Nearly all of my N scale stuff has been sold, and the shelf is ready for the new HO layout. I've purchased all of the track and turnouts that I need. The new steamer arrives tomorrow, a Bachmann DM&IR 2-10-2 with DCC & sound. I've developed a full history for the railroad, based on the actual history and photos of Hill City, Minnesota, in the year 1920. The places and times are real, but I altered the history slightly - in my world, the Hill City Railroad becomes part of the DM&IR instead of the Great Northern. All structures will be scratchbuilt, loosely based on photos of the real structures, and the train movements and cargo will represent those of the real Hill City Railroad. I plan to document the entire process: http://dmirhillcitysub.blogspot.com/ The weather forecast is calling for 10-14+ inches of snow on Saturday, so I plan to spend the weekend indoors, near the fireplace, workin' on the railroad... :tb-biggrin:
Wow. Switching from N to HO. Now that's a switch that's unheard of on this forum. Good to have another HO layout to look at.
I had a respectable HO empire in my basement prior to moving to Minnesota 11 years ago. After that move, we bounced from apartment to townhome, before finally purchasing a house. The limited space in the apartment and townhome led me into N scale, and I stuck with it for a few years. Nothing against it, but today when I unboxed my first new HO scale steamer, and felt the weight and substance of the thing, I knew I'd made the right choice by switching back to HO.
Welcome back to HO. I am also returning to the scale, after finally accepting I cannot build or detail pieces in N.
I did the same thing Tracy. I was in N scale but finally realized you can do so much more detailing in HO scale.Welcome back!!!