Show us your layout

[jward]

i hear air horns, bells and primemovers.  the mainline runs 100 ft from my apartment so it's the soundtrack to my life.

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

No bells, but I hear the horn of each loco 12 times at night. Only one crossing is close enough to hear during the middle of the day. Wait....yep the first 3 blasts of a eastbound to Detroit....3 more..3 more...He is nonstop!!(someone must have went around the crossing gate!).........house rumble is gone now.....3 more...through the hill...quiet...last 3...gone....
Wait, Oh that's quick.... another section?.........not really, this ones running light.....no house rumble.  

[jward]

i am on a 1% grade. i hear the coal trains especially grinding upgrade with helper engines pushing on the rear. about 30 minutes later, the helpers come back having cut away from the train at the top of the hill. lately, they have a significant traffic on oil trains woth the loaded ones screaming by me with the dynamic brakes howling.

there are 3 routes through Pittsburgh on the former pennsy. the one i live on is used for higher priority trains without excess height cars. as in spite of the heavy grades it is the quickest.

[M1FredQ]

Interesting

I didn't appreciate low numbered grades like 1, 2 ,3 or 4% until I had to ride up those grades on my bicycle in the mountains of Georgia.

What a workout!!!!!!!!!!

Really a scarry rush on the decent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Desertdweller]

I've always said there were two things that would give you an appreciation for grades:  running trains and riding bicycles!

Les

[raveoned]

Chessie1971-

Fantastic layout!  I thought I was the only one around who still used one of those layouts!  Mine is the one Bachmann put out in the 1980's, with the single oval and made out of the vacuform type of plastic.

I'm right now in the process of converting it to an English countryside style layout, using European styled buildings (church, cottage, small station) and I'm also getting some Graham Farish equipment to run on it.

Once I get the buildings ready, I'll post some pics with something running on it!

[Chessie1971]

Thanks Raveoned !!!! I had one a long time ago. Mine burnt up in the house in 1984 and my neighbor had one just like the one burnt up. He went into HO scale. I bought his old one. I found this in the attic a few months ago. I said to myself i will fix this up and put new track on it. I 'm hoping to add some signals and few other things then i may add ext. and add more track. I will be watching for your pictures.   

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

He has posted one a bit ago. http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,13645.msg110932.html#msg110932
Hopefully we wont be waiting 3 more years for the next batch of posts .

[Balrog21]

Great vid, Jonathan. Love the music as well. Just a FYI...MASSIVE layout update coming VERY soon! 
I can appreciated the grades. We have a very small hill that tops right as it's leaving the old yards heading North...and we have a south yard that is 1.5 miles long with 18 sidings on it about a mile south of the main yards, so when the train pulls out to head North it's struggling bad to get going and up the hill...so even though I live about 5 blocks from the tracks it still manages to shake the wooden deck we have on our house. NICE sounds to hear. It's even better when a NEW CN engineer whose never been down this way before comes in from the North heading South to fast and tops the hill...he's got too much going and then you can almost count the seconds before you hear the dynamic brakes getting yanked on and then left on......then the rolling thunder as the stretch slack gets caught up with engine...very nice sounds to hear at night! Rolling Thunder at its finest!
Best,
Bal

[raveoned]

He has posted one a bit ago. http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,13645.msg110932.html#msg110932
Hopefully we wont be waiting 3 more years for the next batch of posts .

You know, I was thinking that I had posted pics of the Susquehanna Mikado on my little HO layout.  Thank you for that link!

I did do a video not long ago, showing my Bachmann/Jouef Orient Express set, ending with it running on that layout!

Hopefully this will suffice until I get some shots of the N one up and running with some buildings, but before my Graham Farish equipment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PFDrM3Adus

[J3a-614]

Just got around to watching Jonathan's video, and I think it's great--and best of all, my wife liked it, too!  It's that jazz that did it. . .we both like big band stuff.

I happen to like bluegrass, too--most appropriate for a C&O fan--but I have to say my wife, well, tolerates that!

[M1FredQ]

Can you post some of those Jazz tunes if you get a chance. My daughter wants to put them in my Sharktunes

[Balrog21]

Pretty big update here. Shaleford Rail gets and expansion!
Enjoy!
Bal

http://youtu.be/96DzFhQ6Utc

[jonathan]

Enjoyed the update, Bal!  I like how you showed the plans while panning to the progress of the layout.  Makes it, Idunno, more real to me somehow.

Regards,

Jonathan

[jbrock27]

Quite a set up and quite a collection J.P.!