Train Shelf in my 8 year old son's room, take 2.

Very nice! I like the simple, clean design and white paint; it makes for a handsome installation that really showcases a train. What diameter curves did you utilize?

Corey,

The shelves look great!!  I do like the high ceiling and your woodwork!  

Tuscan Jim posted:

Very nice! I like the simple, clean design and white paint; it makes for a handsome installation that really showcases a train. What diameter curves did you utilize?

They are O48.

Mark Boyce posted:

Corey,

The shelves look great!!  I do like the high ceiling and your woodwork!  

 Thanks Mark!

Very nice.

Very nice. Now you need to rig the train to a timer to use as his alarm clock. That horn sounds like the real thing!

RSJB18 posted:

Very nice. Now you need to rig the train to a timer to use as his alarm clock. That horn sounds like the real thing!

That would be cool! This is my first MTH Premier engine. I am blown away by how good it sounds. I thought the Railking SD70ACE sounded good, boy was I wrong.

The room looks awesome! One lucky kid to have that in his room. 

Based on the door height, I'm guessing that the shelf is about 8' off the ground? 

If you don't mind sharing, I would be interested to know what the "rules" are for running the train in your situation. I ask because I am in a similar situation with young kids at home. I want them to have fun with the trains but I don't want their inner "kid" to see how fast they can destroy them either. 

enginEErjon posted:

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The room looks awesome! One lucky kid to have that in his room. 

Based on the door height, I'm guessing that the shelf is about 8' off the ground? 

If you don't mind sharing, I would be interested to know what the "rules" are for running the train in your situation. I ask because I am in a similar situation with young kids at home. I want them to have fun with the trains but I don't want their inner "kid" to see how fast they can destroy them either. 

The tops of the windows are right at 8 feet, so the height is maybe 4 or 5 inches above that. The ceiling is right at 10 foot.

As far as the kid goes, I am really fortunate. He is very conservative when it comes to train speeds. He loves watching Eric Siegel's videos. Eric runs his trains fairly slow, so my son does the same. We do have a 50 mph (on DCS) max, but he gets no where close to that.

LOVE the engine sounds, especially the horn! What's the model number? The shelving looks really great, been wanting to try that myself

   The floor rules here were "cast steam" which you can hardly break; or "low cost" if  plastic.

Gramps layout rules were act right or you can't man the throttle next time.

I only got banned once...tramatic, but eye opening.

"These are MY trains, go crash YOUR trains into hot wheels"...and the basement went dark.

The more responsible I was, the better trains I was allowed to handle. I railed and ran Black Jack GG-1 once, no other Grandkids ever got to run one, let alone the one from the top shelf.

  For many, it is a progression from unbridled excitement and activity, to sitting around quietly watching night trains slowly rolling by, which is why I slowed mine down.......sometimes.

  That speed limiter is like modern train insurance though.

There are a few old threads on the subject too if you search around.

GeoPeg posted:

LOVE the engine sounds, especially the horn! What's the model number? The shelving looks really great, been wanting to try that myself

MTH 20-20451-1

May I ask why 4 power districts for a layout this size?I want to give you credit on the amazing workmanship that you put into this project.Nick

rockstars1989 posted:

May I ask why 4 power districts for a layout this size?I want to give you credit on the amazing workmanship that you put into this project.Nick

It worked out to about every 10-12 tracks. I was just trying to make sure I had good DCS signal. 

I think that like myself, Rockstar is wondering why they may be isolated. Lots of drops makes obvious sense, but seperate blocks can be done for lots of reasons. Command on just one line poses a bit of mystery though..

Adriatic posted:

I think that like myself, Rockstar is wondering why they may be isolated. Lots of drops makes obvious sense, but seperate blocks can be done for lots of reasons. Command on just one line poses a bit of mystery though..

The DCS signal can be degraded by distance traveled and running into itself, hence the need for isolated blocks. It is on the center rail only. Barry's book describes the preferred wiring scheme. Like many things train, others do it differently with good results and others do not get good results.

Corey,

He sounds like a patient young man. Does your son ever ask for the trains to be lower?

Nice work on the installation!

Moonman posted:

Corey,

He sounds like a patient young man. Does your son ever ask for the trains to be lower?

Nice work on the installation!

He is a great kid! He has not asked for it to be lowered. He just lays on his bed looking up at it!

Moonman posted:

Adriatic posted:

I think that like myself, Rockstar is wondering why they may be isolated. Lots of drops makes obvious sense, but seperate blocks can be done for lots of reasons. Command on just one line poses a bit of mystery though..

The DCS signal can be degraded by distance traveled and running into itself, hence the need for isolated blocks. It is on the center rail only. Barry's book describes the preferred wiring scheme. Like many things train, others do it differently with good results and others do not get good results.

This is exactly why I used four drops. In the previous house, I only had 2 isolated drops in a 9' by 10' room. It took almost no dust or dirt on the track to lose the DCS signal.

Goshawk posted:

Moonman posted:

Corey,

He sounds like a patient young man. Does your son ever ask for the trains to be lower?

Nice work on the installation!

He is a great kid! He has not asked for it to be lowered. He just lays on his bed looking up at it!

Moonman posted:

Adriatic posted:

I think that like myself, Rockstar is wondering why they may be isolated. Lots of drops makes obvious sense, but seperate blocks can be done for lots of reasons. Command on just one line poses a bit of mystery though..

The DCS signal can be degraded by distance traveled and running into itself, hence the need for isolated blocks. It is on the center rail only. Barry's book describes the preferred wiring scheme. Like many things train, others do it differently with good results and others do not get good results.

This is exactly why I used four drops. In the previous house, I only had 2 isolated drops in a 9' by 10' room. It took almost no dust or dirt on the track to lose the DCS signal.

I was just thinking that at his age it is time to teach him the mechanical and electrical skills that you have.

Moonman posted:

I was just thinking that at his age it is time to teach him the mechanical and electrical skills that you have.

We are working on it. He is right next to me any time I am working on something. He likes running the drill and using the impact driver.

  Thanks Moonman , I had seen the suggested wire schemes often but never caught that..or forgot...but it makes perfect sense. I've chased serial "echo and loss" before, just not for trains.  I've got to wonder how that slipped by Rockstar; I doubt the reason for question was the same now.

  If I were to ever order DCS, Barry's book would get here before the TUI. I think I might try to borrow my brothers; someday at least.

 I'm still very happy with conventional, but sometimes even happier just learning why one size doesn't fit all.

Corey,

Finally had a chance to log in and post a reply. Your craftsmanship on the shelf layout is top notch!

It really blends smoothly into the room and looks like it belongs there.

Glad to hear that your Son is enjoying it.

Mike

Very nice craftsmanship!! The shelves look like they are an original part of the house. 

What strikes me is it appears "seamless". Especially the clean looking corners.

Both Bigtruckpete and Adriatic said it very well!  The shelves are superb!!