Enough of all this powlabbering about philosophy this and deep thoughts that…
To the several of you to whom I owe decoder installations, take heart. I’m on it. Seriously.
Okay. I confess. I’ve been having a blast playing trains on the new Thomas Sub. The way I look at it, I have to have it running properly so when I do get your decoders put in, I have a place to properly test them. Logical? I think so.
The Thomas Sub starts at Maryland Jct. there by the big paper mill… same as it ever was.
It ascends the hill and crosses over the main line and the Potomac River as it arrives in Shaw.
This is where the new work begins. There’s a long siding at Shaw, which is where I’ve been setting up meets. The turnouts that control this siding are run on decoders. This turns out to be more fun than a human should be allowed to have. There will be more of this tomfoolery, I assure you.
Next you cross the gracefully curving and treacherously tall “high bridge” on your way into Thomas.
This scene will be a show stopper for sure. I’ve done some more work on the bridge today, and it’s really coming along nicely. Then we roll into Thomas, West Virginia…
This is where the lion’s share of the business takes place on the Thomas Sub. There’s a couple of industry tracks, and a switchback down to a large coal mine. This will be the domain of my VO1000 switcher. Working cuts of 4 cars at a time, it can handle the steep switchback easily. I spent an enjoyable ho
I’ll hold my tongue, but only because I have sympathy for the N scale deprived… Oh, by the way, did I mention that I can run 25 car trains on my layout, and it’s not even done yet!
Please understand, Lee, that was all tongue in cheek! Although I do have HO, my wife is an avid N scaler! I do admire the things N-scalers can do in the same space that HO is in. If I didn’t have the inventory that I do, N-scale would have been a choice to consider. (30+ engines mostly steam, and 500+ cars)
I also have many friends that are N-scalers as well. One has a layout I operate on that currently 35x50’!. My only trouble is I can’t read the car reporting marks without a magnifying glass![(-D] (I was serious about not being able to see it!)
My own layout (HO) is 17x23’, and although 20cars per train is my siding limit, I can just hook some up and let them go roundy-round, I have had 55 cars behind my Akane allegheny here and @ 80 at the club. I would put more but at that point, I’m outta hoppers![:)]
Is there anything in Davis. I went skiing there in the 50’s and was it cold. When we went outside in the morning the hair in your nose started freezing and it felt like a bunch of worms moving around…
Lee, simply bravo! I hope my layout ends up looking as good as yours; it’s just an experimental platform really though, I’m trying out all sorts of different techniques.
Maryland Jct. is simply fantastic though, well done, the rest of the branch looks primed to turn out just as well, if not better!
Agreed, Looking good for sure. I gave up N after just a few months. Simply too small for me. Still have the loco’s sitting here for now. HO simply works better for my eyes at this point.
