reasearchhoundNo flying witches at Halloween or Santa in a sleigh at Christmas - or any other time.
I have a seasonal Santa, but he stands at a street corner like the Salvation Army Santas we have seen around towns for decades. No witches, flying or otherwise. I do have a mermaid and Dorothy, the Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow, plus Elvis outside the Heartbreak Hotel. Silly things like that are found in nooks and crannies for viewers to find.
And there's just a sign to the Gump Forest National Park on a road going out of town...
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
ATSFGuyThings you'll never see in my train collection (I'm in a modular club so there's no layout in my house).
There were some awfully specific items on your list.
Is it just Orange Schneider trailers, or are the silver, white, and gray variations of Schneider trailers allowed?
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Things you'll never see in my train collection (I'm in a modular club so there's no layout in my house).
Weathered Containers
Weathered Diesels
Walthers Goldline Bilevel/Trilevel Auto Carriers (They're so difficult to find and extremely pricey)
Orange Schnieder Trailers
BNSF Locomotives (Black/Yellow/Orange - Phase 3)
Cars with truck mounted couplers
Cars with horn hooks
Rapido Coaches
Broadway Limited California Zephyr Cars
Any Brass Coach Yard (TCY) or Challenger Imports Limited Passenger Sets
Any Brass Hallmark Steam Locomotives
Open Auto Carriers
Plastic Wheel Trucks
UP Gas turbines
Cheap Life-Like Stuff
Southgate 2 Ah, but being able to hand lay switches opens up possibilities. You can start a siding in a curve, making it much longer. What's this SDL-39 I'm suddenly seeing come up? Couldn't find it in a google search. Edited in: I found it. Nice!
Ah, but being able to hand lay switches opens up possibilities. You can start a siding in a curve, making it much longer.
What's this SDL-39 I'm suddenly seeing come up? Couldn't find it in a google search.
Edited in: I found it. Nice!
Again, from my earlier post, I have learned how to curve conventional commercial turnouts for a number of such applications. My curves are broad, 36" and above, and it is easy to cut the tie web and make large radius curved turnouts from #6 and #8 Atlas turnouts.
And even though I have experiance building trurnouts and had laying track, I prefer to do what I described above or actually using the points and frog of a commercial turnout to make a special turnout.
Sheldon
rrinker 3 feet of track that takes as long to lay as running 30 feet of flex track? So you probably won't be seeing any handlaid track on my layout. Unless someone brings one over and asks to run it - you will never see a Big Boy on my layout. --Randy
3 feet of track that takes as long to lay as running 30 feet of flex track? So you probably won't be seeing any handlaid track on my layout.
Unless someone brings one over and asks to run it - you will never see a Big Boy on my layout.
--Randy
Exactly my feeling. What do I gain by doing things the hard way when it is so much faster to use prefab track. I don't churn my own butter either. The store bought butter is good enough for me. I do make my own maple syrup because:A. I have lots of maple trees.
B. It's easy to do.
C. It tastes so good.
D. Store bought maple syrup is so expensive.
Getting back to track, flex track looks plenty good to me. I've started to weather my track but I don't think it adds that much. I really don't even notice the track when a train is running on it. I don't see much sense is spending lots of time on it.
As for the Big Boy, you probably won't see one on my current layout but my old layout was a freelanced UP layout. My roster included a Big Boy, two Challengers, and two Northerns, all with the Rivarossi pizza cutter flanges. Just won't run well on code 83 which is what my current layout has. I'm thinking of selling all those old Rivarossi steamers. I hate to get rid of them but they aren't doing me much good on the shelf. I see on ebay they are still selling for between $100 and $150. I'll have to clean them up a bit and the roof of one of my Challengers has as chip out of it that needs repair but last I checked on a code 100 test track, they still ran well.
I tried handlaying, with Fast Tracks. It's just not for me - but at least I tried. People sometimes say I'm a picky eater, too - but there are few things I don't like that I haven't at least tried first.
Actually, the FIRST turnout I made came out fine. Ugly, but it was reliable - no amount of tryuing to force a truck to skew would cause it to pick the point or derail. Operational about as good as it gets. So I figured I was all set to spend a little time and save a lot of money by handlaying my turnouts. But after that initial success, I couldn't get a good frog no matter what. No idea how the first one worked so well. Eventually I gave up and went back to commercial turnouts. I've sonsidered handlaying a smalls ection of regualr track, just so I can say I did it - I have the materials. But other than the satisfaction, what would I gain? 3 feet of track that takes as long to lay as running 30 feet of flex track? So you probably won't be seeing any handlaid track on my layout.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
John-NYBW Southgate 2 Ah, but being able to hand lay switches opens up possibilities. You can start a siding in a curve, making it much longer. As for starting a siding in a curve, I'm doing that right now using curved turnouts from Peco. I just laid one end of the siding and am building toward the other end of the siding which will also use a curved turnout. So much easier than custom building a turnout. I had to shorten the siding a bit because there will be a grade beyond the siding and I wanted to keep it at a max of 2%. The siding will still be long enough to hold any train that will run on this branch.
Southgate 2 Ah, but being able to hand lay switches opens up possibilities. You can start a siding in a curve, making it much longer.
As for starting a siding in a curve, I'm doing that right now using curved turnouts from Peco. I just laid one end of the siding and am building toward the other end of the siding which will also use a curved turnout. So much easier than custom building a turnout. I had to shorten the siding a bit because there will be a grade beyond the siding and I wanted to keep it at a max of 2%. The siding will still be long enough to hold any train that will run on this branch.
Southgate does have a point, but for learning and building good turnouts is a hobby within a hobby so like you, I try to make commercial turnouts work.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I've never found the need for a custom turnout. My track plans are drawn on graph paper and are just a starting point. Once I start laying track, I have to make slight adjustments anyway. I'd rather just tweak the plan than try to build a turnout to fit the plan.
riogrande5761Yes, with kids, all bets are off! I never thought I'd put a MILW loco on my layout but the ST SDL39's are so cool, I am going to have to invoke rule #1
Kind of similar, I saw this brass RSD-12, and even though it is too new for 1954, it was so cool (like the SDL-39), that I had to invoke rule 1 and buy it.
John-NYBW One thing you will absolutely never, ever see on my layout is handlaid track. I've never had an urge to even give it a try. Pre-fab track works just fine, thank you.
One thing you will absolutely never, ever see on my layout is handlaid track. I've never had an urge to even give it a try. Pre-fab track works just fine, thank you.
I learned to hand lay track and scratch build turnouts at a young age. My first layout, built for me by my father when I was 10, had TruScale milled wooden roadbed track, some of which was their "kit" version, and I learned how to spike rail on that, making some changes tothe layout at age 12-13.
By age 15-16 I was member of the Severna Park Model Railroad Club, and the masters there taught me how to scratch build turnouts.
The second layout I was then building at home was all hand layed track and turnouts.
But not any more. These days I reserve my track building skills for special turnouts and crossings only.
And even at that, I have developed methods to curve regular manufactured turnouts, and to use the points and frogs of manufactured turnouts to make custom turnouts when needed.
Water Level Route I've learned to never say never. The minute you do, your 11 year old buys you something for christmas that does not fit at all with the layout, but looking at their beaming with pride, happiness, and love face, on the layout it goes.
I've learned to never say never. The minute you do, your 11 year old buys you something for christmas that does not fit at all with the layout, but looking at their beaming with pride, happiness, and love face, on the layout it goes.
Yes, with kids, all bets are off! I never thought I'd put a MILW loco on my layout but the ST SDL39's are so cool, I am going to have to invoke rule #1
Mike
No rolling stock with any form of graffitti.
(Chalk marks from railroad car inspectors like the famous Herbie under a Palm tree do not constitute graffitti).
chutton01 We started to get black (sable) squirrels around NY about 3+ decades ago. They sporadically wander around my backyard, not sure if they are more troublesome than the usual grey squirrels we have around here.
We started to get black (sable) squirrels around NY about 3+ decades ago. They sporadically wander around my backyard, not sure if they are more troublesome than the usual grey squirrels we have around here.
They're just a subtype of Sciurus carolinensis that is selected heat retention or urban camo. Same species as your typical gray squirrel.
Wow, there are some fussy folks on here!
Just kidding. That's the great thing about model railroading, its your world to do with as you please. You alone are the great and powerful maker.
My original plan was to be more fussy and stick with one era. But there are just too many locomotives that I like to limit to one era. Scenery and rolling stock sticks to roughly what was around when I was a kid. But when it comes to locomotives, I run what I want. One day the local freight may be pulled by a Mikado, the next day it could be an GP40.
So I guess the one thing you won't see on my railroad is era specific motive power. Oh, and hot wheels cars, no hot wheels cars.
There will be no ....
1. Social distancing
2. Masks
3. Empty or vacant stores
4. Sushi bars
5. Green bottled beer
6. Cold coffee
7. Chocolate or candy ( I am diabetic)
Rich
doctorwayne rrinker What's wrong with squirrels?... As far as I'm concerned, they're rats with bushy tails. Wayne
rrinker What's wrong with squirrels?...
As far as I'm concerned, they're rats with bushy tails.
Wayne
DITTO! Always digging holes in the yard to bury nuts (they cant use shelves like us?) which in summertime turns into nice homes for yellow jackets. They make good moving targets though.
Same for birds - just rats with wings. Good moving target too.
So no, no modelling these. They dont belong in the real world even!
PMR
rrinkerWhat's wrong with squirrels?...
rrinkerSince the title of this thread is "things you will never see on my ho layout" the answer is simple: O scale trains. --Randy
I actually can't say this. I don't currently have an HO layout, but do have a 4x8 Lionel layout with three loops of track. I decided to remove one loop to put an HO loop just to run a few trains as I work on them!
What's wrong with squirrels? Aroudn here, they help me paint!
That was taken with my phone, no zoom. This little guy came right up to me while I was sitting outside painting couplers.
THat was at my old place. The ones here don't help with models, but they do tease the dogs mercilessly. They know the dogs can't get up the trees, so whent he dogs chase them, they only go part way up the tree and then turn around and laugh in squirrel at them.
We started to get black (sable) squirrels around NY about 3+ decades ago. They sporadically wander around my backyard, not sure if they are more troublesome than the usual grey squirrels we have around here. I recall years ago my Dad & I planted corn in our back garden - the corn grew very well, the ears looked great...squirrels thought so too, and they got there ahead of us. That will NOT be modeled on any module I build...
mbinsewi NorthBrit Gray squirrels are not allowed at all. Red squirrels only. Red squirrels are THE most destructive. They don't survive on my property. Mike.
NorthBrit Gray squirrels are not allowed at all. Red squirrels only.
Red squirrels are THE most destructive. They don't survive on my property.
Mike.
The American Red Squirrel is definitely different to the UK Red.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
NorthBritGray squirrels are not allowed at all. Red squirrels only.
My You Tube
Gray squirrels are not allowed at all. Red squirrels only.
cats think well of me No plastic steam engines. Plastic diesels are fine. Alvie
No plastic steam engines. Plastic diesels are fine.
Alvie
As about 95% of UK steam locomotive models are made of a form of plastic I think a UK style layout is a no-no then.
cats think well of meNo plastic steam engines. Plastic diesels are fine.
I have to ask about this one.
Over 90% of my steam locomotives are brass, but I love my Bachmann 2-8-8-4 and I am seriously thinking about one of those Rapido 4-6-0 models that I still have time to pre-order.