I've never really posted here before, but I've been learning about the Frisco online for the last 15 years. I remember in the late '90s and early 2000s there was a a email list for the Frisco. For the last eight years I've been a member here, but only lurked periodically. It's great to start participating! I've long been interested in modeling the Frisco, but that interest has waxed and waned over the years, mostly as education and starting a family have consumed most of my time. I started a small HO switching layout during college, but tight finances ended it after the trackwork was completed. I started an N scale layout based on the Lead Line while working on a doctorate. This time the finances were there and I was able to accumulate a small roster of Frisco diesels and cars, but time for layout building was rare. When we moved, the layout wound up in the attic. Five years later, I'm starting back at it. This time I'm building small, very small. A simple N scale Inglenook on a shelf. I view it as an opportunity to build my skills and enjoy a little operation. It also might demonstrate to household management that additional real estate would be put to good use! I grew up in Rolla, but it was all Cascade Green by the time I can remember. Looking back, I wish I had spent more time in the UMR library making use of all their archives on the Frisco! Now I live in Texas, near where the Cotton Belt originated, but far from most things Frisco. David Erickson
Welcome Dave! Glad to have you in the group. Several of our group members either are from the Rolla area, or spent time in Rolla at MSM/UMR/MoS&T. Though I grew up in St Louis and was a fan of most all the StL roads, Rolla is where I became infatuated with the SLSF. Ken MSM, 1964
Welcome, Dave - good to have you. The old e-mail list was precisely how I became involved with this fine group. I stumbled across the very first Frisco web presence where I met some of the names I'd read of in all the old FMIG newsletters that Tim Cannon had loaned me. And, welcome back to the realm of model railroading; I think you'll find plenty of Frisco inspiration around these parts.
I can see that there are a number of MSM/UMR/MST alums participating here. My family has deep roots there. My grandfather started teaching Chemistry at MSM in 1964 and retired more than 30 years later. A few might have not-so-fond memories of 7 a.m. freshman chemistry with him. Both of my parents graduated from UMR in the late '70s and then my sister in the early 2000s. For nearly 30 years my Dad has taught Electrical Engineering at now Missouri S&T. I joke that I'm the black sheep of the family, I'm the only one who didn't graduate from UMR and isn't an engineer. I headed off to a liberal arts college and went into history instead. David Erickson
Hi Dave, I spent my first 12 years in Rolla and still have many family members in Rolla and Salem. I've had quite a few stops, goes, moves and delays and just started s small HO layout in our walk-in attic with my grandsons (ages 5 & 8). I've never had a place I could keep things set-up before. I always seem to try to do too much in a small layout and due to my job, I also became a trolley fan so I have a streetcar running too. I'm working on "embedding" my rails which is not advancing too quickly. Welcome and wish you the best. Randy Hume Fayetteville, NC
Randy, you may want to look into a product called Sintra for making streets with track embedded. Local modeler and editor (NMRA mag and RMC) Stephen Priest has a street-running track on his new layout and 1/8" Sintra was real easy to cut to the right width to fit between the rails with close clearance and has the added benefit of looking like pavement when painted. Sintra also can be blemished with a tool to take on the look of cracks or potholes.
Keith, Thank you. I had the guts to try this weekend. My whole layout is tight and so the streetcar layout has very low radii, so many of the pre-packaged in-street items wouldn't fit. I may have wished I had looked into the Sintra method. I actually ended up using Woodland-Scenics Smooth-it between the rails. I had hoped to be able to lay something next to each rail to make sure I kept a clean grove for the wheels, but nothing worked well. I finally scraped out the grooves with a small screwdriver or utility knife. After it dried I had to work out a few spots & then cleaning the rails, until all my cars ran. I painted the streets, including the area between the rails last night. I did my best to keep the paint off the rails, but I may have more cleaning, etc. to make sure they all run later today. It looks pretty good, although probably not as smooth as your method. I erred on the side of too little pavement height because I wanted to make sure things ran. I have some other off-street areas I will fill-in with ballast and grass, ala St. Charles in N.O. Thanks Randy Hume Fayetteville, NC
Dave, I'm not sure where you live in Texas, but the Hugo, OK rail station has a pretty nice museum. It was a Frisco station. They have quite a bit about a train wreck that occurred just east of Hugo. The engineer was named John Hume (same as my dad and granddad, but no relation that I can find). I lived in OKC and Austin (1994-2011) before coming to NC. I don't get back to Rolla much any more, since both my parents passed away and our grandkids live here. Randy Hume Fayetteville, NC
