Time for the originator to post.
    My On30 display/ layout is a Christmas village. and surrounding country.
With farms and rivers. I also have some logging , the logging of Cristmas trees. Double loop 1 for Passenger service, & 1 for freight.

    My buildings are mostly Lemax, some Dept. 56 & others. Almost 50 total.
It took 8 years to get there, but now I can be more particular with what I
purchase.
    I have an Idea for scratch-built water towers to service my steamers, just gathering the pieces now though.

    Era I am working in is late 1800-early 1900 no autombiles just trains & trolleys. Many horse drawn carts, buggies,& a stage coach at the terminal.
     Rich, I feel your pain, I also NEED a 4-4-0 to help make things complete.

     My alotted space is 5x8 country setting w/ double loop & 3 ft upper level city along 2 sides, w/ trolley. this is a complete walk around layout/display.

     Jeff, I love what your doing with EZ-track. You could get the snow effect with a white sheet, or I use Quilt batting. If snow is an effect you would be looking for.
     this years expansion was the logging & sale of Cristmas trees. Next year
I'll have a stock yard w/ a siding to that. Just to justify the purshase of flat cars & Stock cars. (not nascar).

       Please continue to share your layouts, & Enjoy,

                  Barry

    Probably one of the most enticing thing with On30 is that it runs on HO track. The most popular scale, easiest to find, easy to get what you want
in trackage.
    You don't have exact tie spacing, But I'm not a rivet counter anyhow.
    HO track also takes up alot less space than Lionel O scale. Besides I've never seen a train , outside of cog railways, that run on three rails.  Have you?

            Enjoy,

                      Barry

         Time for the originator to send his post. Sorry its so late, but I took some time to go to Title town train show. For Wisconsin's third largest show I was slightly disappointed in the size. several good vendors several layouts up & running. just not the huge nos. I was expecting.
        I average 12 - 15 per year including the local one , 1 per mo. but only the 6 winter mos. as ken mostly for the social aspect. The shows all tend to be from mid Oct. - mid April in my neck of the woods.
        The best ones so far have been Trainfest in Milwaukee, & Mad city held in Madison Wi.
        Besides seeing what is new in this fun hobby, I like to see how others
do their layouts. Last weekend the boys & girls club had a display w/ 10-12
lincoln log structures, how cool is that. DRATS forgot the camera. In Nov at trainfest the 4-H club had 40 some modules each made by a different kid, WOW! all hooked together with trains running through. I also like to see kids riding on a train even if it is for just 100 ft. of track.
      I hope you all enjoy this survey type stuff, as I have a couple more coming soon.

                 Barry

     I'm just trying to give the "thirty" board a little boost.  I am also interested in what others are doing in this hobby.

1. What is your On30 display? Mining, or logging operations, Christmas village, Mfg. ops., or a circle around Christmas tree?

2 What do you have for Buildings on your layout? Scratch built, Plasticville,
Dept. 56?

3. What era does your layout represent? Civil war, turn of century, modern,
or let us know the exact date.

4. What size and type is your layout? Shelf type , table top, walk around, 4x8, ping pong table, Etc...

               Just try to have fun and let others enjoy your efforts also.

              Barry

               

         I'm just trying to invoke some discussion on train related surveys.

1. Do you attend any train shows, trade shows, or swap meets, as some people call them?

2. If yes, how many average per year?

3. Which ones, & where are your favorites?  the Bach-man should like to know these also.

4. What do you, or would you like to see at these shows?  That's my favorite ?

                Remember, no right,or wrong answers. Just varied opinions.
That's what makes our world go 'round, and this hobby so fun to play in.

            Enjoy,
                 
                     Barry
           

         Mine never went to slow-mo, BUT I haven't logged out since sign-up.
my bad, worked good for me.
         Hey B-Man, is staying logged in or not logging out a BAD thing?

         P.S. I am on this site alot, and almost every day.

        Barry
   

    I'm sure alot of items get missed or are not reported, but try this site for steam loco. info.
     Enjoy
         http://www.steamlocomotive.com/lists/

    It seems that the only two GS locos, still in existance are the 4449 & 4460

          Andy,
      One thing I tried and liked, is to hide the train for a few seconds. Run it through a tunnel, or behind a mountain, or under a bridge. All these are effective ways to spice up an oval.
      My 2 1/2 year old granddaughter just loves to watch the trains head light as it comes out of the tunnel. she already knows how to control the
speed of the trains, and so far she's been pretty good at keeping it from tipping over even on the 18 inside loop.

            Good luck
                        Barry
           

      Me too, Me two,
    I need 2 to start with, so both loops on 1 end of my track can cross
the creek. right now they are just faking it. My wife says they are just splashing through the creek.
     I recently purchased some old Tyco HO timber tressles from a swap meet. I haven't found time to re-work my track to fit them in. I also have two bridges to re-paint for this project.

          Barry

       DC only for my On30 layout. Like Dtrains I'ld prefer to spend my time and hard earned $ on trains, rolling stock, track upgrades, and buildings for my layout.

              Barry

     Thank-you for making me pull out the '71-'72 Tyco catalog from it's plastic sleeve. I just purchased this item 2 weeks ago at a swap meet.
     the only commercial items were Swift, Armour, & dairymen's league milk-
refers, Holly sugar- covered gon and dupont- tanker (put 24 in the wall every week) oh sorry lost control of the keys for a moment.
     I also purchased a coal unloading tressle set, from another vendor.
    While antiquing with my wife today, I found a Ralston purina car and a Dutch cleanser car both from Tyco.
    What is really amazing is how similar the Tyco & Bachmann crossing gates are to each other. 

         Oh ya, I still occasionally run my sons GI Joe train set, alot of extra goodies in that set. Army men, tanks, Jeeps, boats, helecopters, for both sides. 

       

   Darinn,
  I did have a problem with one switch, the only used switch I've ever purchased, only a couple longer passenger cars hated it. all my frt. cars did OK there. I've recently changed that switch and have no problems.
  good luck

   Buoy,
   Terry gives good avise, I also use 18 & 22 together, to get the proper arc, to extend the outer curve of my double ended layout.

        Bachmann isn't the first on this On30 item, But I'll still wait for theirs at 1/4 the price. My Spectrum Moguls and trolley have great plenty of detailing for my taste.   BACHMANN ALL THE WAY!!!

              Barry

        Ya Ma let 'em play wif it!
    If your already intellegent young man shows this much enthusiasm, he can conquer the universe.
    Making him wait until you did some research, probably will make him respect this item even more.   
   
     Hoping you both enjoy this journey,

                          Barry

     I just purchased a new On30 trolley set. The new Bachmann set has adjustable speed. you can find these for under $100 even $75 on Ebay.
    This might be your least expensive and EZ est (pun intended) route to go.

              Barry