Just looking to see if there are any other N scalers in on here from South Carolina... I am in the Sumter area and have a layout under construction.
I am. Or at least I am about to be. I have been wanting to get a layout going and have been mulling over HO (I already have some HO equipment) and N and have decided I do not have enough HO stuff to really worry about being out too much money so the switch to N is on. I live up in Fort Mill right off I-77 before you cross the NC state line. About 1.5 hours from you. I see you are AD USAF. I spent 4 years at Shaw in CE. If you are in CE you can talk to the engineers there and they probably remember me. I retired in 2005 from the USAF Academy and moved on to a nice civilian job in Charlotte. There was a decent hobby shop in Columbia but it has been years since I have been there and it was mostly HO. There is an N scale modular club in Spencer NC (Central Carolina N Scalers) but the is almost 200 miles from you. Not sure of any others around but I am sure there is bound to be something near Columbia and Charleston I would think. I am just starting my planning now. I recently finished off my basement and have a room that I can use for a layout. Looking to have a double deck layout with close to 200 linear feet of mainline. I am planning on modeling the New England area, specifically the Housatonic RR. It is a modern day shortline with a few locomotives and runs from Canaan, CT up to Pittsfield, MA. Let me know if you need help. I'll do what I can. John
Actually, I think we have spoken before on one of the On30 groups... The academy and CE thing stick out in my head. There is the one store in Columbia, and they are ok. LIke you said, mostly HO. They have a lot of scenery supplies and paint though which really helps. I am a member of a club up in Columbia, and we do some NTRAK things, we only have 4 N scalers. One of whom went to the national show in Kentucky. I am in maintenance, so I probably don't know too many people over in CE... My bench work is done, main line and yard laid and am just starting to do some scenery. I am doing Southern California in the 1990's, when I was growing up. I don't acknowledge the UP motive power wise. I run all SP, ATSF/BNSF and some WP. I also don't run any amtrash. It is progressing slowly. I just need to ge tmy dcc to work. See you around. Andrew Gillette
I am in Spartanburg. I run modern equipment on a 10'x8' layout. There are at least 5 other N scalers in Spartanburg.
Andrew, I think you are correct in that I talked to you before on an On30 board. I was probably planning on being On30 at the time. I am so wishy-washy when it comes to selecting what I am going to do it changes daily:tb-biggrin: I just need to make sure I stick with this since the Housatonic is a great line to model, although operationally it is not the hottest railroad in the world. But for a one man show like me it will do nicely. It has enough operations to keep me busy for several long operating sessions Unfortunately right now my layout room shares the space with a wrestling mat and a ping pong table, neither of which are very conducive to modeling LOL I am hoping my son rarely uses the mat so I can convince the wife that I need the whole room and I can also build a portable On30 layout to take to shows. Or expand the N scale layout to fill the room. I could get nearly 300 linear feet of railroad in that room with nice wide aisles if I could use the middle of the room.
And Hemi has the distinction of living near my next to last assignment in Malmstrom AFB. Of all my assignments that was the one I miss. The others I can take em or leave em but that one was a keeper. Most poeple think that Great Falls was an icebox which, at times was true, but for 10 months out of the year it was great. And the Milwaukee is my favorite road. Everytime I look at the that MRL layout in MR I get second thoughts about modeling something east. And Great Falls has that wonderful depot, large yard (hump yard I think), some switching, dams, bridges, grain trains, mountainous scenery nearby, tunnels. :tb-ooh:(Must focus, temptation setting in, changes, yes changes I see, the dark side is calling me forth) Arrghhh!!!! See what I mean about being wishy-washy LOL
Andrew, I'm in West Columbia. Welcome aboard. I've got a small layout I've been messing around with the last few years. It will be interesting to follow the progress on yours. The train store is still in Columbia and although it is mostly HO, if you need scenery materials, paints and such it has a pretty decent selection. There is a train club in Conway (Myrtle Beach) that has a pretty good sized N layout. John -- you've got a basement!!! Didn't think there was such a thing in the Palmetto State. Chris Puza West Columbia, SC Chris Puza
Hey Andrew Fred here. I live in Conway,SC . I belong to the Grand Strand Model RR Club in Myrtle Beach. We are located over Ed's Hobby Shop, where Hwy.501 runs into Main street. We have both an N-scale, and HO layout under construction. We also have N-Track modules. Just returned from the N-Scale Convintion in Louisville, Ky today. When you get to Myrtle Beach stop by and see us. We are at the club on Saturays 1pm to usually 4pm,and on Mondays 6pto about 8pm. Fred Jackson Msgt USAF Ret
Yeah Chris I got lucky. There are not that may of them in SC but I have one of 6 in my neighborhood (500+ homes). They are more prevalent in the area around Charlotte. I added over 1400 finished SF when I finished the space off. :tb-biggrin:
I have been to the Club in Myrtle Beach. I was able to talk to the wife into swinging through when we were in town for labor day. I can't help but hink how many young airman would get into trouble if Myrtle Beach AFB was still open... For Chris Puza, have you ever been over to see the layouts at AMROC? We meet every Thursday and I happen to be the N scale Chairman. We have a decent layout under construction and have three loops running. With gas being the way it is, I try and make multiple appointments in the Columbia area on club days, otherwise it is hard to justify the trip. I am still new to this page, so I will figure out how to post some pictures here tonight. We set up our NTRAK modules maybe once a year right now. It all depends on whether or not any major shows come to town. We have also been going to regional or national shows. We had one member who went to Louisville (if you saw some modules with real running water, they were his) and we regularly participate in the Autumn Rails up in Flat Rock.
Andrew, Actually, I was a member of AMROC years ago. I ran into Ken and Cai (?) in Louisville last week. They told me you'd removed the old layout (I helped build that one) and had started a new one. I'll try to get down there one Thursday. Thanks for the tip... Chris
I didn't know they were planning on going up there. Between being sick and work its been hard for me to get up there lately. Here are some pictures of my layout. Keep in mind that it is a work in progress...
