I am a retired industrial engineer and have well over 600 cars (including engines) in HO, N & O scale combined. I started collecting them since 1968 when my father bought me my first Lionel set (still have it in original box too). I would purchase estate collections and any purchase opportunity at fairs and garage sales. I mostly collect steam engines and early diesels not to mid 1950's. I only have small layouts since the wife has only granted me the space in my home office. However, I find my true passion is restoring the engines to like-new condition and performing upgrades whenever possible. I am still a faithful old school DC guy running up to four power supplies to be able to run up to 4 engines on the same layout, but I have invested A little in DCC++ using an Arduino and a laptop to explore the new way of doing things. I have thought of converting my layouts to DCC++ but am being held back by the age of my engines: the older motors they use tend to be inefficient and can easily exceed 2 amps at full throttle, something that would kill most DCC onboard chips. So for now I just keep it DC. I am looking for creative ways to store or hide a 4x8 and a 3x4 layout. I am considering a folding layout or one that attaches to the wall or ceiling. I joined the group to get ideas and see others have dealt with the space issue. I can also contribute assistance on engine repair and DC electronic theory. And I love the photos you all post! I am happy to be here.
