F-UnitMad

If you go right back to the 1st post on this thread you'll see this link to where the story started on RMweb3:- http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=43125 The size is given as 2.1m x 1.1m .... ...but what that is in Old Money I'm not sure, and surely given the whole 'feel' of this wonderful thread and layout, good, British Imperial should be the measurement of choice... The interference of the EU is many, many decades away.....

That'd be the tinitus the high whistle caused... Bachmann DCC/Sound 20's are a pet hate of mine...

2008... £1 = $2.... oh happy days, don't remind me.... Second P&D Hobbies - used them myself, Pat answers eMail enquirys quickly too. Tennants is my 'local' so have had a fair bit from them, too. They tend to have more 3-Rail stuff though. Quince Valley; I think Jason is a member here and attends Guildex at Telford.

Loudly tell a Trader who is trying to flog an Atlas O Scale Plymouth Switcher for a three-figure price that it is quite simply not worth that much... Better still, do it at Warley/NEC.... Oh, I did....... ..... didn't get lynched, but it's a good job looks can't kill...

Sure I've seen this layout on a Forum somewhere before, but not sure where..?? Lovely stuff - Atlas F-Units right up my street although I missed the "Bargain" era you mention - Victors in London also had them, but by the time I got there around 1990 they wanted £70 for an F-Unit ... similar to what they go for these days sometimes. Of course US O Scale is still far cheaper than British O Scale although it's suffered like all US outline recently by a weak £-vs-$ and Stupid Shipping Prices. I've re-wheeled my F-units with NWSL wheelsets, as the original wheels had deeper flanges that I found caught the chairs on Peco track - have you found that? I like the room-filling plan - does give the impression of being, not just an American-outline layout, but also built the way Americans would build it too, if you know what I mean...

I saw a woman at the Severn Valley Railway once asking a member of Staff where the engines were with faces on them??... it wasn't a designated "Thomas" weekend; this woman had several disappointed-looking children in tow, and she was getting quite irate that none of the engines had faces, insisting to this Staff member (who must have dug deep into his reserves of patience that day) that "Steam Trains have faces!!"....

OI !!! What's "cliche" about that..?? (from an owner of 4 O Scale layouts, none of which are more than 10ft long..... )

Reminds me of the story of a girl on a crowded London Tube train... suddenly held up high the arm of the man standing next to her, and asked loudly "Does this hand belong to anyone? 'Cos I just found it on my Bum..!!"

... and I saw it reported on another Forum that someone went up to that layout at that Show, and in their best "Anorak Nerd" voice, said "Er, I think you'll find that that's the wrong colour Grey for a Rivet Counter Detector Van..." before running off......

Far too close to the truth to be funny, that one....

Thanks for your reply Willy, I didn't see it. I did look at their website - to get the exact sheet codes for one thing!! But I think it was their 'blanket' $10 shipping charge put me off for just a two-sheet order. TMR's Shipping was $4.25 Canadian...

Whilst RMweb was down, I found this very useful Canadian Supplier of Decals, with very reasonable Shipping to the UK... http://www.tmrdistributing.com/ This is why I haven't re-posted my Decals request I posted just before RMweb blew up, and took my post with it, it seems...!!

I can vouch for their one "Soo Line in Color"...

IIRC wasn't that the one where he claimed that the minimum viable space for a layout was an 'L' shape 11ft each leg..?? And with a minimum of 35 car spots on it..?? Gave some of us a good laugh, that did...

Mmmm... it's a pity the Luftwaffe are going to be paying a few visits in less than 20 year's time... :(

I'm always in awe of 'proper' baseboards... I always feel that mine are somehow just cobbled together.... Looking forward to seeing this develop - after "HELM", you have a reputation to meet, now, y'know!!!

It has to be the "Fry & Laurie" Jeeves and Wooster, though...

Agree completely - it was very informative, as well as being a great layout. I keep going back to it, just in case he updates it, but so far no joy... The only thing about the lack of updates is that it lessened the temptation on me to attempt something similar in O Scale.... Jack - looking forward to seeing you inset that diamond crossing in the middle of the road..!!!

I like the nice long spurs on that plan, Willy! Despite having just acquired a space 17ft long myself, 25ft still sounds enormous!!!

Although Versif's plan has a double slip (as does Jack's classic "Box St" plan) that does remind me of two types of track layout that are (or at least seem) common in the US and very rare in the UK - part of the reason for this thread as I understand it? They seem to use far more diamond crossings in the US than here, and especially on mainlines where one Railroad crosses another, even at 90degrees. The only example of this I can think of in the UK is at Newark (I'm not thinking of Stations where it was more common years ago, e.g. Newcastle on Tyne). Allied to this situation is where there is also a track curving between the two lines to link them, ironically as shown in that link at Newark!!, and to interchange trains. So flat crossings and Interchange tracks are what stand out to me as different/much more common (in terms of track plan) in the US to the UK/EU.

There's a section following the Central Illinois on this C.Vision Productions DVD Windy City Rails Vol 7... very inspirational! Also loads of pics here at Railpictures.net Enjoy!!

I love the description of the Staging Yard for Plan#2 :- "Some sorta slidey rack thing".... we call them Traversers in the UK My own favourite plan under consideration at the moment... a good ol' Inglenook. Gentlemen I give you Randolph, MN on the Progressive Rail's lines (ex-CNW main line). Okay so the yard carries on for quite a way north-east, and has turnouts at the far end that make some of the spurs actually sidings (or sidings into loops in UK parlance), but at the yard entrance it's a classic two-turnouts/three spurs Inglenook....

For a Summer Saturday at New Street circa 1979, they were ALL in use as trainspotter seating..!!! ... and New St had loads of them strung along the platforms....

Also you'll be clobbered for Import VAT by HM Customs, and £8 Fee from Royal Mail for the priveledge of telling you about it... UK Supplier prices may seem higher than US, but that's because they'll have also had to pay these charges... It does nark that stuff is really much cheaper in the US, though....