OK! I've made a few decisions, bought a few things off eBay, and am deeply immersed in the struggle to understand operations. Last and most urgent, I have the first couple of questions in what I'm sure will be an endless line of them. 1) I'm not going to try to emulate a prototype road. My whimsical road will be the WP&J (for the West Patience & Jubilation line [thank you Al Capp]). My colors will be black & orange, something like BNSF. I'll be running both Freight and passenger. I'm going to go for long trains on mostly single purpose schedules. 2) I'm going to run DCC, I'm buying a MRC prodigy Express. I'll not hesitate to buy DC stock and convert it if good deals surface. Already have some such. 3) I'm going to scratch build all of my structures, of either wood (1/32 3 ply) or 0.057 chipboard. Don't like Styrene. 4) After giving it due attention, I've decided to stay with code 80 flex track. I appreciate David's persuasion on the subject, but I'm just not enough of a purist regarding accuracy to prototype in my modeling to tolerate the added expense and the critical requirements for track laying. I have not moved any further on the track plan and I'll defer that until I have a much better understanding of operations. Most if not all of it will be rural and countryside. I'll be painting everything with my new colors. I already have a good Badger airbrush, and I've been told to mask with Tamiya tape, but I'm wondering about removing decals, and even the original base colors if there's some way to do that without harming the shells. Also, if I remove such as handrails in order to mask, what should I use to refasten them? CA? Or...? It would appear That I have an extraordinarily optimistic persuasion that I'll complete this. Nothing could be further form the truth. But I'm gonna have a hell of a time trying. As always, Grateful in advance for comments and answers.
Three things I have learned: 1) It's just a hobby...have fun !!! 2) It's your railroad...do it your way ! 3) If frustration sets in...walk away from it for a bit. Go watch TV. Talk to someone about anything but the railroad ! Talk a short walk. *You get the picture. Come back to when ready with a clear head and new perspective JMHO YMMV
1) Nothing wrong with freelancing. Some of the most famous layouts of all time were freelanced--including the most famous of all, John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid. 2) For your size layout, DCC is virtually a must. 3) Having scratchbuilt many structures myself, I'm thinking you may reconsider this once you're under way, given the size of your layout. Scratchbuilding can be a huge time-sucking monster--which is not necessarily a bad thing, just somewhat impractical when there are so many structures to build, and especially since you're coming into this with less understanding (of both the process and of railroads) than most. With a preference of wood over styrene, you may want to consider starting out with laser-cut kits, at least just to get the layout going; then, scratchbuild a few key structures for the experience. 4) Nothing wrong with Code 80 track--it's quite robust. You may want to see it side-by-side with Code 55, just to be sure. That said, I've gone back through the thread and I don't see where I've attempted to persuade you to go with any particular track. 5) Removing existing paint from shells can be accomplished by soaking them in 91% alcohol. There are other methods, but this one is widely used, and 91% alcohol is easily obtained.
:sweat:Speaks to the old saying, "The greatest of truths will fail or prevail in the style of its telling." and that was clumsy of me. I didn't intend that as a complaint about your persuading ME. I meant to indicate that it's YOU that's persuaded. Thanks for the rest.
So what era are you modelling Cosmic? Or did I miss seeing your choice somewhere? Sent from my Commando
I did not find a mention of this in the thread, maybe I missed it. There is a gem of a book out that called "Track planning for realistic operation" by Armstrong. You may ask (as I did) why do I care about realistic operation, but the book is about much more than that. It clearly breaks down the planning process from start to end and is well worth reading. I would like to reinforce of the advice in the thread about doing a section first. Two big reasons for that. First, layout building is a learn as you go experience. Your later efforts are always better than your initial, and you can expect to become dissatisfied with your early work and want to start over. Second, layout building involves a long sequence of steps, some of which you will find odious. For me it is ballasting. It would be very de-motivating if I was faced with the prospect of having to ballast an entire large layout before being able to work on scenery which is the part I like best. So work in small section to keep the tasks small. Finally, some tactical tips. Make sure your trackwork is rock solid before adding the scenery around it. And... dust gets everywhere. If you have a completed section and need to generate some dust on your next section, cover the old one with visqueen and tape down the edges to make it airtight as possible. Hope this helps and hope you have a lot of fun!
No, you didn't. I failed to mention, it will be modern, or at least all diesel. Also failed to mention, I'll be using all MT couplers.
"....if I remove such as handrails in order to mask, what should I use to refasten them? CA? Or...?" Still hoping for an answer to this.
Most handrails etc have a small 'tabish' end that goes in a small hole on the shell. MOST will go back and stay put if removed and stuck back on. I have bought brand new locomotives that the handrails had popped off during transit ! I use the smallest dab of CA on the tip of a needle in the holes before sticking them back on to get em to stay on. JMO YMMV
