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brakie: All of my layout is in one town so I modified the "wheel report" idea to suit my layout--by industry, rather than by town. The simplicity of the system is that it doesn't matter if the car is empty or full, it is based on moving cars rather than worrying about what is in them. For solo...

For me, part of the savings is in heat: it hits 100+ here very often in the summer and avoiding halogens would make life more comfortable in the layout room (and it would be nice to be in the layout room, rather than outside in the open-air incinerator we call the Central Valley in July!)

I don't use switch lists, I use a simplified operation scheme called a "wheel report." It's simpler than a switch list or car cards because I don't have to track individual cars. I find that they are not detailed enough for real operations fans, but they're easy to use and shuffle things...

Just in general...I went to HSU (I assume you did too?) from 1987-1991, and I wrote a research paper on the company for a California Geography class. Personally I'm planning on borrowing some ideas from another Gauge user about modeling the A&MR in 1:72 scale using HO scale equipment...this...

The other main reason I prefer digital uncoupling ("digital" means "with my fingers" in this context) is because I don't like wiring, or maybe I am just too lazy to do it--all of my turnouts are manual. I use a couple of delayed uncouplers at locations where I do a lot of car-spotting, but often...

If you are modeling O-27 then a continuous loop is probably more your thing anyhow. Quite frankly, even though I am a shelf-layout guy, if you are modeling O-27 you're probably more into the fun of it than going for hardcore realism and operations--which is fine, it's supposed to be fun one way...

True enough...not sure if anyone makes wood-sided passenger cars in N scale, but one might make a good starting point for something like a Jewett interurban.

I am switching layout locations and a new lighting system is in the works. My old system was a three-parter, with rope lights as a background "fill" light, a row of 22" mini fluorescents as a main light source, and a series of halogen spotlights to highlight scenes. After moving and greatly...

This isn't real-time chat, typically it takes a lot more than an hour to get a response to a message. I don't model the Southern Pacific specifically, but have a three-foot length of Southern Pacific mainline that bisects my layout. Here's the tail end of an SP Daylight train passing over my...

While what Jeff says about the scale of scale-model lumber mills is true, it is no less true that most scale model railroad industries are far, far smaller than their real-life counterparts. Most typical model industries are tiny affairs that would barely justify a couple of carloads a month...

It seems like a fairly gentle S-curve to me, as long as you aren't sailing into it at breakneck speeds.

Switch lists are a different sort of operational scheme, using a single sheet of paper with a list of cars and destinations. Often these are generated by computer programs that track car movement. Ice houses often also served as cold storage--theoretically, an ice house/cold storage facility...

Typically uncoupling magnets are used at strategic "choke points" on a layout rather than all around, and because they're cheaper and don't require wiring, permanent magnets are more common than electromagnets. Some will work up some sort of lever arrangement to raise and lower a permanent...

Floating lazily backwards from 1971 until it eventually reaches the mid-1940s. I'm modeling a belt line that originally used electric locomotives but later dieselized: right now I'm modeling the diesels and the last operational section of the belt line, but the plan is to expand it to model...

I hear it has been done, but the idea of doing overhead in N scale gives me the heebie-jeebies...it's enough of a precision operation in HO scale! I imagine for someone who does microsurgery it might be an entertaining pastime. Scratchbuilding interurban cars would be kind of a fun...

I'd concur with the need for an escape track in the yard. Other than that, it looks like a nice plan: my layout is fairly similar, albeit smaller. Is that a three-way turnout in the upper left-hand corner? If you have a larger space or gain air rights you could feasibly expand that layout in...

Part of the confusion, which appears to reappear, is that there were TWO different "OO" scales. The American OO was 1:76 scale with 1:76 scale track. British OO is 1:76 scale with 1:87 scale track, done so small British prototypes could fit the available electric motors. HO was originally...

Oh my gosh...sad news about the fire, glad you weren't hurt!

Ah, sharp eyes Val, I hadn't noticed that the turnouts were already in place. If the turnouts are Atlas turnouts, there is a "Walthers Street System" that includes plastic pieces that can be glued in place in between the points of the switches. And yes, of course, one down side of the Orr...

Trolleyville is a good place to start, and to teach you how to use Richard Orr turnouts. You can get the turnouts from CustomTraxx: www.customtraxx.com and the owner of that company is also the person who writes most of the tutorials. Orr turnouts are ideal for use with paved streets because...