I do ho scale.

lets see your layouts or even your layout plans if ya havent got your layout up yet.

Im in the middle of trying to get my track plan figured out.


mike.

If any of you get the DIY network, Workin' On the Railroad is a nice half hour show devoted to the train hobby. They are currently in the stages of building a layout from a kit.

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_dwrr/0,2499,DIY_23302,00.html
Click on the links to see the progress so far.

Here is what I am going to use. I had a train set when I was younger with a big layout. I dug my cars and old stuff from my parents basement the other day, most of the track and cars had seen their age. I went to Fleet Farm and they had a lifelike set for $38 so I decided to give it a try. The oval was fun for about 5 min then I decided a needed more track. I did not want to get carried away. I bought a few peices and came up with layout. About $80 so fare.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3323/3212388987_e139a085fa.jpg

I have a few r/cs but started a new job and the hours are not the best , well the weekend end up being the only time I am at home, track is the last place my family wanted me to be. So I decided to give railroading a try, my 2 year old loves to watch the trains go round and round, and my wife likes to do art, so she is going to build buildings and make landscaping with out spending a lot. This is more family friendly vs r/c right now.

I like to look at sectional track like an Erector set. Make a cool layout, have fun with it, then tear it apart and build something different. Of course, you need a certain amount of track to have that freedom.

The MOST IMPORTANT THING to do if you plan do do ANY model Railroading. get a copy of John Armstrong's book, "Track Planning for realistic Operation" Read Chapter 6 a HUNDRED TIMES before laying ANY track.

My N&W layout. Modeling the 1930's.

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/thumbs/ph9.jpg (http://photos.hobbytalk.com/showphoto.php/photo/27827)

Is that one of your Y3a engines?

Yepperoo! And a Brass Caboose too. Walthers Interlocking tower and some Jordan vehicle kits.

Model Railroading is also about the DETAILS. It's a 1/87th scale(or whatever) working diorama. man made items mixed in with nature. The textures and reflectivity of everything has to be considered. I model the 1930's in south-western Virginia along the Norfolk & Western RY. Mountains covered with trees and dotted with teeny coal towns and coal tipples. roads changeing from dirt to gravel, and towns paving, but still some cobblestone! Here is a new Vehicle I just built. It's a Jordan Models kit of the Erie B-2 Steam Shovel. Mighty Mulligan was supposedly a B-2. Erie built them between 1915 and 1925. I found some youtube clips of some restored ones being operated. Very cool machine. Jordan also makes a Crane version.

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/571/thumbs/IMG_1695.jpg (http://photos.hobbytalk.com/showphoto.php/photo/32510)

I have a shelf layout that is 22 inches wide and the main layout is 15 feet long, a couple of months after I started the project I added a staging area and some car storage racks bringing it up to a total of 25 feet long, see photo.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2492/farmjct2qh8.jpg

The rest of the photos show the setup in its current state, there are several structures in place around the layout ranging from completed to the early stages of construction. Some things I have built from scratch most are kits built straight out of the box and others are being heavly modified to fit my needs.
The layout is called Farmersville Junction it is a short line setup with an interchange track linking it with the Illinois Central Railrod, the layout has a small main street area, and numerious industrial sidings allowing for lots of switching action, when I started I was using a standard DC throttle but have just last Christmas converted to DCC that was the familys gift to the guy that has everything. hope you enjoy.
West end Lumber Supply Warehouse, Trucking Co. and Box Company and Cement MFG.
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/245/layout45.jpg

Route 55 overpass, small Fuel Supply Co.
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5384/layout46.jpg

In the backround Glass MFG. Co. and siding for Team Track.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/1696/layout47c.jpg

Downtown area, Plastic MFG siding in backround, and Grain Elevator.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/4386/layout48n.jpg

Last staging area and car storage rack. Maybe this will be the year I finish it....
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3930/layout49j.jpg

This is my layout it's small but I will expand it some day:thumbsup:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/fallonguy/DSC01964.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/fallonguy/DSC01965.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/fallonguy/DSC01966.jpg

Ahhh Yes... the Walthers Mine kit. I've built too many of those. I just carved one down to two tracks instead of 3.

OK so here's a Youtube of my BLI 2-8-8-2's and an "A" class pulling up a 2.5 percent grade.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iScOZrQ5yU

Nice Video.... was the black & white to add to the nostalgia?

Yep. And to hide the floral foam color!

Here's a shot of our Christmas tree platform. There are 4 switches, 3 isolated tracks for parking locomotives and an activation track for my rocket launcher. It also includes 4 outlets for the tree lights, and they are connected to a switch at the front so Mom doesn't have to unplug the lights at night.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/scrambler81/100_0786.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/scrambler81/100_0785.jpg
The basement set up. I just toss this together, and change things around when I get the urge. I haven't come up with a definite plan yet, so I'm just playing around until I do. Currently I have Lionel and HO on the same platform because my older boy doesn't want me to box up the HO.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/scrambler81/000_0039.jpg

Is this your home layout Y3a?

Yep.. I took my loft, which is 17 by 26 feet and built this N&W in the 1930's layout. Still no permanent scenery, and haven't installed the slo-mo switch machines yet. DCC is in, and I'm installing decoders in the many steam engines I have. I designed the track plan as a 2 track mainline and a twice around. and tried to capture the look and practices of the N&W of about 1934-1936. The Y6b's and A's were much later, but they were the engines in the sound clip I used to make the video.

Here's a shot of our Christmas tree platform...

My favorite is the Statue of Liberty. :)

I like that 1969 Trans Am. :thumbsup:

George :cool:

I hang around on the slot car boards, but I do trains also. Sorry Y3a, I understand your love for scale realism, and mixing HO slots and trains does have it's complications, but I have too much fun running them together that it's hard to keep them separate. When I was growing up, I had a ton of die cast cars, and with my first HO scale train set, the die cast became a normal size for me with HO trains. When you take a hot wheels or matchbox and put it up against a plastic Bachmann HO car, the size may be way off, the the detail was so much better. To me HO scale vehicles are too small. When a box of old Aurora lock and joiner track got dumped on me, I was hooked. Memories of a school mate of mine having a slotcar/RR Xing on his table flooded in, and I had to do it. One thing lead to another, and I'm where I am now...

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/14b0370b.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/74aa43e0.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/ec0e8592.jpg
Not happy with just a 2 lane single RR Xing, I decided to mkae a 4 lane @ RR Xing. A lot of work to get it just right!!

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/941b9510.jpg
Since I was already taking liberties in the scale department I decided I may as well go crazy with my "people" in town also.. Everyone here in town are heroclix, horrorclix, and other assorted gaming characters. I have zombies wandering around town too. LOL

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/a282a838.jpg
My favorite time to run is at night, so my slot cars need head and tail lights... or the local cops will write tickets.

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/716d26ca.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/ee36255d.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/100_2672.jpg
Who doesn't like a cruise night???

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/100_2665.jpg
Business isn't booming in "Stump City".. Hasn't been for years!!

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/transit%20bus/100_2576.jpg
But at least the public transportation is still running!!

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/100_2688.jpg
And we do snag a few tourist dollars from time to time!!

In order for everything to work and be 10 year old proof, I had to keep things simple. The trains run two simple twisted loops. I wanted real operations, but there simply no room for it. I was lucky the wife gave up the dining room for the table, and I had to accommodate the kids in the set up. Sadly, next month it will all be torn down and boxed, with the hope of us moving out of state. The next table (provided we do actually move and find a house with a decent play area) will be twice as ambitious and twice as crazy. Keep in mind, we rent, so I have to be fairly insane to do anything even semi permanent!! I understand your viewpoint on scale operation, but honestly, I never had a set up like that and would be very confused as how to run it. If I could afford something like the Faller road system, I would be heading in that direction as far as vehicular traffic. I haven't matched the right six numbers yet, so this is all I can swing.

By the way, the RR Xing is automated. The cars stop for the train by themselves when the gates go down, and move again when they go up. I am still tinkering with the set up in an effort to perfect it. I have some ideas for the next table that will make things a bit smoother, I just haven't tried it yet. My video of the crossing is on youtube here... http://www.youtube.com/user/slotcarman12078#p/u/6/7fxhAvQXVNg Sorry I never got a better video done. I need to fix one of the lane's reed switches and get it reshot before mid December..

That's just fantastic! It looks like a ton of work, and fun. :thumbsup:

Ya know.. so what if the scales are a little off. You've got the best of both worlds there... and Zombies too !!

Firstly, I love your display! I do want to pitch American Flyer S gauge trains as the perfect match for 1:64 cars like Hot Wheels & Matchbox.

Absolutely the American Flyer S guage trains were awesome, but it's been 36 years since my first train set, and I'm immune to the scale difference now. There is a huge price difference between S and HO, and my unemployed wallet says go cheap! :lol: I also don't know if I could manage to make the RR Xings with American Flyer track...