maybe jumping the gun a little for the holiday weekend, but here's Shay #7 doing a little switching. It started as a 3-truck MDC kit that I could never get the 3rd truck to work right. So, I converted it to two truck, and that meant building a new frame. I decided on a new NWSL gearbox and also re-designed the power pickups on the trucks. It runs well now, maybe a little noisy.

That looks good, Kevin, and done so nicely that its original heritage isn't even apparent. Those MDC Shays were the first affordable version of that loco type, but they certainly required some tweaking to get them running properly. I built both 2- and 3-truck versions for a local hobbyshop when they were first released, but at the time, had nowhere to use one, as I had no layout.

As for the layout nowadays, progress continues:




Wayne

looking good gents..

Certainly not as ambitious as Doctor Wayne's project but work on the Leetown Division also continues

Nice work everyone.
This is a PRR L1 Mikado Kit bash using a Modified Bachmann K4 boiler and a Mehano chassis. (and a lot of scratch-built parts)

Wayne - what is the elevation of that upper deck? Looks quite high. Also, what do you plan on using for lighting underneath?

Nice start for the holiday here in the states. A different view of the Wilderson spread.[attachment=18705]
Charlie

Kevin, the upper deck is about 59" above the floor. I may add some 1" foam in a couple of spots in order to create two or three streams, and the area at the end of the aisle shown will get some low hills to partially hide a couple of on-line industries. Other than that, scenery will be pretty bland. There'll be a small town at the top of the grade, a flagstop at the end of the aisle and a city scene and engine servicing over Lowbanks and Port Maitland respectively.
As for lighting, I've got a bunch of lightweight fluorescent fixtures. There'll be nine of them under the layout portion of the upper level, and two regular fixtures beneath the upper staging yard. The lighting valance has yet to be installed:



Wayne

It is not well known but SOO did some testing with a GMD-1 sent by CN in an industry area on a Saturday morning in August 19??.
Here is the photo that proves it

ray_m Wrote:Nice work everyone.
This is a PRR L1 Mikado Kit bash using a Modified Bachmann K4 boiler and a Mehano chassis. (and a lot of scratch-built parts)

Yeah Ray,
you did it too

Lutz

Thank you Lutz.
Here are a couple of photos during construction.

Nice L-1 Ray...
Here is a shot of an L-1 that I did a few years back. It's one of the second hand ones purchased by the LNE. It was taken with a photo app called 8MM. It gives you several options to give the pictures a vintage look. [attachment=18729]

From another post of mine
[attachment=18731]

e-paw Wrote:Nice L-1 Ray...
Here is a shot of an L-1 that I did a few years back. It's one of the second hand ones purchased by the LNE. It was taken with a photo app called 8MM. It gives you several options to give the pictures a vintage look.

Thanks e-paw, The old photo look is pretty neat.

NSHO Wrote:From another post of mine
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

If your camera has manual settings, you might want to try closing the aperture and slowing the shutter speed. The focus about 1/2 way back on the first locomotive. That will give better depth of field.