Just signed up a short while back, so probably time to introduce meself. I live right outside of Charlotte, NC, in a little town called Indian Trail. As a kid I owned a Lionel knock-off that seemed to be O-scale, but I remember seeing the letters "HO" prominently displayed in the Sears Christmas catalog every year. So now, decades later (I'm 53) I'm indulging myself with a hobby my parents couldn't afford for me back in the day. My Dad taught me modeling skills and Patience, both of which are necessities for this hobby. He left behind an old Bachmann 4-4-0 (Jupiter) and a Phillips 66 tank car (He once ran a Phillips service station) that he never got around to fiddling with. I found them mixed in with the Christmas decorations last year, and I'm happy to say both are now running fine as part of the fast growing collection that they inspired. Still learning terminology, locomotives, road names, etc. I've built two 4'x8' benches from 3/4" pine plywood and arranged them in an "L" shape in my bonus room upstairs. I will now forever associate the smell of pine with model railroading, since it hits me every time I open the door to that room. Looking forward to this forum helping me around "modeler's block" as I gradually beat my ambitious ideas into reality. Not looking for prototype in this layout, but accuracy is a nice touch here and there when possible. Thanks for being here!!!
Welcome to TrainBoard! This is always good! With these assets, you have what is needed to enjoy many long years of fun.
Hiyo back to you, Welcome. Glad to have you on board. A word of caution...think small and develop in steps so you run a simple train. That way you'll have the satisfaction of being able to run trains at the end of each step. Too many new folks imagine an empire, start with grand plans, get overwhelmed after 3-4 months, and leave the hobby after finishing nothing and never running a train.
Welcome aboard, Wormgear. I certainly like the avatar you have chosen. Will you model the New York Central?
Good advice! There are many aspects to the hobby, and I bounce around enough that it never gets boring. The "kiss-off" method works well for me: "Keep It Simple Stupid - Or Face Frustration".
That's definitely part of the plan, though I've a bit of studying to do to see what can be done with the space I have. After picking up some appropriate Central Pacific cars to go with Dad's "Jupiter", I stumbled on an excellent find consisting of a mint Rivarossi J3A Dreyfuss Streamlined Super Hudson complete with both A and B 20th Century Limited passenger sets. I'm almost afraid to take 'em out of the boxes. Not sure if I'll be able to do them justice without expanding the benches somewhat. Also been working on a NYC freight consist to go with a conventional J3A that I picked up on eBay. That one arrived in pieces, sadly, but I was able to reconstruct her well enough that it takes a really good eye to find any flaws. Funny how working through a trauma like that kind of endears you to the locomotive.
Huh, never heard of "Off" during 45 years of developing computer systems. Never too old to learn...thx. BTW, the Central is my second love after the B&M. Rode the Harlem Division during the late 40's and early 50's.
