67 years is long enough


Ya just need lots of money, a little bit of technical ability, some artistic skill and a sense of humor.
Lots to see around here.
Maybe list what your railroading interests are, scale, era, road name and region or state you live in.
 
Thanks for the guidance, Ken. Hmm.... lets see - (1) not much, (2) some, (3) ehh.., (4) that I got :) My scale is HO and I'm mainly interested in the 1950s & 60s. I live in Florida but grew up in Temple, Texas. Temple is a small place as cities go, but a large place as railroading history goes. It was a major hub of the (Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (ATSF) oops sorry...) Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe (GCSF) rr back in the late 1800s and well into the 70s and 80s. The old Katy line (MKT) also ran through it, crossing the GCSF main just southeast of the town. Tower 24 was the interlocking that protected the crossing. Last year, I started scratch building a model of the tower, and that got me back into the hobby. I don't have room for a layout so I'm working on a 4x6 diorama of the area around the crossing of the two railroads.

You're so right - lots to see and absorb here. I hope I can contribute something useful in return.

Cheers,

Russ
 
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Hi and welcome to the forum.

Pity you have so little room, and no clubs in your area, one thing Ken forgot to mention, we love foto's, lot's and lot's of them in fact, so don't be shy with your diorama ones. :D
I always find them interesting and very useful, I've picked up quite a few handy tips on how to do stuff as well as a few new techniques.
 
If ya want to whet your appetite for the model railroading extreme, here's a link to a model railroad that I videotaped a couple years ago in Arizona. This is a privately owned model railroad, owned by a retired Boeing Aireospace engineer, built to what he recalled of the UP Wyoming Division, west of Cheyanne to Ogden, UT.
It's a three part video so be sure to click on the subsequent two links.

 
Smudge617-

Hello, Smudge and thanks for the welcome. I’m working on two projects for the diorama so I’ll be sure and post some pictures soon.

GuilfordRailman-

Thanks for the welcome, Guilford, and for the encouragement - obviously, you’re a “glass half full” type of person :). No telling what the future will bring so maybe I should say I’m working on a diorama that can be the start of a real layout ;).


D&J RailRoad-

Thanks, Ken, I’m always ready to whet my appetite for railroading. I’ll check out those videos.


Patrick-

Hey, Patrick, thanks for the welcome!
 
Welcome aboard Tower24. If you're so inclined and have some time, come on over to the Coffee Shop and get to know some of the members who hang out there. We post many layout pictures there and talk about almost anything except religion and politics. Well we skirt around the politics a bit! This week we've been talking about our favorite music; looks like Pink Floyd is a clear favorite.
 
Thanks for the welcome, Willie, and for the invite. I've been reading some of your conversations already. If I see anything I can contribute, I'll jump in.
 
t24,
Are you going with a static diorama because you've decided you've no room for an active model railroad ? Because, if you would rather have an active RR, building it along the walls in a shallow (say 10-12" deep) shelf-style can afford you that..
 
High PowerCab. Yes and... yes... sort of... I planned to build it as a module with the idea of adding more sections should fate be kind. I figured 4' deep so I could include some Santa Fe rr structures off to the west, but it's possible I could make the module longer and more narrow... say 1.5' - 2' deep and 8' long, and leave out the ATSF for now. Hmm... I'll have to check that out. Actually, that would be closer to prototype since the area I wanted to capture includes Tower 24 and its grade crossing to the south and the MKT station about a mile to the north, with various businesses and rr structures in between. That's gonna present some problems with the module since it will have to be attached to the wall for stability. Hmm... the wheels are turning... I think you may have something there, PC. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
tower24 said:
I live in Florida but grew up in Temple, Texas. Temple is a small place as cities go, but a large place as railroading history goes. It was a major hub of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (ATSF) rr back in the late 1800s and well into the 70s and 80s.
Click to expand...
Temple Texas is now the location of one of the Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society Archives.
 
Hello Iron Horseman. That's true. I accessed their site for information on Tower24. Unfortunately, I've only been able to find two pictures of the tower, either there or anywhere else on the web.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
If ya want to whet your appetite for the model railroading extreme, here's a link to a model railroad that I videotaped a couple years ago in Arizona. This is a privately owned model railroad, owned by a retired Boeing Aireospace engineer, built to what he recalled of the UP Wyoming Division, west of Cheyanne to Ogden, UT.
It's a three part video so be sure to click on the subsequent two links.

Click to expand...
Hey, D&J, thanks for the link. I watched all three and yikes! Made me want to run and hide in a dark place lol! A very impressive and droolingly unatainable creation, but then, that's what dreams are made of :).
 
tower24 said:
Hey, D&J, thanks for the link. I watched all three and yikes! Made me want to run and hide in a dark place lol! A very impressive and droolingly unatainable creation, but then, that's what dreams are made of :).
Click to expand...
If ya show up there about 9am on the second Saturday of the month, they'll prolly stick a throttle in your hand and assign you to a train. Wear your walkin shoes though.
 
Man I'd love to do that, but it's a three-day drive from here to AZ and I won't mortgage my house just for a plane ticket. Sounds like you've been there though.
 
Yeah, I do a couple rides out there from Virginia each year. This past year has been pretty clogged up with issues so didn't make it out there. I'm thinkin of making the trip in Jan Feb time frame with a rental car though. Too cold to ride through the higher elevations of NM and AZ. Even taking the southern route along I-10 can be cold.
 
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