"The Ruling Grade"

Ken--I'm not too sure where my modeling fits in to your scheme, but one thing's for SURE. I'd like to hire you to some decaling projects for me!

Tom

 

I would like to pipe in here! I use my hobby as a way to get away from things, sort of "Lock the world outside" so to speak. I need to do that alot lately! I have loved trains since I was little and it was no surprise to anyone when I hired on with the railroad. I was devastated when a Dr. Told me I can never railroad again due to medical problems which I will go into. I have worked for WATCO, Union Pacific, CSX, and several other shortlines across the country, but on May 27th 2000, I was coming out of Boone Tunnel in Darby Pennsylvania, when a vandal threw a cinder block at my train and it hit me in the left side of my face. I have been living with a fractured scull ever since. I am too much of a liability for any company to employ so I am retired but I have found that my still quick witts has given me the opportunity to do something else I enjoy, Making people laugh. Due to other matters that has been put on sort fo a hold for now, but not for much longer. When I was told that I would never operate the controls of a train again.....I thought, HA! I will show them, thus, my modeling the FRISCO, on my own, operating layout, I am back at the controls, creating my own little world where I can escape whenever I want to or "NEED" to. That, my friends! Is my ruling grade! I look forward to building bigger, better layouts in the future. But for now this one will do. I can change anything I want anytime I want.|-||-||-|

 

I have a a layout that I'm not happy with and that is my ruling grade. I no longer work on it. The design plan was to have four different scenes that could only be viewed bu walking ariund the layout. This proved a massive headache because as the operator you couldnt see the trains as they moved around the layout! I had to constantly walkaround the layout. Now I would like to be able to stand in the middle of the room and operate as the trains move around the wall.
So now I use it primarily for a test bed on which to try new scenery techniques. It is and has served a usefull purpose in this capacity. I don't worry so much about not getting it perfect. I can just move to a different location and try again. I have learned some valuable lessons from this layout. Mostly what not to do! It is/was a good platform on which to break in new engines, shoot photos and it did allow me to get my feet wet with DCC
If I'm not downsized I hope to dismantle it this summer and fall and begin construction on a new, around the room layout

 

My current "layout" is a 4 x 12 display layout that I built for the Red River Railroad Museum in Denison, TX. I built what they wanted, but I hate it. It only has 2 scenes. The bridge over the Red River, and the Katy Depot and Ice House scene.

'round and 'round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows.......until somebody knocks something off onto the floor.

That is my current "ruling grade". That, and the house I currently live in.

My last house had a 700+ square foot HO layout in a finished attic. We then moved to a different house in a different neighborhood. MY personal criteria, was that it had to have an attached garage that did NOT face the street, so I could close it in and build a new layout.

I personally loathe closed in garages that are obvious from the street view. I think they look tacky.

The "perfect" house was found and purchased.........then my wife "discovered" garage parking. Neither of us to that point in our lives had ever parked our own cars in a garage. I already had the garage floor marked where the walls were to be built, but alas.........

As far as I'm concerned, parking cars in a garage is a total waste of perfectly good layout and/or dry storage space.

Wives have a way of winning those discussions, don't they?

 

my ruling grade is that im very new to this and got interested in trains when my dad needed to be put into a nursing home because he has a very rare neurological disease call progressive supranuclear palsy, it affects the brain and muscle control. he always liked trains every since he was a little boy (now 72) he had a on going layout back in the 90's when he still was getting around good (wheelchair now) so he has inspired me to get into the train scene now im hooked. i want to but a layout with him so we can enjoy it together for the time we have left, but im so very new to this that its a little overwhelming, he has alot of cars and engines and i have gotten a few and a couple of newer engines but his are from the 70's,80's and maybe the 90's and they have different couplers than the new ones, is there ones that i can use for all the cars and engines? i really like the idea of the magnetic ones and also was wondering if a springfield yard layout would fit on a 2ft wide layout? i was wanting to do something like a u shape layout with the focus on the springfield yard. im going to the show sat maybe i can find some info there. thanks for listening and putting up with a rookie

 

Craig, I am not sure about the Springfield Yard but you can buy the couplers in bulk packs and put them on all the cars. I think it is awesome that you are trying to do something special like that with your dad. My dad and I modeled the last years of his life. He was more of a collector and I was drawn to the whole aspect of the modeling and operating of the hobby. He was also a fan of the B&O and I was drawn to the FRISCO. Even though we had differences in the hobby, we both enjoyed our special parts of it and the 2 different likes meshed together nicely. Just as an idea, Here in San Antonio, the Union Pacific has a loop at the end of their yard, maybe building a yard with loops at both ends wouldn't be too bad. you might have to make the ends of the "U" wider to handle the loop but it might work. It might look more like a horseshoe which face it horseshoes are supposed to be lucky!
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Will

 

will, my dad is a fan of frisco too and i like both frisco and union pacific i was thinking about doing loops at both ends i may not be able to make the whole yard but maybe the majority of it and use the left end for texas union pacific and the right end just looping around in the country i hope i can find some good deals at the swap meet im currently in springfield for a visit my dads in tyler texas you said the couplers will fit? do i have to buy them for the specific brands or what? thanks

 

Craig--Just to get an idea of its size, the Springfield yard is the better part of two miles long (From the Broadway Avenue crossing to the W. Division Street underpass)!! That's something like SIXTY feet even in N scale--About twice that in HO. Any kind of a model will have to be compacted to be practical.

Tom

 

yeah, i kinda figured that i would have to shorten it but can still make it work just not as long i would like to have it start around the the service shed at kansas overpass to division overpass ill just shorten it in between there make the staging lines shorter ill post pics as irs being done im going to hand make all the buildings its way to wide to do all off it anyway because it goes all the way over to atlantic street on the northwest end it has 3 tacks thaht run all the way west past west bypass
craig

 

I agree!

But there is a house up the street who's owner must have thought the same thing so he left the door in place and walled in behind it. He has about a two foot space between the wall and door where he keeps lawn care equipment


I personally loathe closed in garages that are obvious from the street view. I think they look tacky.

 

Craig, actually, Kadee makes a great selection of couplers. #5's should work

on everything, but, they do have a new coupler out that looks very

prototypical. I am not sure what number they are but your local hobby shop

or someone on here might know the number. They usually come with the

springs, coupler boxes, the whole enchilada so to speak. I usually buy them

in bulk packs that way I can do alot of cars all at once instead of a few at

a time. I am pretty close to Tyler about 2 hours away. I am in San Antonio

just right down I-35. I hope those work out for you. And I hope the layout

works out too. I just added some more tables to my layout so my track plan

will work out for me. I am going strictly steam and freelancing my layout to

model nothing particular geographically but just prototypically FRISCO. I am

glad that your dad is a FRISCO fan! Even though he is one of many, I am

sure he is one of a kind! Dad's most generally are!|-||-||-|

 

WILL, im not sure if my plans for a spacific layout will work but ill see my dad is a hugh fan of frisco steam and has lots of older ones i may run a couple for him but mainly diesels he likes those to

 

oh and thanks for the coupler info !!!!

 

Hi all I would have to say my ruling grade is right of way I keep applying for it but my applications keep getting rejected. I started a small 3x5 N scale layout on a folded figure eight I had the track down ballasted buildings in place it needed trees, shrubs then I noticed the sun was starting to fade everything out so I abandoned that model. it is stored away in a dark place. I never have decided on one railroad to model I like them all if it runs on rails that's good enough for me. My right of way problems have gotten bigger in the last few years as I have migrated back to O gauge because of the detailing that MTH Lionel and others have brought out along with the new sound systems. So I am limited to the Christmas layout once a year until that right of way application gets approved.

 

warm, sunny weather seems to be the ruling grade at the moment