What's happening on your layout?

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finally bought me a 200-ton crane and laying down plaster cloth for the next section
currently casting rocks and painting them for the install
 

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Occasionally (okay quite often) I like to run a “ridiculously long train that has no business being on the layout”, that is a train that has no real destination and is too long for any sidings. Sure adds lots of interest to multiple train operations!
So when it heads back to staging it takes up just a little too much real estate and winds up fouling switches.

Well this morning I fired up a couple “Jimmies” and started heading out to the mainline when I heard that unmistakable sound of dragging wheels on the ties. Yup, hit that big ol' coal train midsection.
That inspired me to add another light to the overhead control panel. Just a simple on/off toggle switch that activates a flashing LED to indicate a no-go situation on the west staging yard lead. Here’s a short video…

 
Rico said:
Occasionally (okay quite often) I like to run a “ridiculously long train that has no business being on the layout”, that is a train that has no real destination and is too long for any sidings. Sure adds lots of interest to multiple train operations!
So when it heads back to staging it takes up just a little too much real estate and winds up fouling switches.

Well this morning I fired up a couple “Jimmies” and started heading out to the mainline when I heard that unmistakable sound of dragging wheels on the ties. Yup, hit that big ol' coal train midsection.
That inspired me to add another light to the overhead control panel. Just a simple on/off toggle switch that activates a flashing LED to indicate a no-go situation on the west staging yard lead. Here’s a short video…

Click to expand...
I did that once and it was pretty cool. Then heard the dragging wheels on ties, which still wasn't that bad. It was the crash when 3 cars hit the concrete floor 😲 which inspired me to never do that again 😄
 
With the persistent tule fog in the central valley the last 2 weeks I've been indoors building and painting structures for a recreation of my son's Chicago Bridgeport neighborhood on my n scale layout out in my garage. I have about a dozen houses and a dozen brownstones, plus Bridgeport Catholic Academy, Nativity of Our Lord Church, of course Shinnick's Pub, the firehouse on 35th., the RJ Daley house, the playground at 36th. and Wallace, etc. It will occupy a grid of about 18x33 inches and be very selectively compressed (some streets and structures ignored - where is the Cell? Where is the Dan Ryan? - for the sake of space). It will stretch from Halsted to Wallace and 35th to 38th and include most structures of interest to my family and grandkids. I may try to pay homage to 3545 S. Wells which is where my dad's house stood but is now section 159 of the right field grandstand at Rate Field. Anyway, here is the rudimentary start...
IMG_1956.jpeg
 
Well, it was watching a Rapido E1 pulling some passenger cars around until I heard a thunk and it stopped hard. Found that a connecting rod pin had fallen off.
CON ROD MISSING PIN.jpeg


Am now printing up a 2.23mm hex driver to get all that off so that I can try to put the pin back in. Have written to Rapido for a replacement. Am seriously hoping that the rest of the mechanism survived without getting skewed as it was such a wonderful runner.
 
After 4 attempts, got the hex tool size correct. Got the crank pins out, con rod pin back in and pushed a dental tool in to try to spread the pin a bit to get an interference. Also put a drop of loctite 603 on the backside. Only managed to break the headlight and one step off in the process. Good thing is she runs like before.
HEX TOOL AND PIN.jpeg

PIN REINSERTED.jpeg
CON ROD REASSEMBLED.jpeg

CON ROD CLOSE.jpeg
 
I found this n scale boxcab design on a 3d site and gave it a try. It was designed for a Kato 11-109 motor chassis. It was so awesome that I ended up printing 3 of them in different colors and even upsized it to HO scale. When I couldn't find the right size bogie for HO, I put a Hornby 0-6-0 steam chassis under it. Found out that the designer is a member of this forum.
BOXCABS.jpeg


Power unit for the HO size. Coreless motor installed.
CHASSIS LEFT SIDE.jpg
 


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