[TABLE="class: tborder vbseo_like_postbit, width: 100%, align: center"] [TR] [TD="class: alt1, bgcolor: #E4E5E5"]Hi Everyone My name is Noah. I've recently re-discovered my love for model railroading at the age of 31. I had trains until about age 14. Now, as an old married man working full time, model railroading is the perfect hobby for me. Luckily, my wife is actually quite supportive of model railroading. I'm a CSUS Alum and work in Urban Planning. The company I worked for is transforming an old cannery in Downtown Sacramento into a mixed use community. We actually worked with Regional Transit and built a Light Rail Station on our property -so building a real life railroad is my most recent experience. Search: "Township 9, Sacramento" for more info on my project. I've started my first N Scale layout. My planned objectives: Unitrack, 80x40", two mainlines, 8-10 switches, DCC controlled, small yard, no grade changes, a couple water features w/ truss bridge crossings, extruded foam base/mountains, ballasted track, extensive learning and lots of fun! I look forward to talking trains with all of you! Cheers. Noah (I'll post photos of my layout in a few days when the forum allows me to add links)[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
Very cool! I was just in Sacramento last month, en route to Mt. Shasta. My first time in the state capitol since 1989. Got to ride the RT Metro LRT and went to the State RR Museum. With an urban planning background, it looks like your layout town will be better-planned than most layout towns are! Look forward to seeing your layout!
Hi Noah, Welcome aboard. I agree, your background should bring a totally unique perspective to your layout...It will be (shudder) organized. :wideeyes:
Noah, Welcome to Trainboard from a transplant from Sacramento County, (Citrus Heights). When I lived down there, there was a couple of good clubs. One in Sacramento and the other in Roseville. Good luck with your railroad.
Metro Red Line- Right on. My Dad and climbed Shasta last July -that was a tough one! How great is the State RR Museum in Sacramento? Actually, I was just in a seminar and met the Chair of the Board for the new Railroad Museum at the Old Union Pacific Railyards. This new museum and Railyards development are still under construction. He asked me if I'd be interested in becoming a board member. Of course I said yes! It'll be neat to see if that comes to fruition. Hytec- No guarantees! I'm not used to this completely de-regulated environment! Ironhorseman- very cool! And yes, I'd like to get involved with some of those clubs after I get my skills/knowledge up to speed. Eagle2- Thanks! E-8- Thank you! Boxcab- Thanks and will do!
The photos below may give you a quick background of the past 7-8 weeks of my planning and getting back into the model railroading. I own a town home, so I couldn't build anything much bigger than a HCD layout. Although, I went for heavily overbuilt bench work when I would have probably been better off with a door (I have a background in building skate ramps). Ehh, like I said, this layout is a total learning experience. I've enjoyed all of it so far though! I am very roughly basing the layout off of Truckee, CA (or a similar mountain town) in the 1970's. With this being my first layout of adult life, I'd rather not use the word prototype. IMHO, it seems you have to earn the right to claim your layout is prototypical. Here was my first design in AnyRail. Obviously I realized some amateur flaws with this design. After several revisions, this is what I have arrived at. This photo was taken on March 23rd buying my first few pieces of track at the World's Greatest Hobby Show in Sacramento. This was taken two weeks ago. I have gotten a bit further, but I am waiting on my next round of buying track. Last week, I got in a bit more practice shaping foam. Two inline double wide truss bridges will span the large water feature. I will eventually re-stake the road. There is a small pond on top of this mountain/hill that has a little waterfall feeding the river below. Nothing is mounted to the base foam yet.
Noah, welcome to Trainboard. Looks like you are definitely serious about this stuff. Personally, I have great memories of Railfairs 91 and 99 at CSRM.
Jim- I suppose I am getting a bit serious about the hobby. I used to be very involved in a number of sports. I miss them and I miss tinkering on my machines in the garage. Now that we own a garage-less town home, trains are perfect for me to fill the void in my life. How great is the California State Railroad Museum? Sacramento and its surrounding areas have loads of railroad history. I read that the '99 Railfair was "hailed as the last great rail event of the millennium." The next one will be in another 4-6 years when the Railroad Technology Museum opens around the corner. This is the museum I was informally asked to become a board member of. Thanks for the warm welcome, Jim! Hank- Thank you! And I still have plenty of time to mess things up ;-) Regardless, I will continue to share my progress on the layout.
