# The Latest Expansion of the Caboose Layout



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

When you say "Garden Railroading" most of us envision beautiful layouts down on the ground (where they look far more prototypical) and surrounded by plants where they are far more attractive but many of us build our layouts above the ground for a variety of reasons some of which are:

1. We want less maintenance - by building above the ground there is no ground contamination by dirt, standing water and no plants, flowers or other living and growing things like ponds with their fish, filtering systems etc. that require constant maintenance. I always find it sort of amusing to find folks who go with battery power because of "all the track maintenance" who then install plants, flowers, ponds and fish etc. that take a heck of a lot more maintenance than my track ever requires. My philosophy is simple - if it grows kill it.









There is a garden of sorts but that is my wife's so she gets to do all the maintenance of it and she spends far more time on keeping her fish alive than I do on track cleaning. She has her "wildlife" (birds and fish) which require daily efforts to maintain them. My wildlife is a lot simpler (deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, birds) but my maintenance is limited to throwing a half gallon bucket of deer corn out for them each afternoon which provides me with all the wildlife watching I care to do.

2. As we get older we get less flexible and it gets doggone hard to get down on our hands and knees to do things with our layouts and trains at ground level. It is far easier on us to take care of elevated layouts.

3. Simplicity and relative permanence of construction. While straight and level construction may not be simple it does tend to be permanent with little concern for things needing maintenance after each storm passes.

4. Some of us are not very good at and or do not enjoy "creating" things for our layout whether it is buildings, bridges, trestles, tunnels or just plain landscaping. We (or at least me) prefer to take things out of the box, place them on the layout and use them pretty much as the manufacturer built them. We might install a Revolution or a decoder here or there but that is pretty much it. Of course others will have their own variations of the story and I would not presume to guess their thoughts and motives.

As I have begun the construction of the latest expansion of the caboose layout I thought it might be interesting to show where the layout came from and how it has grown and is once again growing in case anyone might be interested in similar construction.

This layout began life as a portable trailer layout that I built with left over track and turnouts from when I rebuilt the main outside layout.













I built the trailer layout to promote the hobby at local train shows etc.












When I stopped hauling the trailer layout around I first started using it at home as a switching layout.












Later I removed it from the trailer and made it into a permanent layout and expanded it.























The storage area was below which was good for a portable layout but somewhat unhandy when rolling stock had to be removed every time the layout was used. 












One of my main reasons for expanding the layout was to put the storage area in a train shed on top of the layout.


After spending a year or so considering alternatives I came up with this design for expanding it.






















The Green area is the current layout which is 12' x 40' and the other colors represent the planned expansion.

The main expansion is a new 16' x 32' deck that will include a train shed on the lower left. Access to the train shed will be via the passing sidings on the lower right.

The framing is almost completed.










The image below is for those who are always telling me I can "learn" to become a craftsman and to work well with wood.









No matter how often I measure and recheck my measurements, the curvature of the boards on the left show that when it comes to woodworking I always end up doing things over and over and over before I get it right.











Jerry


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm impressed! 

Robert


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## Steamer Bill (Nov 22, 2010)

Jerry,
Do you remember where you purchased the yellow wheel stops for you track? I have been looking for them, and have not been able to locate them.

Thanks in Advance,
Bill in Cypress, Texas


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

Jerry 
You may be doing this, but measure your ends and make all your cuts to that length. If you are doing that, is the other side bowed in, where this side is bowed out, if so place an angle brace from the corner post 
to straighten the bow, that could be placed permantely or underneath and removed after the plywood is on. Looking good though. 
Dennis


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Steamer Bill on 06 Mar 2011 03:56 PM 
Jerry,
Do you remember where you purchased the yellow wheel stops for you track? I have been looking for them, and have not been able to locate them.

Thanks in Advance,
Bill in Cypress, Texas 



Hi Bill,

You probably know this but in case you do not,they are the LGB 10250 Wheel Blocks. I buy then when I find them but it has been awhile since I last saw them available. Perhaps Marklin has them back into production.

Someone may know where you can find them today. If so they are invited to post the information here or they could send it to you by private email.

I will probably be looking for more myself for the layout expansion.

Good luck,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By denray on 06 Mar 2011 08:13 PM 
Jerry 
You may be doing this, but measure your ends and make all your cuts to that length. If you are doing that, is the other side bowed in, where this side is bowed out, if so place an angle brace from the corner post 
to straighten the bow, that could be placed permantely or underneath and removed after the plywood is on. Looking good though. 
Dennis 

Hi Dennis,

I think the problem was mainly caused by my using 3" to estimate the width of the 2" x 8"s which were still wet from the preservative and actually measured about 3 1'4".

I ended up cutting 1/2" off (which involved removing three 2" x 8" x 16' boards - not easy). Even then it was slightly bowed out on both sides so I decided the heck with it and left it since the decking was long enough to have a slight overhang on both ends.

In this case I will be using sixty eight 16' pieces of 5/4 decking and I will depend on the decking to hold everything together.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By rdamurphy on 06 Mar 2011 03:46 PM 
I'm impressed! 

Robert 

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the compliment. I was impressed - perhaps overwhelmed is a better word - when the guy at the lumberyard told me it will take 1,768 deck screws just to attach the decking to the frame.

Jerry


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## Steamer Bill (Nov 22, 2010)

I found the Wheel Blocks at onlytrains.com. There site says they are in stock so I ordered some. Thanks for the lead.

Bill in Cypress, Texas


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Jerry, 
When I rebuilt a deck a dozen years ago, I speeded up the screw driving part by hammer setting all the screws where they were going. Acouple of firm hammer blows and the screws stuck up in the wood, then it was simply chucking a screw driver bit in my drill and screwing them in. I also use a sliding driver guard that slides down over the screw and helps keep the bit centered on the screw. 
I prefer self-tapping screws as they don't split the wood as easy as a pointed screw. 

Regarding your bowed section, if you measured at the corrners and cut your wood to fit, then the bow would get pulled in at the center. Do you have cross braces or does the planking go 16' without? It will sag over time without those braces. because you're not walking on it you could space them 2' apart. I'd use 2x4s for them. 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Steamer Bill on 07 Mar 2011 06:54 AM 
I found the Wheel Blocks at onlytrains.com. There site says they are in stock so I ordered some. Thanks for the lead.

Bill in Cypress, Texas 



Hi Bill,

I am glad that you were able to find them. 

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 07 Mar 2011 08:39 AM 
Jerry, 
When I rebuilt a deck a dozen years ago, I speeded up the screw driving part by hammer setting all the screws where they were going. 

Do you have cross braces or does the planking go 16' without? It will sag over time without those braces. because you're not walking on it you could space them 2' apart. I'd use 2x4s for them. 

John Hi John,

Over the years I have tried just about everything for attaching deck screws including your idea of hammering a deck screw slightly to get it started (which worked quite well). I once bought a Craftsman Deck/Drywall Gun (to drive drywall or deck screws) and Sears even had deck screws on strips which I tried as well. Nothing ever seemed "the best" because there usually was a significantly higher cost with things like the Sears strips or the Phillips heads tended to have a fairly high failure rate (bit slipping) with the longer screws.

This time I have found a combination that seems to work best for me. For most of the deck screws I will be using screws with a Torx head and the Craftsman deck/drywall gun (drill). The problem I previously had with it occasionally stripping Phillips head screws is not a factor and it works beautifully with the Torx headed deck screws. Once the depth is set I just hold the screw until it gets a bite while spinning and the Craftsman driver automatically disengages when the proper depth is reached.

I still have a bunch of Phillips headed screws from my last project (building twin decks for the two gazebos by the layout) and, as long as I use them while the new treated lumber is still wet with the preservative a regular drill with a Phillips head driver works pretty well as I use up those old screws.

The Caboose Layout has sort of a goal of building the layout and gazebos for viewing and operating the layout along with cosmetically restoring the caboose (MoPac 13641) to make the "site" into an unofficial day trip for the local schools etc. to introduce the students to Arkansas Railroad History, Garden Railroading and perhaps Union Pacific's Lifesaver Program. The caboose formerly belonged to the Cabot School District and we have had several visitors from the School District to see how "their" caboose is doing.

With that in mind (plus my 325 lbs weight) I wanted to build the new deck strong enough not only to support me but with the idea that some day (hopefully far) in the future someone else will live here who may not want a model train layout but who would probably appreciate a sturdy deck behind the caboose for whatever purposes they may have for it.

I came up with the following design which includes a frame of doubled up 2" x 8" x 16's around the outside and at 8' sections plus 2" x 6" joists at 16" spacings. This is set on 4" x 4"s sunk 12" into concrete at 8' spacings. 












The double 2" x 8"'s and 2" x 6"s on 16" centers may be overkill but in the end I think I will be glad I went to the extra work and expense. At least this way I should not ever have to worry about it being strong enough for anything.

I will say that handling 16 foot 2" x 8"s and mounting them by myself plus hanging all the joists has been a challenge but it does tend to bring out my creativity as I figure out how to manage it. I did hire my grandsons to transfer all of the lumber from the trailer to the deck and to dig the post holes and pour the concrete for me and Al Taylor has also helped out a couple of days.

Thankfully the end does seem to be finally getting closer.

Regards,

Jerry


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## TonyLou (Sep 3, 2009)

Jerry, 
How are you ? Glad to saw your big project. I would be agree with you that left up the layout on the tables which could be easy for maintainance and watching some trains bypass. Our protable layout is still on working. Finally, we found a factory in China for help to re-built all curve tables which look more smooth. When I have photo, I would post on forums to share with you. 
Take good care, 
Tony


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Tony,

It is good to hear from you. I have been wondering how you have been doing as I have not seen any posts by you in some time.

We are doing fine and hope you are as well. I look forward to seeing your photos.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Time to report some progress.

The first priority had been to hold up construction until after deer season ended as I did not want the deer to be frightened away where they might have been shot.

The season ended February 28th and happily the deer were not intimidated by the noises as I built the layout extension.










I am happy to report that the decking is finally screwed down and I have even finished installing the outdoor carpeting.




















Unfortunately the train shed I bought is going to be too narrow for my purposes so I am back to building one myself.











I was somewhat surprised to find that the square footage of the new deck is actually larger than that of the original layout.











When you realize that those are Aristo-Craft 5' sections of track it sort of gives an indication of the size of the layout extension.

My wife commented that the extension (32' x 16') is bigger than her living room. I'm wondering what that observation is going to cost me.









Actually I have to admit that the 72' width is wider than the width of the yard of several of our previous homes.

Jerry


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

Wow, Jerry, that is going to be awesome! Your raised layout is now larger than the area my railroad occupies on one side of the RV garage. That will allow you to be really creative and have a lot of fun with your railroad. I see too, why you have it elevated ---- to keep the deer from walking all over it, knocking your building around, etc. Anyway, that' really nice.

Ed


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the compliment. 

When done hopefully the layout will be interesting, easy to operate and as maintenance free as possible. 

I have tried to include a bit of everything.










To keep maintenance at a minimum I am replacing all the brass track and turnouts with new Aristo-Craft Stainless Steel track and turnouts. This will be our main club layout so I want it to be easy to understand and to operate for everyone. With the new stainless track and 10' diameter outer curves and turnouts the layout should be fully compatible with everything from Analog Track Power to The Revolution, to MTS, to DCC, to DCS, and even battery and steam power.

The "Plastic, Plywood and Carpet Railway" will hopefully be better than ever.

Of course I am sure that I forgot something.

Jerry


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

Well it sure looks like it will be a good layout to me. I like your reverse loops. I find they are invaluable on my railroad.

Ed


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

The new layout is finally getting close to completion. The new deck is done, the carpet is laid and the track is now all connected except for the sidings etc. for the train shed and switching yard.

To be honest I had some doubts about whether the expansion would make that much difference in the layout or if it would still look like a train going around and around in a circle. My doubts are now gone completely. The difference has to be seen to be appreciated. Now there is (will be) a place for trains to be assembled, a double mainline going somewhere and places to stop for specific reasons. Best of all when the weather gets hot I will be able to run just about everything from the air conditioned cupola.

As it turned out the security light I put on the caboose to illuminate the deer and raccoons (so I can watch them better as well as to provide better illumination for the security cameras) is perfect for illuminating the extended layout for night running. I can switch off both the caboose light and the regular security lights to make everything really dark when I want to run "in the middle of the night."

This is where the town will be plus it shows the difference in construction between the older layouts and the new deck.











When done, this will be the sawmill and lumber yard:











There will be a Trolley Line down the middle from the Town to the Sawmill and there will be combination passenger stations for the Trolleys and Passenger Trains (RDC's etc.) plus freight stations for the town and sawmill.











This gives a visual idea of how far the sawmill now is from town (far enough to justify a trolley).












This is where the engine shop plus the assembly and freight yards will be:










With a bit of luck there should be something actually running on it within a day or so.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Over the past 15+ years and again recently some have asked why I use factory joiners (Aristo-Craft on Aristo-Craft track and LGB on LGB track) rather than clamps. 

I agree that clamps are usually better than joiners but my philosophy is the old one that "if it ain't broke don't fix it." More important it is a matter of economics. I have used factory joiners for many years with very few problems and it is only when I have a problem that I replace individual factory joiners with clamps.

Perhaps the reason I have so few problems with factory joiners is because my layouts are what I would describe as having clean trackage. By that I mean that none of my track is actually in contact with the ground where it would be subjected to dirt, grit (I don't use any ballast) ground water or other ground contaminants. I also use LGB Conductive paste on all brass connections where the conductive part of the rail under the joiners still shows up as shiny when years later the track might be separated. In the past I even used LGB Conductive Paste on my stainless steel track joiners (don't ask me to justify it - I just chose to do it). This time since the Caboose Layout is relatively small I elected not to use any conductive paste on the stainless steel joiners as a sort of test. If I run into any problems I will go back, disconnect the track and use the conductive paste. One advantage of stainless steel over brass is the lack of significant oxidation so I will be able to put conductive paste in the joiners a year or more in the future if I should decide to do it.

As for the economics, when you consider that the average cost per stainless steel clamp is probably around $2.00 each and it takes a pair ($4.00) to connect a piece of track, if you multiply that with an average of a pair of clamps per 2 feet of track (allowing for track longer than 1 foot), over the years I have saved approximately $8,000 by not buying clamps for the 4,000 or so feet of my various layouts. 

Here the fact that all my layouts are elevated or indoors makes a big difference. If and when I should ever need clamps I have two inexpensive options:

1. install clamps if, when, and where needed or

2. simply jumper a section of track having weak conductivity by running a piece of wire connected to 1/2 clamps to bridge the weak section (usually only a single rail). Here my elevated layouts come into play once again in that I can readily run wires down through the decks and under the layout to wherever I want to connect the jumpers.

If my layouts were smaller or if I only had a single (relatively small) layout I would probably have gone with clamps and if anyone ever asked me I would tell them that clamps are a good idea for most people - they are simply a Cadillac solution for my Volkswagen problems.

Jerry


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

WOW! What a layout. Have you given any thought to making some fake tunnels, just to break up your long mainline runs? Just simple wooden boxes with portals might do the trick. Just a thought. 

I've also used the aristo joiners and screws almost exclusively. I do have a dozen or so track clamps, but I am going to try the aristo clamps on my new railroad. Simply because the LGB slip joiners don't make enough contact and the old Aristo joiners (wth those stupid phillips head screws) are completely worthless now. 

Also, your last line :they are simply a Cadillac solution for my Volkswagen problems.

I think I know what you meant, but my V-dubs have been awesome (except that 96 passat that was a dog!). Don't think the caddy would be as reliable!!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 22 Mar 2011 11:08 AM 
Jerry,

Have you given any thought to making some fake tunnels, just to break up your long mainline runs? 
Also, your last line : they are simply a Cadillac solution for my Volkswagen problems.

I think I know what you meant!! 
Hi Mark,

You are a pretty good mind reader. Yes, I had given some thought to making tunnels but while my imagination is good enough to enjoy playing with toy trains it has not been good enough to come up with a good way to make artificial tunnels. I can live with my plastic grass but when it comes to making things like tunnels I chicken out (both because of my limited talents and also my unwillingness to learn how to do it).

My reference to Cadillacs and Volkswagens was more a reference to their relative cost. If all I need is to go from point A to point B I am happy getting there in my 35 year old gas guzzling F-250. If we want to go some distance in relative comfort we take an 11 year old Expedition that I bought (totaled) from a salvage yard. In either case the objective is accomplished - we get there with a minimal vehicle expense and the cost of gas is somewhat irrelevant in that I drive too little for gas savings to be enough to pay for anything more efficient.

I just look for the cheapest solution to whatever problems I may have. 

As an example I bought these joiners cheap because (as I was told) they did not work well with the AC stainless steel joiners. 












My solution was to use them instead with discarded and reformed brass LGB joiners. This way they work quite well since the brass is soft enough to clamp well.












I also use some Hillman, Split Jaw and Aristo-Craft joiners. A friend uses a lot of AC joiners and he is extremely happy with them.

Today was the big day. I finally got to the point of putting power to the new layout.

I started with an Aristo-Craft RDC-3 on the outer loop. Here plain old analog track power proved once again to be the perfect way for me to set up and test a new layout. 

The RDC-3 ran OK around the outside loop but the light did flicker a bit which made me wonder about some of my connections but I tightened up the screws and it ran somewhat better. I then decided the RDC-3 probably needed to be run in to get it to run better so I drove it onto the inner loop.

Here everything went to heck. The RDC-3 was slow, jerky and stopped several times.

The first thing I discovered was that I had not tightened many of the hex head screws as I had left them loose to align the track. There were several places where I had forgotten to even put in the screws.

The next thing I found was that it still stopped dead so I got out my shorting wire with alligator clips at each end. Before long I found that one of the new turnouts had a break in the circuit so I removed it and found it was missing an internal screw. Once I installed a screw and reinstalled the turnout the RDC-3 ran a lot better but still its light flickered a lot. I was beginning to think I was going to end up buying a bunch of clamps after all but I had one last thought...

Even though this was almost all brand new stainless steel track and turnouts I went ahead and got my old trusty LGB 5004 track cleaning block along with some LGB track cleaning fluid and I cleaned the stainless steel track. I immediately noticed the roughness of the surface of the track but a couple of wipes with the cleaning block and the track was smooth and shiny.

When I finished that I put power back to the track and the RDC-3 has been running beautifully ever since on both mainlines with the light never flickering at all.

I have to admit that I was surprised that the new SS track needed that cleaning.

I also noticed that while there were several places where I found track that did not accept the hex screws and I had to use my modified clamps that in about 1/2 the cases simply throwing the old hex head screw away and trying a new one resolved the problem. It seems there are about as many screws that do not fit the threaded holes as there are threaded holes that do not accept a screw. Overall the quantity (including those that the hole was too misaligned for the factory clamp) was not that great - especially considering that this is stainless steel that AC was drilling and tapping.

The RDC-3 has been running for the past hour or two outside (I have not even felt I needed to look out and check on it). The purpose of this is that I want to see if I can get the deer to come out to feed while the RDC-3 is still running around the layout.

Time to go watch for the deer.

Regards,

Jerry

PS I forgot to mention that the power to the layout is coming from the cupola so I can control the RDC-3 from there.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Where did you come up with this track plan? 
I think it is interesting. 
You don't another layout do you ? 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 22 Mar 2011 07:09 PM 
Where did you come up with this track plan? 
I think it is interesting. 
You don't another layout do you ? 

JJ 

Hi JJ,

I came up with this design after spending a year or so playing "what if" with the RR-Track software. Once I settled on the new design I ordered the new track (to beat the March 1 price increase and hopefully to buy the lumber before gas prices drove the cost of lumber up) but I have changed the plan at least twice since the first order of track.

The main difference from the old layout (in addition to the track level train shed) was that I had decided I needed an Interurban track for the PCC Trolleys and RDC-3's to run on but for that to have any meaning there would have to be some distance involved between the town and the sawmill. Who knows, this may be the first trolley line built for the new Aristo-Craft PCC Trolleys. The trolley line is independent from but compatible with the rest of the layout. Trolleys and RDC's can be run on the trolley line while trains are running on the mainlines but, if desired, the trolleys can be removed and the town and sawmill are also accessible to the mainline trains.

The design was mainly driven by the desire to have trains ready to run within a few minutes whenever visitors might arrive. Part of the reason for this is to enhance the interest of school groups who might come to see "their" caboose. The layout will give more meaning to a school trip instead of just seeing the caboose.












Actually this is sort of "the little layout" which I built primarily to use as a club layout and for visitors to the caboose. Eventually I realized I needed a larger size to make it more interesting plus to make it fun to see and run from inside the cupola. I am building the layout with dual controls so I can run the layout from the cupola or I and or visitors can also run it from the twin gazebos I built as sort of an outdoor clubhouse.

The main layout is considerably larger (several thousand feet) and runs through the garage, under the house and outside. There are other layouts as well including the wall mounted layout in the office. The main layout was not working out as a club layout because it is primarily in the confined area of the crawl space under the house and there is little room for visitors or club members there. While it is perfect for a one man operation it is too complicated to bring much stuff outside for visitors to see and run.


























I also borrowed ideas from layouts like Marty's where others had thought of things I had not. It seems that as soon as I finish one layout I find myself building, modifying or expanding another. 

This hobby is like an addiction - isn't it?

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I just got an email from TW with a "Blowout" of the Aristo-Craft Rail-busses complete with a coach so it looks like the Trolley Line will be running a couple of those as alternatives to the PCC Trolleys and RDC's.

The Rail-busses should give the Trolley Line a bit of old time flavoring as I want to be modeling the late steam era more than the more modern diesel eras.

The focus of the Caboose Layout is based on the "Railroads of Arkansas" which includes Missouri Pacific (original owner of the caboose), Rock Island and in earlier times the Missouri and North Arkansas Line and the White Pass Railway. UP came later but while I ordered UP Rail-busses I will probably convert them to the Missouri and North Arkansas and to the White River Railway.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

It looks like the new layout meets with the local wildlife's approval.

After letting the RDC run for several hours (overlapping when the deer normally come to feed) the doe showed up and while cautious about the moving RDC she eventually began to ignore it. 










After watching the doe for awhile (the little ones surprisingly did not show up) I reversed the direction of the RDC. The doe clearly was not happy with it. For some reason the RDC running counter-clockwise was much more acceptable than when it was running clockwise.

Eventually she settled down and went back to feeding.

Apparently at least some of the little ones showed up later after I took the RDC off the layout and went to the house for dinner.










I got a real surprise when I reviewed the latest batch of photos from the game cameras and discovered that there are at least two new deer showing up for dinner. In addition to the regulars - the doe, 4 little ones and the buck there are here a total of 8 deer including 2 deer that I was not aware were coming.











There are now at least 8 deer (and at least 6 raccoons) turning up for dinner. I don't know if the new ones are going to become regulars but I guess I need to start putting out more food for them. 

This compares with 12 raccoons and only 4 deer last year.











Jerry


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

What I did for my 'temporary' tunnel was to take a cardboard box, paint it with spray paint, and add two portals to it. presto! Instant tunnel. 

I saw that trainworld deal, too. Tempting.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 23 Mar 2011 10:43 AM 
Jerry,

What I did for my 'temporary' tunnel was to take a cardboard box, paint it with spray paint, and add two portals to it. presto! Instant tunnel. 

I saw that trainworld deal, too. Tempting. 


Hi Mark,

Once I get the train shed built and the loco shed (along with a deck for it) built, I will probably be looking for some sort of tunnel. It had occurred to me to try to extend the train shed to make it into a sort of tunnel by making it deep enough to go over the mainlines.

Jerry


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## John Allman (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry - doesnt having the outdoor carpet hold water against the underlying wood? I like the idea of carpet, but I expect that it would increase the warping and rotting of the decking - even if you use pressure treated wood. 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John Allman on 24 Mar 2011 06:14 AM 
Jerry - doesnt having the outdoor carpet hold water against the underlying wood? I like the idea of carpet, but I expect that it would increase the warping and rotting of the decking - even if you use pressure treated wood. 

John 

Hi John,

You are absolutely correct.

It was because I had discovered that the warranty against plywood delaminating if covered with outdoor carpeting that I built the new layout extension with decking rather than plywood. At least the decking should not delaminate. On the other hand I will not be surprised if in years to come that I will discover that the decking may have some sort of water damage but if I am still alive and still living here and if the damage is so severe that the layout will no longer support me I may at that time do something about it - but in the meantime I like the green outdoor carpeting so I continue to use it.

I should add that my first outdoor layout was made with uncovered treated plywood and it turned out a very poor idea. Years later I replaced that layout with one made of composite decking (with some green carpeting). The main layout which is inside is all green outdoor carpeting on plywood but there obviously is no rain etc. to damage anything. I got the idea of using green outdoor carpeting from Buddy Rickard's O Gauge layout in Knoxville, TN. Buddy used indoor carpeting under his indoor O Gauge track and I thought it was a great idea.

By comparison the 1st generation of the caboose layout (when it was a trailer layout) seems to not show delamination but the carpet (which I glued down) has deteriorated a fair amount. The 2nd generation (the 1st Caboose Layout) is only a couple of years old but the plywood is delaminating quite a bit. I attribute this to a large extent to some really poor quality plywood as I had noticed evidence of delaminating when I first bought it. Now that delamination is quite noticeable as I walk on it but I choose to think of it as giving "texture"







to the surface and I will compensate for the delamination by shimming the track as needed unless and until it becomes so drastic that I might have to pull the plywood up and replace it with decking.

It was the delaminating of the plywood that led me to the decision not to attempt to sand the decking flat. I am assuming that I will have some problems in the future but I made a decision that I prefer the look of the carpeting over bare wood and I will find a way to live with any future problems I run into with it.

If I was a lot younger or if I was renting or if we had a mortgage or if I had a job where we might have to move, I would probably have a different outlook on life and on the hobby but going back to when I first got into the hobby I ran into too many situations where others kept telling me why I could not do this and I should not do that. I got so frustrated with all of the negative advice that I decided to ignore everyone and just do whatever happened to appeal to me. Then whenever my choices turned out to be dumb I simply worked out my own solutions to make whatever the problems were go away.

Then too I am happy and fortunate to be living in rural Arkansas where I don't have to ask anyone's permission if I want to move a caboose into my back yard (field), put in a septic tank for it or build a large model train layout outside or build a shooting range off my driveway or anything else where someone might want to tell me what I can or cannot do (within reason). I should add that all of my neighbors are perfectly happy with the stuff I do.

I thought I might have pushed things too far when I had this sign made up at the HAGRS and mounted it where our lower driveway meets the highway:











Playing it safe I went to the county offices and inquired what sort of permit or license I might need. They checked their records, told me the regulations I would have to meet (impossible) and then said that since there is no other Caboose Lane in the county and as long as I did not use it for an address or other legal purpose that I might as well just put it up. I sure love living in Arkansas.

I go out of my way to avoid telling anyone what they should do but instead I simply comment on whatever it is that I happen to be doing.[/b]

*Your comments are most welcome and they should be carefully considered by anyone who might happen to decide that they would like to use outdoor carpeting for their outside layouts.*

Thanks for bringing the issue up.

Another example of why I do things I would never recommend to others is the fact that I just built this extension directly over the septic tank I had installed for the caboose last year. While I may do things that appear to be ill advised I do them with careful thought about the potential consequences. When the septic tank was laid I took a lot of photographs confirming the exact location of it along with the measurements of it and I have a diagram (for the future if needed) of precisely where the septic tank is located so I will know exactly how to get to the access hatch on the top if I should ever need to.











Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Yesterday evening I decided to try out one of the CTA PCC Trolleys on the new layout both to see how well it ran on the stainless steel track without clamps and also to test it with the local wildlife.










The deer were a bit nervous but where only the doe showed up the day before yesterday with the RDC running, she showed up yesterday with three little ones as the CTA PCC Trolley was running.

I was pleased to find that even when I ran the PCC Trolley very slowly that it easily ran for an hour or more without the slightest difficulty or hesitation.

One advantage of running the PCC Trolley was that the deer were so focused on the trolley that they never noticed me photographing them from up above them in the cupola.

Jerry


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## ddevoto (Jan 22, 2008)

Hey Jerry, Your layout is visible on Google Earth. I flew over Ed Haymes rd. (on my computer) and can see the green rectangle with what looks like dots that are buildings. WOW your visible from space!! 

Dan 
P-Town & West Side RR


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By ddevoto on 24 Mar 2011 09:24 AM 
Hey Jerry, Your layout is visible on Google Earth. I flew over (on my computer) and can see the green rectangle with what looks like dots that are buildings. WOW your visible from space!! 

Dan 
P-Town & West Side RR 
Hi Dan,

You are right. That is absolutely amazing. What is funny is that the caboose is there but it is virtually invisible (between the layout and the camper). I guess I really need to paint it but I blew my caboose painting budget on the layout expansion.

The view shows the woods around our home and the layout where the deer, raccoons etc. come from. 












Thanks for letting me know.

Where is the P-Town & West Side RR and the BAGRS located?

Regards,

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I thought Jerry did not want folks knowing where he lived?? 
*****?? we live trap them,, then take them to a customers house who has not paid their bill. Did I say that outloud??


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## Heritage_RY (Mar 23, 2011)

Wow! 
A cabeese they make a great camper. 
I stayed in a caboose one time at Catawsisa, PA. That was really nice. They had them fixed up as motel rooms. 
Really comfy. 
The New Guy.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 24 Mar 2011 12:04 PM 
I thought Jerry did not want folks knowing where he lived?? 
*****?? we live trap them,, then take them to a customers house who has not paid their bill. Did I say that outloud??


Hi Marty,

I don't advertise where I live (or identify it specifically on the internet - which is why I deleted the coordinates from the Google map) but I don't try to hide it either. 

Thanks to a fellow MLSer we even have a (non-interactive) website at: http://www.aprgrc.com/

If any MLSers wish to visit they are always welcome provided they phone first. 

What gets me (very) upset is if and when, on any of the very few occasions that I am gone anywhere, some idiot jumps in and says something about me being gone. 

Family, friends and neighbors look after the place anytime I am gone anywhere (as I always do for them) but while my friends S&W and I are always ready to accommodate uninvited guests I would not wish the inconvenience and expense of doing so on to someone else. Besides it is somewhat inconvenient in that they don't know how to turn off the surveillance systems so I end up with a ton of images to look through.

This idiot ran off the road and over our mailbox. He has no idea he was photographed before he got his vehicle away from here.












Raccoons? Heck, I'll take any you want to get rid of. Perhaps I need to hire you to do a lot of work so I can then not pay you and end up with your raccoons.









A lot of large scalers complain about various wildlife but I go out of my way to attract all that I can. I spotted a wild turkey a few days ago that was only 3 miles from here so now I am trying to figure out if I might be able to attract him (them) here.

True, I get a fair amount of damage (mainly buildings) from the critters but I consider that my "admission fee" for the enjoyment I get from watching them.

We all have different perspectives. I used to enjoy hunting (and I have nothing against it - except here) but now I get a lot more enjoyment from just watching the critters I used to hunt. 

Jerry


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## Heritage_RY (Mar 23, 2011)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 24 Mar 2011 11:28 AM 
Posted By ddevoto on 24 Mar 2011 09:24 AM 
Hey Jerry, Your layout is visible on Google Earth. I flew over (on my computer) and can see the green rectangle with what looks like dots that are buildings. WOW your visible from space!! 

Dan 
P-Town & West Side RR 
Hi Dan,

You are right. That is absolutely amazing. What is funny is that the caboose is there but it is virtually invisible (between the layout and the camper). I guess I really need to paint it but I blew my caboose painting budget on the layout expansion.

The view shows the woods around our home and the layout where the deer, raccoons etc. come from. 












Thanks for letting me know.

Where is the P-Town & West Side RR and the BAGRS located?

Regards,

Jerry

Jerry;
Maybe these pic's were taken before you put the caboose in.
The picture of my house has a motor home on the property.
That was from when a friend visited a few years ago.
It hasn't been there since, but the motor home still shows up on Google earth. 
The New Guy..


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Heritage_RY on 24 Mar 2011 12:58 PM 


Maybe these pic's were taken before you put the caboose in.
The picture of my house has a motor home on the property.
That was from when a friend visited a few years ago.
It hasn't been there since, but the motor home still shows up on Google earth. 
The New Guy.. 


Hi New Guy,

*First of all - WELCOME TO MLS!*

I had checked the image date of the map and it was September 4, 2010. The caboose came first, then the layout, then the gazebos, then the camper, then the septic tank and finally the extended layout (which is not shown - it extends to the left steps of the caboose). This is a much newer map than I had seen before but the street view is an old one in that it still shows the old mailbox before it was run over more than a year ago.










Most of the caboose is covered by the trees.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 24 Mar 2011 12:56 PM 
Posted By NTCGRR on 24 Mar 2011 12:04 PM 
I thought Jerry did not want folks knowing where he lived?? 
*****?? we live trap them,, then take them to a customers house who has not paid their bill. Did I say that outloud??


Hi Marty,

I don't advertise where I live (or identify it specifically on the internet - which is why I deleted the coordinates from the Google map) but I don't try to hide it either. 

Thanks to a fellow MLSer we even have a (non-interactive) website at: http://www.aprgrc.com/

If any MLSers wish to visit they are always welcome provided they phone first. 

What gets me (very) upset is if and when, on any of the very few occasions that I am gone anywhere, some idiot jumps in and says something about me being gone. 

Family, friends and neighbors look after the place anytime I am gone anywhere (as I always do for them) but while my friends S&W and I are always ready to accommodate uninvited guests I would not wish the inconvenience and expense of doing so on to someone else. Besides it is somewhat inconvenient in that they don't know how to turn off the surveillance systems so I end up with a ton of images to look through.

This idiot ran off the road and over our mailbox. He has no idea he was photographed before he got his vehicle away from here.












Raccoons? Heck, I'll take any you want to get rid of. Perhaps I need to hire you to do a lot of work so I can then not pay you and end up with your raccoons.









A lot of large scalers complain about various wildlife but I go out of my way to attract all that I can. I spotted a wild turkey a few days ago that was only 3 miles from here so now I am trying to figure out if I might be able to attract him (them) here.

True, I get a fair amount of damage (mainly buildings) from the critters but I consider that to be my "admission fee" for the enjoyment I get from watching them.

We all have different perspectives. I used to enjoy hunting (and I have nothing against it - except here) but now I get a lot more enjoyment from just watching the critters I used to hunt. 

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Heritage_RY on 24 Mar 2011 12:47 PM 
Wow! 
A cabeese they make a great camper. 
I stayed in a caboose one time at Catawsisa, PA. That was really nice. They had them fixed up as motel rooms. 
Really comfy. 
The New Guy. 

In this case since the inside had been gutted before MoPac donated the caboose to the High School and the kids had trashed the inside pretty bad we painted it (5 coats) and I turned it into a sort of den/man cave by adding 120VAC power, heating/AC, plumbing with toilet, sink, hot water heater and even a dishwasher plus phones, internet and satellite TV's - both downstairs and in the cupola (in for a dime, in for a dollar). 

On a square footage basis it was cheaper than the cheapest room addition to the house would have cost. My mother-in-law paid far more just to add a cheap screened porch to her house.

Since I tend to live and work in the caboose most days and we had the camper which I had not used in years, I moved it behind the caboose and connected it to the septic tank as well.

I was very fortunate in that my wife wanted the caboose as much as I did. Perhaps she is happy that she can now sleep late on weekends and we both have plenty of space to do whatever we want to do that does not involve or annoy the other.

This way I can run trains outside of the caboose but control them from or work on them either in the gazebos in nice weather or in the caboose when it is uncomfortable outside.

Jerry


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

One heck of a project. Looking good so far. Looks like a lot of SS tack that has been purchased. Big bucks.. Later RJD


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## ddevoto (Jan 22, 2008)

Hey Jerry, 

Our P-Town & West Side RR is located in Pleasanton California about 40 miles from San Francisco. I have a few Videos on YouTube of it. Search www.youtube/user/danstrains. This summer I plan on adding HD video using my GoPro. BAGRS is the "Bay Area Garden Railway Society" covering the entire SF Bay Area, www.bagrs.org. I can't make out my layout from space Jerry, but, beware of aliens they may think of trains as a threat. Think of some camouflage netting! 

Glad you liked your space view. 

Dan 
P-Town & West Side RR


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 24 Mar 2011 05:39 PM 
One heck of a project. Looking good so far. Looks like a lot of SS track that has been purchased. Big bucks.. Later RJD 

Hi RJ,

Yes it has been a heck of a project. I will probably end up selling a bunch of stuff to help pay for it. Some of the club members have asked about buying the brass track I replaced but I have not made any decisions on it yet. 

I was really serious when I said that I have blown my caboose painting budget on the layout extension. Here is the RR-Track list of of the track so far (everything is Aristo Stainless Steel):










On the other hand I am now 66 years old and I don't know how many years I still have left to enjoy this hobby so if I end up selling some stuff to buy some other stuff it will just leave that much less for my wife and kids to figure out what to do with when my running days are over.

If anything the stainless steel track should have the best resale value in the future.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By ddevoto on 24 Mar 2011 08:44 PM 
Hey Jerry, 

I can't make out my layout from space Jerry, but, beware of aliens they may think of trains as a threat. Think of some camouflage netting! 

Glad you liked your space view. 

Dan 
P-Town & West Side RR 

Hi Dan,

Remember I had over a 15 year head start on you. I have every confidence that within 15 years your layout will also be visible from space.

By then the Lonoke and El Paso Railway (aka Plastic, Plywood and Carpet Railway) may have a cyber-link to the P-Town & West Side RR.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 24 Mar 2011 01:26 PM 




*MODERATORS:*
I don't know how I did it but apparently this (24 Mar 2011 01:26 PM) is a duplicated post. If convenient please delete the duplication (and this).

Thanks,

Jerry


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## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

In your second photo, why are you on a transfer table? those things are RARE!!


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## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

Why are you on that THING in the second photo? They look RARE


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By jjwtrainman on 25 Mar 2011 06:34 AM 
In your second photo, why are you on a transfer table? those things are RARE!! 

Before I converted the portable Trailer Layout into the permanent Caboose Layout I used to take the Trailer Layout to various train shows etc. The main show around here is the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society's annual Railroadiana Show at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff. They always asked me to bring my Trailer Layout.

http://www.mylargescale.com/tabid/5...fault.aspx











The trailer behind my old Suburban is the Portable Trailer Layout.

When I arrived with the layout for the show the officials asked me if I would mind if they had me use their transfer table to bring the layout into the Arkansas Railroad Museum through the back (where they had moved most of their permanent rolling stock to make room for the show).

I thought about it for at least 1/2 second before I told them "Sure, I'll be happy to bring the layout into the Museum and later remove it via the Transfer Table.









Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

If anyone is interested in the purpose and history of the former Portable Trailer Layout, I had a topic about it before the current version of MLS was created and all former topics were moved to the MLS archives.

There is quite a bit of information in my old topic not only about my own portable trailer layout but also about other transportable layouts. One thing about using the archives is that you will probably have to scroll to the right from inside the topic frame to see all of the text in the various posts.

http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...C_ID=45014

For clarification, I called my layout a Portable Trailer Layout because I designed it from the start to be portable (removable) to and from the trailer so that I could use both the layout and the trailer either independently from each other or combined to make a traveling layout.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Sometimes it takes someone else to point out the obvious. In this case Marilyn mentioned that my planned loco shed was going to block the view of much of the layout (from the gazebos).

She was right so I have changed the plan once again. 

This is more like the previous plan except I have added sidings for a few locos inside the train shed and moved the train shed entrance to the back. I also eliminated the run around siding as it would have interfered with using the old below deck storage area. I compensated somewhat by lengthening the passing siding the width of the layout.

Unfortunately RR-Track does not offer a library for Aristo-Craft buildings so I can add the Pola and Piko buildings but not the Aristo ones.












Now I am back to figuring out how to make the train shed because I cannot do much further until that has been done.

I am considering putting the new/old train shed (that is too small) to the center back of the layout and having it as sort of a drive in/drive out place to keep short trains overnight or to park them during sudden showers.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 26 Mar 2011 07:12 AM 
I am considering putting the new/old train shed (that is too small) to the center back of the layout and having it as sort of a drive in/drive out place to keep short trains overnight or to park them during sudden showers.

Jerry



It turned out that moving the small train shed is going to work out very nicely. I discovered that I can actually fit 5 tracks/sidings inside/through the small train shed so I have moved it to the back of the layout (over both main lines) where it does not block the view and I am in the process of installing sidings through it. 

So far I have cut openings in both ends wide enough for the 5 tracks but I need to order the parallel curves for the sidings plus yet another turnout (I thought I had 3 extra but instead I ended up with one too few).

This is what it is going to look like with the small train shed (at the top right):










As it turns out the small train shed is perfect to fit a couple of my "Rain Trains" (LGB Starter Sets) in it for running on rainy days like today.

This way I will be have 3 sidings available for locomotives or small trains plus have a place to temporarily park the locomotives on trains (on the main lines) during sudden rain showers. I don't mind if the freight cars get wet but not the locomotives.

The changes will bring the total number of turnouts on the layout up to 27 and the total track to 671 feet.

When I am through running trains for the day I will be able park the freight cars in the large train shed and the locomotives in the small shed.

At least this seems to be how things are going to end up.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I was running one of the LGB Starter Sets in a heavy rain and thought I would take a photo of it but while I am happy running my LGB Starter Sets in a heavy downpour I did not stop to think that Kodak probably does not build their cameras as weather resistant as the LGB trains are. Since the lens is covered when the camera is turned off it might be a bit difficult to clean it if the rain left spots on the lens.










The train has just passed through the small train shed at the top right. When I was through running the train I just parked it in the shed. Sometime in the next few days I will fit doors to the front and back entrances of the train shed to keep water from blowing through (and critters from running through) it.

I need to emphasize that while I personally really enjoy running trains in a very heavy rain that I am doing it entirely at my own risk and I am NOT suggesting that anyone else should do it.[/b]

The only time I had a problem was when one of my trains picked up a bunch of grit back when part of a layout got some ground water on part of it and the loco picked up the gunk from the water. Either way running any trains in a heavy downpour is not particularly a good idea but fun is fun so I sometimes do things I would not recommend or suggest to others. I bought the starter sets back when my old layout was so unstable that about the only thing that I could run on it was the LGB Starter Sets. About the only time I ever run these starter sets is when it is raining. 

Perhaps I should add that I don't run my other LGB locos in the rain - just the relatively inexpensive ones that I bought years ago. The Caboose Layout is perfect for this because the point of the layout that is closest to the ground is still a few feet above the ground so there is no way for ground water to splash up on it.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

The Railbusses arrived today. This shows a Railbus after passing through the small train shed. The LGB train is running in the background:










I was surprised to find that the UP Railbus is dark green and the coach is UP yellow. 










This is one thing about buying mail order - we don't know exactly what we are going to get until it arrives.


Note: I opened the 2nd UP Railbus and the colors are the same as the 1st set. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the front trucks of the Railbus have ball bearing wheels for additional track contact so the Railbus has the same number of track contacts as if it had 2 motorized trucks. In addition to my own use I plan to make the Railbusses available for visitors to run if they do not bring a loco of their own. This will minimize my expenses if someone gets carried away and runs into something.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I got a bit more work done including adding more solar lights to illuminate the extension.

This is how the layout looks now:












You can now see where the train shed will be - on the right above.

As I got the track laid I did come up with a few minor changes to the train shed part where there will now be 3 loco sidings:













I ended up having to order a couple more turnouts (the layout will now have 29 turnouts) plus I needed 7 more parallel curves to complete the transitions from the turnouts into and out of the sidings.

Hopefully there will not be much more track work before I can get to building the main train shed.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Are yout going to get a 1:29 scale riding mower to mow the out door carpet on the layout or are you going to use 1:29 goats and sheep? 

JJ

PS When I looked at the track plan it looke wierd. When I look at the real thing it looks like a great idea. You did a great job.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 02 Apr 2011 11:32 AM 
Are you going to get a 1:29 scale riding mower to mow the out door carpet on the layout or are you going to use 1:29 goats and sheep? 

JJ


Hi JJ,

Leave it to you to come up with the need for a "critter plan."









After researching the subject extensively there was a significant difference in opinions voiced by the residents and business owners.

First a meeting was called with everyone in attendance:












Some people foolishly thought the grass situation could be resolved with just a few animals:











Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and it was agreed that a better solution was needed.

The farmers wanted to go with farm equipment while others wanted to go with mechanized equipment (until reminded that much of it had not been invented yet).











Still others pointed out that sheep were not only a simple and practical solution but they tasted great.

There was one major problem that had to be resolved. 

The veterinarian pointed out that real sheep (even 1:29 ones) don't eat plastic but we were fortunate in discovering a source of plastic sheep to eat the plastic grass and the plastic people report that they like the taste of plastic lamb chops and lamb stew.




















Posted By John J on 02 Apr 2011 11:32 AM 
PS When I looked at the track plan it looke wierd. When I look at the real thing it looks like a great idea. You did a great job.

Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

There is some who believe the Glass is Half Full. Then there are some who feel the glass is half empty. Now me I joined the camp that believes some where along the way Someone got to wash that glass 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 02 Apr 2011 07:41 PM 
There is some who believe the Glass is Half Full. Then there are some who feel the glass is half empty. Now me I joined the camp that believes some where along the way Someone got to wash that glass 

JJ 

Ah So. You are a Philosopher!

I hate washing glasses.

When faced with a glass that is half full/empty I taste it and if I like it I drink it. If not I leave it and go find something that tastes better.

I prefer to leave those who always seem to find their glasses 1/2 empty alone - because those who seem to always find their glasses half full tend to be happier people and much more fun to hang around. 

I try to avoid those who are always comparing their glasses to those of others. They seem to enjoy being unhappy.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Our 10 year old granddaughter Abigail came home with us yesterday after we took her with us to the train show at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff so naturally she had to see the expanded Caboose Layout. As it turned out the only thing I bought at the train show was a hot dog while Marilyn came home with two railroad lanterns and Abigail came home with a hand made locomotive made up out of Coca Cola cans.

I bought the used people, animals and farm equipment for this layout at the last show in Bentonville from a fellow who was getting out of the hobby. He gave me a very nice package deal for everything. Marilyn bought trestles from another fellow moving indoors with HO (I bought his train shed which is now on the layout).

Unlike in the past, when Abigail would often lose interest in the trains about the time I finally got everything hooked up and running, this time all I had to do was to go into the caboose, turn the power supplies on and turn up the throttles and there were two trains running in about two minutes total time. This time her time was spent watching trains running instead of waiting for me to get the trains running.

That was all the confirmation I needed to convince me that the expansion of the Caboose Layout was a good idea.

Next Saturday will be our club meeting day and when the guys get here there will be trains running.

During the week the power company replaced our utility pole. It was interesting to watch them take down the old 45' pole and put up the new one while they handled all the power and other lines to and from the pole. In the process they replaced the transformer and the security light. Watching their pole and bucket trucks in motion was like watching a Swan Dance. 

The crew was from all over - some from Louisiana and others from Missouri etc. They showed a lot of interest in the train layouts and if they had lived locally I know we would have had some new club members.

I think most of us would be surprised to know how many others would love to join our clubs and hobby if they knew more about it.

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

TRUELY maintance free. 
I love it.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 03 Apr 2011 10:33 AM 
TRUELY maintance free. 
I love it. After spending all day just collecting and burning leaves from around and on the main outside layout I can only say that IMHO the perfect track-side maintenance car would be:












Now if I can just figure out how to get spray nozzles to work and if the plastic is not attacked by the chemicals...









Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

The weather has been getting better so I finally got around to blowing all the leaves off of the main outside layout with the thought of getting it also up and running.

It looks like the buildings in my towns have had some significant damage from pieces coming loose that are going to need to be glued back together (if I can find all the little pieces).
























In fairness many of these buildings are over 15 years old and most of them were already used when I bought them. 

At least they are a great improvement over the long gone and disintegrated bird houses that my first towns were made out of.

One very nice thing about the buildings indoors is that they require virtually no maintenance - no matter how old they get.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have been scratching my head for weeks trying to figure out what to do about building a train shed. The fact that it needed to be 50" x 32' was a vexing problem as it is hard to get 50" out of 4' x 8' siding.

I finally decided to buy the lumber, start building and see what ideas I can come up with for a roof.

Obviously the ends are not done yet.













And there are some sections that are not perfectly flat (OK - that includes all of the sections)













It may not be great but it is a beginning.













At least now I can tell where the train shed is going to be and adjust the track accordingly.













I was in a hurry as the lumber yard suggested that I use the treated 2" x 4" x 16"s before they had time to dry and warp.

With bad weather coming I rushed to get the wood cut and screwed down so it will dry in place. 

Later I will get around to the sides and roof but I did buy primed siding to use for that.

Jerry


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## Michael Tollett (Jan 3, 2008)

Hello Jerry,

My you have been quite the busy man haven't you? That's quite an impressive addition. 

Michael


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Michael Tollett on 12 Apr 2011 06:16 PM 

Hello Jerry,

My you have been quite the busy man haven't you? That's quite an impressive addition. 

Michael


Hi Michael,

Yes, the new layout expansion has been going very well. 

Hope to see you soon.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Will you be able to get all your rolling stock in that car barn?


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Is it done,,YET?????


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 13 Apr 2011 02:37 PM 
Will you be able to get all your rolling stock in that car barn? 
Hi JJ,

I guess I should call it my sacrificial car barn in that it only needs to hold the rolling stock that I am willing to leave outside year round (under cover but subject to cold, heat, dampness and occasional rain). The measurements of the new shed was determined by my previous storage below the layout which was 8 tracks that were 16' long. 

This new shed will hold that plus a little bit more (perhaps a few older locos that I am willing to leave outside as well.

It took me 15 years to figure out that I needed to allow some stuff to be damaged or destroyed by the elements if that is the price I need to pay to have stuff ready to run 24/7/365.

With your concern about security I think you will like this sign. I found it at the last train show we went to:












It does make the UPS and FedEx drivers (the ones who don't know me) wonder what is going on here.


















After I put it up the UPS guy said he would not be surprised if someday in the future he gets run over by a (real) train here.









Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 13 Apr 2011 03:32 PM 
Is it done,,YET????? 
Hey Marty,

NO it ain't done yet. First I gotta start on our income taxes BUT...

I PROMISE it will be done before yours is.









Jerry


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## fred j (Jan 12, 2011)

I'm more of a ground Train guy and not Raised as in these photos.


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry I just read the entire thread. I really enjoyed reading all about your layout ect..... I like what you have done so far and really look forward to reading more. I really like the way you think and your style. You do things the way you want (trail and error) Thats my thinking. I try to save money where I can as well by building things even if they dont look perfect. The important things is we are having fun running trains and building things. 
I got into this hobbey a few years ago with no skills and not knowing much about G scale trains. Through trial and error and sites like this i learned. Im also one of those who can measure ten times and still cut the wood too short LOL. Since I run a logging line I figure I can get away with my stuff not being perfect. After all a backwoods line was built to work not look pretty. 
And I like your caboose. I have always wanted an old wooden caboose to put in my yard and use it as my "man cave" My wife laughs at me. Anyway I look forward to reading more.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By snowshoe on 14 Apr 2011 06:00 AM 
Jerry I just read the entire thread. I really enjoyed reading all about your layout ect..... I like what you have done so far and really look forward to reading more. I really like the way you think and your style. You do things the way you want (trail and error) Thats my thinking. I try to save money where I can as well by building things even if they dont look perfect. The important things is we are having fun running trains and building things. 
I got into this hobbey a few years ago with no skills and not knowing much about G scale trains. Through trial and error and sites like this i learned. Im also one of those who can measure ten times and still cut the wood too short LOL. Since I run a logging line I figure I can get away with my stuff not being perfect. After all a backwoods line was built to work not look pretty. 
And I like your caboose. I have always wanted an old wooden caboose to put in my yard and use it as my "man cave" My wife laughs at me. Anyway I look forward to reading more. 


Hi Shawn,

I just got up, finished my tea and was contemplating what to do with the train shed when I read your comments.

You have really made my day. Obviously you "get it" where I am "coming from."

I do not have any sort of master plan. This place is such a mess that my wife is embarrassed when visitors come. I have no desire to tell or suggest what anyone else should be doing with their time, money, layouts etc. but neither do I want to be told by anyone how I should do anything. I really appreciate everyone's suggestions about what I might do and how I might accomplish something I am trying to do and how they managed to do something I have not. I often borrow ideas that others have had and I happily share what I do as long as anyone reading what I write understands that I do some things that a more reasonable person might not do or that might not be safe unless they understand exactly what risks might be involved.

Sometimes I simply screw up. Sometimes I screw up badly. Sometimes I do things everyone tells me not to do and I end up with results that really please me.

Others (like Marty) do everything exactly opposite what I do and their results are fantastic. Most often when I see what others have accomplished I am very impressed with how and why they did things their way even if I would never do the same things here.

The funny thing (and you sound a lot like me here) is that I got into this hobby BECAUSE I had NO skills and knew NOTHING about G scale trains. I bought my first G Scale train (a used Aristo Southern Crescent Pacific with Heavyweights along with used track and power supplies), got it home and laid the track uphill on the hill our house is on (about 25% grade). I then applied power intending to run the train up the hill. Instead the train rolled backward down the hill, off the track and rolled over. That was lesson #1.

Next I built my first outside layout with plywood and ran the same train on it only to have it roll over on a curve. That was lesson #2.

My education has been like that - and I would not have it any other way.

The attraction of the hobby for me was that I was approaching retirement and I wanted a hobby that would keep me home (going places was going to be too expensive and I had been a salesman traveling 5 states so I had no desire to have a traveling retirement). I also wanted a hobby I knew nothing about because with no knowledge about trains to begin with, everything was new, interesting and exciting.

With the caboose, I was very fortunate. When I first mentioned it to Marilyn I expected her to tell me I was nuts (she does that often







). 

Surprising me, she said she thought it was a great idea! It took 4 years to work out buying one and Marilyn even agreed with me to take the money for it out of our limited retirement savings. Now I just about live in the caboose which keeps me (and most of my mess) out of the house and contributes to marital harmony.

Now, if another caboose turns up for sale anywhere close (I hope it does not happen) Marilyn will want to buy it so she could keep it original and keep me and my mess out of it (no kidding). Marilyn REALLY wants a wood caboose BIG TIME. I absolutely DO NOT want a wood caboose because while I love the idea of having one, a wood caboose would require far more restoration and maintenance.

Explain to your wife that having a caboose would mean that she would have the house all to herself all the time you spent in your "man cave." She might stop laughing, start thinking, and change her mind.

Here is a thought for you. Somewhere (perhaps here on MLS) someone built their own wood caboose. Everything looked just like a real caboose except there is no undercarriage (no trucks). The way he built it and the way it is entered, the bottom is not visible so one does not notice the trucks are missing.

*"After all a backwoods line was built to work not look pretty."* Absolutely true - and not just logging railroads. The first real railroads were built at the lowest cost per mile with the least expensive equipment. They did not care what everything looked like because they were investors in it for the money.

I have to ask...

Where does "snowshoe" come from?

Regards,

Jerry


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

LOL Jerry snowshoe comes from my other hobbey. Snowshoeing. Its just short for that. Like you, I got into G scale to keep me home more. I enjoy the outdoors a lot. I enjoy Hiking, X skiing, snowshoeing and just being in the woods. Then kids came along so I needed something to keep me home and something I can do with the kids (8 mile hikes is out of the question until they get older LOL) I saw what one can do with g scale and thought perfect I can play outdoors and bring the woods and history of my local hikes into my RR. 
For now check out my Blog on my RR its still a work in progress. http://kittatinnymountain.blogspot.com/
Got to run to work now. Enjoy the rest of the day. Look forward to more posts.


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

Im back Jerry. Thats a good idea about building a caboose. No doubt would be easier and then i can build it the way I want inside. Only problem is it would be a challenge building something bigger then a 1:22 scale model. My mistakes would no doubt stand out even more LOL . 
I have the same issue with my yard. having 9 acres is nice but no way to maintain that much property so half is wooded and the other half is field. This lets the RR stand out and everyone forgets about the weeds and high grass along my property edges ect..... I much rather play with the trains then worry about having a perfect landscaped property. The one thing I love about Thsi scale is no matter what scale we model in G we can all get together and run the different scales and have a blast doing it.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Shawn,

I had written a long post yesterday about your blog and photos but unfortunately when I hit Submit everything was lost and I was too tired from working on the layout to retype it.

Again today I am pretty much exhausted from working on the train shed but at least you can see there has been some progress made.












At least there should be enough cover to protect any rolling stock from direct sunlight and some protection from the rain. I hope to get the sidings working before our club meeting tomorrow.












I had to take up the sidings to build the shed so tomorrow morning will be busy.











I'm too tired to add much more today. Hopefully I will have more done to report on in a day or so.

I'm getting too old to be building this stuff. This may be the last layout I build but I've said that before more than once.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

That is something I didn't see before, the switches at the end. I thought you were just going out the end cap to get to the RR. Just gave me a idea. I am thiniking about a car bar but all my rolling stock wiil be in it. Present thought is 4 FT wide and 32 feet long to accomdate my Container trains. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 16 Apr 2011 08:45 AM 
Present thought is 4 FT wide and 32 feet long to accomdate my Container trains. 

JJ 

Copy cat.









My back wall will be made with 2" x 2"s rather than with 2" x 4"s just to get that extra inch.

If all else fails I can move the front of the shed 4' making it 36" x 50" but I am hoping I can park everything inside with the current dimensions.

I am now considering leaving two passenger trains (complete with locos) inside 24/7/365 as I realized today that I am perhaps more likely to damage the passenger cars or locos by dropping them as I carry them down from the caboose than they are likely to be damaged if they just stay on the layout in the shed.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

No new photos but I have been making considerable progress with the layout.

First I have been getting the sidings in the small shed set up. I still have some rail cutting to do to get the rails to fit properly but the small shed is quite close to being done aside from wiring the turnouts and power switches for the sidings inside the small train shed.

I have decided to replace the stainless steel joiners with Aristo rail clamps on most if not all of the turnouts. I think most people do this to make for easy replacement of the turnouts but in my case the reason is somewhat different in that the clamps are mainly to make it easy to separate large sections of track. As an example, the small train shed is somewhat in the middle so working on those sidings means having to manage about 30 feet of track to the turnouts for the train shed. By using the clamps on the turnouts I can remove various sections of track as well as to remove a turnout if I wanted to. More important, since I have to cut the rails in the middle of the sidings in the shed, having the clamps will make it possible to cut and insert the cut rails without having to pull all the track and the turnout that feeds the siding.

The same is true in the big train shed. With the sidings up to 30 feet long, if I have the turnouts connected to the siding and to each other with clamps I can have access to the rails of the siding more easily by unclamping the sidings at the turnouts. In effect the clamps section the layout into more manageable lengths of track but I will still be using the stainless steel joiners for almost all of the track to track sections.

There are at least 269 pieces of track (with over 500 joiners) including 29 electric turnouts (with up to 6 joiners each) but I should be able to manage with 100 or fewer clamps. 

I did get most of the sidings in the new main shed connected but I don't have the turnouts wired yet or power switches for the sidings done yet. The good news is that I was able to drive three trains and their consists into the large train shed so there has been some progress.

While the shed roof and ends should possibly have the 1st priority I feel more like I have accomplished something when I can run trains while I work and drive the trains to the shed when I am done. Besides, the procrastination is giving me more time to think through what I am going to do with the roof and shed ends.

I am already starting to think the shed may not be big enough but part of the reason for that is that two of the right turnouts were canceled on my last order so I need to order them somewhere else. In the meantime that has reduced the six planned sidings for the shed to five.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have some progress to report.

At first I was going to combine my two topics (one about the layout and the other about the train shed) but then I realized some folks might be interested in the train shed but not the layout and others might be interested in the layout but not particularly in the train shed so I am going to continue both topics.

I will minimize the description of what I did here on this topic and more details can be found on my other topic here:

http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx

Three roof sections are now completed and mounted:











This leaves 5 more roof sections to complete. 











Both ends are now done.












This shows the 2" x 4" framing to support the siding I used for the roof. 











The back door (entrance) is just blocked to keep the rain from blowing in.












Hopefully the last 5 sections will go fairly quickly so I can get back to the track installation and electrical connections. 

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

The last of the roofs are finally installed on the train shed.









The train shed is now functional (no power or electric switches yet but that will be easy to take care of).












Happily there was enough room on the sidings for all of the rolling stock that I had been previously been keeping under the layout.











There even is some room to spare.











Everything is inside and there is room enough for a passenger train on the front siding. 











There is still a lot of work to be done but at least now I will have rolling stock ready to run while I am working on the layout.

One thing that will be very handy is that by coincidence the train shed is directly below the outdoor security light I put on the Caboose a few months ago so if I am ever working on anything inside of the train shed at night it will be extremely well illuminated.

Also from a security viewpoint, the motion detectors that are already in place to spot, send an alarm, and photograph the deer will work equally well in providing security for anything left in the train shed. 

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I thought you had more cars than that, you like , own , every set ever produced....


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Marty,

I wish that was true. Granted there are other sets but when I built the Caboose Layout I decided to abandon my previous caution and to come up with locos and rolling stock that were either focused on Arkansas railroads (MoPac, Cotton Belt, Rock Island etc.) or that were less important to me (rolling stock that are not of a railroad I can make a complete train from or that are of no special importance to me such as LGB sound boxcars - after the sound was removed and used elsewhere) or just stuff that I had no room for elsewhere.

Even though these cars will be protected from the sun and relatively protected from rain I still expect dirt dobber attacks that will probably result in mud nests in undesirable places on the cars in the shed. I doubt that I will be able to make the train shed tight enough to keep the dirt dobbers out. For that reason alone I will probably not put any steam locos in the shed even though I much prefer running steam locos. 

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Jerry 
What is the distance Center to Center on your track in there? 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 24 Apr 2011 07:17 AM 
Jerry 
What is the distance Center to Center on your track in there? 

JJ 
Hi JJ,

As you know now but others may not, the spacing center to center of the tracks is six inches.

Also perhaps helpful is the length of the sidings which are (not counting the turnouts):

28 feet
26 1/2 feet
25 feet
23 1/2 feet
and when done the last siding will be 22 feet long.

This will total 143 feet and according to RR-Track it is enough to hold 102 cars.

When done (after the back-ordered 2 turnouts get here) the Train Barn by itself will have 179 feet of track including 8 turnouts feeding 9 sidings. 

The Caboose Layout including the Train Barn will total 672 feet of Aristo-Craft Stainless Steel Track with 29 Aristo-Craft Stainless Steel electric turnouts.

What is important to me about the Train Barn is the fact that the 2nd siding (26 1/2') is long enough to park a dozen Aristo-Craft 53' MoPac Evans Boxcars and an LGB long caboose and the 4th siding will hold a dozen Aristo-Craft Cotton Belt Boxcars plus an Aristo-Craft Long Steel Caboose. The 5th siding will hold six Aristo-Craft Heavyweights and a FA-1 & FB-1 that I have relabeled to MoPac. In the past when the storage was below the layout the sidings were 16 feet long which meant that I had to split the trains into multiple sidings making getting the trains together on the top layout that much more complicated.

As it turns out I have (for now) decided to power all the sidings in the Train Barn except for the future loco sidings. I will use the FA-1 & FB-1 as a switcher for now because I installed a Revolution in the FA-1 making it possible to use it to pull any and all rolling stock out of the barn to the mainlines.

The train barn is functional if not complete and the layout is functional if not complete. I can now run trains on it and it is large enough to run large trains without the loco seeming to be chasing the caboose (like a dog chasing its tail).
























I like the way the trains disappear from view as they run behind the train barn.

Jerry


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry I like the way the train barn came out. It will make it much easier to run trains. It will give you more run time since you no longer have to transport the rolling stock to the layout and put them on the rails. Again nice work.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By snowshoe on 24 Apr 2011 05:18 PM 
Jerry I like the way the train barn came out. It will make it much easier to run trains. It will give you more run time since you no longer have to transport the rolling stock to the layout and put them on the rails. Again nice work. Hi Shawn,

Yes, the Train Barn is turning out every bit as well as I had hoped for. I can get the entire trains in the Barn on individual siding. I really believe that the amount we run our trains is in direct proportion to how much time and effort it takes to get them ready to run.

One serious concern I had was that with all the noise and activity of construction of the Train Barn that it might have run the deer off. Typically I only see them (if at all) in the middle of winter when they are hungry and the trees are bare.

Today the deer really surprised me. A new large buck (for Arkansas) showed up today that I have never seen before. Now there are two nice bucks plus a small one - all with their antlers starting to grow. They hung around literally for hours and one finally laid down in the grass in the field. Later a few more showed up and there ended up a total of six deer running and playing around in the field. Fortunately all deer seasons are closed.

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/je...eer-10.JPG












Here it is April 24th and instead of the deer disappearing, more are starting to show up. They have reached a point that when I open the door of the caboose to go to the house for dinner they just stand there and look at me as I walk to the house.

Usually I quit running trains when it is time for the deer to show up but today they hung around for so long I finally started running the LGB Starter Set (with sound) and the deer left.

As you can tell, I enjoy watching the deer as much or more than watching the trains run. The idea of possibly being able to watch and record (photograph) the bucks antlers growing through the summer has me thinking this is going to be the best year ever both for the layout and the deer watching.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Yesterday afternoon I had a visit by Roland Tree Service who gave me an estimate of $500 to cut the two dead trees overhanging and threatening the caboose.

Last night I had a visit by Mother Nature's Tree Service.

Perhaps the visit by Mother Nature's Tree Service is best shown by a comparison of this earlier photo in this topic:










with a photo I took this morning:










It might help if I zoom in a bit










This is the current entrance to our driveway










After the storm hit last night the power and lights were off and I went to check on the caboose and camper. As I walked by the caboose and its layout I saw some of the buildings were blown over and then I noticed some flashing lights on the highway so I went to see what was going on.

When I eventually made it to the road I found two fire departments. the local police, a deputy sheriff and the city public works department - all waiting for the power company - because some of the huge trees at the end of our driveway had been uprooted and not only blocked our driveway but also the highway (2 lane country asphalt road). Since we are outside the city limits we were sort of fortunate that the tree fell on the highway because at least their crews ended up cutting the massive trees enough to where they could unblock the road.

After several hours the power company arrived and confirmed what I had told everyone - that the utility pole wires tangled in the tree were not power lines but guy wires supporting the power lines across the road. At that point they started cutting the trees with chain saws and when the guy from the utility company cut the guy wires free from the trees, the lines snapped with such violence it looked like the power lines were going to come down (at least the power was dead) but the utility pole with the power lines held. Eventually they got the road cleared (but not our driveway).

This morning when I got up I discovered far worse damage to the layout. It was so severe I wonder if another storm may have come through because I could not even walk past the caboose due to so many tree limbs having fallen that were blocking access to it. The winds had been so severe that they blew the falling limbs away from and some actually beyond the caboose. 

The layout looked like a real disaster. About half of the new carpeting was actually torn up by the winds, houses were blown down and some were in pieces. It was too dark to take any photos but the carpet and new stainless steel track was so accordioned and twisted that I felt I needed to do something to get it back down in some fashion to prevent further damage.

Even the Railbus and Coach inside the small train shed were blown over










The town is a disaster










This is AFTER I had tried to straighten the carpet and track (I did not touch the buildings or water tower - they are as the storm left them)








but 

I am glad that I built the new Train Barn as strong as I did as it and the trains inside it appear untouched. 










The right gazebo did not fare well











Surprisingly not only did our regular phones go out but even the cell phones quit working for awhile.

Still, we were lucky. There was a lot more severe damage around Arkansas last night and 5 people were killed by a tornado about 10 miles from here.

We were concerned about our son and his family as we had not been able to get in touch with them but I just talked to him and they are OK. He told me he was locking up his body shop last night in the dark after power had gone off and discovered a huge snake had been caught as the front door closed. Andrew almost stepped on the snake in the dark but noticed it in time and managed to kill it.

The joys of living in Arkansas. ; )

Jerry


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 
Sorry to hear about the damage but glad to hear that you and the family are alright. We've been getting a few storms up here too but nothing on that scale. At least not yet. I am not surprised about the gazebo but I am surprised the carpetting on the layout came up? Just enough wind underneath to catch it and tear it up then? Maybe add in some lattice to slow it down next time? Of course if it comes loose it becomes projectiles. 

Chas


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## fred j (Jan 12, 2011)

Now that really stinks, I hate to see peoples RR's get wrecked. Your Car barn has held up well though.
It does look as if you can rebuild without a lot of fuss, good luck.

Fred


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I had intentionally not glued the carpeting to the decking because I wanted to preserve the decking for a future owner who might not want the layout but after seeing the amount of damage from the carpeting I will probably glue it down this time (once it gets dry enough). Surprisingly the 2nd expansion of this layout (with the sawmill etc.) was also stapled down (to plywood) and the carpet stayed firmly down and there was no damage to that end of the layout. Weird!

There were a lot of tornadoes around yesterday and I am inclined to believe we got hit with a small tornado rather than strong in line winds. The reason I say this is because I went for a ride through the woods today where I discovered minor damage from small trees and branches being down (normal after every major storm) but more important I discovered two more huge oak trees down in the woods.

We were told by neighbors when we moved here that many years ago what is now our lower driveway (it can be easily followed through the woods) formerly was a part of the Lonoke and El Paso Stage Coach road. As I rode through the woods I discovered something amazing (to me anyway). The entry of our lower driveway (the stagecoach road) is blocked by huge oak trees as the photos show. Moving east and just past the open field there are two huge oak trees sharing the same trunk. The trees were shattered at the base with one tree blown north (blocking the stagecoach road) and the other tree blown south (blocking a trail I had made going from the stagecoach road into the woods.

Moving to the east end of our property there is yet another huge oak tree that was torn up by its roots and (you guessed it) blown south totally blocking the stagecoach road.

Here we have massive oak trees that are in a perfect line along the old stagecoach road that have been broken and or uprooted for at least 1/4 mile yet the smaller trees (and other massive oak trees) in line and around the trees that were downed appear virtually unharmed.

The amazing thing is that our driveway is on top of the old stagecoach road but then curves around to make a semi-circle around the house going back to the highway. The curvature moved our driveway about 25 yards south of the stagecoach road and our house is just south of the driveway. It is as if the tornado (or whatever) picked the tree at the beginning of our driveway and after destroying it lifted up past our house and nailed the next oak tree then picked up again and came down to nail the last oak tree. 

I have intentionally flown over the path of tornadoes in the past and they left trails of solid line destruction (I once saw a brick home cut in half with one half that was destroyed and the other half seemingly intact). I have never seen a tornado path that drops down, lifts up, drops down and lifts up again (but I know it does happen).

Also strange is that all our vehicles but one were outside and with tree limbs falling everywhere none were damaged.

This was one strange storm. 

More similar storms are forecast for this afternoon.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Good news to report...

I had decided to not even try to fix anything today but then I realized there were probably some strong storms coming and that meant...

A golden opportunity to bring out the Rain Train! 

The only problem was that the layout was trashed.

I decided to pick at it a bit and before I knew it everything was running again (at least everything that had been running yesterday was running again today).











The only real damage from the storm turned out to be the schoolhouse (which can be glued back together) and one broken LGB insulated rail joiner.

This brought up a nice thing about my carpeted layouts - when something happens I still have a clean surface to work on and any missing parts tend to be easy to find.

The sheep were scattered everywhere (even under the carpet).

Jerry


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

Glad to hear you are ok after that storm. Sorry to hear about all the damage. The joy of outdoor railroads. Always something to do. We had a tornado pass less then 200 yards from my house about two years ago. Had a lot of tree damage ( lots of fire wood) but my rr made it through just branches on it.


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## jake3404 (Dec 3, 2010)

With the tornadoes in the area, I wouldnt be surprise you got a few strong downdraft winds. It happened at my house when i was a kid. Damage was very similar to what you described about the trees. A meterologist explained that if there is tornadic weather in the area, then there can be resulting high intensity, very concentrated downdraft winds that create tornado like damage in a very small area. 

Its possibe. One thing, you said you weren't so sure of your construction of your car barn, well the storms proved you have a solid design.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I am glad to hear that you are ok and your layout was not tottaly distroyed. 

The sheep were smart. They got under cover. 

JJ 


PS You got to learn to weld so you can build a better and stronger gazeebo.







Just don't plug it into the cabbose.


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry how did you do with this last round of storms? Hope everything is OK.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By snowshoe on 28 Apr 2011 05:55 PM 
Jerry how did you do with this last round of storms? Hope everything is OK. 
Hi Shawn,

The centers of these last storms pretty much passed us by. I enjoyed running the Rain Train while the rain came down in buckets.

Thanks for asking,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have done some wiring for power inside the Train Barn. 

Previously I had removed the track insulators giving power to all the sidings all the time but I have decided to reverse that and go back to insulating all the sidings.

My reason for this is because I had not thought about the fact that I am going to be leaving some cabooses and lighted coaches parked in the Train Barn and by having all the sidings powered the result is that all the lights in the cabooses and coaches are illuminated whenever there is power going to the Train Barn. By insulating the sidings I will be able to turn the power to the caboose and coach lights on or off.

What I have done is to fully insulate the passing siding between the Train Barn and the Outer Main Line.

Then I put a DPDT switch in the circuit with the switch determining the source of power to the Train Barn sidings plus the power to the passing siding outside of the Train Barn.

With the switch forward, all power in the Train Barn is directly connected to the Main Line.

With the switch to the rear, all power in the Train Barn is through a pair of wires coming out of the junction box that can be connected to the power or throttle of my choice.

A 2nd pair of wires is also connected to the Outer Main Line and I can then use this pair of wires to power a LGB 50070 or a LGB 51070 throttle so I don't need a separate source of power but instead the main line power is fed through a controller to the Train Barn and any locomotives in the Train Barn can be operated independently from the main lines yet getting power from them.

A 2nd switch in the Train Shed allows me to control power to the left 1/2 of the passing siding which can be controlled by either the main line power or by the Train Shed Controller.

I have tested it and it works quite well. The only caution is that if I use the LGB 50070 Controller, its input is polarized so I need to be sure that the input matches the markings on the 50070. I have not tried it yet but the LGB 51070 should work regardless of polarity as it is rated for an AC or DC input (18 VAC or up to 24 VDC).

The only problem I had was that I did not seem to be able to get as much power as I expected which is what led me to the realization that the coaches and cabooses were draining power.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Today I finally got around to doing some things that have really been limiting what I can do and run. That has been to cut and fit the final non-stock pieces of stainless steel track. I really hate to cut track because, while it is not difficult to cut, everything is so interconnected that there is little wiggle room for an incorrectly cut piece to fit. The Double Reverse Loops and center Trolley Line combine to make the entire layout track lengths very critical in order for things to fit together right.

Now the 5 sidings in the (small) Train Shed are finally complete. There are the two feed-through main lines plus three sidings for short trains like my LGB Rain Trains or Aristo-Craft Railcar & Coach sets or RDC's.

This means I can have those trains ready to run at any time with virtually no preparation - just power to the rails and away they go.

Optionally I can drive them from the mainlines to the Train Shed sidings - freeing up the mainlines for trains coming out of the (big) Train Barn.

The other piece of cut track now has the passing siding between the mainlines and the Train Barn connected.

Actually none of the newly connected sidings have power yet but that will be as simple as running a wire from one side of the mainlines to a SPST switch and then to the appropriate siding so hopefully that will be done tomorrow for all the (small) Train Shed sidings and the Passing Siding. 

For simplicity, I am going to just start calling the small shed The Train Shed and the large shed The Train Barn.

Between working on the layout and removing branches and tree limbs from the storms and putting some concrete down to stop the water from flooding the driveway I am getting pretty tired of spending the days working on stuff instead of running stuff.

I am getting really impatient to get the layout finished so I can get back to doing what I want most to do - NOTHING!

Jerry


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry I can relate to the do nothing mode. Kind of fun and relaxing. later RJD


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 03 May 2011 05:47 PM 
Jerry I can relate to the do nothing mode. Kind of fun and relaxing. later RJD 

Hi RJ,

Every time I finish one project I swear I won't start another but almost immediately something else comes up.

At least today I did get the Train Shed sidings wired so I can now park stuff on the sidings while I use the mainlines. 

In the meantime my son and grandsons brought a baby raccoon over that had fallen through a roof of an old building. I have him outside and hopefully the local raccoons will accept him so he will have a new family. Meanwhile I'm not running any trains because I don't want to scare the deer and raccoons away until he decides to go somewhere (he is in an open box on the layout with easy access to the ground).

Life is never dull around here.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Nothing like watching Local Gentry. The animals. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 04 May 2011 07:02 PM 
Nothing like watching Local Gentry. The animals. 

JJ 
With reference to the Local Gentry, today was extra special. Long before dark there were seven deer and two raccoons hanging out in the field behind the caboose. They showed how relaxed they were when a couple just lay down and watched the others. The deer don't even focus that much on the corn and pellets. They eat them but spend more time eating the local vegetation. I don't grow anything on purpose so they are welcome to eat anything they like. It appears that the deer have decided to make the woods and field behind the caboose their year round home. 

The baby raccoon had not moved all afternoon and I was afraid it was going to die. I waited until dark and put it on the ground next to a big tree. He surprised me by climbing up the tree so I put water, corn and deer pellets on the ground under the tree, came inside and turned all the lights off. With luck when I check in the morning it will be gone (hopefully with its fellow raccoons).

Between watching the trains run, working on the layout, watching TV, hanging out on MLS, or watching the critters I tend to spend most of my days in and around the caboose. Aside from food and utilities I think I spent about $10 today for some clamps to connect the sidings in the train shed. Overall this can be a pretty inexpensive way to spend ones retirement years.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I hope the Raccoon survives and becomes a regular vistor. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 05 May 2011 08:54 AM 
I hope the Raccoon survives and becomes a regular vistor. 

JJ 

Hi JJ,

I checked the tree over carefully this morning and the little raccoon was gone so I think it is OK. I had left plenty of food and water and I believe he came down during the night and hopefully joined the other raccoons. Even if he did not the pond is nearby and I put food out every night for the other critters so he will have a ready supply of food and water until he is able to fend for himself.

With a bit of luck I might see it again and if so I should recognize it because it is much smaller than any of the other raccoons I have seen anytime recently.

I made more progress on the Train Barn today. 

I installed gutters between four of the roof sections and I may be able to finish the other three sections tomorrow. I will try to get some photos tomorrow to show how I did it.

Also I insulated the rolling stock sidings in the Train Barn. I did it differently than any previous sidings I wired in that since the first four sidings are going to be freight sidings and the only item that has lights will be a caboose, rather than insulate the entire siding and put a SPST switch in to control the power to those sidings, I decided to just insulate a section 6 - 7 feet long at the end of each of the siding - with no electrical switches. 

This way if I need to run a loco partially into the siding to pick up the rolling stock the loco will have plenty of track with power to run on but when the loco is gone, the siding will draw no power because any cabooses will be sitting on a dead track. If I ever decide to change it, there will be little work involved in insulating the entire sidings. For now it means there are four fewer electrical switches to wire and have a potential for problems.

That leaves just the two other rolling stock sidings which I intend to control with switches because they are likely to have lighted coaches parked on them. The first siding is now insulated and wired to a SPST switch and the wiring for the other passenger siding is now ready for when I get the turnout for it.

So far there is just a single loco siding and I now have it insulated and although I have not installed a switch for it yet, the wires are ready to be connected whenever I am ready to put power to it. I will wire the electrical switches after I get and install the turnouts for the other loco sidings.

At this point I now have power available to all the sidings on the layout except for the reverse loops and the Trolley Line. Tomorrow I will see if I can get those wired.

The good news is that as of now I am able to run full size trains with regular locomotives out of the Train Barn rather than being limited to the little trains in the Train Shed.

Jerry


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## Gary To (Jan 5, 2008)

Hi Jerry, 
Glad to know that you and your family are ok after that strom, and happly to seeing you fix your layout quickly, I have never see a tornado I think if the strom is coming may be this is horrible. 
Last week a mylargescale guy has a business trip to Hong Kong, I and Tony have a drink with him , we talked much on running largescale train and he told me that he is not active on this forum. 
Hope I have an opportunity to visit your side and meet some g scale folks. 
Gary


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Gary To on 06 May 2011 07:45 AM 
Hi Jerry, 
Glad to know that you and your family are ok after that strom, and happly to seeing you fix your layout quickly, I have never see a tornado I think if the strom is coming may be this is horrible. 
Last week a mylargescale guy has a business trip to Hong Kong, I and Tony have a drink with him , we talked much on running largescale train and he told me that he is not active on this forum. 
Hope I have an opportunity to visit your side and meet some g scale folks. 
Gary 

Hi Gary,

I have never actually seen a tornado but I missed driving into the one that hit Forrest City, Arkansas by about a two minutes. Fortunately for me the hail became so heavy I parked under a highway overpass 1 mile before I reached Forrest City (to protect the car I was driving) until the hail stopped which prevented me from driving into the heart of the tornado.

This week, for the first time ever, we have been unable to take the highways south to Little Rock or east to Memphis because the main highways (and many side roads) have been blocked by flood waters. This month has set records for the most tornadoes and the worst flooding in Arkansas history. 

We have been very fortunate in that we have only had minor damage. Many others in Arkansas and other southern states have had much worse problems with many people losing everything in the tornadoes and floods. This is the sort of thing we expect to see on world news rather than on the US and local news. 

Your chances of visiting Arkansas are better than my chances of making it to Hong Kong. If you and or Tony ever find your way to Arkansas you will always be welcome to come and visit. Perhaps you might come to the USA when you would be able to go to one of the national large scale shows. You should always be able to find friendly MLSers wherever you visit. Just let folks know if you are coming and where you are planning to go.

How are you coming with your layout?

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Today I finished installing the gutters between the Train Barn roof sections.

I cut strips from sections of plastic corrugated roofing and screwed them to one side of each of the roof sections' overhang. This way any rain that seeps between the roof sections should be caught by the gutters and directed to the front or back of the Train Barn.

Since the roof sections have to be raised in a specific sequence, the location of the gutters was determined by that. The result is a double seal with both the roof overhang and the gutters to catch any rain.












This shows two sections 













The one area I was not sure what to do with turned out easy enough. Rather than try to put gutters below (which would have been difficult in that both sections need to be able to be opened individually) I found that the plastic made a nice fit on top and a single screw will hold it in place.












Last night the weather man was very wrong. Rather than a slight chance of light rain, it rained off and on all night long. This morning I expected to at least find a fair amount of water where I had not finished putting the gutters in but when I opened the Train Barn, everything underneath was nice and dry.

The other thing I did this morning was to make a pair of "Y" cables so now I can just turn on a single Aristo-Craft 15 amp Everest power supply in the cupola and feed that power to two Train Engineers - with one controlling each of the main lines.

This will make it quick and easy to run track power to two Train Engineers in the gazebos and from there to the main lines.

Slowly but surely the layout is getting closer to completion. I might add that it is none too soon in that it seems that the tiny insects and flies are finally starting to make their presence known. With all this rain and standing water, it is only a question of time before the mosquitoes become a real problem as well.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Between yesterday and today the new layout is coming to life.

I started out intending to bring the trains out on track power and run the MoPac PA/PB-1's but when I went to run the C&NW NW-2 to bring out the rolling stock, I realized that I had forgotten that Aristo-Craft had installed a Revolution in it for me and when I went to run the MoPac GP-38 and Cotton Belt GP-40 I realized I had put Revolutions in them as well.

Finally I realized that everything would be much simpler if I just focused on running locos that have the Revolution installed.

Even the wiring was easier. Rather than two power supplies for the two main lines and perhaps a third one for the Train Shed, I just connected everything to a single Aristo-Craft Everest feeding 24 volts everywhere.

Yesterday I first ran the NW-2 pushing the Rail Broom Car to get rid of the twigs and leaves.












After running around the outer main line I switched it to the inner main line.











Then used the NW-2 to push the track cleaning car. This was probably unnecessary because I thought I had some poor conductivity in the Train Barn but then I discovered I had not tightened screws on a few of the clamps. The clamps had actually become too hot to touch. Once the screws had been tightened, everything ran fine.











When I realized the MoPac GP-38 had a Revolution in it, I started using it to push the Rail Broom car and the NW-2 to push the track cleaner.










Later I realized it was smarter to use the NW-2 to push the Rail Broom and the GP-38 to push the track cleaner.


Now that the track was clean it was time to bring out the big trains




















That was yesterday. Today all I had to do was to:

1. turn on the Crest Everest power supply
2. pick up 3 Revolutions
3. run the NW-2 out with the Rail Broom to clean the rails and, while it was still running,
4. run the Cotton Belt GP-40 out with its freight cars and then cross over onto the inner main line
5. run the MoPac GP-38 out with its freight cars

When done, just drive everything back into the Train Barn.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I am discovering the capacity of the sidings in the Train Barn.

I have changed my mind and I will (for now) leave the locomotives parked in the Train Barn on the sidings with their rolling stock. As long as everything is being run with the Revolution it should work out OK and take a lot less time to get the trains running. There had been a problem getting sufficient power to the layout for all of the locomotives but I traced that to poor connections in some male/female wire terminals. I decided to replace those terminals with DPDT switches and the problems were solved and all the locomotives run fine. It is probably not recommended but at times I have had six locomotives with Revolutions under power at the same time.

The longest siding will hold the USAT MoPac GP-38 and all 12 of the Aristo 53' Evans Boxcars but not quite the LGB Caboose. I tried substituting a USAT caboose but that would not fit either.

The next longest siding will hold the Aristo Cotton Belt GP-40, a dozen Aristo Double Door 40' Boxcars plus the Aristo Long Steel Caboose AND it still had room for the LGB MoPac Caboose.

The third longest siding will be used for the Aristo Rock Island GP-40, Aristo Rock Island Caboose and hopefully all of the assorted freight cars I currently have running with it.

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

really like that MOP loco


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## Gary To (Jan 5, 2008)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 06 May 2011 12:17 PM 
Posted By Gary To on 06 May 2011 07:45 AM 
Hi Jerry, 
Glad to know that you and your family are ok after that strom, and happly to seeing you fix your layout quickly, I have never see a tornado I think if the strom is coming may be this is horrible. 
Last week a mylargescale guy has a business trip to Hong Kong, I and Tony have a drink with him , we talked much on running largescale train and he told me that he is not active on this forum. 
Hope I have an opportunity to visit your side and meet some g scale folks. 
Gary 

Hi Gary,

I have never actually seen a tornado but I missed driving into the one that hit Forrest City, Arkansas by about a two minutes. Fortunately for me the hail became so heavy I parked under a highway overpass 1 mile before I reached Forrest City (to protect the car I was driving) until the hail stopped which prevented me from driving into the heart of the tornado.

This week, for the first time ever, we have been unable to take the highways south to Little Rock or east to Memphis because the main highways (and many side roads) have been blocked by flood waters. This month has set records for the most tornadoes and the worst flooding in Arkansas history. 

We have been very fortunate in that we have only had minor damage. Many others in Arkansas and other southern states have had much worse problems with many people losing everything in the tornadoes and floods. This is the sort of thing we expect to see on world news rather than on the US and local news. 

Your chances of visiting Arkansas are better than my chances of making it to Hong Kong. If you and or Tony ever find your way to Arkansas you will always be welcome to come and visit. Perhaps you might come to the USA when you would be able to go to one of the national large scale shows. You should always be able to find friendly MLSers wherever you visit. Just let folks know if you are coming and where you are planning to go.

How are you coming with your layout?

Jerry
Hi Jerry,
I love your Rail Broom Car , so funny, regarding our train show project, Tony and me will go to china to order a new tables for the G scale layout cos those G scale train are so heavy, the already done 40 wooden tables now transfer to HO and N groups using at the show, Tony and I and another members have a private job so the train show progress are going slowly, we hope can finish on the end of the year. I just finished a 20 feet long aliminum Deck Girder Bridges in four sections and use on the show, will post the building log on this forum later.
Gary


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 08 May 2011 05:20 PM 
really like that MOP loco 
Hi Marty,

I found it at St. Aubin's and I especially like the fact that it has hook and loop couplers. It was hard to find MoPac, Cotton Belt and Rock Island locos but I did find the Aristo Rock Island loco and matching caboose at RLD at last year's HAGRS. I believe they were custom made for RLD.

Unfortunately no one makes a MoPac or Cotton Belt caboose (that I know of).

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Gary To on 09 May 2011 05:13 AM 
Hi Jerry,
I love your Rail Broom Car , so funny, regarding our train show project, Tony and me will go to china to order a new tables for the G scale layout cos those G scale train are so heavy, the already done 40 wooden tables now transfer to HO and N groups using at the show, Tony and I and another members have a private job so the train show progress are going slowly, we hope can finish on the end of the year. I just finished a 20 feet long aliminum Deck Girder Bridges in four sections and use on the show, will post the building log on this forum later.
Gary


Hi Gary,

I mounted the Rail Brook kit onto an old LGB gondola I had purchased that had Kadee couplers body mounted and would not work with anything on my layouts. The gondola was an easy fit for the Rail Broom and had plenty of room for the batteries to operate the motor.

You can find information on the Rail Broom Kit here:

http://www.mylargescale.com/Shoppin...fault.aspx

Does that mean your tables were not strong enough? I seem to recall you were running heavy metal locomotives.

I look forward to seeing photos of your layout when you have the bridge sections and new tables done. That will be quite a layout to see.

Regards,

Jerry


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry just for info I run the track cleaner car and broom together. I added another couple to the other end of the track cleaner so i could do it that way. Do tow jobs at once. I run the Track cleaner next to the loco and the boom car next. Later RJD


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 09 May 2011 09:48 AM 
Jerry just for info I run the track cleaner car and broom together. I added another couple to the other end of the track cleaner so i could do it that way. Do tow jobs at once. I run the Track cleaner next to the loco and the boom car next. Later RJD 

Hi RJ,

Before I ordered the Rail Broom I asked if I could buy it with a coupler (or at least a coupler mount) on both ends. I had thought it would be simple - just include two of the same end piece that was cut for a coupler. I was told I could not buy it that way. 

While it seems simple, I do not have the tools to do a good job of cutting the aluminum end for a coupler mount so I left it the way it came.

Personally I think they should ship every Rail Broom with both ends ready to accept a coupler. If it had cost a few extra bucks I would have been happy to pay it but now I am less satisfied with the Rail Broom than I could have been.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 08 May 2011 03:38 PM 
The third longest siding will be used for the Aristo Rock Island GP-40, Aristo Rock Island Caboose and hopefully all of the assorted freight cars I currently have running with it.

Jerry


It turned out that the third siding is perfect for the Rock Island GP-40. The loco, all 13 freight cars and the caboose fit nicely on the siding.

This gives me a third complete freight train that is now ready to run right out of the Train Barn.




















Thanks to RLD Hobbies I have the Rock Island GP-40 which gives me third of the three major railroads that ran in Central Arkansas
Missouri Pacific, Cotton Belt and Rock Island











I have decided that I will need to insulate all the sidings in the Train Barn since there will be locomotives on the sidings after all.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I made another change today...

I have not been able to figure out just what to do with the 2nd Railbus set. My plan had been to have these Railbusses available for visitors to run who did not have a loco or train of their own but I also had intended to use them on the Trolley line except, even if I put in a passing siding, they would spend 1/2 of the time running in reverse which would look strange.

The solution was pretty obvious and I finally realized that all I needed to do was to put the two Railbus sets back to back and have sort of a modern style push pull Railbus operation. Since both Railbusses have a single motorized truck the power match is perfect for running the two sets together and since they will be running on analog track power (probably with an automatic reversing unit) they will always be running with a head car in either direction - with no programming required.











The Trolley Line is not wired yet but meanwhile they look fine on the mainline.











What makes it perfect is that the double Railbus set fits nicely in the Train Shed

They can be run clockwise or counterclockwise equally well












Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

MoPac was listed in USAT GP 38-2s but did not find any 40s from Aristo. 
I'll just look at yours. 

Matter of fact the C&NW is no longer listed in USAT's


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Marty,

I've had these locos for awhile now. I had to have a MoPac freight train to go with our MoPac Wide Vision Caboose and I happened to find a USAT MoPac GP-38-2 when I was up at St. Aubin's.

Sort of the same thing with the Aristo Rock Island GP-40. As far as I know Aristo had not made any Rock Island locos (I think they now have a RS-3). As I understand it, Robbie commissioned Aristo to make Rock Island GP-40's and matching Long Steel Cabooses. They are probably gone now. I would guess that the Cotton Belt GP-40's may be hard to find now as well.

The C&NW NW-2 was just a discontinued and discounted starter set I found at the HAGRS. The previous year I had found a similar ATSF set. Sometimes (as with Rio Grande) I bought NW-2 starter sets mainly to get the woodsided cabooses - that are my favorite cabooses to run with LGB Moguls. Once I sold the track that came with the sets, I ended up with some very inexpensive NW-2's and woodsided cabooses.

I had really wanted to get the USAT MoPac passenger cars to go with the PA-1/PB-1's. I was told they would be available last September but now I am beginning to think they are not going to be made again.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Al came over today to see how the layout is progressing. 

Yesterday and this morning (before Al arrived) I had finished laying the 6th siding and one loco siding plus I insulated all of the sidings in the Train Barn. There are now SPST switches controlling each siding. A DPDT switch enables me to switch the Train Barn power to the mainline or to an independent power supply. It also makes a great on/off switch for when I want to do something in the Train Barn and don't want to risk shorting out the power on the rails.

By the time Al arrived I had run the Rail Broom across both mainlines and set the MoPac (B&O) FA-1/FB-1 on the loco siding where it will be available for freight duties. I brought the MoPac (B&O) E8 out and set it at the head of the Heavyweights where it will power the passenger train in the future. This way there now is a locomotive available to power whatever is on any of the sidings. 

I was driving the MoPac GP-38 with its freight consist out when Al arrived. I then brought out the Cotton Belt GP-40 and its freight consist for Al to run.

Even without changing the throttle settings the loco sounds (both Sierra and Dallee) vary as the locos run into resistance on the curves etc. which makes everything much more realistic.


Everything ran great until the Revolution in the GP-38 overheated (it was pretty hot outside and the train had been in the direct sun for several hours). When it cooled down and started working again, I backed it into the Train Barn and brought out the Rock Island GP-40 with its freight consist and ran that until Al needed to head home.

The only problem I had other than the Revolution overheating was that at one point everything shut down. I traced the problem to a spade terminal that was not making a good connection at the throttle. For some reason I have had several problems with spade terminals at those connections and once I go back to using bare wire through the holes in the power supply connections the problems go away.

I have to say that I am very happy with how the layout expansion is working out. When we sit in the gazebo running the trains and a loco enters the Train Shed the engine sound drops off until it emerges at the other end. As the trains run behind the Train Barn their sounds diminish and it seems to take forever for them to come back into view. The sound units are reassuring that everything is OK when the locos/trains are out of sight.

When through running trains for the day, since everything in the Train Barn is run with Revolutions, I turn the throttle off; turn power to the Train Barn off; flip a turnout to one or two sidings with trains in the Train Shed; turn the switches on to those sidings and then go to the cupola where I advance the throttle enough to get the train(s) to depart the Train Shed. Once they clear the Train Shed I change the turnouts to align them with the mainlines and I am then ready to control those trains with the throttles in the cupola under analog track power.

When done, I drive the train(s) into the Train Shed and before opening the Train Barn, I first run the Analog Trains onto their sidings in the Train Shed, switch power to those sidings off, realign the turnouts with the mainlines and I am ready to run Revolution equipped trains from the Train Barn. I could make this simpler with some additional switches and wiring but for now it is simple enough that I do not want to put more work into it. Everything is pretty simple: Train Barn - Revolution; Train Shed = Track Power. The only problem is that I need to decide if I am going to put Revolutions into the PA-1/PB-1's. For now I am leaving them on Track Power.

In effect I run Revolution Power during the Day and Analog Track Power in the Evenings, Nights and in Bad Weather.
Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Wow sure looks like your have made it easy to have fun. I need to work on my car barn.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi JJ,

I had some of your sort of fun this morning as I was making doors for the Train Shed. 

As I went to check the fit of the 1st door I noticed something moving in the grass behind me. It was a large (2 1/2 - 3 foot) black snake. As I looked at it, it suddenly raced toward me and went under the layout but I could see it watching me. The nearest snake tamer happened to be a 9mm so I went and got it (I was satisfied this was not a poisonous snake). When I returned with the 9mm, before I could get off a shot, it raced back at me out from under the layout and stopped in the grass threatening me as if it was a poisonous snake. Just when I was lining up the sights, the SOB came at me again. 14 shots later (missed him of course) it had disappeared into the grass.

As you know, this was most unusual for a snake as they will normally run away if they are in a field and not cornered. I can only guess that it might be a female and she might have a nest of little ones (somewhere under or near the layout?) it was trying to protect. Just what I need. ; (

If the stupid snake had made me think it was poisonous I would have got a 12 gauge and I would not have missed. If the dang thing had not been so close to my satellite cables I might have been more accurate with the 9mm. Now I'm going to have to check to be sure I did not hit a satellite cable which would really tick me off because I had to pay to have new cables laid when the previous cable was nicked when they dug the holes for the 4" x 4"s to support the layout extension.

Now I am going to have to be watching out for the new visitor and possibly a whole family of them.

Anyway, regarding the layout, the Train Shed now has doors on both ends. 























Nothing fancy but it should keep the rain from blowing in and keep the larger critters out











Later today or tomorrow I hope to make the door for the back of the Train Barn.


Now have to worry about whether the slithery ones will find the cool and dark interiors of the Train Shed and Train Barn to their liking.

Another nice thing about living in rural Arkansas is that 14 rapid fire shots don't result in anyone panicking and calling the Sheriff. Heck, no one even bothered to phone and ask "Hey Jerry, what are you shooting at today."

God, I LOVE living in Arkansas.

Jerry


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## jake3404 (Dec 3, 2010)

Is there much water near your place like a river or stream or something like that? 

Could be a water moccasin, they can get pretty black colored. 

I was told that if you look at the head of a snake and its diamond shaped, it is definately poisonous.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Jake,

We have a pond close to the layout and there is a creek in the woods that is normally dry but with all the rain lately it currently has standing water in it.

The good news is that this was not a Cotton Mouth. I have a fair amount of experience with Arkansas' poisonous snakes and the only ones that ever came close to biting me were Cotton Mouths. This snake might have been a water snake but it was not poisonous (I am not a snake expert other than being able to identify the local poisonous ones).

On the other hand even a bite from non-poisonous snake can cause some serious medical problems due to bacteria etc. from its fangs. I realize it is not the best thing to do buy my reaction to any snake (even the good ones) is to do my best to kill it. Marilyn is petrified of snakes so I do my best to keep any and all snakes away from the house. I don't tell her about the ones I found in the house.

I would expect an aggressive attack from a Cotton Mouth and I would have gone for a 12 gauge the moment I saw this snake if I thought it might have been a Cotton Mouth. If this had been a CM there is a very good chance he would have bit me. I believe this snake was trying to scare me away rather than trying to actually bite me.

Typically the only poisonous snakes I see around here are Copperheads and they tend to run away and/or hide faster than I can get to a shotgun.

When we moved to Arkansas 39 years ago I was a typical city slicker who knew nothing about critters other than what I saw in a zoo. Unfortunately(?) I fell in with a bad lot who were determined to scare the daylights out of the city slicker and they did a very good job of it but in the process I learned that I loved the outdoors and snake hunting became a favorite sport.

I do appreciate the advice. Your information is on the spot.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Well, I screwed up today. Twice.

First firing the 9mm was bound to scare the deer away for at least a day.

Then I put the deer feed out and started the Railbusses running and then I forgot to turn the dang Railbusses off so they would not startle the deer and keep them away.

Someone forgot to tell the deer of my screw ups.



















All four of these deer are bucks. It will not be a surprise if none of them make it through the fall hunting season
but two of them did survive the last hunting season so there is some hope for them.
Needless to say I am not showing any of these photos locally.










I guess the deer have decided to put up with me and my trains.


Then the cat decided to get into the picture and he laid down right in front of the Train Shed. The deer were NOT happy with this. They frequently run when the cat shows up but sometimes they follow the cat around until he in turn heads toward the deer at which time they run. Its funny that the deer are not afraid of the large raccoons but they are afraid of the darn cat.

Eventually the Railbusses came through the Train Shed spooking the cat which in turn spooked the deer. The cat ended up glaring at the Railbusses and the deer watched the cat. Eventually the deer and the cat left.










Jerry


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

One of your pictures above has a demolished house. Must have been a localized tornado that came through!! Where are you going to put the trailer park? 

This pic:
Your picture

Put your trailer park right there!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Mark,

I believe it really was a localized tornado that did come through. It took out four massive oak trees in line with our house with one blocking both our driveway and the street. One tree blew down west another went east and a double tree went north and south. It did mess up the layout extension quite a bit but the only remaining damage is that building which I need to glue back together along with a bunch of other buildings that are also on the "to do" list.

The Train Barn now has a door installed.










I came up with a simple hold open solution











This actually finishes most of the construction of the layout expansion aside from some paint here and there. The main things that are left involve wiring the turnouts, reverse loops and the Trolley Line.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have now added security to the Train Barn in the form of padlocks that secure each of the eight roof sections.












Jerry


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Who's going to steal the trains, the deer or raccoons ? BTW the train sheds look good.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By JEFF RUNGE on 15 May 2011 10:21 AM 
Who's going to steal the trains, the deer or raccoons ? BTW the train sheds look good. 

Hi Jeff,

Actually it was the idea of the raccoons, my cat or possibly snakes getting into the Train Barn and Train Shed that prompted my focus on security. On the other hand we were burglarized about 15 years ago when my wife and I were both out of town working. Now I am home virtually all of the time but as easy and low cost as it was to secure the Train Barn it would have been somewhat irresponsible for me to not make an effort to secure it.

The thought of me opening the Train Shed or Train Barn and finding a snake in the cool dark interior was what really made my mind up. If I did not hate snakes so much I would probably be thinking about keeping snakes inside as a deterrent to others. 

Thanks,

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

What planet is that space rover from? The brown three legged thing that the cat seems so up set about. Are you harboring space alien's? I can see thier comunications dish right behined the space caft. Looks like they tried to camoflage it to look like a deer. 

Did you check them for a greed card? Did you verifi thier documents. Before you know it they will be flooding here from all the plannets to have thier babbies to get on our health care programs. 



You better get rid of them we got enought trouble with the ones from the south 

JJ


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Yep I did as you did JerrynI added pad locks to all doors that could be opened. I doubt if it helps much but its the idea. Later RJD


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 15 May 2011 02:25 PM 
What planet is that space rover from? The brown three legged thing that the cat seems so up set about. Are you harboring space alien's? I can see thier comunications dish right behined the space caft. Looks like they tried to camoflage it to look like a deer. 

Did you check them for a greed card? Did you verifi thier documents. Before you know it they will be flooding here from all the plannets to have thier babbies to get on our health care programs. 



You better get rid of them we got enought trouble with the ones from the south 

JJ 




Hi JJ,

Its all the fault of the US Air Force. They shipped me off to that foreign country - England (OK so I volunteered) - where I fell under the spell of one of those aliens who followed me back to the USA (OK so she did not follow me - I had to go back and get her) and then the USA went and gave her one of those green cards but I checked it carefully and made sure the card was legal.

Then she snatched up the opportunity to become a US Citizen (OK it took 20 years before she decided she was willing to give up her British Passport and become a Colonial) and then her (our) babies got on our health care programs (medical insurance) where she/we had the privilege of paying thousands of $$$ a year in the hope that we might be covered if we needed medical care (less care than she had FREE in Jolly Old England - or that I had when I was on active duty with the USAF).

When the first baby came along the first insurance company said she must have become pregnant after I left that company and the other insurance company said she must have become pregnant before I worked for that company (2 weeks in-between) with the result that we had to pay 100% of the expenses that would have been 100% free if she (with or without me) had that baby in England.

We are keeping the space rover just in case we need to fly back to that foreign country for free medical care.









OK the truth is that I used to have three of those automatic deer feeders but one by one the electronics burned out and in the meantime I got to the point that I could no longer lift a 50 lb bag of corn to fill the feeders so now they just sit there until someone shows up who wants them (free).

I had rigged the deer feeders with Radio Shack automobile motion detector alarms to either trigger an alarm that went off in the house to alert me to get a camera or that triggered a camera to automatically take photos of the deer that were under the feeder. This was about 20 years ago - long before anyone thought to come up with trail cameras.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 15 May 2011 05:37 PM 
Yep I did as you did JerrynI added pad locks to all doors that could be opened. I doubt if it helps much but its the idea. Later RJD 
Hi RJ,

If a burglar/vandal sees locks it is a message that the property owner is not going to be an easy mark. No visible security can be seen as an invitation.

The first question an insurance adjuster asks is "was your house (property) locked?"

I would rather tell a judge and jury that "I shot the SOB as he was breaking in" - rather than to have a defense attorney claim that "I shot the poor innocent guy just because he happened to wander onto my property accidentally."

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 15 May 2011 02:25 PM 
The brown three legged thing that the cat seems so up set about. 
JJ


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

WPosted By aceinspp on 15 May 2011 05:37 PM 
Yep I did as you did JerrynI added pad locks to all doors that could be opened. I doubt if it helps much but its the idea. Later RJD 
Well RJ, I think you did the rite thing by pad locking it. Better to be safe than sorry, Ya know !!!!!!!!!!!!!!









You BETCHA ................LOL...................


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Can you get those locks keyed alike cheaply, or do you have to go to a locksmith? 

Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 16 May 2011 06:42 PM 
Can you get those locks keyed alike cheaply, or do you have to go to a locksmith? 

Greg 

I bought the locks in a 12 pack that came with all locks keyed alike.
 
Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Cool, that saves some $$... can you get this from a "big box" store, or a locksmith? 

Greg


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 16 May 2011 08:46 PM 
Cool, that saves some $$... can you get this from a "big box" store, or a locksmith? 

Greg Why Yes Greg, I do beleive you can pick these up at any local Walmart or Kmart. These store are so Handy.............









You BETCHA..........LOL...............................


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Did not mean to belabor the point, just wanted to know if I could get them at a good deal. The local locksmith charges msrp. 

Greg


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

OPosted By Greg Elmassian on 16 May 2011 10:03 PM 
Did not mean to belabor the point, just wanted to know if I could get them at a good deal. The local locksmith charges msrp. 

Greg 
OOO I wont worry about it Greg, There's a LOT of Belaboring that goes on all the time here on this site, Thats what make this site Great............









You BETCHA .............LOL.............

I'm Belaboring to bed now, past my bed time. See you fellas BRIGHT and Early Tomorrow............























The sun will come up tomorrow bet your bottom Dollar that Tomorrow they'll be sun ...............


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm glad you have the locks. That mutant deer on the right looks dangerous. His head seems to be replaced with a satellite dish. I wonder if he is controlled by aliens? Beaming illegal and dangerous MTS commands to the locomotives. He may go after the rolling stock next


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 16 May 2011 10:03 PM 
Did not mean to belabor the point, just wanted to know if I could get them at a good deal. The local locksmith charges msrp. 

Greg 

Many times I have an idea of something I want to do but I put it on a back burner until something happens that creates an opportunity which causes me to act.

I found these locks (made in China naturally) at a unique wholesale store in the middle of nowhere. They are heavy duty locks that had a retail price of only $30.00 but with my wife's store discount, they only cost me $20.00 - for a dozen keyed alike 2" locks. The other latches (I will be posting photos after I install them) cost me less than $2.00 each. The heavy duty eye bolts were less than $1.00 each.

My entire new "security system" cost me less than $40.00 including sales taxes to secure the Train Barn and the Train Shed including all openings. The lights, cameras, alarms, motion detectors etc. had been previously installed for other purposes (mainly to photograph deer - but anything that will photograph and alert me to the deer also photograph any 2 legged visitors).

I have no idea where someone could find such prices anywhere else.

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Jerry, that does give me some good ideas on where to look, off the beaten path so to speak. 

Have you addressed the mutant deer issue yet? I thought that was a funny picture. 

Greg


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Happy birthday Jerry!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

This is my favorite accidental Deer Photo (taken during deer season):



















This deer not only would have been an easy shot (even with a handgun) but conveniently placed itself right in front of the 1" thick steel handgun target.

All those years that I worked so hard to hunt deer and now they seem to enjoy taunting me.









Its a very good thing for them that I prefer beef to venison - even when the venison would be free.









On the other hand I do get somewhat annoyed in that I am providing corn fed venison to some unknown hunters who will never know why their venison tastes so good.









As long as the hunting takes place off the property I own and or control I have no legitimate complaint.









I may resort to buying and using a paint ball gun just before deer season opens to teach the deer some survival skills.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Train Barn and Security Phase 2.


Track side exit from Train Barn










Track side exits from Train Shed










And Train Shed itself.











Now everything can be padlocked (or unlocked) in a very short time - all locks opening with a single key.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 17 May 2011 11:59 AM 
Thanks Jerry, that does give me some good ideas on where to look, off the beaten path so to speak. 

Greg 
You might try Harbor Freight. They show similar locks but do not show a 12 pack. Perhaps they have them if you call and ask - or they might have multiple sets with the same key.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piec...40605.html

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

This is an alternative to Phase 1.

It would involve the use of a heavy steel cable through all of the eye bolts with only the ends padlocked or (what I am more likely to do) simply laying the heavy steel cable along the eye bolts and locking the eye bolts to the steel cable which would prevent a burglar from attempting to break the eye bolt and or lock free or to try to unscrew the eye bolt.











Security does not always have to be complicated or expensive.

Jerry

PS - Yes, I do tend to be paranoid about security. We were burglarized once back when Marilyn and I were both working and both out of town/state and once I had a Fuzz Buster stolen out of my company van at night. I could actually smell the BO of the thief and was not positive he was not still in the dark van. Once that happens and someone takes away your feeling of safety in your home and or vehicle you (or me anyway) become very aggressive in reestablishing that feeling of safety and security. Our own kids know better than to ever enter our house unexpected and unannounced - especially at night in the dark.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By wchasr on 17 May 2011 12:39 PM 
Happy birthday Jerry! 

Hi Chas,

Thanks. I had completely forgotten it was my birthday. 

All year I have been thinking I was 67 and now I am - so I don't have to keep reminding myself what my actual age is.

Regards,

Jerry


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Those burglars were not to bright.. lets see... there is a target range set up on the property.... do ya THINK the owner might be armed ? If your doing that kind of damage to 1" thick steel plate, there will only be one side to that story.... YOURS.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Jeff, Sadly it is almost as much of a draw as a deterant. A friends house was burglarized BECAUSE they knew he had guns in the house. They ONLY took small arms that they felt they could sell. 

Chas


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By JEFF RUNGE on 17 May 2011 04:43 PM 
Those burglars were not to bright.. lets see... there is a target range set up on the property.... do ya THINK the owner might be armed ? If your doing that kind of damage to 1" thick steel plate, there will only be one side to that story.... YOURS. 

Hi Jeff,

That may have been part of the reason we were burglarized. At the time I was very involved with shooting sports and I did a lot of shooting in the back yard (field). Although the burglars did not live near here they may have been told by someone who did live around here. The primary loss was my gun collection.

To a large extent it was that burglary that led to my becoming involved in garden railroading. Fortunately the guns were insured and documented so the insurance company had to pay. Rather than replace the guns and risk further burglaries I decided there would be a lot less risk involved in building model railroads.

Guns can be readily turned into cash by burglars. I suspect it would be rather difficult to first steal and then to find a buyer for toy trains (everything I own is used rather than kept in boxes).

A few of the guns were recovered but the serial numbers had been ground off. They were returned to me and I like the fact that for a future burglar to even be in possession of any of them would in itself be a felony.

Unfortunately, although I now know who the burglars were, no one was ever prosecuted. 15 years ago the FBI and BATF had no interest and local law enforcement very little interest in investigating the burglary. It was as if they did not want to know who the burglars were.

The big difference was that at the time of the burglary I was a salesman traveling 5 states so I was gone from home often plus my wife traveled the State of Arkansas in her job. Now I am home 24/7/365 and Marilyn will retire at the end of next month so someone is here virtually all of the time.

You are right about the damage to the 1" steel plate. I had to go to 1" steel because the Magnums were tearing up the 1/2" steel target to the right. I've had to go to lighter loads since then. Getting old can be a real PITA.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

This should be the last change to the Train Barn.

I changed to a narrower steel cable to secure the roofs because the new cable is narrow enough for me to run it through the eye bolts and then to put a padlock through the eye bolt AND around the steel guy wire.










This will prevent anyone from trying to unscrew the eye bolts or to break a hole large enough for the padlock.


Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

The deer are still teasing me. Yesterday afternoon this one was standing right in front of the 100 yard rifle target frame.










I happened to notice one's head sticking out above the grass and as I looked at him through binoculars I found there were three of them waiting for me to put their feed out. Then, this one stood up directly in front of the rifle target frame. He was doubly safe because I would not have shot him plus deer season is closed. 

I suspect they now live in the woods to the left of the shooting range and sun themselves on the rifle range.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

You have a Rifel range? What is on the other side of the dense thicket?


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 18 May 2011 11:32 AM 
You have a Rifel range? What is on the other side of the dense thicket? 
Years ago I hired my neighbor to use his bulldozer to make trails through the woods for me and also to create a high dirt bank behind the targets on the rifle range. The pistol range is at the back of the pond which already had high banks (considerably higher than the targets as you can see from the deer walking in front of the steel plate). From the deck of the house the rifle targets are 150 yards.

Behind the rifle range is 35 acres of dense woods (on a downhill slope). 

When I moved the caboose here the first thing I did was to cut a clear path to the rifle range from the cupola. The photos of the deer were actually taken from the cupola.

In effect I made the cupola into a bench rest. 

I see the guy who owns the woods about once every 5 years or so. He won't sell the land but I do have first option on it and in the meantime he has given me full authority over his woods. It was two years after I had the trails bulldozed and had built the rifle range before he saw or knew about them. He had no objection to what I had done since my trails actually made it possible to walk through his woods (on multiple trails) and increased the value of his property.

When we first moved here I occasionally heard people in the woods (probably poachers). At the time I (legally) owned an M-16 and a Thompson (both full auto). Whenever I suspected anyone was in the woods I emptied a 30 round 5.56mm clip into the pond (single burst). For someone in the woods it must have been incredibly loud and probably sounded like I was shooting directly at them (after all they were behind the pond). After I did this a few times I never heard any more sounds coming from the woods. What were they going to do? Call the cops on me when they were trespassing? The cops would have laughed them out of the police station.

It never hurts to have your neighbors think you are a bit crazy.

I sold the full auto guns long ago when Bill Clinton made them way too valuable for me not to sell them.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Sometimes it pays to procrastinate as some problems really can resolve themselves.

When the big storm hit it left me with a huge oak tree down and blocking both the county road and my driveway. 

Since it was blocking the road, the county cut enough of it to clear the road. A few days later they made it possible to enter our lower driveway. 

A few days later the utility company cut some more wood so they could put replacement support poles in.

Sunday we went out for breakfast and when we returned someone had cut and removed enough wood to nicely clear our driveway and the mailbox.

This morning I heard a chain saw and someone was cutting and removing more of the wood for firewood. I told him to help himself and when he was done I had two more huge oak trees that are down in the woods blocking my trails so eventually he will cut and remove those as well.

I hate to think what it would have cost me to pay someone to cut and remove those huge oak trees. So far it is looking like it will all be done for me - FREE.

All I had to do was - NOTHING!









Jerry


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Must be nice to have nice neighbors to do free wood cutting for ya. Can't beat a deal like that.







Later RJD


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 18 May 2011 07:23 PM 
Must be nice to have nice neighbors to do free wood cutting for ya. Can't beat a deal like that.







Later RJD 

Its truly a win - win situation. Since I got rid of the wood burning stove that I had put in the caboose last year, I have no need for firewood and the guy both uses and sells firewood. That huge oak tree will give him a LOT of prime wood to use or to sell. Left here, it would have simply rotted on the ground. I would have needed a log splitter (which I do not have) to do anything with that massive oak tree. I don't think my chain saws are large enough to have cut it anyway.

Chain saws scare me. It is way to easy to have a serious accident with one. We have a fireplace that currently has a gas insert but if money ever becomes tight enough we will be able to burn wood in it. If that day ever comes, there will always be plenty of dead wood around here to cut and burn.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Today I took the Caboose Layout Expansion one step further. Now that I have some confidence in the security of the Train Barn, I decided it was time to add some steam locos (my favorite type of locos) to the layout. Since full power was coming from the cupola to the tracks I thought it would be nice to keep full power on the rails by going with some LGB decoder equipped locos and to run them with LGB's MTS.

First I brought out a LGB Mikado with a set of Aristo-Craft Cotton Belt boxcars and a LGB Southern Pacific caboose:










Followed by an LGB Corpet Louvet loco (my idea of a lumber company loco) with LGB and Bachmann cars and caboose.











I wish it had been as simple as that but to fess up I had a lot of re-learning to do.

It has been so long since I ran anything other than track power and Revolutions that I had forgotten how to run LGB's MTS.









First I just replaced the Aristo power supply with a LGB power supply and a LGB MTS Central Station. Then I realized I had no idea what the (MTS/DCC) loco numbers of the Mikado and Corpet Louvet were. As I fiddled with the LGB MTS remote controls it finally dawned on me that the remotes were not talking to the Central Station. Then I got the cables to wire the remotes to the Central Station and eventually I put out a receiver so the transmitters could talk to the Central Station advancing me to radio control - but then I had to go from #1 loco up one at a time until I found that the Mikado was set at #16. Then back to #1 and I worked up until I found that the Corpet Louvet was loco #6 (fortunately I had also set the decoder for the sound unit in the tender to #6 as well).

Now I was able to happily run the layout with the two locos under MTS. I simply switched the power to the other sidings off so whenever I want to switch back to running with Revolutions, I will just switch off the sidings with the LGB locos and switch on the sidings with Revolution controlled locos.

As of now the two main lines and the Train Barn are functional with either Revolutions or MTS and, with the Train Barn switched off, the Train Shed has trains ready to run under analog track power. 

Since they require no track power, the layout is also ready to run either battery power or live steam as well.

The next (power) step will be to assure that the MTH TIU is ready to plug in instead of the LGB MTS Central Station. Once that is done, the layout will be ready to run just about anything.

The turnouts still need to have their motors wired and the reverse loops and Trolley Line still need to be wired but the Caboose Layout Extension is finally getting close to being completed.

Jerry


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

I take it that since you took a picture of the mikado, it has been some time since you ran it. I recently ran my old Colorado and Southern #6 LGB mogul for the first time in about 2 years, and I have to say that I forgot how much I loved this little locomotive. Even the analog sound system sounded good as it got some electrons passing through it again. Kind of fun to rekindle our affection toward our trains, isn't it?


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 19 May 2011 01:39 PM 
Jerry,

I take it that since you took a picture of the mikado, it has been some time since you ran it. I recently ran my old Colorado and Southern #6 LGB mogul for the first time in about 2 years, and I have to say that I forgot how much I loved this little locomotive. Even the analog sound system sounded good as it got some electrons passing through it again. Kind of fun to rekindle our affection toward our trains, isn't it? 


Hi Mark,

You are right. I am not a multi-tasker in that I tend to get hung up on a new project and everything else gets ignored until the new project is finished.

Once in awhile I do run the Moguls and Mikados but not often since I started on extending the Caboose Layout. Even when I do run the LGB stuff it is very seldom that I run MTS and the same with MTH - I seldom run DCS. They are nice to have but it is all too easy to just throttle up with track power and not have to think about anything else.

The difference is that with the main inside layout, I sit at a Central Control Station where everything is push button controlled (except for the locos which are manual throttle controlled). When I go to the main outside layout everything is different in that everything becomes radio controlled - usually with the old Train Engineers. My plans for MTS/DCC were focused on multiple operator controls but that happens so seldom that I hardly ever use it.

With the addition of the E8's and SD-45's the Revolution was too simple to install and operate so I started using it and it became the primary power for the Caboose Layout as well.

The one disadvantage of the Revolution vs MTS is that with MTS I can still run the locos under analog track power so in a way, to maintain relative compatible operations with the Caboose Layout I decided to run Revolution and MTS on anything in the Train Barn and switch to track power to run stuff in the Train Shed from the Cupola.

This may sound strange but I just go with the flow and use whatever happens to turn out to be the most convenient.

The Caboose Layout ended up mostly Aristo-Craft but there is LGB, Bachmann, USA, Bridgewerks and probably some other brands out there as well.

I may try something a bit different and run MTS to the track even when I run the Revolutions which should be interesting in that if it works I may be able to run Revolution controlled locos and MTS controlled locos at the same time on the same track. I believe Al told me he has been doing this but I absolutely would NOT suggest that anyone should do it. I have an old Central Station 1, an old Bridgewerks power supply and a spare Revolution. It might be worth burning something out just to see if it works.

It really is fun to rekindle our affection for our trains - it is sort of like rediscovering an old friend we have not seen in awhile. Sometimes we get caught up in the new stuff and forget how much fun the old stuff was and still is.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

After running some of the larger locos on the layout I became a bit uncomfortable with how close the siding to the Train Barn was to the edge of the layout.

My original plan had been to extend the layout 18" but that would have severely restricted access to the storage below the layout.

Next, I thought I would add 2" x 2"s to the edge and then mount Bachmann Telephone Poles on top as I had done with the original layout but, as I thought of it, I was less willing to trust those telephone poles to support a LGB Mikado as I had been to support diesels with a much lower center of gravity.


This morning I attached treated 2" x 6"s along the length of the layout with 3" sticking above the edge of the layout.























It may not be perfect and it is certainly not prototypical but I feel a lot better with those boards up to help assure that nothing falls off of that side of the layout.


One of these days (or weeks or months) I will (probably) get around to painting or staining the 1" x 6"s in Redwood - to match the Train Barn and Train Shed.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

A good day today. I finished getting all the track cut and set in its final positions. Additionally I managed to wire both of the reverse loops and both the town and sawmill sidings.

About all that is left to get the layout fully operational is to install and wire all of the electrical motors for the turnouts and to wire the center Trolley Track. At that point there will still be broken buildings that need to be fixed, lights to be installed in them and wired to power and figures to be placed around the layout.

I don't mind saying that I am looking forward to the day when I can look at the layout without being reminded of something else that remains to be done.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Today pretty much finished up the Expansion of the Caboose Layout and this may be my last post on this topic as there is not much more to add.

As of today I managed to complete the installation and wiring of the motors for the turnouts except for those that control the sidings in the Train Barn and Train Shed which will be simply wired with the wires that came with the Aristo slow motion switch motors and I will operate them from 6 volt lantern batteries in the sheds.

Rather than use the new Aristo switch motors for the layouts outside of the sheds I decided to just use the old LGB switch machines since I already have them and all the wiring was set up and tested for them plus they don't require any extra protection when left out in the rain (as they have been for the past 10+ years).

Today was the first day that I was able to run a train (RDC) completely around the layout (including all sidings) with all turnouts and siding power controlled from the gazebo.

There will always be bits and pieces to fix or complete but overall I consider the layout to be completed.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 13 Apr 2011 03:32 PM 
Is it done,,YET????? 

YES IT IS!!!


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Praise be to GOD. it is the end of the earth and **** has frozen over......


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Nicholas Savatgy on 27 May 2011 07:58 PM 
Posted By NTCGRR on 27 May 2011 06:58 PM 
Praise be to GOD. it is the end of the earth and **** has frozen over...... 
Yes I agree, Thank GODDDDDDDDDD..................................... 

Poor Nicky,

He was forced to come here against his will and to read about something posted by someone he does not like and it took his precious time away from his Aristo bashing everywhere else.









Its too bad that no one ever explained to him that if he simply looked at the name of the author of the topic he would have known it was by someone he does not like (the feeling is mutual) and he could have simply avoided my topic - just as I avoid everything I ever see with his name on it.

The difference Dear Nickey is your total lack of courtesy 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy

and respect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respect

The difference between Marty's post and yours is that Marty is a friend so his comments are understood for what they are - amusing.

Your comments are not that of a friend so they are understood for what they are (the stuff that comes out of the end of the horse you are bashing).

Even the gif is typically Nickey - he is bashing something - about all he ever does.

I'm surprised you actually posted under your own name rather than one of your many aliases. We should have a contest to see if we can figure out how many aliases you have. They are not too hard to identify because they too are always bashing something - usually Aristo-Craft but also attacking anyone who ever says anything positive about Aristo-Craft.

Jerry

PS Nick - you had to come here uninvited to my topic and to then be disrespectful to me before your lack of courtesy and respect for me resulted in my disrespectful and discourteous response to you. Think about it and you just might learn something. Just because you know how to post a gif does not make you a funny guy - just a PITA who knows how to post a gif.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I am glad to see you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train comming the other way. The layout looks grea and you should have many happy hours runing trains. Your car barn is what made me start thinking of making my own. The only thing stopping me right now is $$$$$$$$$

Have a great three day week end Jerry 

JJ


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 27 May 2011 06:45 PM 
Posted By NTCGRR on 13 Apr 2011 03:32 PM 
Is it done,,YET????? 

YES IT IS!!! 



Congratulations Jerry, 
It's been fun following this project from the start. You've made if very interesting and I've picked up some good ideas for my railroad. Bob


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 28 May 2011 07:08 AM 
I am glad to see you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train comming the other way. The layout looks grea and you should have many happy hours runing trains. Your car barn is what made me start thinking of making my own. The only thing stopping me right now is $$$$$$$$$

Have a great three day week end Jerry 

JJ 


Hi JJ,

These past few weeks have shown me how age etc. have been catching up with me (fast). Between how little I was able to accomplish each day and how my back acted up the days after I had to crawl around under the layout running wires, it is clear that I really needed this layout with its easy access to everything with no need to get on my hands and knees anymore.

Now, with everything on one level, I have built a layout that will be easy to use and easy to maintain.

I have to say that the Train Barn and the Train Shed have made all the difference for me. Certainly the $$$$$$$$ was a huge factor but for me this was a now or never situation.

I wish you a great Memorial Day Weekend as well and I look forward to seeing your posts when you begin building your Car Barn.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Yea Jerry I know what you mean. I have trouble getting up and down but I fear if I don't so some up and down I will stop all together. I am slowly converting my layout to a raised layout. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Bob in Kalamazoo on 28 May 2011 09:56 AM 
Congratulations Jerry, 
It's been fun following this project from the start. You've made if very interesting and I've picked up some good ideas for my railroad. Bob






Hi Bob,

I appreciate your comments and compliments. While I may not have duplicated what someone else built, it was very helpful to me to have seen what they did, why they did it that way and how they did it. If someone learns something from how I built this layout it makes my posting about it worthwhile - even if they end up with something entirely different.

Some days it was the lack of any progress on my topic that was the motivation I needed to get back to work on the layout.

Fellow club members came over today and it was very nice that they were able to run their trains on the layout with everything running just the way it was supposed to. Al was running his new Pacific with the Revolution on one main line while I ran a Corpet Louvet with MTS on the other main line and we had a Double Railcar set on the inside Trolley Line under track power.

To make it a perfect day first a set of two small deer came to feed and after they left, 3 nice bucks came to feed - about 50 feet from the mainlines where the trains were running including the sound systems.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 28 May 2011 11:09 AM 
Yea Jerry I know what you mean. I have trouble getting up and down but I fear if I don't so some up and down I will stop all together. I am slowly converting my layout to a raised layout. 

JJ 
Hi JJ,

Are you sure we are not twins? We sure seem to think a lot alike and to have many of the same values (and aches and pains). Perhaps you should move to Arkansas and between us we could keep at least one layout up and running. 

The expansion of the layout became a a high priority when I went to see a doctor about my knee last year. He recommended a replacement knee. I asked him how soon and his reply was "right now." I decided I needed to get the layout completed with everything above ground before I start thinking about that surgery.

On the other hand our severe autistic granddaughter is spending the weekend with us and her situation (and her family's) puts everything in focus. We would gladly sell everything we own in a heartbeat if it could buy a "fix" for her. 

Perhaps one reason why we enjoy our toy trains so much is that they do a good job of taking our minds away from reality.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Hey Jerry 
In the last picture what are those two corner buildings? Can you get a picture of the back side. They look like part of kit and the rest is missing. 

What are they 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi JJ,

I am not quite sure which you mean. I think these are the ones you have in mind:

The one at the back center is a Pola Water(?) Mill

I bought most of my buildings and trains based on what I got the best prices on and I bought most of my buildings 2nd hand.

Since I had some European buildings I decided that my sawmill was built and operated by German/Swiss immigrants and styled it somewhat that way.










The two at the back are probably the ones you are referring to. 

At first I placed the Aristo barn on the old layout where I planned to have a farm and I had the Pola station as a main train station.

When I expanded the layout these were sort of left over so I put them in the corner until I figure out what to do with them.

I decided the Pola train station was too big for the size of the layout and the size of the other buildings so I went with the smaller Aristo Freight and Passenger Stations.

I have yet to figure out where all the buildings and figures are going to end up.










I think I will end up with a farm behind the Trolley Line.

Since the rest of the details are pretty minor and may take me a fair amount of time to sort out now that the heat is into the 90's, I figured there was not much need to prolong the topic. I have not given any thought to where I will put the figures but I need to find a way to attach them so that storms or the leaf blower do not blow them all over. I will probably hot glue them to wide flat head nails going into oversize holes so they can be removed and replaced. I also need to glue the new carpet down so it does not get blown away again.

I expect to make very few visual changes to the layout other than to fix some broken buildings and to put lights into all the buildings but I won't need lights until next winter so it may take me all summer to get that done.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Jerry 

The second picture of m 24th There is a gray L shaped building and a red/gray L shaped building. Where are they from? Got more pics of them


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi JJ,

Sometimes photos get distorted when they are compressed and posted. Those photos are of Aristo-Craft Farm Houses.











These two and most of the other buildings on this layout were on the main outside layout and in the sun for about 10 years which is why the red one is faded - or I should say it is weathered.







I think it is great that Aristo-Craft keeps re-releasing these Farm Houses in different colors. This way I have an assortment of them on the layouts without having them look like exact duplicates.

I did buy some new Aristo-Craft buildings including more farm houses but I put most of them on the main outside layout. The only new buildings on this layout are an Aristo-Craft Freight Station and a Passenger Station.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I got one of those. I bought it from Jim Carter at Marty's one year. Yes is it nice the Ariso keeps making them. Now you can have a 1940s track houseing development 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

This layout expansion has pretty well busted my piggy bank for the next few years. I've reached a point that I probably need to start selling some stuff before I even think about buying anything new.

For now my plans are to finish up the layout and then just sit back and run the wheels off everything.

Jerry


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and replies. It is helpful to me to see others building. The train barn has given me some ideas for my railroad. Also, it is just 'fun' to see what other people are actually doing with their trains. 

Have fun. And post more pictures when you can. Perhaps, now with the heat, you'll do some early morning running? Looking forward to more pics!!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Mark,

These may be the last photos as I really hope I am done with the hard stuff now. 

I finally got the Trolley Line wired and working. This may become a favorite of mine - to run the RDC's on the Trolley Line from the cupola.

The RDC's or Trolleys or Railbusses can now run direct from the Town to and from the Sawmill - or they can go from the Town or Sawmill to and from either of the Main Lines.

This makes it possible for the local transportation of workers to the Sawmill or for Main Line Trains to deliver passengers or freight to the Town or Sawmill.

All operations can now be controlled (except for assembling trains in the Train Barn) from the gazebo. The layout is readily convertible from Track Power to MTS/DCC to Revolution and even Battery Power and Steam Power. The two Main Lines can be operated together or independent so different operating systems could be run on different main lines at the same time.

For that matter the trains in the Train Shed are Analog Track Power and the trains in the Train Barn are a combination of Revolution Controlled and MTS Controlled - so it is quite simple to run any variation of power during a single operating session. In effect a visitor can run anything they happen to bring with them.











It turned out A LOT harder to get wired correctly than I had anticipated because after all it is an independent line wired within and having crossovers over both of the fully insulated tracks of two independent reverse loops (talk about a mind twister). I don't remember and don't want to know how many times I wired and rewired everything before I finally got it running right.

What made things harder was that I was working with wiring and switches that I had designed to work with the previous configurations and my conduits are too packed to run any additional wires through them.


It looks simple enough










Until you see how many wires are involved (up to 6 conductors per cable)










And when you get to the real wiring (not counting taking the individual box covers off) it gets interesting (or should I say confusing)











The good news is that the Trolley Line is finally wired correctly and working correctly.

I may forget about automatic operation for now as that would involve a whole different wiring complexity. I may try it in the fall but for now it is way too hot to work anymore.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

One thing that should be mentioned is that the outdoor carpet on top of treated plywood was not a good idea. The plywood is de-laminating quite a lot and more important the original carpet (as seen behind the RDC) is disintegrating (literally falling apart). 

I don't know how well the latest carpet over the treated decking will hold up but it will surely be better than the plywood. Also the fact that I used cheap carpeting is showing up in how it is not holding up well. Part of it may be my fault for not painting or otherwise treating the plywood or buying a better grade of carpet.

As with a lot of what I do, I would not recommend this manner of construction but the truth is that I have no regrets. It has worked well enough for long enough and if I have to do something to "fix it" at least I now have a foundation and a track layout to build on. If the green carpet gets bad enough I may just slap some green paint over the bare areas until it gets bad enough that I feel I really have to replace it.

I make no claims to be a craftsman of any sort. I just build stuff with whatever I happen to have on hand or that I can find locally at a minimal cost.

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

woww look at all that wiring, I don't think I'm smart enough for that complex system. 
I'll just stick to a simple mans batt/RC. 

BTY
Next time you use plywood cover it first with frost guard. Its like sticky felt papaer for roofing. even over the edges. And/ or buy OSB 3/4 tongue/groove sheeting.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

If I had your layout and I was 20 years younger and 100 lbs lighter with a good back I would run it exactly the way that you do. I think you have the perfect layout for you.

In my case my goal is to sit in the shade with a cool drink in front of a bunch of buttons to push and have the layout do all the work for me.

The beauty of this layout is that everything is nothing more than a bunch of two wire systems so - once everything is set up right in the first place - if anything does not work it is a simple matter to trace those two wires and find out which one is not connecting somewhere.

30 turnouts = 30 pairs of wires. 
2 main lines = 2 pairs of wires.
2 reverse loops = 4 pairs of wires.
3 sidings on the layout = 3 single wires.
3 sidings in the Train Shed = 3 single wires.
8 sidings in the Train Barn = 8 single wires.

Power to the Main Lines = 2 pairs of wires in the gazebo and another 2 pairs of wires in the cupola.
Power to the turnouts on the layout = 1 pair of wires in the gazebo 
Power to the turnouts in the Train Barn = 1 pair of wires to a battery in the Train Barn.

Yep! It is a lot of wires but there are around 150 electric turnouts on the main layout plus an unknown amount of wires to everything else but I cannot remember ever having a wiring problem once it was set up years ago.

Some people like batteries and some people like electrical systems and I sold electrical systems for many years so guess which system I am happiest with.

Cheers,

Jerry


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

That is a lot of switches to play with all day. That'll keep you out of trouble, for a while anyway.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 31 May 2011 07:54 AM 
Jerry,

Perhaps, now with the heat, you'll do some early morning running? 
That is a lot of switches to play with all day. 


Hi Mark,

Your earlier comments were right on the mark (pardon the pun).

Today was the first day that I went out without any tools, toolbox or anything - just a power supply and Revolution to check out a friend's new Pacific.

The heat was already at an uncomfortable level and it was not long before it reached unbearable. The temperature is expected to reach 95 degrees today (one degree below setting a record and 10 degrees above normal). I packed it in and shut the layout down. 

It looks like my timing was perfect in getting the layout finished just in time for it to be too hot to enjoy it. 

I guess it is time to move back indoors until it gets cooler outside.

As you said, I will have to start doing some EARLY morning running.

Regarding the switches, most of the button switches control pairs of turnouts. The 11 pairs of black & red switches activate 20 turnouts controlling the crossovers, reverse loops and sidings with toggle switches controlling the power and polarity of the main lines, reverse loops and sidings.

Jerry


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Congrats on a project well done! 

Best, 
TJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By tj-lee on 02 Jun 2011 01:20 PM 
Congrats on a project well done! 

Best, 
TJ 

Hi TJ,

Thanks,

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

The Heat anit that bad. It's humidity. That's the stuff that makes it unbearable. 

You sure have made a great easy to run layout and spured a whole lot of creative ideas.

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi JJ,

You are probably right. Whatever it is, heat and or humidity, it has gotten too uncomfortable to be outside after around 8 am these days.

Thanks for your comments about the layout. Most of my ideas probably originated when I read something about what someone else built. Often I read where someone did or built something but the topic ends without a lot of the little details that I needed to understand exactly how they did something.

Often I learn a lot from folks who do things very different from the way that I would - sometimes that is because they are experts in something I am an amateur at. Sometimes they use materials I've never heard about or knew existed (like marine plywood). I've used literally thousands of electrical connectors because that happens to be something I sold to professional electricians for many years.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I decided to run some trains this morning before it got too hot but I ran into a few problems that may be worth mentioning.

First I found that the siding with the LGB Mikado I intended to run had no power. I traced the problem to a turnout and since I had used Aristo-Craft clamps to install it, I started to remove it with the expectation that one of the little screws had come loose causing the rail to lose its connection.

As I started to remove the turnout I realized the screws just might come loose again sometime in the future (I had a few other turnouts where I had run into the same problem).

My next thought was to leave the turnout where it was and just run a jumper wire from the clamp before the rail that had no power to the clamp after the rail. Since the layout is elevated it was easy enough to drill a hole and run the wire down under the layout and back up.










I have now done this with two turnouts and I will do it with any others that exhibit the same problem.










It has turned out rather convenient that the Aristo-Craft clamps come with a screw that is perfect for running such a jumper.

Now that I had power, I started running the Mikado but immediately noticed it was limping on the track. I soon discovered that one of the traction tires had broken so I removed it and now I have to figure out if I have a replacement traction tire for it.

If its not one thing it is another and now it is too hot to run trains. Back to the air conditioning.

Jerry


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

Posted By markoles on 02 Jun 2011 06:38 AM 
Jerry,

That is a lot of switches to play with all day. That'll keep you out of trouble, for a while anyway. 
I doubt it. He will probably find some new piece of rail history, like a station, to bring home and preserve.


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

I was looking at some of those clamps last night and thought I could use the external screw for running power feeders, too. I see you have put LGB switch machines on your aristo turnouts. Was that an easy task?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I have used Hillman and Splitjaw in the manor you show in your pictures .

All I did was get ream small solderless connectors.

I think that if I had a layout like Jerry's I would probably l run Track power 

JJ 


PS Before you guys say anything....I started with track power like just about everyone else


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Jerry 
I was just looking through all your pictures ( Which are great by the way ) I noticed in the pic of you control panel. There are two push buttons and a toggle switch. What does the toggle switch do?


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Nutz-n-Bolts on 15 Jun 2011 09:09 AM 
Posted By markoles on 02 Jun 2011 06:38 AM 
Jerry,

That is a lot of switches to play with all day. That'll keep you out of trouble, for a while anyway. 
I doubt it. He will probably find some new piece of rail history, like a station, to bring home and preserve.










Hi Randy,

Marilyn will be retiring in two weeks. God know what else she might "discover" but now that I have not heard any further mention of the train station I will tell you "the rest of the story."

The guy who who owns the former Cotton Belt Train Station told Marilyn he would let her have the complete train station including its contents (scales etc.) for a total of $500.00 (no, there are no missing zeros in the amount - Five Hundred Dollars for the entire train station).

It would have been nice to put the train station in the field behind the MoPac Caboose but it turned out that it would have cost us a minimum of $30,000.00 to move the $500.00 train station. $20,000 to move the station and $10,000 to move the roof.









If I was 20 years younger I would have bought the station anyway and slowly moved it board by board and rebuilt it in the field myself but those days are long gone now.

As things are there is a good chance the train station will be torn down and yet another part of our railroad history will be lost forever. 

Jerry


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

$30k? You could have found a way to strike a deal. Perhaps training the mover's grandparents how to use the internet, for example!! Or, how about trading an equal amount of wild boar meat? Or perhaps you could trade them 'track time' on one of your layouts.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 15 Jun 2011 04:01 PM 
Jerry 
I was just looking through all your pictures ( Which are great by the way ) I noticed in the pic of you control panel. There are two push buttons and a toggle switch. What does the toggle switch do? 

Hi JJ,

The short answer to your question is that I make up my own switch (turnout) controls. The black buttons align the turnouts to their normal positions (usually straight) and the red buttons align the turnouts away from their normal direction. This may be into a siding, sometimes (with dual turnouts) into and out of a siding and sometimes (with dual turnouts) through a crossover. The toggle switches are used to turn power on/off (either to the layout or individual sidings or parts of the layout) or to select the source of power or to reverse the polarity of the reverse loops.

Your question prompted me to finally get around to making a new switch panel cover sheet that I use to help visitors and myself know what the switches do.

This was the old cover sheet and you can probably figure out what the abbreviations stand for:










I did not want to do any more work than necessary so I figured out how to use the same switch panel layout to control the switches on the expanded layout.

This is how the new switch control wiring functions - using the same switches in the same panel configuration.

The layout now looks different but it is basically the same other than it has been expanded to the point that the reverse loops are now totally separated and rather than having more sidings inside the mainlines, the extra sidings are now inside the Train Shed or next to the Train Barn (neither illustrated). In effect the expanded layout is twice as wide as the layout illustrated here but this image shows the essentials for the controls.










I hope this makes sense.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 15 Jun 2011 10:11 AM 
Jerry,

I see you have put LGB switch machines on your aristo turnouts. Was that an easy task? 


Hi Mark,

The LGB switch machines are a straight swap for the Aristo switch machines. I had bought new Aristo switch machines for use with the new Aristo turnouts but since the layout had already been wired for the LGB switch machines I decided to use the LGB switch machines where the turnouts are exposed to the weather and to use the Aristo turnouts inside the Train Shed and Train Barn.

There are two additional reasons for this in that the Aristo switch machines recommend sealing them with liquid rubber (probably not necessary inside the Train Barn) and the Aristo switch machines lock the points in place where a LGB switch machine will let a locomotive push through a LGB switch machine incorrectly aligned. In the Train Barn I will use a 6 volt lantern battery to operate the Aristo switch machines (saves me running power to the Train Barn for the turnouts) and in the Train Barn I can visibly verify which way the turnouts are flipped (I may even wire them to lights to confirm their position).

I bought a lot of used LGB switch machines so the cost difference (considering that I make my own switch controls) was not too bad.

Occasionally I run into an Aristo turnout where the LGB switch machine does not fit right but I have also run into a few LGB turnouts that only accept an LGB switch machine if it is mounted on the inside or outside but not either as they should. Eventually I get them sorted out.

My LGB switch machines have never been down in the dirt or water so it is not surprising that I have had to replace VERY few - even though some have been out in the weather for over 15 years.

The other thing is that I have used so many LGB electric turnouts over the years that I have learned most of the tricks to get the best performance out of them. The Aristo switch machines are a new experience for me so it will take some time for me to get to know them as well as I know LGB.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 15 Jun 2011 03:56 PM 
I have used Hillman and Splitjaw in the manor you show in your pictures .

All I did was get ream small solderless connectors.

I think that if I had a layout like Jerry's I would probably l run Track power 

JJ 


PS Before you guys say anything....I started with track power like just about everyone else










Hi JJ,

I have the advantage of having been a factory sales rep for a line that included solderless terminals. I still have some left over terminals that fit those Aristo screws in their clamps. There is very little need for #2 or #4 ring terminals which is why I still have them after being retired 11 years.

If I had yours or Marty's layouts I would probably be running on batteries too.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 16 Jun 2011 06:46 AM 
Jerry,

$30k? You could have found a way to strike a deal. Perhaps training the mover's grandparents how to use the internet, for example!! Or, how about trading an equal amount of wild boar meat? Or perhaps you could trade them 'track time' on one of your layouts. 


Hi Mark,

The train station is 88 miles away. It cost me $5k to have our caboose moved just 5 miles.

I had a few tricks up my sleeve but none of them panned out. With the current cost of gas I figured it would have cost me about $10k just for the gas if I had been able to haul it back here in pieces with my truck and trailer.

The truth is that if somehow I had managed to pull it off I simply do not have the energy and finances to have reassembled it and restored it. It was just too good a deal not to have at least made the effort to find out if it was possible to move it here.

Perhaps now, with the train station project dead and the layout completed I can get back to restoring the caboose. I still need to try to get it painted this year. 

I had not realized how important those two trees were that died and I had to have cut down and removed. Without the shade from those trees the caboose is now under direct sunlight and with temperatures running 10 degrees above normal (mid to upper 90's), it is proving almost impossible to keep the caboose comfortably cool - even with the two air conditioners that worked well enough last year.

I guess I'm getting old and just can't take the heat anymore.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Not much new to report on the layout. It is still too hot to finish installing and wiring the turnouts and sidings in the Train Barn but the Train Barn does have two new occupants - the two Aristo Undecorated Consolidations which will let me move the LGB Mikado back to the main layout and the Cotton Belt GP-40 will be moved to a siding for use when necessary. This will leave the two Consolidations (which I will mark as Cotton Belt) each with a consist of Cotton Belt boxcars and caboose - which will be double headed as desired.










OK. I will admit it. My main reason for posting is that my babies are back:


















They have been missing for about a month. The last time I saw the big one his front leg was injured and he was limping. I had come to the conclusion that poachers, dogs or coyotes had finished him off.

Note: If you look at the position of the deer in relation to the satellite dish behind them and then look at the photo of the layout with the Connies running, you will see how close to the layout the deer really are. Last night there were 8 visiting deer and one of the two above was not present so there are now at least 9 deer now visiting regularly.







[/b]

Even better, a couple of days ago I went to the caboose and found a momma raccoon with three babies eating the cat food on the deck of the caboose. I was as close as 5 feet away and they just looked at me. Happy days are here again.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Nice Pics

I see the three legged alien space craft has not blasted off to the home planet. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 16 Jul 2011 03:17 PM 
Nice Pics

I see the three legged alien space craft has not blasted off to the home planet. 

JJ 


The three legged alien space craft are a disguise. Big Brother is using all these things to monitor our every movement and word we speak. At night the Black Helocopters with their stealth technology whisp around and collect all the data and then Secret Agents dressed in black silently slip away in the dark with anyone who dares to think for themselves.

OOPS! I was thinking this was Iran or Syria. My mistake.









Our alien space craft have not been activated yet. That comes next year when the world will end - or is it the next year or the year after that? I keep forgetting.









Jerry


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