12-31-2010, 11:37 PM
My HO layout growing up was loosely based on a plan in 101 Trackplans and the scenery was loosely based on Alpine Tunnel and the Georgetown Loop. This was because my father's mentor as a RR preservationist introduced him to Colorado NG and got him hooked on the South Park when he was in HS in the late 1960s.
My current layout is generic, and intended to be that way. I had too little space do what I wanted: Alpine Tunnel. I wanted to do this because, growing up around steam locomotives and historic rolling stock every weekend, with access to my father's library (including a number of books on the South Park), it was impossible not to fall in love with it. My earliest experiences with model trains involved a 2' long piece of handlaid track on the basement fridge with my father's Grandt Line Porter (On3) pushing a Grandt Line Stock Car, Mainline Models boxcar, Grandt Line D&RGW drop bottom gondola, and a Model Masterpieces C&S flat car. My layout is intended as a test track and general learning experience for scratch building everything.
My future layout will be based on the Oahu Railway. Two years and one half years ago, I attended an engineering conference in Honolulu. In advance, I'd looked up the Hawaiian Railway Society's website but wasn't impressed with what I saw. On our last day, we had a couple of hours to kill before our flight after driving around the island. So, we decided at the last minute to check it out. At first, I saw the two dinky tank engines and diesel from their website, but decided to look a little more. Holy cow. That wasn't at all the type of operation I was expecting. I dropped in the gift shop and saw a drawing of the Honolulu (Iwilei) yards and was shocked at the magnitude of it. I then began to explore the grounds and was floored by what modern NG equipment they had. Afterwards, I decided that I had to both learn more about the Oahu Railway and probably build a model of the 0-6-0. For 10 years, I'd planned to do a C&S or DSP&P layout, and it seemed that this goal was intact, until the Oahu Railway grew on me as I started reading books on it, seeking out old magazine articles, and getting a little grooming from the OR&L historians. I can tell you in depth info about dozens of NG and SG railroads...equipment manufacturers, operations, etc...but his was a complete blindspot for me and I now realize that it is in a different league than other NG roads. The operational aspects were what pushed me over the edge. For comparison, you could count the number of RGS trains per week on your fingers (there's a reason why they built the Geese). The D&RGW operated 2-8-0s exclusively out of Gunnison and elsewhere 2-8-2s...no variety at all...and relatively little action. The SPng only ran 4-6-0s...the NCNG a pair of 2-8-0s...the EBT 2-8-2s...the ET&WNC 4-6-0s...but the OR&L had 0-6-0s, 2-8-2s, 2-8-0s, 4-6-0s, 4-4-0s, and shays all operating side by side with nearly 50 scheduled trains per day and sometimes 100 extras. It had coastal artillery trains, troop trains, bomb trains, fuel oil, molasses, stock rush trains, boxcars with sugar, flatcars with pineapple, coral, lime, sand, and many passenger trains.
Once we buy our new house, I will begin building the Oahu Railway's Iwilei (Honolulu) yards. I will work on constructing the mainline to Pearl City (the same initial goal as the prototype). Future plans involve getting at least as far as Waipahu on that deck with possibly Kaena Pt. Future expansion will likely include more of the main and branch...as well as an eye level Gunnison to Hancock via Alpine Tunnel on the DSP&P. My NKP stuff will be limited to modular work...and the NKP wins out because my father has been a major part of the 765 group from chartering the group through the present.
Side note: Kevin, those copper railroads in Az and NV are great. Long Live David Myrick!
Michael
My current layout is generic, and intended to be that way. I had too little space do what I wanted: Alpine Tunnel. I wanted to do this because, growing up around steam locomotives and historic rolling stock every weekend, with access to my father's library (including a number of books on the South Park), it was impossible not to fall in love with it. My earliest experiences with model trains involved a 2' long piece of handlaid track on the basement fridge with my father's Grandt Line Porter (On3) pushing a Grandt Line Stock Car, Mainline Models boxcar, Grandt Line D&RGW drop bottom gondola, and a Model Masterpieces C&S flat car. My layout is intended as a test track and general learning experience for scratch building everything.
My future layout will be based on the Oahu Railway. Two years and one half years ago, I attended an engineering conference in Honolulu. In advance, I'd looked up the Hawaiian Railway Society's website but wasn't impressed with what I saw. On our last day, we had a couple of hours to kill before our flight after driving around the island. So, we decided at the last minute to check it out. At first, I saw the two dinky tank engines and diesel from their website, but decided to look a little more. Holy cow. That wasn't at all the type of operation I was expecting. I dropped in the gift shop and saw a drawing of the Honolulu (Iwilei) yards and was shocked at the magnitude of it. I then began to explore the grounds and was floored by what modern NG equipment they had. Afterwards, I decided that I had to both learn more about the Oahu Railway and probably build a model of the 0-6-0. For 10 years, I'd planned to do a C&S or DSP&P layout, and it seemed that this goal was intact, until the Oahu Railway grew on me as I started reading books on it, seeking out old magazine articles, and getting a little grooming from the OR&L historians. I can tell you in depth info about dozens of NG and SG railroads...equipment manufacturers, operations, etc...but his was a complete blindspot for me and I now realize that it is in a different league than other NG roads. The operational aspects were what pushed me over the edge. For comparison, you could count the number of RGS trains per week on your fingers (there's a reason why they built the Geese). The D&RGW operated 2-8-0s exclusively out of Gunnison and elsewhere 2-8-2s...no variety at all...and relatively little action. The SPng only ran 4-6-0s...the NCNG a pair of 2-8-0s...the EBT 2-8-2s...the ET&WNC 4-6-0s...but the OR&L had 0-6-0s, 2-8-2s, 2-8-0s, 4-6-0s, 4-4-0s, and shays all operating side by side with nearly 50 scheduled trains per day and sometimes 100 extras. It had coastal artillery trains, troop trains, bomb trains, fuel oil, molasses, stock rush trains, boxcars with sugar, flatcars with pineapple, coral, lime, sand, and many passenger trains.
Once we buy our new house, I will begin building the Oahu Railway's Iwilei (Honolulu) yards. I will work on constructing the mainline to Pearl City (the same initial goal as the prototype). Future plans involve getting at least as far as Waipahu on that deck with possibly Kaena Pt. Future expansion will likely include more of the main and branch...as well as an eye level Gunnison to Hancock via Alpine Tunnel on the DSP&P. My NKP stuff will be limited to modular work...and the NKP wins out because my father has been a major part of the 765 group from chartering the group through the present.
Side note: Kevin, those copper railroads in Az and NV are great. Long Live David Myrick!
Michael
Michael
My primary goal is a large Oahu Railway layout in On3
My secondary interests are modeling the Denver, South Park, & Pacific in On3 and NKP in HO
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My primary goal is a large Oahu Railway layout in On3
My secondary interests are modeling the Denver, South Park, & Pacific in On3 and NKP in HO
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://thesouthparkline.blogspot.com/">http://thesouthparkline.blogspot.com/</a><!-- m -->