PRR/Conrail Juniata Division Engineering Report

[Chris333]

You'd still need to come up with a HOn3 trackplan and how to fit it in the room... 

[wcfn100]

but I will start to miss my Pennsy stuff.

Nothing wrong with missing stuff.  I miss every car I ever owned.  In fact I liked my Jeep Commander so much, I found myself getting emotional when I had to trade it in on my truck (that was very weird to be sure).  But the Commander couldn't do what I needed anymore.

I'm not trying to sway the decision. If I was, I'd try and get you go in with me on some sort of Front Range Freemo modular layout.  If the JD can keep you happy, then keep on keepin' on.  It's by far the easiest path.  And if you want some help with fixing the track, I'm just 10 minutes away.  But this nagging, narrow gauge bug isn't going to go away, and it's more serious than a Bachmann Big Hauler dodging dog turds in the backyard can handle.  Just don't let yourself end up stuck in between where none of its any fun.



Jason

[OldEastRR]

Any thought about stripping down the JD enough to store it somewhere, then build an narrow gauge layout where it stood? If second thoughts come in or the NG urge fades, you have a N layout to modify or rejuvenate if you want to go back.
If you decide to relay track on the JD is there any way you can saw out or pry off whole sections of scenery sans track, like chunks of town (buildings, streets and all) or a whole mountain w/ the trees? The old track and roadbed can then be cleared away and replaced (or rerouted) w/o messing up the scenery. And you can re-arrange the scenery "chunks" while doing the re-laying to see how that looks, or replace some chunks with new scenes.
Good luck on making your final decision. I agree with those that advise about not completely burning your bridges behind you, tho.

[John]

EDIT:  I just need to freaking commit.  After this weekend's open house.  Hopefully I'll be able to temporarily fix the tunnel track problem.  But after that, the only way to make sure something happens is to start prying up track.  Then I'll have to do something.  Ever wonder why--when I do work, I work so fast?  It's my German "alles in Ordnung" gene...  I can't leave the layout unfinished for long.

I think you need to wait until you retire --- then decide what you want to do with the rest of your model railroading life ..

[pjm20]

But this nagging, narrow gauge bug isn't going to go away, and it's more serious than a Bachmann Big Hauler dodging dog turds in the backyard can handle. 
Jason

Garden Railroading can be serious, and an avenue Dave can go down. Bachmann has there C19 with plenty of equipment, there are plenty of live steam models of other locomotives, and Garden Railroading is geared toward narrow gauge. Even the Annie can be modified into a great looking engine:


Even though Garden Railroading is outdoors, it can be serious, hell it can be even more.

[Philip H]

So, having had part of this discussion in your basement I won't rehash old ground. What I observed last week was a guy who really lives his Pennsy, but has a layout demanding more maintenance then you can muster. Even if we hadn't fond the tunnel alignment problem you were frustrated at the general layout operating condition. So I can see the temptation to throw it all.

That said you have a lot of decisions to make. Your tour at USAFA is up in what - a year? So are you staying? If yes then we can conti us the debate and help you plan! If no, then perhaps instead of shipping the JD to your n t station you should run it hard and dismantle it before you go. Take the raw materials to your new post and start over.

Meanwhile treat yourself to a Blackstone K-47 (?) and build the first HOn3 FreeMO module!

[conrail98]

That Philip guy knows his stuff, must be in the name. I completely agree. I think once you settle whether or not Colorado is your permanent home, i.e., this is your last tour, then really start looking at this, otherwise, run the JD and if it gets to be too much, pack everything up and plan on something new for the next location. There are a few layout owners around here who have layouts in one era/scale and modules in another so that is always an option,

Phil

[Smike]

Sounds like its a commitment issue, ultimately which choice is really secondary.

[Dave V]

Yeah, commitment...  I'll be applying for Senior Military Faculty (which is like tenure for active duty) here by the time my tour would normally be ending, but that's not a guarantee at all.  The uncertainty is a big of my lack of commitment. 

EDIT:  I need to bury myself in my Pennsy books for a while and get the spark back.

[Cameron_Talley]

Sounds like you need an East-Coast vacation! That will get things going again!

[Dave V]

Preparing for our annual Christmas open house today, which by popular demand has always included a demo of the Juniata Division.

I was able to correct the vertical deflection of the track in the tunnel, but found something much more insidious.  There's a joint spread, very similar to the one I'd tried to correct with the Unitrack in the first place.  This is where the flex meets the Unitrack, and honestly, it's in a spot where I can't remember how I would have soldered it.  I was thinking the Unitrack extended out of both portals, but no.  There's a pressure fit joint between flex and Unitrack just inside the Spruce Creek portal but beyond my reach through the access panel (that was much more accessible before Enola came along).

For now, a shorter train can handle it, but too many cars and my L1s loses traction.  Any retracking will either bypass the tunnel or remove the mountain so I can do it right.

[eric220]

I had a thought. Proportionally, how much real estate will you get with a door layout in HOn3 versus the real estate you now have in the garden layout? My guess is that you can actually get a comparable, if not larger, slice of the modeled world in the garden. Granted, G is much more expensive than HOn3, but you've already got a start. Would it be possible to work some more modeling and scenery/structure work into that setup? That would be a much more reliable and Colorado-esque way of modeling narrow gauge. Granted, it would be harder to take with you.

I (obviously) would much prefer to see you stay with N Scale PRR. I think the realignment that we discussed a few pages back would work much better than what you have. It'll be a project, for sure, and I'm not really one to offer advice on getting past that roadblock, since I haven't made any real progress on my own layout in months. Still, if you do it, I'm sure the results will be worth it. Also, it seems redundant to me to do narrow gauge on a door with a narrow gauge layout in the back yard.

I can sympathize with being the only PRR modeler in the area. It took me a long time to find others, but they are around. You might want to check with the PRRT&HS and see if there are any in your area.

[Smike]

Yeah, commitment...  I'll be applying for Senior Military Faculty (which is like tenure for active duty) here by the time my tour would normally be ending, but that's not a guarantee at all.  The uncertainty is a big of my lack of commitment. 

Always grateful for your servie to this country, and I have no idea how you do it with a family moving so much (and with the uncertainty of when and where).

[Dave V]

Browsing HOn3 stuff...  The major drawback is obviously the starting with next to nothing.  Maybe it's time to work hard on the garden railroad to scratch that itch.  Then there's always this:



Got me to thinking back to N scale, though...

What might an all-new Juniata Division look like?  It would need to be modular, because even if I retire from service here there's no guarantee I'd stay, depending on the job market.

Any ideas?  The only druthers:

Focused on Lewistown.
Portable.
Code 55 track.

I wish DKS were still posting regularly...

[unittrain]

I love the JD its one of my favorite layouts would hate to see it go, but if it is beyond repair I would love to see a modular rebuild if you start from scratch I'm sure the new JD would be even better which is hard to imagine given the exceptional modeling you have done but code 55 track ect I would love to see it! The skys the limit!