I'm glad I have.....
1. I like the way I built my platform. Legs are pressure treated 4x4's, 36" high. Support beams are 2x4's, 16 inches on center. Platform is 3/4 inch plywood, 5 sheets in total. Length is 16 feet, with the widest part 12 feet and the narrowest is 8 feet. All 5 frames are bolted together. A layer of homosote was added to deaden the noise, along with cork roadbed. Gargraves track was used exclusively, with switches mostly by Ross. There are 2 mainlines, with numerous sidings. Chicken grit works well for ballast The platform has never moved and easily supports my weight. It is so sturdy that underneath it is my planned safe space in the unlikely event of a tornado.
2. I installed numerous cinder blocks under the platform and arranged them to support 1/4 inch thick sheets of plywood. It was my initial storage area for items not in use. Today this has expanded to include basement shelves, work bench shelves, under beds, garage rafters and a backyard shed purchased a few years ago.
3. I built 4 custom wall storage units. The first has six shelves, the others have 4. Length is either 4, 5 or 6 feet long. This allows me to display up to 90 cars.
4. I purchased and framed 5 Pennsylvania Railroad calendars from the 50's, 60's and 80's. I hung them on the last unoccupied basement wall. It adds a bit of class to an unfinished basement.
5. I upgraded my transformer from a Lionel Z to a Lionel ZW. The styling of the ZW adds something. The Z was purchased when I was a preteen for $10. Forty-five years later the ZW was 25 times that amount.
6. I zip tied a 6 outlet electrical power strip to a support pole adjacent to the transformer. Today I can have a need for 4-5 plugs at once and this allows for easy access to electricity and is unconjested.
7. A focal point of the layout is a 6 stall Korber roundhouse. When building this I added at least twice the number of supports identified in the instructions. 20 years later it is as sturdy as ever.
8. A 30 inch Bowser turntable provides access to the roundhouse. The Bowser drive mechanism never worked as it should have. I upgraded to a Ross drive for Bowser turntables and performance is much improved.
9. I happily discovered that Ebay is a great source for trains. Ebay fed my obsession for Atlas O Steam Era Classic box cars. I have at least 135 of them and would like another 20 or so. Through Ebay I was also able to re-establish a Plasticville collection.
10. I feel fortunate to have met Mike Wolf and Andy Edelman at Trainfest in Milwaukee, I introduced myself, shook hands with them and thanked them for the improvements they brought to O gauge trains. I also told them of the many hours of happiness their results brought me.
11. The O Gauge forum is another source of delight. I get to see and learn from issues others are experiencing. It has also made me aware of skilled and knowledgeable repair persons for when I need their services.
12. I am lucky to have a wife who is tolerant and accepting of my hobbies. In addition to trains, I like to bake, hunt waterfowl, reload rifle, pistol and shotgun shells, along with fly fishing. I have never heard her complain. I am blessed.
13. I am glad I installed the 9 florescent lights at the start of the platform build.
14. I photographed the box ends on all engines and cars on display or on the platform. Good for insurance purposes, if needed.
15. I also have a living room layout at Christmas time. Running the trains around the tree on Christmas Eve between 4:00 and 5:00 PM, with the sun going down and light snow is magical. It is the best hour of the year.
16. I am glad I did not have the money for all the engines that I wanted across the 150 or so catalogs (MTH and Lionel) I possess.
17. When I was one year old, my parents bought for me a 1955 Lionel 1533WS train set. I still have it. It started my love affair with trains. Thanks, Mom and Dad.
18. Reference books are an invaluable aid. My short go-to list includes Greenberg's Operating Instructions with Layout Plans and Repair & Operating Manual. TMI's books Volumes 1 to 6, Bill Noles Plasticville, An Illustrated Price Guide and the DCS Companion.
I wish I had.....
1. I wish I had written down the year I started work on the platform. I think it was 1993.
2. A bigger house or specifically a larger basement. Ten of fifteen sheets of plywood seems about right. Just a dream, of course.
3. I wish I had installed a 3rd mainline. A 4 track main would be even better but space would not permit either.
4. I wish I had the skills to build and install catenary on the layout.
5. I wish I had auto indexing on the turntable. Making the precise alignments necessary for derailment free operation is more difficult than I thought.
6. I wish I had organized the empty boxes better. Swapping out a 30 car boxcar train for say a 5 car passenger train would be daunting to find the correct box.
7. I wish I had not installed the unused one piece section of uncoupling track on my outer loop. The snowplow on my Western Maryland 2-8-0 shorts out when rolling over it.
