Lionel Train Layout December 2023

The motorcycles are put away for the winter and we’re back down in the basement for the season. Progress has been slow, but a lot has been improved. The retaining wall near the passenger terminal has been worked on quite a bit since last year. The town area on the upper part of the layout is beginning to take shape with new building additions, including a scratch built rendition of one of my favorite local taverns in the area (Nick’s Tavern) located in Lemont, IL. About 85% of the accessories have no been wired and are working. The yard tracks are now powered as well. The locomotive servicing area is taking shape as well. The roundhouse now has 100 3.5 volt LEDs installed. Over the winter I plan on continuing work on the roundhouse as the roof pieces are just sitting on the frame work, I plan to make them removable for access inside the building incase of derailments. The turntable is also functional, albeit it takes practice to operate as it run without the use of automatic indexing. Just like the real turntables, it’s all done by eye.

The passenger terminal is also getting details installed including the gooseneck style lamps as well as Lionel 156 station style fencing, complete with custom printed signs. The signs are a mix from original Lionel ads, as well as a few custom choices of my own. The platform lights are not yet operational, but that’s on the to-do list…

Slowly but surely we’re getting there… Hopefully I am able to get quite a bit of work done over this winter.

Anyways, Enjoy.

Merry Christmas!