The Atlas O single track Pratt bridge kit arrived today. This is the bridge that will take the railroad into the final back room of the layout. I assembled the bridge today and I'm now working on positioning it across the hallway. The bridge will be hinged and counterweighted, so that I can lift it out of the way when walking through the basement. I've never done a hinged bridge before, so I'm going to intentionally take things slow so that I don't screw it up. I'll be watching the OGR Backshop DVD on making a hinged bridge several times over the next few days.
8-12-2008 - MTH's EOT devices arrive!
7-13-2008 - Benchwork progress, new orders and TMCC headaches
Well, I've been busy doing lots of stuff as usual. Here's summary:
Benchwork - The benchwork for the first back room is complete and the track for the main level that goes through that room has been laid and wired. I haven't ballasted it yet and probably won't until I'm sure that there won't be any changes needed. The next step is to cross the hallway via an Atlas single track truss bridge and start the benchwork in the final back room.
New Software - I finally bought the RR-Track layout software a couple weeks ago. I'm in the process of mapping out the layout in the new software. I will upload a new and much improved layout diagram as soon as I'm done.
New Orders - I ordered a couple few Lionel items recently. I first ordered the new Lionel G-gauge Christmas set as well as the add-on Caliope car. The G-Gauge set is not very fancy, but it quite cute and my wife really wanted one. That order has since arrived and I will be picking up as soon as I can pay for it. I've also ordered by first Legacy equipped train set from Lionel. I chose the 6-31773 Norfolk Southern Dash 9 TankTrain Set and I also order the 6-17983 TrankTrain 3-Pack to further expand the set. My initial attraction to this set was not the fact that it's Legacy powered, but rather that the TankTrain cars are badass. Nevertheless, I'm excited that I will by getting my first crack at Legacy when it arrives. I'm going to try to buy the Legacy system before the set arrives so that I can hit the ground running once it does. I sure hope that Legacy is a vast improvement over the original TMCC. I'm so annoyed with my TMCC engines right now that I wan't to vomit. More on that below.
TMCC Problems - I think I've about had it with TMCC-1. Compared to my Proto-Sound 2.0 equipped engines....well, there's just no comparison. I've never really wanted any TMCC equipped engines, but Atlas O has had me backed into a corner. You see, Atlas O makes about the most beautiful engines in the hobby but they equip them with TMCC-1. So, even though I've never been a huge fan of TMCC-1, I buy the Atlas O TMCC-1 engines anyway because they are just so incredible to look at. Im pretty much resigned the fact that I will probably end up converting my Atlas O engines over to Proto-Sound 2.0. As beautiful as the engines are, TMCC-1 limits what I can actually DO with them. What I may do in the future is simply buy the Atlas O engines as unpowered "dummy" units and then add in the motors and Proto-Sound 2.0 components myself.
6-6-2008 -Back room progress and more...
My long awaited second order of vinyl roadbed finally arrived this week, which means I can finally start laying some new track. I've completed the largest of the tables in the first back room of the basement and there's not track going from the main room through the hallway and into the first back room. I'm going to be putting together the rest of the tables for the first back room within the next week or so. I also added a new caboose storage stack in the yard on the main room table. I've included a couple photos of the new work below. On another note, I'm planning on ordering the first 12 foot backdrop section for the layout sometime in the next couple weeks. I really don't want to go much further in developing the finished tables without the backdrops being in place.
click on the small images for the full size photos
Track going from the hallway table into the new back room
main table of the new back room
4-20-2008 - Attack of the 50 foot cat!
It has been reported that a giant 50+ foot cat is terrorizing a rail yard north of Atlanta, GA. This giant cat is reported to be very ferrocious and could devour anyone and anything in it's path. It has a particular fondness for box cars! If you are in the affected area, you are adised to leave the area immediately or seek protective cover!
4-8-2008 - My move toward multiple powered engines
Over the past few years my modus operandi for buying new engines has been to buy 1 powered unit and 1 unpowered "dummy" unit. My original reason for doing this was mainly financial. Essentially, having a powered unit coupled up with a dummy unit gives the appearance of multiple engines without the expense of having 2 powered units. This idea makes even more sense now that MTH, like Atlas, is now equipping it's dummy units with lights and selling lighting kits for earlier dummy units. It all sounds brilliant on paper, but in reality it hasn't worked out that way. With liimited amounts of space on my layout and with the desire to NOT have to touch the trains once they are on the track, my unpowered units usually spend more time in their cozy boxes than on the layout. It's just easier and more practical to have all the engines on the table be functional. Plus, it's nice be able to power up and engine that a guest points too. As a result of this realization, my last few engine purchases have consisted of multiple powered units. My first move toward this trend was with a pair of CP Rail AC4400's and most recently with a pair of Montana Rail Link SD70ACe's. This is not to say that I won't ever get any dummy units again, but for now I find that I enjoy having more powered units than dummy units in my fleet.
4-6-2008 - New construction, new trains, and vacation.
I'm writing this journal entry from our condo in Fernandina Beach, FL. We started our much needed week-long vacation yesterday. I started the benchwork in the Phase II back rom of the basement last week. Most of the framework is done and I will probably be adding the tops to the tables within the next couple weeks. Once the homasote is down, I'll then cut some holes in the walls and start running track into that room. Can't wait! A large load of new trains came in this week. I took delivery of 2 of the new MTH Montana Rail Link SD70ACe engines, which are superbly done. I also added the new MTH 60' flat car w/2 Abrams Tanks 6-car set this week. With six cars in the set, that's 12 tanks all lined up on the track! It's quite a site. They were actually quite a bit of work to put together, as they set came with the chains (that hold the tanks to the car) not installed. I had to cut the chains to the right length, attach them to the load adjusters and then fasten the chains over the tanks and to the sides of the cars. It meant about 5 or 6 hours of painstaking work, but the result was quite awesome. Lastly, I picked up the UP trash container car that I ordered from the MTH 2007 vol. 1 catalog as well as a GBRX Husky Stack from Lionel. Not a bad week at all.
4-3-2008 - Basement flood avoided
Only a week before we were to go on vacation, our hot water heater bit the dust. I was in the basement working on the trains, of course, and starting hearing this subtle water sound in the background. I went to check out the sound and found our hot water heater spewing water onto the basement floor. I quickly shut the water off and put a bucket under the leak. Fortunately, I had caught it before the water had a chance to do any real damage. I can't begin to imagine how the story would be different if this had happened while we we're out of town! Fortunately, I have recently completed enough of my under-table shelving to have nearly all of my boxes off the floor. Still, a flooded basement would have been a disaster. We had the hot water heater replaced and when we left for our vacation I, a little wiser, shut off the main water supply to the house. I would highly recommend always shutting off your house's main water supply before you go on any extended vacation ...especially if you've got a train set in the basement. ;)
3-7-2008 - I've weathered my first engine.
These days I've gotten pretty comfortable with weathering a good amount of my rolling stock, but up until now I've been hesitant to weather one of my engines. They look so perfect when they are brand new and it was hard to get up the nerve to "damage" something so perfect and beautiful. Well, that all came to an end a couple days ago. I had just starting running my new MTH UP SD40-2T Tunnel Motor when I accidentally spilled a couple drops of CA glue (super glue) on the walkway of the brand new engine! The glue left a permanent mark of the locomotive. Naturally I was quite upset, but then a light bulb went off in my head and I said to myself, "Well, it' already damaged so I might as well weather this thing and make it look as good as I can". I did just that. I avoided one of the classic mistakes in weathering engines: rust. Most railroads keep their engines in decent shape. The engines are washed and repainted on a semi regular basis, so you usually won't see rust on an engine that's in active service. You will, however, see lots of dirt and grime. With that in mind, I added plenty of road dirt, grease stains and general grime to the engine. I also streaked most of the dirt to simulate the effect rain would produce. To do the weathering, I used dry weathering powders from Bragdon Enterprises brushed on with a little 90% isopropyl alcohol. I'm quite proud of the weathering job I did on this beauty of an engine. I don't know if I'm quite ready to go weathering my entire fleet of engines, but I'm certain that this engine won't be that last to get a good weathering. Check out the picture below. You can click on the photo for the full sized image.
2-18-2008 - Working and playing out west.
I'm in the middle of a 2 week business trip to L.A., doing some IT work for a client out here. Over the weekend I took the opportunity to visit a few train stores in the greater Los Angeles area. I gotta say, as far as O-gauge dealers go, I wasn't too impressed with the selections I found. Allied Model Train, in Culver City, was probably the best store I visited and they had a decent selection of traditional Lionel stuff and a few scale items as well. I picked up a Railbox boxcar at a store in North Hollywood called The Roundhouse. Overall I think I like the stores back east better.
2-18-2008 - Another smart move by MTH.
MTH has finally answered my prayers in their 2008 vol. 1 catalog. I've had the catalog for some time now, but I hadn't noticed this little gem hidden in the back pages (where all the odds and ends are located). I'm talking about the 20-89010 End-of-Train Device Roller Bearing Freight Truck. You may also know these devices as FRED's, or Flashing Rear End Devices. Next time you see a freight train, look at the end of it and you will almost definately see a flashing red (or sometimes steady amber, I think) light on the last car of the train. These lights are actually part of the computer system on the train that contantly relays train data to the engineer(s) up front and they certainly had a hand in the decline of the use of the caboose as a monitoring tool. For people like me who model modern railroads, a caboose on the end of your train just isn't very realistic. Nobody I know has been making O-scale trucks with EOT (End-of-Train) devices on them, so up until now I've been conviced I was going to have to buy a kit and do the wiring myself. MTH's new EOT equipped truck can be slapped onto any premier line freight car in minutes and will finally give me an easy way to outfit my fleet with EOT devices on the end of every train! Bravo, MTH!
1-19-2008 - 2nd popup hole created.
Using my trusty jigsaw, I've now opened up a 2nd popup hole in the corner of the top left of the main table. Due to the track plan and table supports, this hole is considerably smaller than the first one. It's a tight fit, but will give me much needed access to that isolated corner of the layout. I'm on a diet right now with my wife, so perhaps once I've lost a few pounds the fit won't be quite so tight! This hole is different from the first hole in that it goes through 2 layers of table instead of just one, since this part of the layout has a main level and then a sub-level for an eventual subway line. As with the first hole, this one will also be hidden within a mountain when the layout is complete. I've included a couple pictures of the new hole below. You may view the full sized images by clicking on the images below.
The 2nd hole is done.
A view from the new hole.
1-14-2008 - Turntable finished.
I've completed the installation of the turntable and have completely ballasted all the track involved. The turntable now has 14 operational stalls. Naturally, I immediately proceeded to load it up with 14 engines. It looks so awesome. Here's a picture of it, as well as a video:
1-5-2008 - First popup hole created.
I used a jigsaw to create the first popup hole on the layout. The hole come up next to the turntable. It will eventually be contained within the mountain and have a hatch on the top of the mountain. This will allow me access to train in the mountain while also allowing to pop out of the top of the mountain to service trains there as well as the turntable and surrounding ground level track. I took a couple a pictures:
New popup hole.
A nice shot of the main room with popup hole in foreground.
1-3-2008 - 2008 rolls in and the layout rolls on.
Although the holiday season put a damper on any big train purchases, I've kept busy nonetheless doing little things here and there. Where should I start? Well, first of all, my wife gave me an MTH Norfolk Southern Schnabel Flat Car for Christmas. It's really nice. The majority of the track for the main table has been laid. I've still got a couple yard tracks to finish, but that's about it. I've started ballasting some of the track on the layout. I'm using Brennans's Better Ballast, which is by far the best ballast I've every used. I've also done a few test spot of grass and shrubs. I'm going to be using a combination of Woodland Scenics materials and Brennan's Natural Ground Cover. I've laid the track for the main room L-table and I've cut the first hole in the wall of the main room through which the trains will pass. I used a jigsaw to cut the first depressions in the main table for the creek that will run through the yard area. I've installed rope lighting (purchased during the cheap after-holiday sales) under the main tables, so it's now very easy to work down there. Lastly, I've installed 2 new shelves under the main table to store boxes and so forth. In a basement layout, it's important to get all your boxes off the floor. This keeps your trains and boxes from getting ruined should there be a flood or a bust water pipe. Wow, now that I've written it down I can see that I've actually done a lot of stuff over the last month. That's one of the things I like about this hobby. Sure, there are months when I spend the big bucks and bring in all sorts of cool new stuff. But when money is tight, it gives me a chance to catch up on all the little stuff that is so important in building a large layout. In other news, I've also taken over the webmaster duties for the local O-gauge club to which I belong. You can check out the new club site at http://www.ogauge.org. I've included a few pictures of some of the work I've been doing over the last month below. Enjoy!
The first ballast is laid.
The wye is built.
The L-table is quite messy.
The first tunnel through the wall on the L-table.
A partially ballasted turntable with the new storage tracks in the background.
The new storage tracks.
New under-table storage shelves.
12-8-2007 - Roadbed arrives and turntable is alive.
My order of vinyl roadbed finally came in a couple weeks ago. I pulled up all the track and I've now relaid it with roadbed underneath. It turns out I got just enough roadbed to finish the main room. I will be ballasting the track in another week or so. I'm very pleased with the vinyl roadbed so far. It's very easy to curve, shape and cut to fit any need. The only problem is that I'm almost out so I need to order more soon. I've also ordered my first batch of ballast from Brennan's Model Railroading. It should get here next week and then I'll be able to start ballasting the track. With the roadbed in place I was also able to install the Atlas turntable and get it working. I've got 11 stalls wired and operational and will have 13 stalls when I'm done. I've also laid and wired the track from the turntable to the where the diesel shop and fueling station will be. Here are few pictures of the work I've been doing:
Roadbed Fun
Roadbed Detail
Turntable under construction
11-19-2007 - Journal & Layout pages combined
I've decided to combine my layout journal and regular journal into one page, since they are pretty much the same thing anyway.
11-15-2007 - Free train stuff is always a good thing
I recently did some barter work for a train store up in New Jersey. I built a new website for Tony's Train Town and in exchange he gave me 7 Atlas switches. To be precise, I got 6 O-72 switches and 1 O-72 Wye. Those 7 switches would have cost me nearly $500, so I think it was great deal. The switches arrived today, so I will get to work on placing them on the layout.
10-14-2007 - Roadbed order & more track
I just put in my first order for roadbed. I decided to go with the vinyl roadbed offered by Hobby Innovations. I saw their ad in OGR magazine and ordered a sample. I like the fact that it's a single piece of roadbed, so you don't have to work with the 2 half-strips that many other brands make you use. I think I've ordered enough to cover most of the main room's main level of track. Hobby Innovations custom cuts each order, so they said it will take about 3 weeks for my order to arrive. In addition to the roadbed order, I purchased some more Atlas track over the last week or so and I've laid down quite a bit. I bought up an entire case of 10 inch straight pieces, several switches and some flex track sections. I now have the 2 main line loops of the main room complete (though I plan a few more switches into those loops), as well as the yard lead and yard loop. Once the roadbed comes in, I'll be able to work on the turntable and other yard lines.
9-28-2007 - DCS up and running again
After careful examination, I finally determined that it was not the TIU but the remote control that was fried. Of course, I discovered this through sheer brute force. I bought a new TIU in order to see if the TIU was the issue. When the remote couldn't find the new TIU either I then new it was a remote control problem. I got a new remote, which is now working great. Of course, I now have 2 TIU's but since I was planning on eventually have 2 anyway it all worked out ok. The only thing left to do is to see if I can somehow get the old remote fixed. It'd be nice to have 2 remotes for the layout at some point, so if I can get this one fixed or replaced that would be great. I also still have to eventually update the remote's software for the upcoming Coors train, but I think I'll wait a while before I attempt an update again. I've had enough excitement for the time being.
9-25-2007 - I hate buggy train electronics
In anticipation of the new MTH Coors train that I'm going to be getting soon, I decided to upgrade the software on my MTH TIU (Track Interface Unit) and remote control. Apparently, the newest software version has some Coors train specific stuff on it. What I hoped would be a smooth update has now turned into a disaster. I was able to successfully update the software on the TIU, but now I can't push out the update to the remote control and the remote control can no longer talk to the TIU. In short, I'm screwed. I can't run a single train right now, so I'm very frustrated to say the least. I consider myself to be pretty technically savvy, but I'm totally stumped on this one. My guess is that I've somehow fried the TIU so that it won't talk to the remote anymore. I'm probably going to have to send the damn thing in to MTH now to see if they can fix it somehow. Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!!
9-24-2007
I've updated the computer layout plan. Here's the newest version. Click on the image below for the full sized version. The Thick blue lines represent walls, the thick green lines represent table edges and the light blue track represents elevated track. Keep in mind that this is still a work in progress. The bottom level track (red) in the main room is pretty much the way I want it, but nothing else is really set in stone yet.
9-21-2007
I've just about got the entire main room laid with Homasote now. I still need to buy 1 or 2 more sheets to get it all finished up. I've completed 2 of the 3 connectors that connect the two main tables across the walkway to the basement door. The first door is hinged and can drop away if needed. I still need to build a latching mechanism for it, and I will use Jim Barrett's Backshop tutorial for that. For the board closest to the door, I set it in using wooden dowels so that it can be removed if I need to open the basement door. I will probably hinge the middle door, but I'm not sure yet.
I've also expanded the working track on the tables. I'm following the blueprints that I made on the computer, but I'm trying to do it in such a way that I can run the trains while it's still under construction. To that end, The two loops that comprise the main line are nearly done. I've also started working into what will be the main yard with turntable. Once I've got all the track laid down where I want it I will mark it, pull it all up, cut the tables to create any ravines and so forth, lay the track bed and then finally re-lay the track on track bed and ballast the track. After that, I'll have to start bridge and trestle work for the portions of track to cross those ravines that I cut. Of course, that's all just for the ground level track plan and doesn't even get into the elevated lines. Whew, There's still so much to do! I'm having a blast. I've posted a few pictures of the work below. It's a bit of a mess right now.
Phase I benchwork/trackwork 9-21-2007
Two connectors completed
Right Table
Left Table
First train crosses the connectors
8-30-2007
August has seen a lot of progress on the layout. I've completed the benchwork for phase I and I am now laying down sheets of homasote. With one of the largest tables completely covered in homasote, I've laid down an O-72 loop so that I can finally run some trains! Granted, the loop will eventually come up to make way for the actual track plan, but at least I get to have a little fun between now and then. Speaking of track plans, I'm still messing with the RR Track software to get the layout just how I want it. I've decided that I want to have O-72 be the smallest curve on the layout (except in a few places that won't be visible). Therefore, I'm reworking the layout design to get rid of the O-63 curves I had planned. I've included some pictures of the layout work below as well as a new video of a train running the O-72 loop I've got going right now.
Phase I benchwork 8-30-2007
Left Table
Right Table
L extension
Hall Table
Click below to watch my latest train video clip:
8-1-2007 - Photo diorama
Ever since we bought our new house last December, any photographs I've taken of new items have been devoid of background scenery. The result is pictures that are a bit bland. I've now come up with a short term solution that will give me the scenic background I want until the new layout has enough scenery of its own. Using 2 scrap pieces of plywood I've created a small diorama, so to speak, complete with a section of ballasted track, assorted grasses, shrubs, rocks, weeds and so forth. The result is a portable stage that provides my pictures with a much better background than the unfinished plywood and drywall that the layout currently sports. I'm now in the process of going back and re-photographing most of stuff added since we bought the new house. Here's one of the first pictures I took using the new diorama:
7-28-2007
I've bought some more lumber and I'm about to finish the tables in the main room as well as put legs on the hall table. I've also located a Homasote dealer in Atlanta and I will be running down there to pick up some Homasote within the next few weeks. Once I've added the layer of Homasote to the layout, it'll be just about time to finally start laying some track and doing some real layout work!
6-13-2007
I've just completed another wave of table building. I've doubled the amount of tabling in the main room. I've got about another 12x4 section of table left for the main room as well as a few lifting pieces to connect the tables separated by the door path. I've also built most of the hallway table. I've got a picture of the main room tables, but not of the hallway table. I'll add that picture once I've got the hallway completed.
5-25-2007
I've put in my MTH 2007 Vol. 2 order. I didn't find the Vol. 2 catalog as cool as the Vol. 1, so my order was relatively small. Here it is:
20-2823-1 CP ES44AC
20-2823-3 CP ES44AC unpowered
20-2827-1 Montana Rail Link SD70ACe
20-2827-3 Montana Rail Link SD70ACe unpowered
20-2644-1 NS Dash-8 Narrow Nose
20-2644-3 NS Dash-8 Narrow Nose unpowered
20-96165 Tropicana Tank Car (both numbers)
20-90402 TTX 6 flat car set with tanks
4-22-2007 - Layout design changes and table construction
Over the past few months, I've been refining the layout design over and over again. The current plan that I've got is going well, though is incomplete in some areas. I've begun building the tables for phase 1 of the layout. Phase 1, going on the layout diagram below, will be the completion of the main (largest) room as well as part of the hallway. The current diagram does NOT show the underground subway line. Things are starting to get really exciting! Click on the image below for the super sized version.
Here's a picture of the bench work in the main room, so far:
1-13-2007 - Layout design progressing
I've been working with the Atlas track software for a couple weeks now, trying to hammer out my new layout plan. I've made good progress, but I'm certainly not there yet. The space in the basement is a bit tricky, but the challenge of making the most out of the space will be fun. You can find a schematic of what I've got so far below. Click on the image to view the full sized version. The blue lines denote walls and/or doors. Each square represents one square foot.
12-22-2006
So we're all moved in to our new house. I've already begun planning and preparation for the new layout. Right now I'm measuring every area of the basement so that I can start designing the layout using the Atlas layout software. Once I've got the layout the way I want it on the computer, I can then send that design off to Atlas and get a custom set with the exact pieces needed to built it! Pretty cool, huh? I've finished unpacking all the train equipment from the moving boxes. I'm happy to say that nearly everything made it to the new house in one piece. The only exception was one of my MTH Southern coal hoppers that had a plastic support break off somehow. Fortunately, I was able to glue it back together with no problems. Anyway, here's a shot of "the corner" that shows just about everything there is right now. The turntables and a few other items aren't shown here. You can click on the image below to see the full sized photo.
If everything goes well, I hope to start the bench work in January or February of 2007. Let's hope there aren't any delays! Meanwhile, stuff from my 2006 MTH catalog order continues to trickle in. I just got the new BNSF SD-70ACe units in as well as a couple hoppers some flat cars and a box car. There's more on the way, so I'm excited to say the least. Of course, having to shell out money for the arriving orders so soon after buying a new house is getting me in trouble with the wife, but oh well. I'm sure I'll be sneaking a few orders in through the basement door. :)
11-22-2006
I've put in my MTH order for the 2007 Vol. 1 catalog. The order is a bit steep, but I just couldn't help myself. So much cool stuff. It was really hard narrowing the list down a reasonable size. Here's what I've ordered:
30-1433-1 Coors Light Silver Bullet Train Set (Yeah, it's sorta corny but I still like it)
30-2748-1 Norfolk Southern SW1500 switcher
20-2772-1 M-K-T SD70ACe Diesel Heritage Set (The Katy!)
20-93360 Norfolk Southern 50’ High Cube Box Car (Both numbers)
20-96161 CSX Tank Car (Both numbers)
20-98575 TTX Center Beam Flat Car w/Lumber Load (Both numbers)
20-98579 47’ TTX Heavy Duty Flat Car w/SW-1500 Locomotive
20-98584 Union Pacific 60’ Flat Car w/Trash Containers (Both numbers)
20-90365 CSX 5-car Twin Stack Container Set (Sweet!)
20-90334 Canadian National 6-car 100 Ton Hopper Set
11-13-2006
Well, the big moment has finally arrived. We are about to close on our first house. The house we've found has a big finished basement that's almost 1,100 square feet in size. My wife is allowing me to use all of it for the trains. You can see a photo of the house and a movie of the basement here. We are set to close at the end of November and I am now in the process of dismantling the current 12x8 layout in our loft apartment and packing it all up. I can't wait to start work on the new layout. It's gonna take a long time, but it's going to be so much fun and I will document the adventure on this site!
4-27-2006
So right now my layout uses Atlas O track and switches. I've been pondering using Gargraves track for a while, however, because it seems that all the big modelers use Gargraves. I felt like maybe I wasn't using the most professional modeling track there was, which was a bit distressful. Anyway, I've now come to terms with the issue and decided that I don't give a damn what everyone else uses. I'm going to continue to use Atlas O track because 1) I like it, 2) it's easy to assemble and customize and 3) the rails and ties look more prototypical than do the Gargraves rails. The only downside that had me second guessing Atlas was that I like the fact that Gargraves uses real wood for their track ties whereas Atlas uses brown plastic that is textured to look like wood. In a perfect world Atlas would use real wood, but as it is I think that the Atlas track outweighs the Gargraves track in terms of what I like. Now as for switches, I think I will still experiment with a Gargraves or Ross switch here and there to see if I like them better than the Atlas version.
4-14-2006
Typically, I try to keep my engine fleet as modern and realistic as possible. However, I've lately gotten a liking for older diesels. For some reason, I really want to get some of the old, ugly rectangular diesels from the 50's and 60's and even up into the early 80's. I'm talking about the old FM Trainmaster, the GP -9, SD-9, U328 or something like them. I've got my eye on a Southern Pacific FM Trainmaster made by MTH that sells for $329. I think I will pick that up first, and then try to pick up a GP-9 and maybe a GP-20 or something.
Check out the journal I had for my last layout right here.
