Lighting Resource

Train Set Electronics has a whole heap 'o information on lighting and electronics for your layout. I'm not quite at this point yet, but you may find this link helpful.

Wishful Thinking

My Grandpa is a retired Union Ironworker; I'd love to scratchbuild this someday:

...but I think it would take a whole lot of those Plastruct I Beams.

Basic Layout... Need a Trackplan

After enlisting the help of the Nscale.net forums I've decided to arrange my 80 x 30" closet doors in an L shape, as opposed to an 80 x 60" or 160 x 30" shape. The 80 x 60 will make some areas of the layout almost inaccessible, especially if it is up against a wall, and the 160 x 30 would be over 13' long, making it hard to fit into my basement.

The advantage of the L shape is that it would make the entire layout easily viewable, plus it would make space for three visual focal points: two on the ends and one in the center. I'm going to place a city in the center of the L and two industries at either end.

Now the next question: What's the best trackplan for this layout? I'd like lots of mainline running (I'm neither rich nor experienced enough to put in lots of switches) with a few sidings. One suggestion I had for the 80 x 60" rectangle was a folded dogbone, which I would have liked, had I gone with that shape of layout. Is there any good way to lay a folded dogbone in the space I have available?

So what's up with that title?

Some people think Railfans are geeks. Well, I'm not even good enough to be a full-fledged geek yet. I'm a wannabe, an amateur.

I don't really remember what got me interested in Model Railroading. A couple of years ago I wandered into a little hobby shop in Junction City, KS on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Twenty minutes later I walked out with a $60 Bachmann train set. I think I bought it because it reminded me of a small battery-powered set my Dad kept up in his closet when I was a kid. He'd get it down once in a while and we'd set it up, using shoeboxes as buildings, and I'd just watch it go 'round its oval track.

Needless to say, at the time I bought the set, life was too busy and my set got shelved... literally.

Since then, I've had a career change and my pace of life has slowed down considerably. I can now remember why people have hobbies. Currently, my wife works nights, so instead of just staring at the walls or wasting my evenings on homestarrunner, I dug out that cheap-o set from a mountain of moving boxes, and I've started piecing together a layout.

Right now, I'm still in the planning phase. I've got a few buildings, Walthers' Sunrise Feed Mill, Model Power's Shell Tank and Oil Facility Office, and some junky houses I bought off of eBay that are only good for scrap. I sold my Bachmann EZ Track because I needed some cash, so I've bought a few lengths of flex track, and I have two old power packs I found at my in-laws'. Capping off my resources, I have a couple of old sliding closet doors in my basement that were left by the previous owners that should make a good base for an interesting layout.

More to the Point
A Paper Railroad is a company that only exists in theory. It exists only on a larger Line's books as a subsidiary, posessing no actual track or rolling stock. This blog is called "Paper Railroad" because at this point, my layout is just that: one that exists in theory. I've got layouts scribbled on little pieces of notebook paper strewn all around my house (and shredded in the dryer because they get left in my pants).

Why a Railroad Blog when you really don't even have a Railroad?
Two reasons:

1. To document the progress as my layout takes shape.

2. As I said before, I'm a n00b. I want my layout to be awesome, and I'm going to need some help. I'm hoping to enlist the assistance of some of the pros here on the web, either out of the kindness of their hearts, or out of pity at my poor attempts at the craft.

Personal Preferences
1. I've got a family of five to feed, so it's gotta be cheap. If I start dumping lots of cash into a bunch of "toys" (as my wife calls it), my kids are never going to go to college.

2. N Scale. I'm willing to sacrifice detail for more "content." I'd rather have lots of pretty cool buildings, rather than four or five awesome ones. Small scale allows room for more variety in landscape than HO (or anything larger).

3. Truthfully, I love the creative aspect of Model Railroading rather than the historical. I'm looking at doing something in the modern era, so I won't mind mixing really old rolling stock and buildings with newer stuff. At this point, I'd rather have a dazzling, eye-catching layout than tons of expensive locos and rolling stock. For me, the train adds life to an otherwise static display.

4. I've spent my life between Omaha, Kansas City and St. Joseph; I've always seen the intertwining of (non-commuter) rails and urban life. So, I'd like to include urban areas in my layout (similar to these guys), instead of simply pastoral scenes.

Down to Business
Alright, railfans, here's my question for you: What's the best N scale layout I can get with two 80" x 30" closet doors?

(Comments are at the top of the post)

Even Lamer Second Post

This is to help check the formatting.

Lame-o First Post

This is the stereotype first post. Hopefully I'll have some legitimate content up here in the next day or so.