sorry but end of the line.

[ChiefEagles]

Hey man, don't forget us when you get in the "big time" in SA.  You can still get on line [as Marty E says] and let us know how things are going.  Photos too.  God bless.

[lionelsoni]

Reggie, you'll need to do some of the same things that our European friends do to run American trains in South Africa.  Their voltage is also 230 and their frequency 50 hertz, but their plugs are very unusual.  Here is a link to a site that shows all of that:

http://www.kropla.com/electric2.htm

 

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Reggie

You are wise in keeping your priorities straight.  I have enjoyed watching your layout grow.  I feel the pain of terminating a project before fininshing especially after investing the energy and time into it.  What you have gained in experience will serve you well for your next layout.  Please keep in touch.

May God bless you and your family with this new endevor.

Jim

[dbaker48]

I wasn't that much help to you, (I don't know that much) shhh don't tell anyone.  But whatever you do don't EVEN think you wasted anyones time.  The ONLY way it would be wasted is if you don't keep in touch with us!!!  Remember the pot is always available.  I will make sure a fresh pot is on at night to accommodate the time difference.  KEEP IN TOUCH !!!! 

Again, in my opinion your doing the right thing!  Family is first, and don't forget to post some pictures of that beautiful girl you have.

Don 

[wrmcclellan]

Good luck Reggie. No time wasted here. The next time you set up a layout you will find ways to imporve what you did on this layout. The experience will prove to be very valuable for you I think.

 

[Buckeye Riveter]

Reggie, your enthusiasm for this hobby and your skills have been so great to read about.  The photographs of the layout and the family have been "a must read" post.   You take care of yourself and your family and make sure you keep in touch through the forum even when you are overseas.  Good luck and God Bless you and your great family.  Some photographs of the trains in SA would be interesting.

[kpolak]

Hi Reggie!  Sorry about the layout...God has a way of rewarding.

Congratulations on the new playing position, and good luck to you and your family in the new location.

Thank you for the play by play on the layout...It is very inspiring!  I don't think I would have the patience to build something that big.  Seeing you do it made it seem a little more within reach.

Please keep in touch with us here, and let me know when you make it to Detroit.

Kurt

[csxt30]

Hi Reggie !!  It sure was a pleasure talking to you & watching your layout grow & of course the new little one coming along !!  I wish you & the family the best & hope you post when you can !!

Thanks, John

[Blueberryhill RR]

Reggie.....Thanks for sharing with us. You have a great layout started.

Good luck to you and your family. Keep in touch.

Chuck

[anjdevil2]

Reggie, sorry yoyu have to leave, been sneakin' a peek on your progress.  Family is important and in my own family I made a smaller move to keep the family intact.  Blessing upon your family, keep the faith, good luck and I'll keep an eye out for you in the aafl.  KEEP IN TOUCH!

Rich 

[dwiemer]

Reggie, as others have said, you wasted no ones time.  You have become a part of this family and so, we laugh with you, pray with and for you, and only wish the best for you and your family.  You have come a long way with your abilities, only wish I could have contributed more to it.  I have some good friends originally from SA and should you need any help/information, I am sure we can get it to you. 

Please remember us and catch us up from time to time.  And Yes, you are always welcome to visit when you get around these parts.  Please post here, and by all means, email me if you get the chance.

God Bless you and your family,

Dennis

[Anonymous]

Reggie,
This flat out sucks!  I will miss watching your progress, but look forward to seeing your next layout progress.

You better believe that the offer still stands!  If you are ever within a short drive of Baltimore, MD you are more than welcome to stop in and say HI!  I may even have a shot at beating you to the finish line now!  LOL!

Please keep in touch and best of luck!

[Brutus]

First of all, congrats on the jobs, sounds like you are really being blessed here, even if it gives you an opportunity to grow that you might prefer to avoid.  I'll bet your next layout will be even better - just think how much you learned on this one!  BTW - It's the World Wide Web, so keep in touch and keep us up to date!  You are more than welcome to visit any time you are in St. Louis, but right now I'm too between layouts...  God bless, Reg!

[laz 57]

REGGIE,

   Wish you da best in your endevors.  Your always welcome here in Millerburg, Pa. if you can ever find it?  Doors open and I do have OLD MILWAUKEE on tap.  Keep in touch wit UZ GIZ.

laz57

[lionel2986]

Hi Reggie,

You didn't waste anyones time. I've learned alot from the questions you've asked and enjoyed watching your progress. I hope you stick around but like mentioned earlier, it's good that you have your priorities straight. Trains will always be around no matter how long of a break you decide to take.

[darianj]

As it's been said before...not time has been wasted.  It's a bitter sweet victory for you and your family.  You'll probably have an even bigger layout when all is said and done.  We all want to see the progress of the new layout too.

Good luck!

[thatboy37]

haven't been here in a while how's everyone doing. question for all. since i'm in the process of moving out of the country(still waiting on details about pay and stuff etc etc). i'm in the middle of trying to decide if i'm going to sale all of my o gauge trains and just stick with my n scale collection. any help or thought from you guys would be great. we are only to be over there for 2 years and i don't want them to just sit and go to waste for 2 years. what do you guys think i should do. i will be back and i will get another house just like the one i have now to build a layout in. if any of you had to choose from the 2 to get rid of which would you choose and why. i figured this out you can only work on one gauge at a time, and from the time it took to just get one scale up and running. if you split the time between the two thats less work that will be done on either layout but it would eventually get done. help please

[Blueberryhill RR]

Reggie...If you want my opinion , .... Knowing you will be back, I would oil them up and put them in a good dry storage place and keep them. When you come back, they will be there for you. That would be a lot cheaper than trying to replace them.

Chuck

[thatboy37]

thanks blueberry

[dbaker48]

haven't been here in a while how's everyone doing. question for all. since i'm in the process of moving out of the country(still waiting on details about pay and stuff etc etc). i'm in the middle of trying to decide if i'm going to sale all of my o gauge trains and just stick with my n scale collection. any help or thought from you guys would be great. we are only to be over there for 2 years and i don't want them to just sit and go to waste for 2 years. what do you guys think i should do. i will be back and i will get another house just like the one i have now to build a layout in. if any of you had to choose from the 2 to get rid of which would you choose and why. i figured this out you can only work on one gauge at a time, and from the time it took to just get one scale up and running. if you split the time between the two thats less work that will be done on either layout but it would eventually get done. help please

  Additionally, some of the pieces you currently have, I'm sure you have a fond affection for.  Those pieces will not be readily available when you come back.  And, the fact you have these will help motivate you getting started again, because of the memories you have with these.  I doubt you really need the cash so why get rid of them.  Finally, EVERYONE here will biased toward O scale.

[jonadel]

I would encourage you to keep them, in a dry place. We all know that O gauge is the only way to go but the bigger problem if you choose to sell them is that you will most likely only get 1/2 of what you already have invested. They are paid for, keep 'em and just imagine what you will have when you come back. Just my opinion but I hate to see you take a beating on trying to sell them, money comes to hard to take such a loss.

Jon

[traindaddy1]

Reggie:  This "older" guy would like to wish you and your family well. I have enjoyed following your layout growth from the very beginning and have learned a lot from the posts. I look foward to hearing your progress and wish you well in your new endeavors.  Good luck in the AAFL and all the best.

[Birds]

Reggie,

I stored my trains for 10 years before I could run them again.  I would recommend keeping them!

If you can find a place to store them that is climate controlled it will help a lot.  Plastic housings can sometimes contract and expand with temperature extremes.  My stuff wasn't stored in a climate controlled area and I had a few pieces that cracked because the screws holding the plastic were tight and nothing gave.

Some tips:

• ensure the couplers on the engines and rolling stock are in the open position (I stored a few of mine in the closed position and the spring mechanism didn't like that over the long haul)
• slightly loosen screws on items with plastic housings (allows the plastic to expand and contract as the temperatures change and reduces the chance of cracking)
  
• use packing materials that won't get sticky or gummy over time - paper is good!
• store in large air tight plastic containers with packets of desiccant to absorb moisture (desiccant can often be found in camera stores and the plastic containers will also keep water from getting to them if there is an accidental leak or flood where they are stored)
• look into a rider on your insurance policy to insure the train equipment.  Riders like this are often very inexpensive compared to having to replace pieces that get damaged.

Enjoy yourselves and keep in touch!

Chris 

[Anonymous]

You could always ship them to me and I can keep them for you!

Seriously, if your ears were ringing last Friday it's because you were the topic of discussion at York.  Your layout progress was incredible, and then learning you would be headed to foreign shores for a spell was a bit of a disappointment.  We all wish you the best and can't wait for your return so we can watch the next stage of your layout... It is very, very, rare that you get to watch a layout of that magnitude take shape from rough drawing, to rough framing, to underlayment, to track layage, to near opperation.  Truly inspiring.

When you do return to the states, my offer of an invite still and always will stand, heck if you make to the area in April or October during the week of York I'd be happy to let you tag along.

Best of Luck - and KEEP IN TOUCH!

[ChiefEagles]

Reggie, stored mine for almost 20 years.  Took them out of the boxes, cleaned them and lubed them and they ran fine.  Some [not all] of the General Mills era rolling stock, that the couplers accidently got closed, do not pop open now.  All my post war does work fine. 

[mitchelr]

Reggie,

Just wanted to drop a note saying that I will miss your layout progress photos and encourage you to keep in touch and send us some photos of that beautiful baby from time to time.  My vote would be to keep the trains and store them, especially if your plan is to return to the states and build another layout.  Your collection is so impessive and you may not be able to find some of those items again if you sell them.

Take care and keep in touch.

Mitch 

[kpolak]

Hi Reggie!

I'm with the rest of the pack...Keep them in a secure dry storage area.  It's hard to replace the memories you have with them, especially with memories of your nephew crawling on the boards...I'm sure he also had some favorites...

Offer will remain open to visit if you find yourself in Detroit.

Kurt

[thatboy37]

thanks for the advice, support, and love guys it really came in handy. as i was getting ready to put it all up for sale on the other train forum. as i was thinking that i could get it all again at a later date. glad you put a little knowledge into this youngster about the raraty of these trains especially in o scale. well we have put the house up for sale and waiting on the final words from her boss. all of the details have not been finalized yet. as we told her boss that we would like to sale our house first before we leave. well i finally took the whole layout down this weekend. that includes track and table. it hurt me with every piece that i took down to know that i put in all that work, and have to move before i really could get to enjoy my trains. well atleast i got to see some trains run before i had to take it down. i actually had all 4 lines running at once and it was a great site to see. it brought the little boy out in me. if only i could have captured the moment when i got the first train running on this layout i ran downstairs got my wife and brought her up there to see it run. she told me i was like a kid in the candy store. which i was at that time because i had been waiting and working so hard and long just to get a train up and running. now i really know how you guys feel when you have to tear down something you build that took so long to get done just to move after you get to the coasting part of the layout. well the tears are gone and now i'm already thinking about the next one i build. i already see some things that i will do differently like use lighter wood to build the frame work. plan the layout before you build it makes building the layout easier and funner. other than that i will keep in touch with you guys from time to time to see how things are going with the rest of the train world as i now can say i really have some true friends on this web site, and look forward to keeping it that way. i wish all of you guys the best of luck in whatever you shall do and may GOD BLESS each and everyone of you.

 

[Buckeye Riveter]

Reggie, keep in touch.  We all have enjoyed your postings.

[wrmcclellan]

Reggie,

Good luck. You know the internet lets you access this forum from anywhere!