I'm suffering from tinplate withdrawl.

scott.smith posted:

     So at this point I think I have 16 tinplate engines along with the matching cars sitting at the club that I can't get to or run. So much for the trains taking my mind off of all this mess.

Scott Smith

You still have a few at home, Scott? Anything you can do with one or more of them?

I just say that because I am putting together a 4x8 all-tinplate layout in my train room's lounge area because work on my main O gauge layout has been put on temporary hold while we have relatives living with us (at least I sure hope it's temporary ). Anyhow, I have a whole lot of MTH O gauge tinplate and have pretty much run out of display case space, so I decided to put up a small tinplate layout (tinplate trains and accessories exclusively) and operate it with the MTH DCS Explorer. Nothing fancy, with just one main line, a passing siding, and a couple of spur sidings, but I am starting to work on some scenic features. It will be a winter theme layout--Christmas year round--and it already is offering a good bit of relaxation when things get crazy around the house, or crazy with the world outside the house, as things are now.

Too bad Scott, you can always watch some of the YouTube videos of the layout, it’s the next best thing to being there.

Hey Scott,

Maybe you can make scenery items or a building for the club layout at home, ready for installation when the museum re-opens. This might provide the tinplate fix that you need.

I've been to the Virginia Museum of Transportation several times, cool place

I can run trains at home; however that means bumping my son off of my layout. If leave the room for a couple of minutes he will remove all that I was running and go back to his current trains. He has been running logging trains all week. At home I can have one multi-gauge track and one standard gauge track. That will allow a total of three trains on my 9 by 9. At the club I can run 8 tinplate trains at the same time on a 19 by 9 layout. That's a big difference. I am also uncomfortable leaving what I have at the museum unattended for a long time. I worry about sunlight bleaching or even someone taking them. I would not have left the trains on the track had I known I was not coming back for an extended period of time.

Scott Smith

scott.smith posted:

I can run trains at home; however that means bumping my son off of my layout. If leave the room for a couple of minutes he will remove all that I was running and go back to his current trains. He has been running logging trains all week. At home I can have one multi-gauge track and one standard gauge track. That will allow a total of three trains on my 9 by 9. At the club I can run 8 tinplate trains at the same time on a 19 by 9 layout. That's a big difference. I am also uncomfortable leaving what I have at the museum unattended for a long time. I worry about sunlight bleaching or even someone taking them. I would not have left the trains on the track had I known I was not coming back for an extended period of time.

Scott Smith

 

Scott,

As much work as you do for them, I would think they would at least allow you to come back and retrieve your trains, call them.

SCOTT: Would someone in charge let you in long enough to secure or remove a few items if you took your temperature and wore a mask before you entered the building? Surely, as a VALUABLE contributing member, they would make it possible for you to safely enter?

the obvious solution is to acquire enough trains to have two collections. Louis Marx always said "Do you have them all?"

With all of our spring steam up shows canceled for the next several weeks, my outdoor line being in swamp thanks to all the darn rain we are getting.  I am thankful to have an indoor O gauge line that is now operational with both live steam and clockwork power.   It will become train fun withdrawl with my workplace shut down for atleast a week or two if not longer.  Stay safe everybody.     AD

It cannot hurt to call the museum admin folks and explain your dilemma. By showing a normal temperature and wearing a mask, you would not likely contaminate the site while retrieving some of your trains.

Although the facility may be closed, I cannot imagine that someone in charge at VMT would not be willing to make arrangements for you to enter for the purpose of retrieving your train items. Even in the current situation--and it is as bad in Ohio as anywhere else, if not worse in some cases--we are not in a total lockdown situation or, at this point at least, even close to that.

It has given me the opportunity to make a long wanted change to my track as well as another to accommodate some newly acquired buildings.

Steve

SCOTT: Keep us posted! GOOD LUCK! ☺

I didn't think about being stranded from your trains during a lockdown.  Best of luck for the future.

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

It has given me the opportunity to make a long wanted change to my track as well as another to accommodate some newly acquired buildings.

Steve

THAT is the kind of thing I like to hear at this time, Steve!

Hmmm.....what's more important and what's replaceable - toy trains or your health and your family's health?