Basement Train Layout: Week 346

Sun, Mar 14, 2021 thru Sat, Mar 20, 2021

This Week's Goal Planning

1. More Work with Locomotives

This Week: Maybe weathering, but probably finishing two more decoders.

2. Continue work on Clinton Ave. wall sections

This Week: I'll try to cut and paint this week.

3. Laying more "asphalt" in the Industrial Park

This Week: Figure out where the far parking lot will go and get that done.

4. Begin work on the upper downtown area Melrose Park

This Week: Work on filling in the missing wall sections.

Sun, Mar 14, 2021

Changing gears from decoder installation to working
on guard rails for upper downtown Melrose Park.

I'm going to string these up and see how they fit.

All strung up and waiting for wall parts to dry.

Cutting out small sections to fit in these gaps.

While waiting for the wall sections to dry, I'm going
to try my hand on a bit more difficult decoder installation.

Putting heat shrink tubes over the LED leads.

In place and ready for next step.

Back to the locomotive. I connected the first wire
from the decoder. It's the gray motor wire that connects
to the (-) side of the motor (on the bottom).

Mon, Mar 15, 2021

Train Day!

w/Rob Fair

6-8:15pm 2.25 hours.

We really got a lot accomplished tonight.

Take a look...

Rob Fair is working on the road over railroad crossing.

I will work on finishing the wall with sections...
BEFORE

Sections complete.
AFTER

I also worked on the railing for the wall sections.
BACK

FRONT

Moving deeper into modeling
with ballasting.

Looking down the rails as Rob Fair taps down the ballast.

Looks great doesn't it?
You can see the tape we added so when we glue
the glue won't run down the sides and mess up the
fit of the pull out section.

Rob Fair had a little extra caulk so we added it
wherever we could to get rid of the rest.

Back to ballasting.

I wanted to show you Rob's progress tonight.
This is the BEFORE picture.

Great work, Rob!
This is the AFTER picture.

Tue, Mar 16, 2021

I was up early this morning and spent 50 minutes just cleaning up after TRAIN DAY! yesterday.

Now this afternoon here's what I'm doing...

Ballasting and putting in a new road...

Glue spread on the left side.
Right side waiting for glue.

Both sides with glue spread over the ballast.
I used a 50/50 mixture of diluted glue and water
with a squirt of dish washing detergent.

My new road under the tracks.
BEFORE

DURING...

AFTER.

Now I need to purchase some more foam adhesive

and secure the road bed and "asphalt" and then

install sidewalks, curbs & gutters.

Wed, Mar 17, 2021

More work on the RR...

Tonight I marked off the spacing of the posts.
I will need 17 more posts.
So let's go and make some posts.

The ones on the right are finished.
The ones on the left are cut and ready for drilling holes.

Here are the shavings from trimming the end to a point.

Here are both rows with holes ready to be installed.

Note the pointy end that will fit into the wall.

Here are the tools I used to finish the job.

Before I called it a night,
I put together James & Nat's
Christmas present.

It is a staircase that will take you from upper to lower downtown or vice versa.

Thu, Mar 18, 2021

I put in green markers for where the posts will go.
I also did this to figure out how many posts I would need to make.

More markers on this side of the layout.

Posts installed.

These posts also installed.
Now I'm ready to thread the horizontal "bars".

Looks good, don't you think?

Fri, Mar 19, 2021

FRIDAY MORNING

I was up early this morning and decided it was time to work on the RR

Here we go...

I decided to thread the "bars".
The thread is the "bar" and the needle is what I'm using to
thread the bar through the posts.

I took this picture to show you where the spool of thread is kept until
I determine how much thread I'll need to use to complete the project.

All done!

This is the same street & sidewalk as previous picture, just
taken from the opposite direction.

Drone view of the wall project.

And, of course, all the tools that are
needed to complete the job.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

My goals did not include what I've done this week, but that
is the beauty of this hobby. You can do what you want when
you want to do it. It's great! And there's still progress on the RR.