|
|
 Posted - January 03 2014 : 01:30:36 AM
|
It's a new year so I'll start my own layout thread to show what I'm up to. I've been building on it since 1996 and it most of the trackwork and electrical is completed. There is also a fair bit of scenery. The railroad and the places that I'm modeling are fictional, but imagine a line in California that starts in at the Monterey canneries, goes over a mountain and then to a large city by the bay.
Here is the cannery section so far:
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 03 2014 : 09:00:38 AM
|
| hi Thomas love the perspective of this scene ,ken
|
Country:  United Kingdom ~
Posts: 8294 ~
Member Since: September 28 2006 ~
Last Visit: October 20 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 03 2014 : 12:28:27 PM
|
very nice Though I think you needs some roofs on the buildings & a mermaid under the docks 
That one building on the left looks like a airplane hanger 
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 14688 ~
Member Since: February 23 2009 ~
Last Visit: April 16 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 03 2014 : 12:44:45 PM
|
I don't recall ever seeing a control panel surrounded by scenery. That's an interesting idea and could possibly lend itself to a number of situations.
Glenn
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1486 ~
Member Since: December 13 2008 ~
Last Visit: April 02 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 03 2014 : 2:35:03 PM
|
quote:
Yup, roofs are coming soon. You are right about the O-scale airplane hangar. It will get new windows and details to make it HO scale.
The mermaid doesn't like the docks. She prefers to hang out by the lighthouse.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 03 2014 : 6:08:31 PM
|
I want one now
Now you needs SpongeBob someplace 
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 14688 ~
Member Since: February 23 2009 ~
Last Visit: April 16 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 03 2014 : 6:09:10 PM
|
| The detail and realism is amazing. It took me a while to figure out where in the first picture the model buildings ended and the backdrop started.
|
Country:  Canada ~
Posts: 3319 ~
Member Since: September 22 2006 ~
Last Visit: April 07 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 04 2014 : 12:38:33 PM
|
quote:The detail and realism is amazing. It took me a while to figure out where in the first picture the model buildings ended and the backdrop started.
Originally posted by DaCheez - January 03 2014 : 6:09:10 PM
|
Yes it's incredible how a good backdrop can really transform a scene. It's like the brain needs it to believe it.
http://tycodepot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 04 2014 : 3:20:11 PM
|
hi thomas,love that layout as said previously,and the great perspective,you have taken time to do it,and my brain for one was fooled ken
Edited by - catfordken on January 04 2014 3:21:00 PM
|
|
Country: United Kingdom ~
Posts: 8294 ~
Member Since: September 28 2006 ~
Last Visit: October 20 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 05 2014 : 7:39:52 PM
|
| That scene is cool. So many detailing possibilities. Regarding that mermaid . . . we were at my 87 year old mother-in-law's home this weekend and it occasioned that she told me the very first "dirty" joke she ever heard. First, let me very carefully clarify that this little joke is not intended to disparage any race or ethnicity or species. So . . . here it is . . . "What did the Indian say to the mermaid?"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - January 05 2014 : 7:41:06 PM
|
| "How?"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - October 06 2014 : 12:37:14 PM
|
This past weekend I worked on a couple of curved bridges at the end of the canyon. I used girders on the top track with plain wooden piers. On the next track down I made a concrete arch bridge from cardboard with foam core piers. As with many bridges on my layout, these bridges are just facades glued onto the roadbed. My inspiration for the concrete arch bridge is the "No Hands Bridge" near Auburn, CA.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - October 06 2014 : 2:25:23 PM
|
| Very nice Thomas. Noting that you said you'd been working on this layout since 1996. It is amazing how much time it takes to settle in to what you want to do. Makes you want to tell new modelers not to get too excited about deciding what to do until you've got a couple years under your belt.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - October 06 2014 : 4:02:54 PM
|
quote:Very nice Thomas. Noting that you said you'd been working on this layout since 1996. It is amazing how much time it takes to settle in to what you want to do. Makes you want to tell new modelers not to get too excited about deciding what to do until you've got a couple years under your belt.
Originally posted by Barry - October 06 2014 : 2:25:23 PM
|
Love those bridges Thomas, along with the breathtaking scenery. In my opinion, nothing adds more interest to a layout than a bridge soaring over some steep drop-off. Great work!
Barry, I agree with your thoughts on how interests evolve. I started out modeling the UP, then settled on L&N...which I am largely sticking with .... but I have noticed how I am slowly gravitating more and more to local WV railroads - specifically ones my dad worked for (NYC/PC/Conrail).
http://tycodepot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - October 06 2014 : 8:40:54 PM
|
Very Nice, Thomas!! A San Francisco treat!!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 6279 ~
Member Since: February 18 2009 ~
Last Visit: March 04 2022
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - October 07 2014 : 01:51:08 AM
|
| Boy, I could see that Jerry, modeling the road your Dad worked for and then modeling him doing whatever his gig was. Seems like it could be a cool shadowbox.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - October 07 2014 : 11:58:07 AM
|
quote: quote:Very nice Thomas. Noting that you said you'd been working on this layout since 1996. It is amazing how much time it takes to settle in to what you want to do. Makes you want to tell new modelers not to get too excited about deciding what to do until you've got a couple years under your belt.
Originally posted by Barry - October 06 2014 : 2:25:23 PM
|
Love those bridges Thomas, along with the breathtaking scenery. In my opinion, nothing adds more interest to a layout than a bridge soaring over some steep drop-off. Great work!
Barry, I agree with your thoughts on how interests evolve. I started out modeling the UP, then settled on L&N...which I am largely sticking with .... but I have noticed how I am slowly gravitating more and more to local WV railroads - specifically ones my dad worked for (NYC/PC/Conrail).
Originally posted by JNXT 7707Â -Â October 06 2014Â :Â 4:02:54 PM
|
Thanks, yes I agree there is something about a bridge soaring over a deep chasm. The roadbed and track have been there for a long time but it sure is more dramatic now.
In my case it wasn't so much my evolving interests as it was just having started something in '96 that was WAY too big.  The layout is still pretty close to the original plans I drew up way back when. For the last several years I've been focusing on trackwork and electrical and making good progress on that. But I was showing the layout to some friends recently and that sparked my interest to return to the canyon and dress up those hanging roadbeds.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 08 2015 : 1:24:46 PM
|
Here is a recent shot of the end of the canyon, showing some of the progress I made this year.
-- Thomas
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 08 2015 : 9:21:44 PM
|
Holy Shamoly, Batman! This is pretty darn cool.
Shades of John Allen, with its own unique vision.
The mermaid is a great touch, and that PFE
express is just great. Hope to see more!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11192 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 09 2015 : 02:20:53 AM
|
| really excellent :D
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 50 ~
Member Since: October 28 2015 ~
Last Visit: December 07 2020
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 10 2015 : 11:44:33 PM
|
Thanks for the compliments. You are indeed right that John Allen is a big influence for me, especially when it comes to floor-to-ceiling scenery and bridges.
Here is a project that I worked on over the summer. It's my version of McArthur-Burney falls with water seeping out of the rocks. It's taller and narrower than the real falls, but I like how it's turning out. The water is modeled with polyester batting.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 11 2015 : 12:08:26 AM
|
aside the mermaid
What other silly things are on your layout?
IF & when I do my layout there will be silly & odd things on it
Edited by - microbusss on November 11 2015 12:09:27 AM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 14688 ~
Member Since: February 23 2009 ~
Last Visit: April 16 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 11 2015 : 10:22:18 AM
|
That waterfall with water seeping from halfway down the cliff is an unusual touch.
You see "weeping walls" in the real world, but not so often modeled.
Carpe Manana!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2353 ~
Member Since: September 17 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 16 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 11 2015 : 11:29:32 AM
|
Microbuss, my favorite silly thing on the layout is a group of ninjas scaling one of the bridges. I'm not sure what they're up to but it doesn't look good.
Here's an earlier thread about silliness on the Redwoods and Pacific: http://www.tycoforums.com/tyco/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10695
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 11 2015 : 8:22:29 PM
|
| That scene is pretty convincing Thomas. And at least in the photo, that cotton batting looks like spray. I'm not seein' the mermaid though.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 14 2015 : 4:27:15 PM
|
I took some time this weekend to automate a Tyco crossing gate with a Tortoise switch machine motor. I haven't gotten around to installing bulbs yet though. I built a delay circuit with 555 timers to drive the Tortoise and it is triggered with IRDOT between-the-rails infrared detectors. It also triggers bell sound that I recorded onto a Radio Shack 20-second recording device. Here is a short video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwk4I5xI4OQ
The bulbs are next. I have another 555 circuit for that and I'm just waiting for the LEDs to come in the mail.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 16 2015 : 7:05:51 PM
|
| Nice layout Thomas. That was a fun video to watch. Be interesting to see a diagram of your layout . . . it wraps around a room?
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 21 2015 : 11:11:20 AM
|
I finished the crossing gate kitbash by adding LEDs. Here is a short video showing the effect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YSJmX8FQ6c
I replaced the dummy lights with 3mm red LEDs. I also added tiny LEDs to the gate itself. That was a big challenge because I had to find a way to power the LEDs without restricting the movement. I ended up looping the fine wire around the base. I plan to paint the wire a light tan color so that it visually disappears somewhat.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 21 2015 : 11:14:43 AM
|
Barry, I don't have a diagram (yet) but yes, a portion wraps around the walls in my basement. There are three sections, a Cannery Row section, a mountain section with floor-to-ceiling scenery and a bay section which is around the walls. The mainline is 142 feet long end-to-end.
quote:Nice layout Thomas. That was a fun video to watch. Be interesting to see a diagram of your layout . . . it wraps around a room?
Originally posted by Barry - December 16 2015 : 7:05:51 PM
|
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 21 2015 : 11:52:34 AM
|
| Nice work with the lights.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 24 2015 : 11:56:03 AM
|
oh yeah!
I forgot about that section
& yes still WANT that Star Tours ship!!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 14688 ~
Member Since: February 23 2009 ~
Last Visit: April 16 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - February 02 2016 : 5:25:06 PM
|
| Very interesting angles and scenes in your photos. Look forward to more.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 5842 ~
Member Since: February 12 2014 ~
Last Visit: April 16 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - February 05 2016 : 12:08:36 AM
|
Astonishing work. the GD on steroids. Waterfall is
astonishing. A guy standing over my shoulder as I
was flipping through your thread had this to say:
"Holy carp." (Flip the vowel and consonant).
Edited by - Chops124 on February 05 2016 12:11:40 AM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11192 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 27 2016 : 1:01:55 PM
|
A short log train on a high spindly bridge.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 27 2016 : 3:46:25 PM
|
| !!!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11192 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 27 2016 : 5:14:58 PM
|
| Cool view Thomas.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - March 01 2019 : 8:58:11 PM
|
This year I'm working on a section of the layout that will be a city scene, with many tall art deco buildings. This section has been an empty hole since I started the layout two decades ago, so I'm excited to be working on this. I've always wanted a trolley loop, and by coincidence I recently inherited all of my dad's extensive Märklin collection as he is getting older and is downsizing his home. So I decided to create the several loops using Märklin 3-rail track. The loops will be fully automated and controlled by an arduino. This will have special meaning for me since I grew up with Märklin and my tinkering with my dad's trains when I was a kid played a large part in me getting a degree in engineering.
It's taken me about a month of evenings to design and mount the tracks with all of the wiring associated with it. The next step will be to program the arduino and hook it all up. Eventually I plan to kitbash some trolleys using Märklin mechanisms.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - March 01 2019 : 9:57:30 PM
|
| Nifty layout. Keep up the good work.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 510 ~
Member Since: February 18 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 07 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - March 01 2019 : 10:00:20 PM
|
Looking good! Great work.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/rpmodelrailroads
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rp_model_railroads/
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 4669 ~
Member Since: August 11 2017 ~
Last Visit: July 20 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 01 2022 : 2:33:14 PM
|
I decided to try live streaming my railroad so I started with a Facebook live event. It was a bit of a challenge to run the trains while doing the narrating/producing/directing but I think it turned out OK. There was one coach that kept derailing and it's now in the shop for repairs.
For this first live stream I talked about influences and inspirations for the layout. If you are interested, here is the recording of the event.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1083 ~
Member Since: July 07 2011 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
 Posted - July 01 2022 : 11:02:11 PM
|
Very nice. Thank you for sharing.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 5842 ~
Member Since: February 12 2014 ~
Last Visit: April 16 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 03 2022 : 6:47:29 PM
|
Wow - your layout is quite impressive! Thanks to your video, I just found out about the Gorre and Daphetid model railroad, which I never heard of before, but am now totally blown away. Your application of the "floor to ceiling" principle on your layout is stellar.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/rpmodelrailroads
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rp_model_railroads/
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 4669 ~
Member Since: August 11 2017 ~
Last Visit: July 20 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 03 2022 : 9:08:53 PM
|
Layouts like these are the reason I build mountain railroads. I'd love to do floor to celing scenery, but it's hard when you live in an apartment and the layout has to break down for moves.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 483 ~
Member Since: December 22 2013 ~
Last Visit: April 14 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
