Starting Over

Best of luck moving forward. 

Good luck with the new layout Tom!  Are you planning on having Roger's team build the entire layout start to finish or take it to the scenery phase and you'll take over?

 

Curt

Good luck Tom. I can sympathize -- I have two sections of a layout I started sitting in the garage because I became dissatisfied with the design.

Curt, I'm going to have it delivered ready to go as far as terrain and structures -- and the functional Custom Signals ABS system -- and we'll ballast the track and plant the pole line and some small details such as phone booths, battery boxes, yard and industry details, after assembly at my home.  I'm 66, and I want to get busy running trains.

 

He normally delivers sections, assembles them, George tests and tweaks, and by the third day they're gone and everything is working as intended.

 

I expect to see it delivered either in December or January, since he does have some existing annual customers who need to have their Christmas layouts modified or expanded, as well as set up and taken down.  We had targeted mid-October, but the additional work for the existing customers was not on the calendar at that time.

 

I am planning to have a grand golden spike ceremony, but I'm gonna keep the details under my hat.

Tom,


Sounds like you have a plan and are moving, good for you!

You have a team of true craftsmen on the job.  Please post pictures as you can.

Congratulations! The time you inveted in planning before you called Roger was't wasted. It was necessary in order for you to realize you needed some assistance in completing such a complex project. It is a wise man knows his limits and when to seek outside help. Everything that took place before you sought out Roger needed to happen to get you to that point. It was all part of the planning. Keep Smilin'

All the best to you, Tom!  Please do keep us posted on the progress and you can be certain that we all look forward to seeing the final result.

August 28: Roger and I are talking back and forth, tweaking the track plan he created.  I sent my Overland brass Santa Fe cantilever searchlight signal to Terry Christopher to have working LEDs installed.  I wish I could have bought more of them, but consider myself lucky to have one.  And Dennis Brennan is sending me some samples of ballast.  I am going to have to get into high gear on my part.  I have four structure kits to build and will surely have more when we make the final selections and plot the town and the industry spurs.

 

This layout will represent the windy high plains, with dry climate and sparse vegitation.

Tom

First of all---Good Luck

I"m right there with you---to the point of starting with the "Thrice around the room" track plan

Just wasn't working for me either

Several plans later and I find myself back at square one---not the worst place to be---I do enjoy drawing/envisioning/"daydreaming" the next layout

Now my wife hits me with she may want to move---WHAT  

 

Back to square one for me to

Keep us posted

 

Joe S  

 

 

PS

Not wasted time---part of the hobby

However

Get moving---If you are like me every time I bump into an old buddy I here of someone else with an illness or no longer with us

After tweaking the layout design with Roger just a bit, I received a proposal from Trainworx.  So, now I know what I am going to pay for this railroad, and when it can be installed.  Trainworx will construct the table, track, and scenery, and wire the railroad.  I will provide the transformers, DCS, TMCC and Legacy equipment, and will deal directly with Custom Signals, who will furnish the signal equipment to Trainworx for wiring into the layout.  I will also provide the structures.

 

I had some track material which will be incorporated into the railroad, and now must work on the structures, to finish the ones I have for installation, and to acquire those I don't yet have.

 

We're off and running.  Now that there is an official offer, I really have to be sure to do my part, and earlier will be better.

 

I'll update this thread with more information as progress occurs.

Tom, just remember in all things the way you go from amateur to professional is by practice!  Just consider all that went before as practice.  You have now sat down with another professional and you knew exactly what to ask for and what you wanted.  Don't feel what you did in the past as wasted time, just practice! Congratulations and above all have fun with YOUR new layout.  Russ

Sounds exciting! Can you post TW's track plan?

The layout is sort of shaped like a badge.  I did not have a full basement so the layout is medium sized, a full table with two reversing loops and four pop-ups.  There isn't room for a signature bridge or a large engine servicing facility, so the crown jewel will be the APB-style automatic block signal system, from Custom Signals.

 

The outer main track has O-81 curves.  All other curves are O-72, except for the industrial spur, which uses O-63.

 

You might think that having a railroad professionally built would be a quick process, but it does take time, not only because of other projects in progress, but also because everything remains subject to revision all through construction.  Some of the revisions are because new ideas occur, while others happen when it is discovered that someting does not work well.  Owner involvement in construction is helpful.  I started going down to Dallas for a bi-weekly visit in December, when the table was constructed.  The construction is moving faster now, and I have begun weekly visits.

 

As of last Friday, three block signals have been installed for testing placement.  The circuit board will arrive in mid-February, and we can then begin testing them.  On Friday's visit, George and I checked the location of the insulated joints for signals, and placed all the signals on the layout (most in boxes) to be sure that we had the right signal for each location.