As a total new to the hobby I am having a difficult time putting together a RR, due to my location (Cushing, WI) I am leaning towards the DMRR and doing Duluth and Two Harbors. I have decided that I want a switching setup rather than a long line. Last night I was looking real hard at Google Earth. Any suggestions to get this started on a 4X8 beginning? Jim
Jim, What scale will you be using? Is the 4x8 fixed in stone? If you were to post a diagram of your 'train room' with all doors, windows, furniture and other fixed items, people would be happy to help you out.
Jim, Do you mean the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DMIR)? Check out http://www.missabe.com they have a great historical society that can get you maps, pictures, modeling info, you name it! The Missabe had different eras, with different power. Some are available (Atlas SD9's, IM SD45-2s), but if you want and to be correct it will take some work (SD38ACs and SD38-2s). As for rolling stock, it will depend on your era, but plan on having lots of ore cars. Check out Proctor, MN on google, it was the main DMIR hub (today it is a CN yard and shop). In Duluth, there were the ore docks and some industries, but Proctor has always been busier. Two Harbors has a large yard, but it is primarily for sorting cars for the ore docks there. There are a few really good N Scale DMIR modelers in your area (one is building two 6 foot long ore docks right now). Let me know what other questions, you may have!
Always late in the brain department, HO is my toy and I do love choo choos. 4X8 is the size but I am open to ideas as I have a basement that we do not use although getting up and down the stairs is a bit of a chore.
Jim, Would I be correct in assuming that the 4x8 would not be in the basement? Are you looking at using a spare bedroom? what is the size of the room? a 4x8 would need aisles on at least 3 sides and two of the sides would need to be the 8' sides in order to be able to reach into the center so you would need at least a 9x11 space for the 4x8
Paul, I have a basement that is 16' wide X 60' long but the stairs are murderous, I am leaning towards my garage which is attached to the house (no outside) and heated. The garage is 30'X40' and half is parking the other is my wood shop. I am looking at classification type yards such as the BNSF yard in Fridley, MN or the DMIR. To go with water scene is to much for me just want to keep it flat. Space is not a problem. Jim
Jim, I can understand staying away from the basement stairs ... As I mentioned, 4x8 layouts present their own headaches and I think looking at other footprints can help you out. There is another thread of a gentleman thinking about a 4x8 layout (http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?157072-Please-help-with-some-layout-issues) that you might want to look at.
What time frame do you want to model? A few locations that would be good for switching until around the 80's would be, in no particular order, Steelton, Missabe Junction in Duluth, Hibbing, Virginia, Bovey/Coleraine, Biwabik, Aurora, Eveleth, Ely. Before the range went to taconite, many small mines were in operation so you could even model a small tipple that loaded a few ore cars a day. In current times, there isn't one place that packs in a lot of switching.
I am not sure which way to go, do I do a layout with several mainline tracks with industrial sidings so I can watch trains go around and around or do I do something like the Burlington yard in NE Mpls. ? What I am doing at this time is looking at equipment and tracks and buying a bit here and there and cleaning out the shop for a layout. I do think it would be cool to do the DMIR and try and work in some of the what I call ghost tracks that go off into the north woods. I am going to model mainly diesel era with a puff of steam. Make any sense?
Yup Northtown and it is a huge yard and not to far away to the East is the old Soo shops on Central Ave where my Gramps worked and across the river is the Soo (CN) yard. I am amazed that the round house is still up at the Central Ave shops. My stomping grounds when I was a kid. I do not want to get to big on the scenery as I failed art class with a double negative F. Well time to hit the sack yall have a good night. Jim Cushing, WI
Let me ask this when building the Northtown yard how do I shrink it down to somewhere near scale? If I were to build the DMIR what suggestions would make it a good road. The one problem I see with the DMIR is there is a lot of trees and scenery which I am not well schooled in. Thanks Jim
Jimmy, Why don't you look at modeling the DMIR Proctor Yard? You can have a busy yard, DMIR ore trains, the engine shops, CN transfer trains, tunnel motors and so on. Kato makes the DMIR SD38-2s, so you have power real quick. The DMIR Historical Society is going to be having it's annual convention in St.Paul this year. It will be the first weekend in August. You should check it out.
Yes this looks like a good choice so now I have to figure out my dimensions and what type of platform I am going to use, I will most likely start out with the 4x8 and go from there as I have to make the room do two things, trains (HO) and wood shop. Jim
