[tooter]

Hey Wiley,
Wow... your layout is really taking shape nicely, and has so many interesting features in it. I like how everything is from the same consistent era. That twin siding you installed is also a retro classic. It's called an Inglenook. And the coal tower is really cool. :thumbsup:

Greg

 

[wiley2012]

The town's new fire station has been built!

It comes complete with a watch tower and a civil defense siren (which is to be used in the event of tornadoes, hurricanes, or whenever a bird or bat is flying around loose in the basement )

Another angle of the fire station. I parked one of my Life-Like fire chief cruisers there. You will see I also "paved" the roadway to the Tyco truck terminal near the supply house.

I plan to put up more fencework dividing this house from the railroad spurs.

Here is a nice overview of the town in its current state. It is a rather busy place! I am thinking of putting a Tyco hardware store or drug store in the empty lot next to the Life-Like railroad crossing, and replacing the train station platform next to that with a Tyco lighted freight station.

And of course, an overview of the residential area of the layout. I don't plan to build more houses for the layout, but I could use some more fencework near the house on the top right...

 

[Oboy Railroads]

Your layout is awesome! Seriously, I'm not kidding. It has always been my feeling that the MR hobby has forgotten that it is only a hobby, a fun hobby and that its a luxury hobby at that. By going retro you have shattered the Hi tech trend and gone back to its roots. Your layout reminds me of model railroading in the 1970s when I was a kid and it was layouts like this that got me excited about model railroading. You're on a budget and chose not to go into financial debt trying to buy the new upscale stuff and emulate what you see showcase modelers doing today. I like your approach to your hobby. A big thumbs up to you my friend!

 

[robert_seerveiss]

we have a dumb question what are the 2 dowel looking pole for or going to be used for?

Robert

 

[wiley2012]

Got a few more interesting products for my layout...

Tyco lighted freight depot building. This was one of Tyco's older products, and was their first lighted building back in the 1960s!

Tyco operating freight unloading depot. It needed a bit of fixing up when I first got it, but it looks and works great on the layout!

Walthers cantilever crossing signal, meant for the three-track grade crossing on my layout (the other side is protected by the Tyco operating crossing signal.)

Current overview of the layout.

The control panel in its current state.


I am pretty much finished with laying track, and may add more scenery and buildings and possibly a few more locomotives and rolling stock. Once I can't expand it anymore, I may leave it as it is and enjoy it for a while, then build a whole new, somewhat more elaborate layout (as this was somewhat of a "practice" layout for using permanently-attached track and landscaping, among other things.)

 

[wiley2012]

Been a while, so here's a current overview...

I've had this Tyco operating floodlight car for a while now. This was one of Tyco's oldest "action cars", available from the early 1960s until 1992. It's the Burlington Northern version offered from 1980 to 1992, to keep with the BNSF theme on my layout. I have since replaced the X2Fs on it (along with the rear coupler on the Santa Fe switcher) with knuckle couplers (SceneMaster for the floodlight car and Bachmann E-Z Mate for the locomotive.)

I also modified the lighted accessory setup here; with my Life-Like lighted yard tower and Tyco billboard. The latter I am using Tyco's old "Simplex" wiring system, and is not really plugged in at the moment, as I need to find out a bit more about its blinking light (is it a good thing or a bad thing? i.e. if it will shorten the life of the bulb.)

I also now have a Tyco Crane Car and Boom Tender! (No. 932) I got the Santa Fe version that was made from 1972 to 1980, again to obviously keep with the BNSF theme. And of course, I replaced the X2Fs with SceneMaster knuckle couplers.

I also got Tyco Union Pacific trailers to use with my flatbed freight car and Tyco piggyback loader/unloader.

Here's a locomotive I've had for a while I didn't show yet. This time it's an ATSF Alco 628 8-wheel-drive diesel locomotive! This was a common locomotive from the 1970s to the 1990s; it was made by Mehano company, and was rebranded by AHM, Life-Like, Model Power and IHC (Tyco also featured a version of this with their "Railroad Empire II" train set in the early 1990s, but in the red/silver Warbonnet color scheme, and I think the IHC version was also in the Warbonnet scheme.) This particular model came in a box branded by Life-Like as a "premium quality locomotive," as this and the FP-45 is what Life-Like had for "premium" locomotives back in the 1980s prior to the Proto lines. It still runs really well, but the headlight needs to be fixed. I will be replacing the X2Fs with Bachmann E-Z Mate couplers, as they will install easily in the coupler pockets.

Tyco steam whistle billboard. For now in the picture it is in a temporary setup of sorts. I will soon drill a hole for the wiring to go underneath it, and set up the button on my control panel. This is for when I run my 0-4-0 steam locomotive and tender on the layout, and even though it doesn't sound totally authentic, it does provide a classic "toy train" sound (like the air whistles on Lionel's old locomotives.)

For those curious, here's a view from my control panel!

Finally installed a fence around this house. Don't want any kids escaping and getting into trouble on the railroad tracks!

Unfortunately there are still some stupid people on my layout...
(I am sure you can tell seeing THIS in real life scares me.)

I am also getting a Bachmann "action caboose" and Tyco auto carrier car as well.

 

[wiley2012]

Here's some more updates to the layout!


Bachmann action caboose.


I also got the Tyco steam whistle billboard all set up.


Tyco auto carrier car. It does look neat, but not as realistic as Life-Like's. I'm also planning on getting Bachmann's tri-level auto carrier car from the 1980s, so I can combine the three to make a full auto-carrying train!


The school finally has a playground!


I outfitted a few of my locomotives and cars with IHC "Magic Mate" couplers. They were a bit cumbersome to work with at first, but after a while they turned out to be pretty good! They are designed so they can connect with knuckle and horn/hook couplers, and sometimes makes a handy alternative to "conversion cars."


I got this in yesterday; it's a vintage Bachmann 0-6-0 Santa Fe steam locomotive with slope tender! It was a bit damaged when it arrived, but I did some repairs, and now it runs pretty well.


Here's another vintage HO steam engine I haven't shown yet: Tyco's Chattanooga 0-8-0! The motor is in the tender car, so that makes performance a little off. But it is nicely detailed!


Atlas water tower. As long as I'm using some steam power, this is a nice addition to the layout.

 

[wiley2012]

Here are a few updates, as I went to a train show this Sunday...

My Life-Like Santa Fe "Bluebonnet" F7 locomotive! It's not a Proto-series model; this is offered on some of Life-Like's current train sets since the Walthers buyout. It does run pretty well for a locomotive using a 1980s-style motor though. Maybe I will soon get a Proto 1000 Santa Fe F3 locomotive so I can have a more powerful version (as I seem to be getting hooked on those mid-range flywheel-drive locomotives, like my Mantua BN GP-20 and Walthers Santa Fe Dash 8-40BW!)

A couple of pieces of rolling stock I bought (it was like two for five dollars there!) A Tyco Shell tank car and a Life-Like Santa Fe boxcar.
Not pictured, I also got a Tyco "Laramie" stock car and a "generic" Tyco caboose (no roadname, just a road number and two white stripes.) I also got an older Bachmann Union Pacific GP-40.

I also bought this Life-Like coaling tower building kit for my layout. I've been considering getting one prior to this, and I will admit it does look nice. I might weather it or re-paint a few parts, as I do like Life-Like's structures (the HO layouts at that train show even had a few Life-Like building kits!) This was first offered in 1998, then discontinued a little while back...

Other angle of the coaling tower.

 

[golfermd]

Looking great. I'm afraid that when I start building mine it will look like a 2 year old Lego project.

 

[wiley2012]

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas on my layout!

I'm getting some separate parts from the Life-Like "Holiday Rails" train set so I can decorate my train layout, and I'm hoping maybe I can find one of their "Norman Rockwell"-themed Christmas train sets, like this one...

I would run this on my layout too, sans the Power-Loc track of course. Then when Christmas is over I can pack up the holiday stuff, then set them up on my layout again the next year! That makes it more realistic...

 

[Mr.Buchholz]

What is the material you used to make those roads? It looks.....weird.

-J.

 

[wiley2012]

What is the material you used to make those roads? It looks.....weird.

-J.

It's asphalt-colored paint from Woodland Scenics. Yellow paint was then added for the lines. My future layout(s) should have the paint done better, as this is also somewhat more or less a "practice" layout (like demonstrated in "The HO Model Railroading Handbook.")

 

[wiley2012]

Christmas version of Life-Like's Snap-Loc train station building kit; another addition to making my train layout appear more festive for the holidays!

The church Christmas tree again. Lots of trees like these are popping up in towns I go to now

I recently acquired this Santa Fe Proto 1000 F3A locomotive. Very nice smooth operation, AND it's DCC-ready for when I eventually make that upgrade to the layout.

A collection of locomotives! There are a few missing from the photo (like my Tyco Santa Fe switcher and my Life-Like Amtrak F40PH), but otherwise it's not so bad. The last five on the right are the ones I frequently use nowadays, since they are more powerful than the lower-end Bachmann, Life-Like and Tyco stuff (though Life-Like's PRR 0-4-0 steam locomotive and tender runs very nicely.)

 

[05Slowbalt]

Nice lineup!

 

[wiley2012]

Nice lineup!

Thanks! And now I have yet another to add to the roster:

Walthers Trainline Santa Fe "Bluebonnet" GP9M. It may not be prototypically accurate, but it's a great runner (complete with flywheel motor and all-wheel drive), and its design reminds me of the old Mantua/Tyco GP-20 locomotives. I guess these Trainline locomotives were meant to compete with the ready-to-run Athearn products, along with Mantua's locomotives of the time and Bachmann's Plus/Silver Series line (along with Life-Like's Proto 1000 line in the late 1990s/early 2000s, now a part of the Walthers Proto and Mainline product lines.)

For the heck of it, here's a double-header setup I thought I'd try out. It does look fairly realistic, though I am also considering adding "BNSF" decals to under the cab numbers like on the real surviving "Bluebonnet" freight locomotives.

Here's a Bachmann Plasticville pedestrian bridge I got for Christmas.

A recent overview.

 

[trains galore]

Wow awesome collection
Just out of interest- i have some old diesel trains (tyco, life like etc) and they really don't run very well anymore
What do you do for maintenance/to get them running nice? I clean the wheels and it helps a bit, tyco is the worst as it's brass wheels unfortunatelyhwell:
Thanks!

 

[wiley2012]

Wow awesome collection
Just out of interest- i have some old diesel trains (tyco, life like etc) and they really don't run very well anymore
What do you do for maintenance/to get them running nice? I clean the wheels and it helps a bit, tyco is the worst as it's brass wheels unfortunatelyhwell:
Thanks!

I clean the wheels with Life-Like's track-cleaner fluid and toothpicks, and I also oil the appropriate area(s) after frequent running or if I haven't run a locomotive for a really long time, and replace the grease in the gears with a small drop.

 

[morland]

Wow awesome collection
Just out of interest- i have some old diesel trains (tyco, life like etc) and they really don't run very well anymore
What do you do for maintenance/to get them running nice? I clean the wheels and it helps a bit, tyco is the worst as it's brass wheels unfortunatelyhwell:
Thanks!

Here is a detailed guide that I used to repair/restore my Tyco fleet. Some of the locomotives had been in storage for 30+ years and now they work like new...for a Tyco .

http://www.goingincirclez.com/TycoTrains/Guide/PowerTorqueRepair

-Trever

 

[morland]

BTW, nice job on the layout :appl:...it takes me back to my youth when I had Tyco slot cars and a Tyco train set. They were awesome toys in the 1970's and 1980's. I always wished I had the money as a kid to buy a lot of the action pieces that you have.

-Trever

 

[LIRR Guy]

Very nice, that's a lot of action in a small space!