Thank you for the tour and the tips. There are always so many things to consider on a railroad, especially a track plan, that it can stop your progress and sometimes it’s overwhelming.
It took me a long time to come up with the Donner Pass plan, and I went through a lot of analysis paralysis. Taking the time to come up with something workable is worthwhile. It can be difficult but also rewarding. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing Dan. I can definitely agree with you. Even the best plan and ideas have some hiccups. But at the same time we learn and improve what we do. 👍
It's really valuable to build a small layout or two. Even people who've been in the hobby for a long time can learn from it. I want to take what I've learned from this small layout and make the next one even better. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the tour. I wouldn't have noticed any scenery "problems" if you hadn't pointed them out! I think a mangled fenced can be a good thing and the entire module looks fantastic to me.
Thanks so much for the kind words. That must have been one heck of a wind that tore up the fence that way, right? I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching!
I think the "gas line" marker you have is usually a fiber optic cable marker. Another railroad investment along with the petroleum pipelines! I believe SP was big into laying fiber optic back in the day... Those darn things are always in the way of my shots!
I think you're right. Someone else pointed that out, too. I misspoke when I made the video. They have been in a lot of my shots, too, which is partly why I put some on the module. Kind of a little joke to myself. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the tour and your observations and recommendations. I’m planning on building a freemo HO scale module and your tour encourages me to go ahead and what things to look out for and avoid or include.
I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. It might be fun to do an operation video on the module. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the suggestion and for watching!
I want to have some kind of HO layout, and right now this is it. When I can get part of the Donner layout started and built enough to have at least some scenery, then I can maybe rework the module. I would like to make it detachable so I can still take it outside for sunlight photos. Thanks for watching!
Not to bring up a Bad SP Memory but I couldn't help but thing when you mentioned the gas line marker to think of the disaster on Duffy street in 89 when the runaway came down the Cajon Pass. And the fact back then how close homes where to mainline track
I remember reading about that. Really bad situation. It's never good when railroads have accidents. Anyway, I hope you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Hi Dan. Yes, again I enjoyed it ! You're doing a great job. At some point, I thought it was me that was talking. Especially about details put in the front. I try to avoid it because as you said, there's always a hand or an elbow that will hit something even if I'm very careful as you've mentioned. Model trains is a world of itself. It's like any other hobby. It takes time, devotion and most of all money. You're only getting better in trying. I'm doing it for more than 30 years and I still have the flame. Not long ago, I thought I was only a skilled technicianonly good for track laying, buildings and rolling stock. There's always room for more. Now I'm doing scenic and weathering at a lower scale. Thanks for sharing.
It's definitely something I'm going to think about when building my future Donner Layout. It's not always possible to keep stuff away from the edge in every situation, but it's a good thing to keep in mind. Thanks for watching!
Looks good, Dan, it's a beautiful module. I've enjoyed seeing your models on it over the years. All good building points and the way to protect your layout and trains from damage. I violated a number of your suggestions when building my layout (I have a running 12x20 layout but have just begun applying scenic elements). It seems we never have enough space, so choose what's most important and mitigate the rest as best possible.
It's not always possible to "follow the rules", so to speak, in every situation. I had to push the tracks closer to the edge at the end of the peninsula on my Donner Pass plan so I can still have adequate aisle space. It's good to keep those things in mind when you can. I'm glad you liked the module and thanks for watching!
What I'm hoping to do, once I get the room ready, is to start building part of the layout, then when that's far enough along, rebuild the module and make it part of the layout. That way I will still have somewhere to run and photograph trains while I rehab the module. Thanks for watching!
It would be nice to have the room to lay track as a typical proto railroad, unfortunately most of us have nowhere near the space it would take for real-world switching. We have to make do with the alloted space we have.
I'm glad you like the module. To be honest I got those switch stands so long ago I don't really remember where they came from. They were produced by Sequoia Scale Models, and I might have bought them at the Train Shop in Santa Clara, CA. I'm not sure what the current status of Sequoia is. I had to modify them to use metal wire for the main post, so that I could attach it to the turnout throw bar to make it move. Thanks for watching!
@DanielCortopassi awesome and that was my next question. I'm about to do the same with wire to throw the turnouts. Micro-Engineering turnouts have small holes and need adjustments to make the caboose industry switch throws fit
I don't have any videos on weathering track as of yet. That will probably happen later on when I have some track put down. I haven't done a video on the bridge. The article I followed in Mainline Modeler is pretty old, 1985 I think. I still have the issue somewhere. It could make an interesting video. I have another one I built that's single track, though it's taken apart right now and I'm not sure exactly where it is. It's all built with styrene, so I could do another one at some point if I found a place for it. Thanks for watching!
I like that wooden bridge. Since I model SP i may want to have it as well. Was it a kit or made from scratch. Quite nice details. I like the module as switching is most fun.
It's scratchbuilt, based on an article in Mainline Modeler many years ago. It's all Evergreen styrene with some NBW castings. It is based on an SP prototype design. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the tour and the tips. There are always so many things to consider on a railroad, especially a track plan, that it can stop your progress and sometimes it’s overwhelming.
It took me a long time to come up with the Donner Pass plan, and I went through a lot of analysis paralysis. Taking the time to come up with something workable is worthwhile. It can be difficult but also rewarding. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing Dan. I can definitely agree with you. Even the best plan and ideas have some hiccups. But at the same time we learn and improve what we do. 👍
It's really valuable to build a small layout or two. Even people who've been in the hobby for a long time can learn from it. I want to take what I've learned from this small layout and make the next one even better. Thanks for watching!
I totally agree about the quality of bench work
Yes, it's really important to have a good foundation. I hope you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Excellent informative video Dan which I enjoyed watching.
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!
In the Yard we call it head room. :-) Excellent video tutorial.
I hadn't heard that term before, so thanks for letting me know about it. I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the tour. I wouldn't have noticed any scenery "problems" if you hadn't pointed them out! I think a mangled fenced can be a good thing and the entire module looks fantastic to me.
Thanks so much for the kind words. That must have been one heck of a wind that tore up the fence that way, right? I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching!
I think the "gas line" marker you have is usually a fiber optic cable marker. Another railroad investment along with the petroleum pipelines! I believe SP was big into laying fiber optic back in the day... Those darn things are always in the way of my shots!
I think you're right. Someone else pointed that out, too. I misspoke when I made the video. They have been in a lot of my shots, too, which is partly why I put some on the module. Kind of a little joke to myself. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the tour and your observations and recommendations. I’m planning on building a freemo HO scale module and your tour encourages me to go ahead and what things to look out for and avoid or include.
I'm glad you found the video helpful. Having a small layout can be a lot of fun. Good luck with your build and thanks for watching!
Fun little tour. I really like the SP bridge, dry creek, and culvert scenes. I would like to see how you run a switching session one of these days.
I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. It might be fun to do an operation video on the module. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the suggestion and for watching!
The "module". I'm glad you kept it. Fun for learning things, and great place to test equipment. Nice video !!!!!!
I want to have some kind of HO layout, and right now this is it. When I can get part of the Donner layout started and built enough to have at least some scenery, then I can maybe rework the module. I would like to make it detachable so I can still take it outside for sunlight photos. Thanks for watching!
Not to bring up a Bad SP Memory but I couldn't help but thing when you mentioned the gas line marker to think of the disaster on Duffy street in 89 when the runaway came down the Cajon Pass. And the fact back then how close homes where to mainline track
I remember reading about that. Really bad situation. It's never good when railroads have accidents. Anyway, I hope you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Yes!! Thank you!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching!
Hi Dan. Yes, again I enjoyed it ! You're doing a great job. At some point, I thought it was me that was talking. Especially about details put in the front. I try to avoid it because as you said, there's always a hand or an elbow that will hit something even if I'm very careful as you've mentioned. Model trains is a world of itself. It's like any other hobby. It takes time, devotion and most of all money. You're only getting better in trying. I'm doing it for more than 30 years and I still have the flame. Not long ago, I thought I was only a skilled technicianonly good for track laying, buildings and rolling stock. There's always room for more. Now I'm doing scenic and weathering at a lower scale. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much. I'm glad you enjoyed taking a look at my little layout. Thanks for watching!
Great pointers! Especially on the details being damaged. Something I’m always thinking about for the future layout
It's definitely something I'm going to think about when building my future Donner Layout. It's not always possible to keep stuff away from the edge in every situation, but it's a good thing to keep in mind. Thanks for watching!
Looks good, Dan, it's a beautiful module. I've enjoyed seeing your models on it over the years. All good building points and the way to protect your layout and trains from damage. I violated a number of your suggestions when building my layout (I have a running 12x20 layout but have just begun applying scenic elements). It seems we never have enough space, so choose what's most important and mitigate the rest as best possible.
It's not always possible to "follow the rules", so to speak, in every situation. I had to push the tracks closer to the edge at the end of the peninsula on my Donner Pass plan so I can still have adequate aisle space. It's good to keep those things in mind when you can. I'm glad you liked the module and thanks for watching!
Looking awesome and looking forward to your next video. The white tube with the orange top is a fiber-optic cable marker.
I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. Thanks for the clarification on the marker. I see those often. Thanks for watching!
Great video
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
A shame you couldn’t hit any Free-mo setups with your module Dan. Nice job
That might have been fun. I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. Thanks for watching!
Now that was awesome I hope you build that other module now that you got the room for it that would be so cool.
What I'm hoping to do, once I get the room ready, is to start building part of the layout, then when that's far enough along, rebuild the module and make it part of the layout. That way I will still have somewhere to run and photograph trains while I rehab the module. Thanks for watching!
It would be nice to have the room to lay track as a typical proto railroad, unfortunately most of us have nowhere near the space it would take for real-world switching. We have to make do with the alloted space we have.
You're absolutely right. That's why I never finished the second module that I started, because I didn't have space then. Thanks for watching!
Excellent module! Simple and effective! Where did you purchase the switch stands?
I'm glad you like the module. To be honest I got those switch stands so long ago I don't really remember where they came from. They were produced by Sequoia Scale Models, and I might have bought them at the Train Shop in Santa Clara, CA. I'm not sure what the current status of Sequoia is. I had to modify them to use metal wire for the main post, so that I could attach it to the turnout throw bar to make it move. Thanks for watching!
@DanielCortopassi awesome and that was my next question. I'm about to do the same with wire to throw the turnouts. Micro-Engineering turnouts have small holes and need adjustments to make the caboose industry switch throws fit
Very cool, do you have a video on how to make HO track/ties look like old SP track, and the SP type bridges as well?
I don't have any videos on weathering track as of yet. That will probably happen later on when I have some track put down. I haven't done a video on the bridge. The article I followed in Mainline Modeler is pretty old, 1985 I think. I still have the issue somewhere. It could make an interesting video. I have another one I built that's single track, though it's taken apart right now and I'm not sure exactly where it is. It's all built with styrene, so I could do another one at some point if I found a place for it. Thanks for watching!
Thanks hi nichole
Nichole says hi back. Thanks for watching!
I like that wooden bridge. Since I model SP i may want to have it as well. Was it a kit or made from scratch. Quite nice details. I like the module as switching is most fun.
It's scratchbuilt, based on an article in Mainline Modeler many years ago. It's all Evergreen styrene with some NBW castings. It is based on an SP prototype design. Thanks for watching!