Andy1963

I can relate to your feeling defeated. In 2008 I started a huge project that runs through 3 rooms with a 3 year plan to build. Year one was to buld the base boards, lay the track and get trains running. Year 2 was to build the scenery in one of the scenic areas and year 3 was to build the scenery in the other scenic room. As we approach the end of 5 years, I have a working layout, and one room has some scenery built. Earlier this year, I decided to break down the scenery even further and concentrate on specific areas and get these finished. I made significant progress on one section, then changed my job and have hardly touched it since. Don't know what the answer is, I agree that a large layout is needed to enjoy running something like prototypical trains, I suspect it is either a life long project for one, or a job for several.

Hi, I currently have 3 Lima Westerns and one Heljan. Although the Lima Westerns are poorly detailed and do not like running on DCC at all, I have decided to stick with them and a) detail them and B) re-motor them. I have started on one of the loco's and have removed the moulded lamps but not yet the hand rails. The motor has been removed and I am fitting a CD drive motor in it's place. Ultra Scale products produced some brass drive gears for me (not cheap, but I couldn't find an alternative) and I am currently working on manufacturing a plate to hold the motor in place. Initial tests with the motor connected to a decoder suggest a significant improvement to performance is possible. Couple this with detailing the ends and fitting fuel filler detail instead of the dreadful flat plates and I think the loco's will look and act the part.