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[nssr9169]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tmcc man

I have just had an idea. Since I am not really big in HO, but still want to have a small layout, do you think a small switching layout would work for me. I was thinking about 1ft wide by 4ft long. If possible, I was going to add DCC to it. Any thoughts? Noah, what are the dimensions of your module. That might be a good size for me too. I plan to mount it on the wall using 2x4's.

A mi me encanta digitrax zepher por dcc! Mi classe de espanol es muy dificil! No me gustan tijera.......[xx(][:(!]

whent rail fanning on sat. saw 2 cn trains 1 bnsf powder river baisen, tons of motive power and gerat shunting actoion with non remote units. Since I use 25mm film, because..... I couldent afford the digitial slr...... will poast pics as soon as i get them!!!

[Noah Hofrichter]

Colin, A small switching layout sounds like a great idea for you, since you just want something small. My module is 30 inches wide by 4 feet long, probably a little small for any normal switching layout in HO. If I were you, I would go with something that is about 2 foot 2 1/2 foot wide, and then maybe make it 6 or 8 foot long if you can. That way you can have a nice long mainline running on the front of the layout, and have a good switching district directly behind it. I really had to work to cram what I did into 4 feet, really it should probably fit in a 6 foot space instead. Just think about the main things you want and how they will fit. If you only want a few tracks, 4 foot could suit you just fine though.

If you want a good track planning software for something that will be smaller than 4x8, try Xtrk Cad:

http://www.sillub.com/

It's a free download, and it's a pretty good software. It does have a slight learning curve, but I mastered it fairly quickly. It's a pretty software, although it doesn't tend to lay places where you could put flextrack very well. Then you just have to know where these areas are when you actually build the trackwork.

Noah

[tmcc man]

Thanks Noah. I already decided on track, Atlas switches, curves and straights.

[tmcc man]

Just finished the plans. It is about 7 ft long, and 2 1/2 wide, maybe even 3ft wide. 8 switches, and 4 industries to be served. The cement plant, the paper mill, the wood supply store, and the garden store. Lots of boxcars and hoppers, both covered and open. Open for the cement mix, and covered for the final product.

[Anonymous]

Colin- tha sounds sweet. My advice- do not mount it simplely to the wall...be sure to have a sturdy set of legs on it too. Thei industries sound great....but now the question- what railroad???[:D] If you need help with brands of stuff just let me know, I can help you with that. Ill tell you what engines and cars are good and what arent if you like.

[Anonymous]

Oh Man!
Matt, your forum and the Western Rail forum are down, again!

[trainboyH16-44]

Dammit phpbb!!! Aargh! If it isn't back up in a day, imma slay them! And Richard, you disabled your forum? Is that because the only members were you, me and Chris?
Noah, that module is looking pretty good, keep up the good work, eh?
No trains to report until I get my film back, when I will make part of a trip report..but I can say that I'm back to school tomorrow, and I have no idea what my schedule looks like, I don't have a copy..all I know is that I have chem, math pure (The good one), social 23 (for druggies and idiots) CALM (A stupid Alberta course which supposedly prepares you for life (HAH!!!)) and a total lack of a timetable!

[Anonymous]

Hey Gents,

The weather in Pittsburgh has been pretty bad lately, except the days that I couldn't get out to take some shots. It got so bad that i skipped my lat class on Friday and headed out to the old B&O, only to have it get cloudy the second i got there. At least I got this one shot of a X train weaving around Braddock. I was in such a hurry I forgot my scanner so sorry i can't produce the train number

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=132312

I would have been nice if it was cloudy, but what are you gonna due?

[tmcc man]

Errrr, school. Gotta get some breakfast, then leaving.

Chris, that sounds good. If possible, I plan to have Bachmann's starter DCC set, as well as regular DC. I have heard a lot of P2K, are they really any good. Thanks.

[alstom]

Matthew- Yes, I didn't have enough members and it didn't look like I was going to get any soon either. And with all the recent "shut-downs", mine probably can't be brought back either. Forget phpbb! And man is Eric going to be mad.

Well, my first time posting at school. A little free time at lunch and I was able to go to the resources room and get on the internet.

It is a possibility I can do this all of the days at this time. Interesting!

........

[tmcc man]

I have a question, regarding DCC locos. I get the Walters paper catalog, and they happen to be selling the Bachmann DCC equipped GP30's, for $36. 1) Are they worth it? and 2) Is it a good price? I have settled on Bachmann's DCC starter set, but still want opinions about them. They have a lot of my favorite roads, The Reading, The PRR, The NKP, and some others.

[tmcc man]

Chris, I plan to have 3 or 4 locos, PRR, Chessie, Reading, and NKP. If I get lucky, I will buy 2 of the Reading, maybe 2 PRR if not the Reading. I also have the Benchwork planned out. Depending on the length, the 2x4's will be screwed into the studs, and I will have a few more under the actual board for more support. Also, I forgot to say in that post yesterday that I had the legs planned as well.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tmcc man

Chris, I plan to have 3 or 4 locos, PRR, Chessie, Reading, and NKP. If I get lucky, I will buy 2 of the Reading, maybe 2 PRR if not the Reading. I also have the Benchwork planned out. Depending on the length, the 2x4's will be screwed into the studs, and I will have a few more under the actual board for more support. Also, I forgot to say in that post yesterday that I had the legs planned as well.

If I remember correctly, those railroads didn't operate at the same time and had no service point common among all of them. Are you trying to stay with the prototype or just doing your thing?

[tmcc man]

jdirelan
Allentown was a common place for them to meet, except the NKP. They were all in operation at the same period of time. The small layout I plan to model will have a mix of roads, and it was not that uncommon to see a little "foreign" power on the head ends of some trains. So you could say prototypical is what the layout is leaning to.

[Noah Hofrichter]

Colin, P2K units are pretty good for the money (Which can be pricey) and from what I understand Bachmann isn't bad as long as it's a Spectrum(Not the regular line, but a Spectrum)

Chris is right, make sure you have some actual legs as well. You'll need a good amount of support under the layout.

Another thing to consider when you get to building the layout it hiegth. You should decide whether you want a eye level railroad or a railroad that's maybe at Chest or waist level. I prefer stuff that's in between, about chest heigth, as that way you can see it from both angles with ease. But, your layout should be up to you.

Let either me or Chris know if you have any more questions. Both of us are fairly accomplished modelers, or at least we've worked around other accomplished modelers, so we should be able to answer your questions for you.

Noah