Teen Model Railroad Place February 2010

[ns3010]

Welcome back cdog! Have you given your layout anymore thought since last time you posted?

Welp, I'm off tomorrow! New layout, here I come!

[cdog565]

Well welcome Ryan i myself got into the hobby a couple months ago and if you go to a flea market or ebay you can easly find track and other supplies.

[ns3010]

John, did you see the Sliders on Frontrunner? They're the single level cars, placed directly behind the loco. They're ex-NJT, nee-E-L. The low level (sliders, like what you guys bought) were retired a few years ago, but the high level cars were only retired last March.
Oh, and, BTW, last time I checked, there's no J in SAWYER???

Ryan! Like Sawyer said, check out your LHS for track.

Well, my mom has off tomorrow, and she just about never does (she's a teacher), but I almost always do. So I'm positive I'm off as well.
And my dad PROMISED that we can work on the layout tomorrow (first, the TV has to be moved, so he needs to do the cable and schtuff).

[Packers#1]

 Ah, yeah. Here at the TAMR we've had some people shuffling around (our guy who was doing memberships etc. got a job w/ RJ Corman but we've finally figured out who's taking that up).

I'm just trying to save up my money now. no real reason except to save really. I do need to buy some plaster for the roads of North Branch soon though; that's one project that spending those $5 will let me get all that scenery done up to the next scratchbuild project.

[IVRW]

Packers#1

 Joe, Jamie, and John (three J's, haha) thanks! I've got to miss rugby tonight (my sister has a playoff game and I don't have a ride) so I'll be working on the layout some more. May end up running out of projects (probably not, haha) that I can complete on the yard side without buying anything new.>

Hey, what about you, your part of the three JS. :) Im with you there. I am trying my absolute best to work on the RR without buying anything. I haven't worked on it in days and Im starting to suffer from MRWS, (Model Railroad withdrawal syndrome) :). Tonight I hope to get dad down stairs to work with me, buy some stuff from Kalmbach by "renting" dad's credit card, and resubmit my form to the TAMR.

[Packers#1]

 Joe, Jamie, and John (three J's, haha) thanks! I've got to miss rugby tonight (my sister has a playoff game and I don't have a ride) so I'll be working on the layout some more. May end up running out of projects (probably not, haha) that I can complete on the yard side without buying anything new.

ryan, not usually. your LHS (local hobby shop) should have some. if they don't or you don't have a local hobby shop (Hobby Lobby probably won't have track), then try some online dealers. www.modeltrainstuff.com is the best. best prices and excellent service

[r.y.a.n]

a lot of track!!!

 

[r.y.a.n]

hey my name is ryan and i was wondering if you come across track a lot because im looking for some

[IVRW]

Joe, Jamie, and Sawyer, everything looks/sounds like its coming along nicely. I haven't done any work on the layout recently because of aforementioned bazillion papers. This weekend, I hope to resubmit my TAMR application, send off the money for the DPB, order some useful back issues, and of course work on the layout.

This night (Mon) my family and I went up to Salt Lake to see the Harlem Globe Trotters. I got a signed ball and everything. It was amazing. Oh, Im not talking about the Globe trotters, Im talking about the High Traffic UTA Commuter line outside the building. ;)

On a forum related side, has anyone seen/heard/read Tyler recently?

[ns3010]

John, maybe it's just me, but that fiddle track looks kinda small. You may wanna lengthen it a bit...

Very nice Sawyer!!

Well, they're predicting a lot of snow Tuesday evening into Wednesday, and even into Thursday morning. We'll likely have Wednesday off, possibly Thursday as well.

So I hope to begin on the next research paper (history), and layout construction.
I also have next Monday and Tuesday off, so it'd be nice to have the history paper done, the chem paper maybe started, and a good bit of the benchwork built. We'll see what happens and what causes my plans to fall apart THIS time... :-/

[RailfanS]

Nice work Sawyer,

I haven't got much done lately. Though I did paint the road system this past weekend, so look for pictures of that in the upcoming WFP. I do have some plans for the near furture though that I wanted to share. We up here in NY have next week off from school (mid-winter break or somthing like that) so I plan to work on the layout ALOT durring that time. I've already have the flex track I need for instaling the car/ loco shops in the back corner of the layout so that's the major project. It involves pulling up 2 tracks, realining them and rewiring them. Next I plan on continuing ballasting, especially on the tracks that surround the recently completed parking lt. I'll probably do some more scenery work too. Also I plan to complete my protable test track. This is a 3 foot section of track on a plywood scrap that I can take to shows and other places to do loco mataninence and cleaning. 

Well that's the agenda for next week, I'll keep you posted,

Jamie 

[Packers#1]

 Here's some cell-phone pics of the work tonight. A rather long-overdue work day if I might say. Sorry the pics are a bit blurry; kinda tired and took them in a hurry, but I'll post the best of the best.

 

 

 

[Packers#1]

 John, could be. this remind sme of a joke my uncle told me once:

"A graduate from Clemson university goes up north to Harvard (or west to stanford, lol) and is walking around. He wants to go to the library and not knowing where it is goes up to a fellow from Harvard and says 'umm, excuse me sir, I'm not from around here and was wondering if you could tell me where the library is at?' The Harvard gentleman gets all huffed and superior and says 'We here at Harvard do not end our sentences with a preposition' to whicht he Clemson boy replies ' Oh, I'm so sorry sir! What I emant to say was could you please tell me where the library is at (expletive)"

 Well, anyways, nice trackplan, looks like a great plan.

today my only homework is studying, so I should get some more work done on my layout today.

[IVRW]

I just go my trackplan drawn, so here you go: The top is St. John, the right is Stockton, and the left is Irvine. If you want more detail about everything, please ask. The dashed lines at the top is the proposed route to the fiddle yard. Here is the fiddle yard: This is based off of an Iain Rice idea.

[IVRW]

Packers#1

 

IVRW

Packers#1

John, the plan has been to make a removable roof all along so that if a car derails inside the structure I can easily get to it.

Sawyer, you are just at experienced as me if not more so. Everything I suggest is simply something you thought of a long time ago. Might I give you eternal congratulations for this advanced and adept habit of yours. May it serve you well in years to come...

ok. If I ticked you off I'm sorry man.

You didnt tick me off. I was more worried about ticking you off. I am simply pointing out a very good and desirable quality in Model Railroaders and I am congratulating you on having amassed enough information on the subject to have developed such a sense and ability that could and so far has served you well. This instance has happened before and I was making the quite logical conclusion that you are of the intellectual breed and considered all the options.

I think I know the problem here, let me translate: good job on the forethought, it is a good idea. Is that better? I think Stanford rubbed off on me just a wee bit too much, wouldnt you say so?

[Packers#1]

 

IVRW

Packers#1

John, the plan has been to make a removable roof all along so that if a car derails inside the structure I can easily get to it.

Sawyer, you are just at experienced as me if not more so. Everything I suggest is simply something you thought of a long time ago. Might I give you eternal congratulations for this advanced and adept habit of yours. May it serve you well in years to come...

ok. If I ticked you off I'm sorry man.

Well, work has begun. However, I think both ends of the roof will be fixed with the middle one maybe supported on struts running between them. The tracks are only in the middle; one end there's nothing and the other end can be reached through the middle. Decisions, decisions, we'll see what the final design ends up being. I also added some more trees to my scratchbuilt forest. I've dumbed them down a bit though; instead of adding branches and also putting the foliage on before installing them on the layout, I just solder the tip of a wire, strip all the insulation off, then plant on the layout and twist the wires, then plop some green moss from the dollar store onto it. Cheap, quick, and easy. and believable looking, I think.

[IVRW]

Packers#1

John, the plan has been to make a removable roof all along so that if a car derails inside the structure I can easily get to it.

Sawyer, you are just at experienced as me if not more so. Everything I suggest is simply something you thought of a long time ago. Might I give you eternal congratulations for this advanced and adept habit of yours. May it serve you well in years to come...

[Packers#1]

 Thanks guys. here's a link to all the trackplans that entered (mine is the last one):

 http://www.muskokacomputes.com/Files/Trackplan_Contest.pdf

John, the plan has been to make a removable roof all along so that if a car derails inside the structure I can easily get to it.

[IVRW]

Like Joe said, congrats. Can you show us the winning track plan or is it your current track layout on the layout? Also, for the roof to King Furniture, keep it removable. You might want to detail the interior someday.

[ns3010]

My ops sessions will be the same: Me running a billion trains (not at once; I'll be running the local, 101, which will need to clear before 703/704, the intermodals, and NJT trains come through, but everything except 101 leaves staging, passes through, and then just goes back to staging).

And congrats on the win!!!

[Packers#1]

 John, perhaps. really, it comes down to the time I do have to work on it I'm too tired too. All I can really do right now is build trees. I may force myself to add in some more weeds though. I also can hopefully build the roof to King Furniture soon.

Joe, I don't even run trains b/c as I've been saying I dnt have the shelves i want for my power pack. once those are built operating sessions should begin (ops sessions being myself just switching North Branch and the yard).

Speaking of the town of North Branch...

I will be redesigning the downtown business district. no track changes; however, I will be minimizing the amount of stores and adding in some houses. I have several different configurations I want to try before settling on one, so we'll see how it all turns out. 

I got semi-finalist in a trackplanning contest on another site and got $25 store credit to the shop holding the contest, so I'll soon have some detail parts for my layout (they don't have any freight cars, and all the vehicles and structure kits I would have ordered aren't in stock)

[ns3010]

Sawyer, I know that feeling way too well. Until I tore the layout down, it had been almost a year since I had done anything on it (except run trains).
In the summer, I don't have a layout down the shore (whoops, just made a major typing mistake, good thing I caught that! ). I'm considering a possible diorama this summer. If I build one every year, maybe I could make a mega-mismatched-era-modular-layout-thingy! But I have a few ideas...

John, take your time; I wasn't expecting it that soon!

Today, I'll rearrange the room and maybe cut some lumber before I go to my friends' party.

[IVRW]

Joe Im right now on vacation and I dont think I will be able to get you a track plan until I get home later today.

Sawyer I anticipated that same thing for me and I got myself back into the game by forcing myself to work on it when school started again in early Jan. Once I had good progress going again, the barrier was overcome. I suggest you try it.

[Packers#1]

 Well, my layout progress has gone nowhere since Christmas break, which I figured is what would happen. I think it'll pick back up towards spring break when rugby season is over and I have more time. So for now it's a static layout and also I can dream about other layouts (how I keep my current layout interesting. I may end up building a micro-layout in another theme entirely so both layouts will be fresh; when one gets old I swap to operating/working on the other). Operations on my layout would definitely be going now if my dad and I could find the time to build some shelves for my power pack, but we just can't seem to find the time. Oh well, around my house, projects typically get thought up and then sit around for a month or two before we get around to building whatever it is or fixing whatever it is.

[ns3010]

I'm planning for my layout to take up the absolutely most space possible, so there's no point in leaving room for expansion...

Alex, we shouldn't submit to your peer pressure, either!

John, sounds like a good plan, but I can't really tell without a track plan (hint, hint...)

[IVRW]

I just recently discovered that if I add one turnout, I can add an Iain Rice like cassette staging operation along a wall. Normally, trains would go like this: Leave Irvine Yard, switch at St. John, switch at Stockton, return to Irvine Yard and terminate. With the staging, I can do: Leave Irvine Yard, switch at St. John, switch at Stockton, pass through Irvine, pass through St. John, and then terminate in staging. An added bonus would be the fact that I can do the entire thing in reverse, which I cant do normally. Ill talk to Dad to see if I can at least install the turnout. and get the track going. Even if I dont do staging, I can easily add in a module for my club, and use it as terminating facilities at home and a module at the club. Either way, its a win win situation. What do you guys think?

[Anonymous]

I didn't leave room for expansion, but I expanded anyway...two cutoffs to bring the mainline perpendicular to the layout edge so I could build a lift bridge to a staging yard shelf.

[Railfan Alex]

I'm falling behind here...

I'm away for the next two weekends, so no layout work anytime soon.

And it isn't peer pressure if I'm telling you to pressure me!

[IVRW]

Okay, I have something that could very easily start a discussion. In nearly every MRR project layout, the writer always says something like "This little end sticking off right here is for future expansion." Well, those little niches are always included for such an instance in nearly every layout. So tell me this? Has anyone ever expanded off those little edges? Does anyone have plans for such an operation? Put plainly, can you find a likely instance where expansion will most definitely occur with such an expansion that will not harm normal operations?

[Packers#1]

 Joe, nice story right there!

My photobucket backdrop is a pic I rather like. I don't really care if people can distinguish my photos or not as of yet, as I don't add tags. All I use my photobucket for is a site to hold my pictures for posting them to the forums. I may someday get around to tagging them all (lord help me if I ever do though; last time I checked there were about 1900+ files I had uploaded)