hi eric !!! excellent video, aka "great teaching lesson" !!! you present nicely... better than most of my rx/engineering profs did at the u. of buffalo back in my college years !!! blue flags/locks/traffic-switching plans are all great... and that engine is top-notch !!! you hit all the bases for transload options beautifully.... i have 2 on my like, one for sand ( here in the northeast it is mixed w/salt for the winter roads and also for the fracking industry), the 2nd is "multi-purpose" as you so correctly pointed out, and handles everything by loading on and/or off many products to the various 18 wheelers or even just plain old pickup trucks !!! georgia bigfoot ( aka jason cripps) just completed several engines for me and my trillium rwy gp 40-2 handles almost all transload work.... fun !!! please keep the videos coming !!! denny

What is the liniage of your C-415? I grew up in Chicago, and saw the Rock Island's ones a lot! One of my favorite locomotives!

Bruh the cab looks like the 747 cockpit

Looking g👀d! Hope things are on track _🚂_💨 any updates? 9/13/24

So how would you remove the dynamic braking fans in favor of the torpedo boat fans?

How do you build your roads

Do you happen to have more specific written down instructions/dimensions/wood type/rollers/etc I really like what you have done but I can't just visualize/cut away. Can't believe no one else has asked but I need instructions to follow. Thanks!

Hi Eric, great idea💡. I love the more manual hands-on approach. The locks & keys make it more interactive. Not just technology 😊.

What a great video! I love this What If style of layout!

Great system with those manual switch machines. A little bit sad to hear that you don't have your old layout anymore as this had some pretty cool scenes as well (liked the river!). Good luck with your next project, will be interesting to watch!

Great switching session, enjoyed it very much! I'm trying to to something similar but much smaller - two turnouts in N scale. Will check out more videos of yours and subscribed.

Here did you purchase your switch plate covers

Sweet layout and great crossing variations. I love it. Nice narration tone as well. Thanks for sharing as I am motivated to duplicate your fine examples and beautiful layout scenes.

Good to see you back playing with your trains 😊 and that’s a neat idea with the lockable switch. Thanks for sharing and greetings from England!

So glad to see you back at it. 👍👍

nice job, looks and operates about as simple, realistic and cost effective as possible. Thanks, Terry

Good to have an update Eric. 👍

That’s a really neat switch installation 👍🏽

What size foam are you using and did you drill a hole in the foam or cut like slit for the rod? Also, what turnouts are you using and do you have to undo the locking mechanism if they have one (ie ME, Walthers, and PECO all do)? THanks

Looking forward to your next update, especially because I'm planning my first layout, and I don't have much space either.

Thanks for the video. I tried your method and had less success than you. Others might have better results. Those who try will learn whether their lettering is a decal or made by over painting a masked base coat. If so, my suggestion will not have the desired results. This is not foolproof, so if this is a first attempt select a train car you are willing to mess up and fix by repainting. You will need to work fast, do small sections and be by a sink slowly running the water. You will need a small brush for finer details and a Q-tip for larger paint letter/design removal. You will need some Easy Off Heavy Duty spray oven cleaner. Spray oven cleaner into small ceramic dish and add a few drops of water. Wet but do not dry the train car. Dip brush or Q-tip into the running water and then into the oven cleaner. Apply oven cleaner to the painted lettering you want to remove. Lightly brush or rub in small circle for THREE SECONDS then promptly rinse treated area completely under the running water rubbing the treated area with a soft cloth or your finger. Work Fast! Repeat if necessary. Do not allow oven cleaner to "soak" painted lettering because it can remove the body paint along with the lettering or even "craze" the plastic destroying molded details.

As far as I'm aware, the actual railroads don't blow the horn when shoving over a crossing, even if it's a short train. At a protected crossing like yours, the conductor would be on the caboose or hanging off the last car of the train, and would confirm to the engineer that the crossing is clear when authorizing them to shove over it.

Yes I'm 4 yrs too late for this video but I'll just simply paint over stubborn heralds either I color match the paint on the car or use Black paint to cover the old heralds and lettering if the ends are white then I'll paint out the road name with the white, sometimes I'll dry brush the paint on for a "faded" look or for some bleed though look under the new markings.As per the real RR's do.

Interesting idea for a layout. Are those a couple of my Dry Bulk trailers (baztrains of Shapeways) in your cement yard?

Man, that looks nice. I love the SPSF Kodachrome scheme and I love the GE Dash-8 styling.

Subscribed 😁👍

Hey great to hear from you! Always enjoyed your videos and looking forward to a new layout, perfect timing as I'm building a new layout myself and I could use the inspiration thank you😊

I like this idea but no run around kinda makes it really rough ..... Ummmm 😕

Good video 👍 have tried acrylics but never really happy and end up back on lacquers but nearly all my Floquil is gone now. Noticed your air pressure, have never gone this high, maybe my enamel and lacquer pressures are too low for the acrylics??

This looks great Eric, a perfect representation of the SPSF, if it became a reality, big fan of the original layout

Those flags in the road would also probably get run over by vehicular traffic... ANOTHER INSULT TO AMERICA. THINK ABOUT IT. Thank You.

Nice layout ideas, BUT... YOU DISHONOR THIS, THE MIGHTIEST COUNTRY THAT GOD HAS EVER ALLOWED ON THIS EARTH, BY SHOWING AMERICAN FLAGS LYING IN A ROAD...

Great update Eric. Looks great!! You have given me some ideas on using the colored lighting for switching different times of the day. I look forward to watching your progress and some ops sessions. Thanks for sharing. Have a good weekend and stay safe. Happy modeling!! - Jason

Good morning Eric, great update and looks like things are moving along. I definitely like the idea of using landscape fabric will be looking into that down the road. Thanks for sharing. Look forward to watching your progress. Have a good weekend and stay safe. Happy modeling!! - Jason

Great video update and thank you very much for actually showing the exact boxes you use for the lighting! Everyone else just says "LED strip" without any additional detail.

Effective lighting and a neat valance makes such a big difference - great progress!

Looking good 👍🤠👍

Unfortunately your camera adjusted to the changes in brightness almost instantly, but the blue light looks really good! Combine that with some structure lighting and it would be awesome. I will have to try it myself if I can ever get around to putting in a soffit.

well welcome back and this new layout looks like its going to be a fun switching layout cant wait to see how it comes out 👍👍

What controller is that?

I love how you explain things. I was wondering if you have suggestions on how to handle 12:48 team tracks and shipping docks. They have the potential to send and receive any kind of commodity. Anything special needs to be done? Also I did not understand the frequency of shipments you mentioned in JMRI. How do you reduce frequency or increase frequency? Thanks in advance

Please use something other than the American flag for your crossing. Other than that great video.

Nice to see you back and with a new layout.

Great progress - it’s exciting to see ideas turning into reality! Thanks for sharing

Hi Eric, nice to see you back. Looking forward to your build and some ops videos.

Nice shelf layout design…landscape fabric, now I know what to use instead of expensive cloth

looks fun

This is cool, I tried modeling the SPSF in middle school but never really got past the Plywood Pacific stage of modeling.

Very cool

Looks great.