Introductions

[DeltaBravo]

Welcome @dgreger We can always use more Western Maryland fans here.

[davefoxx]

Welcome @dgreger We can always use more Western Maryland fans here.

Not to mention, more Daves!

Sincerely,
Dave #273

[CSXBaltimore]

Looks like I am the latest addition to the group.

Im a newbie in that I have always wanted to put a layout together but have never gotten around to it.  My grandfather was an engineer for years on the Baltimore & Ohio and a very good friend of mine just retired as a Roadmaster from CSX, and I have yet another long time friend who is an engineer in the Eastern Shore area of MD/DE.  I picked up my first engines and cars (N scale) about 16 years ago, and never did anything with them other than to say 'one day'.

Welp, early in my 40's, Im done saying 'one day'.  I have started ordering some stuff, identified the target area of the house (4'x14' alcove), have spousal permission, and have started doing lots of reading.  I know generally where I am headed; CSX running freight, modern era, continuous run. I am hoping to approach this as an artistic effort for the purposes of allowing me to continue with my love of model building while giving me something to rail fan while working on it.  I am currently intrigued by some stuff Ive seen out of the UK where specific scenes are modeled rather beautifully rather than compressing a larger story onto a layout.  Though, I am still trying to wrap a language around that and figure out what I want.

In general, I am clueless after that. Still trying to figure out what the scenes will be or even how to track plan. Been looking at 3rd plannit a bit, but still a ways to go before I get my ideas solidified.

John

[DeltaBravo]

Looks like I am the latest addition to the group.

Im a newbie in that I have always wanted to put a layout together but have never gotten around to it.  My grandfather was an engineer for years on the Baltimore & Ohio and a very good friend of mine just retired as a Roadmaster from CSX, and I have yet another long time friend who is an engineer in the Eastern Shore area of MD/DE.  I picked up my first engines and cars (N scale) about 16 years ago, and never did anything with them other than to say 'one day'.

Welp, early in my 40's, Im done saying 'one day'.  I have started ordering some stuff, identified the target area of the house (4'x14' alcove), have spousal permission, and have started doing lots of reading.  I know generally where I am headed; CSX running freight, modern era, continuous run. I am hoping to approach this as an artistic effort for the purposes of allowing me to continue with my love of model building while giving me something to rail fan while working on it.  I am currently intrigued by some stuff Ive seen out of the UK where specific scenes are modeled rather beautifully rather than compressing a larger story onto a layout.  Though, I am still trying to wrap a language around that and figure out what I want.

In general, I am clueless after that. Still trying to figure out what the scenes will be or even how to track plan. Been looking at 3rd plannit a bit, but still a ways to go before I get my ideas solidified.

John

John,

Welcome aboard. Lot of very talented folks here,  expect some good natured banter and some hardcore criticism as well, all of it to help you be the best modler you can be.

If you are in the Baltimore Area let us know, we have a large local contingent in the Mid Atlantic.


David

[CSXBaltimore]

...

If you are in the Baltimore Area let us know, we have a large local contingent in the Mid Atlantic.

Actually I am in the area.  I am a bit to the west of Baltimore right off of Rt 70 and grew up in the Catonsville area.

J

[wm3798]

We should take him a casserole.  It'll be made of Styrofoam, Sculptamold and ground foam, but Ed has a great recipe!
Welcome to the thunderdome.
Lee

[Timelessways]

I like trains.

[reinhardtjh]

I like trains.

Then this is the place to be.

Welcome!

[wm3798]

Dave here, Marines 88-92, Gulf War, DOD from 92-2012,
N-Scaler, working on building my collection until my GF and I retire, sell and move to a more train friendly house to start a layout.
All manner of B&O, C&O, Chessie System, and Western Maryland freelance.

You would do well to consult wih yet another Dave, @Dave V who built the wonderful Juniata Division while on active duty wth the USAF.  Start small, portable and relatively simple.
And no need to bother with that Chessie nonsense...  WM all the way!

[Dave V]

And no need to bother with that Chessie nonsense...

LOL

[gi-depp]

Hi, my name is Mike.
I'm 50 years old and I live in a small town in the south of Nürnberg, Germany.
I start with US model railroading in 1998.
My faforit railway companies are Union Pacific, Amtrak, VRE and Departement of Transportation (US Army).
I came across this forum when I found this tread: Detailing the Micro-Trains DODX M1 Abrams Tank Sets
and here I am.

(please excuse my english)

Mike

[John]

Welcome Mike -- very nice modeling work. Looking forward to seeing more of your work. That bridge layer is great "basteln" .. I was born near Munich .. and lived near Stuttgart and Baumholder. 

[gi-depp]

Hi John, thanks for the nice welcome.

[MSteiner]

Hello, my name is Mike, because my parents could not think of anything else apparently to named me. Had to be like everyone else and name their child Mike.
I pretty much have been around the railroad all my life. My father retired from the Union Pacific Railroad after starting out with Southern Pacific as an engineer. I did not follow in his footsteps exactly but did become a broadcast engineer. However, I did go out and get a speeder, Motorcar. MT-14 which I go out with on runs a few times a year. 
My wife and I are both into N Scale since 1998. We joined a few N-Trak clubs but have moved around the western part of the US. We are currently in Sacramento area now. Have not really found a good N scale club nor N scale people in the area yet. I model MRL (Montana Rail Link) and she models fantasy and Christmas related.
I just started building my first layout of my own. In the past I have built modules and helped with the construction of some club layouts here and there. The layout is a double decked with a helix. The helix is using Kato Unitrak but the rest of the layout is Atlas Code 55.  The layout pretty much fills 3/4 of an RV garage, 20’ x 40’. (I had to leave room for the motorcar of course.) I guess you can say it’s my “Man-cave” but I like to refer to it as the railroad room or shop.
Currently the helix is all done. I also have cork all install on the upper deck and parts on the lower deck. It is going a little slower than I want but I’m still working on it and with COVID restrictions I can’t have the huge work parties, of having my friends from other states come over.
I am looking forward to seeing what Railwire will offer from the modeling community. Also of course the friendships that will be made.

[biker_ray_pa]

Apologies in advance for long-windedness.

Well, I've technically been a member here for about 15 years, but I still feel like an introduction is in order. I was moderately active here from 2006-2008 or so, and then stepped away from model railroading. My room-sized Western Allegheny layout went into the dumpster(s), my trains and some structures/accessories went into storage, and that was that. Situations change and we are forced to change along with them. Fast-forward to a year or so ago, and I found myself once again bitten by the model railroading bug. I had missed it for years, but lack of space kept me from coming back. Finally, I decided that I could have just as much fun with a hollow-core door as I could have with a large layout, it's just a matter of perspective. So, I very gradually started getting stuff out of storage and coming up with The Plan.

Track planning is not my forte. My former layout was cribbed from the prototype, and every track plan I came up with on my own looked like either a bowl of angel-hair pasta or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So, I found a couple of track plans I'd always liked and modified them for my own use. The greatest artists being thieves, and imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I hope that people like Lou Sassi and Dave Vollmer will be adequately flattered. 

At any rate, I've spent the last year or so slowly gathering materials and putting together a layout. I ended up abandoning the hollow-core door base and built my own with 1x4s and sheet foam. Track was laid and wired, Tortoises installed (I'm glad I kept all the Tortoises from my old layout, so I had more than enough), and the plumber's nightmare of wiring up controls was begun. I still have my DCC system from back in the day (a Lenz SET-100 using a Roco Multimouse throttle), so it will eventually be all DCC. Most of my locomotives are still DC, though, so I set things up to be able to switch between DC and DCC (not simultaneously) depending on what I want to run. To my extreme relief, it all works, and I'm now getting started on some scenery. I have some of the structures from my old layout, including a lot of scratchbuilt and kitbashed stuff, so I'm working a lot of it into the new layout.

I hope to become active here again as well. Thanks!