Adventures in Modular Railroading (update - lots of pix added)

Thanks for the photos, Andy.  I hope I can attend!

Nice looking modular layout Andy.  What went wrong with the roll-up door?  Wind.  Thanks for posting photo's.

Steve, Lady and Tex

Good luck with your show tomorrow. Hope you have lots of visitors.

can you post additional photos of your layout, specifically the track? I am looking for ideas on our seasonal layout- The main display is 12'x24', and I don't just want 3 or 4 loops...

Roger,

That's a really nice Christmas layout your group has.  Nice instrumental rendition of Chattanooga Choo Choo too!

Apparently one of the two motors kept trying to raise the door after the "stop" button was pushed.

I will post more photos on this thread tomorrow or Monday, depending on how exhausted I am and what time I get home tomorrow.

Andy

Great looking layout!  Glad no one was hurt.  

Love those bridges......hope to see more shots of them!

Peter

The show was apparently a big hit, judging by the size of the crowds.

I didn't find any models to buy, but I did find a PRR hammer and lantern to buy at a really good price.

Here are the photos I took.  The lighting towards the end of the day at the end near the bay doors provided for some interesting lighting (pix near the bottom).

Even managed to catch some light rail action around lunch time:

This was posted in the window of the main show entrance.  Thought it might be of interest to those in the Pittsburgh area:

Andy

what did you use for your green grass "sheets"?

Andy - Thanks for posting all the pictures.  It looks like a good time was had by all.  I don't think I have ever seen a four track trestle before.

Art

Andy, well done. I look the look of your Hi Rail Modules, very cool ! What size curves do you have and what's the size of this monster layout?

Andy,

Lots of pix is an understatement!  Wow!  Thank you so much!

I am sorry I was unable to attend.  I really like the PRR Pacific and passenger train.  The Nickle Plate engine and the maroon/tuscan engine (maybe another Pacific) are nice too.  I can't tell what they are, but they look larger than the Pacific.  Of course there are always a load of impressive diesels.  Yes, the lighting made for some interesting effects!

I am looking forward to seeing you and the club at Greenberg on Novermber 8th!

Many thanks again!!

Andy:

Thanks for all of the photos added. How was the attendance?

Some of the grass is static grass, some is ground foam.  Depends on who built the module.  My module is not yet ready for use/display.

The inside curve is at least O72, not sure about the outer loops.  DOC might be able to answer that better.  Going from memory, this layout was around 20' x 30' give or take.  We can do MUCH larger if requested by our hosts.

The black PRR engine is my Lindberg E6 Atlantic.  The NKP engine is the 765 (Berkshire).  Both are Lionel and mine, and the tuscan PRR K4 is an MTH model owned by Jim.  See you in Monroeville.

I'm just guessing here, but I believe that the pumpkin (and the antique Ford truck) was brought by the lawn and garden center that was operating the riding train.

We had a lot of fun, and the crowds were steady until around 2 p.m. when attendance really dropped off (I guess everyone wanted to get home for the Steelers game).

Andy

Andy,

Thank you for the reply.  The 765!  I should have guessed that!  I must have been thinking too much about work.  I should do something about that!  ;-)

You and Jim have very nice steam engines!  I do like steam!  

Again, as always thank you for all the great photos!  I really appreciate your effort, and the whole club's effort in building and setting up this wonderful modular layout!!!

Andy,

How many trailers and/or trucks does it take to move this?

And how many people and hours to set up and/take down?

Ron

We used one small trailer, one pickup and one small SUV to bring modules to and from  this show (the modules owners are responsible for transporting their modules to and from shows).

Setup time for this show was around 3 hours.  When the show was over, we had the layout down, packed and loaded in almost exactly one hour (we work well together).  One of the firemen commented that we operated like a M.A.S.H. unit bugging out.

Andy

looks great Andy  Love those bridges

ANDY

LOOK LIKE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME.  WAS THIS A BENEFIT FORE THE FIREHOUSE?

Great job by all. Looks like a fun time! This is what the hobby is all about, enjoying what we do and sharing with others! 

Yes, it was, and I think they were pleased with the results (other than the door).

Andy

Nice photos & lots of them.

We all had a good time. Next set up is the Greenberg Show in Monroeville Nov8-9. Our set up will be different than this show. I don't know the Dia of the curves but they are 12 foot on the outside.

Hello Andy, nice pictures as always a great layout.

I was planning on attending this show but spent the weekend in Utah.

Mark Strittmatter

TCA#14-69917

Indiana PA.

Thanks Andy. I enjoyed looking at your pictures.

Hi Andy,

Great Pictures.

See you at the Greenberg show.

Very impressive modular layout.  Love the bridges.  What are the radii of corners tracks?

Hi, Andy.

Those are some great modules.  My favorite scene is the crashed UFO.  Thanks for sharing these pictures with those of us who couldn't be there.

WOW • Like all the quality photos. Tells the story well. 

Hi Andy:

Thanks for the photos and the report on the show.  My father’s family is from Castle Shannon and as a kid I used to attend the annual fair that the CS Fire Department used to put on at that location.  I’ll try to make that show next October on my way home from York.

Once again, you guys do a great job of promoting the hobby with your impressive layouts.

And, nice meeting you at York.

Bill

The curves are roughly O144, O136, O128, and O120.  And, although not really noticeable in pictures, the curves are slightly superelevated with a piece of wire under the outside rails.  Our members have a lot of big scale engines, passenger cars and rolling stock (like the schnabels in the pix above), and they look great on these wide curves.

When we have to do smaller venues, we also have smaller corners with curves of roughly O96, O88, O80, and O72.

Andy

A really nice setup!  Next time try not to break the door.

p

Andy,

lots of great pictures and looked like a great time

Alex