Now that the road has been cleared and most delays have been resolved. It's full steam ahead. Except for what's left to do. I need to add a shelf in the shed to handle the stuff you saw sitting on the floor. Once the floor is cleared. Look out. Things are going to happen. Sunday and Monday were relatively clear days. It was time to get outside and work on making the legs of the second section of the layout. A quick check to identify any structural problems with. It passed inspection. I still need to make two more legs and I will be able to move the second section into the former dining room and put the legs on it. Slowly coming together. There are four sections all together. You've seen the first two. What will be waiting to be installed is a large grain elevator and the Mini-city. I'm wondering where the last two are actually going to go. The shed Big Bear Lake, Train Shed had one entrance. Here in Nampa, ID., the dining room which will become the train room has two access doors. Time for a major adjustment. Mentally entertaining an extension where a main line will take off toward the front room. It will go across my work desk allowing me to have a test track. In the front room the Mini-City contribution by Greg McGinnis. A Train station that resembles the San Bernardino Santa Fe Railway Train Station. If so I will build Yard A., a yard similar to what you can find in the 60's. Size compression will play a big part as you won't see the turntable and or Mechanical Shops that stood on the North side of the yard. Just the Passenger train yard. I'm going to assume something here and you know what that means. How about some more pictures of what the layout looked like just shortly after I finished the main, got the block wiring installed. You know, how it looked like with trains running for the first time? just not yet. Sigh! Seriously, you do. Okay. I hope. West end of the hidden staging yard. Not so hidden here but there will eventually be a removable dome of scenery to obtain access. You should be getting some idea on how much this means to me. More to come. I can't find the pictures I set aside for this purpose. Sheez.
There's a particular picture I've been hunting for. I spent the better part of the last two days looking for it. I was about to write it off as lost in the last computer that crashed on me. Fortunately I had just finished making a CD and filing all the pictures. Here is a shot of the Hidden Staging Yard, taken just shortly after I had finished it. The Digital Camera I used wasn't the greatest and now I know why the person who had it gave it to me The East end of the Hidden Staging Yard. In case you were wondering. The one advantage a Hidden Staging Yard gives you is the amount of train equipment you can have on the layout. Turning it into a great entertainment layout. Trains can keep moving with a variety of equipment rolling through. Looks like it might be a good day to get out and build that shelf in the work shed. Move the mess out of the dining room and then move the other section into the dining room to attach it's legs.
Caught on the news the governor of California outlawing gas powered cars and blaming the fires on them. Did I miss something here? The fires were started by lightning and the fire in the brush is what's driving the fires. The governor... he just doesn't get it? Thinking the latter. The smoke here just rolled in and making it difficult for me to get outside and in it. What a summer? Okay, now back to trains and the fun we can have. How about some shots of what some call Foobies an older cliche. Fictional or Fantasy paint schemes. A Union Pacific Caboose. Don't you wish they had. A Santa Fe, well...a former Southern Pacific Bay Window now serving as the Work Train-Foreman's traveling office. And a not so fictional shot that Pete Nolan, might appreciate. I should have trimmed out/cropped the fictitious but workable end of track bumper. Oh well.
I'll second that! I also like the work train even if it is a foobie. Working on something similar myself.
The smoke isn't bad but the temperature outside has dropped. If I'm not able to get outside soon... I will be working in a foot of snow. I wish! Love the snow and miss what we got in Big Bear Country. Here, in Nampa Idaho... there isn't enough snow to write home about. Home? Barstow, Ca., is my home away from home. Home? That would be you guys and gals here on TB. Or something like that. How about some pictures? Something to get me motivated. An SP Run Through Freight. On the point, A GP20's, 2 RS11's followed by another GP20 pulling a forty car freight. The GP20's are Life Like. One of their best runs. The RS 11's are Kato's. Check out the difference in detailing. Hint Number-boards. Looks like the SP Lark is passing by below headed uphill. Taking my pride and joy and one of two of them on the layout, a 24" radius curve The train closest to you in the picture is the 40 car freight. Almost to the end of it by about five cars. You can also see the coal district and a loaded coal train moving through it. One more picture? Okay! Santa Fe has their own version of the GP20's. Yes, I like the styling and pulling ability of Life Likes GP 20's. Did you check out the front coupler and the two that follow. Aiiyiiyii. I was in the middle of getting rid of those cursed Rapido Couplers. What size of train behind them? They are pulling a 20 car train. A local. Rule on this railroad. A locomotive and/or motor must be able to pull a 10 car train up my 2% grades. Pictured are two motors. If they don't cut mustard they are out of here. Well, maybe not but they won't see a lot of duty. They might serve some time in Helper Duty or find themselves in the scrap yard. I've got to get that shelf put-in, in the work shed, too much junk sitting on the dining room floor. Then I can get help from friends home on the weekends to move the second section into the dining room, now Train Room. Have a good weekend.
"Cute" you said, nicely played. I was thinking something different but they don't like those kinds of expletives here.
Complaint time. I don't and never have understood why the edit feature cuts out so soon. My edit time is being crunched and I'm not able to make edit corrections. Wondering what's up? Okay that said let's keep this rolling. John A., asked me about the Mini-City with the San Bernardino, look alike Santa Fe Train Station. This was scratch-built by Greg McGinnis, of Big Bear Lake, Ca. He blew me away when he showed up at my tin can of a mobile home with what you are going to see next. Oh that wasn't all. I didn't have room for it. You should have seen the Steell Mill, Greg built. All the buildings are either scratch-built or kit-bashed. As Greg said, "You need Realty on you railroad". The Mini-City. This is the way it was. You'll notice there's no room for the shop buildings on the North side of the SB A Yard. San Bernardino Dispatch we have a problem. Here the commuter train is ready to depart but needs to run around the Wye to be able to head out of town. A SP transfer switcher is blocking the way and the engineer for the Chief is honking his horn in protest. Seems the Chief was sent down the wrong track. Blame it on the dispatcher, they always do. Cough, sputter, that would be me. Oh well. The curve that goes off to the right is reminiscent of the one that UP and Santa Fe Passenger trains used to by-pass the Santa Fe B Yard. Yes it's a tight curve and in the picture you can see where I tried to widen it. "Wide curves are the best curves" I've been known to repeat, and re-peat, and repeat again." You'll see a Trolley Line. The San Bernardino Station was served by various trolley lines in the area. Maybe I can get into that history at a later time. Curves and you know I'm going to do this. This has the tightest radius curved tracks I've ever seen on any layout. No not 9 3/4 radius, that would be tight, try 7 1/2 radius. The SP transfer switcher had a tough time negotiating and servicing this line. This is the way it was. It didn't fair the move to well. I'd like to say something here about the help I got and lack of respect one of them showed for the train layout but I won't. Construction of this mini-city by Greg McGinnis and his two daughters. You'll see blinds and curtains in some of the windows. The last two pictures courtesy of Johnny whose last name escapes me. Clear day, no smoke and perfect for getting out and working on the shed's shelf. However, But my calendar is full with other obligations. Harrumph!
Unfortunately, the buildings ended being dislodged from the table top and a lot of the details lost in the gravel. Non-model railroaders just don't understand how important all of what we do is... to each of us. This is how it looked upon arrival here in Nampa, ID. It won't be that hard to restore it. Just time consuming. This will more then likely go into the front room along with an enlarged passenger yard and balloon loop so I can turn the trains and send them back out on the main. No more time for chit chat. I'll be back later this evening and we can brow beat each other then.
Sad to read about the disrespect of your "helpers". If you are going to assist somebody, at least have the decency of being careful- as if it is your own precious family heirloom. I hope they were just casual acquaintances, not friends?
Thanks for your support. Try a relative who happens to think this is a waste of money. On the other hand a good friend David B., did more to protect the layout and get it out of the Train Shed without damaging it. He did a great job and I'm able to follow what he did to put it all back together. He and I worked almost 16 hours to remove it from the shed. It was when it came time to load it on the truck everything went wrong. Relative can't take directions. He hung it on the wall of the truck. By then we were pushed for time to get out of there and I was all but Dead tired. He filled up the center aisle leaving no access. We would have had to unload the truck to do it right. No forethought. Sorry to say. I better take to a siding, blow the steam off and let the fire cool down before the safety valve pops off. I'm here, it's here and now it's time to put it all back together. Track is going to be expensive to replace, now days. Thanks again.
I woke up this morning and it's Sunday. The weather outside has cooled down, the sky is clear and it's a perfect day to get outside. We are expecting warmer weather during the week and smoke back from California. As a Native of California, I'm pretty sure they aren't fighting the fires except for structural protection and letting them burn. It's the only way left, the only way they are allowed to clean the forests out. Burn it! Burn the brush and trash. With the good weather, progress on my the shelf in my work shed will continue later today. How about some more chit-chat regarding the Mini-city, for the lack of a better name. As a child, I spent a number of years in Seaside, Ca. Next door to Monterey and the Old Spanish Presidio. Well, I don't have a model of the Presidio. So, this will have to do. The Del Monte in of all places the Mini-City. Does anyone else remember this mixed, passenger Train? Leaving the train staion is the Chippewa Chief, as Santa Fe Railfans named it. A commuter train between San Bernardino and Los Angeles, Ca.
I'm sure it's frustrating about the buildings Rick. All in all though, it looks like the damage isn't too bad and should be able to be repaired. I really like the San Bernardino-ish station. I picture a lot of interesting detail about to be going on there in town, Am I wrong? Also, I find myself being curiously drawn to that grey looking odd shaped building with the brownish black storage tank next to it in your last picture.
BNSF Fan, and everyone else tuned in here. You like that building. That is the symbolic San Bernardino Rock formation they had to blast into pieces to get rid of it for a parking lot. I said tongue in cheek. Don't believe that? It's a Hollywood job... of a disguised WWII Tank. Nice job of camouflage, don't you think? Yeah, I put that rock there to hide a hole for light wiring. Picture taken just before the Self Guided Train Layout Tour. All these buildings were lighted until I hooked up a 12 volt system to what should have been a 1.5 volt system. It looked pretty there for about a second. Then it reminded me of something my dad used to talk about. It was as though the air raid siren had gone off and a black-out had been declared. Blink/pop and the lights were off. I have new street lights and yard lights to go out in front of the passenger station. Packages of LED's for interior lighting all purchased from "We Honest'. At great prices. Keep in mind most of the structures you see were built in the late 80's. Consider the stock parts available at the time or should I say not available. It will take an oogle google search to find most if not all the missing structural and people parts. I did talk to Greg about how he made certain things and he laughed and said "Lot's of luck!" He bought numerous kits for certain structural things like windows and doors. He got into his daughter's and wife's make-up to find lids that resemble the domes on the SB-ish train station. Those will be hard to replace but the good news is I have them. Found them sitting in my gravel driveway before leaving. Whew, that was close. Greg has an overstock of Styrene sheets and Sand Paper Sheets for the roof's, walls, and streets & sidewalks. He was talking about sending the excess supply to me, he has a stash... if he can find them. Fortunately I have pictures that Johnny Took of the mini-city that are clear enough to see the people out and about. These were hand painted by Greg's Wife and Daughters. Something I didn't want to loose for reasons that should be obvious. A shout out to Greg and Family for a job well done. Recognition is kind of hard to come by at anytime. Photo's courtesy of Johnny. The station will undergo some detailing. The arch out front isn't quite right and there are several other arches out front that will stay and I will add more, as well. No Idea when I'll get to it. Oh, and before I forget. "Rio Bendejo," will be removed. Look it up I shouldn't have to explain it. Oh and Greg, speaks Mexican/Chicano. Now you know the rest of the story. Note the REA reefers. They aren't authentic or prototype. Close but not close enough. They were all my Dad and I could find for the longest time. One was made by Model Power and the other by Atlas. IfIRMC. For reasons I'm sure most of you can understand. I can't loose this portion of the layout. Shoulder acting up so not much got done today.
Three more close ups. The last one is the one I wanted you to see for sure. Note the guy on a ladder and I'm guessing he's washing windows. I lost him in the move. The bank like structure in the last picture looks like it's seen better days. It's scheduled to be either remodeled or replaced. It'l be a sad day around here if I have to demolition it and replace it, I say sadly. That was one of Greg's favorites. Photo's courtesy of Johnny.
Yep, I saw it on TV last night. Shaking my head. Anyway !! The smoke from the California fires is back and our pollen count is at the highest it's been since the start of summer. Ahchoo Aiiyiiyii !!! Work Shed: Finally, the shelf is done. I had to work with some of the worst wood I've ever seen. No budget for new wood. Anyway, I was able to force most of it back in line. I fully expect it to act as a spring and I'll find everything piled on the floor. Now, to finish up the legs for the second section of the train layout. Get, the stuff off the dining room floor. Uhh err Train Room Floor. Move the second section into the Train Room. Attach the legs and then I get to flip it up on it's own legs. Then it will be time to move other stuff cluttering up the house into the Work Shed. I also need to redo the electrical in the W-Shed. It will be easy to do but time consuming. More pictures coming later. Have a good week.
Yea, I noticed that orange haze in the air at my house near Tacoma yesterday... Hopefully it will not be a long lasting thing like the last time. Hopefully here soon I will have my Trail 90 out of my train room so I can start building a new layout. Cant wait to see how your progress goes with your "restoration"
