Greetings, My name is David Conwill. I'm a 26-year-old guy from Muskegon, MI. I grew up with an HO-scale layout in the basement and even though my dad hasn't done any model railroading in years, I've retained the interest. My participation in the hobby peaked when I was in 7th or 8th grade, but due to an exceedingly dark and dank basement, our layout never went any further and has since been demolished. Currently I live in an apartment and am a student with a 13-month-old daughter, so there are no model trains in my life at the moment. About two years ago, when we started school, my wife and I moved into a loft-style apartment in a WWI-era factory in Lansing, MI near the railroad tracks. I had not lived near active trains since the ex-Pere Marquette trackage behind my parents' home was removed in the late 1990s. Seeing trains regularly helped to rekindle my interest, and I dug out a couple of my favorite locomotives for display on a windowsill there. A few months of staring at those locos (4-6-2 Pacifics marked for the B&O and the Union Pacific) helped to fan my smoldering interest into the smallest of flames. I started researching O-scale equipment, justifying the purchase of a Lionel Scout and a few cars as a sort of Christmas decoration (the large-scale stuff just looks the best going around a tree). I haven't achieved that goal yet, having been outbid on every single Scout I encounter on eBay. More recently yet, I began interning at a law office here in Muskegon, which is also in a redeveloped industrial area. My office has a great view of the rail service to the remaining industries here, and watching Geeps haul hoppers, box cars, and tank cars to and from the Muskegon yard from local industry has really gotten me more fired up about operation - something we never did when I was a kid. So now I'm sketching out my dream "someday" layout and have joined the train board to research the things I never fully understood about railroading - both prototypical and scale. So, I'll see you around the board, I'll be the one asking the really boneheaded newbie questions. Best regards, Dave
Hi Dave, Welcome to Trainboard! And thank you for the great background you have so elequently described. I believe there are many of us who have experienced the spontaneous combustion of railroading interest which had smodered for years since our childhoods. Sounds like you have a pretty limited space to pursue the hobby. You might consider building a diorama or two. You can use them later on your layout when you eventually get the space to build one. :thumbs_up: Again ... welcome to the finest group of railroaders on the web!
Ah, another comes to the fold! :tb-biggrin: Welcome, both to the forum and to the hobby. This smouldering flame should serve you well while you do exactly as you are doing...meticulously, and methodically researching your constellation of options in this hobby. Not only scale (a very important choice), but era, road, location and industries serviced at that point by that road, and so on. What terrrain are you going to construct, or will it be urban? Will you need to make lots of "trees" over time, or must you construct buildings, even their front halves to place against a distant backdrop to mimick main street? I like the idea of a diorama to build skills. Practice is important before we commit our hands to something that we'll want to live with, and show to honoured guests, for some years. O gauge/scale is a nice hefty size...would love it myself had I the room. But I must make do, and do it joyfully, with HO because I can get more of it in a defined space. If you would like to split the difference, the S scale crowd is growing...something to think about, or maybe even On30. You wouldn't be the first to succumb to the charms of the Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) and lose yourself for two decades that way. Good luck to you.
Dave- Welcome aboard! Always remember this- There are no boneheaded questions. Newbie, or otherwise. Ask. Those inquiries will help save you time, money, and from frustration. :thumbs_up: Boxcab E50
Regarding scale, while I intend to own an O-scale set for around the Christmas tree, my only real decision is whether to employ the footlockers full of HO-scale stuff my father, brother, and I accumulated over the years (some of it dating back to the 1950s) or whether to start over again in N scale. The HO-scale stuff has a lot of nostalgia for me, not to mention a lot of structures and equipment that haven't even been assembled yet. But the problem is that my father modeled the Rio Grande and Southern Pacific in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s era, whereas I'm a fan of the Eastern roads from the transition and steam eras (say mid-1940s). His collection is stuff like Geeps and 50-foot boxcars, whereas I'd like to own USRA-spec freight trains and streamlined passenger equipment (my favorite train for years has been the 1938 20th Century Limited). While I think HO is the perfect compromise between layout size and potential for detail, I think if I went HO, I might be compromising myself a bit on my choices. The alternative would be to start over in N. There are a lot of advantages here: lots more layout for less floor space means greater potential for operation sessions, starting over means only buying equipment and structures that are authentic to my chosen era, and the technology that comes with not attempting to use what are effectively "toy" trains for operations. However, N is considerably smaller and a big part of the appeal for me is the modeling aspect; I don't own any of it and it's newer, so there are fewer opportunities to acquire used equipment at train shows and the like, and therefore the initial investment is a lot higher; and finally I'd feel a real sense of loss at turning loose any of Dad's old HO equipment - I grew up with it after all and it's really responsible for my love of trains. On the subject of era and prototype, I've got a pretty good plan in place to freelance what I'm calling the Michigan Lakeshore Railway, Wabaningo subdivision. It's sort of a what-if version of the Pere Marquette set in early autumn 1947 (or thereabouts). This choice has a lot to do with my hometown (Muskegon). Our heyday was really the WWII era, when our industries were cranking full tilt and things were booming. Modeling "Wabaningo" is a good way for me to re-live the era and aesthetic I love so much without the stress of trying to re-create "rivet for rivet" an actual historic prototype. I'd like to own a lot of steam and a few early diesels. The prototype Pere Marquette's Muskegon subdivision didn't really get much in the way of diesels until she was absorbed into the C&O, but the track in this area was light enough that we didn't see the real heavy and long locomotives that the Detroit to Chicago routes did. The type of layout I envision is this: Michigan Lakeshore Railway, Wabaningo Subdivision In the north is the Village of Maple Grove a resort town based on the town where I grew up, Whitehall, and its sister city, Montague. Maple Grove would have a logging history, but instead of going industrial, has largely stayed small. Industries there would include the Staples & Covell Sawmill (which would be barely active, the prototype closed in 1907); a passenger depot (Walther's Golden Valley Depot closely matches the Whitehall/Montague prototype); a leather tannery; and maybe a dairy. In the middle would be the unincorporated area of "Fruitland" - an agricultural area based on Fruitland Township, Michigan, and featuring a grain elevator, livestock, and possibly a stop for milk trains. In the south, and the centerpiece of the layout, would be the City of Wabaningo. Wabaningo is a mid-sized city with an industrial/commercial character. Industries would include (and this is ambitious, I realize) an appliance factory, a piano factory or paper mill, a foundry, a Lake Michigan Car Ferry, a Portland Cement Company, a refinery, a Passenger Station for main-line passenger service to Detroit & Chicago via Grand Rapids, a power plant, and a freight dock with a freighter. -Dave
Welcome to trainboard:handshake: And by all means ask away any question is welcome I know I have ask a few myself:tb-wacky:
Hi Dave, Welcome, we're very happy to have you on board. Please ask anything that comes to mind (within reason), as I'm sure someone here can come up with a "boneheaded" answer. :rn-goofy: I would love to be in O, but after transitioning from HO to N in the early 80's, I think my Roommate Accountant would go ballistic.....again!
Welcome, welcome welcome!! Remember this, we all started where you are now and so there are NO questions that are boneheaded! You have done the first best thing, which is to sign on here...no one has totaled all of our combined experience but I'll bet its about a thousand years We are appy to help and encourage you to post often.
Welcome David, you bring an interesting issue to the table when you talk about the changing scales thing. My eyesight is not what it used to be, and I've been considering moving to a larger scale, (less can be more), but what do I do about the "things" I've acquired over the years? I'm guessing I'll have a "table" at the soon to come RR show here in OKC. Maybe I can trade the whole shebang for the starter of a new adventure? I have a 50's Gibson guitar that was my Dad's,(it's not for sale), I get the nostalgia thing, but this is not a museum.
Dave... Welcome to the board and greetings from a fellow though currently displaced-in-Alaska Michigander. Hope your weather is better then ours. Part of my youth I grew half way between in GR and Lansing in Lake Odessa. Was always interested in trains growing up and living in Lake O there was plenty of action. The elementary school was about three stones throws from the mainline and was always tough to pay attention in class when you'd hear the horns of a Chessie/CSX or Soo freight. Like you I'm in the planning stages. I'm actually looking at building a gambrel barn on some property in Northern Lower Michigan in the next year. The upper portion of the barn will be my train room. Thoguh my layout will be based on the Plymouth Sub in the mid to late 80's I'm renaming my line the The Flying Pig Division or Flying Pig Lines, haven't settled on which one yet. I'll admit I've debated the thought in my own head between HO and N. Though I like N for the thought that I could run some 50+ car consists but I like HO for its size. So for now I'm sticking with HO. I have thought about buying some N-scale just to have on display or to setup a small layout for my ever transient lifestyle. At least to give me something to tinker with while away from the 'project'. Something you might want to consider is to purchase a loco or two in each scale a few cars and get a feel for what you like. You may also want to join an HO and N scale club. That will give you a chance to see each scale in action and to get know a few other folks. Welcome to the group. Matt
Welcome aboard, Dave!! Stop into a local hobby shop and see if there are some club layouts in your area...you may be able to get some modeling and operating opportunities without needing to carve out space in your own home. FWIW: I chose N-scale when I was fresh out of grad school and living in a small apartment. I've stuck with N, but some of my operating buddies started in N with limited space, then expanded into HO when their finances and living space allowed.
