Hello everyone, my name is Charlie Johnson, from Plainview, TX. I had an HO set when I was a kid and purchased a N scale Bachman set when I entered college. Everything has been boxed up for years. In recent weeks I have been scouring Ebay and collecting Altas, AHM, Kato, Fox Valley Models, and Micro Trains Line cars and a livery of Walthers-Life Like GP-20's and 38's and Kato SD-40-2's of ATSF with Yellow War Bonnet and one of the BNSF Heritage II SD-70 MAC. My prized piece is the Kato El Capitan 10 Car set, with 2 car add on and EMD F7 A and B powered engine. Another A and B and the Full El Cap consist will be complete. Right now, I have been pouring through the TrainBoard forum and archives and reading up on everything N Scale and Kato. I have been re-reading my Atlas HO and N Scale Plan books and dreaming of the ulitmate Atlas layout. Believe it or not, I have considered the Atlas Super Pretzel but in N Scale, with double track and a round house; the plan is still in my head. Another was a hybrid of the N-17 Scenic and Relaxed and the N-18 Gulf Summit Lines...Susquehanna Valley Ry. Couldn't decide whether to go Code 80 or Code 55. Of late, I have my Kato display track for the El Cap setup on the fireplace mantel with my old MRC HO Throttle Pack tied through an Atlas power terminal track on the end. I cleaned out the LHS in Lubbock, TX of his Kato track pieces the other day and have run the train some on the coffee table. I am impressed with the Kato Unitrack and am going to use it in my future layout, especially after reading how people here love the unitrack product. I have been gleening through the trials and tribulations of the Kato and how others have learned to make the track darn near bulletproof. My layout, a highly modified Atlas N-18 layout, all in Kato Unitrack. I'm doing it "Old School" using DC and Power Districts. I plan to build my own control panels with DPDT switches for the turn out controls then use Atlas Selector and Connector Switches for block power control. I'm learning the intricaces of XTrackCAD program and am liking it a whole bunch. It seems much easier to use than Atlas Right Track Software. Enough for now, thought I should stop and say hello and say a little about my self and what I'm working on. Catch you on the reversing loop.
Welcome to TrainBoard! I've operated on DCC and it's great, but like you, for my own purposes the "layout" (N scale) is DC and blocks. Boxcab E50
Welcome to TrainBoard Charlie! It sounds like you have a good grip on things already. If you haven't found it already, there is a Kato Unitrack Users Group full of helpful tips and knowledgeable people. Two of my favorite Unitrack layouts are: RBrodzinsky's JACALAR : http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?112244 And TrainBoard Advertiser Mike Fifer's ACTRR: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?109494 Each those links cover the progress of each layout. It's quite amazing to see how they evolve over the years! I'm also an XtrkCad user and glad you are liking it. (It's very powerful once you get over the learning curve.) I also want to encourage you share your layout design in the Layout Design and Discussion area. TrainBoard has many great layout designers who are always ready and waiting to help improve a layout design. Glad to have you here. I hope we all will get to watch your layout progress unfold.
Hi Charlie, welcome to the TrainBoard. We're glad that you came on board. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
