Last week was spring break for the kids at school so I took a week of vacation at the same time. I managed to get quaite a bit of R&R by working on the model RR. As a result, I completed the first section of track and even managed to run THE FIRST TRAIN! Only 16 feet of track down so far, but here it is: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z72WKzlSM5I"]YouTube - CSX Dixie Line in N-Scale: First Train![/ame] My 4-year old son ran the throttle like a 20-year veteran while I worked the camera--what a blast for both of us! He did manage to take our CSXT #4694 SD70M for a plunge off the end of track, but I managed to grab it before it hit the carpet and it escaped without a scratch--very fortunate and a good learning experience for both of us. Jamie
WooHoo! Alright Jamie! Nothing better than running that first train, no matter how far the track goes. -Mike
Very nice, what a great way to spend time with your son! This is really going to be great Jamie, excellent progress.
What A great feeling! And the boy's got a good touch with the throttle by the looks of it! Congratulations!
Hmmm, sounds like grounds for immediate dismissal to me! But seriously, this is a nice opening night video: good lighting and steady camera work. And N scale is the only way to go for modern trains - especially when you realize that this "3-car" train is over 4 feet long. Look forward to seeing more.
Great job Jamie! I might be moved up to Atlanta by August or so to lend a hand....that is if you haven't finished everything by then! I've been reading the blog periodically and really, really enjoy the posts and information, etc. It's all so great!
Track Looking at the pictures and the one's on the other forum is the track with the cement ties sectional track? If so where did you get it?
Excellent video! It gives me encouragement to build a layout I have only thought about for a million years!
Thanks for all the compliments everyone! It is flex track--Micro Engineering code 55 concrete tie flex track w/weathered rail. Jamie
I wish your son was at my layout when I ran 4 ATSF GP35's to the concrete yard below! His excellent throttle control might have saved them! Great progress video. Looking forward to more.
Great video Jamie, and a sure sign of better things to come. Nervous times running your star locos, glad you had catching mitts handy.
The mainline has now been laid all the way from the helix to the north end of the Emerson passing siding. Here is CSX automotive train Q210 stopped at the end of the line: South End Emerson: North End Emerson: I also replaced the temporary wires with permanent bus wires so trains can be run over all the existing track. The bus wires all terminate where the future DCC panel will be located. For now everything is just spliced together and attached to the booster as you can see in the middle photo above. Jamie
I don't think there's anything that makes me more nervous than running a train down/up a ribbon of spline with nothing but floor underneath. Only took me one dumping onto the floor to get some foam laid down. Beautiful work. KB
But...you can get just as smooth of curves using flextrack on foam or just a wood base. I guess I just dont get why using spline is a plus. Dont get me wrong...all the spline layouts I have seen look really good no doubt. :thumbs_up: .
Thanks, and you can be sure that I am just as nervous! So far not a single derailment--knock on Masonite Hope I can say the same thing a few months from now. I agree, in fact I laid out my track plan by placing flex track down on blue foam, although I used a spline to locate and mark the centerline of the track. Jamie
A couple of points on splines. (1) A single $10 sheet of 3/16 masonite will yield about 48 feet of single track roadbed. Cookie cutter plywood would do as good, but probably would take a couple of sheets with some curves. (2) It's a lot easier to cut straight strips on a table saw than cutting curves on plywood with a jigsaw (IMO). (3) The negative relief you can get with splines or cookie cutter plywood allows for a lot more flexibility than sheet plywood or doors. All IMO, KB
Nice work. I saw the "prototype" Q210 Saturday in Shepherdsville. Think it just had one locomotive on it,though.
