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Teen Model Railroader Place- November 2009

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  • Member since
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  • From: Arizona
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Posted by modelbnsfer on Monday, November 2, 2009 9:57 PM

Hey Sawyer and Everyone else,

Busy day, I will check your youtube when I get a chance soccer started today,Smile,Wink, & Grin. And yeah just comparing the pros and cons.

Taylor

 

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Posted by ns3010 on Monday, November 2, 2009 9:14 PM

Packers#1
bachmann loco, right?


Honestly, IDK. It all came in a large box, just about nothing had its original packaging.

Tyler, we're not bashing it, we're just comparing the pros and cons of N vs. HO!
And besides, one large advantage I see in N is that you can get twice as much in the same amount of space, even without cramming. And in N, some of the details are so small, you wouldn't even notice if they were there or not!

My Model Railroad: Tri State Rail
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Posted by Packers#1 on Monday, November 2, 2009 4:02 PM

 Joe, let em guess, bachmann loco, right? lol.

Tyler, eh, it is very capable. like GEC said, limited availability. I don't think it so much is a drawback, just means scratchbuilding/kitbashign is more important; after all, ain't plastruct and evergreen got everything in their HO line available in N?

Sawyer Berry

Clemson University c/o 2018

Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by green_elite_cab on Monday, November 2, 2009 10:06 AM

don't over react.   besides, N-scale will always have problems, everything is limited availibility in N-scale. 

Modeling Conrail, Amtrak and NJ DOT under the wires in New Jersey, July 1979.  

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 2, 2009 5:43 AM

Wow - everybody's bashing N scale, and there's only N scaler around to stop it - who is joining in! At least we don't have a flame war! Whistling

I model in HO too, but I think N can be just as capable of excellent operation and great detail (although sometimes it's hard to see! Smile,Wink, & Grin)...the big difference is that HO scale junk runs better than N scale junk because the motors are bigger and the equipment heavier...good quality equipment is about the same.

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Posted by ns3010 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 9:38 PM

Packers#1

Joe, hehe, junk stuff is, well, junk, lol. Hey,y ou can still superdetail locos in N, jsut requires more skill (that I lack, lol).

Well, in addition to being crap visually, it ran even crappier. It was one of those things where the trains would move two inches, and then stop.

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Posted by Packers#1 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 9:01 PM

modelbnsfer

Hey Sawyer

Glad I got the spelling right. Ha mine era is about as big as yours 1994-today, big gap I know. Ha sweet and I bet its nice with all the space you have with N Scale.

Taylor

 

yeah man, check out my youtube channel

has a lot of update vids etc. of the layout. ignore the side opposite the yard, I'm still not sure what I'm going to do over there. also, my freewebs site and blog should be in the contact me button at the top of this post.

sweet era, used to do that. Like the older second and first gen diesels in the shortline setting.

Sawyer Berry

Clemson University c/o 2018

Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 8:56 PM

Hey Sawyer

Glad I got the spelling right. Ha mine era is about as big as yours 1994-today, big gap I know. Ha sweet and I bet its nice with all the space you have with N Scale.

Taylor

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Posted by Packers#1 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 8:49 PM

modelbnsfer

Packers#1
Taylor, my layout is probably my 4th or 5th layout, 4x8, n scale. Really focuses on the yard, the other side will just be a mainline with one spur (need to explain that in an upcoming vid, once I figure that side out). I operate with homemade switch lists.

 Hey, Sawyer(Hope I spelled that right)

What era do you model and thats cool.

Taylor

 

You got the spelling right (everyone pronounces it SOY-yer though; it's real pronunciation is SAW-yer).

1980-2000 right now, will probably be narrowed down some until I eventually find what I'm looking for. And the theme is a shortline. Right now I'm working on the yard, and I think I've got something up my sleeve for the town area.

Joe, hehe, junk stuff is, well, junk, lol. Hey,y ou can still superdetail locos in N, jsut requires more skill (that I lack, lol).

Sawyer Berry

Clemson University c/o 2018

Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 8:40 PM

Hey Joe

I know what you mean I looked at modeling the Apache Railway because it runs here in AZ but the only locos for it were made by ATLAS and they stopped making them. They should just keep everything they make in production for atleast a couple years. Just my My 2 cents.

Taylor

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Posted by ns3010 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 8:26 PM

Whoops, I meant that even in HO, for a specific prototype like Transit, the only stuff you can find is resin kits.
There are only 2 companies that make Transit models (the resin kits), covering all the Comets, MultiLevels, PL42ACs, ALP-46s, GP40FH-2s and Arrow IIIs. There are also the GP40PH-2s (all models) and F40PH-2CATs, where there is nothing available.

In N, there are only 4 kits available that I know of, and absolutely nothing RTR.

Oh, and forgot to mention in my last post, in addition to the F40s and CIIs, Atlas also made an ALP-44, but those are hard to find, as well as the Walthers CIIs. I hate all this limited-production stuff, because the only ALPs you can find don't run cheap (the Walthers cars don't matter for me because they represent the cars pre-rebuild.
[/rant]

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 8:16 PM

Hey Joe

That is one of the reasons I model HO, If I don't want to build any kits, I don't have to, there is a built up building or a rtr loco and the rtr freight cars are nice enough for me.

HO is also more talked about and there is a wealth of articles and thats what MR is mostly about.

Ha someone doesn't like it when people say N is too small. Smile,Wink, & Grin

Taylor

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Posted by ns3010 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 8:04 PM

modelbnsfer
not enough equipment compared to HO Scale.

You bring up a good point there. With a freelanced railroad, there's no problem. Add in a specific prototype (Class Is excluded), then you have a problem. For example, it would be impossible for me to model NJ Transit in N. All their equipment is specifically unique to them (Metro-North has a lot of the same equipment, but Transit essentially runs the trains for them [trains run out of Hoboken, on NJT schedules, and everything is pooled with NJT equipment, not to mention that Transit also maintains the pooled M-N stuff]), and the only things you can find are resin kits (with the exception of teh Walthers Horizons/Comet IIs and the Bachmann Spectrum F40PH.
There is not much in N compared to the wealth of stuff in HO.

[DNot to mention that it way too small. Big Smile

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 7:16 PM

Hey Joe

Just saying, lol and I could never do N Scale, its too small and not enough equipment compared to HO Scale.

Taylor

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 7:13 PM

Packers#1
Taylor, my layout is probably my 4th or 5th layout, 4x8, n scale. Really focuses on the yard, the other side will just be a mainline with one spur (need to explain that in an upcoming vid, once I figure that side out). I operate with homemade switch lists.

 Hey, Sawyer(Hope I spelled that right)

What era do you model and thats cool.

Taylor

Bear Down! 

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Posted by ns3010 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 6:57 PM

Jordan: Those Fs are nice!!

modelbnsfer

I'm pretty sure your future layout will be as big as the dorm room
...
Ha wow, its already night on the east coast, its only 3:17 and still light out.

Yep! Those things are pretty small!
And yeah, yeah. GREEEEAAAAT!!!! Thanks for rubbing it inWink

Packers#1

Joe, hey, don't knock n scale until you try it man


Actually, I did for about a week. I aquired a small amount of junk N stuff, including a circle of track tacked to a board. I got rid of it because it was junk, and it was way too small!! Wink

TrainManTy

Wow, this place is HOPPING tonight!


Yeah, it is! And it's not even 8 hours old!

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Posted by Packers#1 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 4:49 PM

 Taylor, my layout is probably my 4th or 5th layout, 4x8, n scale. Really focuses on the yard, the other side will just be a mainline with one spur (need to explain that in an upcoming vid, once I figure that side out). I operate with homemade switch lists.

Joe, hey, don't knock n scale until you try it man Wink

Sawyer Berry

Clemson University c/o 2018

Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 4:18 PM

Hey Tyler

Yeah I have a foam base on plywood sitting on 2 sawhorses.

Thats cool, I looked at the schedule, did you make that on like microsoft excel.

Yeah, I would like to be able to operate mine but its would have to be completely restarted and no money or time for that right now.Sad

Ha wow, its already night on the east coast, its only 3:17 and still light out.

Taylor

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Posted by RailfanS on Sunday, November 1, 2009 4:10 PM
WCfan

Welcome Taylor!

My long awaited Athearn F units have finally come in! First we have ATSF 90, which will be patched evenutaly to WC 6652.

Here we have WC 6654.

hey,

are those the new run with Tusnami Sound, or are they the DC only version. Just curious, I bought an older run BN with sound in September.

Jamie

Cape Vincent Southern Railroad

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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 1, 2009 4:07 PM

modelbnsfer

Hey Joe

Ha I hate the grass mat, whenever I vacuum the dust won't come off it and woodland scenics own scenic cement stains the grass mat, found that out the hard way. My trees are good for first try but I think I am gonna go with super trees since they look really realistic. My lake is crap because I didn't cut out the foam and its more of a pond.

I'm pretty sure your future layout will be as big as the dorm room lol.

Taylor



So you're using a foam base for your layout?

EDIT: No, I have no dispatcher. I run my trains with a sequence system, where each operator has a timetable. Here's a link to the newest version of the schedule.

WRS Schedule as of August 23, 2009

You are correct that Version 3.9 was designed for operations! That's where the most fun is for me in this hobby.

EDIT 2: Wow, this place is HOPPING tonight!

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 3:47 PM

Hey Tyler

Oh gotcha and Your layout is huge! Thats bigger then some of the layouts in MR. I don't even have a track plan, never did, just bought track and put it together on the plywood. Well 3 is pretty good and do you have a dispatcher. Your layout sounds like it was made with operating in mind, I can't even add a staging yard, no way to add a track to get to it and not enough industries.

Taylor

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 3:41 PM

Hey Joe

Ha I hate the grass mat, whenever I vacuum the dust won't come off it and woodland scenics own scenic cement stains the grass mat, found that out the hard way. My trees are good for first try but I think I am gonna go with super trees since they look really realistic. My lake is crap because I didn't cut out the foam and its more of a pond.

I'm pretty sure your future layout will be as big as the dorm room lol.

Taylor

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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 1, 2009 3:39 PM

modelbnsfer

Hey

It was really to anyone but I just used his post to reply to. And so Its really your 4th layout? I wish I could operate my layout but I desgined it when I first got into the hobby and had no idea what to do Smile,Wink, & Grinand how big is your layout? It must be somewhat big if 3 operators is the bare minimum.

Oh and I like your website, its really cool and realistic.

Taylor

 

Uh, sort of. In physical construction it's my 3rd, since the benchwork and general design stayed the same, but every single town was changed and almost all of the track rebuilt. So I guess in terms of moving forward with my skills, it's my 4th. This was my first layout! That's me at age 7 in the green shirt...that black rope on the ground behind my brother traces the outline of my current layout, the pole next to it is in the middle of a hill next to the Mascoma Lake Grade.


My layout measures about 12' by 22' in a kidney shape. I wish I had an accurate track plan, but the only one I have is really skewed from it's real dimensions and the layout is so different that it's almost unrecognizable.

3 operators isn't all that many - one each for the yard job, the through freight, and the local. But I can actually only fit a couple trains on the mainline at any given time. I have a single double-ended siding for meets plus a long running track for the local to hide in, a yard with two double-ended tracks and plenty more space for the local or yard job, and a four-track staging yard that stretches a good 20 feet. The trick to realistic operations is to spread the trains out. Waaayyy out!

Here's a video tour of the railroad, which is narrated and for added fun, includes some train footage! It's neat to see how much Enfield and West Canaan have changed since I took this in mid-August!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up_8u-x671o

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Posted by Guilford Guy on Sunday, November 1, 2009 3:03 PM

 Spiffy, although you need someone to redecal the number boards when you change the number... Big Smile

Alex

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Posted by WCfan on Sunday, November 1, 2009 2:52 PM

Welcome Taylor!

My long awaited Athearn F units have finally come in! First we have ATSF 90, which will be patched evenutaly to WC 6652.

Here we have WC 6654.

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Posted by ns3010 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 2:45 PM

It's cool, you can just call me Joe

The grass mat I what was on the first (and second) layout. It was crap (that green stuff ended up all over the place) and just looked horrible.
The trees I have are kinda so-so. I bought them for a World History project last year, and used the leftovers on the layout.
For my lake, I used WS Realistic Water, which looks really good. I painted the plywood below it black (that's what was reccomended), although a dark shade of blue would look a lot better. For the shore around it, I used real sand that I took from down the shore (sadly, I do not have a layout down there, so I spend my summers trainless). It's way out of scale, but looks fine anyway.

My future layout will be way too large to bring with me. I doubt I could fit a 10.5x7 layout (staging included) in a dorm room! Hopefully my parents won't get rid of it while I'm gone... I may build a small N scale (the thought of that is bad. hahah, jk Sawyer!!) shelf layout. But that's too far ahead to even think about.

My Model Railroad: Tri State Rail
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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 2:20 PM

Hey Ns3010(don't know your name, sorry)

Im still on my first layout and mine is sort of like yours but its held up by sawhorses. Smile,Wink, & Grin I use E-Z Track too and have one of those horrible woodland scenic grass mats down, I also have some poorly made trees and woodland scencis bushes and underbrush. I know what you mean, I want to build a new layout with staging yard and to have it portable so I can take it with me in 3 years when I go to college, Scary!

Taylor

P.S. You shoul see my lake its horrible, I just painted it on the grass mat after I scraped all the grass off. 

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Posted by ns3010 on Sunday, November 1, 2009 2:04 PM

I've had three, and soon to be four layouts. It started as the track from under the christmas tree (tacked on the back of what I believe was spare wall panelling...) which was then moved downstairs for me to use full time. I rebuilt that, but that didn't last very long.
About 2 years ago, I completely started over. However, this never even got past the track stage. It is simply a sheet of plywood, covered with 1" foam on top of an old table. The track is Bachmann E-Z Track, and there is a total lack of scenery (aka White Desert), except for two small areas of grass and the lake and surrounding area.

Once I get funding, I'll start on a real layout, which I can hopefully finish before I move out to college in less than 3 years. I'll get rid of everything I have now (except the one structure I own, rolling stock, and locos [I'll save the track for something else]) and start over (again) on a 10.5x7 layout. This time I'll have real benchwork, real track, and full scenery.

My website is here. However, I am moving back to Google Sites (that's what I used for the Watchinson Secondary site, then tried Webs when I changed to the Tri-State Railway), because I found Webs more difficult to use. I've started on the new site, but haven't mentioned it yet because I still have a lot to do before it is presentable...

My Model Railroad: Tri State Rail
My Photos on Flickr: Flickr
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My Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives

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Posted by modelbnsfer on Sunday, November 1, 2009 1:19 PM

Hey

It was really to anyone but I just used his post to reply to. And so Its really your 4th layout? I wish I could operate my layout but I desgined it when I first got into the hobby and had no idea what to do Smile,Wink, & Grinand how big is your layout? It must be somewhat big if 3 operators is the bare minimum.

Oh and I like your website, its really cool and realistic.

Taylor

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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 1, 2009 1:15 PM

modelbnsfer

Is your layout finished and do you operate yours with like car cards or a switch list and is this your first layout because your diorama pixs were really nice, better then some of the ones in mr.Smile,Wink, & Grin

 

It sounds like you are addressing Sawyer, but I guess I'll throw my My 2 cents in...

I operate my layout with a car card and waybill system, with a crew of three operators being the bare minimum that can run a full session. I want to hold sessions every month, and so far I've held two, then had a large break so I could install a fascia. Right now I'm waiting to schedule my next one until I fix the lift bridge to my staging yard - the track joints are messed up on the opening end. I use a sequence system to schedule trains.

This is my 3.9th layout. That 0.1 is one hill, the Mascoma Lake Grade, the backdrop, and the benchwork from my previous layout. Long story!

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