I finished all my outside work yesterday when it started to rain and since I didn’t have any inside work left … It was layout tweaking time.
I had deliberately not fastened any of my buildings down because I knew that sooner or later I would want to add lighting too them.
As I said before my layout is being built in a room that is not it’s permanent resting place so the thing is on saw horses that allows me to access the underside for running wires, etc.
I had 30 structures in all that needed to be brought out of the dark ages and not much space under the town to work in, I don’t have the best of backs anymore and every time I thought I had everything I needed I had to crawl out of the HO sewer system to retrieve yet another tool or material I needed, this was to turn into a very painful task.
I pre test all the bulbs to make sure I’m not installing a defective one because when the lights are in the buildings they are getting fastened down, I rolled out about 100 feet of two different colors of wire because the hobby shop guy said one color for positive and one for negative…HUH?, this made sense to me until I opened the light bulb packet to discover that the bulbs are not marked in this way, not by distinctive colored wires or in any other fashion?
After hours of doing the same job over and over AND testing the wiring of each bulb and the connections with a temporary transformer as I went along to make sure that I had not pulled a connection loose during the install I finally crawled out from the depths of “Buffalo Grove” (The name of the town) and I could barely stand up right, what a dumb thing to do with a bad back.
Everything was ready, I had made two different sets of leads to go too the transformer and hooked those up all the while my trusting dog was sitting in the room watching me cussing at the big giant thing that blocked her view to the window, she didn’t understand why I spent so much time on the other side of the sheet of wood t
RedHorse,
Glad things came together in the end. 30 structures sounds impressive. Can you post photos of your work?
I can well identify with the fun of running the wires, testing everything and the having only part of it work. Been there and done that quite a few times. One thing I do, because bulbs do eventually burn out, is to leave my building loose so I can just pick them up and change the offending bulb(s). Yes I know the question that’s coming, if the buisding isnt secured how do I keep the light from coming out around the base. Simple, I put a strip of electrical tape around the base of the inner walls so half the strip is on the wall and the other half is sticking out the bottom. This other half is folded inward so when the building is set down it forms a barrier to stop the light.
I haven’t finished reading this entire thread but just had to say that when I came to this line I laughed out loud, what a visual.
J.P.
PS. [:(!] THIS POST IS USELESS WITHOUT PICTURES!!! [:D] J/K sort of.
Here’s a tip I’ve posted a few times for how I light structures.
A trick I use for lighting structures, so I can replace a bulb, if necessary is that I drill a 1/4" hole into the area I want to light from underneath the layout. This obviously only works on some structures and ground floors. Then I take a 1/4" dowel pin and drill a 1/8" hole lengthwise through it. Then I take one of the bulbs above and slip the wires through the hole in the dowel pin. I place a drop of glue on the base of the bulb to hold it to the dowel pin (keeps it from moving). Then I stick the dowel pin up through the hole into the bottom of the structure. I leave enough sticking through the layout so I can pull it back out if I ever need to. You could do the same with brass or plastic tubing for thicker layouts.
I also use bulbs with 16,000 hr life ratings I don’t plan on wiring a building more than once [^]
The story was great. I had an excellent visual all the way through. Well done. I agree that lighting can make a major difference to nighttime operations.
It sounds like a very young dog.
Buy him a wooden Thomas the Tank Engine of his own and let him chew to his heart’s content.
Try not to get one with the lead paint.
[:-^]
Red Horse, You are indeed a “story teller”
As a dog lover myself and never having been without one,two or even three sometimes. I know the humor that they can bring into your life. I had the best chuckle of the week reading your story.[(-D][swg][(-D].
I can feel for you in regard to the back thing. I think a lot of us have abused our backs over the years and are now paying the price for it. It is not a pleasant thing when you start to lose mobility, but I remain thankful that I still have as much as I do, when there are those much younger than I that have less.
It is only the lower level of my layout that requires some crawl space. But the feeders are all brought to the front for easier connections and service, and there isn’t too many of them as I use peco insulfrog turnouts so that is a big help .
We are so glad you decided to stay after your first mishap with the ceiling, you leaving would have been a far greater disaster.
Keep on having fun and sharing so that we can have fun with you.
Johnboy out…[:D][:P]
The guy at my LHS had an old dog who greeted all the customers; but he passed last year. The guy went to the local animal shelter and got a labrador, maybe 2 or 3 years old. In addition to greeting customers, this new dog would pull items off the shelf for use as a chew toy. He finally trained the dog that things on the shelf are not dog toys, but it took a few “discussons”.
That’s pretty darned good, Red Horse. How about writing a sequel to “A Christmas Story”?
Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra.
I love the Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation reference!
Hi Redhorse,
great story and I feel for you. I believe all us model railroaders go through the same type of experience. Part of the journey of getting to your destination.
Still have to finish the scenery and make the buildings. Just got done with the twin cab control wiring for all of the track. So it is easy to associate with you and the perils of the wiring of the layout.
Frank
Oh, I agree the back isn’t what it used to be , and now in my stupidity I tore all my wiring out and decided to re-wire and move most of the trackwork , Not good on the old back crawling around under the table for hours on end.
I didn’t realize that so many Model Rail Builders had bad backs!
Thanks for the comments, my Jack Russell Terrorist things that all belongings are hers, she will learn that is not the case, I liked the idea of getting her a wooden train for her to chew but the other part of my brain that runs things most of the time says it wouldn’t be too wise since she will then think it is OK to chew up the wooden houses that the life collects…Yikes, both the dog and I would have to enter the witness protection program.
Just when I tought things would get better I was at work last night and at midnight I tone came in for a woman having diffuculty breathing and when we got there we discovered that she tipped the scales at 460 Lbs, while tryi ng to raise the stretcher from a chair level sitting position to chest height I felt a really bad burning pain in my lower back and ended up a patient at the Er myself.
I’ve never aggrivated a siatica nerve before and I hope never too again, much pain and can’t get comfortable no matter what, I have the next 3 days off and I can’t do any work on my layout, this is what hurts more than the boo boo.
I felt worse for my Patient because she knew I was injured and she was some what embarassed but I did my best to make her feel better both physically and about her self, we became good friends on the 30 minute ride into the Er and we were both laughing when the Nurses came out for the both of us, what a night, I’m happy too be home and relaxing finally.
Any way, now that I got so far off topic that I entended I’ll get to the point, My wife was very concered when I called her from the Er Because I was most upset about not being able to work on my layout and she asked if she was the first HO widow and I told her probably not…[:D]
Well I’m off to reread my older trains mags and hopefully get some rest.
be well my MRRing Brothers and PLEASE watch those backs!!!
What’s the term I’m looking for…? Oh: “Been there, done that!” Someone in another thread said no one should be without an easy way to get in and out from under a layout without firm back support and I second the motion–although, that being said, I’ve never had a scooter myself, as my layouts always had the track 40" above the floor and the pain was always in my legs from squatting under there! I use what I call My Paper Time Machine (MR bound volumes from 1945 through 1961) a couple of times a year and I still find myself using 50-year-old Kinks. One I always liked but never used was an “Under-layout Scooter” made from an old wooden kitchen chair without its legs. You merely screw four free-rolling casters under it and slide in and out from under! (I’ve used commercial casters that fasten down with four screws on two projects in my tiny apartment, where I have to roll things out of the way from time to time.)
Hint: make sure the seat is at the proper height that puts you close enough to the work to avoid strain. Another guy added to the Scooter Kink by suggesting a tray fastened to the side of the seat for tools and supplies (that type of forum took a lot longer in those days, as you had to send your “post” by Snail-mail, then wait for the magazine’s lead time!) That suggestion of the hollowed dowel was good, as was the one that said to substitute plastic or brass tubing. To show how great minds work at different times to the same or similar result, another kink showed how a modeler soldered little brass angles to pieces of brass tubing, ran the wiring down through it from the bulb up on top, shoved it through a fairly large hole (1/4"?), and fastened it in place with a screw through a hole in the other leg of the angle! One could spend time preparing some of the light-holders at the workbench, then insert the lamps and test them, and spend another session installing them.