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Thanks!

Thanks so much! Looking forward to seeing your layout in the future!

Thanks!! We'll show 'em how it's done 🤣

Are you kidding, class 1 railroads are now operating trains that are 2 and 3 miles long now. They have been since about mid to late 2022, early 2023 and definitely in 2024. I saw one once that was so long they had to put all other trains in sidings until it got past them. That train was at least 3.5-4+ miles long! It took almost 1.5+ hours to get through town, and when they were calling signals 3 towns away, the end of the train, where I caught it, was still nowhere in sight. Dispatch raked them over the coals for being longer than every siding they couldn't fit in because their train was far too long to fit. After counting around 295 freight cars, I got bored with counting cars, and this around the half-way mark. This train also had 8 locomotives ALL POWERED pulling it. I'm sure the drivers at all the crossings weren't very happy with that train. Even as a railfan, I found that train excessive. Never happened again, and this was back sometime in the mid 2000's when it happened. Just my luck, as I'd been using my camera railfanning all day and into mid to late evening and all my camera batteries were used up, so I tried to video it, but stupid camera went dead about 10 minutes into trying to video it, and because the battery died during videoing, it erased the last file on the SD Card, but I didn't find that out until I got home , and downloaded the camera to my computer.😠

Thanks Dave!

Thanks!! It's a technically a truss bridge. That said, truss bridges can be classified as "cantilever," but the term has more to do with how they are attached to the abuptments. My bridge is held down by the track lol.

Oh, it's actually Rock-wall as in the garden variety🌻🪨. Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much! As a kid, my favorite train videos were always the Herron Rail videos... They always had the most perfect classical music accompaniment.

Absolutely! We've managed to catch a couple of those special deliveries over the years. Always exciting 😀

@@RockwallCanyonRR Nice!

An "MU" is a multiple unit connection. On full-sized diesel electric locos in North America, such cables are used to allow more than one locomotive to be controlled with 1 operator. In the case of these models, the green diesel has an onboard battery and RC and the yellow engines were able to get power from that engine using connectors similar to MU cables. And yeah, I tend to avoid the graffiti, most of my models represent older era which mostly preceded the current look.😅

@peteshoulders1 Thanks! And yeah, that's not just photo angles, the railroad is now bigger than ever before 🤣

@terryv Thanks so much! Yeah, it's amazing how quickly the undergrowth fills in this time of year! I usually walk around with the train for the first full lap around. More often than not, it's the little critters that leave me obstacles on the tracks. 🐿🐦🚂

Definitely meant to be! We're like rails and ties, or knits and pearls! 🌞

Thanks so much! I've added more details in time, but come winter the layout definitely goes back to basics.

For a very large railway (something over 200ft of track), I find it's really not practical to power the trains through the track at all. Instead, I retrofit the locomotives to accept Li-ion batteries and radio control onboard. Sometimes, I install the battery and RC directly within the locomotive, in other cases I dedicate special battery cars that can provide the power to locmotives indirectly. If you start off with track power, a 10 amp supply is a great idea. Most G scale trains have 18vdc motors, the only exception, I think, is LGB which come with 24vdc motors (even lgb will run fine at 18vdc) Any commercially available control system will have electronic protection, so there is no worry about the track being completely dry before running trains. That said, I'd avoid running in particularly wet conditions as it will dirty the rails and wheels temporarily reducing conductivity (until you clean it).

@@RockwallCanyonRR I watched a few videos tonight that discussed retrofitting trains to run off internal power. I guess it can really simplify several problems with open circuits, or even short circuits. I don't know if I can still accomplish that level though as I am losing my eyesight. I was just going to start out with the older technology while I still can. It seems using internal power with radio control and modern programmable logic is a really smart approach. I really love the idea of trying to avoid using high current low voltage in an environment exposed to elements with constantly troubleshooting intermittent connection problems due to corrosion or moisture. I am sure many experienced large scale experts do not want to go back to track power once they have converted. I guess modifying all your locomotives may be a challenging task too. Thank you very much for your insights.

@1STerminus With new track, you should get years of reliable track power regardless of the elements. If joint continuity becomes an issue later, you could add split jaw rail clamps to improve the connections between the rails. As to battery powered trains...there is a Piko small diesel that is factory equipped for battery power with a simple onboard RC system. If you wanted to outsource the installation on a different model you might consider RCS of New England. My friend Don Sweet is the owner, and has been doing professional installations upward of 30 years.

@@RockwallCanyonRR Hi Thanks again! I am starting out with a small indoor layout using all used G-scale components several sets with a lot of old steel track. I have quite a few 24V power supplies from 3D-Printers with a 15A rating. I found some schematics to wire up an analog controller with potentiometer and a manual break before make polarity switch (direction.) I am having problems with even light soldering now so I might need to find an assistant who can handle a soldering iron (an apprentice!) Very wishful thinking as I am in the middle of nowhere New Mexico. Since I just have a couple workbenches I will have to keep them small. I was going to make this my last fun project. I think it could be a race against time. Thanks for the cool system you built and for sharing it too. Keep your wheels on the tracks!

@jasonday5912 No problem! I resisted using kadees for over 20 years, absolutely love them now. I did some HO scale back in the 2008-2012 time frame, and that's when I saw the light lol

@Steve2223 Glad you liked them! Yes, fully battery powered on the RCRR. The automated trains use the 900mhz Railboss4 system RC from gscale graphics. If you follow his instructions you can actually set up for multiple trains with multiple stops and logic to keep them from colliding.

@@RockwallCanyonRR Thanks. I had heard of Railboss but never looked into them for station stops or other outside trigger input for RC. From the video it seems to work well.

​@Steve2223 Absolutely, I highly recommend Railboss if you're into doing any automated trains. I've also done push-pull commuter trains that make stops along the line and reverse automatically at the ends. They have a cheap version without RC that I use for Thomas the tank engine. You set his running speed and it goes through all the same accel/decel stops as the full version.

Don't worry it will be back there in like 20 minutes to try again!

Thanks so much! I've had a layout here since 2013, but most of what you see came after 2019.

Thanks so much!!

"Nat Keefe with the Bow Ties" open license on CZcams studio audio library.

Thanks so much! That's a lofty comparison, Peter's layout is amazing from what I've seen.

Thanks! You're right! The steam engines available now are all really expensive! Aristo steam had big problems back in the 90s, but they turned it around with new motor blocks later on. I have one of the high-boiler B&O-style 2-8-0s, its a really great runner! Would love to get a Mallet at some point too!

Thanks so much! The passenger consist represents an excursion train I used to work on up in the White Mtns of NH. They regularly ran the S-4 with 6 cars on a 3% grade! The sound of that 539 turbo spooling up for the big grade is a sound I'll have with me always! The model does a nice job too!

Thanks so much!

Thanks so much! The shell was 3d printed by a fellow largescale modeler and painted by me. The frame I made custom and the trucks are commercially available. Still a few details left to go like railings, steps and grabs.

Thanks! Yeah, I reversed course on the layout reduction.

Thanks! I appreciate the camera angle suggestions... I'll make it happen!

Thanks!