Well, back at again soon for this year. I will be setting up my layout in the basement again this year. I will have (2) 8x4’s, (2) 3x4’s, (1) 4x4 and a small strip of 1x3. I have lots of expansions over the years. I just keep on adding pieces of table top. Well, I have the trains but not enough room for them all. Same track plan this year as I have been doing for the past 3 years now. Running (4) Z’s and a KW and ZW transformers. All my trains are postwar Lionel. Will be able to run 4 trains at the same time. Should be a good year!! Lots of people will be at my place to check them out. I will not be going to the York Show this month, will be setting up trains instead. Just dont have enough money this month to spend on trains, car insurance time…urrg. Oh well. But, I have everything I need so far. Might just have to buy more wiring and odds and ends. With 25+ action accessories, 25+ locomotives, 6 big transformers, my oh my. I added up the total legth of all my wiring. Its something like 3,000 feet of wiring. Thats (24) 022 switches all wired up for fixed voltage and use of controllers and like 8 UCS tracks. 12 Bumpers and so forth. All my accessories are all wired up and are all fuctional and work great now, i fixed my 164 log loader. Turns out i tried to dump too many logs at one time. easy fix. 1,200+ watts of power…the kids will go wild to see this years layout. I give them the scary speech every year…goes like this…“I have 1,200 watts of power running through the middle rails, so if you touch anything on the layout you will get shocked” They tend not to touch any of my trains, just watch. I know trains are meant to be played with. but only played with by me. Maybe I should change that. Make it more hands on, and let them control the trains and run them. But, they are so expensive and risky to let 4 or 5 yea
lionel2,
You’ve definitely taken on quite a project. I put a 6x8 layout in the livingroom every Christmas, and I barely have the energy to do that. Just a heads up that there will a Greenberg show at the old Wickes Furniture building in Monroeville on Saturday November 14 and Sunday the 15th. This is the show that used to be at the Expo Mart. I am going to request that Saturday off from work so I can go.
Might you have an address of that Wickes Furniture store, so I can map Quest it?? Is it right at the mall there by old expo mart? I will try to go to this show on saturday. Not sure where its at. Yeah, my layout takes me 2 full weeks to setup, 8 hour shifts…lol…I work up a sweat, last year I lost like 5 pounds just taking all the boxes from the bedroom to the basement. the bedroom in the attic that is, down 3 flights of steps is no easy task. But, the wood tables are all in the basement. Takes me about 2 hours just to setup the tables. Lots of bolts and such. Wish I had pics to show, Do not know how to post or even want to attempt it. I showed my pics to Tom at Iron Horse, he liked them very much, he didnt think I had that many trains. Oh well, I have just about everything that store is trying to sell. I just go in hoping there is something there i do not have. Thanks for the info.
I think it is by the Expo Mart, but I don’t know for sure. Send me an email so I can let you know when I find out all the details. If you have a digital camera and want to try posting pics, I’d help you through the process. It isn’t difficult, but it takes some getting used to.
With regard to the kids, this hobby is a great thing that is made even better by passing it along to the next generation. I would encourage you to perhaps make a small setup where the kids can have some kind of control of a less expensive train. The Thomas sets are great and can be had for a little over $100. Or, you could pick some cheap pieces up at a train show and put a set together with perhaps a 2037 along with a bunch of gondolas that they can fill with “stuff”. That could certainly be had for well under $100. But, for what you pass along and the enjoyment they will get from it will be priceless. Good Luck,
Dennis
I think its the Wicks by the Babies R Us Store across from the Jeep showroom off Rt. 22.