The LIRR Industrial Service, Inc. shelf layout

[Mdrzycimski]

I like the streetlight John.  Curious how you successfully drilled a 1mm hole down the length of the pole (toothpick).  Any tips?

[peteski]

I like the streetlight John.  Curious how you successfully drilled a 1mm hole down the length of the pole (toothpick).  Any tips?

While  not clear, I believe John drilled the 1mm hole across the toothpick (perpendicular to it) to hold the light arm. Then he threaded the wire through the hole and glued the arm in that hole and ran the magnet wire  coming down from the hollow arm tube down the side of the pole, attaching it with CA glue.  Thin magnet wire can be easily hidden on the outside of the pole (especially when the pole is painted).

[Lemosteam]

While  not clear, I believe John drilled the 1mm hole across the toothpick (perpendicular to it) to hold the light arm. Then he threaded the wire through the hole and glued the arm in that hole and ran the magnet wire  coming down from the hollow down the side of the pole, attaching it with CA glue.  Thin magnet wire can be easily hidden on the outside of the pole (especially when the pole is painted).

Bingo!

[Cajonpassfan]

Bingo!

Well dang, John, that's a disappointment, and I was so in awe of you
Well, I still am, just a teeny bit less...
Otto

[Lemosteam]

Well dang, John, that's a disappointment, and I was so in awe of you
Well, I still am, just a teeny bit less...
Otto

Well, I could have used brass tubing, bit the ink would not have absorbed! 

[Lemosteam]

I have a very special gift from @chicken45 that will be on the layout. Many years ago he gifted me this tower. It is a brass model and beautifully built.



I decided to disassemble it and attempt to light the gooseneck lights on both sides. Strangely, there were two gooseneck lights per side, so I removed the upper lights and used the resulting hole to pass the wires inside.

Next, I had to grind the cast “bulbs” out of the remaining goosenecks to have a place to mount the LEDs into the reflectors.



First, I fed the wires in and used CA in the reflectors to secure the two 0201 pre wired LEDs.



Next, I routed the wires inside such that they will not be visible, although the 3’ rule applies. Then the wires were routed out one of the screw holes that holds the upper half to the pillars.



I was able to reassemble the parts with one screw, and ran the four magnet wires down the back of the tower ladder.



Here it is lit in ambient light:





I am very happy that I was able to enhance this sweet little model. A little touch up paint and it will be ready to place and light.

[Lemosteam]

More work on some background industries.



Taping and untaping the brick on this beast took forever!



Here it is along with the last two structure that exist behind the elevated mainline.



Trying some of the mixed white and sepia ink mortar on the brown brick.



Fun painting diamonds…



Mortar next.

[davefoxx]

Isn’t brick fun?  I’ve done two warehouses on my layout, and I have many, many hours on each structure painting individual bricks for variety, applying mortar, and weathering.  Takes a while, but, boy oh boy, are the results worth it.

Keep up the good work,
DFF

[Lemosteam]

More work on the large industry after completing the mortar work, installing the windows, and adding a false entry for LIRR IS material delivery.  I still have to add the fire escape ladders and platforms.



Here is its spot on the layout:



I also lit the building’s entry, and added a faint background light to the warehouse track entry opening.

[Lemosteam]

Installed the attachment threaded rods to the flat that will go through the bench work and get nuts under the layout for installation and removal. The LEDs will have micro connectors to their power source.



Finished the windows lighting and structure behind this kitbash.



I decided to have some late night management meeting in the upper corner office conference room. At the same time I piped using 1.5mm fiber optic down to the lobby below, hiding the FO in the floor to consume light from the LED directly above it. It was semi-successful, placing a dull glow in the lobby. Fortunately, this was just an experiment as the lobby is hidden by the stone berm wall in its final location, but the conference will occur several feet above the railhead on the berm wall.













Here, the bosses are arguing the profits vs investor ROI, lol.



The curves on the chalkboard tell the story…







Here is where this building will reside.

[Lemosteam]

The LIRR IS took a major step this week, having all of the background structures installed. The design renders them all removable in case I have to do any work between the PRR main and the buildings. All but the abandoned building on the far right have some form of lighting, so I installed female two conductor micro connectors so that when I get the wall wart installed, I can run a bus and add the the male connectors and plug things together.

In between structure installations, I installed these awesome LED light panels into the existing ceiling light frames. @peteski , might recall when I converted the ceiling light AC circuits to 12v DC using a large transformer and huge bridge rectifier, lol. Needless to say the homemade led strip lights were a failure, so I went and got a six pack of these for about $175.00. Super price on Amazon. They can be synced to a common color and switched between 3k, 4k, and 5k using the wall toggle switch. They are also dimmable, but I am going to pass on that for now.



Here is the structure attachment. The layout is on drawer slides so the buildings will slide back to the eventual backdrop that I have started imaging, from the actual location inspiration for the layout.



East )right) side of the canal:



West (left) side of the canal:

[peteski]

In between structure installations, I installed these awesome LED light panels into the existing ceiling light frames. @peteski , might recall when I converted the ceiling light AC circuits to 12v DC using a large transformer and huge bridge rectifier, lol. Needless to say the homemade led strip lights were a failure, so I went and got a six pack of these for about $175.00. Super price on Amazon. They can be synced to a common color and switched between 3k, 4k, and 5k using the wall toggle switch. They are also dimmable, but I am going to pass on that for now.

I forgot all about that experiment until you brought back the memories.  The new light fixtures seem to work very well.  The white LED technology has really changed the world of lighting!  I recall when white LEDs were a novelty, and I bought (at Digikey) a single T-1 (5mm) size white LED to play with.  I seem to recall that this single LED cost me $9!  Now much brighterdiscrete white LEDs are available in so many different packages and different color temperatures and for dime a dozen!

[Lemosteam]

I did a thing that I think will add to operational fun. I was struggling with the method by which the LIRR IS could assist the waterfront businesses to load and unload their materials onto the barges that will be in the forefront.

Below I have installed a new siding that runs parallel to the seawall. This siding will allow the IS the ability to move a flatcar mounted crane/claw/clamshell across the channel and up to the waterfront to serve both the aggregate and scrapyard businesses.

Although this affects the structures there, I think it will add visual diversity to the front of the layout, and switching complexity for the future JFRTM sessions.

This will also provide the opportunity to test my finger operated magnetic Atlas C55 switching mechanism with frog power control at the turnout.

[Lemosteam]

After adding anew siding along the waterfront, I ordered some scrapyard castings a laid them in preliminary spots. I fixed up the pewter cast recessed flatcar model I had laying around to test fit my crane on it as a mobile unit that can be used by the LIRR IS on either side of the channel. The scrap side will use an electromagnet, and the aggregate side a clamshell to help load from the shore to the barges.



The scrap yard castings came with gondola loads too, where they can be loaded or unloaded anywhere on the premises.



A view of the crane looking west across the channel toward the aggregate biz.  Need to add another concrete bumper for the siding end.

[Scott1984]

Looks great!!! Really nice work.