Superior & Seattle Railroad Build (Volume 2) Started 2/25/17

[Lynnb]

O MY GOD , just glancing through finally and I must say , stunning work, you took my heart away with those trestles. I really hope your grandson keeps going with you on this project , mine just turned 2 and with my layout being put on hold to build the kits he is missing out on the layout stuff. I sometime wish I would have kept going on my previous layout where like you I had added an additional room. Simply stunning.

[S&S RR]

Lynn


Thank you for stopping by and the kind words.  I hope my Grandson keeps his interest in the layout. Time will tell - he sure loves it now.  I'm glad I did the restart with my layout - if you can have just a small section running while you work on structures your Grandson may get a kick out of it.

[S&S RR]

I spent some time today playing with the design for my upcoming layout expansion.  The green box in this picture is the new area 27 x 18 feet.  This is a photograph off the screen of my MacBook for those interested in the CAD package I use. It's call TurboCAD. It is full 3D capable but I'm just playing in a plan view at this point.  My process is to do a mockup in CAD and then I will mark this photograph up using an electronic pencil on my iPad. I used to use this process to feedback changes to my designers back in my working days so it works very well for me. By using CAD I can make calculations like I know that I can manage a 14 car train through the reversing siding and into the yard. The turntable in this yard will be capable of handling locomotives that are 15.25 inches long.
This current design maintains the chair, sofa, and TV area that are currently in the room. The crew quarters. The current plan is to model the Quincy Mining Facilities in the open areas that are not occupied by the yard - the structures will all be scratch built.  It's a starting point and gets some of the ideas that I have been playing with on a scratch pad into the computer for serious design work.

[S&S RR]

Here is a zoomed in picture that shows the track plan better.

[S&S RR]

Here is a zoomed in picture that shows the track plan better. This new design moves the current reversing loop out of my workshop which opens up a lot more bench space for structure builds. There will be times in the next few years when I will have more than one large module in the build sequence at the same time, which requires more bench space.

[Mark Dalrymple]

This looks like a fabulous addition to your empire, John!

Normally I might think its a little ambitious, but knowing the speed, quality and quantity of your work - I think its very achievable!  Looking forward to an overall plan with the addition added to get the overall perspective (I'm sure its coming!)

As always, thanks for sharing!  Cheers, Mark.

[S&S RR]

This looks like a fabulous addition to your empire, John!

Normally I might think its a little ambitious, but knowing the speed, quality and quantity of your work - I think its very achievable!  Looking forward to an overall plan with the addition added to get the overall perspective (I'm sure its coming!)

As always, thanks for sharing!  Cheers, Mark.

Mark


Thank you for stopping by - yes it's more than a little ambitious - my whole layout is. It's just the way I want to enjoy the hobby, the key is to live long enough to finish it. The main reason for the expansion now is that this area will store the trains.  I can move all of my locomotives and rolling stock into one area which will have a cover that will protect them from dust and construction movement while I complete the rest of the layout. More on this as the design progresses. It also will free up some workshop space that currently houses a reversing loop.  I will post a picture of the entire layout plan from the CAD system latter today.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Words to live by...

"the key is to live long enough to finish it"

Cheers, Mark.

[ACL1504]

John,

Very nice addition to the layout. We all need some storage of sorts.

I'm not sure I'll ever finish my layout but I'm giving it the old college try.

Tom

[S&S RR]

Mark and Tom


Thank you for the inspiring comments. The two most common questions that I'm asked by visitors to my layout is; do you think you will every finish it?, and how much money do you have in it?  I always answer the first with that depends on how long I live.  The second question I answer by saying the same amount that I would have spent on golf if I would have kept playing.

[vinceg]

Mark and Tom


Thank you for the inspiring comments. The two most common questions that I'm asked by visitors to my layout is; do you think you will every finish it?, and how much money do you have in it?  I always answer the first with that depends on how long I live.  The second question I answer by saying the same amount that I would have spent on golf if I would have kept playing.

Yep - some questions are off-limits to me. One of those is how much you spend on your hobbies. You're much more polite.

[S&S RR]

Here is a layout plan that includes the complete usable basement. The bathroom and storage closed that contains all the well and water softening equipment is not shown. The expansion I am designing now is Phase IV. As you can see from the floor plan there are option for Phase V and beyond. There are a lot of years between now and completing the first four phases.

[S&S RR]

Mark and Tom


Thank you for the inspiring comments. The two most common questions that I'm asked by visitors to my layout is; do you think you will every finish it?, and how much money do you have in it?  I always answer the first with that depends on how long I live.  The second question I answer by saying the same amount that I would have spent on golf if I would have kept playing.

Yep - some questions are off-limits to me. One of those is how much you spend on your hobbies. You're much more polite.

Vince


It is usually one of my wife's friends asking the question and I know my wife knows how much I spent on golf back in the day.  Especially, when it was part of my job.

[ACL1504]

Mark and Tom


Thank you for the inspiring comments. The two most common questions that I'm asked by visitors to my layout is; do you think you will every finish it?, and how much money do you have in it?  I always answer the first with that depends on how long I live.  The second question I answer by saying the same amount that I would have spent on golf if I would have kept playing.

John,

My response to the money question is, "Don't know and don't care. Can't put a price on the fun I'm having building the empire."

Tom

[S&S RR]

Mark and Tom


Thank you for the inspiring comments. The two most common questions that I'm asked by visitors to my layout is; do you think you will every finish it?, and how much money do you have in it?  I always answer the first with that depends on how long I live.  The second question I answer by saying the same amount that I would have spent on golf if I would have kept playing.

John,

My response to the money question is, "Don't know and don't care. Can't put a price on the fun I'm having building the empire."

Tom

Tom


That is a good answer. And I would add you meet a lot of great people in this hobby, too.