Hello to all, I'm Tom from NC. This is the first forum I've joined since getting the railroading bug, again. I've loved all things train since I can remember. I decided 30 yrs ago that N scale was the right choice for me. I started with the "Little Joe" train set from Lifelike, which included 2 structures. I became interested in collecting and building structures, more so than spending $$ on rolling stock and planning a layout I had no room for, at the time. I bought my first few decent pieces of rolling stock in the year 2000. Since then, I've kept my passion packed away as my life duties took precedence. Now, I'm finally getting serious about creating my own piece of art, after all the advancements in tech and techniques I've learned about, over the years. Though, it's still an expensive hobby, no matter how much you cost-cut, it's much easier to make your dream a reality, nowadays. I look forward to sharing my progress and ideas with any and all
Welcome to TrainBoard! One way of easing the costs of layout construction, is to consider going with modules. You can build a little at a time. Much has happened in that regard, the past few decades.
Hi Tom, welcome, glad to have you on board. I agree, having a model railroading hobby is much like owning a boat, a hole in the water into which you pour money. Though, why not. Model railroading is fun, relaxing, and allows you to shut out the world.
Thanks to all, glad to be here. BoxcabE50, I'm attaching a pic of what will be the frame of the layout. It's 30" x 62". Someone up the street had it out for trash, so I grabbed my hand truck and wheeled it here. I have four 10 ft. pieces of Unistrut I've had for years. Constuction is all in my head and too much to explain, but involves flipping the frame upside down, putting on blocks with cheap, untreated 4x4s cut & painted to resemble rail ties for the base. The Unistrut will allow me to extend the layout's width to just under 8'. I'll have another 8' Unistrut frame on top for a lightbox. Cutting a few pieces of the frame here and there will give me a decent museum-style display once finished, I believe. Being all metal will make it extremely easy to cover sections unseen using magnets and panels. I imagine these type stands would make a decent frame for experimenting with helixes in HO or N scale, if one had the space. I've seen them in repair shops, etc., usually holding heavy auto parts and such. But, yes, modules are a great idea and seem to be the new thing. I just don't have space for more than what I'm planning, a simple shortline with most of the basic oval loop obscured by trees and ravines. It will be a southeastern Southern Railway scene set in the late 70s, before the Norfolk Southern merger. Again, thanks to all for the greetings. Sorry for being long-winded, I'm just really excited to get started on this project
Welcome aboard, Tom from one of the few members here who does not model. Getting so old I don't even chase the real ones any more.
fitz, thank you, friend. Well, I'm right there with you.. I'm exploding with ideas and enthusiasm, bought a bunch of structures and rolling stock, lately.... but I've yet to build anything, other than the 5 or so structures covered in dust that I built 30 years ago. I'm 57 in a couple of months, so we'll have to see if I can actually follow through on my goals. My biggest hindrance right now is a cluttered house. Plenty of usable space has become storage for many years. It's gonna take a massive effort to even get started. I had planned to get this thing going before Covid hit and wish like heck I could've used all that lockdown time to build. It is what it is, though. I'm just glad to see things getting back to somewhat normal in the manufacturing and shipping industries, stuff becoming available and in stock. Nice to meet you, glad to see you're still a railfan. I'll always love trains, model trains, abandoned rails, rail history, railroad songs, stories and ghostly legends... I love it all!
Can someone tell me how to "like" others' comments and replies? Is it just a probationary period for new members? I can't find a button to like any of your comments...
Welcome to TrainBoard! (We love some "Southern".) Re: "like", like button should be there. Maybe contact Admin.
I finally figured out the problem. I'm on Chrome for Android and you have to select "view desktop site" to view as on computer. Thx for commenting, very glad to be here. Forums are the way to go for learning and finding info. You can just get lost trying to sift through videos and articles on your own.
