I wanted to make a custom train to raise awareness and acceptance for those like myself that are on the autism spectrum. This was done on a very tight budget due to my limited income I have to spend on trains. What I manage to have in trains I have gotten thru lots of horse trading, odd jobs for trains and fixing them for a couple LHS's with trains in payment. I sold off most of my remaining USA prototype HO to score a box of old Kalmazoo G scale trains, two 4-4-0's, two passenger cars and a few freight cars. I used the colorfull MCRR 4-4-0 as the motive power for the speical train. I stripped the Union Pacific lettering off the cars with rubbing alcohol and a pinky eraser. The new decals came from Cederleaf Graphics via the generosity of some fellow forum members over on a large scale forum. The old 4-4-0 is converted to onboard battery using a 7.2vt, 5500 mah, Nimh RC car battery. Provides a nice speed for over 5 hours on each charge. No RC equipment is installed, just an on/off switch. Cars have people in them and Massoth LED light boards running off 9vt rechargeable batteries. The plastic wheels in the cars have been retained, I find the sound of metal wheels on brass rails on my indoor line to be like nails on a chalkboard (sound sensativity), there is no sound either as I do take the train to an Autism Expo and the sounds can cause issues for other autistics there. So a quiet train is perfect. I still need to find the matching paint style Observation car(anybody have one?). I plan to take the train to as many other layouts that I can and get pictures of it running there. The train also acts as a segway to me making new friends, something I struggle with greatly. Any how, here are some pics and a link to a video of her running on my small garden railway. Mike and Michele T
This picture is the link, click on it to go to the video!
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
You have made a good looking around the walls display
During the summer at Boothbay Railway Village, we usually have a couple of visits from a group home of 3 or 4 autistic young men in their late teens or early 20s. They enjoy seeing our layout in operation and riding the muesum's 2 foot gauge trains. As you mentioned, some of them are bothered by the sound effects, which we try to keep at a minumum while they are there. The muesum gives free admission to folks in group homes.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Great work Mike & Michelle, That's a great garden layout and like what you have done inside as well.
Haven't seen you on the Forums for awhile. Check in more often if you can.
Johnboy out...................
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
I will try to stop by more often. I hang out at the large scale forums more often, the Garden Railways forum here is pretty dead. Mosty active in large scale, although I am slowly building a small (4x7) fold down Marklin digital layout. I changed the large scale line to USA style old timers/logging so the little German trains keep my Euro needs met. For my logging side of the outdoor line, I have 2 live steamers, Turtle Creek Timber #1 is a Accucraft Ruby with a coal fired boiler build by Larry Herget. TCT #2 is an Accucraft Ruby5, the saddle tank version, which is the standard butane gas fired. TCT #1 was an early fathers day present from my wife. #2 should be here soon. I am fairly certain she got me the last one that RLD hobbies had left.