Does Chuck Nessa Have a Train Layout in His Basement?

[Rooster_Ties]

N-gauge is the shit.

My dad had a couple HO layouts when I was growing up (and long after), but I always thought the N-gauge set I occasionally saw elsewhere were just marvelous.

There’s one even smaller gauge than N — maybe Z? — but it always seemed a little too small. N was just about perfect, to my way of thinking.

[Teasing the Korean]

30 minutes ago, Rooster_Ties said:

N-gauge is the shit.

My dad had a couple HO layouts when I was growing up (and long after), but I always thought the N-gauge set I occasionally saw elsewhere were just marvelous.

There’s one even smaller gauge than N — maybe Z? — but it always seemed a little too small. N was just about perfect, to my way of thinking.

There are one or two gauges smaller than Z even!

The big advantage of HO is the sheer amount of product, much of which is available inexpensively on the second-hand market.  HO was overall a good trade-off between being small enough to build something substantial, but large enough to be able to see it without a microscope.

That said, I have long been tempted by N gauge.  Obviously, Chuck agrees with me.  

[Brad]

19 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

So, no joke, I dreamt that Chuck had an N-gauge layout in the basement on a 4' x 8' table.  He had a bunch of HO stuff boxed up.  Chuck said he switched to N-gauge because you could get so much more in a 4' x 8' space.  

So you dream about Chuck. I wonder what Dr. Freud would say 

[Teasing the Korean]

11 minutes ago, Brad said:

So you dream about Chuck. I wonder what Dr. Freud would say 

I have all kinds of crazy dreams about this place.  Both Larry Kart and Jsngry have appeared in my dreams also.  I will also dream about non-existent threads, and then I will look for them the next day!

[Rabshakeh]

38 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I have all kinds of crazy dreams about this place.  Both Larry Kart and Jsngry have appeared in my dreams also.  I will also dream about non-existent threads, and then I will look for them the next day!

This place needs more dream threads.

[Larry Kart]

59 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I have all kinds of crazy dreams about this place.  Both Larry Kart and Jsngry have appeared in my dreams also.  I will also dream about non-existent threads, and then I will look for them the next day!

I'm flattered to have a place in your dreams.

[Teasing the Korean]

Just now, Larry Kart said:

I'm flattered to have a place in your dreams.

I can promise you nothing inappropriate occurred.

 

[Chuck Nessa]

I haven't seen mention of "standard" gauge. Amateurs!

[GA Russell]

7 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

I haven't seen mention of "standard" gauge. Amateurs!

My train set was American Flyer S gauge.  Is that what you mean by "standard?"

[Chuck Nessa]

No.

[Larry Kart]

12 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

I haven't seen mention of "standard" gauge. Amateurs!

My cousin, about ten or fifteen year older, left behind a train set from the 1930s that was at least twice that size. Might have been worth a fortune to some collector, but it never got set up and eventually was tossed.

[clifford_thornton]

my father and I built a massive HO layout in my basement growing up, filled an entire large room. Had two separate mainlines and a mountain branch line, rail yards, locomotive facilities, industrial spurs -- the whole bit. Still have some of the custom-painted and modified rolling stock at their place in Texas (which is not where I grew up) but the layout is long gone. Might have a few slides of it but we were spending more time working on it than documenting it. 

[Teasing the Korean]

You didn't miss anything this morning at the model train show, Chuck.  It was two extremes:  Sellers with overpriced stuff, and sellers who brought cardboard boxes filled with junk.  I almost bought a Monon gondola by Tyco, dating from the Mantua period, meaning that it had a metal base and metal trucks, but the guy wanted $5, and the car was not pristine enough for my high standards.  Anyway, the experience proved the old adage:  Some days you need to go out and buy things for the layout, and other days you need to stay home and work on the layout.  

Edited November 12, 2022 by Teasing the Korean

[Brad]

Train shows are fun. I went to one a couple of years ago down in Edison. Not only was the hall big but it was packed. 

[Teasing the Korean]

9 minutes ago, Brad said:

Train shows are fun. I went to one a couple of years ago down in Edison. Not only was the hall big but it was packed. 

Agree in general, but today's was a bust.  There's one in a few weeks.  I plan to check that one out also.

[Teasing the Korean]

Chuck, you missed a great show yesterday.  Lots of O gauge.  As you know, I'm an HO guy.  I really cleaned up; there was a dealer who didn't know what he had.  The major scores included:

• Tyco red-box-era PRR light-up caboose, still in box, looks unused, $5.
• Mantua Western Maryland derrick kit in box, small detail parts still sealed in plastic bag, $10.  (On the rare occasion that one of these shows up on eBay, it goes for at least $50.)
• Varney Aerotrain dummy locomotive kit in box, unbuilt, $10. I would have paid $10 just for the box, with that gorgeous illustration.

 

 

[Brad]

The World in Miniature: A Model Train (and Plane) Lover’s Paradise in Hamburg