I wanted to introduce myself and say hello.


nekom

Member
Hey there. My name's Luke. I'm 26 and just moved into a house with an attic big enough to get into (read that as: the wife will allow me to) model railroading. I had a few sets as a kid but never had the space until now, though I've been a fan of the railroads pretty much all of my life. I've decided to go with HO scale, since it seems the most popular, and have already got some old junky stuff from e-bay to get me started.

I plan to model something loosely based on (more like an alternate reality version of) the former Monongahela Railway (later Conrail, now jointly run by NS/CSX) in the modern era (1980's to present). I wonder if there are any other fans of this line around here? The original line ran south of Brownsville, PA to Fairmont, WV on one side of the river, and on the other side through Waynesburg, PA and several coal mines in PA and WV. These two original mainlines are still very active today.

I came across this forum, saw how active it was, and thought it might turn out to be a very valuable resource. I can't wait to read through all of the posts. So I just thought I'd say hi to ya'll.
 
Hey Luke! Welcome to the forum! This really is a great forum and a great resource. Many of the members are extremely talented and are glad to share their work and ideas with the rest of us. Everybody here is helpful and glad to answer questions, no matter how simple or complex they are. You also won't find any of the unfriendly posts here that tend to pop up on other forums. :)
 
Welcome Luke...Nice to meet you...Make yourself home....Save the page and remove your search bar...you won't need any where else....all your answers and all the ideas you'll ever need are here....And tons of pictures to dream and drool over!!...Good luck and give us a play-by-play build of your project...Don't be afraid to ask anything..no matter how minor...We'll be glad to help in anyway we can!!...Tip: sneak most of the stuff up to the attic when she isn't home!!...;)
 
Welcome aboard, Luke! It sounds like you have a very interesting theme in mind. Keep us posted on your plans and progress, ask questions, add comments and make yourself at home. We're all friends here and look forward to enjoying your layout with you and invite you to enjoy ours. Ain't the web great? :cool:
 
Welcome Luke...Nice to meet you...Make yourself home....Save the page and remove your search bar...you won't need any where else....all your answers and all the ideas you'll ever need are here....And tons of pictures to dream and drool over!!...Good luck and give us a play-by-play build of your project...Don't be afraid to ask anything..no matter how minor...We'll be glad to help in anyway we can!!...Tip: sneak most of the stuff up to the attic when she isn't home!!...;)

I'm glad to see that there are some friendly people here! Thanks for the warm welcome, all! I'll be sure to get some pictures and/or video when I get something substantial, but as it stands now my project consists of a bunch of wacky track and a single Santa Fe engine that I think must have come with every starter train I've ever seen set sitting loose on the attic floorboards. But it did run, and it ran exactly as I expected it would, which is poorly. heh. I've got a lot of table building to do, but I look forward to it.

I was actually half tempted to go with LEGO's 9V trains, but they're pretty much prohibitively expensive for anything large and are not even close to anything you could call a scale. I think HO in the attic is going to result in a lots of fun.
 
If I may I would like to offer my next tip based on what info you've givin us so far......"Don't get discouraged with that engine"...don't be afraid to buy a good one...as a starter there are several...Like a Proto 1000 or 2000...You'll be amazed how well it performs and how detailed it is....You'll get one for the same price as a train set...and you'll be so much more satisfied.....I seen allot of guys buy a "train set" and thats as far as it goes because it doesnt work well and they loose intrest... You'll only get out of it what you put into it...so take your time and have fun...and get ready for one addicting hobby. It's like having a world you can control more than the one we live in!...and a great GET-AWAY!!
 
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If I may I would like to offer my next tip based on what info you've givin us so far......"Don't get discouraged with that engine"...don't be afraid to buy a good one...as a starter there are several...Like a Proto 1000 or 2000...You'll be amazed how well it performs and how detailed it is....You'll get one for the same price as a train set...and you'll be so much more satisfied.....I seen allot of guys buy a "train set" and thats as far as it goes because it doesnt work well...And you'll only get out of it what you put into it...so take your time and have fun...and get ready for one addicting hobby. It's like having a world you can control more than the one we live in!...and a great GET-AWAY!!

Oh I'm not discouraged at all, at least not yet ;). I bought a few $20 lots on e-bay, and I'm a firm believer in the fact that you get what you pay for! But I wanted some mixed junk to start out with, and I have got that now. I hope to get some quality NS/CSX/CONRAIL locomotives soon and go from there. I know I bought basically garbage, but it was cheap, and it was a place to start. I've got a LOOOOONG way to go and I realize that. I'm sure it will take a long time to build my dream model, but hey that's the fun in it, right? By the time I get something really nice, my 2 month old daughter will be old enough to enjoy it as well. I'm not under any kind of illusion that this is going to be a breeze or that everything will work great off the bat. I just love how open-ended this hobby can be, and can't wait to let my inner-child go nuts with it!
 
Hey Luke,
welcome! I probably won't be the one answering your questions. I'll be asking for help too as I'm not new to the hobby, but new to the layouts(It was on the floor for the past 5 years)LOL!
 
If your interested in the Monongahela Railroad, Atlas made a very nice GP-38 and an NE-6 caboose for that line. Some retailers may still stock them, and they may also be available on E-Bay from time to time. Have fun.
Tom
 
Welcome Luke!

Have fun and enjoy! Post pics of your progress and your MRR acquisitions! (locos, rolling stock, building kits etc) We like to see all...you may surprise yourself on some hidden talent in this hobby. Someone will likely learn something from you too in this hobby!

Highball'in time!!
 
There are some bargains out there if you look. Take a look at trainworld.com, they have a great Proto 2000 switcher for $29. Above all ask here before you buy. We can steer you to the bargains and steer you away from the stuff that is a waste of money no matter what it costs. You have what you need to play, so don't spend any more until you plan. Then buy only what fits your plan. If someon would have told me that, I'd ahve a lot more $$$ than I did when I started.
 
Welcome to the forum, dude. I'm not a fan of that particular railroad but I am a fan of western PA railroads in the modern (1980s and beyond) era.
 
Someone will likely learn something from you too in this hobby!

Well spoken!...You'd be amazed what I have learned for newbies....Allot of times people that have the money to buy the best of everything have us wishing we could..Then along comes a guy with some ideas and creates something from materials laying around. You'll be surprised when your at work or other places, and your mind is on your hobby, you pick up things and say, "Hey I could use this for that on my railroad!"....and will save allot of money!....If you could see into allot of railroad layouts, you'd be surprised of the materials that are hidden in there....
You have a good attitude already...Rome wasn't built in a weekend...And one more hint, "Your NEVER done!!!!.." unless you build them to sell, you'll be changing, adding, and improving forever..If we were done we'd have nothing else to do but run them..I recently saw a layout on eBay that a guy was selling...he was into scenery more than operation,...it was very nice...but not as an operational one...but that's what he was into and built it that way....that's cool but make sure to add real operational aspects so you can "play with it" later.....worlds change, so do layouts...
And if you come up with a time saving, or a cool idea...pass it along!! We'd appreciate it!
 
Your lucky Luke!

Welcome too Luke!
I'm, just like Steve , from the other side of the pond. It is a "global" forum.;)
If you have any questions about scenery, aspecialy about the "green stuff/vegetation" just ask( but that will take some time..first :trackdesigning/laying etc...!!!:)
Enjoy this beautiful hobby! and visit this forum as often as you can :D

Jos
 
I definately figure track layout is the place to start planning. I really wanted to do the whole line full-scale but that would take an enormous amount of space that I don't have, so I cut the less interesting parts short and came up with this:

planyo9.jpg


A line on each side of the `river' (which I want to be my working space) and I figure at both ends probably have them loop back and meet each other to make things easier. I guess I have my work cut out for me, it already looks more complicated than I expected it to! :)
 



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