@ West Bound :  My Layout  is 6 ft wide - 18ft long  /  West Bound your layout is a Tad bigger than mine I don't think you'll need 6 light's. I would get ( 4 ) 4ft shop lights "@ home depot or Lowes

West Bound : Put 2 lights across the your main layout  - Put 2 lights lengthwise across your yard / siding track's
Make shure you get the cool white bulbs & I think you'll be fine with 4 lights

P.S West Bound if you like send me a PM of your Cell # & I would be glad to send you pics of my layout I have pics of my layout from the 1st day I started building it..

Hi everyone:   I was wondering what some of you guy's use for Layout Lighting... Just last week I bought @ Lowe's  ( 3 ) - 4 FT shop lights with the new energy saving T-8 cool white bulb's.. I put 1 light above my Yard & the other 2 across length wise over my main part of my layout. I had my neighbor friend wire the lights & had a switch installed next to my Layout/Track Power switch "actually instead of having 2 switches in 2 different boxes he installed a 4x4 box & put both switches in there "actually a better setup & a better look too"... I have really great lighting now & very happy... My last setup of lights where the halogen track lighting where I could move the bulb up & down & left & right.. These lights left alot of SHADOWS on my layout & alot of my Friends would say visiting my layout it's a very nice layout but my lights make it hard to see everything... I noticed a HUGE Difference with these lights WOW I said to my neighbor friend now I can see what everyone was talking about that seen my layout in the past..

Quote from: bionicjcs on March 01, 2013, 11:16:05 PM
Does not somebody make a sound decoder to add to the Bachmann dcc equipped and dcc on board locos?  Somebody must make them for Bachmann. 

I have a bachmann UP GP38-2 #2024 loco DCC ready & I got to put a sound decoder in my loco as well.

Update : Well after carefull consideration & figuring in the space I have available. The Rolling Mill is in deed to big for the space " I can fit the entire Building into the space " but then I will have no room for siding tracks or able to do any type of switching. So I have decided to make a Junk Yard with auto recycling & build a car crusher & some sort of crane to load up the Scrap cars into gondola car's.... I thought about running 2 tracks down the center of the junk yard so I can load the scrap car's from each end of the yard.. & have 2-3 track's on the side for empties or loaded gondolas waiting for unload... "What do you guy's think"... & on my opposite side cornor of my layout I am going to go with a Saw Mill Operation That will give me 2 big industries on my layout.. & lastly I was going to install a Auto Rack Unloading / Loading Terminal "mainly because I have 10 Auto Rack rolling stock car's & have a building with the Chevy bow tie emblem or Chevrolet on the building..  I think these 3 industries will go good on my layout... I am also planning a small passenger station down in the future...

When I was building my layout.... " Currently On the Sencery & Track Laying Step's now " I used 1/2 ply wood & homasote on top of ply wood... then got pre cut cork strip's from my HS I had to wate abit on the cork because there was a shortage on the stuff  " witch was no big deal for me because it was on order wile I built my benchwork "...

Hi everyone & thanks for the TIP's... I was busy all day on my railroad from 11am - 7PM laying track on my layout.. Well in the cornor I was planing on putting the Rolling Mill it would indeed be a very big building & pretty much take up the hole corner of the layout.. & I would barely have enough room for track as it is now i'd have to run the track on the edge of my roadbed & I dont want to do that.. So I can see now why my friend said it would be too big "BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF BUILDING WOULD TAKE UP FOR THE SPACE AVAILABLE ON LAYOUT"... I am now thinking of building a smaller rolling mill building... My dad came up with an idiea of putting in the BEAM YARD's  where the Steel was stacked to awate loading onto Rail Car's & install 2 cranes & have Rail Car's back under cranes for loading of Beams.. & the Beam yard was in the same area of my dad's Rolling Mill Shop & he said he'ed like to see the Beam Yard.. I told him thats not a bad idiea because I can run a few sideing tracks the way I wanted to...

Hi everyone: I have another question about a building I want to build & install onto my layout

Building is from Walters Cornerstone series collection "Ashton Steel Mill"
It's a Steel Rolling Mill size is 32" long x 11 1/8" wide  x 10" tall

I have the room & space in one corner of my layout... A Friend that is helping me with building scenery & building's made a comment that the building is " WAY TO BIG " for my layout witch is 16ft long x 6ft wide... He told me it will take away from all the other building's & scenery I am putting in... I WANT THIS ROLLING MILL ON MY LAYOUT FOR SENTAMENTAL REASONS MY FATHER IS A RETIRED STEEL WORKER OUT OF NOW DEFUNCT "BETHLEHEM STEEL" I dont think size of building's or scenery should matter "After all it's my layout "& HOW I FEEL" Whats your guys thoughts on this subject.......                     Thanks Brian1975

Thank You Guy's for the timely reply's... On the instruction sheet I got with loco it state's the loco is equipped with a 28-speed step decoder & programmed to button 3 on NMRA compliant systems " I have no clue what that stement mean's " & it appears the only options I have @ the moment are headlight dimming & brighting FWD / REV / & on & off of headlight itself nothing about sound... The loco does run nicley with my NCE power cab plus controller... Thers a big Hobbytown USA in my area & the only reason I went there is thay do have alot of stock for HO trains rolling stock / locos / secenry.... I asked the guy if thay had GP-38's because I did want that sytle of loco for switching job's on my layout.. & asked him I wanted DCC & the Bachmann box the loco was in had DCC ONBOARD.. I then asked the guy if it had sound to make the diesel sounds & everything He looked @ box & replyed YUP it's go everything.... SO I bought loco figuring its all good to go.. I am still new to DCC & learning alot.... I do plan on poping off the shell & seeing what I have to do to get the sound decoder installed & think this will be a good learning loco for me to start on.... I will keep you guys posted on progress & thanks again for you time & glad I joined & will start to ask questions on hear before I BUY

I bought this Loco @ my local Hobbyshop its a Bachmann DCC Equiped HO UP GP-38-2 Engine #2024.. "My plans for the loco is Yard switching" I am new to Model Railroading I just build my home Layout 16ft long   x    6 ft wide 2 track mainline & a 4 Track Staging/Yard.... I am running DCC : NCE Power Cab DCC system on my layout.. My question is when I bought this loco I thought it was ready to go with sound but to my findings its not the case & have to get a sound chip "or as there being called decoders".... I already have 4 DCC equipped locos with sound & 2 NS locos 1 BNSF loco & a Steam loco with smoke & spent a fairly good amount of money to equip the loco's... Is ther any way to pop off the loco's shell & install a decoader myself & if it is a plug in style I wont have to do any soldering or wireing I am trying to avoid paying the Train guy & the hooby shop to install the sound chip... & I would like to learn how to do it myself as well... Any tips would help
Thanks   Brian1975