Got a kick out of the front page; “…layout that’s simple to build”, “Built in only 5 days !”
Of course it was simple and quick with the TEN guys working on it ! 
New guy here, and he’s already cracking jokes about MR
Anyway, welcome to the forum
HI, Mailman, and welcome. I could have used nine other talented modelers over the past six months, but…oh, well.
Actually, not new. Used to go by Mailman56701. Week or two ago, upon accessing the site, it asked me to register…again
So I did
I’ve never received email replies to my posts either, even though that option is checked, so something must be fubared on my isp’s end.
Mine hasn’t arrived yet, but we’re being socked in with snot tonight (12-14 inches predicted), so I’m hoping it will arrive tomorrow. If the mail gets here it would be a great way to pass part of a day off from work–the part that isn’t spent in the train room. [;)]
Ron
Eeeeww… 12-14" of snot, huh?[swg]
Got mine today. I was initially grumpy at the prospect of the project layout being yet another 4x8 HO layout, but I have to say, this one looks pretty darned good, considering it was done in 5 days, uses the new WS grass mats, and Kato Unitrack. I’m awfully tempted to use that Unitrack; they made it look really good. Just needs some paint on the rails!
Sad, though, that not one of the product reviews was N scale. Most months we get a token N scale review, but not this month. There’s O scale, though.
Me too; very tempted to give it a go. Would probably substitute flextrack, etc. for the Unitrack though, for cost reasons.
12-14" of snot? That must require a lot of kleenex to clean up!!![(-D][:P][?] I know…you prefer Puffs.
Mine came today and we tomorrow are supposed to get some of the snot, and 50-60 mph winds as well. Not only did I get MR today, but Trains mag came too. I shall do some reading tomorrow, amidst shovelling some stuff![:)][V][8)][swg]
Also got mine today and already read it. What will I do when our 8-13" hits? …string catenary, of course!
Not to mention the Walthers warehouse is across town and they can get anything they need in minutes…
That is if Walthers has it, or they can get to it.
You guys by the border are supposed to get socked, but up here much less. Nothing yet at 0100.
So let’s see - that main 4x8 is 32 square feet, and the extension is 9 square feet, for a total of 41 square feet. Dividing by 10, the number of builders in the crew, and by 4.5, the number of days required for construction, we come out with something less than one square foot per man/day, for a single level with no grades or fancy support structure.
By way of comparison, my garage filler has roughly 450 square feet of “buildable real estate” - a minimum of 2 levels over an entire double garage, some of which has required creative metalwork on my all-steel C-girder framework. If I could achieve the working speed of any of those ten expert modelers, I might get finished in a year and a half[:-^].
Strangely enough, that’s just about what I’m aiming at for track, control wiring and basic scenery, not including work on rolling stock or structures. And here I thought I wasn’t making much progress!
Looking at the other featured layouts shows two opposite extremes. The Montreal & Northern has a distinctly Japanese flavor - simple roll-along track plan combined with exquisite scenic effects. The Conrail Sterling Secondary, OTOH, is a really big switching layout on a shelf, single level, with no provision for continuous running but lots of need for a car distribution system. And then there’s the Oil Creek RR, which accurately reflects the realities of pre-standardization railroading with its loose track patterns and comparatively primitive equipment and infrastructure. All in all, a nice mix.
The various articles cover a nice range of subjects - everything from installing DCC decoders to k
Man, I’ve got to start reading these posts before I publish them. I got a good laugh at myself out of that one.
[(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]
Ron
Got my issue in the mail yesterday too!
Yep, it just takes man power to get that project done in time and on budget.
10 men X 8 hours a day X 5 days = 400 man hours of work.
I have been working on my layout since May and have only put in about 110 hours into it.
Oh, and to have their budget for a day too
Actually I did build a N Scale portable layout in 5 days by myself…Wasn’t very big mind you only 2’x4’.I had the buildings on hand already built…
The fastest I ever built a layout from ground zero including buildings was a 36" x72" hollow core door…My wife and I built it in 30 days.
BTW…It shouldn’t take a life time to build a average room size layout…
I would say the biggest hunks of time I spent on my recent layout were laying out the track centerlines, laying roadbed, tracklaying, track soldering, and wiring. The Kato Unitrack makes those tasks practically non-existant. It looks pretty good, too! It doesn’t look as good as handlaid or ME Code 55/40 flextrack with weathered rail and uneven ties, but for a beginner layout it really does the trick. Plus, I don’t know anyone who enjoys ballasting!
Here I am!
OK, let me re-phrase… I only know one guy who likes ballasting! [:D]
Speaking of ballasting - I noticed that the article on ballasting, “Ballasting Made Easy” didn’t say much (or nothing) about ballasting turnouts, which require some close attention to avoid “gumming up the works.”
rgh