This is my first ever O Scale loco. Started in HO Scale in 1978, switched to N Scale in 1999, switched back to HO scale in 2009. Hobby was paused from 2013 until I started building my roster again in May 2020. Now I am multi-scale between O Scale and HO. It is my wife's fault and all started with us deciding if we wanted the HO Scale, S Scale, or O Scale Polar Express for Christmas. We loved the O scale....which got my juices going...and next thing you know.......BOOM, my 1st O scale loco. My O scale shelf layout will really be mainline railfanning with the old Hill Lines (Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Burlington). The detail on this thing blew me away.
I posted the O Scale Track Plan in the Layout Discussion thread, but thought I would post it here as well. The purpose of the O Scale layout is really for railfanning mainline trains set loosely in the 1940's with some overlap into the 1960's mainly so that I can have the option to run some the later Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and CB&Q locos. But mostly the era will focus on Steam with the same roads. The shelf layout will consist of two mainline tracks with a third passing siding track. I am planning on Legacy Control and will probably not venture into MTH world (with MTH closing). I have however thought about using the MTH TCU (Track Control Unit) with Lionel Power House units and then Legacy tied into the the respective track blocks from the TCU......But, since I am just starting, I keep trying to apply the KISS principle and just stick with Lionel locos and Legacy. If I get the fancy to do something more advanced down the line, well then that will be an option. Right now, I only have my beast loco posted at the start of this thread (a great start) and that's it. The O-Scale Polar Express is enroute but that is the property of my wife....she wanted the O scale and as stated got my bug started in O scale.....plus how cool is it that my wife wanted a train of her own . The basement train room will host my son's starter HO Layout (currently he has an 4x8 plywood table with a loop of HO and a Pixar slot car track) and the O Scale Layout around the walls. In the far future, this space will host my second HO layout along with the O scale layout (I am hoping my son stays train bitten and we build something together). The O scale layout will be 65" from the floor which for me is a little below eye level with narrow shelves allowing very basic scenery and a few building flats on the backdrop. The first picture is the overall train room with my son's layout in the upper right corner (and partly beneath the O scale layout): The Second Picture is the planned O Scale Shelf Layout:
Been forever and a day since I have posted anything on Trainboard. I find myself much more of a passive reader online compared to years past. I am still working on building the train room for the the basement layout. The design has changed greatly with two O scale layouts and 1 HO layout, stacked. A O-36 layout running small scale sized equipment and Traditional O size equipment (think Lionchief and MPC sizing). Layout height will be 27" off floor. Middle level will be HO at a height of 45". The Upper level will be a O Scale 1/48 layout with mostly O-72 and larger curves and O-54 section on a peninsula. I am still tweaking the plan. Layout construction has been delayed years and I am not expecting to have the O scale layouts operational until sometime in 2028 based on current project timelines. There is other remodeling and projects ahead of this. In the meantime, I am building a O scale shelf loop track in my office to run mostly a modernish BNSF coal train (and of course can run my other equipment that are currently shelf queens). I will be able to operate conventionally and with Legacy. I have a Lionel Base 3 on order for the basement O scale layouts and will move the Lionel Base 2 to my office. There are also two 4x8 no frills layouts in the uncomplete train room now. One for HO and one for O scale with O-36 curves. Both layouts can run two trains at a time. HO is DCC and DC while the O scale 4x8 is conventional and Legacy. I have not created a HO layout plan yet that I am happy with. Being that the HO layout will be the last one built, I have lots of time to come up with something Since 2001 we also have setting up a 4x8 O guage Christmas layout in the living room. I rebuilt the one for this year starting in May 2023. The layout comes apart in four sections which makes moving it to it's storage home in garage much easer.
Ah yes, it's always good to start with a little switcher. tee hee hee There is a book on the N&W where they have shots of a big steamer like that being used to run a 5 car local. This is during the transition era. There is a prototype for everything.
