Basement Train Layout

Monday, November 20, 2017

Week 173

Week 173

Sunday, November 19, 2017 thru Saturday, November 25, 2017

Sunday, November 19, 2017

No train activity today

Monday, November 20, 2017

Train Day with Rob Fair and Jordan Osborn
5:30-7pm
Good work tonight men, check this out...

Let's start with a video for a change...
We discovered a flaw in the track at Kedzie Avenue.

Length: 00:00:15sec.
The UP AC6000 would derail at the switch.
Rob Fair applied the rail gauge and found it was to tight.
Once corrected, that seemed to take care of the problem.

A look at Kedzie Avenue station from the stairwell.

This video shows a nice panoramic view going backwards as the train goes forward.

Length: 00:00:30sec.

Nice video of the AC6000 coming towards you as the train follows behind.

Length: 00:00:27sec.

After Rob Fair checked out the derailment (see video above) he moved into the power box and inserted the cables from the alley utility poles.

Here's the finished product.

Kedzie Avenue with walls secured.
They used to curl up at the bottom.

Now Rob Fair begins weathering the parking lot behind the Western Avenue "skinny building".

Meanwhile, back at the Central Control Tower, Jordan Osborn finishes up some much needed paperwork.

Always checking the data twice.

Progress on the parking lot weathering.

First application.
Note the station platforms are still dark black.

Nice video of the Metra Commuter train approaching and passing Kedzie Avenue Station.

Length: 00:00:11sec.

Rob Fair continues to work the weathering into the parking lot.

Moving onto the station platforms.

Hitting the details.

Kedzie Avenue awaits weathering...

A different perspective of Rob's work.

Now Kedzie Avenue has been hit.

Nice work, Rob.

Very nice.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

No train activity today.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

No train activity today.

Thursday, November 23, 2017
Happy Thanksgiving!

Couldn't sleep tonight, so I wandered downstairs and...

...finished laying out the street sections around Union Station.

I also installed some lights inside and out.
Maybe I'll try to wire them up tomorrow to see how they look.
See you then!

Friday, November 24, 2017

Updated spreadsheet to match blog.
DONE!
YES!

Since I worked on Union Station last night, I had to keep going a little bit more...

Ben helped me lift this section up and over the commuter terminal tracks.

The columns are 3.5" tall and only temporary.

Here's a view from the end of the station stop.
You can see from this angle the columns are way too thick.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Funny how you get something in your head and can't let it loose.
Well, I'm on a Union Station binge.

Check out these progressive shots.

First, What's on your workbench this week?

You guessed it! Union Station is on my workbench this week.
It all started the other night when I couldn't sleep and I put together the street sections.

A couple of days ago I installed the 12V LED lights.
Here, I'm getting ready to solder the black and red wires separately of course :)

I'm pretty sure this shows the black wires soldered together.

And now the red wires are soldered together.
The one white is really a read.
The two leads go off the table.

I used a 9V transformer and checked to make sure the lights work.
Yes they do!

Then I turned over the station and checked the lighting on the workbench.
One side...

...and then the other side.

Then I put Union Station in place where it will go on the layout and did a test show.
Not bad. I like it!

Same setting, different look.
I may want to add some up lights in the front.
Street lights will be added and give some more lighting in front, but uplights would make it "pop".

And finally a bird's eye view from the rear.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Week 172

Week 172

Sunday, November 12, 2017 thru Saturday, November 19, 2017

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Jordan stopped by to run trains today.

I shored up the retaining wall at Kedzie Avenue alley.

I should've gotten before and after pictures, but I settled with AFTER pictures here.

And the base of the walls in the underpass.

I also "nailed" down the bottoms of the underpass.
Much better.

As I look at the two pictures, I need to go back and paint the heads of the spikes I drove in to secure the wall to the base. They look like little black dots.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Train Day Cancelled!

Rob Fair and I both had a rough weekend as far as our health is concerned, so we're taking today off.

Rob sent me a text this morning and said he was going to be in bed all day today.

Get better, Rob!

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

No train activity today.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Train Day!

No train activity today either.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

No train activity today.
What's going on?
I thought you'd never ask.
I've been nursing a sore back and trying to stay out of commission as much as possible.
UGH!

Friday, November 17, 2017

Lord of Life Men's Retreat this weekend.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Lord of Life Men's Retreat this weekend.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Week 171

Week 171

Sunday, November 5, 2017 thru Saturday, November 11, 2017

Sunday, November 5, 2017

No Train Activity Today

Monday, November 6, 2017

Train Day!
Rob Fair and Jordan Osborn joined me tonight from 6-7:30pm

And here's what we did...

Tonight we're going to work on the utility poles and wires in the alley at Kedzie Avenue.

Rob Fair is positioning the poles and preparing to secure them to the scenery.

Poles in place, now we're ready for the cables..

Looks pretty messy again, but we know that's what happens when we're working.

Here how the cables look on the top level.

We started the bottom level and now it's time to call it a night.

Great work tonight, men!

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

I did a little bit of work on the utility lines we started last night:

I glued the cables from the lower utility pole to the upper utility pole in foreground.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

TRAIN DAY!
Jordan Osborn and I worked together from 4:15 to 5:30pm this afternoon.

Tonight I added the power box to the utility cables in foreground.

This picture shows the cables now attached to the power box.
In the previous picture the cables were not attached.

I asked Jordan to hold up the background board to get this shot of the wires.

I've been wanting to put down the safety lines at the station stop.
Here is Elmhurst in process.

Geneva in process.

Geneva finished.
I don't think I'll do the center platform.
Not enough room.

Jordan Osborn deep into his paperwork.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

No train activity today.

Friday, November 10, 2017

No train activity today.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

No train activity today.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Week 170

Week 170

Sunday, October 29, 2017 thru Saturday, November 4, 2017

Sunday, October 29, 2017

No train activity today.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Special Event at Concordia Chicago

going with Brian Zielke meeting Cody Schrepferman

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Happy All Saints Day!
Jordan Osborn and I worked today from 4-5:30pm

Here's what we did...

Jordan Osborn found some old paperwork and was merging them into our current database.

I decided to work on Western Avenue tonight.
I put the railings in place and...

...worked on the random stone wall.
You can see the job in the concrete railing behind Elmhurst station.

Here's another good shot of the concrete railing.
But I'm also making a template to cut out the random stone wall.

Here's the new cut random stone wall in place.
Next I will glue in place.

Once glued I noticed it started to curl so I had to...

...tack in the edges with small RR spikes.
If you look closely you can see them.
I actually like the look.

The last step will be to paint the stone wall white.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Kuiper's Family Farm Employee Dinner

Friday, November 3, 2017

This morning I did a little more work on Western Avenue

Actually, mainly just cleaning up.

I'm always amazed by how many tools a simple project can require.

Here's the finished concrete fence.
Turned out nice, don't you think.

This afternoon I had some expected guests, but some unexpected results.
Check this out!!!

Jordan Osborn and Josh Jones stopped by this afternoon.
We decided to put Josh to work.
He did a great job as you will see in these next photos.