Large Scale Central

Tortoise & Lizard Bash Open House , June 11th

General Discussion
#1

We are in Orange County, CA in the North Tustin area. PM or e-mail me at [email protected]

for the address.

Todd and Linda Brody invite you to our first open house of 2016. The railroad won the Garden Railways Magazine 2013 competition has been featured in numerous publications and videos.

The landscape covers about 1,200 square feet with about 600 feet of track and six bridges, including a 14-foot long trestle. All vegetation is real and the miniature garden is completely to scale. The entire layout is detailed with dozens of structures, over 300 people and animals, cars, motorcycles, etc. all at a scale of ½ inch per foot.

Animation is a big feature of the railroad. Using simple track power, the railroad can run itself fully automated with up to seven trains that slow and/or wait for each other as necessary to avoid collisions at crossing points. While watching the automated trains, see the Alligator Lizards in the Air aerial tram, the Terrapin Tar Pits where dinosaur bones are being excavated, and operations at the Bear Whiz Beer Icing Facility. Also see the loco cholos try to hoist their beer on the townsfolk. The layout also has active volcanoes with water and steam!!

New for this year are the fueling facility located along Lizard Lane, the Alligator Lizard Crater meteor strike, and the natural stone “Concerts in the Cave” amphitheater. Word has it the Oaxaca Lougi and the Lowered Lizards are to perform that night, which will definitely bring in the “Low Rider Train.”

Don’t forget to bring your camera! The following link will take you to our web site showing the railroad and its history.

http://tortoiseandlizardbash.com/

See the railroad run itself at the video:

#2

Hello Todd and Linda-

Your video is well worth watching – nice job!

Very thoughtful of you both opening your home to the LSC group - likely there are readers near your home.

Best,

Wendell

#3

Looks like a very successful open house Todd. Your railroad is action packed for sure. I like the hot tub idea , might steal that and use it by a cottage I have tucked away in the forest . Powered by dry ice I assume ?

#4

Ultrasonic misters/foggers:

These run at ~1 amp, 24 vac. We use 7 on the railroad and I always keep plenty of spares at hand.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-LED-light-Ultrasonic-Mist-Maker-Fogger-Water-Fountain-Pond-Indoor-Outdoor-0-/221942286373?hash=item33acca8825:g:p8AAAOSweuxWSUlm

#5

I spent the last couple months getting the vegetation ready, the last couple weeks getting the vingettes set and equipment ready for operation, including installing new sound systems, the last couple days cleaning track…

And of all days…, it decided to rain all day.

Starting at 9:00 AM with a drizzle, often turing to light rain, that just would not let up until about 1:00 PM, then intermittent throughout the rest of the day and evening. Every time I’d put trains out, it would just rain harder and I’d bring them back in.

Still, we had the open house and even without trains running, the garde looks spectacular, everything else was out there, and people were still impressed and really spent just as much, and maybe more time, looking at the detail and garden. I kept appologizing throughout the day that trains weren’t running and one lady said “No trains? I hadn’t even noticed.” “Train people” could appreciate the level of effort even without the trains running and say they glad they didn’t miss it, regardless.

Anyway, the upshot is that the weather man said that next weekend would be hot (mid 80s,) and we will do this again on Saturday, June 18th from 1:00 - 5:00 PM.

#6

I hate when that happens! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)

#7

Why no trains? They don’t melt.

#8

They slip, they studder, they stall, they rust, and you can’t trust them to stop in time to avoid collision because they slide. Then, they need a whole bunch of maintenance before being put up. You don’t put up a horse wet.

Just not worth the risks to the equipment.

#9

They run fine up here in wet country. We just put them away, when we’re done, no special treatment needed. Really, they don’t melt, or rust, or anything. They’re built to take it. We expect our operators to pay sufficient attention to avoid collisions.

#10

Steve, but track power can be a bit iffy when the rails get wet.

#11

I never had a problem when I ran with track power.

#12

Steve Featherkile said:

They run fine up here in wet country. We just put them away, when we’re done, no special treatment needed. Really, they don’t melt, or rust, or anything. They’re built to take it. We expect our operators to pay sufficient attention to avoid collisions.

Our “operators” are 555 chips and they do what they are told to do. They can cut power to the track when triggered, but the trains will slide further on wet rails. ALL of our systems operate “on the edge” with some clearances measured to the fraction of an inch. We don’t change how we operate.

Also, the trains love to studder as crud builds up on the wheels due to micro-arcing…, much more so on wet track. Our trains are turned on and operate themselves for hours on end and I don’t like to pull stuff off to run a track cleaner every 20 laps or so around for each of seven different routes. And I don’t have enough engines to continually change them all out during the day and clean the wheels at a later time.

Then there were the rain drops themselves that kept disturbing and “gumming up” the ballast causing the track cleaner to continually derail. And the track cleaners pad needed continual changing due to the water clogging them up… …Just not worth it.

Recognize that I am a 1-person operation and do everything myself, including entertaining the guests and answering questions, while hosting open houses while keeping an eye on seven trains running. Luckily the garden and vingettes can stand on their own even without the trains running.

#13

I see.

#14

Open house was postponed until today between 1:00 and 5:00 PM.

Come on by if you are going to be in the Orange County, CA area and sit under the shade of our tree as you take in the railroad.