It is great that you are using your interest in trains to expand your experience into web design.

You are proving that model railroading will be in good hands in your generation. Keep it up.

Tom

Over the years, I have subscribed to Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman and through NMRA membership Scale Rails.

If I still maintained subscriptions to each of these, I would be deviating close to $100.00 of hobby funds away from products of actual use on a layout.

I still maintain NMRA membership but witout the magazine option.

The only thing I really miss about the magazines are the ads - great fodder for empire dreams and realities.

Tom

Joshua,

I envy you your young eyes.

I had two very enjoyable N scale layouts when I was much younger.  At that time N scale was  very sensitive to dust and the locomotives of that era were nowhere ear those available today.

Good luck in your new venture, keep postion on general discussion and I will watch for your posts on N scale as I generally visit all forums.

Tom

By the middle of the 1950's, it had become apparent that the days of the steam locomotive were coming to an end. Most of the main line trains on the C&O were being handled by F7' and as more and more GP9 were delivered more steam found its way to storage or scrap lines. The Clinchfield was all ready diesel by this time.

As with the prototypes I follow, diesel power offers great cost savings - with or without sound. So I surrender my pleadings for non sound steam and instead hope that I will still be able to obtain non sound diesels at affordable prices for a few more years anyway.

Sadly

Tom

Quote from: Yampa Bob on May 03, 2009, 02:13:48 AM
Dear Tom,
Let me guess....flood the train room, or put the layout in the bathtub? 

Wher I used to live - in the mountains of all places - rains generated by hurricanes caused my basement to flood : not once, but three times causing the loss of HO, N and Lioinel. Sooo don'take waves, please.

Tom

Rich,

My wife, daughter and I moved to Virginia Beach in 1999. However, I was in Norfolk for a brief period in 1972 when the C&O operated a car float from Newport News to Norfolk where it had a small yard with no outside connections.

This operation was featured in Model Railroad Planning several years ago.

This mentioning of car floats and another thread on terminal railroads gives me some suggestions for my shelf layout dilemma.

Tom

Having been born in 1945 and growing up on the mainline of the Chesapeake & Ohio - one of the major coal roads and hence a hold out for steampower and  living 50 miles from Roanoke and the Norfolk and Western, the last operator of steam power, my sense of nostalgia is strong.

Nevertheless Bob, I do see your point relative to diesels. For many of us the diesels have been the most reliable locomotives we own. While my pre Spectrum Bachmann 2-8-0 and 2-8-2 looked good as did an N&W Y6b from AHM, they were not the best performers.

I will not chastise those who turn their collective noses up at any " infernal combustion" locomotive nor will I praise the steam and nothing but steam hobbyist.

With that thought in mind, maybe I have been incorrect in my feelings that steam sound is over priced, maybe that is a part of the normal cost for such models.

Tom

Bob,

Not too far off topic in my opinion as it seems that sound is becoming more and more common, much like dcc has-. Which in theory should result in a lower inventory carrying cost for the various manufactures.

Unfortunately, I don't see a cost savings in the manufacturers stocking a single model filtering down to the consumer level.


Tom

Bay Coast Railrod car float is indeed in operation between Cape Charles and Little Creek lessd than tyen miles from where I am typing now.


Tom

Sound does add another dimension and I do admit that I have had fun operating friends sound equipped consolidations and to be honest would love to have one.

Since I began this thread, Athearn has announce rd that it will begin adding Tsunami sound to its HO and N lines as well as the Roundhouse products
This should mean an expansion of sound equipped steam as well as diesels.

For me the problem remains that of affordability.

Tom

Quote from: richG on April 29, 2009, 11:27:49 AM
Hi Jim

To the best of my knowledge, Bachmann has the decoders and speakers installed "somewhere" and sell to different on line shops.
Another company is coming out with HO scale Tsunami decoder equipped locos. Cannot say here who it is.

In my e-mail today, this other company seems to be none other than Athearn - interesting as they already have had sound equipped locomotives for several years. Supposedly it will also cover some Roundhouse locos.

As a side note, several years ago when I was first debating DCC it was suggested to me that for a small layout that sound could become overpowering hence somewhat distracting.

Tom

Or you put the non-sound 2-8-0 in a train set with a dc power pack, three passenger cars and track at a suggested retail of $400.00. v. $318.00 for the sound equipped version as a stand alone model.

In a similar  manner, it seems that analog locomotives are becoming dinosaur except for the basic low cost train set lines from Bachmann, Model Power and Lifelike.

If horse racing is the sport of kings, has model railroading become a rich mans hobby ?

Pardon me, but my grape juice was extremely sour today.

Tom

I would like to thank everyone for there input on my question regarding track planning.

I believe that I have come up with a solution to my problem that fits in with my prototype interest in the Clinchfield and C&O, both of which were closely associated with coal.

A few years ago, MR did a brachline for the Turtle Creek Central that served a kit bashed New River Mining Company. This was basically a 2' x 6' extension, I can utilize approximately 2'x14' so I can probably include a truck dump.

A mine near Elkhorn City, KY actually shipped on both the C&O, on which it was physically located, and the Clinchfield. Next comes the task of designing a workable track plan which my prove to be some what more complex than it would seem at first glance.

I think that this should provide adequate opportunities for both operations and detailing to keep my interest up for a few years .

Tom

It appears that Spectrum steam is rapidly becoming sound only.

Case in point the 2-8-0 that was a great little locomotive for a small layout seems to have disappeared unless you get it sound equipped. This is not alltogether bad but becomes pricey for many of us old guys on fixed incomes.

Granted you can still get some nice standard steam that is not sound equipped but these tend to be larger locomotives rather than the small engines common on short line or branches.

Is this a trend that will lead to sound only in the near future?

Indeed, don't sell your self short.

I would suggest that you explore the following web site:

http://www.bobross.com/landscape.cfm

The Bob Ross method makes landscapes very simple to accomplish as it concentrates More on illusion than detail.

In my opinion we lost a great talent when Bob died of cancer, but his method lives on.

Tom