plan to get an operating NJ International crossing signal and gate to wire up there with a crossing signal detection/flasher unit (probably Logic Rail Tech's Grade Crossing Pro.)









Speaking of that railroad crossing, I've provided a booster terminal connection to the inner loop, replacing the regular rerailer with a terminal rerailer. I've read in a few books that it's wise to provide a booster connection opposite or away from the main terminal connection on a large layout, especially if using DCC with multiple locomotives.









An overview showing my current freight train consists. After that head-on train wreck, when cleaning and repairing them I decided to switch around the rolling stock. I also unhooked the TYCO ATSF wide-vision caboose from my main BNSF freight as I decided it looked a little too toylike, and put my Walthers Trainline BNSF bay-window caboose at the end of the train for the time being.









Plus, having my hoboes ride in a freight train pulled by a steam locomotive looked a bit more appropriate.


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## wiley2012

Been quite a while, but I got a new engine!








Yup, a Mantua Classics Santa Fe GP20 "Yellowbonnet" diesel! It's the DCC-ready version, as sold by MRC/Model Power. A pretty good runner. I also plugged a TCS T1 decoder into the 9-pin plug, and it operates very nicely using that decoder.









Once I get better with decals, I might patch small "BNSF" logos under the road numbers. After all, the numbers are already not in the original ATSF font anyways, so it would give a fairly realistic appearance of a BNSF-renumbered "Yellowbonnet" diesel, like the real-life surviving "Yellowbonnet" locomotives out there.









Trying out some double-heading power here, hooking my Walthers BNSF GP9M behind the GP20. Of course we know that GP9M uses Cox's old tooling, but is a much better-quality locomotive, in several ways quite similar to the MRC/Mantua GP20, or the modern base-line Bachmann diesels.

















Trying out the new Bosch/Walthers adhesive parking lots on my layout.









Unloading crates from the TYCO operating boxcar again...









I've got my Athearn Amtrak Phase III P40 locomotive pulling the Amtrak cars now. The rear coupler on my Walthers Mainline Amtrak F40PH broke; it was an E-Z Mate with plastic spring, so I'm going to replace it with a Kadee #26 coupler (due to the placement of the back coupler pocket on the F40PH.) Plus, I like to alternate my motive power from time to time.


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## wiley2012

Some more photos...









Newer Mantua Santa Fe GP20 meets its' 40-year-old TYCO equivalent!









The main freight stops at the Plasticville freight station.









Anachronistic, but cool-looking!









I upgraded some more TYCO cars with Intermountain 33" metal wheels.









A nice shot of the BNSF freight and Amtrak passenger trains next to each other.









I finally got around to replacing the damaged pilot/cowcatcher on my Bachmann Baldwin 2-8-0 steam engine! It does make an interesting visual difference.









The industrial area of my train layout, with an AHM freight carrier!


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## Chops

Looking great, Wiley. Love the Amtrak consist. A lot of talk is given that 
"22" radii as a minimum is a "gold standard," but I rather find that having 
something that works well is more important. At the end of the day, modellor's 
are achieving selective compression, and that you have created something 
amazing and works well is all that counts, in my book. Well done!


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## reggfx

Very Impressive! And Nice Scenery!

I too am a long time Tyco fan. I recently unboxed my ol Tyco layout from when I was a kid. It sat tucked away for nearly 40 yrs in different garages from move to move! 
Looks like you are using EZ Track?

I too use Easy track. Have you ever considered ballasting your EZ Track? 

I've come up with a simple way and has really added a touch of authenticity visually. Its probably one of the better tutorials out there. If you don't mind... I'll share it with you at the following link:






Finally I made sure my track layout was final which was in place for about a year.
It took a few practice tracks on a side table but got really good at my inventive process. And it looks like Ballast, NOT a powdery applied mess. What helped was I invented a process by modifying a ballast tool from Prepose.

Anyway just a thought.

Again really great layout. Love the Tycos!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## wiley2012

reggfx said:


> Very Impressive! And Nice Scenery!
> 
> I too am a long time Tyco fan. I recently unboxed my ol Tyco layout from when I was a kid. It sat tucked away for nearly 40 yrs in different garages from move to move!
> Looks like you are using EZ Track?
> 
> I too use Easy track. Have you ever considered ballasting your EZ Track?
> 
> I've come up with a simple way and has really added a touch of authenticity visually. Its probably one of the better tutorials out there. If you don't mind... I'll share it with you at the following link:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Finally I made sure my track layout was final which was in place for about a year.
> It took a few practice tracks on a side table but got really good at my inventive process. And it looks like Ballast, NOT a powdery applied mess. What helped was I invented a process by modifying a ballast tool from Prepose.
> 
> Anyway just a thought.
> 
> Again really great layout. Love the Tycos!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Nice! Maybe I'll try that method...


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## reggfx

wiley2012 said:


> Nice! Maybe I'll try that method...


Practice first on a few tracks on the side. I was nervous at first. But I got better. You still have marvelous layout!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## AmtrackJim

REG.GFX

The link to your video does not work on the method to ballast EZ track


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## wiley2012

For this holiday season, I thought I'd try something a little different!









The town church decorated for Christmas.









Santa Claus talking with kids behind the church.









The downtown train station decorated for Christmas.









Just a typical school day scene.









Giving the tracks a once-over.

Now here's the big new project I am doing for this holiday season...








Yep, it's been snowing on my layout! I figured since we were actually getting some snow where I am this December for a change, my model train layout should experience winter as well. I'm using 1/4-inch Woodland Scenics styrofoam sheets cut to fit and then made up with Woodland Scenics "snow" material! They are designed so I can store them after winter and then place them on the layout again for next Christmas! Plus, the little foam shavings also make for a pretty realistic simulation of plowed snow! (But I vacuumed the tracks before running my trains through that area.) This is still a work in progress; I'm hoping to have more grassy areas covered with snow before Christmas Eve.









A small boy and his sled walking past the old freight station.

















The Christmas train makes its' way through the snowy landscape!









New to my layout this year is a Christmas tree lot! The figures and such come from Preiser and Walthers.


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## wiley2012

Just some holiday shoppers.









Now there is snow around the windmill!









More snow in the town!

















Amtrak rolling through the partial snow-covered scape.









Hey, is that the real Santa in someone's chimney? Or is it the father dressed up as Santa to fool the kids? Regardless, he can't use the sleigh and reindeer since not many places have snow on Christmas anymore, like Brockton.









Kids in the snow near one of the railroad crossings.

Here's a video, too!


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## wiley2012

Christmas has been over for a while now on my layout...









I've brought the Mantua GP20 out for a bit while I give the steam engine a rest.









One of my Christmas presents this year for my model train layout was a set of Woodland Scenics train station figures and accessories, most of which I placed at the Arlee Station.









Alleycats at a trash can. This is from Woodland Scenics's "Dogs and Cats" figure pack.









Said pack also included ANOTHER dog urinating at a fire hydrant. I couldn't resist adding it downtown, because it does remind me of how my dog is obsessed with marking her territory at hydrants.









The Amtrak train passes through the wintery landscape.









People throwing away their Christmas trees after the holiday.


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## wiley2012

Some more photos...









Trying out a longer freight consist as part of running my main freight on the outer loop that passes through the woods and the residential neighborhood.









An auto-carrier train stops for the main freight.









The Amtrak train rolls through the TYCO crossing gate.









The main freight dropping off a hopper car to be unloaded at the coal yard.









The freight rolling through the TYCO lighted signal crossing.









The Amtrak train stopped at the downtown station.









The freight rolling across the Bachmann E-Z Track blinking truss bridge.


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## Riggzie

man lovin this setup!!!

i sold an amtrak train and cars on evay years ago. didnt fair well. after fees and free shipping.. cost me $12... oh well. woulda kept it if i knew cuz i like it.


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## wiley2012

I've been setting up more Life-Like winter trees, including their wintery evergreen/pines.









The Amtrak local passing through the wintery woods...









...and stopping at the Arlee Station.









This year marks the 40th anniversary of the official debut of Phase III, my favorite Amtrak paint scheme! They began making F40PHs with that paint scheme in 1980, along with the AEM-7 electrics going into service that year, and Amtrak slowly starting to update their existing older locomotives and rolling stock with it (their EMD F-units started being painted in Phase III as early as 1980.)









My auto-carrier train in action! The Mantua Classics GP20 is pulling Athearn, Life-Like and TYCO's auto-carrier cars with a TYCO wide-vision caboose at the end.









I also found the time to install my Bachmann E-Z Command Walk-Around Companion control unit, along with the plug for it going into another end of the layout. Maybe I'll get a second plug to put at the end where the logging mill and drive-in theater are at.


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## wiley2012

Been a while, but I got some more updates!

The following photos were taken in March:








Spring comes to my town, with the snow melting! (In reality, the decorated styrofoam snow pieces were removed and placed in storage until next Christmas.)









There was still leftover bits of foam and "snow" material from the removal, but I left it there for a month to create the realistic illusion of the winter-spring transition, combined with the barren trees.









The freight train rolls over a small pond and river underneath the Bachmann E-Z Track blinking bridge.

The following photos were taken in June...








Now the transition from spring to summer is happening on my layout! All the snow is melted away, and I swapped out the barren trees for spring trees!









That couple is back up at the Lover's Lane, even with the new billboard for the Skyview Drive-In being there!









The swimming pool behind the Plasticville Suburban Split Level has been reopened, and the family next door are having barbecues again!









My town is NOT being affected by the current coronavirus crisis, and everyone is well and businesses and schools are thriving. But many of the residents here that work as doctors and nurses have to frequently commute to the big city via Amtrak to treat and test patients during the crisis!









Even the Skyview Drive-In Theater is reopened and doing pretty well!









Another family gets ready to go on a picnic, like in the olden days!









The freight trains are still busy here, like this one unloading logs at the TYCO Prestomatic bin. One of the boxcars is also loaded with toilet paper to ship during this crisis


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## wiley2012

I've been doing other things this summer, but with the pandemic going on I've actually found some more time to work on my model train layout! (Usually I don't really start working on it again until autumn starts.) Here are some more recent photos, from August…

















Recently I took a couple of spare Life-Like diamond road signs and customized them to warn motorists that a side road they are approaching has a railroad crossing shortly after the turn, just like the ones in real life.









Drive-in movie theaters are enjoying a healthy business thanks to the pandemic, and the Skyview Drive-In is no exception! The Android tablet's Wi-Fi connection is getting flakey, so I downloaded some drive-in theater intermission videos as MP4s onto a micro-SD card and loaded that into the tablet.









Just a nice shot of the farm on the layout.









An overview.









The main BNSF freight passes my Walthers DCC-equipped BNSF GP9M pulling the TYCO crane car and boom tender.









Another railroad crossing accident on the layout! Luckily the driver got out of the car in time.









The main BNSF freight unloading crates from the TYCO operating boxcar.









The Amtrak train stopped at the TYCO Arlee Station. It does make for an interesting sight seeing the Amfleet cars next to the building like that.









The main freight having passed through the railroad crossing protected by Bachmann's non-operating Plasticville railroad crossing they've been making since the early 1970s, posed in this picture with the gates rising.


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## wiley2012

Here are more photos!









Summer has ended on my train layout and the kids are actually going back to school! Like I said, my town is safe from the pandemic.









Another view of the schools. I might soon add an expansion to the high school.









The hobos still hanging out in the railroad yard.









The Center Street School back in session.









I find a railroad yard like this a perfect place to put older operating accessories like the TYCO Prestomatic bins for my operating boxcar and log dump car, the Life-Like coal tipple and lighted yard tower, the TYCO lighted factory and the AHM freight carrier. The Pola trucking terminal (Walthers Trainline version) also looks good there too.









For now I've switched to GE power for my main freight, with a pair of BNSF "Fakebonnets" (Walthers Trainline Dash 8-40BW with decoders hardwired into them) hauling the freight cars.









During this operating session, when I was running the Amtrak train, something went wrong and the second Amfleet car ended up uncoupling from the first car and the F40PH locomotive. Luckily I noticed what happened before a wreck could happen, and set up so that my little BNSF work train would push the uncoupled Amfleet cars back to the rest of the train, similar to real-life railroad operation.









Another shot of my BNSF work train pushing the Amtrak cars, consisting of my Bachmann DCC-equipped GP40 that came with my E-Z Command unit pulling the TYCO crane car and boom tender, the Santa Fe versions of course!









The Amtrak train all together again pulling into the downtown station, only a little late.









The GE Fakebonnet-led BNSF freight rolling past the Skyview Drive-In Theater, now with a playground!


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## vette-kid

I really like your drive in! 

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk


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## Magic

A fun layout with a lot of details and imitation.
I like it.  

Magic


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## wiley2012

Some more new pics, especially since I now have another locomotive I installed a DCC decoder into!









My Walthers Trainline BNSF "Heritage II" Dash 8-40BW heads up the main freight, with a slightly patched Santa Fe Warbonnet behind it.









To go with the two Walthers Trainline Dash-8 engines, I pulled out my Walthers Trainline BNSF bay window caboose. 









The freight train passing by my farm again.









The freight passing my short BNSF work train consisting of the Bachmann "Heritage IV" GP40 locomotive and TYCO Santa Fe crane car and boom tender.









After the last set of pics were taken, I rearranged my main freight a bit and had my Walthers Trainline BNSF "Fakebonnet" Dash 8-40BW locomotive be up front with the "Heritage II" behind it, based off how I've seen some real-life configurations, even done to this day (though real-life "Fakebonnet" locomotives are rare nowadays, with many having been repainted in the orange BNSF colors.)









I also added a driveway to my TYCO Lighted Ranch House with a diagonally-cut styrofoam piece painted black. Now the car can get in and out of the garage easily!









A nice shot of the main freight stopped so a pipe section can be unloaded from the TYCO Freight Unloading Depot.









A shot of the Unloading Depot itself in action.









An overview of the layout.


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## wiley2012

The main freight switching onto the inner track loop, passing the work train.









The freight train unloading crates from the Operating Boxcar.









A neat shot of the Amtrak passenger train approaching the Arlee Station with the Skyview Drive-In theater in the background.









The BNSF freight train passing through the TYCO Operating Crossing Gate.









A nice shot of the TYCO Drug Store, with a little newsstand (a Scenic Accents pack from Woodland Scenics) in front of the store.









The BNSF freight train rolling past the Skyview Drive-In on a busy evening.









I installed a second light inside the concession/projection building to create the illusion of a movie projector coming out of the openings!


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## flyboy2610

Looks like a fun layout!


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## Riggzie

This is simply amazing!!!!!

I put all of my trains away.. O and HO... as I was going to finish my master bathroom and list my house. Corona hit the market and houses are selling immediately and for stupid prices...
so we are searching but nothing has stood out yet... once it does, someday, then i will be back at it.

keep up the good work!


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## BigGRacing

very nice Wiley!
Its a great inspiration to keep me building and collecting.....I have a long way to go....lol


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## wiley2012

Christmas is coming to my train layout!









The Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive and tender is brought out to be checked on…

















My latest main freight consist. I switched back to using my Bachmann (BN)SF GP40-2 diesels for pulling the rolling stock, mostly TYCO with a couple of Life-Like cars and a Bachmann BNSF caboose to go with the lead locomotive (again, the one that came with my E-Z Command DCC set when I bought it over six years ago for my previous layout!)









The Christmas train, raring and ready to go! I might buy a new car or two for it this holiday season.









Santa Claus visiting kids at the church.









The downtown train station is decorated for Christmas!









The first snow of the season! I'm reusing the quarter-inch styrofoam pieces I decorated with "snow material" from Woodland Scenics, and am making new ones for additional coverage as well.









I also bought one of those winter-colored Hawthorne Village versions of Bachmann's E-Z Track Dual Crossing Gate to go with the snow on the layout.









The Christmas tree lot set up behind a newsstand, with the town tree not too far from it!


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## wiley2012

More pics of my Christmasy layout...









Well, my mid-1970s TYCO Pak I use for powering the turnouts, TYCO Prestomatic accessories and nearby lights burned out after the last set of pics, so I replaced it with this 1980s Bachmann power pack that's so far getting the job done.









Look! Santa Claus is riding on the caboose of my Christmas train!









The Christmas train stops for the Amtrak local traveling through the snow.









Still quite a few holiday travelers on my layout, which isn't affected by the real-life pandemic thankfully.









Just a shot of the main BNSF freight unloading crates from the TYCO operating boxcar. Sometimes the crates go flying onto the nearby street though.









The Christmas train passes through the snowscape and past the BNSF freight.









A new addition to my Christmas train: a Walthers Trainline Santa Claus Coal Express hopper!









Now I've got nearly 3/4 of the layout covered with snow in areas where it'd normally be. Now I need to restock on barren trees…


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## wiley2012

A new video of the snow-covered layout!


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## Boischaut

Well done. I really like this kind of layouts.


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## DavefromMD

I'm looking at your benchwork and am wondering how did you brace the corners to prevent rocking of the platform?


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## wiley2012

DavefromMD, I guess it's the way I built the corner legs that causes them to not rock. Thinking of adding a couple extra 2-by-4s for bracing...
It's Christmas Eve, and here's some more new pics!









My current Amtrak consist, based off a bit in the 1989 Christmas movie "Prancer," when at the start of the downtown scene when the wooden Prancer reindeer falls out of a Christmas decoration, an Amtrak train with an F40PH locomotive, two Amfleet coaches and an Amfleet snack car passes by in the background.









Overview of the snow-covered layout. It's too bad my hometown can't look like this at Christmas…









The Christmas train stopping at the TYCO lighted freight station.









Bringing home a Christmas tree for the family…









A kid with a sled near the TYCO lighted signal crossing and freight unloading depot.









Is that Santa Claus going down the chimney of a house? But there's no sled, so it might just be the father there dressed up as Santa in order to put presents under the Christmas tree…









Another father returns home with a Christmas tree for his family.









It's especially busy at the church with families making a last-minute visit with Santa Claus…


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## wiley2012

Some more pics from when the difficult year of 2020 wrapped up (though not difficult on my layout!)









A Bachmann E-Z Track blinking bumper I got for Christmas. I always found lighted bumpers to look neat, especially on a DCC layout.









I am now using a 1990s-style blue Life-Like power pack for providing AC power to my turnouts and several operating accessories and lights. A power pack I am VERY familiar with from my childhood, from my early years of playing with HO-scale electric trains.









People putting out their Christmas trees for the garbage collectors!









A nice show of the snow-covered residential area and both schools.









The BNSF freight passing by the Amtrak local.









The TYCO freight-unloading depot operating in the snow!









A nice shot of the train layout operating with several of the basement lights off, showing how alive the layout can be with all its' lights!









I recently got a Life-Like SceneMaster 2-target operating railroad signal that I placed near the Bachmann railroad crossing for the outer loop of track.









I bought a second Bachmann Plasticville freight station and combined some parts from my old one. The door to the office won't really fit in, though…









An overview of my BNSF freight consist of the time, mostly pulling TYCO and a couple of Life-Like freight cars.


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## wiley2012

Here's another update with more pics, including a couple of projects I've been working on, and a video as well!









As 2021 begins, school resumes on my layout, including the high school here (complete with fighting students)…









…along with the elementary school across the street.









Just a nice overview shot as the main BNSF freight unloads coal from the hopper car into the coal yard…









The Amtrak train stopped at the downtown station with both platforms being in use.









What I'm going to try and do here is my first attempt at a railroad crossing with a detection/flasher unit! I'm trying out Logic Rail Technologies's Grade Crossing Pro, the older version, to be wired up to these Model Power crossing signals (they use incandescent bulbs; Lionel now makes them with LEDs.)









Installing the photocell sensors is pretty tricky, especially with the foam base and the Bachmann E-Z Track, but an advantage of the latter is how the plastic roadbed is pretty good at holding the sensors in place! I am still waiting for the spool of hook-up wire I ordered to arrive before I resume the installation.









But what I WAS able to do was a conversion project where I took a DCC-ready Mantua Classics GP20 with a slightly damaged shell (but the chassis was all good) and installed a TYCO Santa Fe 5628 GP20 shell onto the chassis and plug a TCS T1-LED decoder into the chassis's DCC plug. Now I've got a nice-looking DCC TYCO locomotive with LED lightning and all-wheel drive! Maybe once I perfect decal application I'll apply little BNSF lettering decals under the cab road numbers, like I've seen on numerous real ex-Santa Fe locomotives that were not repainted yet.









The main freight hauled by the GP20 dropping off crates from the TYCO operating boxcar…









…and rolling through the TYCO crossing gate. If the installation with the Model Power signals all goes well, my next crossing detection/flasher installation will involve me replacing the plastic lenses in that TYCO crossing gate with red LEDs and wiring it to another Grade Crossing Pro unit with sensors, to breathe new life into a classic accessory! (And if that works, I may even install a Tortoise switch machine and hook the crossing gate up to that so it doesn't have to use the pressure plate!)









An all-TYCO consist! This is what I went with for this video…




Of course to go with the TYCO motif I show off the TYCO operating boxcar and log dump car as well! I still need to do something about that one uncoupling magnet that doesn't seem to work properly though...


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## wiley2012

Another update, especially with an interesting new feature on the layout…









The main BNSF freight passing my TYCO-esque work train.









Yep, I put a dynamic brake on the TYCO GP20 shell! It does look pretty neat that way.









Another shot of my freight consist at the time.









The TYCO works train, with my Burlington Northern floodlight car bringing up the rear (to keep with the BNSF motif).









Today my dad and I installed an additional ceiling light, to improve the lighting conditions on my layout.









I also wired up a Logic Rail Technologies Grade Crossing Pro detection/flasher unit to my Model Power crossing signals, along with the photocell sensors being installed in the E-Z Track (a bit of extra drilling work, but the roadbed base is pretty convenient in holding the sensors in place!) It took quite a bit of trial and error to get the signals and the sensors wired up just right, and then adjust the sensitivity of the photocell sensors (once the new ceiling light was installed they operated a lot better!) I am pretty pleased with the results. Some time this year I'll probably get another Grade Crossing Pro unit and signalize another one of my crossings (probably put LEDs in my TYCO crossing gate and make it flash!)









Just another shot of the TYCO freight unloading depot in action amidst the snow.

And here's a video of the Model Power crossing signals in action once I had the sensors wired and adjusted properly!


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## Magic

The flashers look great, just the right speed.
Nice looking Tyco layout. 

Magic


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## BigGRacing

What an awesome collection and layout! Thank you for sharing the video and photos! I love it


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## wiley2012

Here are some more updates…









I recently added an A.H.M. gondola and Life-Like container flatcar to my main freight consist, just to vary things up a bit. The pic also shows a TYCO piggyback trailer parked at the loader/unloader.









For a while I pulled out my Bachmann Bluetooth-equipped BNSF GP35 locomotive for my little work train consisting of the 70s TYCO crane car and boom tender.









The main freight being pulled by my Walthers Trainline BNSF Dash 8-40BWs. Unfortunately on the Fakebonnet (533) one of the pickup wires came disconnected from the truck, so for now it's out of commission until I can solder it back on (ugh!)









The TYCO operating boxcar in action, once again.









The Amtrak local approaching the Arlee Station, with the Model Power crossing signals flashing to alert motorists.









The main freight consist for much of this month, on the outer loop of the layout.









I even put together a second smaller freight train to run alongside the main freight and the Amtrak local! Here the freight is getting logs from the Life-Like logging mill…









The smaller freight pulling out of the logging mill siding and preparing to hook back up to the caboose.









Both trains running alongside each other in a layout overview, before the BNSF Fakebonnet began to have the problem I mentioned.
So for the time being, I put my Bachmann BNSF GP40s back in front of the main freight and had my Mantua/TYCO DCC-equipped Santa Fe GP20 pull the smaller freight.


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## wiley2012

Well, now that it's March, it's transitioning from winter to spring on my train layout!









Overview with much of the snow having melted.









A very simple grade crossing in the rail yard so vehicles can access the log dump and coal tipple bins from this side.









There's still bits of the "snow" ground cover that I left intact for now to represent melting snow, alongside the barren trees still being in place.









A downside to having a train station next to a railroad crossing is the line of vehicles waiting for the train to pull out so they can continue across the tracks! (Then again, most of my crossings are along the edges of the layout.)









The old Life-Like apple trees in the orchard were getting ratty-looking, so I bought "new" ones to take their place, as if to rejuvenate the orchard. I also moved the Plasticville picket fence a bit so that the orchard is in the same fenced area as the farmhouse and vegetable garden.









I put my Woodland Scenics hobo figures in my TYCO CP Rail 40' boxcar! Here they are riding past some other fellow hoboes…









I put a clean-up crew around the Life-Like coal tipple; an idea I found in one of Life-Like's Basics for Beginners 32-page booklets included with their train sets. I also relocating the uncoupling magnet to a better spot so that the freight cars uncouple better when I want to load and/or unload cargo in the rail yard.









Now that spring's coming, I'm doing a bit of touch-up landscaping to areas where grass may have been accidentally rubbed or vacuumed off. Compare this shot to the third picture back further up…


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## BigGRacing

Wiley,
Thanks for the great pics, it’s a great inspiration for my layout which is very similar in shape. Is there any chance of getting a pic with a view from that shelf in the back looking down at the old coal tower where the spur meets up with your ovals ?
thank you if possible


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## wiley2012

March is ending, and with it comes some more new pics of my train layout…









The Skyview Drive-In Theater is undergoing some minor repairs and touch-ups for when it reopens.









Both the main BNSF freight and the Amtrak local passing through the railroad crossings located near the Operation Lifesaver billboard! (An Athearn product.)









Lovers' Lane is open again, now that the snow has melted, and the cops are back on patrol there.









Now the Skyview Drive-In is open again, and already getting busy!









This guy on the right watch the movies on the drive-in screen from his backyard, but it'll be hard to hear the movie without one of those speakers…









Just some crewmen in the railroad yard spurs.

















Trying out having my Walthers Mainline Amtrak F40PH pull my older TYCO and Life-Like Amtrak 72' streamlined cars, to resemble an older Amtrak long-distance overnight passenger train passing through the town.









Figured I'd get a shot of the train with the TYCO cars stopping at the TYCO Arlee Station.









The BNSF freight unloads crates from the TYCO Operating Boxcar as the Amtrak local passes by (with the Amfleet cars back on.)


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## wiley2012

Spring is in full bloom now where I am, including on my model train layout...









Pretty soon, this swimming pool will be opened up again before you know it!









Another shot of the layout showing a few of the spring trees.









For now I gave my Bachmann GP40s a rest at hauling the main BNSF freight and had two of my Walthers Trainline Dash 8-40BWs pull it. (I still need to repair the pickup wire connection in my other BNSF Fakebonnet once I learn to solder!)









Overview of the freight consist running on the outer loop. With the exception of the AHM gondola, the Life-like container flatcar and the Walthers Trainline bay window caboose, all the rolling stock is TYCO!









Thought I'd get a shot of the BNSF Dash 8 going through the Bachmann dual crossing gates and past my Life-Like SceneMaster two-light target signal.









The freight train rolls past the farm, with a few more animals and the farm boy riding horseback!









The freight with the Dash 8 diesels rolling past the Skyview Drive-In Theater open for business!









I decided to put a Life-Like Scenemaster oak tree on the front lawn of this house, referencing how my current house has a couple of oak trees out front as well. The scaling of this tree does match the size of the real-life oaks in my front lawn in HO-scale! After a while I plan to remove the plastic base, stick a pin into the bottom of the trunk and stick it into the foam platform, as I did with other trees on my layout.









The woods here are also blooming with spring, along with two more oak trees!









The Skyview Drive-In showing a cartoon before the main feature. Believe it or not, that's not a Filmation or Hanna-Barbera cartoon or whatever; it's actually one of the final Looney Tunes shorts made in 1969, "Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too" with Rapid Rabbit and Quick Brown Fox, and is my favorite of the late 1960s Looney Tunes era (despite obviously being inspired by the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote!) By that time in the series' run, theatrical cartoon shorts were mostly being played at drive-in theaters and at kid matinees, as many cinemas were phasing out showing cartoon shorts… it was the end of an era.


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## wiley2012

Happy 4th of July! Summer is now in full swing on my HO-scale model train layout, and while I haven't been working on it that much lately, I found time to share these, especially since I gave a demonstration of this layout to my parents' friends today...









A girl running through the neighborhood flying a kite. This is from a Woodland Scenics figure set.









A nice photo of the Amtrak local approaching the Life-Like Snap-Loc commuter station platform, now decorated with benches and a trash receptacle!

















And speaking of trash, I got these Walthers SceneMaster dumpsters from my dad. They came in a pack of three, and my dad used one to decorate a birthday cake with for his supervisor at the waste disposal company he works at as an I.T. technician, and he also put small candles into the dumpster so that when lit it'd look like a little dumpster fire! So of course, he let me use the other two dumpsters on my train layout.









Just some people camping once again next to one of my ledges...









Some of the "grass" here (older Life-Like grass material made of sawdust dyed green) had rubbed off, so I patched those areas with new grass, using a bit of Woodland Scenics and Life-Like green ground foam "grass" material. It does make a difference, and adds a bit of realistic variety!









The Skyview Drive-In Theater is still doing exceptionally well, and is busier now that summer is here!









Another area I had to rewatch the grass at. It does look pretty good, and after a bit of natural weathering I found the "grass" to look WAY more realistic!









At the Bachmann Plasticville Split Level house, the swimming pool is open again, and the kids are flying kites. And at the Life-Like Contemporary Ranch House next door, they're throwing a backyard barbecue!


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## Eilif

Nice Progress. I like that scenemaster dumpster. Might have to look for a pack of those.


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## wiley2012

I haven't worked on my train layout as much lately due to my job and some other events, but here are some updates in time for the holiday season to begin!









A new addition to my Christmas train this year is this "Sled-Ex" container flatcar from Lionel! This particular tooling originally came from Model Power, of course.









A real-life "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" situation here. My HO-scale Amtrak locomotive was having problems running, in the midst of Thanksgiving travels! But where's Steve Martin? 
I recently re-lubed the gears, and then I'm going to oil it, so that should help. At least it wasn't as bad as in the actual movie, where that Alco diesel engine broke down and started smoking like a TYCO PowerTorque locomotive!









A Christmas tree has been set up outside the church, while most of the other trees have been losing their leaves for the season. 









The woods near the drive-in theater as we transition from autumn to winter.









Here is my current consist for the Christmas train. For now I have my IHC Santa Fe Consolidation steam engine and tender pulling it, though soon I'm going to actually get a DCC decoder installed in it! (I'm gonna send it to DX Installs for this task, and let the professionals handle the upgrade for a decent price.) 









School has been in session for quite some time now, even if one of the playground swings were broken.









The Christmas tree lot has opened again!









And of course, the downtown train station with the "Santa's Landing" roof!


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## wiley2012

Winter has hit my model train layout!









A lovely snow scene. Too bad my hometown of Brockton MA can't look like this for Christmas, usually not until later in January. (Valentine's Day is usually the new Christmas around here!) 









I decided to give the BNSF locomotives a rest on my layout and support the freight railroad that runs through my area! I got a couple of Bachmann CSX GP40s; this is their current model, with a TCS DPX2 decoder plugged into the 8-pin socket. 









I've also recently wired up my Woodland Scenics TidyTrack Roto Wheel Cleaner to the DC terminals on my blue Life-Like power pack I generally use to power my turnouts, TYCO Prestomatic accessories and any nearby lights or signals. That way I don't have to reach down under the layout and wire it to one of the extra power packs I use for lighting another part of the layout.









Another nice snowy view, with the special Christmas train and the CSX local freight both visible.









The hobos deem to like the winter scene as well; they and the brakeman are even wishing each other a happy holiday!









The Christmas train at my Model Power railroad crossing. Those motorists are pretty surprised to see a steam locomotive passing through!









For the end of my main freight, I'm using this Walthers Trainline caboose (based off COX tooling, of course). While it may not be in the "Dark Future" paint scheme, as long as it's got the CSX markings I'm happy enough. 









A double-header setup just like on the real freight trains running through here. And yes, the CSX GP40s here can vary with having the boxcar logo or not.









The CSX freight unloading logs from the log dump car in the freight yard. 









The Christmas train stopping at the Plasticville freight station amidst the winter wonderland. I still need to make a few more snow sections...


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## wiley2012

Last update before Christmas Day! 









The CSX freight passing by the Amtrak local.









Look how busy the Christmas tree lot is! I combined the figure sets from Noch and Preiser to make a nice larger lot than before.









Here's a sight that reminds me of the time I had to stop for a CSX local freight in Taunton, MA. The CSX GP40s in the "Dark Future" paint scheme, the crossing gate, it's all there. 









The CSX freight clears another crossing, but it won't be clear for long after the Christmas special comes!









A family bringing home their Christmas tree.









The lot on Christmas Eve, with some last-minute tree buyers. (I know that some people tend to wait until Christmas Eve to get a tree and decorate it.)









Another shot of my local freight consist, with both CSX GP40s hauling the train! 









Two Santas in one neighborhood on Christmas Eve? Something is fishy here. Did that one father spread the idea to his neighbors about dressing up as Santa to come down the chimney on Christmas Eve just to put out the presents? 

Happy holidays, everyone!


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## afboundguy

@wiley2012 great layout... I saw your Taunton reference and checked and saw you're in Brockton! I'm up on the Northshore in Cape Ann! Small world!


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## repman66

So very cool.... I am only half way around my one corner ughhh It looks so fun to be able to run rails...


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## wiley2012

Been a while, but here are some new pics! Gonna need to make two posts to show them all, so here's the first... 









The Christmas train making its' final run of the season on Christmas day. 









One of my Christmas presents was an additional blinking E-Z Track bumper for my railroad yard! I always thought lighted bumpers were more interesting, especially since A.H.M., Life-Like and TYCO had them. 









The Amtrak consist, with a new 85' Budd dome car! (Another Christmas present I got.) It's another Bachmann one, this time painted in Phase III like the last prototype Amtrak had that they would sometimes run on the Downeaster.









The Toys 'R' Us Express lives on! I've reconstructed my very first electric train set I got as a kid to run on my model train layout! I found a good-condition working Life-Like ATSF Dockside 0-4-0 steam engine (based off old Varney tooling) to pull the boxcars and caboose this set came with. And good timing too, since Toys 'R' Us is making a comeback shortly! (Maybe I'll get DCC installed in the Dockside as well.) 









The TYCO Snap-Together Water Tower kit. IHC later sold this Pola kit after TYCO Trains's demise, but Walthers currently rebrands a different Pola water tower under the Trainline brand.









I also couldn't resist getting this billboard from Miller Engineering, since I saw it in a Walthers flyer. Wile E. Coyote is my favorite Looney Tunes character, and it's a nice attention-grabber!









An overview of the layout as of early January, with the area still covered in snow (something that didn't happen to my hometown of Brockton MA until late January, as per usual. 









People throwing out their Christmas trees. Some of them were only put out a few days after Christmas! 









The Amtrak Ocean View dome car stopped at the Arlee Station! 









I also had to replace this E-Z Track remote turnout due to the motor on the old one burning out and melting an opening underneath the ties. (I also had to replace one of the remotes for another turnout, but at least that's all taken care of. ]

And here's a video of the Toys 'R' Us Express in action...


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## SF Gal

Very cool layout as I found your thread today for the first time.
Looks like you have been running for a while now.
I had to smile when I saw "snow" on the layout and thought that was pretty innovative.
Since you have come so far since your layout in 2012, it sure looks like a lot of people would love to see your layout "in person."
I am kind of curious, have you given any thought to moderniziing the basement area around the layout to make the space, visitor friendly?
Paneling along the layout table, paint on the walls, and you mentioned Dad got you some better lighting....
Anyway I just wanted to say, Thanks for sharing and keep on Training!


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## wiley2012

Here's the next batch of pics! 









Sure, it's anachronistic seeing an Amtrak passenger train passing by the Toys 'R' Us Express, but I think it looks cool! 









For a while, I decided to just have one CSX GP40 pull the main freight, especially since I need to do a bit of cleaning and lubing of the other. 









The Amtrak train stopped at the downtown train station, with the Bachmann Plasticville platform. 









My current kit for replacing the X2Fs on old I.H.C., Life-Like and TYCO rolling stock, using Bachmann E-Z Mate Mark II knuckle couplers and Kadee tango truck adaptors. Anything else like the A.H.M. and vintage Bachmann rolling stock, I use Kadee's washers with the E-Z Mate couplers. 









My new caboose to run at the end of my main freight! Life-Like made this as part of a special train set sold exclusively to CSX and Conrail employees in 1997 as part of the plan for CSX to acquire half of Conrail (a deal completed in 1999, where CSX took over the old Conrail routes in my area.) 









Also from the set is this Life-Like 50' boxcar. I like this because it reminds me of a few real-life boxcars I've seen on the Conrail and CSX local freights in my area. (The Bachmann CSX GP40 and the TYCO RailBox car also make it like the real freight trains here, too.)









Overview of my current main freight consist. 

With the newest Bachmann catalog, there's quite a few CSX/Conrail-related things I may want to get for my layout, such as the DCC-equipped USRA 0-6-0 and slope tender in Pennsylvania markings, the DCC-equipped CSX GP40 in "Bright Future" markings (like the local freights running through here used to have before the locomotives were repainted in "Dark Future"),and the DCC-ready Conrail GP38-2 in Operation Lifesaver markings.


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## wiley2012

Some more layout updates for March! 









Look who's passing through my town! Mystery Inc. is either just driving through on the way to another case... or is there such a Scooby-Doo Hoax happening right in the town? 









Spring has come to the layout! The snow has largely melted away (i.e. I actually put away the styrofoam snow sections until next December). 









The CSX local freight unloading crates from the TYCO operating boxcar. 









The Amtrak local stopping at Arlee Station. Sure, it does look toylike with the curved track, but I don't mind too much. 









An overview of the downtown area, with the ACME billboard and both trains in the background. 









Preparing to reopen the Skyview Drive-In Theater...









...and here's the Drive-In open for business! The Android tablet I had in the screen was failing, so I replaced it with an old iPad Mini I got from the electronics recycling/reselling company I work at as a computer technician. 









A smaller freight I'm also running on the layout currently, headed by a Mantua Classics Conrail GP20 with a TCS T1 decoder installed! At the end is an A.H.M. Conrail caboose, the one that resembles TYCO's streamlined caboose. 









The hoboes riding in the TYCO CP Rail boxcar on the Conrail freight. 









The Big Blue railroad meets its' successor. (That is, this is because the half of Conrail that CSX bought out includes the lines in my area, and all the local freights here use those same CSX GP40 locomotives.)


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## Mannix

Awesome layout. Love it ! You've build a great empire. Is there a track plan somewhere ? Thanks.


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## Mannix

Mannix said:


> Is there a track plan somewhere ?


 I just found it !


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## wiley2012

Mannix said:


> I just found it !
> 
> View attachment 580088


Yep, that was my original plan, before ultimately settling with the L-shape and finding I can still fit the structures and accessories I wanted onto the layout.


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## wiley2012

I've been fairly busy for the last few months, with my day job at the electronics recycling/reselling company, and then the Brockton Rox baseball season starting again in full swing at the end of May (which means I'm back to working as their kangaroo mascot again), along with attending Anime Boston at one point. But here's some more photo updates of my model railroad layout! 









The smaller Conrail freight parked at the Life-Like operating logging mill. I extended the track a bit to accommodate this, but it does appear to be hovering over the ground a bit. I might get a bit of cork roadbed to place under that small bit of track, though. 









Spring is in bloom on the model train layout. 

















More layout overviews. For the Amtrak local, I've switched to having a GE P40 "Genesis" locomotive pulling the cars for a while (an Athearn Ready-To-Roll model with a TCS T1A DCC decoder plugged into the socket). 









The Amtrak train with the P40 locomotive stopping at the Arlee Station. 









Another shot of the Amtrak train, this time stopped at the Life-Like Snap-Loc commuter station. 









The Conrail freight parked on the siding next to the Skyview Drive-In Theater... 









...and the Amtrak local passing by. I recently put an older 2nd-generation iPad Mini I got from my workplace into the screen, and it can run a recent-enough version of iOS that lets me use Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+ and the YouTube apps on it to stream video to the drive-in! Here I'm playing one of my favorite one-shot Looney Tunes cartoons via HBO Max, "A Fox in a Fix" from 1951.

I also shot a video of the layout in action, using my 6th-generation iPad, as an experiment with shooting and editing video on the tablet...


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## wiley2012

Lately I haven't had as much time to work on my model train layout, but the holiday season has arrived!









A photo of the Skyview Drive-In Theater during the autumn before closing for the season... 









And now winter has come to the layout! 









The Christmas tree lot being busy as always for those who want a real cut-down pine tree in their house, rather than an artificial tree. 









Here's my newest locomotive for pulling the holiday train: a Bachmann DCC-equipped USRA 0-6-0 steam locomotive and tender car in the New Haven scheme (because the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad originally owned the tracks in my area, before the Penn Central, Conrail and CSX buyouts/mergers). 









But it has trouble pulling the Christmas cars by itself. So until I can apply a bit of frog snot to the wheels or something, I'm having a helper engine for the Christmas train, like with some real-life special steam trains. 









The holiday train passing the main CSX local freight...


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## BigGRacing

Layout looks awesome Wiley! Am I correct in assuming you have a mix of DCC and DC ?


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## wiley2012

BigGRacing said:


> Layout looks awesome Wiley! Am I correct in assuming you have a mix of DCC and DC ?


Currently all the motive power on my layout is DCC. It's a lot easier to work with.


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## Christiaη

Awesome layout ! Love it.


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