Working on the alterations to the Harrisburg East, Carlisle Junction & York Haven fascia panels today.

We all  love our little people, and no layout can have to many too many of them.  Recently I discovered two companies in Great Britain, selling 3-D figures in several popular scales.  I ordered just a few from each company to see if I would like them.  Here are before and after photos.  Let me know what you think'.  I must add, I received them from England, in just a few days after ordering them...

Research has been slow, I've had some troubles motivating myself, but have been moving forward....

The scope of my original ideas for a layout based on the T-NT area would require more space than I currently have, so I have been trying to pick a few scenes that will give the flavor but not become a life's work.  I think my main focus becomes Main St in Tonawanda, as the NYC crosses both the Erie Canal and the Tonawanda Creek.  Even this may be a bit ambitious, but I am drawing and erasing, and thing I can get some of this to gel. 

Making the Great, Greater

No one will argue the incredible detail and quality of any of the Scale Trains offerings. I have only one so far but that is due to we always seem to be packing and unpacking for a move. And to a smaller house. I think this downsizing thing is un-American, but I digress. I bought the DCC-ready version which incorporates a 21 pin style decoder receptor in the mother board.

More to follow.

Well my coal dumper that I wrote about is on the back burner. Decided to finish more of the layout before adding on :-) One of the main industries on the layout is to be an ADM facility that is similar to that in Cedar Rapids, IA. I had it represented you a bunch of PVC pipes for years. As I was recently retired I decided to work on it, throw away the PVC pipes and build it using 3D printing.

Found this on thingiverse and thought it may be of interest to everyone here. For those of you without 3d printers it's a lot cheaper than the commercial ones.

Link: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3771543

Friday I held my first operating session with five in attendance. Two worked my main yard making up and breaking down trains, one operator worked the mine runs, I worked the secondary yard, and the last operator worked the left hand side of the layout, which is the Nitro area. Our session lasted two hours before we all went to lunch at a local restaurant to critique the session. Things went off almost without a glitch, except for one pesky Atlas switch, and one Peco switch which had too much of a gap in the frog, which was remedied.

Built by a good friend of mine, this extension off the left hand end of my layout was finished just in time for my first operating session. This allows an operator to now fit three cars plus locomotive in this section alongside my chemical plant and scrapyard. The extension is made of plywood with Masonite around the sides, with a slight lip around the sides and end so nothing goes off the deep end, and is wired into the main bus at the end of the layout. The extension is simply clamped on with two clamps: