Mike,
I used to control my old Marklin layout with an Uhlenbrook DAISY control, the poor man´s alternative to the Intellibox.
Just two pics of that layout remain in my files:
Are your switches also equipped with a decoder?
I have not yet heard of a club in the US using the Marklin 3-rail AC. Here in Germany quite a few do, including the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg.
However, there is a Marklin Users Community with a specific forum, which could be of interest and also of help - take a look here:
marklin-users.net
Allow me a few days to draft up a track plan similar to the one shown for your 4 by 7 ft table. I think it´ll work out, but it does take a little while to put it on virtual paper!
I am with you on losing my patience and sometimes even my temper when things don´t work out the way I want it. My Swiss layout is my third attempt at a layout within the last two years and while it is quite OK, it´s not exactly what I had in mind. The key reason being the poor quality of that rather expensive Bemo stuff - it´s all show, but no stay! My Z scale layout is a different story - everything works out the way I have planned it - so far! It is intended to be the last layout I build, but that may change when I find the space to build my dream Marklin-Nostalgia layout - the one in the picture!
No clubs that I know of that run Marklin 3 rail, I do try to run my outdoor G scale when I can this time of year. Its nice as mother nature does the scenery for me, I just have to trim and prune from time to time. I will see what Ulrich comes up with for a track plan. Also, I am not using the moble station the set came with Ulrich, I use an Unlenbrock Intellibox 2 and the seperate IB switch control box to handle digital duties. I plan to reinstall it on the layout now that I have clearned the table off bare and can start fresh. Mike
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
Mike, welcome to the club of impatient people... I get that feeling all the time. Here is how I manage it:
- if you can, work on many projects at a time. That way you can turn to something else for a few days. Do some scenary, build a kit, paint something, make trees, etc.
- for the same reason, i have other hobbies as well. I do some reading, gardening, etc.
- is there a club in your area? That's a quick way to run your trains before you get your layout going.
Most important of all, learn to manage your expectations. Do it for fun and try to relax. Good luck!
Simon, from Canada.
Ulrich, that is one kool looking M track layout. I know the 2 rail cannot hook to M's track. I was using it to try and find the radius needed for this old, probably Noch, preformed layout. That didnt work so put the preformed thing in my storage shed. I used to have a whole box of M track, but let it go and regret it now. Maybe I can do a layout similar to that factory layout, but using the newer C track. One of my major problems is that I am very very easily frustrated. So I have to take baby steps when I do not want to do that. Ulrich, my table is 4 foot by 7 foot in size. My starter set is the first one to have the new class 24 with a branch line train and the mobile station 2. Mike
Having been just recentlly diagnosed with it myself after 40 some years, now they call it high functioning autism. I can be a pain in life. The other day i freeked out as i could can find a can of grey paint, Tonight at work i made a idiot of myself as i was not listining right to what some somebody was telling me. My seven year daughter is real bad on the autism scale, she is non verbal, she has to go to a special school half a state away from us. Will see her this weekend.
Modeling on the cheap
I am not sure what your problem is, but let me attempt to lend you a virtual helping hand.
If I am right, I think you are running Marklin HO scale 3-rail AC trains on C-Gleis track, that´s the track with the dark grey roadbed molded on. Forget any old 2-rail track you may have, it just won´t connect or do any good. You have to stay with that Marklin track.
Marklin track has much tighter radius curves, the sharpest being 360mm, that´s just a little over 14". Aside from looking a little strange, it´s not an issue, as all Marklin locos and cars will negotiate these curves without a problem - no derailing or uncoupling.
If you have a problem with developing a track plan, just tell me how much room you have for your layout and what you would like to see on it. I will try to develop a track plan for you.
As for you having a dislike for making scenery, but wanting something to resemble Germany - well, I live in Germany, up north, where the countryside is pretty flat. The flat part of Germany is about a third of the country, the balance being hills and mountains.
In my childhood days many moons ago, Marklin´s show layouts were built flat on a table top, with just a hint of scenery. Those layouts were a young boy´s dream. I could spent hours looking at the one displayed in our local toy store with my nose touching the window ...
These layouts were pure fun and the still are. One of these days I am going to build a layout just like them, for reason´s of nostalgia! And, IMHO, they look much better than those awfully expensive Noch plastic scenery bases!
Remember that all these fancy scenic material you can buy nowadays were not around in those days. Marklin used oil paints and sawdust instead.
OK, this layout does not look like many of the fantastic layouts you see here or in the MR mag, but what the heck! I have learned it is much better to stay within the means and limitations life imposes on one and be happy with it than reach for the stars, knowing you´ll never get there.
Hi, Mike
Of course it's impossible for me anyone else to view the world through someone else's eyes but I have read nearly all of John Elder Robison's books after first reading some of Augusten Burrough's, then figuring out they were brothers. This gave me some insight and understanding about AS and related conditions.
What fascinating lives they have! I feel that we all have varying degrees of idiosynchrasies and we learn to adapt to our behavior rather than try to modify it.
How often do I fume about the mess I've created, yet I forge ahead and begin new projects that only add to the mess without looking back and cleaning up after the earlier mess.
Human nature? Perhaps to some degree...
I hope model railroading can help you find balance and rewarding time for yourself.
Good Luck, Ed
Hi Mike:
I'm not very familiar with Asperger's, but I hope you can hang in there. Its too bad that you don't have somebody in your area who could help with your layout.
Wishing you all the best!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
As most here have noticed, I make no secret that I am on the autism spectrum. Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome a couple years ago, but I have dealt with the difficulties of having this disorder since I was a child. While trains are my "go to" calming tool, they also can be a source of frustration. This really comes to the surface in trying to build a layout. It is so overwhelming and complex that I just keep getting false starts. I get one track plan somewhat done, then get frustrated trying to find odd pieces of needed track or my complete dislike doing scenery. I picked up that oddball preformed layout thinking it would be the ticket around the whole major scenery issue, just revamp it with some fresh grass and paint. But I cannot find who made it nor can I figure out what track radius to use. I tried some 18 and 22 inch radius track I had from my 2 rail days, nope. The track from my stater set is to tight of a radius and I have no local source of C track to experiment with to see what fits. To my autistic mind, the track needs to follow the road bed that is molded and not deviate from it much. So now I cant run trains as the molded thing is sitting on my 4x7 foot table and the track is in a pile at one end. Making track plans is just as frustrating. I may have to sell off some stuff so I can afford one of the newer Noch layouts that will fit on my table. I am kind of a lone wolf where I live, with nobody else to assist with scenery or helping make a layout from a flat table top, look less flat and more like Germany. So for now I am so overwhelmed and frustrated that nothing is going to happen for a bit, despite my desire to run some trains, and that is even more frustrating. Mike