I'm back. Did ya miss me?

[SpaceMouse]

Back from Wisconsin and checking in.

As I said before I left, I my pipe dream was to build a craftsman silver mine and design a layout for my basement.

I didn't start the mine and spent the week fighting with 3rdPlanIt trying to get it do do what I could get XtraCAD to do with ease. I found a lot of work arounds, but so far, I'm disappointed with the lack of intuitiveness. Perhaps I'll change my mind.

As far as the layout goes, I ended up scrapping it, because although I got all the features I was looking to model of the California Western Railroad, when it got to the beach run where they dropped the lumber via cable off the bluffs to the waiting ships, I couldn't figure out how to turn the locomotive around. A turntable would have been out of place and a wye would have caused the elimination of the key features that made that segment of the line so interesting to model. Bummer.

On a positive note, I visited 4 of the 5 places you all recommended I go see. I went to the Hobby Shop in Madison, and it was the best I've been to so far--the first that not only knew what an NMRA gauge was, they actually had one. Still they had very little of interest to me. They did have two undecorated Dash 8s Atlas Masters with DCC for $55 each. If it would have been just about any other engine I would have bought both of them. But the B & P just doesn't run them. It's a good deal if any of you need that one. They have a website.

Next I went to the Camp 5 Logging Museum and rode a 2-6-2 Prairie. The logging museum itself was semi-interesting but not related to redwoods logging.

On the way back to the cottage from Camp 5, I caught sight of a steamer in the town of Rhinelander. It turned out to be a free logging museum that actually had more stuff than the one one I just went to. The steamer was a narrow gauge 2-8-0. IN the basement of the museum--a train station that was moved a couple miles to the park--was a layout of the town. They just converted to a Digitrax system and I had a good long conversation with them about their layout. They are converting all their turnout to DCC as well, so that they can run "routes" of 16 synchronized turnouts at the push of a button. This makes sense for them as they are more of a display layout than an operational layout. But they admitted they play with it when they are supposed to be working on it.

Lastly, on the way home I visited the Hobby Connection in Rothschild. Now that is b far the best hobby shop I've been to. They actually had several things on my shopping list including some Kaydee between the tracks uncouplers. I know most of you are thinking "so what?" but I could have spent a couple hours in this store. The rest of my family was bored to tears. The best part of the shop was the basement. They had a 3-rail with two controllers that kids could drive while their parents shop. They also had a layout that represented the Wisconsin Central in the 1990's from Steven's Point to Wasau. Right in the middle was a power plant that was right yup the street from the shop. It got coal from Wyoming so their was the upper level that was a coal line. It covered two rooms and a total of 1800 feet of track. The system was EASY DCC, but they were planning a switch to Digitrax. He said it was more supportable for his customers.

[Cox 47]

Yep missed you Glad your back Cox 47

[1shado1]

No trip to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay? Shame on you! : )

Jeff

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by 1shado1

No trip to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay? Shame on you! : )
Jeff

That was the one I missed. It was about 3 hours each way off course and nobody eles in the family wanted to loose a day at the lake. Next year.

[jacon12]

Welcome home!
I understand what you mean about the family being bored to tears. My wife will walk around a hobby shop with me but I know she'd rather be anywhere else.
Oh well, I've spent many an hour leaning on a dress rack in some department store waiting for her in my life.
Jarrell

[howmus]

SpaceMouse! Glad you had a good trip and finally found a "good" hobby shop. Good thing you're back, I was starting to suffer withdrawal symptoms from the lack of SpaceMouse posts to read. LOL [:D]

[oleirish]

Chip;
Welcome back,no we have someone to pick on besides Jarrell.

JIM

[Anonymous]

I can agree with you on the boredome issue. I am overjoyed when in a hobby shop, yet my parents keep looking at their watch. Sad. I think I was starting to suffer SpaceMouse withdrawal symptoms. I think the cure is 10-20 SpaceMouse Posts. Welcome back! [:)]

[ereimer]

welcome back !

how was the fishing ?

[railroadyoshi]

thats why i go to the hobby shop alone!!!![:D]
My dad always used to say: Are we ready?
Of course, thats after ive spent a hour gazing

I remeber going to the BIG E Convention in Springfield MA with some friends who had little to no experience with the hobby. By the time it was 4:00 or so they were dragging me out
Plus we were all getting really sick of the smell in the Strom Building[xx(]

[tstage]

Chipster,

Good to have you back! [:)] Since you weren't here, I had to get the Weekend Photo Fun started, albeit late.

Tom

[Train 284]

Glad to have you back! Sounds like you had a very good trip!

Matt

[TrainFreak409]

Hobby shops aren't just hobby shops, they are therapy clinics as well.[:D][:p][8D][;)]

WELCOME BACK SPACEMOUSE!

~[8]~ TrainFreak409 ~[8]~

[selector]

Yeah, we missed you, Mouse. But, we also knew you were having a good time and getting your batteries recharged. We would be the eventual beneficiaries. [:D]

My best LHS is a complete one with RC stuff and craft and knitting/sewing stuff for the ladies. If my wife is with me, I can squeeze a bit more time out of her because she can amuse herself elsewhere in the store.

Too bad about your experience with 3D. Those things can be so frustrating when they are counterintuitive. So, have you really scrapped the beast, or are you going to do a refit? I feel badly that you have not met with the success you need to get your , it seems increasingly unique, layout going.

[Anonymous]

Good to have you back!

Great that you were able to see the museum layout in Rhinelander and the Hobby Connection in Rothschild! These are two of my favorite train places. The Camp 5 Museum is a little lame, but that coal fired prarie is fun to ride behind!

I have to go to the one in Rhinelander again, since they have converted to DCC. It was still DC block control last time I was there.

Again, good to have you back. Your interesting topics and replies add a lot to this forum!

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ereimer

welcome back !

how was the fishing ?

Too short. I had a wedding to go to the first couple days and then the 4th was shot in terms of getting the boat in the water. I had two days fishing total ofut of the ten days vacation. It was earlier in the season then I usually go because of the wedding and it took most of the first day to figure out the bass were in the shallows. The second day got rained out in the evening. Of course the hot part of the day, I worked as guide to several kids going panfish fishing. I got three keepers in those two days.

But I go out on the lake in my boat. I get withdrawls when I don't.

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by selector

Too bad about your experience with 3D. Those things can be so frustrating when they are counterintuitive. So, have you really scrapped the beast, or are you going to do a refit? I feel badly that you have not met with the success you need to get your , it seems increasingly unique, layout going.

AS for 3rd Planit, I like the 3D aspect of it, but the track laying is quirky. Simple connections are rejected and I have to fudge things to make the program work. It drives me nuts when the track falls on the floor. I have no clue why it does it. I also have not figured out how to make an irregular shaped mesh for continuous mountains.

For ease of track laying XtraCAD has it beat hands down. But I'm sticking with it for the 3D aspects and the train running. Another big snafu was the fact that there is no simple way to set elevations. You can set an individual spot in XtraCAD and it will calculate grades back to your last specified elevation. I try that in 3rd Planit and it just change the single piece

Well I worked out a schematic that I like, but I have not gotten a track shape that fits it quite right. I'll probably post the layout problem in a day or two.
and the ones next to it. It seems you have to calculate the elevations and grades yourself and set each piece individually. I'm sure there has to be easier ways, but I ended up just laying out everything in two levels--the track default and the floor.

[West Coast S]

Welcome back, who are you again? I've been selected for a temp assignment with NCIS next month, about as much as change of scenery as i'm going to get this year. Glad to hear the trip went well, we've missed you.


Dave

[steveblackledge]

Hey Chip, welcome back buddy, 3rdplanit can be fun at times, i have not used it for months now and i have trouble with elevations

[steveblackledge]

Hey Chip, welcome back buddy, 3rdplanit can be fun at times, i have not used it for months now and i have trouble with elevations

[Jetrock]

About the Cal Western plan: How did the prototype turn their engine around? Or did they bother at all? There are worse things in the world than running an engine backwards for a while, after all.

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock

About the Cal Western plan: How did the prototype turn their engine around? Or did they bother at all? There are worse things in the world than running an engine backwards for a while, after all.

I don't have pictures of the track, but it seems to make sense. There was a 10 mile run from the mill/town to a bluff where they could load lumber via cable. I'm assuming that they would also take cargo off the ships. The real world is probably not as limited as my 27" shelf.