My original layout was HO. It was two thrown together loops with trains going nowhere for no reason. I had everything from FTs to F40s pulling freight trains. And no concept of an operating system. It was rather pathetic but I didn’t know better and can laugh now. Anyone else have any early layout stories they would like to share? I mean after all, we all started out somewhere…
My original trains were 3-rail Lionels. I ran a steamer, and a GG-1, all around impossible curves. I could launch a missile and hit a boxcar, which would “explode” with the sides and top blowing off. The cattle would run around the stock pen, in and out of the stock car which had garage-type doors at each end. Best of all was the crossing guard shack. When the train came along, the door would open and the guard would pop out, swinging a red plastic lantern from an arm mounted on a pivot pin on his shoulder. Not bad, except that this guy (I called him “George” after my Dad) was about 12 scale feet tall. All kinds of schlocky accessories and rolling stock, and a number of silly self-propelled cars, too.
Gee, I wish I still had those trains…
I was so impatient on my first layout that I built the benchwork and laid all of the track in about 2 weeks (it was a 12x4 plan from an Atlas book). In my rush, whenever things didn’t quite fit I just fudged it. The result was a layout where you could barely get a train around the loop without derailing. A few months later I moved and started all over again but I learned my lesson and have been much more careful in tracklaying this time around.
I guess I was bless because I never had “teething” problems like most modelers…You see my Dad was a modeler and taught me a lot of things…I studied railroads as long as I care to remember and as I mention before I am the valedictorian of the school of lessons learn the hard way by trying different things.
Still I found what works best FOR ME and have stayed the course over the years and that includes avoiding the latest “gimmicks” in modeling…Sadly I did fall into some modeling traps along the way as well.
I also question things that others say can’t be done by trying it and 95% of the time I found it CAN be done…
Three pieces of track and a caboose. Yep that’s it oh and I was told to go play in a corner by my cousin so he and a friend could play with the “real set”.
Then I got the old Lionel set but it wasn’t any good as nothing worked.
I’ll get it right eventually.
At age 13, I got my first HO trainset for Christmas: A pair of Tyco F’s in C&O paint with 4 freight cars and a caboose. Bought additional Atlas sectional track and laid it directly on the floor of my bedroom, with ~1/3rd of it under my bed (that was my ‘staging track’ even though I didn’t know that’s what it was called back then). Built a few Atlas structure kits and plopped them down; used Matchbox and HotWheels for vehicles. Biggest problems: Dust bunnies, and tripping over the track.
How about an American Flyer NYC Hudson,pulling B&O heavyweights, a pair of Tyco F’s, Pennsylvania,a NYC SDP-40 and then a UP plymouth switcher in the yard. One Varney baywindow caboose hand painted for NYC and assorted Tyco,Athearn, Lionel and American Flyer(gilbert) freight cars. Matchbox vehicles. Plasticville, Revelle and scratchbuilt.cardstock buildings. Plasticville fiures, unpainted of course, and that lifelike static grass.
It was fun, though.
It was a dark and stormy night and I fell in love with HO. Using Linn Westcott’s book, “HO Railroad That Grows” I built a pretty darned good table. From there on it was Greenhorn City all the way. My top of the line equipment was Tyco and Plasticville. Roadbed? What’s roadbed? The track had to be cleaned every time I ran on it no matter how short the intervals between usages. If not the train jerked, jolted, shuddered, stopped or derailed all the way around the track. Wires everywhere you looked. But what the heck. I was having fun and it wasn’t raining inside.
I still wish I had that Tyco Mikado though.
FritzvB