Yes, you really can have fun on the Roundy Round.
Certain “operations” people maintain that operations is the only way to have fun.
I only have the smaller of my two train lines finished and operational, somewhere around 140 feet with very steep grades and tight radius curves.
I am still running temporary power using only one controller and power supply.
Anyway, the point is the other day I had an absolute blast on the Roundy Round. We managed to run three trains simultaneously using one controller. It was great fun building up to the three. And even some of our failures brought on some very comical moments.
Will it get boring? Who knows, I hope not. But once I can do three trains handily, I will try four. And so on.
Ralph
Its all for fun Ralph , and thats why there are different cars , trucks , motorcycles , boats , and women , its just what you like yourself .
You could pretend that you are on the big loop of track at the IRM in Northern Ill.
Absolutely!!
Ralph, Dennis has it right. If a loop of track isn’t prototypical, then what happens at every amusement park? Its a railroad, the route is a circle. Point to point, no sidings, it is still a railroad. End of story.
I roundy- round all the time and am proud of it!
So does just about everyone of my train buddies.
jb
The proto Bachmann Tweetsie 4-6-0 runs in real life today in a big circle down South , and hauls lots of passengers .
watch and listen to this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6PRrAQvQGs
In Tenn there at Dollywood big amusement area , there is a 2-8-2 NG , from Alaska , hauling a lot of passengers , in a big circle also .
watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCxmluJUgAs
And the NG railroad that hauls more passengers than the others only dreamed of , Disney World , another circle , hauling thousands of paying passengers .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FmvCwYVXjQ
I imagne there are others doing this as well , doing what they were designed and built for , hauling paying passengers !
I do plan on adding some industry and a larger yard eventually so I can add some operations later.
But until then I will be having plenty of fun.
Ralph
Getting three trains going on a single loop of track involves a certain amount of “operation” in itself!
All I run is a loop with one siding not complete yet. I really enjoy just sitting down after a day of work or a hot sunny day and watching the trains run. I find it very relaxing. Everytime I look at my layout I find something new that can be done. I have been setting a cirlce around my x-mas treee for the last 25 plus years and I still enjoy watching the trains go around the tree.
Shawn said:Shawn, I hear that eggnog goes really well with that, too. ;) :)
All I run is a loop with one siding not complete yet. I really enjoy just sitting down after a day of work or a hot sunny day and watching the trains run. I find it very relaxing. Everytime I look at my layout I find something new that can be done. I have been setting a cirlce around my x-mas treee for the last 25 plus years and I still enjoy watching the trains go around the tree.
Speaking of the roundyround. Went to HD, turns out the “associate” in the electrical department is a lapsed garden railroader (waiting for The Powers to arrive with suitable real estate to restart), we had a nice chat. He was flabbergasted that we would build a point to point. “Man that’s like real work on the RR” , yyyyyes sort of. 
Oh yeah, all the stuff he has in storage: strictly LGB.
Expansion from my first two loops will be point to point. It will get the track away from the house along the backside of my property. Better pictures and it will allow me to use large diameter curves without spending a fortune as it needs less curves.
But I wanted the loops first. It is relaxing watching the trains go around. Much like sitting at the beach watching the water.
Ralph
Nothing wrong with roundy round! Not much different really than sitting at trackside and watching the real thing roll by.
Many seem to think though that those of us in ops, especially point to point nuts like myself, turn our noses up at just “sittin’, sippin’ & watchin’”. Not true! We simply want a little more. Train operation is like an ever changing game where the pieces are moved according to set rules and puzzle solving is part of the norm just as on a real railroad. If it can be done in a realistic setting, that’s frosting on the cake.
You don’t need a point to point of course to have good ops. It can be done quite handily on a loop railroad with the added feature that you always have that loop to test equipment on or to just turn loose while you attend to other chores or entertain guests.
No one should ever have to apologize for the way they enjoy their own hobby. As a lover of railroads I enjoy them all from whimsy to collecting to model building to steam to diesel to traction to roundies. Like most I neither have the time, money, skills or inclination to do them all but I can enjoy all the various aspects by seeing the work of others.
The RR that I’m building is a point to loop to point, inspired by TOC’s railroad. Eventually there will be three or perhaps even four points off the loop, just to keep it interesting.
I love operations, mimicing the big boys, but there is a lot to be said for sittin’ & sippin’ & watchin’. When doing honey-do-s, I plan to have the loop occupied, just to keep the loco’s busy.
Now, if I can just get the railbender outta jb’s hands, I can make progress.
Richard,
You said - “No one should ever have to apologize for the way they enjoy their own hobby. As a lover of railroads I enjoy them all from whimsy to collecting to model building to steam to diesel to traction to roundies. Like most I neither have the time, money, skills or inclination to do them all but I can enjoy all the various aspects by seeing the work of others.”
And that, fine sir, is why you are so liked by this fine establishment. I’m proud to call you a friend.
I’ve always enjoyed the operations side of model railroading, but the layout for my garden trains has been influenced more by the amount of time I have available to enjoy it. If I was retired with unlimited time I would be working on an extensive operational layout. Unfortunately I don’t even have weekend days to work on it. Most of the time I spend working on my Village is done after 9-10 p.m. At that point I’m more likely to just sit back and watch the trains, so I chose to do continuous loops. The next stage of construction will have numerous sidings and some point to point options, but I will still be able to run several trains on the loops at the same time unattended.
I do have an outlet for model railroad operations. I have been helping a friend who lives close by with his HO scale empire in the attic. The yard is already operational with a dozen branch lines interconnected. From there its running off to several locations still under construction, some that will loop back, others that are point to point. The trains are all run with DCC. Since it would cost a fortune to do something like this in G scale, I don’t mind going over to his house and playing with his trains.
Richard Smith said:
.No one should ever have to apologize for the way they enjoy their own hobby. As a lover of railroads I enjoy them all from whimsy to collecting to model building to steam to diesel to traction to roundies. Like most I neither have the time, money, skills or inclination to do them all but I can enjoy all the various aspects by seeing the work of others.
Very true. But there are those who have an axe to grind, or like to feel “superior”, and look down their nose at anyone who does roundy-round. They can go hang, for all I care.
My first venture outside was from an indoor loop to an outdoor point. Indoors changed but is still a reverse loop and outdoors now has a wye for turning. Some of the most experience operators that hang out in these parts convinced me to add a loop outdoors to allow loop-to-loop continuous running. That is my current under-construction project.
Jon Radder said:One of the things that I learned early on is that non-RR visitors want to see a train go around and around, not point to point. If you run a train PTP, you get "is that all it does?". I like to set a train on roundy round for when Im gardening, too. Its nice to have company!
My first venture outside was from an indoor loop to an outdoor point. Indoors changed but is still a reverse loop and outdoors now has a wye for turning. Some of the most experience operators that hang out in these parts convinced me to add a loop outdoors to allow loop-to-loop continuous running. That is my current under-construction project.
I’m a ‘roundy roundy’ guy also. Jerry
Bob McCown said:This is especially true with younger children. As long as the train moves, it has their attention. I had to listen to one gentleman at Spencer Rail Days go on and on about if you did not have a PTP layout it was not prototype and you were just playing with toys. He was modeling in O scale and his main line was around 60 feet. I didn't bother arguing with him. I just asked him how many real railroads have a main line of less than one half mile. Ralph
One of the things that I learned early on is that non-RR visitors want to see a train go around and around, not point to point. If you run a train PTP, you get "is that all it does?". I like to set a train on roundy round for when Im gardening, too. Its nice to have company!
My railroad will have double main tracks, one mostly for passenger srevice and one mostly for freight service that can be run round and round. There will be many places for the freight loop to branch off onto sidings and other point locations. I will have a loging line that is strictley point to point, log camp to lumber mill with an engine shed and repair facility in the middle of the line. But even this line will be connected to the outer freight line so lumber can be shipped off to the city. The passenger line has three towns to stop at that will be sidings off the main. The way I envision operations both passengers and freight can be picked up, run around the outer loop several times and then dropped off at another location on a siding. There is going to be a five track yard for sorting freight that will also come off the freitht outer main line. And I plan to have a double slip switch so I can move trains back and forth between the two outer main lines. On a good day I can see up to eight engines pulling passengers and freight at one time on the layout. Since I will be battery powered with RC it should make life easier for the train operators to avoid any accidents. I also enjoy just sitting back on my deck with a cold dring and watch the trains running around the outer main lines.