Large Scale Central

Track bombs laid, flare's lit

General Discussion
#1

A friend that was a brakeman for the Rock Island Line, said that’s the way to get the train to stop while it’s enroute…

Hello…
David here, Ms.G. & I are newbee’s to large scale railroading. We live in NE Texas. We had Ho’s. S scale AF’s, various O & 027’s over the years( it’s been 50 years or so!).
We’ve decided it’s time to do a garden railroad. Not sure of what type of train(s)
we’ll be running, or what the layout will be, but the dreams are flying!
Any suggestions on train manfacturers, track, power units & controllers, plants would be greatly appreciated.
thanks…
David

#2

Welcome.

And those were Track Torpedoes.

I’ve used them.

TOC

#3

Hello , Dave and Gloria ,
I think (hope ) you will find plenty of suggestions here , it is a friendly site normally , except when certain members drink too much and won’t give me any .
If you want to try something different , why not try European outline ? Very educational and the stuff by LGB is just right for youngsters like you to handle , that’s why I enjoy it so much at 69 after 64 years modelling .
The equipment is actually big enough to see , a useful thing when you need new glases every week .
Enjoy your stay !!!
Mike M

#4

Welocome Gloria & David,

I live near DFW airport, if you get out this way at all, your welcome to come by and visit my layout. We have a large group in this area and a club NTGRC. This is a large topic with many opinions ! LGB best running out of the box. You need to pickup Allan Millers book, Getting started in Garden Railroading to get some Ideas. We could argue and discuss forever what works bext and what brands are good. It’s what you want to do with it. Do you want track power or battery ? Aristocraft track is cheaper and works well for track power. Feel free to email me anytime, maybe we can meet sometime.

Watchout for Curmudgeon he has many opinions! ;>) Most of which are good though.

#5

Curmudgeon, Mike & Bryan

Thank you for the Welcome…

Curmudgeon, thanks for the reminder that they’re track torpedos not track bombs.
Ms.G. is always telling me how forgetful I’m getting these days!

Mike, all I can offer is coffee, I guarantee that it’ll open your eyes… I always use Community Coffee Red Bag, Dark Roast, one of the better things to come out of
Lousianna, besides the “City of New Orleans” train…
Weve been looking at the LGB Locomotives & rolling stock that’s being auctioned on ebay, so far no luck on bids.
We’ll probably have to start out with something a bit less pricey.
I understand that ‘Hartland Locomotive Works’ produces locomotives & rolling stock here in the states. It would be nice to be able to purchase an American made train. So few things are made here anymore.

Brian, the next time we head over to the D/FW area, we’d love to see your layout.
I’ll be sending you an email…

Again
Thanks for the Welcome!
D & G…

#6

gloria heller & david jacobsen said:
Curmudgeon, Mike & Bryan Thank you for the Welcome… Curmudgeon, thanks for the reminder that they’re track torpedos not track bombs. Ms.G. is always telling me how forgetful I’m getting these days! Mike, all I can offer is coffee, I guarantee that it’ll open your eyes… I always use Community Coffee Red Bag, Dark Roast, one of the better things to come out of Lousianna, besides the “City of New Orleans” train… Weve been looking at the LGB Locomotives & rolling stock that’s being auctioned on ebay, so far no luck on bids. We’ll probably have to start out with something a bit less pricey. I understand that ‘Hartland Locomotive Works’ produces locomotives & rolling stock here in the states. It would be nice to be able to purchase an American made train. So few things are made here anymore. Brian, the next time we head over to the D/FW area, we’d love to see your layout. I’ll be sending you an email… Again Thanks for the Welcome! D & G…

Welcome!! Bachmann makes some fairly inexpensive loco’s and rolling stock which you might consider since your just starting out. Aristo also makes some starter sets that won’t create havoc to your budget. Some sets even come with small ovals of track.

This engine here is a Bachmann 10th Anniversary 10 wheeler. It’s been slightly modified but they usually run between $120-$140.

#7

Welcome Aboard! You’re going to wonder why you didn’t do this years ago. Its a great part of the hobby, enjoy the ride.

#8

Thanks again for the Welcome…

I’ll be absent for a bit, the work-a-day world intrudes into my semi-retirement.
I’ll be flying out in the morning for a short term assignment…
It’s okay though, it’ll pay for our RR.
Ms. G. has her eye on a Bachman Circus Train set & I’d like to get HLW’s
“Big John” Locomotive & matching Caboose. Rolling stock? We’ll have to see.
Anyway, I’ll stop in if I have access to a computer while I’m away…
Til then…
I bid you all adieu.

#9

Funny how that pesky REAL WORLD always wants to interefere with our railroad time! Don;t they know its 1943 and theres a war on? We got freight to move!

#10

Home again…

Glad to be back…
turned out to be a short vacation, sat around a hotel for a week…
the really nice thing is that I got paid for it!
I’m a traveling millwright in the work-a-day world.
millwright’s can do anything they tell me…
So of course the trip out before this one they hired me
as a brakeman/switchman…
Your resume` say’s your hobby is trains…
Yup…

Now comes the fun part, deciding what kind of locomotive’s/rolling stock to get…
Picked up the June issue of Garden Railways Magazine,
The St Aubin’s advertisement makes me want to buy one of everything!
Got a nice ‘Certificate’ from H-L-W for their online train club,
they’re also offering me a 10% discount for my next purchase… :slight_smile:
Ms. G. suprised me with a copy of “Getting Started in Garden Railroading”
byAllen W. Miller…
She ordered it from Hamilton booksellers for $2.95…
Now if she could only find some .332 track at a similar discount!
Ms.G. saw a picture of AristoCrafts “lil’ egg liner”
now we have to have one of those…
I must admit they are cute…

We’ve settled on a RR name…
the: Green Streak RR…
named after the mine we owned in Nevada years ago.

Well, we’ve got a name, soon locomotives & rolling stock…
Layout forthcoming.

nice to be back among train folk…
dave…

#11

There is a big, deep pit out there waiting for you to fall into.
If you are careful, you can easily avoid it.

You need to decide what you want to do.

Elevated line?
Decide that now, before you lay everything on the ground and it becomes a part of the “too hard basket” to raise it.

What era?
Early steam?
Later steam?
Logging?
Narrow gauge?
Quasi-standard gauge?

If you just “buy”, you’ll end up with a whole lotta stuff you need to get rid of later.

You going to look for a more prototypical track?
Stay away from 332.

You going to run on the edge of an elevated railway?
You need to secure your track.
You can’t clamp and bond it then, as expansion and contraction will rip it out.
“Floating” can be a continual issue with re-setting curves.

I have a small railroad, all attached to something, some right on the edge, and I cannot afford to have track “shift” and dump a train.

Elevated allows easy use of ground throws.
I have 2 EZAir operated switches for hard to reach locations.
I would recommend it in lieu of electrics.

Track power or battery?

Because my track isn’t bonded, I use 250 and 215 llagas aluminum in 6’ flex sections, and no track power at all.

NE Texas isn’t bad for track power…it is up hear near Seattle.

Think hard, plan, and ask questions before you buy.
Lots of folks would sell you the moon, but buy what you want.

TOC

#12

All of TOCs thoughts are valid…plan…plan…then plan some more…I’m on the third rebuilding of my layout cause I just keep getting better ideas. This incarnation involves raising it up on deckwork 40" high. And be carful of biting off more than ya can chew…I had dreams of an expansive empire once, but remember all that you build, you have to maintain, so take into account your health and “flexibility” and how hard your design will be to keep up with in your declining years (it is a lifetime hobby isn;t it after all?) Maintenance was the big decision for me on raising the ine up out of the dirt.

#13

Plans? we don’t need no stinkin’ plans…
I know about pit’s,
I used to own a commercial fishing boat up in Alaska…

Seriously, as much as I’d like to have one of everything I see in catalogs, magazines & online, we’ll start out simple.
Ms.G’s Circus Train & lil’ eggliner, an oval of track with a passing siding,
(less than 100 ft of track), a bridge over a pond and turn-outs for future expansion.
I’m not going to be anal about it, trains are for fun and I don’t want our trains & layout to be a replica of anything.
An assortment of rolling stock to make up what ever type of train I want to run at that moment.
Eventually I would like to have a live steam locomotive, but that’s something that will have to be home built.
We’ll start out on the ground then as we expand, go to raised track.
About battery power, batteries eventually die and have to be disposed of and there are already too many dead batteries going into land fills.
I have been thinking about a jacobs 32 volt dc wind generator, regulated to 24 volts or solar panels to eventually power the track, using 4 - 12 volt deep cycle batteries for storage, connected to put out 24 volts.
Again that’s something for further down the road…
Ms.G’s sister is a physicist, so she can figure out the system for us when the time comes.
Buying stuff and getting rid of it later?
Heck, it’s goin’ in the box with me when I punch that one way ticket!
If they can bury a fellow in his Caddy here in Texas,
who’s gonna’ say a G-scale train in the box with me is a bit outlandish?

TOC,
I understand about your problem with powered track in Seattle.
To tell you the truth, I was born at Swedish Hospital and raised on one of the islands there in Puget Sound.
I finally lost my web feet after I’d been gone from the Puget Sound area a decade or so…

My little doggie is scratching at my leg,
telling me it’s time to go to bed.
So,
G’night Y’all…