Hi folks. A probably-too-long video of one of my sound-equipped Berks, No. 732, taking a train around my still-under-constuction N-scale NKP layout. John C. [video=youtube;CtrO8NB8bRE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CtrO8NB8bRE[/video]
very appreciated video! everything is looking great. i like what you've done! thanks for sharing. looking forward to more. respectfully Gary L Lake Dillensnyder
Thanks! What a nice video of excellent modelling. Having grown up adjacent to the NKP mainline in NE Ohio, I appreciate your chosen locale.
Hi John, thanks for the video and the new layout tour...nice long run. looking good! regards, Otto K.
Nice video, John! I liked seeing the electric furnace building I kitbashed for you again after all these years. Lorain looks very much like it did on your old layout, though somewhat rearranged. How about a track plan?
John I have been searching the site here for more information/pictures of your Nickel Plate Road model railroad. Have not found any. Have you shared your trackplan? It looks like a really fine one in the video. Would love to see it. Thanks, Gary L Lake Dillensnyder
Wow!!!!! Awesome!! Have been pondering wether to go with DCC and Sound ......... SOLD!! Excellent video! The steam sounds are spectacular, and very real sounding.
John, The layout is great, and the sounds of the loco are awsome. The sound level is perfect. Is it a Tsunami? Do you have a thread about how you installed the decoder or decoders? Carl
I really enjoyed the video John. The layout is coming around very nicely and the length of the video was fine... more would even be better!! I don't have a Berk in my assorted menagerie of steamers because they generally didn't run west of the Mississippi. I really like the side-rod action of the Berk and might find room for a 'loaner' to a western road. Tell us more about the sound installation... it really was done very nicely in the video. Thanks for sharing!!!
Hi everyone. Thanks for all the feedback. I do have an overall track plan that I did using Atlas's track planning software, but I've modified it along the way and don't have a completely accurate version of it (and not sure how I export that to something that I could add as an attachment - though willing to try if someone can give some guidance). The layout is basically a large "E" design in a 28' x 14' basement room. Bellevue Yard is on the long wall on the south side of the room; Lorain and the steel mill are on opposite sides of the middle leg of the "E" and Fostoria is along the north wall. The westbound staging yard is also along the north wall, behind the backdrop for Fostoria. For those interested in the sound installation, I use a medium-steam micro-Tsunami (TSU-750) from Soundtraxx, married to a 14 x 25mm speaker in a custom enclosure made out of lead sheet. The speaker sits in the bottom of the tender frame firing up toward the coal load; I've drilled a bunch of holes with a #70 drill bit in the coal load for sound egress. Motor control for the steamers is done via a Lenz Silver Mini installed in the cab of the engine. Yes, that means that each of my steamers has two decoders: a Lenz for motor control and a Soundtraxx Tsunami for sound. Photos of the ongoing construction are available on Picasa Web at NewNKPConstruction There's still a whole lot of scenery work to do on the layout, but the track is all laid, and most of the buildings are in place. I've taken considerable artistic license with the layout of the towns of Lorain and Rocky River (e.g., they don't look anything like reality, but the names of the industries are real, taken from NKP track diagrams from the 1950's), but the track layout for Bellevue Yard pretty much mirrors the real thing; the Rocky River viaduct is somewhat compressed, but also looks very much like the real viaduct (that is still used by NS, I believe), and the layout of National Carbon at Fostoria also is pretty close to what was there in 1955 per a Sanborn map. I use 7 operators on the layout: one each for the EB and WB mainline trains; one to run the EB yard; one to run the WB yard; one for the Lorain/Rocky River local; one for the Fostoria local; and one to switch the steel mill. John C.
John Thanks so much for posting all that helpful information and the link to the photos of construction. You have done a superb job with this model railroad and are to be commended. Kudos, and again thanks for sharing. Sincerely, Gary L Lake Dillensnyder
John: Great video. Your high standards of construction and modeling are evident! Please keep the videos coming!
