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 Posted - March 18 2018 : 10:27:36 PM
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Fine looking layout. Love the shot of the Mike and its
passenger consist coming up on the depot.
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Posted - March 18 2018 : 10:46:48 PM
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| Nicely done! I really like how the road surfaces turned out.
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Posted - April 02 2018 : 5:16:47 PM
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Thanks! Now for more updates!
This AHM firehouse starts off the "main street" of the second town on the layout. I was going to place a Plasticville fire station here, but the AHM one looked much better.
A bigger control panel has been installed. The older one was insufficient as the layout grew.
Some landscaping done behind the motel, as well as the addition of something that is all to easy to forget when building a layout, parking space!
A third stall added to the roundhouse.
A temporary spot for the engine shed. This whole area will become a staging yard eventually.
A second control panel near the roundhouse area, which has a controller for the turntable and the roundhouse tracks.
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Posted - April 02 2018 : 5:20:36 PM
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Posted - April 02 2018 : 8:10:52 PM
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Looks awesome!
"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
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Posted - April 02 2018 : 8:24:46 PM
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looking good
I wants that Budget moving van 
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Posted - April 19 2018 : 10:21:31 AM
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More pictures!:
The downtown restaurant and supermarket, showing some of the interior detail
Clementine chugs down the pike.
A rather complicated road crossing. It took a while to carve out the cardboard for this one, but it's finished now.
The AHM country schoolhouse on the layout.
The second freight/passenger station and water tower on the layout.
The upper track is finally seeing some business! It's not complete yet, still needs to be dolled up with ballast and all, but it works for now.
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Posted - April 19 2018 : 10:33:14 AM
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Brilliant! Those old Mantua's are so strong and durable.
Think I'll take mine out for a spin tonight!
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Posted - April 19 2018 : 2:18:54 PM
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Whoa! Nice work - and that road crossing is REALLY well done
"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
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Posted - May 07 2018 : 7:34:24 PM
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Thanks Chops and RP!
Micro- I still haven't added that culvert
More photos:
The young residents of town now have a ball field! With...not so much of an outfield
Another view of the field.
The bridge area is looking better with the addition of trees and grass.
The "Mayberry Courthouse". Serves as the courthouse, town hall and the county jail of the layout!
*This kit is the AHM "Pine Grove Courthouse", much like their "Colonial Church" kit only with a different steeple.
A view of the courthouse from the back.
A shot of the county line road, with more and more houses springing up as the town grows.
The downtown area bustles with life.
Roadwork begins on the north side of town.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now some overviews of the layout:
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Posted - May 07 2018 : 8:30:17 PM
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BnsfIA, your layout continues to inspire me as it serves as the perfect blend of "retro" and modern model railroading techniques. Of a certainty, your layout is one of the top few that inspired RETRO TYCO, and continue to inspire additions to the Ephrata Valley Railroad!
"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
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Posted - May 08 2018 : 02:15:44 AM
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| Wow! That mountain scene is exceptional.
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Posted - June 12 2018 : 10:27:13 AM
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RP- Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it
Chops- Thanks! Still a long way to go with it to make it really great though.
More pictures; some updates as well as recent acquisitions.
The cabinet factory bustles with activity.
The residential portion of town is under way!
A rare Athearn Rock Island passenger set, bought for only 90 bucks sealed!
The roundhouse is complete! Many, many months later. Once scenery is added, this will certainly be a high point of the layout
The turntable, controlled manually by the knob seen in the upper left corner.
A recent buy: The Tyco Virginian locomotive and semi-rare caboose, both for only 5 dollars! One of the best running pt's I've come across as well! (so far).
A Mehano Union Pacific diesel recently purchased. Excellent runner.
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Posted - June 12 2018 : 2:26:44 PM
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More fabulous upgrades. That Mehano unit really looks great.
The song, "Rock Island Road, She's a Mighty Fine Road" is
coming on like an ear worm, right now.
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Posted - June 12 2018 : 4:39:23 PM
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Awesome updates, BnsfIA!! That Virginian Alco & caboose set is supreme -- you've inspired me, 'cause now I gotta seek one for RETRO TYCO.
"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
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Edited by - RP model railroads on June 12 2018 4:39:46 PM
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Posted - June 13 2018 : 8:51:32 PM
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Thanks Chops and RP!
RP- I shouldn't mention it but there is two versions of the Virginian locomotive oh great now you're looking for both
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Posted - June 14 2018 : 06:29:52 AM
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Two versions - knew it.  and am actively searching.
"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
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 2:15:40 PM
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April 2020 update: my layout is STILL in storage
However- over the last year, I have had the opportunity to continue collecting all things HO. So I figured I'd share my yearly stash here
I'll start off with this wonderful Mantua W&A "General" lcoomotive
A handful of freight cars. My personal favorites are the two "Old time" mantua cars and the Green Giant billboard car
Several diesels, mostly AHM. These are mostly for parts but a few of them run nice (the FEC and SF locos in particular). But these will likely be more for parts.
More diesels! A LL F40PH, a Mehano RI switcher, and Tyco Pennsy unit and dummy. All run great!
A handful of Tyco Passenger cars I got in various lots. The CN and CP ones in particular are quite hard to find I believe, at least in the States.
And now the best part, steamers! At the top is a Tyco F7 UP dummy, then a Royal Blue 2-8-0 (practically new, still has the smoke fluid and original tag on the smokestack!) A wonderful Mantua Great Northern Mikado, and a Mehano AT&SF Pacific!
Here we have a Royal Blue Pacific (scarcer version with blue wheels and cab #5322), a CB&Q Mantua Miakdo, and a classic Chattanooga 0-8-0!
I have plenty more to share as well! I found an unbelievable amount of good deals over the last year or so, so I will post more updates over the coming days/weeks
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 5:26:09 PM
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Layout in storage?? I know what that feels like!  Your expanding fleet of locomotives
looks great. I've started looking for those CN coaches, myself, and they are the deuce to
find. I am going to start painting my own.
Well, when your layout goes up again, keep us posted. I bet it will be amazing.
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 6:15:09 PM
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Layout was looking great! Any idea when itll be back?
I must say, the mountain looked a bit crude, but I really liked the road crossing.
Ideas, ideas, ideas are brewing for sets for my series based on layouts like these!
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 7:12:08 PM
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| Well i was hoping to have things up by May, but the whole Coronavirus thing has my schedule out of wack. I'm currently out of work and waiting for things to get going again, but hopefully late this summer I can get things back up
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 7:36:44 PM
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quote:Well i was hoping to have things up by May, but the whole Coronavirus thing has my schedule out of wack. I'm currently out of work and waiting for things to get going again, but hopefully late this summer I can get things back up
Originally posted by RealBnsfIAÂ -Â April 20 2020Â :Â 7:12:08 PM
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Oh no! That sucks. Yes, hopefully the heat will slow things down during this summer and things will get better, then we'll be able to see that layout again!
Edited by - BlaxlandAlex3 on April 20 2020 7:37:13 PM
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 8:50:03 PM
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Yeah well, the mountain won't be hitting the pages of MR any time soon,
but that's exactly why I like it. Did you notice the bilevel train running
through it? It looks that it spends most of its time underground, and
then pops out through the meadow between portals. I just love
that.
I, too, have had really good luck with my two Mehano pieces. It seems
the backstory is that from Tyco, a group of renegade designers quit
and went out to start their own company, Precision Engineering Company, or Pemco. They wanted to upgrade the Tyco product, but keep it in the
low end of the cost category. Regrettably, they launched Pemco just
about when computer games were gaining traction, and they only
put out one catalogue and production barely lasted two years. What
I've been reading is that AHM picked up their line under the
"Mehano" name. Those Mehano pieces, of which I have two, Blax
having identified one for me that I thought was a Bachmann, are
awesome runners, great level of detail, just like the Pemco unit.
The school house scene, the compressed baseball diamond, and the road crossing
(I really need to master that art), all are just perfect for the Tyco man. Great to
see this thread back, even if it is in storage, otherwise.
Edited by - Chops124 on April 20 2020 8:52:19 PM
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 9:22:19 PM
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quote:Yeah well, the mountain won't be hitting the pages of MR any time soon,
but that's exactly why I like it. Did you notice the bilevel train running
through it? It looks that it spends most of its time underground, and
then pops out through the meadow between portals. I just love
that.
I, too, have had really good luck with my two Mehano pieces. It seems
the backstory is that from Tyco, a group of renegade designers quit
and went out to start their own company, Precision Engineering Company, or Pemco. They wanted to upgrade the Tyco product, but keep it in the
low end of the cost category. Regrettably, they launched Pemco just
about when computer games were gaining traction, and they only
put out one catalogue and production barely lasted two years. What
I've been reading is that AHM picked up their line under the
"Mehano" name. Those Mehano pieces, of which I have two, Blax
having identified one for me that I thought was a Bachmann, are
awesome runners, great level of detail, just like the Pemco unit.
The school house scene, the compressed baseball diamond, and the road crossing
(I really need to master that art), all are just perfect for the Tyco man. Great to
see this thread back, even if it is in storage, otherwise.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â April 20 2020Â :Â 8:50:03 PM
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Well thank you Jeff! Yeah the mountain definitely needs some work but I'll get to it! My aim isn't to be super realistic/prototypical, I just love the retro look mixed with some modern stuff like scenery and detail.
Also, a very interesting story on the founding of Pemco/Mehano. Mehano I believe is truly underrated, they perform significantly better than Tyco and have some power to them.
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Posted - April 21 2020 : 02:28:36 AM
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How has that Bachmann DCC worked out for you? I have a used one sitting
on the shelf, and have not worked up the nerve to try it. It would be interesting
and fun to run multiple trains on the same line, but at the same time I don't
want to invent more problems and projects to solve.
I ran this Mehano mogul a little while ago (Circus Comes to Town)
that I had not run before, and was pleasantly surprised at what
a little cruisemobile she was. And the Pemco holds up so nice and
durable.
Edited by - Chops124 on April 21 2020 02:53:30 AM
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Posted - April 21 2020 : 08:57:18 AM
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quote:How has that Bachmann DCC worked out for you? I have a used one sitting
on the shelf, and have not worked up the nerve to try it. It would be interesting
and fun to run multiple trains on the same line, but at the same time I don't
want to invent more problems and projects to solve.
I ran this Mehano mogul a little while ago (Circus Comes to Town)
that I had not run before, and was pleasantly surprised at what
a little cruisemobile she was. And the Pemco holds up so nice and
durable.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â April 21 2020Â :Â 02:28:36 AM
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My apologies if I came off a bit rude on the mountain
Yes, I was just also putting in that it needed some more scenery. The rest of it looks great so far!
If you are talking to me, Chops, My Jupiter should be arriving tommorow.
And as I've said before, Mehano/IHC/Pemco is amazing and I also gotta get one of those Moguls!
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Posted - April 21 2020 : 11:35:53 AM
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quote:How has that Bachmann DCC worked out for you? I have a used one sitting
on the shelf, and have not worked up the nerve to try it. It would be interesting
and fun to run multiple trains on the same line, but at the same time I don't
want to invent more problems and projects to solve.
I ran this Mehano mogul a little while ago (Circus Comes to Town)
that I had not run before, and was pleasantly surprised at what
a little cruisemobile she was. And the Pemco holds up so nice and
durable.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â April 21 2020Â :Â 02:28:36 AM
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The DCC's are ok for Bachmann. The locos are pretty nice and a HUGE improvement from their stuff 20+ years ago, very nice runners and overall excellent. I have three Bachmann DCC Sound locomotives and they are all pretty darn good, especially for the money. The controller on the other hand is a mixed bag, very basic and can only assign 9 engines to it. One I had for six months and having just two locos on the track fried it, the second unit I have now is still working but I haven't plugged it in to my main layout yet.
Also Alex, you're good I also think it's quite crude right now.
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Posted - April 21 2020 : 12:09:23 PM
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Alex, can't wait to see what you do with the jupiter. BNSFIA, do you
run multiple units at once, in synch?
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Posted - April 21 2020 : 12:54:38 PM
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Yes I do sometimes on the main track. The main loop is quite large and I can easily run two full size passenger or freight trains on it. I believe the most I've run at once is three, two of which were in a A-B-A consist and a DCC loco on it's own. I had it set up so I can easily switch between DC and DCC, as >80% of my locos are DC.
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Posted - April 21 2020 : 2:49:55 PM
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quote: quote:How has that Bachmann DCC worked out for you? I have a used one sitting
on the shelf, and have not worked up the nerve to try it. It would be interesting
and fun to run multiple trains on the same line, but at the same time I don't
want to invent more problems and projects to solve.
I ran this Mehano mogul a little while ago (Circus Comes to Town)
that I had not run before, and was pleasantly surprised at what
a little cruisemobile she was. And the Pemco holds up so nice and
durable.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â April 21 2020Â :Â 02:28:36 AM
|
The DCC's are ok for Bachmann. The locos are pretty nice and a HUGE improvement from their stuff 20+ years ago, very nice runners and overall excellent. I have three Bachmann DCC Sound locomotives and they are all pretty darn good, especially for the money. The controller on the other hand is a mixed bag, very basic and can only assign 9 engines to it. One I had for six months and having just two locos on the track fried it, the second unit I have now is still working but I haven't plugged it in to my main layout yet.
Also Alex, you're good I also think it's quite crude right now.
Originally posted by RealBnsfIAÂ -Â April 21 2020Â :Â 11:35:53 AM
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Phew!
Good to hear!
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Bamos
Big Six
Status:
offline
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Posted - April 23 2020 : 04:06:35 AM
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Those are some nice vintage pieces you picked up. I especially like
the steamers. When I seen this thread was back i was hoping for an
Update. Hope things turn around for you soon.
Bill
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Posted - April 24 2020 : 12:30:01 AM
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Thank you Bill, Glad you like it! I am a huge fan of the steamers as well, they were probably my favorite buys. I can't wait to get back to it and I will definitely be posting pictures when I do
In the meantime, here's round two of vintage trainstuffs:
I'll start with this crazy deal. A full set of hard to find Tyco Union Pacific Coaches, plus an extra observation coach, which I got at a train show last year for just 25 bucks!!
Another great set. I believe this was called the "Colombian Special", a red box era chrome Royal Blue set, also acquired for a steal of a price
Now here's a real holy grail. All four Gilbert/AF Northern Pacific Coaches with boxes. I did pay a hefty price for them, but definitely within reason and certainly under market value!
Here we've got a nice BB Athearn AB Union Pacific set, along with various freight cars and a few chrome Santa Fe Coaches
Here's a really interesting batch. The Gilbert Northern Pacific Powered +Dummy in the bag, as well as a very interesting "Silvine Automatic crossing gate" accessory (anyone know more about this?)
And lastly, probably my best buy of them all. Everything you see here I got for only $15 bucks. Yep This is probably the best eBay deal I have ever found! The Santa Fe F7 is really what sold it for me
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Posted - June 11 2021 : 11:49:01 AM
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| Hey guys!! It has been a long time since I've been on this forum, but I'm glad to say that my layout is finally out of storage and I should be able to start posting again next month!
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Posted - June 11 2021 : 1:35:22 PM
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Bring it on! Shoot up some vid, if you can. I'd like to
see that Athearn set turning a wheel.
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Posted - June 11 2021 : 8:33:25 PM
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Looking forward to it!
"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
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Posted - June 11 2021 : 8:53:20 PM
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quote:looking good
I wants that Budget moving van
Originally posted by microbusss - April 02 2018 : 8:24:46 PM
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cancel that
I acquired one 
oh I want the Tyco UP set!
Edited by - microbusss on June 11 2021 8:54:40 PM
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Posted - July 11 2021 : 11:53:27 PM
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Alright fellas, we're back in business! Here's a couple photos to get started
Some buildings and things were damaged in storage, but the damage for the most part was fairly minor.
The Plasticville classic burger stand has popped up on the outskirts of town!
The residential section of town is also coming together, with a few new additions: the Bungalow kit from Atlas, and the Split Level home kit from Patal.
One major renovation coming to the layout is the removal of the mountain, which means no more fully elevated oval [ sorry chops :( ]. The mountain received a fair share of damage in storage and overall I wasn't pleased with how it was looking. This area will be remodeled to look more like the driftless area in Northeast IA/Southwest WI, with the addition of two smaller tunnels in a smaller "mountainy" area. The logging mill will stay as well, as much of the area will be forested.
And finally, a look at part of the new display area for my trains.
Stay tuned! Much more to come
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Posted - July 12 2021 : 09:23:46 AM
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Great update!
Looks like the town is coming back together well. Cool train display shelf too.
"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
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Posted - July 18 2021 : 8:12:15 PM
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Thanks RP!
More updates:
The new, improved mountain/hill area
A look at the shelf which houses my passenger car collection
A shot of my new DCC Bachmann GP-38-2 near the campground area
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Posted - July 18 2021 : 10:51:40 PM
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Looking great! Love the burger joint. That Bachmann EZ track is good
stuff. With my sectional track, both Hornby and Tyco code 100, I am
forever having to tinker with it due to heat, cold, humidity, any little
baseboard warpage. I'd rather be running trains than playing Railroad
Detective trying to find the micrometer fault.
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Posted - July 19 2021 : 12:05:43 AM
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Thanks Jeff!
Yes I love those old Plasticville models, cheap looking and perfect for that retro/vintage layout look. A staple of model railroad layouts for over 70 years!
Yep, as of now I have been very satisfied with the EZ track on my layout, make sure you get Nickel Silver only though. Easy to maintain, and, as long as you're not feasting for realism, it provides a great retro look. (Also no ballasting!). I have had very few problems running EZ track for 5+ years now, the turnouts can be a pain in the rear though haha, just keep 'em clean!
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Posted - July 19 2021 : 10:43:47 AM
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looking great!
better than my progress
anyway what I'd like is 2 of those UP Coaches then I'll have a set
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Posted - July 19 2021 : 11:17:04 AM
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Thanks Ben!
Unfortunately, I only have two of the UP tyco coaches, took me forever to find so not for sale good luck finding them
I have two extra "combine" ones though!
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Posted - July 19 2021 : 8:56:38 PM
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Nice layout update! That tunnel is looking awesome!
"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
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Posted - July 19 2021 : 10:48:44 PM
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quote:Thanks Jeff!
Yes I love those old Plasticville models, cheap looking and perfect for that retro/vintage layout look. A staple of model railroad layouts for over 70 years!
Yep, as of now I have been very satisfied with the EZ track on my layout, make sure you get Nickel Silver only though. Easy to maintain, and, as long as you're not feasting for realism, it provides a great retro look. (Also no ballasting!). I have had very few problems running EZ track for 5+ years now, the turnouts can be a pain in the rear though haha, just keep 'em clean!
Originally posted by RealBnsfIAÂ -Â July 19 2021Â :Â 12:05:43 AM
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An interesting point- you know I've tried my hand at ballasting. You have to soak down the ballast with
white glue, and even if you add detergent, or alcohol, to break the surface tension, the water beads up
and little snowballs of ballast go rolling off, and the glue-water climbs up the inside of the rails, creating
perfect electrical insulation, and Heaven help you trying to ballast a turnout; what phun that can be. For
every hour of laying in ballast, there is like five more spent scraping out the dried glue from all the angles
that you need to have electricity reaching metal wheels.
And then, to put the cherry on top, some humid day and the baseboard starts to swell up in micrometers, or
the garage gets hot and the track starts to warp, or you left in a snakehead, or you want to change something up-
now you got to undo all that mess, and probably kiss that Shinora #6 adios.
We know, there are a lot of guys, including on the Forum, who achieve astonishing results. They all say
it's NBD. They must have the hands of surgeons and the patience of the saints. I just like to have fun
with stuff, and maybe the only thing worse than ballasting is hand laying track. Now those guys really
must be into pain!  Anyways, hats off to you men of the ballast crew!!
Edited by - Chops124 on July 19 2021 10:49:39 PM
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Posted - July 19 2021 : 11:00:17 PM
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On gluing ballast: I've always just sort of persevered over the surface tension, using either soap or alcohol in the diluted glue. There are people who mist the track with either soapy water or rubbing alcohol to pre-wet it before dribbling on the glue. I haven't tried it, yet, but it looks like it might be easier.
I haven't had much trouble with the glue getting where it shouldn't be. A little caution goes a long way and it can be more or less controlled if you dribble the glue away from the rail joiners and let it soak through the ballast toward them.
One other thing that might make life easier when I ballast is that I use sand from the gutter along the street. Sometimes it'll be drifted there after a rain. It's a mix of sizes of sand grains, so the glue has more surface to stick things together. I sift it to get the big rocks out and pour it between buckets in the breeze to winnow out the excess dust.
I'm aware that some store-bought ballast is crushed pecan shells or something like that, and I can imagine that just floating away on the glue. The heavier sand probably stays put better.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - July 20 2021 : 3:24:57 PM
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quote:Thanks Ben!
Unfortunately, I only have two of the UP tyco coaches, took me forever to find so not for sale good luck finding them
I have two extra "combine" ones though!
Originally posted by RealBnsfIAÂ -Â July 19 2021Â :Â 11:17:04 AM
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already have the one I needs I'm just missing the coaches
course I do have a full on Rio Grade set hehehe
totally NFS
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Posted - December 24 2021 : 10:15:14 PM
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Hello everyone! I'm back after a loooong break! Things have just been so busy and time just seems to slip away when work and life get in the way
Luckily, I have many updates to the layout as I've had some downtime over the holidays!
Here is an overview of the yard area, with all the switches and most of the track now in place.
A couple of AHM yard buildings, from the "Medford Yard Building Group" kit from the 70s
A locomotive shed from Menards, complete with LED lighting!
Another great Menards building, the Sprecher Brewery, with an animated light up sign!
An overview of the residential section of town, with more houses springing up.
The Walthers Cornerstone "Rural Farmers Coop" kit.
Another great Walthers kit, this time a farmhouse
An overview of the hilly area, with the trees I got from Jeff a while ago added.
And finally, my new IHC CB&Q Pacific Steam loco
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Posted - December 24 2021 : 10:34:16 PM
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Nice! Looks like you've been busy building.
Carpe Manana!
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 Posted - December 24 2021 : 10:54:33 PM
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Fun looking layout you have Dave.
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