My American HO Scale Layout
Like many model railroaders my first experience with trains was with three rail O gauge. However, unlike most, mine was not a Lionel train, but a vintage 1940s Marx train set that my grandpa gave me when I was born. I was probably too young to be exposed to trains because it had some type of mental effect on me and I have loved trains ever since.
Some years later while I was in 1st grade I woke up one Christmas morning to find a 4 x 8 piece of plywood sitting outside my bedroom. According to my father Santa had given me the board so I could build my first train layout with the help of my dad. I also found an HO train set under the Christmas tree that was to be the base for starting the layout.
Some years later while I was in 1st grade I woke up one Christmas morning to find a 4 x 8 piece of plywood sitting outside my bedroom. According to my father Santa had given me the board so I could build my first train layout with the help of my dad. I also found an HO train set under the Christmas tree that was to be the base for starting the layout.
After spending a significant amount of time doing research, my dad and I came up with a basic oval layout design with a single track running around the perimeter of the plywood, a siding, and a track that was supposed to climb a mountain and go to a coal mine. Very quickly I learned some valuable lessons about model railroading. Twelve percent grades don't work very well and chucking a boxcar across the room does not fix constant derailment and uncoupling problems. We did have some successes. We learned how to use flex track, cork roadbed, and how to lay track. I purchased my first steam loco a Pennsylvanian 0-6-0. And I learned about the difference between horn hook and knuckle couplers.
When my family moved from Massachusetts to Michigan my layout survived the move, but it needed some work. It had originally been designed to fold up against the wall so it would fit in my bedroom. Our new house had a basement so I could set it up down there. I now needed to rebuild the bench work so it would be more stable since it was no longer anchored to a wall for support. I also was beginning to get sick of the inner loop that went up the twelve percent grade. My dad and I developed a plan to widen the layout with 3 inch strips mounted to the edge of the board that would allow the mainline to be doubled. After reading a Model Railroader article about creating visual divides to make small layouts look bigger, I decided to add a mountain in the center of the layout so the front and back parts of the layout would be visually divided and trains could "disappear" around the bend.
During my late high school and college years, I was blessed with a job as a cashier at Great Lakes Hobby. Getting paid to play with trains. How awesome is that? There I learned a lot about the manufacturing and retail side of the industry. I also convinced myself that it was time to update my layout to DCC. I installed a MRC Prodigy Advanced system and began learning how to install decoders in my locomotives. Initially I was not that good at it and destroyed several locos with my solder iron during my early attempts. Consequently, I became addicted to locos with sound and DCC already built into them. Around this time I decided I wanted to eventually model the Pennsylvania Railroad and began collecting PRR equipment. Its sections across the western Pennsylvanian mountains reminded me of my trips to the mountains in Vermont when I lived in Massachusetts. I also really liked the look of PRR steam locomotives, hence my "love affair" with Broadway Limited Imports.
After nearly 17 years of operation, it was becoming obvious that my layout was very limited. I could not run long passenger trains or large steamers on it. I began looking for a way I could get involved with a club since building a new and bigger layout was not a very realistic option at the time. Through a coworker at the hobby shop, I was introduced to the Jackson, Pontiac, and Saint Clair Railroad (JPSRR). Its owner was looking for volunteers to help him restore it and set it up at train shows. A model railroad group that had no dues except time and heavy lifting was a perfect fit for a cash strapped college grad so I joined. I am now active with this group. The story of the JPSRR can be read by clicking here. I have really enjoyed the hobby and feel blessed to have been part in it.