Well, I have asked too many questions, and since it's Thanksgiving I thought I'd share my progress on the layout. I started it in May 2003. I used code 83 and code 70 Shinohara and 7 #6 and 1 #4 turnout onto a siding. My rail is spiked into true-scale pine roadbed ontop of 1/2" ply subroadbed. I used all Tortoise motors in conjunction with DS44 Stationary Digitrax decoders so that I can throw or close all turnouts on my handheld unit (this is fun!). My train room is 12x12 and the layout is 8x8 and I am planning coming off with a 2 1/2 by 10' "L" for more industries and turnouts.
So, here's the photos!
So, here's the photos!