03-03-2009, 08:04 PM
Loren,
It doesn't have to be a shay, but depending on the grade it may limit train length. So you have to make two (or more) trips - double the operating time, double the fun, right?
A little docksider or small rod engine would work; Bachmann makes a nice one, as does Mantua. There's always the Varney classic 0-4-0T John Allen made so famous, if you can track one down on ebay. I was drooling over the Bachmann 45-tonner (with the neat side-rods) the other day at Tacoma Trains & Hobbies.
The other nice thing about this approach (or even the current plans) is that you can build this layout in stages, to get one operating then work on the others. Do scenery on one, a structure on another, trackwork, etc., you get the idea.
I was rereading my last post and I hope you don't think I was saying it was boring by calling the plans 'vanilla'. I mean to say that the yards seem technically 'correct'. That is, all the proper elements are there - drill track, arrival/departure tracks, runaround, turntable, etc. It can be hard to see a layout's character from a 2-D or even 3-D plan. But for me, that character is always a big part of the planning process. What story do you want this layout to tell?
Galen
It doesn't have to be a shay, but depending on the grade it may limit train length. So you have to make two (or more) trips - double the operating time, double the fun, right?
A little docksider or small rod engine would work; Bachmann makes a nice one, as does Mantua. There's always the Varney classic 0-4-0T John Allen made so famous, if you can track one down on ebay. I was drooling over the Bachmann 45-tonner (with the neat side-rods) the other day at Tacoma Trains & Hobbies.
The other nice thing about this approach (or even the current plans) is that you can build this layout in stages, to get one operating then work on the others. Do scenery on one, a structure on another, trackwork, etc., you get the idea.
I was rereading my last post and I hope you don't think I was saying it was boring by calling the plans 'vanilla'. I mean to say that the yards seem technically 'correct'. That is, all the proper elements are there - drill track, arrival/departure tracks, runaround, turntable, etc. It can be hard to see a layout's character from a 2-D or even 3-D plan. But for me, that character is always a big part of the planning process. What story do you want this layout to tell?
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!