Hello all - My name is Tom and I need help, maybe some of you can get me moving down the right path..... A very dear friend of passed away several weeks ago, right before he died he asked me to rebuild his train in his honor. Big pressure, as this is not my hobby! So I have about 10 large Rubbermaid containers of track, cars, power blocks, engines, scenario, etc. The only piece of the clue I have as to what this is to look like and how it goes together is that there is a label that says "Granite Gorge and Northern" on it. I have Googled this and determined that it is a layout from decades ago, and that the plans are/were in a book from a company called Atlas. I visited their website and they have a complete parts listing and a track layout photo, but none of the plans for building the "infrastructure" (my word) to put the track on. Other websites have some photos and state this is not a good track for a beginner, so I was hoping some knowledgeable folks would be able to give me a copy of the plans and some tips! I don't want to let my friend Joe down or his wife who will surely be asking me how it is going...... Any help to get started will be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately I do not live near a hobby store, but I think I have all of the parts I need, just the plan to put it together and wire it up is missing. Joe's wife sent me a flickr page with photos of the train. Too bad they are all zoomed in to the scenary details! Here is the link in case it helps. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdruzisky/ Any help will be appreciated. i travel a good bit, so do not be surprised if some time goes by before I respond, it is not a lack of interest, just a lack of time to check the forum. Thanks!
RE: Granit Gorge and Northern Hello Tom, My rfecommendations: 1) Go to a local train shop and ask about books about building sturdy benchwork. Strong benchwork is the heart of a good model railroad, PERIOD! 2) You can do one of the following; get a book from Atlas detailing the track plan or make your own track plan and use the GG&N name for the railroad. (personally I vote for #2) If I were in your shoes, I would put together the best layout I could make. Even if it was only a circle of track on green painted plywood and a few buildings. I would honor my friend by naming the rr that you built the GG&N. I would also honor him by puting a building on the layout and naming it after him. EXAMPLE: (your friend's name) scrap company, or (friend's name) resturaunt, etc... You know your friend. His humor, hobbies, characteristics, mannerism's. Name a building after him using your knowledge of him. Or even put a plaque on the rr in his memory. It sounds to me, that your friend wanted to introduce you into the model rr hobby. Just do the best you can. That is all anyone can ask. Don't worry about the details like exact track plan, or exact trains. Just use the equipment he left you and use your imagination to build the layout. I think that is all he could ask of you. I hoped this helped. Please continue giving us trainboard members occasional updates on your progress. I look foward to hearing about your progress. Cary
Tom, no disrespect intended to your friend's memory, but are you sure he wasn't pulling your leg? From what you say it appears that he had a model railroad that was dismantled into boxes for some reason and he never got round to rebuilding. For him to seriously ask you as a non-modeller to rebuild it for him seems, well, just off. It's a huge thing to ask of almost anyone. If you really want to both get in to RR modelling and honour his wish as best you can I would go with Cary's suggestion and build something that suits your space and abilities, but with references to his memory incorporated.
From the fact that his friend's wife sent the photo link, I'm guessing his friend was at least somewhat serious. Regardless, it's a very tall order. I definitely suggest building something much more appropriate for a beginner, that way you can do a better job with it. And I like the idea of naming a business after the friend. Nice touch. Maybe if you do it right, you could donate the layout to a local library or something once it's done so others could appreciate it? Or maybe even a retirement home/senior assisted living facility? My son and I saw a nice little layout at one when he was there playing piano at a recital and it seems likely that it'd be enjoyable. Also, the Granite Gorge and Northern is from the Atlas book 6 HO Railroads You Can Build (right here in front of me). It's a 5x9 layout and the book contains all of the steps to build it, from the track plan to the benchwork (that's the wooden infrastructure that goes underneath, btw). Definitely a do-able layout, but if you've never done anything like it before, not a good suggestion for the first-time modeler. Anyway, who knows, maybe you'll actually turn out to like model railroading. Perhaps this could be a layout you build once you're more experienced? Regardless, we're here and glad to help. -Matt
From looking at the flickr photos it's clear that your friend added quite a bit of trackage to the base plan, so even exactly copying the Atlas track plan *wouldn't* yield an exact copy. So I'd look at what you have. You've got a bunch of rolling stock, buildings, and track. This sets your prototype (PRR), it sets your era and locale (late 50's / early 60's appalachia), so you just need to decide where the layout's going to go. You could even start way small, like a 2-foot by 4-foot "module" (piece that connects to a larger layout). From the photos it's clear your friend was into scale depictions of outdoor recreation: I count two campgrounds, a swimming pool, a fruit stand, not to mention all of the random children playing in yards, hobos chillin' on a log... that would be as good a starting point as any.
