HO somewhere in Appalachia.....

[svedblen]

I just love those almost buried tracks!

[DKS]

Progress at Hohmann Lumber....

Outstanding

[LIRR]

...out with the camera, caught a set of Fs with a coal drag passing through Calvin...

[wazzou]

I like it better than your old camera!    Nice work.

[chuck geiger]

I know why I love this layout, it's own awesomeness with some Allagash and Yosemite Valley tossed in.

[LIRR]

finished the wood chip loader....

[davefoxx]

Latest edition to the fleet from Atlas....first non-Bachmann unit

How are you liking the Atlas locomotive as compared to the Bachmann models?  I would imagine that you're not disappointed.  Probably the majority of my fleet is from Atlas and Athearn, and I'm very happy with them.  In fact, I was happily running my Athearn GP38 decorated for the Southern Ry. last night.  That said, in my opinion, the cream of the crop nowadays for HO diesel locomotives is ScaleTrains and Rapido.

DFF

[LIRR]

very impressed with the Atlas...great slow speed, good sound, excellent detail. The Bachmanns have great slow speed performance, sound not as good as Atlas - but acceptable. Not as much detail - but I was able to add that. however I picked up the Bachmanns for 50% to 65% less cost. you can't beat the bang-for-the-buck.

[davefoxx]

Yes, sir, but you generally get what you pay for.  Less cost, but time and materials needed to bring it up to your standards- but, admittedly, that's not an issue, if detailing is your thing.  I will add that your weathering job does wonders for a Bachmann locomotive, too.

The sound is easily rectified by upgrading to your DCC/sound system of choice.  Sometimes that's as easy as replacing a decoder and may even be plug-and-play.  I'm not sure what kind of decoders Bachmann uses.  Since I standardized on ESU, I've replaced the guts in locomotives that are older or not available with LokSound decoders.  I've even replaced ESU decoders when it wasn't advertised clearly that the decoders were "economy" decoders and had limited reprogramming capabilities.  It's amazing how far we've come with sound.  For example, the QSI sound from ten to twenty years ago (which was probably top of the line then) just sounds bad now.  I'm so glad that I got the courage to tear down some older Atlas locomotives and attempt to replace those QSI guts.  The learning curve wasn't too steep, and that prevented me from having to sell off much of the fleet.  Nowadays, I can buy any diesel locomotive that I want and, if necessary, add or change the decoders to bring them up to fleet standards.  This allowed me to add a fifteen- or twenty-year-old Life-Like E8A decorated in the purple and silver Atlantic Coast Line scheme to the fleet.  This locomotive is not available today from any manufacturer, and I got it cheap.  Now, it not only looks good, it sounds great, too.  Did the same thing with a seventeen-year-old Atlas CW40-8 decorated for CSX.

DFF

[LIRR]

working on the transition from building to backdrop....



as scenery progresses to the west....

[LIRR]

started work on Victor's Coal & Lumber. this has also been a mock-up for a few years....

this is the coal shed....

[LIRR]

After some fits and starts I’m finally getting to work on the pulp wood yard

[davefoxx]

After some fits and starts I’m finally getting to work on the pulp wood yard

Oh, boy!  Oh, boy!  Oh, boy! 

DFF

[davefoxx]

After some fits and starts I’m finally getting to work on the pulp wood yard

DFF

[LIRR]

more progress