8/9/11 7:46pm central time. I wanted to share a moment with all of you model railroad guys. A moment that doesn’t mean much to anyone but railroad guys. About a year and three months ago I started over. Tore out my old layout and began again. Tonight at 7:46pm I took a train around the new layout. What a feeling! The new layout runs point to point, but also lets me run “Christmas Tree” around my layout room with a drop in bridge across the doorway of the layout room. Now after a long day at work I can sit in the room and watch trains circle around me on the double main. Happy about tonight except for the fact that I had hoped to have the layout done for operation so my dad could run trains with me on the new layout. He passed away at the end of April while I was still in bench construction. He was 89 years old and started me in the hobby in the late 60’s. Still nice tonight to see the trains running! The Gulf Breeze & Holley Version 2 is up and running!
Nice!
My bet would be Dad was right there next to you for the first run, and then some.[<:o)]
That first run is always the best. Like driving a new car for the first time. On my current layout the first train to make the run was a 25 car freight led by my two SDP40F’s in which Athearn and Life-Like Proto 2000 were well represented.
Great moment. Thanks for letting us experience it with you.
Skipper,
Thanks for sharing your story. I remember when I hooked up my newly purchased Bachmann E-Z Command back in 2005 and ran DCC for the first time. Waaaaay too much fun! [Y][8D]
And I am sorry you couldn’t share your recent moment with your dad. If you haven’t already, Skipper, I would encourage you to add something on your layout - big or small - in honor of your dad that reminds you of your dad and of all the good memories you had with him. Personal touches like that really make a layout more special - even if only for you.
Tom
I remember my first run very well. I spent most of a Sunday morning laying down the last few feet to finish off one of my double track mainlines. Once it completed that first complete circle you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I spent the rest of the day in the basemant just running trains in circles, lol.
Oh, I AGREE. My first time with my EZ C was great! I am definitely a DCC convert.
I get the joy of “first run” every November when after Thanks Giving we set up the under the tree layout!
Skipper,
I lost my Dad to leukemia 7 years ago. He didn’t live to see my layout finished either, although a lot of the models on it are ones he built with me 40+ years ago.
Trust me, you weren’t able to share the moment with him, but he was smiling just the same.
Both my parents were behind my model rr.as a kid. I hope to have a good layout someday. Will think of all the steps they helped me with along the way from the basic carpentry to painting skills… Neither lived to see more than the early, rather bare layouts I had through HS, all those years ago. Just took to long to get restarted.
Thanks for sharing,
Richard