Make up your own Railroad?

[bussy65]

Oops! You're right, that redefines "ever so loosely"

Thanks

Jack

[Pops]

[/quote]
We have hills and mountains in FL,
[/quote]

I thought the highest elevation in Florida was about 200 feet.  Can you name and locate a mountain for me? 

[Desertdweller]

The mountains are off the coast, underwater.  You can't see 'em, but be careful you don't run your boat into them.

Les

[phillyreading]

The highest mountain in Florida is manmade and usually called mount trashmore.

Lee F.

[James in FL]

If you lived in Miami...you'd swear there's a tunnel.
This is tallest point round these parts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge

CSX serves port Tampa.
No more railfanning around the port (very strict) but some good places still around the yard.

Big show over there this weekend.

http://www.greattrainexpo.com/

[jward]

Louisiana has a mountain, "Driskill Mountain", the highest point in the state, 525' above sea level.  No tunnels that I know of, though.

PF

525' is not a mountain. we have hills here taller than that.

[Pops]

 . . .   and buildings taller than that.

[jward]

that too. and in west virginia, bridges almost twice as high.

[Doneldon]

LOTS of ...

. . .  buildings taller than that.

-- D

[Jerrys HO]

Paul
Loosen up those depends. Such negativity on Northerners.
I would have cut off my right leg to live in the north. All those mountains and creeks and railroads. I must say it sure beats watching the trains pass down in flat country.

Probably who ever named Driskill Mountain had never seen real mountains. I have passed thru that area many times and never seen anything but rolling hills.

Jerry

[jward]

from a modeller's perspective, mountains are a good thing. they give your railroad an excuse to twist and turn, and can act as view blocks to make your railroad seem larger than it is. can't do that with flatlands railroading, unless you are modelling the big city.

personally, other than a small switching layout i built on a plank, i've never built a line without elevated tracks and grades, and i never will. mountain railroading is so much more interesting.

[Jerrys HO]

jward

I agree mountains are more interesting in railroading. I am found of my elevated track going thru my mountains and the lower tracking around the edge.
I know I have been promising pics and do plan to start a new thread with that in mind. Right now I am waiting for my new card reader to come in that my kids broke after borrowing my camera and reader. Should be in this week.

Paul

No one fired at shot at you, you jumped in front of it. Bachmann has done an excellent job trying to meet the demands of everyone. You have your Spectrums from the past and sounds like there will be more coming in the future. For now let us enjoy our sound value engine's and mountain's without all the negativity.
I live in your area and appreciate what we have but I also love the northern scenery as well. I did not have the great fortune as most of you did growing up in the steam era and being able to enjoy them as much as other's. I was born in 1962 when most steam was gone by the wayside. I was visiting an aunt in Napoleonville,La. and she recalled me sitting in her backyard for hours waiting for a train to pass. I guess that's where I started loving trains.

Jerry

[Ron Zee]

I used to live about 200 yds away from the tracks here in Goldsboro. The only thing you'd hear was LONG freight trains rolling by every few hours. But sometimes, very rarely, you'd hear something that wasn't quite right. It was the steam whistle in the distance, and sure enough thats what was comeing down the tracks. A couple of times during the summer, they take out an old steam engine and run it down the tracks with a few passenger cars on it. I never did find out why but I sure as heck ran through the woods to see it go by. I've always liked trains and for the first time, I've started building my own layout. The steamers will always be my favorites. I looked for layout plans and when I couldn't find any I liked, I thought "why not make one up?" So what if it's not "real"? As long as you enjoy what your doing, go have fun. As far as hills or mountains go, if you want them, use them. Around here, if your going up any kind of hill and your car downshifts, it's a mountain!

[Doneldon]

Something that is even harder to capture is the mid skies and nearly overhead mid-day sun at mid summer in the south with sharp shadows only and inch long or so.

Paul-

I think the trick is to use either unfrosted incandescent bulbs or daylight
flourescents, and a lot more than is generally recommended.
                                                                                                   -- D

[jward]

the way i see it the biggest problem in recreating flatlands railroading is that most of us just don't have enough space to capture the wide open look. even in n scale you can't model a 5 mile straight convincingly. hills on the other hand, provide natural excuses for curves, act as view blocks, and in general make the layout look larger rather than smaller.\