I retired in February of 2006 after 40 years as a mechanical design technician at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, sold our home in Woodbridge, VA and moved to Salisbury, NC. There were many honey-do items associated (quilting room as Priority #1) with our new (5 year old) house, plus we helped get both our kids into starter houses. Even now I finished one deck last week and will finish another this week and that marks the end of my current list of projects for my kids. As a retiree, I was working so hard that my wife suggested that I dig my trains out of storage, where they lived since the mid 80's. Being wise, I will do as my wife suggests.
My planned Juniata Short Line is a standard gauge take-off of the East Broad Top in Pennsylvania. It will be set in 1958/59 with my layout still running steamers to handle the coal traffic making up about 90% of my roads revenue. My roster includes seven Athearn Genesis 2-8-2 mikados, one 2-10-0 Bachmann Spectrum, three 2-10-2 Backmann Spectrums, and three 2-6-6-2 Backmann Spectrums. I have the Walther's 90' turntable with parts for a nine stall roundhouse. I will also have a transfer table serving my car shops and back shops. I want to have a compact almost fully independent facility, reflecting that of the EBT. I do have most of our 1400 square foot basement to call my own.
My grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania RR and scheduled steam engines into the Altoona shops for major overhaul. My father spent his career with the Pennsy/Conrail as a machinist in Juniata and Hollidaysburg. My older brother retired a few years back after a long association as one of the managers of the Conrail/NS diesel shops in Altoona. The house I grew up in had used box car lumber for flooring and we constructed a baseball backstop with steam engine flues that my father bought from the Pennsy reclamation facility at the time(1959).
I might add that it is ironic that I have such a Pennsy/Conrail background and now live about 10 miles from Spencer, NC, home to some of the Southern Railroads shop facilities.
That pretty well sums up who I am and why I have an interest in Model Railroading.
John Bryant
My planned Juniata Short Line is a standard gauge take-off of the East Broad Top in Pennsylvania. It will be set in 1958/59 with my layout still running steamers to handle the coal traffic making up about 90% of my roads revenue. My roster includes seven Athearn Genesis 2-8-2 mikados, one 2-10-0 Bachmann Spectrum, three 2-10-2 Backmann Spectrums, and three 2-6-6-2 Backmann Spectrums. I have the Walther's 90' turntable with parts for a nine stall roundhouse. I will also have a transfer table serving my car shops and back shops. I want to have a compact almost fully independent facility, reflecting that of the EBT. I do have most of our 1400 square foot basement to call my own.
My grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania RR and scheduled steam engines into the Altoona shops for major overhaul. My father spent his career with the Pennsy/Conrail as a machinist in Juniata and Hollidaysburg. My older brother retired a few years back after a long association as one of the managers of the Conrail/NS diesel shops in Altoona. The house I grew up in had used box car lumber for flooring and we constructed a baseball backstop with steam engine flues that my father bought from the Pennsy reclamation facility at the time(1959).
I might add that it is ironic that I have such a Pennsy/Conrail background and now live about 10 miles from Spencer, NC, home to some of the Southern Railroads shop facilities.
That pretty well sums up who I am and why I have an interest in Model Railroading.
John Bryant
With all of that equipment, it sounds like you're off to a running start. :thumb: