BarstowRick's H&P Layout Restoration

BarstowRick Sep 15, 2020

  1. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    I've wondered that at times. I have a twin and now I'm beginning to think we were Triplet's. There's been odder stories.

    How do you know give me the opportunity to vent? Well done and well played.

    I should have mentioned, I've been around since 1949. Remembering some things from the 50's and it's more like a short video or slide. So, twins? I don't think so but of similar spirits.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2020
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  2. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Dido Massey, dido !!(y)

    I still stop by the news stand at Winco, (on the blvd.) they happen to have Model Railroader and Railroad Modeler along with Trains. If there's something I want to read about, I'll purchase a MR or RM - Wig Wag.

    I'm anxiously looking for an article on John Acosta's HO, Gulf & Pacific Railroad / train layout. I know wrong gauge for this discussion but I will buy that one when it comes out.

    John operates a layout where there are a number of crews out working the locals assigned to specific industrial spurs. Full loads in empty loads out or visa-versa. Followed by a crew call, with either a through freight, mail train or crack passenger train. Every one has to scramble / scatter when a crack these trains needs are scheduled, to come through. There's two locations that have sidings while other locations require you take to a dead end spur. A challenge for sure but more fun then I've had with my own layouts.

    I have to be careful here or I will let the cat out of the bag with regard to John's Railroad and the MR Article.

    Allow me to share this. Steve H and I would go over and meet with John. John would hand out the work assignments. Steve would take the throttle while I played switch-man (not turnout man) and handle the switching moves (not turnout moves). Okay, I'm having some fun here. Moving along. John would run one of his crack passenger trains and we would have to clear the main. Clear the blocks so John could get his train through. Never a dull moment and both Steve and I could do this all night long. Yessir!:LOL::D

    I can't do that with my current layout and I'm looking at finding a way to add some Industries to what's already planned. I do have a Coal District where it will appear that a empty coal train arrives with and another with full loads can leave shortly after.. I have a Grain Elevator where again empties in (but not so visual) and full loads out or visa-versa. Some small industries that amount to single box car loads. A real tight PE or Red Car type of system that I want to expand. In keeping with my other nick, "More Track Rick."

    Now, before I get to far from my original point. In the world of model railroading layouts there are scale railroads like John A's. Where the operations are as prototype as they can make it. Fun, if you like that kind of model railroad.:D:cool:

    When it comes to John A., and his Gulf & Pacific Railroad. Look for it in a Model Railroad Wig Wag, arriving soon at your newsstand near you.

    I have history and a good friend in John.(y)
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2020
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  3. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Just found this thread and read all 6 entertaining pages. I gotta say, this has been a wild read (ride?).:cool:

    Your electrical gremlins at the old home remind me of my own recent gremlins. Not train related, but the breaker for the kitchen microwave kept popping off. :cautious: You could nuke a TV dinner or leftovers, and as soon as you retrieve it and close the door, the breaker would pop. Reset, repeat. :eek: Most of the time it would pop in the middle of the night and would have to be reset before the morning coffee. :coffee::coffee: I gotta tell ya, I gotta have coffee to make coffee most days. If the whole family was reheating stuff, it would have to be reset after each meal.:censored::censored::mad: It got ridiculous! Last month, we paid a real electrician to replace it. It works all the time now, like it's supposed to, what a concept! :) :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

    Aaaannnnddd back to your regularly scheduled programming.....;)
     
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  4. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    This is off train subject but I can't help but share the following.

    Hemi, you've got to know that I had so much fun with the breakers. Not!

    A good friend and electrician, we had purchased materials for a new breaker box. We managed to run 220 to the old box. The rest was going to be difficult at best and we never did get the circuits in.

    There were other two footed, some what short Gremlins, that decided to declare war on me. I had told them I didn't want them around the place unless invited. Kids out of control and didn't know how to behave. Their Dad's despite my talking to them, wouldn't do anything about it. When I was packing to make the move here to Idaho Country, I found my extra set of house keys was missing. Can only conclude they had found them and that was one of two ways for them to get in. The second way was to use a screwdriver and move the door away from the lock receptacles...the door frame would move... opening the door. Didn't matter if the dead bolt was set. I ended up missing tools, money, and found after being away from the place... they had killed two of my house cats. Despite my best efforts I couldn't get the local Sheriff's department or Animal Control to move on helping me. I did receive help from a animal rights activist. She and her group went to work documenting what was going on. I heard from her that three persons had been arrested. Two into juvenile detention and one in jail. Long story for another time and place.

    Thanks for the comeback.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2020
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  5. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Looking at the L girder this morning and thinking I might want to replace it with something straighter. It'll work for now. Sort of. I'm not happy with it and that usually means I will try again. I may need to run to Home Depot or Lowe's and pickup some 2x3's. Also noted it adds considerable weight to an already heavy section of the layout.

    Later.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2020
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  6. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    How about something to break the monotony? Pictures?

    I found my track gang at work.
    Chiefs 008.jpg

    Chiefs 010.jpg

    Despite the fact that wreckers didn't usually work this kind of job. Jack the crane operator must have wanted to take it out one last time.
    Chiefs 015.jpg
    Tom over in Twin Peaks, Ca., did something unique with his set of railers. Maybe we could get him to post a picture of his equipment.

    That's enough for now and breaks up the monotony for me on this end. Kind of a motivator to "Get'er done"

    Again Later.
     
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  7. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    I had a similar issue when I was in the barracks of one of my duty stations. One of the Barracks maintenance crew (BPO from here on out) (junior sailors on collateral duty) would come into my room, use my computer and mess with my R/C cars and equipment. So I set a trap for them one day. Me being the computer geek I am had several of them around the room. This wasn't unusual at all, and the BPO just got used to seeing them. But I rigged up my web cams to detect motion and start recording. So after day 1 I got some good footage. Day 2 even better as I rearranged the cams so one could see the screen of my laptop which is the computer he usually messed with. Well there was enough evidence after the 3rd day in a row that I went to the leading Petty Officer over the issue. It turned out I had 5 hours of video of this guy in my room messing with my stuff, and even broke one of the RC cars (repairable). The BPO ended up going to mast (basically unofficial court in military speak) and got pay taken away, extra duty and rank suspended for a year. Oh and lost his cushy job as barracks crew. When at the mast the Captain asked me how much the car he broke cost. I said the damaged parts were $10. The Captain then said that's good but how much was the car itself? I said the kit was $300 and the electronics needed to make it work were another $400. He awarded me $500 for my damages that came out of BPO's pay. I never asked for damages but I think the Captain wanted to reinforce to BPO that this isn't a proper way to handle the position he was given. I never seen BPO again after that, I did get the money in my next paycheck.

    So I totally understand the feeling of someone messing with you and the joy, (should I call it that?) of them getting it in the end.

    OK back to trains.

    Oh and he never messed with my Tyco GP20 locomotive I had on display in my room.
     
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  8. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Lucky for you you had the electronics to catch him in the act. I had camera's set up in the train shed. The one area they didn't bother. Thankfully.

    Some things work out the way they are supposed to.

    More pictures of trains at a later time.
     
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  9. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Nice work train. Where did you get the cool track machines?
     
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  10. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Oh dear, you would ask. No you aren't my dear, just an expression.

    I was trying to remember who I bought them from right here on TB. Tom and I bought ours at about the same time. He really classed his out and they look good on his layout. While mine pretty much looks like they did when delivered. Sorry, the who, doesn't come to mind...right now. Maybe he can jump in here with more of the same.

    I keep thinking Rick Brodzinsky? I've bought detail parts from Russell Straw, some from Pete Nolan and there's been others.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2020
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  11. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    I've talked about a Grain Elevator, back a post or two. Here is Greg McGinnis's scratch-built Coop Grain Elevator. To my surprise it arrived as apart of a package deal including the mini-city you can see in the pictures behind the work crew. In this pic, I'm busily trying to install it. Track work was a little tricky. It will be just as tricky when I install it this go around.
    Have you ever seen anything this size on a N scale layout?

    The N Scale, Coop Grain Elevator.

    IMG_1367.JPG

    How about train time at the Train Station?

    Chief At Rio Bendejo Station 002.jpg

    At one time this is what the two sections I'm now working on looked like before the move to Nampa, ID.

    Rail Pic's HP 032.jpg

    This get's me motivated every time I look at it.

    Enjoy the pic's. I'll check back in later.
     
  12. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    Is that a real number board in the last picture?
     
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  13. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yes, in the Valence over the window are real numbers from a retired SD9 diesel. It is not an actual engine number-board. I made the valence and set the numbers in it. I added fluorescent light fixtures. The owner of the motor offered me the numbers and handed them to me. He had tried making his own numbers and this is the result. I kind of like, the way it turned out. Thanks for asking.

    There is another matching set residing with a good friend of mine.

    Neat to have. Of course it broke in half during the move.

    More coming.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2020
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  14. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    That is SO cool for a train room!
     
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  15. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Ricks "Spaghetti Bowl Layout". Interesting and it works. I like it !!!! (y)(y)
     
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  16. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Loads going on here, but the broad curves look nice. Long heavyweight and superpower steam will look like they belong on such wide curves. Some HO scalers would be green with envy at your broad N scale curves.
     
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  17. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks HemiAdda, and to everyone tuned in here.

    Great Observation: That's exactly where I came from. I had and extraordinary HO layout with 22" radius curves that climbed up and over itself to another level, a small upper yard with adequate passing sidings and back again through some tighter curves 15", 18" and 20" radius curves. The trains didn't look pretty. My full sized Rivarossi and ConCor passenger cars looked like they were going to fall off the tracks. Overhang was over stated. Nothing but Athearn and Tyco's shorty passenger cars looked good on the layout. Still it wasn't what I was looking for. Just missing something.

    Those six axle diesels that Athearn, Tyco and Rivarossi came out with, they did not like the tight radius curves.

    I happen to go over to a friends house where he was experimenting with N Scale and it hit me. Keep the curves I have and switch over to N Scale. You can see the results for yourself.

    I appreciate your observation.

    Steve H. who owned and operated an HO layout, once said of my layout, He could take his HO trains and run them on my layout. Providing I switch the track out or he changed to N scale trucks. He operated very tight HO radius curves and an older style of logging railroad. Steve, left us behind and I don't know what's happened to his layout. We had fun operating trains on his layout. It was a good ride while it lasted.

    High Priority on my bucket list is getting my layout running again.

    Thanks again.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2020
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  18. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    I just got word that another Model Railroader has moved on and left the rest of us behind. Ray Husted, passed away after a struggle with his health. He was a good friend and we did some neat things together.

    One more reminder that we aren't immortal.
     
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  19. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    LOL Glad you like it. It is what it is.

    My wire on the layout, certainly looks like Spaghetti. Regarding the track plan, try "A pretzeled folded over dog bone". My favorite.

    Out of all the reactions I've had to the layout was and is number one, "I don't want anything like this". Visitors observations on the day we held a self guided layout tour. I found myself laughing back at them. Thinking, good I won't have as much competition. You know as in who can do it better. Oh, I'm not alone.

    Hey, it's Saturday and College Football is on the boob tube.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2020
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  20. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    I removed the warped L Girder. I purchased two new 2x4's cheap enough. The new ones should be on sometime tonight.
     
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