As I said before I left, I my pipe dream was to build a craftsman silver mine and design a layout for my basement.
I didn’t start the mine and spent the week fighting with 3rdPlanIt trying to get it do do what I could get XtraCAD to do with ease. I found a lot of work arounds, but so far, I’m disappointed with the lack of intuitiveness. Perhaps I’ll change my mind.
As far as the layout goes, I ended up scrapping it, because although I got all the features I was looking to model of the California Western Railroad, when it got to the beach run where they dropped the lumber via cable off the bluffs to the waiting ships, I couldn’t figure out how to turn the locomotive around. A turntable would have been out of place and a wye would have caused the elimination of the key features that made that segment of the line so interesting to model. Bummer.
On a positive note, I visited 4 of the 5 places you all recommended I go see. I went to the Hobby Shop in Madison, and it was the best I’ve been to so far–the first that not only knew what an NMRA gauge was, they actually had one. Still they had very little of interest to me. They did have two undecorated Dash 8s Atlas Masters with DCC for $55 each. If it would have been just about any other engine I would have bought both of them. But the B & P just doesn’t run them. It’s a good deal if any of you need that one. They have a website.
Next I went to the Camp 5 Logging Museum and rode a 2-6-2 Prairie. The logging museum itself was semi-interesting but not related to redwoods logging.
On the way back to the cottage from Camp 5, I caught sight of a steamer in the town of Rhinelander. It turned out to be a free logging museum that actually had more stuff than the one one I just went to. The steamer was a narrow gauge 2-8-0. IN the basement of the museum–a train station that was moved a couple miles to the park–was a layout of the town. They just converted t
Welcome home!
I understand what you mean about the family being bored to tears. My wife will walk around a hobby shop with me but I know she’d rather be anywhere else.
Oh well, I’ve spent many an hour leaning on a dress rack in some department store waiting for her in my life.
Jarrell
SpaceMouse! Glad you had a good trip and finally found a “good” hobby shop. Good thing you’re back, I was starting to suffer withdrawal symptoms from the lack of SpaceMouse posts to read. LOL [:D]
I can agree with you on the boredome issue. I am overjoyed when in a hobby shop, yet my parents keep looking at their watch. Sad. I think I was starting to suffer SpaceMouse withdrawal symptoms. I think the cure is 10-20 SpaceMouse Posts. Welcome back! [:)]
thats why i go to the hobby shop alone!!![:D]
My dad always used to say: Are we ready?
Of course, thats after ive spent a hour gazing
I remeber going to the BIG E Convention in Springfield MA with some friends who had little to no experience with the hobby. By the time it was 4:00 or so they were dragging me out
Plus we were all getting really sick of the smell in the Strom Building[xx(]
Yeah, we missed you, Mouse. But, we also knew you were having a good time and getting your batteries recharged. We would be the eventual beneficiaries. [:D]
My best LHS is a complete one with RC stuff and craft and knitting/sewing stuff for the ladies. If my wife is with me, I can squeeze a bit more time out of her because she can amuse herself elsewhere in the store.
Too bad about your experience with 3D. Those things can be so frustrating when they are counterintuitive. So, have you really scrapped the beast, or are you going to do a refit? I feel badly that you have not met with the success you need to get your , it seems increasingly unique, layout going.
Great that you were able to see the museum layout in Rhinelander and the Hobby Connection in Rothschild! These are two of my favorite train places. The Camp 5 Museum is a little lame, but that coal fired prarie is fun to ride behind!
I have to go to the one in Rhinelander again, since they have converted to DCC. It was still DC block control last time I was there.
Again, good to have you back. Your interesting topics and replies add a lot to this forum!
Too short. I had a wedding to go to the first couple days and then the 4th was shot in terms of getting the boat in the water. I had two days fishing total ofut of the ten days vacation. It was earlier in the season then I usually go because of the wedding and it took most of the first day to figure out the bass were in the shallows. The second day got rained out in the evening. Of course the hot part of the day, I worked as guide to several kids going panfish fishing. I got three keepers in those two days.
But I go out on the lake in my boat. I get withdrawls when I don’t.
AS for 3rd Planit, I like the 3D aspect of it, but the track laying is quirky. Simple connections are rejected and I have to fudge things to make the program work. It drives me nuts when the track falls on the floor. I have no clue why it does it. I also have not figured out how to make an irregular shaped mesh for continuous mountains.
For ease of track laying XtraCAD has it beat hands down. But I’m sticking with it for the 3D aspects and the train running. Another big snafu was the fact that there is no simple way to set elevations. You can set an individual spot in XtraCAD and it will calculate grades back to your last specified elevation. I try that in 3rd Planit and it just change the single piece
Well I worked out a schematic that I like, but I have not gotten a track shape that fits it quite right. I’ll probably post the layout problem in a day or two.
and the ones next to it. It seems you have to calculate the elevations and grades yourself and set each piece individually. I’m sure there has to be easier ways, but I ended up just laying out everything in two levels–the track default and the floor.
Welcome back, who are you again? I’ve been selected for a temp assignment with NCIS next month, about as much as change of scenery as i’m going to get this year. Glad to hear the trip went well, we’ve missed you.