Underground Wires

Happy Palindrome Week to all ~ 41714 ~

On Saturday, I met with Cal and discussed options for selling the assessed train collection. I provided him with a spreadsheet showing the value of each item, along with notes, and the potentiality of selling said items through various means. For the time I've worked on the project, he very generously gifted me several items I was interested in! He is analyzing the data and will advise if he needs further assistance from me.

Cal owns a company called Billings Bronze, and you can learn more about the business here: www.billingsbronze.com
I had the pleasure of seeing many monuments in various stages of completion during my many visits to complete the train collection assessment. Cal and his team do exemplary, award-winning work. Please consider Billings Bronze for all of your bronze sculpture needs!

These are the new additions to the collection:

• Yellow & Green House - this was an item my wife thought was cute, so I was sure to acquire it for her. It is an old Plasticville house with little monetary value, but it is solid and will last for years to come.
• ZW Transformer 250W - I have been seeking out a ZW transformer for many years. Lionel made two versions of this model, a 250W and 275W edition. This was the most powerful train transformer on the market for several decades, and should be able to operate 4 trains at once. I am looking forward to hooking it up and testing it out!
• Complete Service Manual for Lionel Trains - this is a hardback book that has seen a bit of use. It has a plethora of useful knowledge for servicing and repairing Lionel Postwar trains.
• Personal affects - these include a binder of notes and some photographs from the original owner of these trains. I find it to be historically interesting, and will archive these.
• Several tubes of paint - I'm not really sure if these were used with the train set, but they may still have use for crafting purposes.
• Lube Kit - this is a Lionel maintenance kit (missing grease) made in the 40's and 50's. All of my equipment is due for service, so this will really come in handy.
• Bag of realistic logs - most model trains come with "logs" that are made from dowel rods. These actually look like O-scale logs and will make great scenic details or lumber loads.
• Pike Place Fish Market Truck - this is a really cool vehicle made for the 51st TCA convention. It is a 1950's era truck which has a load of several large, frozen fish in the bed for Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. The logo paint is a bit worn on one side, which decreases the collector's value, but I plan to display this on the train set, not keep it in a box :)
• Misc scale details - the collection contained many details, but most of them were not truly O-Scale. These seem to be the few that would be at home on the layout of the future, and include things like a wheelbarrow, hand truck, pop machine, and table.
• Misc parts, wires, electronics - the collection, which included over 20 operating accessories, had LOTS of wire running about. This pile of wire includes a bag of distribution blocks, which are really handy for sending power throughout the train layout.
• Misc metal, possibly for loads - a bag of real-life scrap metal, which will look great in a gondola car. We are not really sure what it used to be.
• Vertical fuel tank with extra lid - this is a plastic storage tank of some sort. I'm not sure if it is really O-Scale, but it would seem to fit in on the layout.
• 4 metal sheds - these were probably HO structures originally, but will fit in quite well as O-Scale switch, signal or electric boxes.
• 2 double outhouses - for the rural inhabitants of my train layout communities, these will solve many problems...
• Semi-scale playground set - I believe this is a Plasticville set of accessories that has been painted by the previous owner. These are not scale items, but they will bring a child-like cheer to the toy train layout.
• Pile of people - there are about 40-50 people, of various types and scale-accuracies. People really do help bring a layout to life, so the more the merrier!
• Benches - some of these are scale, and will provide a place to take a break for the citizens of the layout.
• Box of evergreen trees - some of these were purchased, and some appear home-made. Regardless, they can all be used to add some greenery to the layouts.

Amber's house

This is a REALLY HANDY book

Some spiffy metal sheds

New citizens of the layout

Over the weekend I screwed all of the track to the table and drilled access holes for track power wires.

Screws

Wire holes

On Tuesday I labeled each access hole with the track number under the table. Then I drilled horizontal holes through the under-table supports to hold the wire for each track. I labeled these by track number as well. I routed 10-gauge wire through all the holes - two continuous wires for each loop. On Wednesday, I installed hooks under the table for wire management, and successfully tested all four outputs on the ZW. Wow it feels good to use one of these! Smooth acceleration and lots of power to boot.

Keeping track of tracks under the table

Wire management, with Red and Harold

Keep your rails shiny!