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2008 Christmas Layout - December 02, 2008
I backed off quite a bit on this year's Christmas layout. Mostly because the complexity of last year's display was too ambitious, problematic, and while it did have a "cool" factor, the "fun" factor was too low - for me, and the kids. So this year, simple is the word of the day.
2007 Holiday Express - December 08, 2007
We went down to Oaks Bottom to see the 4449 pull the Holiday Express today. We didn't ride the trains but we did ride a Speeder.
Here is a really lousy video of the train as it ran by. I had a 6 year old sitting on my shoulders so it was a little hard to keep the camera pointed in the right direction.
In the first few seconds you can hear the train whistle, and the coolest echo of in bouncing off the bluffs in the distance.
Wiring Under Control (?) - November 12, 2007
I'll let you decide. Here is the photo with annotations on Flickr.
Finishing The Track Plan - November 08, 2007
The original track plan used all O-45 curves. Because I wanted to integrate the On30 track, I re-worked the plan to use O-36 curves. The result is a little smaller footprint, and a bit more aggressive grades. I'm hoping the trains will be able to make it up ok, and then down without too much speed.
For the On30 track, I used simple EZ-Track from Bachman. It's what came with our North Pole Express" train, and is simple to put together. 12-curves and 14 straights.
Click for larger version
For the O-gauge, below is the track materials...
- 12 10" Straight
- 3 4½" Straight
- 1 1¾" Straight
- 3 5½" Straight
- 35 O-36 Curve
- 1 O-36 Quarter
- 1 45° Crossing
Tonight I got the final package of track pieces needed to finish connecting all the track. Before tonight I was using a collection of track I had leftover, but was missing the critical crossover that would allow me to finalize the track connections. Now that is done and the kids are having a blast running some train cars up and down the "mountain" like a rollercoaster.
There is still some work to do. I've got to finish piecing together the roadbed, fasten the blocks holding up the upper level, and cut the blocks that will make up the grades. Then I can connect the track to the transformer and see if the trains will actually run electrically.
But one thing for sure, the kids are already very excited.
Holiday Trains - November 06, 2007
Last weekend we began the process of putting up the holiday train layout. Last year I made the platform, a 6' by 6'4" table (yes, that is a big table) with built in electrical outlets and switches. The table is about 15" off the ground with decorative table legs and stained casing around the edges.
Last year I got the table built and the electrical work done, but never finished the full layout. Mostly due to time, but I also wanted to spread the expense. So we settled on just having the little Christmas train (On30 scale - O scale but on narrow gauge HO track) and a few buildings and lights, but it was just the start.
Over the summer, I was able to lay a couple coats of varnish on the casing so it shines like a piece of furniture. And with the approval of the decorations committee, we re-arranged the living room and brought the table into the house.
So the plan this year is to upgrade the display with an O scale train layout. For this, I got my inspiration from a track plan in the December 2006 issue of Classic Toy Trains magazine. This track plan is called "Three Times Around the Tree", inspired by scenes from the Polar Express movie. It is a two level single track plan that circles the tree. I changed that plan to accommodate my table size, and incorporate the On30 train.
Below are some progress pictures.
Scratchbuilding Projects - The Blue Building - November 02, 2007
Filling the areas between the rails on the layout is the part of the layout that really requires the creativity. Sure, one could always buy a bunch of kits or pre-made buildings and drop them in the spaces, but for a person on a budget, scratch-building makes a lot of sense.
I found a building that would reaaly fit the space, but but I didn't want to spend almost $200 bucks on it. It didn't look that complicated, and with the resources of OGR and MTJ showing me how to build things with foam core, and clapboard siding, I thought I would be a cinch to get a reasonable copy.
So this is what I ended up with. If I add some signage, a little weathering, and some more little details, I think this is a great building, done for about $20 in materials and a probably 10 hours of time total.
Inspiration and Opportunity Hit At The Same Time! - May 07, 2006
This weekend I was actually able to get both inspiration and the opportunity to work on the layout - I sometimes get both but not always at the same time. Some pictures are provided below (Click on thumbnail to see fullsize photo in a new window)
I built some backdrop buildings that will line the layout using the foam core and a lot of hot glue. I'm generally happy with how they came out so far. Lots of work still to do - paint, trim, windows - the real work probably.
I also added some bulk to my coal transfer facility (on30 up above). The mountain is ready for a few rock molds and paint. I also planted a few trees around the mouth of the river. I'm still just experimenting with the Woodland Scenics ground cover to get a feel for it - AlZ's pictures from last week were really inspiring. This is a small section of the layout kinda out of the way and good for experimentation.
A MojoMark Exclusive! - January 17, 2006
There has been lots of talk in the O-Gauge Railroading (OGR) forum about the new Lionel catalog due to be released at midnight. Somebody had actually said it was due to be released at midnight on the 17th. Lionel's site has a countdown timer to midnight - but for the 18th - tonight.
But in some sort of snafu, probably a mis-communication between IT and marketing at Lionel, last night at midnight eastern, the timer went away and a link came up. But the link went to a URL that was not configured right.
While many could not interpret the message, I knew that the server was configured to not display the directory listing. When you don't specify a full URL (www.blah.com/index.html) , the web server, without direction, wants to show you a listing of files in the directory you requested (not specifying a directory will show you the "root" directory). This is typically disabled, and rightfully so as it is a security risk. However, normally when you configure the server, the administrator will specify the default page to be displayed when the user does not specify a file name.
So I banged around a few times on that URL, making guesses at what the catalog's homepage URL might be. But I was not successful.
This morning the countdown timer was back in place.
In a spare moment this afternoon, I remembered the URL that gave me the bad response, and typed it in.
Presto - the catalog comes up. Somebody obviously fixed the missing default page configuration item.
Being of sound mind and body, and in the interest of being a good internet citizen....
I immediately posted it on both of the train forums I participate in (OGR and Model Train Journal).
I'm pretty sure that this is still a "pre-production" URL, as I saw lots of places where the content needs some editing, and the server it's on - ca4.lionel-catalog.com is unusual. All the other catalogs are on lionel.com proper. I suspect that this URL will disappear sometime after the normal URL (something like this:
www.lionel.com/Products/Catalogs/Catalog.cfm?CatalogID=6 except the catalog_id will probably be 7) comes online.
While only important for a small segment of the population, being able to publish an "exclusive" is really exciting!
A Bit of History - January 16, 2006
In a previous post, I talked about paying pennance, but I hadn't fully confessed my purchasing sins.
Forgive me Interweb, for I have sinned via the devil known as Ebay. My sins are as follows:
A couple days before Christmas, knowing that the prospects of getting a steamer from Santa were extremely remote, I got one of these on EBay.
Click for larger version
Frankly, I was shocked to win it. I put in a bid, figured it would never finish at that price, and won it.
On the same day (obviously I was in the Christmas spirit - for myself), I also got one of these cuties for the mining layout around the mountain.
Click for larger version
This Rail Truck will provide some good variety running on the mountain top with the Porter (I got this long ago) and the set of Mine Cars.
Click for larger version
This is only on top of the special "North Pole Express" train that I picked up in November.
Click for larger version
This will be the beginnings of the Christmas layout that will go up only at Christmas, and come down with the decorations. Hopefully, over time, I can build up a really fun Christmas themed layout we can bring out every year.
Confession does not make me feel better. It only puts a focus on it. But, admitting my problem is a first step in recovery.
I've got to take that damn site out of my Bookmarks.
Pennance - January 14, 2006
Feeling guilty for yesterday's sins and the sins I haven't even admitted to here, I worked on the layout to finish up the trestle bridge and begin some more sculpting of the terrain. Here are a few pictures:
The bridge is scratch built from a collection of basswood - 1/4" dowels, 3/16" braces, and 3/32" cross members. The basics for the trestle towers comes from a plan I found here. Once I got started I freelanced most of it. When complete, I painted it with a "Railroad Tie Brown", then added the top deck and the outside bracing (both painted a grimey black).
The last picture on the right shows the beginnings of the terrain that will transition into the gorge. I'll cover this with plaster cloth like the mountain above.
Behind the bridge I hope to create a mural that will give a real 3-D look to the gorge, but that is a task to be done much later on.
Next, the waterfront area!
Comments
I also tried the 3 times around the Christmas Tree Display last year with Atlas Track after we talked about it on OGR. I am not suprised you also went with something much simpler this year. Mine was awsome, until I tried to run any of my trains on it and realized it just wasn't going to work without cruise control.