New memebr to The Gauge

[hooknlad]

Hi everyone, My name is Michael and I am a newbie to The Gauge. I am presently in the process ( 3 years now ) working on a design for my HO trains. The area that i am dealing with is 12' * 12' in my basement. I have acquired all the plywood, styofoam base and countless hundreds of dollars in Structures,etc form Ebay.

I have been layed up for quite some time with terrible back pain and I have the entire layout in my head( stuff all over the place). I have been online for quite some time and finally have come across The Gauge.This is the most informative site that I have found, and learned alot from your members. I hope to be able to lend some insight into this hobby as well in time.

Thanx for allowing my membership

( 2 thumbs up)


BTW My wife doesn't know that I am not stopping at the 12'*12' layout

 

[MasonJar]

Welcome Michael...!

Just a note on construction - with back pain (or even without), lightweight styrofoam benchwork will be your best friend!

Andrew

 

[Doc Holliday]

Welcome to the Gauge. You'll find lots af friendly folks and good advice here.

You sound like me when I joined. I too had about the same size space in my basement and was buying structures right and left on ebay. I ended up with too many building and not enought layout.

A work to the wise, negotiate your space with upper management before your start. Either that or plan on opening a charge account at the local florist and jewelers.

Hope to see some progress pics along the way.
Doc

 

[Matthyro]

Welcome to the Gauge Michael. We are pleased you found the Gauge. We are a friendly bunch here and we are very happy to have you as a member. Hope you get over your back problem soon. We would like to see photos of your progress when you can get around it.

 

[Ralph]

Welcome! Glad you could join us. I hope your back feels better. I had to laugh at your last line...my wife made an assumption about how large the layout was going to be too! I later explained it to her as "manifest destiny"

 

[ausien]

welcome to the gauge Michael, with your back pain, you had better tell the boss that the RR has aquired more right of way, before she reads about it in the pappers, ducking is hard to do with back pain, and the pain in the head would only match your back...have a good one..steve

 

[Muddy Creek]

Welcome Michael.

A foam-base layout lends itself to being able to work in small sections sitting at a table or workbench. Small dioramas can be built & detailed while seated in a comfortable chair and when done, taken down to the layout and inserted into the layout. Or stored until a layout is built.

Have fun!

Wayne

 

[N Gauger]

Hey Michael, Welcome to the gauge....

As someone who suffers from back pain also.... I recommend you make an around the wall layout - about 2 - 3 ft wide... you'll be able to sit on a stool (with a back) and do your creating... And the others are right... ask the Right Of Way Manager, before doing anything "out of your area" LOL It always helps!!!!!!

Have a great time on The gauge, and we all are here to answer any questions you may have...

~~ Mikey (Admin)

 

[hooknlad]

Thanx

Thanx for the replies and warmest of welcomes!!!! The back is something that i will have to live with for the rest of my life, so i plan on making the most intense railroad that my time can afford

The idea of 3' layout around the walls is excellent and I plan on plenty of 2" thick foam. I stumbled upon many sheets of this blue savior. I still haven't run the new plan layout before the planning board and the Governors office for the proper variances. I know once I break though the wall, I will require assistance - lol

Does anyone have any inexpensive ideas for smoking stacks? Besides the obvious of buying them premade, I have in the past, placed a resistor in a small vial of train smoke oil. This works nice, but looking for better suggestions.

 

[nachoman]

smoking stacks....yikes. A hot issue here. The consensus seems to be, that in HO or smaller, this is way more trouble than it is worth. Seems that the vaporizing oil redeposits itself all over the layout and track, making an operational mess. I think many here would tell you to use your imagination

kevin

 

[hooknlad]

LOL : On my last HO layout, many moons ago, i had a 16*8 layout in one of my dad's garages. He was amazed at the smoke coming from the refinery stacks that i had, however, he frowned about the burnoff stack i had. A 20lb propane tank under the board with electric igniter and valves. I thought that it was neat. Gave it that realism the layout needed. I think my planning board will have great issues with the open flame issue as well - lol

 

[shaygetz]

Welcome to The Gauge

 

[Matthyro]

Wow hooknlad That must have been a sight to see. Now where did I put that old propane tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ralph]

Hank Hill would have been proud.
("King of the hill" cartoon reference for those who are wondering).

 

[SAL Comet]

"The only ho I'm pimpin' is sweet lady propane"

 

[ausien]

dont get any ideas Rodin, your board of planning will veto it and you out of the house m8...have a good one..steve

 

[rcline]

Hello Michael - welcome to the gauge.
Something that my wife did on "HER" layout that I do all the work on, was that she took a little insence brass burner and put it in the burning building. Makes a lot of smoke for a good while and it smelled good also!
Randy

 

[Doc Holliday]

Ditto what rcline said.
I 'borrowed" a couple of incense burners used to make chimneys smoke from my wife's ceramic Christmas Village buildings. They use the little cone shaped incense pieces, not the long sticks. One burnes for a couple of hours or so and without the messy oily residue. They're also a little safer than an open flame and 20 lbs of propane.
Doc

 

[spitfire]

Welcome aboard Michael!!

Val