Weekend Photos - October 2025

[webenda]

Who made your stations, Wayne? They are interesting.

Train station is MTH RAIL KING MAIN STREET COUNTRY PASSENGER STATION 30-90081.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/177253216587

The gas station is ROADSIDE USA DEEP ROCK GAS STATION #08608 1994 Circa 1920 -
https://www.ebay.com/itm/356243134070

[healey36]

Thanks for the info, Wayne. Lefton's Roadside USA series, a line I was unfamiliar with, looks really interesting. A Google search lists many interesting buildings (although they seem to be predominantly HO-gauge). Their diner series looks terrific.

[webenda]

More info: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... e-30569555

Nobody gives the size of these things. The Worthpoint advertiser is an exception, saying, "The building is about 10" high and 8" wide."

[healey36]

Slow, steady progress on the tunnel/tree-stand project over the last few evenings. Installed the cardstock lining and built the balance of the wooden substructure:



Top left is the basic structure with the liner added, then a few views after the top and tree-holder column were installed.

I didn't quite get the cardstock curves right when I glued the liner panels in place (you can see some bowing in a couple of them). It shouldn't be an issue, just isn't the neatest job. I realized that the cardstock might prove to be translucent once the lights are turned on, so I added a couple of corrugated panels behind the inside curve walls to try to mitigate that. There is a gap on either side of the column for the tree-holder, and light will show through. No worries.

We got the top cut and the "holder" column glued up, then drilled the one-inch-wide hole for the tree to sit in. We then glued the top down onto the tops of the tunnel supports, letting it sit for a couple days to make sure the TiteBond got fully cured. We're going to put a few screws in the top to make sure everything is secure. Forgot to drill the hole for the tree power-cord, so still need to do that. Then we can start on the scenic bit.

[healey36]

A bit of progress this week, finding time in the evenings after things settle down a bit.

Got the hole drilled for the tree's power cord which can be run out the bottom and off the table to an extension cord. Digging around in the shop bit-box, found one of those desk cable-plugs that I can use to mask the hole a bit, then put a few screws in the top to strengthen it a bit. Easy-peezy...

So that leaves the scenic bit; we started cutting and cementing in the contours for the back side. I'm using some old USPS shipping boxes; that stuff is super-thin corrugated, super thin but strong. Cut and glued in the first three...probably 30-40 left to cut.

The opposite side (inside the curve) is a bit more complicated. I plan to include three or four small buildings over there, similar to what Lionel did on their 923 curved tunnel. Each building has the underside open so that a light can shine up into it, illuminating the windows. I think the 923 tunnel was made out of glue-soaked felt material. I can only imagine the mess that made, lol. I'm planning on using Papier-mâché, similar to the last time. This is the stuff that Elastolin used to make their tunnels.

Anyway, I don't have a good plan for exactly how I'm going to this, but I think it would be prudent to make the basic structure of the buildings first and then work on the contours which will accommodate them.

Here's a couple pics from this evening:



The first building will be putz-style representation of a hotel, the Buena Vista. Hoping to get the basic structure of that done this weekend. I think we'll make that a lift-out so we can use it to access the battery box for the light string that'll go inside (or whatever light source we come up with). An alternative would be to just tilt the whole structure and reach up inside, but that might be awkward once the tree is in place. Still noodling this.

I'm falling back into stream-of-consciousness engineering...never a good thing

[gregj410]

Looks great Paul! Is this going to have the snowy, sparkling look of the other Christmas structures you’ve built in the past? I can’t say how much I love those structures. I think I’ve watched you do those for a few years now and I must say it really does get me into the Christmas spirit. That being said I still haven’t tried my hand at it yet

Will the structures then be molded in to the mountain behind the tree? What will set up on top of the tunnel? Maybe I’ll look up the 923 you were referring to. Looking forward to your progress.

[healey36]

Yup, Greg, the plan is to give it the glitter treatment so it kinda ties in with the rest of the stuff she's got. As much as papier-mâché is a mess, applying the glitter stuff is ten times worse. It gets all over everything and is tough to clean up. Weeks later the wife will say, "Why do you have glitter on your face?". I've tried doing it outside, but it still gets all over you.

My friend Howard Lamey has some instructions on his website for building them:

https://littleglitterhouses.com/paul/howard_how_to.htm#intro_to_glitterhouses

It's definitely a nostalgia trip. I remember by grandparents having them under their tree, and I recall seeing them in the five-and-dime stores back in the 1960s.

Anyway, a ways to go before glitter. I'm trying to figure out a better way to incorporate a few houses on this thing. It worked pretty well on the first one, but I changed up a few things this time. Still noodling...

[healey36]

Yup, Greg, the plan is to give it the glitter treatment so it kinda ties in with the rest of the stuff she's got. As much as papier-mâché is a mess, applying the glitter stuff is ten times worse. It gets all over everything and is tough to clean up. Weeks later the wife will say, "Why do you have glitter on your face?". I've tried doing it outside, but it still gets all over you.

My friend Howard Lamey has some instructions on his website for building them:

https://littleglitterhouses.com/paul/howard_how_to.htm#intro_to_glitterhouses

It's definitely a nostalgia trip. I remember by grandparents having them under their tree, and I recall seeing them in the five-and-dime stores back in the 1960s.

Anyway, a ways to go before glitter. I'm trying to figure out a better way to incorporate a few houses on this thing. It worked pretty well on the first one, but I changed up a few things this time. Still noodling...

Here's a pic of a 923. This thing is much bigger than what I'm building, but a similar configuration. I think they were made out of glue-soaked felt over a rudimentary wooden frame.



There was a light inside, and the little tin houses had a hole behind them that allowed light through to illuminate the interiors. The houses I'll build will be proportionally larger, but still smaller than scale.

[healey36]

FYI...here's a LIonel 140L:



Same basic idea, but this has a smaller footprint and is made of sheet-metal. The small tin houses similarly have a small hole behind them that allows an internal light to shine through.

A masterpiece of the prewar Lionel factory.

[healey36]

A few items retrieved at York today:



The 1065E set (top) is in fairly decent shape, the power car (1700E) having some minor sheet-metal issues. When I get a minute, I'll give it a quick clean/lube and see what happens. The Old Man chased one of these for a number of years, so we add it to the collection in his honor, lol.

I picked up the Hornby LMS reefer (center) as an add-on for the Hornby clockwork set I have. The thing runs like a banshee, so I figure the addition of one more car, and a heavy one at that, will help to slow it down a bit. I guess we'll see.

The 9040-series Wheaties box car (bottom) is needed for a promotional set I'm cobbling together. Nice shape for a buck.

The meet was jam-packed in the AM, but by 1400 it was somewhat easier to maneuver. The line to buy admission was very long, so maybe the member-for-a-day schtick worked? I haven't seen a line that long for quite a while. I went as long as I could until the back gave out.

I was looking for a nice postwar 282 magnetic crane for Sarge, but no decent reasonably-priced examples were found. Saw quite a few incomplete or damaged ones for north of a hundred bucks...what the heck is wrong with people? Why would one spend $120 for a damaged/incomplete one, then have to go looking for a controller, magnet, etc. That party ended two decades back.

That said, the market for a nice ZW seems to have collapsed. Saw a lot of nice ones for a hondo or less.

[healey36]

Spent the weekend making a couple more putz-style buildings for the tunnel project (and raking leaves):



Rough in form, there's still a bit of trim to be installed, then some paint. I'm waiting on some supplies for window glazing (should be in by the end of the week). Once that's done, we'll have a sense of what's going where and we can start cutting the contour-partitions for the inside of the curve.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Spent the weekend making a couple more putz-style buildings for the tunnel project (and raking leaves)

Neat! Got to get those leaves up before the rains arrive this week........

I'm waiting on some supplies for window glazing......

What are you planning on using???

[healey36]

I'm waiting on some supplies for window glazing......

What are you planning on using???

According to my putz-house mentor down in Florida, the classic dime store cardboard house featured red cellophane/acetate windows, some with simple mullions drawn/painted on them. I picked up a pack of acetate and a couple of gold fine-point oil-based markers at the craft store, but someone suggested using some 1mm gold/yellow masking tape. I thought I had some of that in the ship-painting supply box, but nope, so I ordered a couple of rolls.

The last time I tried this, I made window glazing using printable vellum paper and printing using Excel. It was nice and neat, and they looked decent, but I want to go back to a classic look this time.

The big question is on that hotel building, the one with beaucoup windows, do I make each one individually or in a sheet? Haven't figured that out yet.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The big question is on that hotel building, the one with beaucoup windows, do I make each one individually or in a sheet? Haven't figured that out yet.

Would be nice if you could print them onto a sheet.....make 1, copy & paste to fill the sheet

[healey36]

I'm wondering if my HP InkJet would print on acetate? It probably would, but might need to use a fixing-agent of some sort to bond the ink to the plastic.