Good News Guys

[FJ and G]

Gee, Nick, when we used to get sent to the principal's office, usually meant we were in trouble.

[Anonymous]

Do What,

No, I go to the school library during Lunch and type as I don't eat at school. I eat a big breakfast and when I get home, so in between, I am not hungry.

We have library passes. And I always get the first one each day.


Bert and Mary Poppins aka Nick

[Anonymous]

Hi snell50 !!!!
Good to see you still posting here!

Nick posts from school because he is allowed to use the computer in the principal's office. The principal's secretary is very nice and she's into trains. so, they go to her office and read the train boards a lot, and she let's Nick post from there.

Hope things are well with you, snell50.

[FJ and G]

Nick,

You might also want to place an exploding volcano on your layout (you might have done such a project in chemistry or science class if your teacher was a "hands on" type). Add some lightning with a tessla coil, on second thought, DON'T.

If you want to have some night adventure, get yourself a black light. Then, take Tide heavy duty detergent and put a small dab on your finger and place stars on the ceiling using a constellation guide. The stars will light up like magic, but will disappear when the normal lights come on.

Also, get a garden pump and have water flowing thru your layout on a concrete stream, coated with epoxy to seal it. Also, you can make a lot of animation things with little motors.

The sky is the limit to the fun you can have.

[brianel027]

If you like crashes, here's an idea I had years ago and just never had the space to do.

You have a dead end tunnel opening in which a short switcher or gang car or such runs in to. You use a camera flash with an orange gel over it to simulate the light of an explosion along with some sound board or a small tape loop of a loud explosion. A couple of smoke units near the opening of the tunnel would complete the effect. I have some small Roadrunner and Wille E. Coyote figures... I always thought they'd be cool to incorporate into the mix. I even have one of Wille E. with his hands on a detonator box. Imagine having the gang car with the Roadrunner on it. Then the explosion effect happens. You rig up some kind of electric launch spring so that when the smoke and explosion happens, Wille E. comes flying out of the tunnel.

I know, some ideas seem far fetched. But I'm sure when some guy ages ago proposed the concept of smoke coming out of a toy train engine or couplers that open like real trains, those ideas seemed a long way from reality at first.

One of the things I find fun about the hobby and challenging, is how to create "illusions." Things don't actually have to happen... they just have to "appear" like they are happening.

Years ago I drew up 4 or 5 designs for an operating icing station that worked on an illusion. I picked one and went with it, built it and it works as I thought it would. It loads any and every reefer I have, and it's all an illusion.

I've still got ideas for operating box cars and such all based on the same principles. You still have to have an idea first... then the time, sweat and the money to make them happen. And the patience for when something screws up, to try again.

[Anonymous]

Hey Ya'll

I can't wait to start backon my job and get started. My first goal is The Layout. Everything else will come afterwords.

My other plans are to have Railroad Posters, Prints, and Puzzels with Railroad Artwork on them on my wall. This is by way of the Historic Rail Catalog. It is full of Prints, Models, Books, and other Railroad, Model, and Toy Train Memoribilia. I am particularly fond of the Print of an Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Train with the Purple and Silver F-units called "aroling Memories" and the New York Central "Empire State Express" Poster.

Now as for my Railroad and Toy Train "Library", I have many books on Toy Train companies, Layouts, and other topics tht I want to buy. Are there any books that ya'll suggest for me to buy?

Oh, By the way Colin, at Lunch, at my school, Luch and Recess are at the same time, and the administrators have library passes. I go and get a Library Pass as soon as I get to the cafeteiria and stay at the library the whole Time during luch. I eat a Big Brakfast and a snack when I get home, so in between, I am not hungry.

Bert and Mary Poppins aka Nick

Oh, My favourite Person on the layout will be Mary Popins. With money I have scraped up, I bought a figure of a woman, a small umbrella perfect for O scale figures, and I have made a Carpet Bag like the one from the mvie. I have attached her on an invisible wire so it will look like she is flying. It looks great. Hwever, I might just paint one on the backdrop.

[choochin3]

Hey Poppins,
I say go for it!!!
I would like to see pictures of your progress!

Cheers,
Carl T.

[lionelsoni]

You could use the 6470 exploding boxcar.

[Anonymous]

Nice ideas Nick.

How did you post in school, at lunch?

[FJ and G]

Nick writes: "I am a sucker for train crashes, so I plan to build some flimsey cars that sit on the siding on the time, and have a runaway train come and sma***hem into bits. I be live toothpicks and hot glue will do, as the siding will be almost completly hiden by the sheds."

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You're a wild man. Monster trains!

[Big_Boy_4005]

Excitable boy. It's a good thing.[swg]

[Anonymous]

Hey Ya'll

I have 2 good things to tell ya'll

1. I have had a vision for my room. It has come by way of not paying attention in school [:D], a Historic Rail Catalog, and Lionel Catologs. I have had a vision for a layout. 2 4x4 panels 1 in each of the corners of my room where I have space, connected by 2 narrow panels.

I want a passenger station with a siding behind it, a long narrow yard for accesories sidings, and trains sheds.

I want to be able to send a mainline train on its way, isoloate the power to the yard, cut off the pwer o the sheds, and Bring out a Postwar Lionel B6 0-6-0 and/or a Postwar Lionel 1615 or 1656
0-4-0 and switch cars in the yard, while the mainline train is running, and the others locos on the layout rest on power isolated sidings and in the power isolated sheds.

I also want a turntable for my engines, and a smoke machine with tubes to ecah of the stalls, so when I have a steam engine exit, I will have smoke and steam spweing out of the shed as if it was a real steamer. All that smoke may be to much for a steamer, but who cares, I would love to have a smoke filled room so I cannot see what I am doing to make operating more fun.

I am a sucker for train crashes, so I plan to build some flimsey cars that sit on the siding on the time, and have a runaway train come and sma***hem into bits. I be live toothpicks and hot glue will do, as the siding will be almost completly hiden by the sheds.

Vision 2. I have a vison to completley train-ize my room, by way of the aforemention Historic Rail Catolog and Not paying attention in school.

Under the layout, I will have a storage room, hangout under one of thew 44x4s and half of the yard. I plan to have my TV sitting under the yard, so I will have room for it, so I can pul out the shelf with it on it, pull it up, and wtch TV on the Bed and also, be able to turn it, so I can sit in the hangout under the layout and wtch TV there. The DVD and VCR player will be attached under the shelf, or on top of the TV, or under it.

There will also be drawers to put my clothes in, and all the junk I keep in the dresser.

Next to my bed or at the foot of it, there will be a bookshelf to shocase my trains, hold my newley selected Railroad DVDs as well as my others, My Railroad Books, and my Books on every subject of toy trains, as well as a binder with sleves to hold my Postwar Lionel Catologs in Exellent or Better Condition (These will come later) as well as another binder for Prewar and Modern Catalogs.

Got to go the Bell just rang. I am school. in the library during lunch, can't be late again [:D] [:D] [:D].

Bert and Mary Poppins aka Nick