How Big Is Too Big?

[GDRMCo]

How big is to big? when
EMD and GE ask if they can have manufacturing plants on your layout
the EPA put emission requirements on your layout, even though its all electric
your layout is a 1:87 replica of the world and its railways and has to be put out in space, creating another moon
even the suns power cannot operate your layout
the world has a eclipse of its own, a power eclipse
all the freelancers ask for trackage rights because your layout follows the same trackplan as theirs

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

QUOTE: Originally posted by SuperChiefFan

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

4) Your clock is set to UTC because your layout spans two or more time zones.

5) The police raid your place because you raise suspiscion due to your power consumption is in keeping with that of an illegal hydroponics growing lab.

6) Your power consumption is causing brown outs.

7) You envision a giant helix rising from the basement up through a cut-out on the first floor of your ranch home so the trains just keep runnin' and runnin'.

8) You ask your next door neighbor for trackage rights from your basement to his ("Aw c'mon Joe, it's not like you really use your basement for anything.").

9) Suddenly, steel storage barns for large pieces of farm equipment have an appeal like you've never known before.[:D]

10) Your featured in Fortune 500

11) your next order arrives on a Flatbed

12) Walthers wants you to buy them out.

13 1/2) The Unions threaten to stop operations

14) your wife buys Walthers in attempt to slow down your expansion.

15) you're listed in the North American Free trade Agreement.

16) You're implicated by Martha Stewart (oh the horror[:0])

and Finally

Your layout is so big youv'e lost sight of why you even started and there is no more joy in it. THE END

[Anonymous]

You know it's TOO big because--

--Your neighbors are charging $5.00 for visitors of your layouts to park on their front lawns...because all available street parking is now taken.

--The local police ring your door bell and inquire if you have a special events permit from the village.

--Old Miss Claussen next door is raising a ruckus about all of those 'outsiders' invading HER neighborhood.[8D]

[Anonymous]

How Big is too big? When...
...when people compare your layout's size to your ego
...when you were eccentric three years ago, and passed obsessed a year later
...when operating your layout involves government contracts
...when the FRA made a special "class 0" class of railroad for you
...when the Model Railroader Boxcar has been brought to your industrial spurr three times, not to mention the models of it on your layout
...you modeled the entire railroad world, so you started making duplicates of things
...when your "circle of benefactors" plaque reads "Micahael Haverty, David Gun, John Snow..."
...when your models polute enough to have "basement warming"
...when your staging yard has twelve more ties than Global I, II, and III combined
...when your layout is the "London, New York, and Pacific," and you live up to your reputation
...when you have a 1:87 scale model of New London, Ontario and Schenectady, New York, producing new locomotives every day
...when you say "selective compression, what's that???"

Hope you got some laughs,
Daniel

[CP5415]

When your mainline is measured in miles not feet! [;)]

Gordon

[Anonymous]

When is to big? When...
...when you have a model train store with a greater selection than the local hobby store (in 1:48 scale, of course. It's the best scale--take that, rivet counters!)
...when your ceiling is painted as the famous Milwaukee "Skytop observation" advertisement, except its 85' by 110'
...whenMount Everest is at one end of your layout, and the Mariana Trench at the other, both full size in G scale
...when you go to Chicago Union Station, and say "I've got two of these on my layout"
...when your responses to this topic all come from characteristics of your layout
...when you built your roundhouse as a spiral because "64 stalls just would not cut it"
...when your layout is O scale (once again...the best), you have a 1:8 live steamers railroad down to your basement, an HO layout to carry around messages, a G scale layout to carry around snacks, and you're trying to figure out what you can do with N

Hope you got some laughs,
Daniel

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by EL PARRo

...if one of your trains derails and you read about it the next morning in the local newspaper.

You have lots of Amtrak passenger trains running on your layout. Senator John McCain wants to question you about the need for so much service...and suggests budget cuts in you're to receive additional Federal dollars for operation. You remind him that it's a SCALE LAYOUT, not the prototype.[^]

[EL PARRo]

...if one of your trains derails and you read about it the next morning in the local newspaper.

[Anonymous]

When is too big? When...
...you have an O scal replica of Sturruca Viaduct and say "yeah-it's nice, but check this out"
...you put railway paintings around the walls of your train room and bankrupted tracksideprints.com
...when the answer to "why are the world's forests dissapearing???" is "my bencwork"
...you are a common carrier, of nothing
...your transformer requires its own air conditioning unit to keep from overheating
...your railroads "Standard Book of Drawings" comes in 18 leatherbound volumes of 500 pages each
...you used your FRA granted imminent domain status to move into your living room (oh yeah--you live in the train room anyway)
...your dispatiching software requires more computing capability than the space shuttle has
...you recieve EDA grants to improve your layout because your train room has its own snack stand and train store
...most people think that the solar panels on top of your house are for heating, although they are really just for the turntable motor
...the rest of the power for the layout comes from the nuclear power plant in your back yard
...Union Pacific built a branch line to your house and now has the "crazy recluse" local three times a week
...you are reading these and thinking "maybe my layout is too large"

Hope you got some laughs,
Daniel

[bluepuma]

N Scale - too big is a loco that needs bigger curves than the main I have, a train that is too long to fit the longest passing siding. I like a train at 22 cars and 2 locos, caboose, roughly 7.5 to 8 ft.

Somedays too big is the locos running a carlength or less behind it's own caboose or observation car looped around the layout. That happens on my 31x48 double loop running board. I learned I didn't need a second pair of crossovers because I didn't have trains short enough to fit between them, and sometimes just to swap inner and outer trains, have to pull cars off so they both fit the inner or outer loops.

I'm not likely to have a layout that is too big, no space for such, if I did, 64 sq. ft. scenic
is about my limit, but I'd like at least 3-5 scale miles. I' ll be doing well to get a scale mile in with all walls. If I was playing with 1:1 scale, 20-30 miles would be good! A
shortline.

[Anonymous]

N W Mallats rule and the big boy up are my chioces for presedent
I have a three table system it is not huge but it is not
small either , i decided if i can not grow out , i would grow up, at my
highest point my train comes to a highth of 18 inches off the
main table.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

QUOTE: Originally posted by SuperChiefFan

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

4) Your clock is set to UTC because your layout spans two or more time zones.

5) The police raid your place because you raise suspiscion due to your power consumption is in keeping with that of an illegal hydroponics growing lab.

6) Your power consumption is causing brown outs.

7) You envision a giant helix rising from the basement up through a cut-out on the first floor of your ranch home so the trains just keep runnin' and runnin'.

8) You ask your next door neighbor for trackage rights from your basement to his ("Aw c'mon Joe, it's not like you really use your basement for anything.").

9) Suddenly, steel storage barns for large pieces of farm equipment have an appeal like you've never known before.[:D]

10) Your featured in Fortune 500

11) your next order arrives on a Flatbed

12) Walthers wants you to buy them out.

13 1/2) The Unions threaten to stop operations

14) The complexity of your layout's wiring would rival that of Bill Gates high technology mansion

15) HO scale people on your layout demand 401k plans, medical benefits and paid vacation time. They run the trains they say, not you.

16) Angels appear from Heaven, eager for a closer look. Next to God, your layout is truly divine.[8D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SuperChiefFan

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

4) Your clock is set to UTC because your layout spans two or more time zones.

5) The police raid your place because you raise suspiscion due to your power consumption is in keeping with that of an illegal hydroponics growing lab.

6) Your power consumption is causing brown outs.

7) You envision a giant helix rising from the basement up through a cut-out on the first floor of your ranch home so the trains just keep runnin' and runnin'.

8) You ask your next door neighbor for trackage rights from your basement to his ("Aw c'mon Joe, it's not like you really use your basement for anything.").

9) Suddenly, steel storage barns for large pieces of farm equipment have an appeal like you've never known before.[:D]

10) Your featured in Fortune 500

11) your next order arrives on a Flatbed

12) Walthers wants you to buy them out.

13 1/2) The Unions threaten to stop operations

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by EL PARRo

7. when people call you and ask "When is the next train to Albecerque (sp?) leaving?"

8) A producer @ Harpo Studios in Chicago calls; it appears Oprah Winfrey wants to feature you and your layout on her show.

9) Dr. Phil McGraw makes a personal phone call days later; he questions how you're coping with the shear magnitude of your layout's size.

10) Your layout has garnered more press coverage than the O. J. Simpson trial.[8D]

[EL PARRo]

7. when people call you and ask "When is the next train to Albecerque (sp?) leaving?"

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by EL PARRo

lol , this topic is great let me try a couple

1. when your layout is featured in Trains magazine

2. when people travel 100 miles just to do some railfanning in your basement

3) The creator of Northlandz salutes you.

4) The spouse wants a bigger house and suggests taking a look at properties over the weekend. Cool! You take her to a vacant warehouse in the city and say, "Honey, this is the place."

5) World leaders opt to visit your layout while in America. The White House is merely an afterthought.

6) Your layout qualifies as one of the great wonders of the world.[8D]

[EL PARRo]

lol , this topic is great let me try a couple

1. when your layout is featured in Trains magazine

2. when people travel 100 miles just to do some railfanning in your basement

[Anonymous]

1. every time you derail a train officals from the NTSB investigate the derailment

2. Rail America wants to buy your RR

3. your layout reporting marks are listed in the AAR list.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

4) Your clock is set to UTC because your layout spans two or more time zones.

5) The police raid your place because you raise suspiscion due to your power consumption is in keeping with that of an illegal hydroponics growing lab.

6) Your power consumption is causing brown outs.

7) You envision a giant helix rising from the basement up through a cut-out on the first floor of your ranch home so the trains just keep runnin' and runnin'.

8) You ask your next door neighbor for trackage rights from your basement to his ("Aw c'mon Joe, it's not like you really use your basement for anything.").

9) Suddenly, steel storage barns for large pieces of farm equipment have an appeal like you've never known before.[:D]

[swknox]

1. I owe money to Uncle Sam
2. I don't know big Bertha
3. Thank god for Nextel pager services on my phone
4. I have a clock with EST, CEN, MNT, PACF time zones
5. Lets not talk about the power bill, my woman is still nagging me about that!
6. The electric went out 5 min on monday. (I think the woman had something to do with it)
7. Not on 1st name basis with FRA
8. Have asked to expand garden railroad into neighbors yard, was chased away by big dog.
9. I have satelite, PTC control, and GPS locators!
10. Send 1st train around layout at lunch - don't see it again till dinner time.

[Anonymous]

to big is when you have to use a satelite dish on your DCC controller just to reach your locos

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by joecool1212

Its to big when it turns into a class 1 RR and you are on a first name basis with the FRA. Joe

The FRA gives you Imminant Domain powers and tells you to get your neighbors properties for more trackage.

Jay

[joecool1212]

Its to big when it turns into a class 1 RR and you are on a first name basis with the FRA. Joe

[Anonymous]

4) Your clock is set to UTC because your layout spans two or more time zones.

5) The police raid your place because you raise suspiscion due to your power consumption is in keeping with that of an illegal hydroponics growing lab.

6) Your power consumption is causing brown outs.

[Anonymous]

It's TOO BIG when:

1) The IRS suddenly wants to audit your finances ("Sir, where's the money coming from for all of that model train equipment?").

2) Big Bertha looks like Skinny Minnie in comparison to your layout.

3) Your best friend suggests using your cell phone to reach his cell phone to communicate--and you're both in the basement.[(-D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

1) When Uncle Pete or one of his lawyers knocks on your door looking for Trackage Rights on your system or he's trying a Hostile Take Over.

And they want to get the rights to your logo.

[RhB_HJ]

Too big is......:

a) when you have problems getting enough people for an op session

b) when it takes you two full days to get ready for an op session

c) when you have more maintenance hours than running hours, this could also be the result of "being in a hurry" aka shoddy workmanship.

d) when you must have a database with pictures to keep track of your rolling stock. (Unless you had a lousy memory to start with [;)][:o)][:o)])

e) when "there's no way" to remember how which is supposed to work together with what.

f) when your operators need to be retrained (no pun intended) prior to every session.

g) when ...............

OK ask me if you need more![;)][:)][:D]

[Anonymous]

what is te meaning of to big[?]

[Big_Boy_4005]

It doesn't matter how much space you have, you always want more. Personally I think I've met my match with 38' x 46' , working solo. It will take me a long time to fini***he major construction. Of course a layout is never finished.[:D]