here are the pictures as promised. got all the track layed for the peninsula except for the coal facility. hope you like will try to do more work tomorrow if im not to tired from work.
well good news and bad. before i said camera wasnt working. well i took my camera to work with me and took it apart. played with it for a few minutes. like made sure the connections were in all the way on everything. then put it back together actually there were no extra screws so that means i must have put it back together correctly. turn it on it flashed but the screen still didnt come on. so i took a few more pictures and when i got home i tried to download the pictures and to my supprise. the pictures i took downloaded. so that means i can still use the camera to take pictures. so that means i can move on with progress. so me and the wifey are going to look for a while before i get another one. so i will go downstairs and take pictures of what i have done so far and do more work then take more pictures and post later today. all aboard.
wayne thanks for the help and yes im glad that i got more than one opinion. different eyes will see something one pair might not see. everybody seen the samethings and agreed the there are three reverse sections. so im in compliance with you all. because without you guys help i would be lost and the railroad would have to stop. agian thanks to all for the help
Reggie:
When you get a layout this big and complicated reversing sections can jump in anywhere. I'll agree that it looks like only the three sections; but this is why I was hoping someone else would look at it; because I thought the mine area was going to be a reverse section.
It's good that you got several opinions before you layed track. The auto plant was an easy fix, it's a wye, these others can really catch you off guard.
Good going and good luck
Wayne
well my wife took the camera and it came back broke. i made alot of progress almost all of the cork is laid for the long skinny island at the bottom of the picture. was going to take pictures but camera somehow came up broke. will try not to do any more work until camera is replaced but if the bug hits me i will have to lay the track and just catch you guys up from where i am when the camera is replaced. sorry but no pictures this time please dont be mad.
justin no problem. thats why i asked the question to the forum. to double check him not to say he was wrong or anything. when he looked at it at first he said the coal mine to but then said whats reversing about that. he then said it should be treated just like one of the other yards. again thanks for the advice you have giving me thus far to get this figured out. i have made some changes to this plan but my friend who is helping with the design just hasnt updated them yet. so patiently waiting i guess i will go do a little work and maybe i can give an update with pictures later today.
justin thanks for the help. but i have a few questions for you and wayne. i went to johnnys toys today and let the tim the train guy take a look at my layout plan and he said that i would need the reverse loops gaps in 3 different places instead of 4. one being the autoplant, the other being eng service to grain elev, and the other being the cross over that goes thru the backdrop. the one for the coal mine he said i didnt need it because it can be used almost like a yard and you wouldnt have to wire a yard to the reverse loop. his statements he also has a layout in his basement thats like 20'x40' with plenty of reverse loops and he is also using the same dcc system im using nce. not to say you are wrong but could you please explain or possibly explain to me why he would say i dont need it there and you and wayne say i do or could i possibly get away with not wiring it as a reversing loop. also he marked the same spots to gap as you and wayne said. anymore help would be greatly appreciated. im just double checking before i make anymore improvements to hte railroad. want to make sure all i's are dotted and t's crossed. to make sure i will call tim tomorrow and ask the reasoning for not gapping the coal mine. will let you know tomorrow.
Reggie,
You need three more reversing sections, one is the Black Diamond coal mine, the second is between the Eng. Service and Susanville and the third is between the branch to the grain elevator and the SM interchange yard.
The first one will need both rails gapped in three places:
a) after the diverging route of the switch near Lake Regitrain
b) at the toe of the switch nearest the aisle just above the +3.0" text - i.e. for trains going to/from the SM interchange yard
c) where the coal and Bengal Creek Branch join back to the mainline behind Susanville (at the end of the branch line)
The second is easy - after the switch below the text "Eng. Service" and just before the branch rejoins the main before Susanville
The third looks easy - each side of the cut-out in the backdrop, but one thing you need to be carefull of is the length of the trains you want to run: a train must never be longer than the reversing section.
I will try and do a sketch to make this easier
Justin
thanks for the info wrumbel/wayne. as you stated the wye to the autoplant needs to be done asap and thats what i have done as of yesterday. i gapped the rails exactly where you said to off of both the straights coming from the two switches. i was able to run trains like normal and it looked really good to see a train run from one end of the yard to the parts of the track that i have completed. im getting close to a running a complete loop with a train.
again thanks wayne for the input and if there are any others who might beable to help please do so and thanks in advance.
The Wye to the auto plant is easy. You need gaps in both rails at two locations. The first is the straight part of the switch along the wall leading to the plant. The second is the straight part of the switch from the lake to the plant. The gaps are after the switch so the curve and bothe switches are part of the main. All the track going to the plant from these 2 switches will be wired as one block (the reversing section). Since you are using DCC you could get an auto reverser (AR1 I think from Digitrac) or buy one from Tonys Trains. You also have some other reversing sections at Susanville. These are going to be a little harder to decide where to cut the gaps. Also all the track for your loads in empty out for Black Diamond Coal make a reversing section. A train isn't going to travel all the way thru these tracks' but the electricity will, so all these tracks must be wired as one reversing section. The track coming from the main at Delta City to the grain elevator and stub yard going thru the backdrop to Black Diamond Coal also makes a reversing section.
I looked at all this Saturday and wasn't too sure where the best places to gap these sections would be. I had 2 reversing sections on my ols DC layout. When I built the new layout; which is DCC; I decided not to include any reversing sections. Maybe someone else with more knowledge of reversing sections and DCC can help you decide where to gap and where not to. It has to do with the normal route of traffic thru these sections. In DC we didn't have auto reversers and you made the gaps so you weren't changing the reverse switches all the time; it became a real problem. With DCC and auto reverser if you were switching the yard and going into and out of the reversing block all the time the AR1 or whatever would be switching back and forth all the time, the poor thing would get qiute the workout, see what I mean.
So with so many reverse sections to look at maybe someone else can help here. Once again the one to the auto plant is easy and needs to be taken care of now.
Good Luck
WP&P
first off i have a question for all of the wiring experts out there. looking at the trackplan above where would you isolate/gap the track for a reversing loop/wye. i have 2 possible wye's/reversing loops one at reginalds auto plant and one at susanville or do i even need to gap it anywhere besides at the autoplant. i have placed the the gaps at the auto plant and my trains are running perfectly like they were before i hooked up that wye/reversing loop. so i can run trains from one end of the yard to lake reggitrain. if you have questions and dont understand what im saying i will try and explain again but all help is needed and wanted.
now on to the photos of the little work i have done on the railroad. have cut the creek in the plywood and cut out for the bridges that go over lake reggitrain and laid a little more track not much but its some work done. have to wait on my 2 extra bridges to get in and the piers that will hold the bridges in place. hope you like. i will keep updating as more work is done.
here are a few of the track work i have done up to the point of lake reggitrain
i love everything you have done and i will add the few changes that i see just to add my little touch/signature to it. lets start withthe names. the whole railroad is getting names from my wife daughter and myself. so if you see the abbreviations of letters its my wifes, daughters and my initials. so all names will stay the same as i have them. the one you said you couldnt understand is naijahville pronounced (ny jah ville). the one you have for bengal creek PLEASE change for me to myles creek. as i dont want any sports teams names/mascots names on the layout. i know what you were getting at with that name but i have enough around the house to not want it anywhere. also the name for the black diamond coal mine change it to myles family coal mine for me and that will be it for the names. also i i see you have changed the name to the lake from reggietrain to reggitrain i like and will stick with how you have changed it. to keep my word as far as people helping me and possibly naming/doing something on the layout you can name the one post you have renamed to mile post 37 to whatever you have in mine/like. that way your signature is on the layout not just by the design but by your name you choose. i love what you have done with this plan, but i have a question about where you have urban scenery and the lower main com ing back under the two mains that are rising. i will explain to you on saturday what im talking about for you to get a clear understanding. but the placement for everything is marvolous and i like where you are going with this. could you possibly have the grain elevator placed somewhere to where it can possibly have a double ended yard instead of stub ended. if you had this that way because of the picture i said i wanted to model after let it stay the way it is and if we see where we can make it a double end later we will. but i like what you have created thus far man am i pleased.
wrumbel Reggie I,ve been fllowing this post since you started. I,m liking where this track plan is going; looking good. The new pictures of the track you just laid are a wye, or turning section. If you didn,t wire this section as a reversing loop with gaps in both rails you have a dead short. I know you said you have been getting help from someone from your club. STOP trying to run trains until you get this wired correctly, I,m hoping that your friend can explain how to wire and where to put the gaps that are needed. You will burn out your DCC controller if you keep doing this; it's the circut breaker in your controller that keeps shutting down and resetting that makes the engine humm and then stop humming. Your having too much fun now to destroy an expensive piece of your railroad. Good Luck Wayne
Reggie
I,ve been fllowing this post since you started. I,m liking where this track plan is going; looking good. The new pictures of the track you just laid are a wye, or turning section. If you didn,t wire this section as a reversing loop with gaps in both rails you have a dead short. I know you said you have been getting help from someone from your club. STOP trying to run trains until you get this wired correctly, I,m hoping that your friend can explain how to wire and where to put the gaps that are needed. You will burn out your DCC controller if you keep doing this; it's the circut breaker in your controller that keeps shutting down and resetting that makes the engine humm and then stop humming. Your having too much fun now to destroy an expensive piece of your railroad.
hey thanks wayne for the info. i kind of figured something was wrong with that section because as soon as i hoked it up thats when things all went haywire. i havent ran anytrains since that day and want until i get this thing wired correctly. again thanks. when i say a friend is helping me with this he's designing the trackplan and i'm doing the track laying and wiring. i havent asked him what i need to do as far as this section of track went. but i was going to ask him saturday when i seen him at tha trainshow. but as you can see you have answered it for me now all i have to do is get my books on wiring wyes and i think i will be ok from there. by the way it was looking i didnt think anybody seen my question i asked about the enignes humming. but to my suprise you seen it and helped me get this much closer to have my trainworld up and running. again thanks and please help me stay motivated. i know you stay a ways away from but you have an invited to come down and run trains if and when you want to.
Here's the next iteration of the track plan. I'm posting a link to the overall plan which is 1200x700 pixels approx. I've also created higher-resolution images to show it in a little better detail - two halves that are each 1000 pixels wide. To view those, just browse to:
http://wpandp.com/ModelRailroading/Layout2a-102209.jpg (left side)
http://wpandp.com/ModelRailroading/Layout2b-102209.jpg (right side)
The major changes from before are the relocation of the Union Station to the front "lower main" so that it is all level, and some slight redesign at the interchange yard. Also, the industrial district now called Susanville is a little different, to bring the interchange track in to the mains prior to the curve so that the crossovers leading into staging can be utilized fully. Those crossovers aren't drawn, but they show up in the photos you've already posted.
Another major change is that I moved the Grain Elevator over to the right. I did this because of the rising grade on the "upper main", which would place this feature industry somewhat hidden behind the high line, with its tracks down low. Instead, I ran a spur off that can reach a couple of smaller industries, sort of getting lost in the concrete jungle of the urban area. Because the tracks are low, one can use space beyond the backdrop for longer spurs inside the building.
At the Auto Plant, I tweaked just slightly what I see you had laid, in that I angled the spur tracks in a little bit, basically following the diverging route of the turnout rather than the straight leg. The reason is so that there is a bit of room behind the spurs to include a building front to represent the auto plant itself, while keeping some room in the foreground for the "sea of cars" ready to be loaded. The spurs stop short of the wall so that there is room for the loading ramps; if you don't care to model the ramps, I suppose you can leave those out and extend the tracks all the way to the wall.
I tried to use the names you provided to me by fax, though I couldn't read what you had picked out for Delta City. Also, I suggested a couple of names, such as Milepost 37 instead of RSN Jct. - that one in particular ought to change, because it isn't really a junction any more; the wye isn't used for turning consists. Rather, it's just the lead in to the auto plant.
You didn't provide any suggestion for Theta, so I suggested Bengal Creek. The Bengal Creek branch is rapidly becoming my favorite aspect to this whole plan. I placed the upper main in a tunnel here so that this lonely branch line feels a bit more remote, as it should. The tunnel here also serves a very practical prupose - as this is the edge that protrudes the most into the traffic aisle through the basement, it helps to protect trains from random elbows. The tunnel interior could be exposed, though, so that it is as if you're seeing inside the tunnel, and you've modeled the tunnel walls; a piece of plexiglass could protect trains from falling if desired. There would be a small depot at Bengal Creek, and the little spur is a team track. The longer siding leading into the coal mine allows a mine turn to work without fouling the branch line that leads to the interchange yard.
I look forward to any more comments you might have. I'll be at the Lakota West show this weekend, look for me mid-day Saturday or late on Sunday; if I don't see you, I'll leave prints of this plan with the other club members.
SeamonsterThis has been the most interesting thread I've read on this forum. I'll echo what others have said and say it's truly inspirational. I've gleaned quite a few ideas from it for my own N scale layout and I almost wish I was back in the planning stage so I could use more of your ideas, but I'm too far into my layout now for that. Your yard is awesome! What else can I say? I have a comment that no one has put forward yet, but it seems obvious to me. Your postings are the complete saga for an empire-sized layout from the very beginning onwards. You have taken us from bare basement through layout planning, benchwork, drywalling, electrical, and so on. I hope that you will continue to take us through the remaining phases of your layout growth--tracklaying, scenery, structures, etc. to the finished product (as much as any model RR is ever "finished"). Keep up the good work!
thanks for the compliment seamonster, and i hope i keep inspiring others to want to join the hobby and stay in the hobby. cause sometimes its hard for me to go down to the basement to work as i am a lone wolf on this end. wouldnt say lone wolf but as i have a club i am a member of and one of the members is helping me design this layout. i havent done much more work as i have to wait for the trackplan to be complete and final adjustments to be made before i go any farther. but this little encouragement from you and others is what makes me keep going down to the basement to work on the railroad. plus i looking forward to the day that i have my first opperating session on my layout. i know that there will be problems but thats one of the enjoyments of the hobby is working out the kinks and bad problems to have the railroad running alomost flawlessly. i know this is going to take time to do as this railroad will be finished and complete when i kick the old bucket. my plans are to have trains running a complete loop by the end of the year. dont hold me to that but thats the plan and i am on schedule for that to happen. again thanks for the compliments. keep them coming
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
well i finally finished the last of the benchwork with the 1x5ft extension as you are coming down the stairs. not much has been done as i am waiting on trackplan to be finished. some track has been laid but not that much. dont want to do to much work and it comes back and i have to redo all of what i have done. so for now the curve as you come down the stairs is complete but not wired. also have a little track and cork laid for the autorack plant as you come down the stairs. if any of you guys have pics to share of your auto industry i would greatly appreciate it if you could show them to me. i'm trying to get ideas for mine. here are the pics hope you enjoy. some of the pics are kind of repeats as they are from different angles.
Good work on the benchwork! Regarding the duckunder rather than a drop-leaf/lift-out, you're young enough to get away with that, but I should point out that most layout with duckunders have benchwork set a bit higher than you do, to make it a little easier. But I guess that's always something that one can come back to later, and replace that section if a hinged bridge becomes a high priority. Right now, I know your HIGH PRIORITY is to get some TRAINS RUNNING!
So, here's my progress so far, trying to incorporate all we talked about in the track plan. I'm focusing on the 4 ft. wide peninsula, as the perimeter loop there offers a way to get out-and-back operation happening long before all the rest is complete. Plus, I was really intrigued by this, as it introduces a whole lotta good potential to this track plan! THINGS ARE GETTING REALLY INTERESTING, I must say.
I took the liberty of assigning some fake names to the various locations, so we can talk meaningfully about them. Since you've mentioned eliminating the anachronistic turntable and roundhouse, and instead using the space for industries or scenery, I've create Betaman ("Be The Man!") as an industrial district, perhaps even with tracks running through the streets, and swtiches and spurs going to all sorts of small industries. Old urban scenery, perhaps even an abandoned siding or two would be called for.
Gamma Junction and Zeta Junction together comprise the return loop that enables trains to reverse direction, i.e. originate in Alphadog, travel through Delta City and Epsilon, then return back to Alphadog facing the other direction. This would be the first level of operation, prior to getting the full main loop established. I treated these as junctions as a way to justify running multiple roadnames on the layout; the way this is configured, one can almost just think of the lower perimeter loop as being one railroad, while the double-track line that rises is the other railroad. The connections of those junctions to Epsilon and Betaman mean that they are "live" crossings - you'll have the fun and challenge of signalling actual trains across those diamonds, in both directions.
The power plant lead just fits behind the curve you've already laid (to the right of Gamma Jct.), though I did have to utilize the Atlas #4 turnouts you've been fond of to make it work. I've still kept to #6 switches for the mainlines, in laying this out, only using #4's on yard or spur tracks, as I remain convinced that major modern mainline action like you want to see just ain't right flowing through #4's. Actually, for this plan, the switches are #7's; it kinda depends on which brand you choose as to what the exact geometry is. Both Altas and Peco make switches that will fit these locations with minor fuss.
A couple of unresolved things: First, I tried to be generous with the Union Station Platforms at Delta, but realized later on that this places one of the two ends on the incline, assuming changes are not made to the elevation at the peninsula end. A fix would be to drop that from 3" down to 2" or less, so that the incline doesn't have to begin until after the switches (the spur going to the Grain Elevator can be fine-tuned in location). Another possible fix would be to scrap the idea of the Union Station on the rear line, and instead locate it on the front line, being served by the single-track mainline. I prefer the station one the double-track line, as this line feels more "passenger-y" to me; the front line seems to be more of a freight interchange line, at least as drawn. I should point out that the S-curve behind the station which penetrates the backdrop is there to serve as a return loop in the other direction, for train that originate in Alphadog, run past the airport, then take the branch line at Theta Junction (to be designed), then take this cutoff after passing through Zeta Junction. They end up on the rear line and follow the double track back to Theta and then back the way they came to Alphadog. However, whether this cutoff is regularly used in operations is a matter of preference; my own guess is that it doesn't really get used (since it warps the geography of the model world so much) except between operating sessions, as a way to turn a long train around.
The other thing incorrect about this plan is that I did not work in the big passing siding at midpoint; this would be on the rear line, behind Epsilon. Initially, I was trying to stick with two tracks in order to make use of the double-track bridges that you own, but I guess we can employ them elsewhere so that a shared center siding can stretch for a good long ways back there.
My thoughts on the single-track cutoff that connects the power plant to the coal mine scene is that it could be treated as if it were another coal branch that comes to join the main line at Theta. It could pop into a tunnel close to where the curve begins in the corner, which is why I left space between it and the double track main; the terrain can be a bit of a view block. I made the radius on that double-track main really broad right there, because it fits, and also because it is one place where the curve can be seen from pretty much every angle. It'll be a SEXY place to watch long intermodal cars roll by!
If I see you at the next Tri-State N-Trak meeting, we can talk more about things there, or we can find each other at the Lakota West show. Otherwise, I'll look for your comments here. And, I do welcome critique from anyone else watching this thread!
traindaddy1 Reggie: Keep it going. You're doing great!
Reggie: Keep it going. You're doing great!
thanks for the encouragement traindaddy.
well i have done a little more work on the benchwork and have made some of the changes that wp&p had recommened. i but first here are the pictures of the yard after i bumped the brace in the middle when i was crawling under the layout.
the middle peninsula is pretty solid as the movement wise but i will brace the legs just for the added insurance.
i like very much. the rounded edges really bring out more appeal to the benchwork itself. the idea of the brace to the pole i had already thought about that and was actually going to brace the layout to it on both poles but just forgot to mention it to you. thanks for bringing that up to me. also the room is actually 15 1/2' so the walkway is actually already 30". so i dont see the need to change the width of the long narrow piece the extra 3" will just give it a little more added strength and most of all space to add track/scenery. the backdrop i had in mind to of also varying the depth of it, and where we had in mind of placing the power plant we would have to do it anyway. so i agree to all the changes you have said. now lets move on to the track planning. while you are doing that i guess i will start backup tomorrow with the benchwork. dont i have alot of work ahead of me, but i guess its all in the hobby. as you cant get to the glory without a little hardwork and sweat. i see the light. will post pictures at later date of all the work, and a few of the yard after i bumped up against it while crawling under it. i think i knocked off about 150 cars.
I was glad for the opportunity to come over and take a look firsthand at how things are laying out in your basement. Based on the measurements taken and our discussions, I'm posting the following as the first round of suggestions, dealing with benchwork first. I know you're eager to get the rest of the lumber cut and erected, so I wanted to draft this up ASAP.
First off, you'll notice that I am recommending some changes to the benchwork you've already established. This is in keeping with my advice that you create smooth curves for all corners, to prevent accidental (and painful) knocking by train operators moving around the layout. Recall the earthquake devastation to the yard when you bumped into the one crossbrace! So, at the end of the peninsula I am suggesting that you ease it with 12" radius corners, which means cutting the joists back a foot and jigsawing the plywood, but shouldn't be too difficult. Similarly, I'm showing a 42" wide cul-de-sac at the end of each aisle, and since one of these is already surrounded with benchwork that means re-framing one section. But again, this can be done in-place by just cutting the joists and then cutting the plywood to shape. To lay out the 21" radius here, you can tack up a board that spans the aisle (similar to your current braces) such that it provides an anchor point at the center of the curve, then use whatever trammel or pencil-on-a-string that you've been using to lay out curves.
The piece that makes the transition from 12" wide to 24" wide is a special shape, one that I can produce more detailed drawing of if you need me to. The curves here are especially critical, because this is in a primary traffic route through the basement, plus it happens to be in the middle of a long skinny and relatively unbraced segment. Any bumping on corners here will have pronounced effects on trains anywhere near, so the broader the curved layout edge, the better. In fact, it might be better to use the full 8' length of this segment to make the transition, but I wanted to draw it up initially much as you presented it to me.
I've shown the backdrop as non-straight for two reasons: first, there's no reason why it has to run straight, and second, this creates much needed space for the power plant. I actually prefer a backdrop that varies in depth from layout edge because this creates areas of interest, a sense of "place" where the depth is greater. But we can play with the exact location of backdrop all day long, it's just a matter of where you connect the uprights to the joists.
The long unbraced stretch in front does concern me, and it is tempting to think of bracing it off of at least one of those two steel posts. This can be done fairly unobtrusively. In fact, bracing off of the pole on the left might allow the benchwork to be even a bit skinnier, since your aisle up against the stairs is down to only 25" as drawn. With a 9" deck you could have 28" of aisle width, which happens to be the smallest width of a typical residential bathroom door (most residential doors are 30" wide or more).
SO, there's your food for thought! I want to get all this down and agreed upon before going too much further with track planning. What do you think?
Far as the big mud tires again don't understand that either! But Mon and Dad did not understand the long hair and either bell bottoms. Hum, just old I guess.
Far as the you wanting the Charger, no you don't! Dam thing is death trap. Makes way to much HP! Cooked the tires at 70 MPH. But that is a different story.
If you travel any I love to meet you and the family. I live in Maryville IL 62062. We could go visit K-10 Model Trains my LHS. Here is a link.
http://www.k-10smodeltrains.com/layout_tour.htm
Yep, you got me up of my caboose.I have plaster drying on my fingers as I miss spell!
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
well i live in kentucky just 10minutes south of the ohio border from cincinnati. i love the charger you want to sell it. hahaha. pretty sure it's not but everything has a price on it. well the big rims is a fashion statement shall i say or just another way for me to make my car a little different. it's no different than the guys who ride around with the big mud tires and reaised up 10 feet off the ground. thats there way of making their car different and the way they like it and this is the way i like it. i'm glad to be an inspiration to some as there are guys on this forum that i look at and say if wish /hope my layout turns out like theirs ( for instance csx dixieline, soo n scaler with his helix, loco with his trainroom, the actrr railroad, mobilman44 layout just to name a few. there are others on other forums but want name to keep the intergrity of this one. alot of them are on trainboard hint hint. these guys with their layouts are my inspiration and the fact that i want to run trains. im a little jealous because they can ru trains and i cant, so i look to their layout for ideas and way to make mine better. i try to learn from what misstakes they made and try not to do them samething. as you can tell i don't really have a track plan im getting help from wp&p who is a part of the tristate ntrak club of ohio. ky, and indiana. like i said im not good witht track planning but great i feel with track laying and wiring. so thank them for the inspiration as thats where i get mine from and they are the ones who got me to work as hard as i have to get to this point in my layout. Thanks to all who have been there for support and advice. please keep it coming it all is greatly appreciated.
Reggie, I have enjoyed watching your progress! I just wish at my age I had the energy you have at this point of life. But, you have inspired me and I worked on the new section today!
With the subject of rides coming up, I cannot help my self. Still a car guy at heart.
69 Charger.
70 Cuda, where my screen name came from.
Nasty one in the family, 68 Road Runner. Got it when I was 17 from Mon and Dad.
On a car note, never understood the big wheels? But then a again I wore bell bottoms and had hair down to my caboose!
Looking forward to the next up date. By the way, what part of the country do you live?