HO model railroading facts

[Anonymous]

If you have any facts about trains, please post them here. More so pertaining to HO scale but any scale is welcome.

Shmitty

[IRONROOSTER]

That's pretty broad. After all there are several books written about model trains, many with HO in mind. What specifically are you looking for?
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Paul, or anyone else, i meant any facts but actually i am building a 1950s west coast layout. So if you have any tips or bits of advice, send them in. But if you have any HO scale mine building tips please send them in.

[AntonioFP45]

SchmittyJohnson,

I ask this question a lot: What is your theme?

Apparently you're into mine operations but are there any other industries that you'd like to model on your present of future layout? (Lumber, Produce, Furniture, etc).

1950s would mean 1st generation cab and hood diesels as well as heavy steamers. Most mainlines were double tracked. Plenty of passenger action in the 50s also. As for railroads: The Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, were the big "HEAVY HITTERS" that served the west coast. There's is "oodles" of printed, internet, and video info that's easlily available in hobby shops, book stores, libraries and on the web.

If you're not sure, ask yourself what is it on a layout that would help you enjoy operations. Do you wi***o do a lot of tricky swicthing or watch long trains roll? Or a balanced combo of both. Consider a coal mine as well as another industry, like a small powerplant, that would be another coal customer. Would your layout be a featured branch line or will it be a heavy duty mainline with branches/spurs serving customers and even a small town? Are you interested in passenger service? "Streamliners", RDCs, or Doodlebugs?

Sit, relax and make a list of what it is that you want on your railroad as far as: Type of main line, town(s), type of engines, railroads, freight cars. How many locomotives from different west coast roads will be present -or will it be a one railroad layout?

Let us know what you come up with. Ideas come from all sources. I've read dozens of MRR magazines and quite by accident I discovered a layout that most cloesly resembles my ideal layout. It was an HO layout built by Ron Kuykendall. It's now featured on one of the Gordon Keller videos. Small east coast style american town that offers plenty of mainline running and small industrial customers. Passenger trains also keep the rails polished.

Hope this helps!

[dknelson]

Model railroading facts? You want model railroading facts? I'll give you some model railroading facts! You can thank me later

Fact 1: you never have enough time
Fact 2: you never have enough money
Fact 3: somebody else has already done it, and better
Fact 4: you waited too long and now it is sold out
Fact 5: you gave it away and now it is on Ebay for $100
Fact 6: you threw it away and it was easy to repair
Fact 7: you kept it and it is worthless
Fact 8: the picture in the catalog was a lie
Fact 9: the price in the catalog was a lie
Fact 10: Model Railroading is Fun

[AntonioFP45]

SchmittyJohnson

Are you planning a layout or currently running one? Tell us about your interests and what you would like from model railroading to help make it more enjoyable and we could help with more ideas.

Write back! [;)][:)][:P][:D][tup]

[Anonymous]

Antonio
i am currently buildind a double decker layout. The lower level is my train yard. It is a sort of free lanced layout. All of my trains come form the west coast(USA) On one side of my layout I'm planning on having a mountain scene and a working, detailed mine running on the inside of the mountain. The top of the mountain, I was planning, would be removable to be able to see the mine scene on the inside. Oh yeah, my layout is about 6 1/2' by 12'.
Shmitty

[Anonymous]

Antonio,
My theme is like you said the 50's. I have a beautiful walthers made ABB passenger train. Do you have any other suggestions to go with my coal mine. I was probably going to put a small town anyway. But I don't feel like having a powerplant on my layout. I do want to have a mountain scene as in the June 2004 Modelrailroader magazine on page 56.

[Jetrock]

Well then, think about what other industries make use of coal besides powerplants. You could model an interchange with another line, which perhaps has a powerplant elsewhere--connections with other lines means you don't have to model those industries, just drop them off to have them carried away by the other line.

An engine service facility would be a good complement for a coal mine--while obviously not the mine's only customer, a few cars dropping by to refill coaling bins would be a regular load to carry and add a touch of realistic operating interest. I'm sure there are plenty of other uses for coal besides power generation, though--I suppose the steel industry would be one...but that's also something difficult to model. Oh well, another set-out for off-line interchange...

One question, though--most Western railroads used oil-burning rather than coal-burning steam power, since there isn't a lot of coal in the far West. So is this coal mine set in the far West, and are your current steam locos coal-burners or oil-burners?

[simon1966]

HI Shmitty

I am planning a mine for my layout. I am sticking to the above ground portion ans have had a struggle ginding what I need to do this correctly. I am modelling a spcific mine in central illinois. It is not a huge mine compared to some of the Western mines of today, but even so the mine head structures and other bulidings will take up a very large area of my layout. There are several smaller "old time" western mines listed in the Walthers catalog, so you may be better off going for something like this and run a shaft horizontally into the hillside. The main shaft on my mine is over 1 mile deep, so there is no point in me trying to go underground. I plan to kit ba***he New River Mine from Walthers for my main structure.