You're welcome. Glad to be able to help.

Craig, I'm not aware of any cork board shortage here in Florida. I'm assuming that you are talking about just cork sheets or rolls for laying track, not framed cork boards for bulletin boards. I just checked out Hobby Lobby's website. They have rolls of cork available in both 1/8 and 1/4 inch thicknesses, as well as framed boards. One other thought: check out the tile department at your local big-box store for cork tiles. Hope this helps.

By necessity I run 15" radius HO track on my On30 layout. I like small steam engines, so my roster consist mainly of 0-4-0 and 0-4-2 Porters which run without any problems. I also have a 2-6-2T trench locomotive, a 50-ton Whitcomb diesel and a 0-6-0 steamer. On the layout I have two short, sharp back-to-back opposing curves. All of the above locomotives negotiate them without problems, except for the 0-6-0. Due to its rigid wheelbase, it derails on the opposing curves. However the 2-6-2T has no problems. So needless to say, the 0-6-0 sits, looking very pretty, in the yard and at Christmas time, runs on the Christmas village layout when we set it up. All in all, I've no complaints about going with 15" and would do it again. Hope this helps.

Dennis, since you didn't tell us what you already have, I'm going to assume that you don't have anything. Therefore, before you purchase anything DCC related, I would highly recommend that you do some due diligence and research the various aspects of DCC, especially the differences in controllers (DCC's equivalent of a DC power pack) because, depending on the manufacturer, each controller will have different features. Also, you may want to read up on the DCC spec at the National Model Railroad Association's web site, since they maintain the standard. One thing to remember: Even though the NMRA has standardized the DCC spec, that standardization pertains mainly to running trains - all of the other features and functions are left to the discretion of each manufacturer. Once you become informed, you will find it a lot easier to decide on your purchases.

The short list:

  - A DCC system of your choice
  - At least one locomotve with a DCC decoder installed
  - Track
  - Rolling stock

There may be something I've overlooked but this is all that comes to mind now. I'm sure other model railroaders will chime in and expand on the list. Hope this helps.

Majord732, unfortunately, I have no experience with the NCE PowerCAB system.

Majord732, you may not need to purchase a booster, you may just need to install a 1K-ohm resistor across the rails on the programming track. My Digitrax system had the same issue with recognizing some, not all, Bachmann decoders. Digitrax support told me that they frequently encounter this problem and that the solution is to install a 1K-ohm resistor (I used a 1/2 watt) across the rails on a discrete programming track. They emphasized the need for a completely separate track. Being a little skeptical, I tried it and it worked like a charm. They also said to remove the resistor for other makes of decoders as it could cause unpredictable results. What I did was to take a short alligator clip test cord, cut it in half and solder each half to the resistor, one at each end. This way, when I need to program a Bachmann engine, I just clip the resistor to the rails at one end of the programming track and then remove it when I'm done. Hope this helps.

Saw UP 4014 as it rolled up to the Rochelle Railroad Park this morning. It was an amazing sight. Unfortunately, I had to watch in on Trains cam as I am about 900 miles away. Still, very enjoyable. 

Exactly, Mark. As a seasoned citizen, I originally modeled in N scale. However, over the years, I found that from swimming in water or even just showering, my arms shrank to the point that my eyes could no longer enjoy the fine details of Bachmann N products. Hence, On30! Thanks again, Bachmann.

Bob, you're welcome. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask.

Bob, I had the very layout that you're thinking of building. Although mine was not built on a hollow-core door, it was 31 inches deep and 108 inches long. I ran 12.5 inch curves on the outer and 11.25 inch curves on the inner track. I had roughly 3 inches of space along the front of the layout and approximately 1.75 inches of space along the rear of the layout. One thing to keep in mind, and it almost bit me when I was constructing the layout, is that the curve radius is measured to the centerline of the track piece, meaning that a good .5 inch of roadbed is projecting beyond the centerline on both the front and rear of the layout. Anyway, I've now switched to On30 because my arms shrunk to the point my eyes could no longer appreciate the fine detail in Bachmann N scale but, surprisingly, I was able to use the same layout structure with just a little modification. The mod involved adding about 2 inches in depth and that was it. BTW, the N scale layout's been gone at least 4 or 5 years so all of the measurements are from memory and may vary a little. One final suggestion, and this is what I did, is to buy a couple of packages of both 12.5 and 11.25 inch radius track and set up the curves on a card table (the one we have is about 40"x 40"). This will give you a much better idea of how to go about laying out the track. I know it was a big help to me. Hope this helps.

John, instead of a 900+ mile trip, I believe I will thank them right here in the Forum.

THANK YOU, BACHMANN!

Hi Linda! Welcome to the forum. If you get a chance, dig up some of the past On30 Annuals (which year(s) escapes me at the moment) and you will find some excellent articles by Lee.One of my favorites is one describing on how to create an alternate universe for a layout - it really helped me with mine. I think you will find them very interesting.

Lee, it looks great! Let's go for another ten years.
Fred

Lee, your layout ranks among my top favorite layouts, right along-side with David Popp's Olympia, Dave Meek's Thunder Mesa and Garry Beatty's Puerto Borracho. I always enjoy seeing pictures of your layout and it continues to inspire me even after 10 years. Looking forward to seeing more articles.

Theo, a lot of times I use the 1:50 figures available on Amazon and Ebay. I have tried the 1:43 figures but in most cases they are too large for my needs. Since On30 is a "diminutive" O-scale, the 1:50 figures seem to fit in better than the 1:43 versions. Hope this helps.