Introductions

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Welcome .. and thanks for the work on JMRI ..

Yes! I can't imagine modern model railroading without it.

[rhwood]

Welcome .. and thanks for the work on JMRI ..

Yes! I can't imagine modern model railroading without it.

No worries; I couldn't program even the simplest of decoders without it myself.

[Dan_Vincent]

Just signed on from Longwood, FL.

My main interest in N-Scale is the ERIE RR, with E/L and G/N as alternatives.

[R L Smith]

Welcome Dan, always glad to have another Erie / E-L modeler here. Hope you will share some of your work with us.


Ron

[dem34]

uhh

Random 20yr old dude from the Jersey shore. Playing with choo choos all my life but somehow only started making my own layouts and being involved the communities like a year ago. Found out about this forum after visiting the N scale show in Egg Harbor and trying to retrofit a Vintage Blue Comet set I bought there.

[rickb773]

Dem34, if you are from the southern part of the Jersey shore, that will increase the density of Railwire members in South Jersey to 1 per 484 square miles (from 1 in 581 square miles).

[dem34]

Dem34, if you are from the southern part of the Jersey shore, that will increase the density of Railwire members in South Jersey to 1 per 484 square miles (from 1 in 581 square miles).

Sadly for the stats I'm more Northern, centralish.

[MK]

What exit on the Turnpike or GSP? 

[dem34]

98 on the Garden

[MK]

Definitely not southern.  More like central like you said.  A little south of Perth Amboy.

[Shaggy170]

Hey everyone,

Lets see if i can hit all the topics for the introduction here. My name is Nicholas (or Nick) and i live in Pittsburgh. I mostly model SF (steam to 90s), late PC/early CR, CR (late 90s), and modern NS/CSX/BNSF (so a little bit all over the place). I do have some oddballs such as a WP California Zephyr, my Rock Island Bankruptcy Blue train, and a few others. I mostly run on my club's N Trak layout when i am able to get to shows but i am slowly (very slowly) working on a set of T-Trak modules for home/show use. I have been meaning to join for a while but never did until this weekend when I was at the Altoona N Scale Weekend and was accidentally in the Railwire group photo while working my trick at my club's switch tower. Afterwards, my friends who are already on the Railwire convinced me to sign up. As for why i wanted to sign up, well, i am slowly getting into kit building, making custom loads, and things of that nature and hoping to get advice whenever i get stuck on a project.

[FloridaBob]

Hi,

I'm Bob living in Southern Florida.

Model trains, specifically Lionel, were simply intrinsic to Christmas-time growing up. Every year my Dad put up a rather large platform that sat on the carpet and the whole family pitched-in setting up track, houses, people, lights, cars, snow etc. etc. etc. and the memories of same are eternal for sure. When friends and family stopped by, I still recall how all eyes seemed to be transfixed to the layout and the passing trains. My Grandfather had previously worked for the Erie-Lackawanna RR at the time and he, most of all, would simply stare in glee, reminiscing I'm sure.

Many, many years later, after my Dad had passed, I dug out the old orange and blue boxes and decided I was going to resurrect a Christmas-time Lionel layout
for my 9 year old daughter at the time. (Well, that's what I told my wife anyway)

Long story short, I soon found that after 30-40 some years, each and every engine, part, car, tracks, transformers etc. etc. was in need of some serious TLC at best. It turned out to be a 3 month adventure but in the end, I had built an elevated 12' x 8' platform in the garage, complete with a bleacher section for guests. There were 3 or 4 trains running at all times, 10 switches, a trolley, all illuminated houses, buildings, snow of course, etc. etc. I even recorded over a couple hour's worth of 40's-50's-style Christmas/Winter songs to fully capture the magic of the era. It was a herculean, non-stop project but, come time for the reveal at a big house party, we found it most difficult to get people...OUT OF THE GARAGE! They were simply mesmerized and smiling in glee, (especially in South Florida) whilst remembering aloud their own childhood memories. I must say, it was indeed a magical evening and a subsequent yuletide season.

Years thereafter, and a few moves later, there never seemed to be enough time to do a repeat performance and the old Lionels went back into storage for years. Once my daughter was grown, married and starting a family, my wife and I subsequently moved to a townhouse and it was time to part with a ton of things in the attic and garage.  It took me a year to get my head wrapped around selling the old trains but I figured it's best to have someone else enjoy 'em rather than letting them slowly decay in storage.

WITH THAT SAID...I now have a grandson and soon another on the way and I've embarked on restarting a Christmas Tradition via N Scale! (I of course, told my wife it's for my grandson.) '-) We have a rather spacious coffee table and since May, I've been designing a layout that can be super-easy to set up each year and easy to store in a novel fashion. It will have tunnels, suspension bridge, mountains, DPM buildings, houses, lights, trolley, 4 sidings, two trains running at all times, snap relays, a dream player pro sound circuit for music and effects, CDU, trolley pause circuits, speakers hidden in mountains and a control panel box that simply slides out of the way under the table and connects via two, multi-wire Jones plug connectors. I've bought all of the panel lights, switches, circuit boards etc. etc. and am just about done with that phase, still a lot of soldering but close. I also made sure to document all purchases and sources thereof, wiring schemes etc. for future changes etc. 

I discovered railwire and have already asked a few questions and was simply amazed by
the quick and most helpful responses. I thank one and all. Hopefully, when I get this done, I'll be able to return the favor to newcomers by offering some lessons-learned kind of advice.

I'm certainly not a year-round train aficionado but come the Yuletide season, I'm all in,
and will be year after year. The memories of same are far too dear.
Hopefully, my grandkids will feel the same way some day. '-) 

[wm3798]

@FloridaBob that's an awesome story.  My larval stage in the hobby was similar, only it was a couple of 4x8s with HO train sets whizzing around at Christmas time.  I still get a little wistful at the thought of model trains around Christmas time.  Never quite got my kids into the deep end, but it wasn't for lack of trying.
I hope you enjoy N scale as much.  I've built several micro layouts just to have something to run, usually in November, and usually with some snow on the mountain!
All the best.  Enjoy the organized chaos of the Railwire!  We're looking forward to seeing your work.
Lee

[FloridaBob]

Thanks! Nothing like the clickety-clack of holiday train memories...

A marvelous service and brain trust it is here
and I thank one and all for the excellent tips,
advice and recommendations found on these pages
and by seasoned and friendly pros.

[Super_G]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Christian. I am from the Fort Wayne, Indiana area modeling N scale from the mid 2000's onward. Primarily focused on NS with a few short lines in the mix. No layout yet, but plan on having one in a couple of years though. Other than that, hobbies/interests include building/working on computers, 3D printing, machining, fabrication, other mechanical engineering stuff, chilling with family, and taking care of an early 2000's Audi...