Hello all :]. Names Cory and I'm brand new to the hobby. Thought I'd stop by here and introduce myself. Always had some interest in the really awesome layouts and designs. Of course I immediately think of having a grand massive layout with EVERYTHING under the sun . My first jump into the hobby will be making some layouts for the playroom areas for children's hospitals for charity etc. Seeing as I know very little about the hobby and design etc I'll be needing lots of help and will be asking tons of questions here. Hope I don't drive anyone insane ha. The extent of my knowledge is about the level of "ooooh, choo choo prettty!" Looking forward to having a good time here and with the hobby in general :] Thanks !
Cory, Well, at least you won't hear much you already know:uhoh: Welcome to a great hobby, a great site and our little family. Like the sound of your plan - great idea! Fire away with the questions, plenty of folks here willing to answer and advise.
Thanks Eagle! Funny coincidence, I am also from CO springs! I'm just a pinch north of USAFA. If you're willing feel free to pm me where you are at more or less :].
Hi Cory, Welcome to the TrainBoard. Sounds like great projects. What immediately comes to mind are multiple areas (rooms?) with age appropriate layouts, e.g. wooden trains/track, Thomas and family, more elaborate system, etc. Each room might have an age appropriate door height to prohibit older kids and parents from interfering with unrestricted imaginations at work. Hope you have as much fun as your "clients".
Thanks everyone! Glad to be here :]. Sadly looks like I'm going to have to shelve this idea for now at least as it seems I underestimated kids ability to destroy... ha. Looks like Thomas wooden train sets for them instead. Any other ideas of who to donate layouts to?
Yes, consider schools. However, not as a classical model train layout, but as a transportation system with two or more destination terminals that challenges the child's intellectual ability to solve cargo switching movements as interactive physical problems. Model Railroader has published articles on this subject over the years, which the MR staff might be happy to help you locate. The featured layout usually was a 4x8 sheet of plywood with a well thought out track plan containing a continuous loop and two "destinations", each with relatively complex yard and siding designs. The layout contained no scenery, just some buildings representing warehouse or customer locations to add some realism. The real challenge was for the school to have an imaginative teacher with a technical or mathematical background who could develop cargo movement and switching problems for the students to solve. Of course the problems (and layouts) would be designed to match and challenge the education level of each grade, from elementary through high school. This is where sectional track such as Kato Unitrack would be helpful, giving the teacher the ability to quickly construct a non-permanent layout to match a specific grade-level ability. In more advanced grades, the teacher would have two teams of students challenge each other by having one team design layouts and switching problems for the other team to solve. The beauty of this is that it teaches students to think by solving physical problems with their hands and minds, rather than just sitting while a teacher talks about concepts written on boards.
