How much can we justify spending?

[Brakie]

Don asked "What would you all do if you had unlimited funds to spend on your railroad??????"
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Good question..At 66 I'm not sure what I would do..

Maybe put what I have in totes and buy a 2-8-0 and 30-36 transition era cars and redesign Slate Creek as a end terminal on Slate Creek Branch complete with small station and water tank..I would use a combine instead of a caboose..

[Charlie B]

Don, maybe this would be a help <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://billstrains.com/product.php?productid=16259&cat=443&page=1">http://billstrains.com/product.php?prod ... 443&page=1</a><!-- m -->
Charlie

[doctorwayne]

....What would you all do if you had unlimited funds to spend on your railroad??????

Probably nothing - I have pretty-well everything I need to finish what I set out to do, except, perhaps, the time.


Wayne

[scubadude]

Assuming time is not an issue, I think I would find an old 1:1 Cotton Belt caboose, put it on some rails on the back forty and restore it into one bad-to-the-bone layout room....

[ezdays]

Assuming time is not an issue, I think I would find an old 1:1 Cotton Belt caboose, put it on some rails on the back forty and restore it into one bad-to-the-bone layout room....

You realize that you'd need quite a few acres just to run a simple oval. :o Then there's the Home Owner's Association to deal with.

[Tyson Rayles]

Real men don't do HOA's !!!!

[Catt]

By the time I got enough projects finished to be able to use those unlimited resoures I would probably be dead.

[railohio]

What would you all do if you had unlimited funds to spend on your railroad??????

Nothing. I'm pretty lazy.

[eightyeightfan1]

What would you all do if you had unlimited funds to spend on your railroad??????

I wouldn't spend it on that mining shovel at the beganning of this thread.

[Ralph]

Given unlimited funds I'd build a structure in my back yard dedicated to housing a new layout alone. I'd have the latest wireless walk around controls, sound in all locomotives, a functional signal system, and operating warning lights and gates at all major grade crossings. Anything left over I'd spend on food if I remembered to come out of the layout building. My wife might have other thoughts but I haven't consulted her yet.

[Brakie]

Ralph:Given unlimited funds I'd build a structure in my back yard dedicated to housing a new layout alone.
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At 66 I'm not even sure I would do that even though I could have my dream around three walls ISL.

I been mulling over Don's question and I'm sure I would buy a steam locomotive maybe shop round for a good condition United Models Class B two truck Shay instead of a 2-8-0.

[Charlie B]

Have you ever wanted a new car when there was really nothing wrong with your old one? You suddenly hear strange noises, rattles, you think the engine is burning oil, the transmission is slipping, the tires are bald, the ball joints are bad, the steering is sloppy...You can always justify spending , it just takes practice.

and, when you get this new car, you hear all these noises and feel all these things in the new one when the first payment comes due.

Charlie

[ezdays]

Have you ever wanted a new car when there was really nothing wrong with your old one? You suddenly hear strange noises, rattles, you think the engine is burning oil, the transmission is slipping, the tires are bald, the ball joints are bad, the steering is sloppy...You can always justify spending , it just takes practice.

and, when you get this new car, you hear all these noises and feel all these things in the new one when the first payment comes due.

Charlie

Well, if I had unlimited funds to buy a new car, I don't think I'd worry about the next payment. My criteria would be, once the new car smell has worn off, it's time to trade it in.
iea

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Eh, even airplanes don't necessarily need wings. The "fins" on the X24A only help the plane steer (I'm sure thrusters would do the same thing in space). The unique shape of the body actually creates lift, allowing it to fly. For a time, Lockheed Martin had a plan for a replacement space shuttle using this style of aircraft. It definitely has advantages in terms of internal volume.

Then, of course, is the plane that doesn't need a body and is all wings:

The YB49 is one of my all time favorite airplanes (I've always been a fan of the flying wing ever since a B2 buzzed my house as a 7 year old. I thought it was a space ship!). I actually have a reproduction of the flight manual for that plane. Its surprisingly funny. For the chapter on taxiing, it has an illustration with the caption "Turn the airplane slowly". The picture depicts a YB49 being turned way to quickly to watch a woman walk by. There is a shocking amount of that for a flight manual.

Interestingly, Boeing combined both the flying wing and the Lifting Body into a "Blended Wing Body" plane. They have a miniature mock-up that's making flights, but I'd love to see it become a full sized reality. In theory, it would have a greater internal volume than most aircraft, while being a more efficient design.


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[Green_Elite_Cab]

It's a lot more expensive than it was even 10 or 20 years ago. There's DCC and sound, great if you can afford it, then the cost of everything else has skyrocketed. Would you have ever been presented with the chance to spend over $500 for an engine or $6,000 for one model back then, no matter how finely detailed?... That's what has changed.

You're not kidding. ten years ago, I switch to HO at the age of 14 because it was cheaper. I actually have a 2004 Walthers catalog, and I was looking at the prices. compared to today and a few years ago, and the prices have grown so high for what appears to be such a minor improvement to what we get.

What would you all do if you had unlimited funds to spend on your railroad??????

The first thing I'd do is buy every book even vaguely relevant to what I model. I would also use the money to help me dig deeper into research projects, and maybe even pay veteran railroaders to explain/guide my modeling.

Next, I would have models that don't exist be custom made (hopefully this will benefit others who can tag onto my order for neat trains like the GM10B).

Next, I would plan a colossal "Philadelphia to New York" layout, which would not only include the northeast corridor and various PRR electrified lines, but the parallel Reading Company lines, and some patches of LV and EL tracks where they pass those lines.

Since I have unlimited funds, I will pay people to help me achieve this before I'm dead. Not that I won't want to work on it, but at least I can skip the tedious parts.

But you know, thats probably not 100% practical.