What do you do with your locomotives?

I now have 4 locomotives and I'm running DC. (DCC is in the future, but not so near future)

Being new to this hobby, I am having a little bit of a tough time figuring what to do with my locomotives? Do you all actually take them off the track and only run 1 or 2 at a time, or do you move them off to a siding or yard that you can remove power from?

 

I see that term "NTrak" alot. What is "NTrak"?

 

click this.. www.ntrak.org read to your hearts content.

 

Ntrak is a national N-scale module club with local chapters. Members are encouraged to build a standard module so it can be brought to a train show and connected with several others to form a large layout. It's allows for some VERY long trains to be run!

You can see more information here: http://www.ntrak.org/

[ February 02, 2006, 11:36 AM: Message edited by: Bruce-in-MA ]

 

I tend to have 4 to 6 on the layout at one time. Most are run in tandom while the others are stored in a siding where I can turn power off.

All engines are returned to thier boxes, (crystal cases), and stored in a shipping box like the one they were shipped ot me in.

 

I tend to leave many on the layout. The JJJ&E is run by DCC so leaving them on the track is not a problem.

I rotate all my loco's over the course of a year, so they all do get running time.


Stay cool and run steam....

 

I leave the locos on the layout. When you have just a few, you could probably put them away each time. But after you have aquired a few, you may get tired of putting them away each time. It won't hurt them to sit on the layout. The amount of room-air dust may also be a factor in what you choose to do.

 

Mostly my concern is the fact that I do not yet have DCC and I currently only have 2 sidings that can be turned off.
Sometimes it can get confusing when you are trying to put one on that siding and get another one off it, etc.
I usually have 1 or 2 derailments every evening out of confusion too. I'm learning though...
Maybe I'll invest in an Atlas track selector thingy.

 

You will learn how it all works soon enough. You never will have enough sidings to keep all of your locos on the layout. They end up on sidings and in the round house, on display shelves. in boxes that you have forgotten about even on other peoples layouts. The important thing is you are on your way to collecting the most toys over all so you can win the game.

 

Five Flat - Run 2 together.
Works for me.

 

FiveFlat:

This is just the turntable area and related service tracks on the JJJ&E:











Stay cool and run steam....

 

Here is what I have done to get some of the NS units off the railroad. To the right of the picture is a 2 ft by 8 ft inclosed shelf over Bluefield yard that can store a lot of locomotives when not in use.

Scott

 

First, I never take them out of the box. That would release the factory installed air and devalue them on the Ganymede free trade auction site.

Sometimes I make a fort with the boxes and have war games with other nerds.

I load the older ones into shotgun shells and use them to hunt bears.
NO!! WAITE!!! That’s politically incorrect and besides, I use the MDC tank cars for that.

It does get tough to decide which locomotives to run when you have more than your layout can accommodate. I just rotate through the ones that fit.

Lately I haven’t been running the larger 6 axle locos much as they overpower my layout.

 

So, going with the idea suggested by Scott,
A 1x4
Mounted on a wall (or not even mounted but just stored somewhere safe)
Two or 3 lengths of flex track, (nicley ballasted)
plexi edge around it

Cheap, Easy, and Quick

 

Hey,
Its now fuller than this.

 

Hmm, sorta on topic:
Here is my long term sollution. This will ammount to staging and off layout storage:

 

Matt:

Your "buying frenzy" is moving along at a reasonable pace.

Hmmm, 48 loco's and 130+ cars. That's about right.

Now all you need is a layout.....

Stay cool and run steam.....