Hello!!!


B

Brianhasadd

New Member
Hello everyone! Let me start off by saying that this is a great forum as I've been reading through it. There is a wealth of knowledge here and I look forward to learning alot from y'all.

A little about me. My name is Brian and I'm from Jax, FL and I currentl work intermodal for Norfolk Southern here in Jax at Simpson yard. I LOVE my job and look forward to going to work everyday. My whole family works and has retired from CSX so railroad has been in our family for over 50 years.

I've built a few little "N" scale models but I want to create a little bit bigger layout this time around. I Googled "model railroad track plans" and saw where a guy had made some track plans for a 78"x30" door. Due to space that's the size that I want to go with. I saw some nice track plans that he created and I want to build one of them but I don't have a clue what kind of track to get or how much. I sold my other models because they were taking up space and I wasn't using them. I'm getting back into it and I haven't a clue where to start.

I would really appreciate any and all help that y'all can give me.

Thank you in advance!!

Brian
 
Hi Brian, you sound like a man with a plan! There are some threads here about small N layouts on doors, lots on the net too. I'll let the N scalers answer that one.
I used to work in the intermodal yards for the CPR in Winnipeg. I figured balancing on the treadways with an IBC in one hand and a flashlight & hammer in the other was an accident waiting to happen! I miss it tho.
 
Thanks Rico!! I've been looking at doors and plywood to start my layout. As soon as I find a track plan that I like then I'm gonna get started. I found a few track plans on Kato's website but they're so freakin' exspensive and I want to go with a cork roadbed over the stuff that they make.

I'm hoping some "N" scale pros chime in. I have an idea what I want to do but a little help is always greatly appreciated!!!

I've been doing intermodal for 6.5 years with NS. I've gone many a night with a flashlight in one hand and a pinbar in the other locking a track down after it's loaded. I seriously wouldn't trade it for anything though. I love my job so much!!
 
A good track to start with is Atlas code 55. Atlas track is reliable and not overly expensive. I used Atlas code 80 on my layout but it was constructed before the code 55 came out. I have had no problems with it and have even used some of my track on a previous layout. You will probably get a lot of different opinions on track and everything else. I had some help when I started my first layout from an HO guy who just loves MRR'ing. He did not care what scale I was in as long as it was model railroading. He told me to go with what I was most comfortable with, to go slowly at first and do it right or at least the best that I could for my skill level at the time. My second layout is 1000% better than the first as I learned from my mistakes. None of the mistake were serious enough to destroy anything and all were fixable. He also told me to go with my gut feeling most of the time and it would all work out in the end and it has. The best locos for the buck in my opinion are Atlas but there has been much improvement from when i started in 1993. Kato are also very very good as are a few others, again you will get many many different opinions of this and all other phases of this hobby.
 
Thank you leghome!! I'm not sure as to which track I want to go with. I was thinking about going with an ez-track system but I like the look of the cork-bed under the track because it makes it look more realistic IMO. I've built several little "N" scale layouts but nothing like I'm planning to do now. I've been looking at layouts and I'm thinking of going a little bigger like either 6x10' or 9x12'. I'm still researching everything for now but I've got a pretty good idea of what I want to do.
 
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