I'll ship it out after I get your money order for $1,000.000.000.ooo Thats the price the grand kids gave me when I asked them if we could sell it too you, oh well I'm going to grab a lawn chair and sit by the mail box just to watch the little indians sweat it out a little.....
Having a great train day here and I must make a new post about what the family surprised me with for my birthday.
Happy rails and thanks for the thumbs up on my layout, I already want to expand it....oh dear God I'm hooked bad!!!!
Happy Rails.
Jess.....just $1,000? Looking at the comma and the decimals, the little ones sold you out.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
Hi!
I've "felt your pain" a couple of times in my MRR life, but there are some upsides as you probably know. You have the chance to "do it better", and eliminate the bugaboos that you may have with the existing layout. And perhaps like me, much of your MRR fun comes from the building of the layout!
Quick story...... In 1977 I had a house in Joliet (Illinois). I had my first "nice" HO layout in the basement, about 16x8, with the long side against a wall. I had painted the backdrop of sky and low hills directly on the wall, and frankly it came out really nice - a surprise to me as it was my first major backdrop effort.
The house went up for sale for $44,000 (average amount for a decent house at that time/place). The first day it hit the papers & MLS, two families came to see it. It was really neat that they spent most of their time in the basement admiring the layout - especially the backdrop. One family even asked the realtor if the backdrop would stay with the house! Of course the layout was going with me, but the backdrop was painted directly on the wall!
Well, both families made full price offers - with one coming back that evening with $44,500, which we accepted. I've often wondered if the layout had a part in the sale, and will never know for sure - but I have to believe it did!
ENJOY - and look forward to some even better MRR experiences!!!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
In February, my employer made me an offer I couldn't refuse - a transfer to Dallas, Texas.
So, in mid February the house went up for sale for $44,000 (average amount for a decent house at that time/place). The first day it hit the papers & MLS, two families came to see it. The realtor said they spent most of their time in the basement admiring the layout - especially the backdrop. One family even asked the realtor if the backdrop would stay with the house! Of course the layout was going with me, but the backdrop was painted directly on the wall!
Well, both families made full price offers that same day - with one coming back that evening with $44,500, which we accepted. I've often wondered if the layout had a part in the sale, and will never know for sure - but I have to believe it did!
Again, Thanks to all who have replied to this post!
The Buyer's home inspector came by today to place a little box that detects radon gas. I have an opinion on this, but will not state it here. Looks like I'm about to lose some more train money. Selling a house is becoming very expensive! My mood is not well at the moment.
Picked up the latest Lionel catalog today, while purchasing the latest CTT, and am impressed with the PWC offerings, along with the content of CTT. I like reading about a little postwar, a little MPC, and a little modern. Like a fine wine, I'm trying to savor it over time. Reading has become a relaxing hobby for now.
Just want to buy some plywood and get going...
MPZ.....checking for radon gas in the basement is customary out here in MA. during the sale/purchase process. Maybe others can chime in here. Radon is radioactive.
Radon comes from underground from rock formations and occurs naturally. Normally, a well ventilated basement keeps levels in check, and those sealed tight as a drum have readings that can become unacceptable.
Out here, one solution is ventilation. Folks priodically evacuate the air in the basements by opening one basement window and then using a fan in another to pull the air across and out. I'm not sure if sealing cracks in basement walls/floors or sealing the concrete is the permanent solution.
Two houses sitting side by side and built at the same time and in similar conditions can come up with different radon readings.
You may want to do a little net reading. But this should not become a deal breaker.
Exerpt from Wickipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon
Modern construction that conserves energy by making homes air tight exacerbates the risks of radon exposure if radon is present in the home. Older homes with more porous construction are more likely to vent radon naturally. Positive-pressure ventilation systems can be combined with a heat exchanger to recover energy in the process of exchanging air with the outside, and it should be noted that simply exhausting basement air to the outside is not necessarily a viable solution as this can actually draw radon gas into a dwelling. Homes built on a crawl space can benefit from a radon collector installed under a radon barrier (a sheet of plastic that covers the crawl space).
MPZ.....FOLKS OUT HERE VENT THE BASEMENTS AS I DESCRIBED, AND ONES I KNOW HAVE MAINTAINED LOW OR SAFE LEVELS OF RADON IN THEIR FINISHED AND UNFINISHED BASEMENTS.
BAM!! Looks like all is well!! No radon, a little fill dirt, and the deal is done. This has been very difficult for me. I really like this house and hate to leave it. I've worked on it since I bought it. The house we are purchasing is move-in ready. We even like the paint. I'm going to miss the home improvement thing, but I can get started on a layout right away. I can hardly wait to get the trains out of storage. Christmas again. As much as I want to get trains running again, I'm going spend some time thinking about benchwork, wiring and what I really want in a layout.
Again, I would like to thank everyone for their comments and suggestions! It's been a real help getting through this.
Don't miss the home renovation thing too much my friend...LOL!
You will learn to like your new home just as much over the next few years I'm sure.
And your right, this gives you a new and fresh start for your layout so enjoy THAT renovation..LOL!
Good luck and if you can keep us up too date with pics of your layouts progress.
Well, have been packing and planning. We close on the sale and new house on Sept. 10th. Hope all goes well. I have decided on a new track plan (4 by 12), which I like. May be able to change it to a 5 by 13 after I re-measure the room. I'm going to use O-36 curves, which I don't really like, but all in all, I think it will work out. I kinda look forward to a little smaller layout, as I can more easily detail it.
I'm really looking forward to the change. I know what I want in a layout, and think I finally have the patience to do it right. I want the layout to look like a part of the house, and have finally figured out how to do it. The plan I have now will also allow me to build the scenery I always wanted, and include the postwar accessories that I am fond of. Starting to feel like I'm on the right track. Planning on taking step by step pictures of the construction, and posting them as I go.
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