Jim’s been busy on his N scale module for his model railroad club:
“Alastair attached are photos of the 2 6foot modules that myself and another member of our model Railroad Club are building.
Still needs more detailing but we do have N Scale trains running.
Our club layout has always been HO so members of our club running N scale were not able to run our trains with these new modules we will be able to and club members can cross these modules with there trains on the upper level.
I have sent a total of 9 photos 3 on this email and 2 more with 3 each
Jim
Moose Jaw, SK. Canada”
N scale modules for a HO club – love it!
Now on to Eytan:
“Hi Al,
I m a newcomer to that game, When I lived in London in the 60-70th, I bought from Hamleys a Fleishmann set.
For 30 years it was laying in an old suitcase.
Cov-19 made me do work at home and I found the suitcase,,,, that was 10 months ago.
I started reading on the internet everything about layouts and how to start.
Your site is my daily teacher and master.
I table is 330cm u shape and 150 deep (on both sides and 80 cm at the centre).
I used only wood from old pallets. I have started building 8×4 feet, but very soon realised that I would not be able to reach all points on the table.
Then I decided to change it to U shape.
not knowing/having a computer programme, I started with my own planning.
I m enclosing my layout without and scenery.
I m sending a few photos.
Many thanks indeed for all I have learned from you
Regards Eytan from Israel”
A huge thanks to Jim and Eytan.
I really do enjoy reading about how you all fell back into the hobby, and seeing the pics of your endevours make it even more special.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you pick the hobby back up, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
Eytan, Guess you found a deal on curved track. I would rethink your plan u have ends that don’t meet, elevated track off kilter, Try straight track as long as you can till you have to turn then sweep with a greater curve like minimum of 22* or 24 * Just my thoughts been there done that. You learn by doing.
The Critic
I agree with Robert Brady – Eyton’s risers, substructures and roadbed need to be reconfigured if he wants to avoid endless frustrations and disappointments down the road.
We all want to get to the point of seeing trains run asap, but the single most fundamental aspect of the hobby that demands and deserves the utmost devotion of time and meticulous attention to flawless construction is track and roadbed.
Aggressive transitions to grades, uneven risers, eyeball guesstimations that things are “level enough”, gaps, excessive use of curves, etc will produce a layout that is prone to loco stalling, rolling stock derailments etc. When the fun factor disappears, the pike gets ignored and ends up as a dust collector, which is a shame. Apologies for the tough love, but it’s best to nip it in the bud and fix things now.
For Jim in Moosejaw – I really like ‘The Canadian’ with the AB consist at the head … is that a Kato product? Intermountain? Please advise.
I like the idea of N scale in the distance of HO for perspective. One of our favorites, John Allen, used different scales for a perspective of distance in his photos. I’ll at least try with buildings, vehicles, people and animals of a smaller scale.
Pretty Kool.!!!
The AB units were the first DCC Loco that I got. They are Bachmann and were Santa Fe I repainted them and installed a digital sound decoder in the B unit. With the new decoder in the B unit it allowed me to speed match better. The Bachmann decoders did not have cv 5 and 6 and speed matching was hard to do.
First rate. Love it.
thanks to all who responded to my layout. I m open and welcome critics, as that is the only way anyone can learn and correct mistakes.
I used curves R3 & R4 . I agree that I should use one standard rail. I m in the process of getting more Roco & Fleishmann rails.
Eytan, I suggest you use a software like scarm or a similar track design program. They can be VERY helpful in checking your hoped for design with what a specific track mfgr will allow. Especially in curves, space for turnouts, tracks too close and what your actual grade is on a specific piece of track or entire elevation and where structures you want will not fit!. You can still modify it somewhat but you see the design in 3D and many potential design flaws. Your construction must be as close to flawless to prevent derailments especially in smaller scales. Changes in elevation, curve transitions, and misalignments of joints will cause operational nightmares. Get the major track operation smooth running before you invest lots of time in scenics. I hate ripping up track to fix something i really knew was going to be problematic from the start but did it anyway. above all, do not get discouraged. Rome was not built in a day. Smile.