# Newbie to this forum...



## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Hello all! Ive been involved with o gauge trains for a couple years now, but new to this forum. I started with a 4x8 table which is growing a little bit at a time. Below the table is my sons ho layout and Im learning as I go in O gauge up top. Im excited to be a part of this forum as I know I'll learn a lot! Heres a couple pics of our humble layout.

-Nick


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2015)

Welcome Nick to the MTF forum!


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Not humble at all!!! Great start. O27 profile track ( I'm a fan ). Scenery, roads, and an interesting track plan. You and your son have got it going. I like the Garage(?), junker cars and what appears to be a gas station in front. Take a close up and let us see that. 

Your success will be in asking questions, posting pictures and checking in regularly. Don't be bashful, there are no bad questions. HAHA Pictures show us what you are talking about. Go to the main forum area of this site and look at the fifth header down - Forum News, Updates and Help. Scroll down and there is a very good explanation of how to make your pictures post live and not as an attachment.

Have fun and you'll soon make friends here.


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Thanks for your kind words and advice!


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## Chris Lonero (Sep 13, 2015)

Welcome to the Forum Nick!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Wood said:


> I like the Garage(?), junker cars and what appears to be a gas station in front. *Take a close up *and let us see that.


Welcome to the site Nick, I see more room where the desk is.

Mr Wood, It looks to be a house?
If you want, do you know that you can zoom in by using your key board?

Open the picture, then hold the control key and while holding it hit the plus key, you can magnify the picture as much as you want. Zoom right in on any part of it.
After your done just hold the control and the hit the minus key to come back down to normal size.

You can do this at anytime not only on a picture.
Try it, hold the control key, then tap the minus or plus key. The screen will get larger or smaller.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Chris Lonero said:


> Welcome to the Forum Nick!


Chris, do you see my new avatar?
I like that. 
I waited long enough for you to add it as an avatar, now I stole it.:smokin:

If you want to use it for an avatar instead of a signature I could sell it back to you. 
How much will you pay for Lenny?


It is easy.
If you want go into your CP, click CP (up top where you added Lenny to your signature)
On the left you will see avatar. click
Click use custom avater, load Lenny there.
Then click save changes.
*DON'T FORGET TO CLICK SAVE.*


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Welcome! The more the merrier.


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## BradF (Jul 23, 2015)

Welcome Nick, I am rather new here myself. That looks like a fun train room.

Brad


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Looks great, I like the hand painted coke sign on the wall good use of space, especially further ho layout!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Welcome to the forum Nick, I can see the bug got you. The benchwork just seems to grow over time.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2015)

Welcome Nick! You found the best Forum in the O-Gauge world and I am sure you will learn a lot form the members. We have the best of the best (LOL). 

Anything we can do to help you, just ask. I really like your layout, very nice.

The tower shown in the first photo, can you provide the details?


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## MOVL (Aug 23, 2015)

Welcome to the Model Train Forum, Nick! You and your son have a nice layout.


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Here are some better pics:









































































Mod edit: Inserted pictures in-line.


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Still working on posting pics in a way thats easier to see from the main post.


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## WildcatRR (Jul 28, 2013)

*Welcome*

Welcome Nick. This forum is the "Vault of Knowledge" so feel free to use what others have learned and expand your layout. Members here are the best in our hobby.


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> Welcome Nick! You found the best Forum in the O-Gauge world and I am sure you will learn a lot form the members. We have the best of the best (LOL).
> 
> Anything we can do to help you, just ask. I really like your layout, very nice.
> 
> The tower shown in the first photo, can you provide the details?



Do you mean the water tower in the back or the clock tower in the foreground? The water tower is just a re-purposed beacon tower with a fruit can on top, but the clock tower is a coin bank from Spokane Expo '74. The real tower is in Spokane and is a G.N.R.R. Depot Tower from 1901.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Cool Nick! After you download the photos, when you get back to your post , click on the paperclip icon and hit insert all, this should put the pictures directly in the thread. You can edit and try it


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Nice job on the pictures. Now get that avatar back.... Big Ed is a free service of the forum. He knows a ton about how the forum works.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Wood said:


> Nice job on the pictures. Now get that avatar back.... Big Ed is a free service of the forum. He knows a ton about how the forum works.


That is Chris Lonero's Lenny, but he never entered it into his avatar.

I sent him a PM ransom note, I am a nice guy I will sell it back to him.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Wood, just don't leave anything train related unattended around big ed, thats how he grows his collection


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Nick R. said:


> Still working on posting pics in a way thats easier to see from the main post.


A copy and paste of what I do,

What I do to post a picture,
1,When your typing your thread, look up top & click on the paper clip.

2,That opens a box then click browse.

3,That will open another box find your picture where ever it is in your computer. (say downloads,camera,files wherever your picture is.)
When you find the picture click on it then click open, it will then be in your box where you clicked browse.

4, Then click upload, wait to make sure it uploads. The minimize that upload box.

5, After it uploads go back to your post box where you are typing and click the paper clip again and click insert attachments. 
(if you forget to go back your pictures will just show as a clickable link instead of a picture in the post. Go back and click the paper clip again after you upload and click insert all or if you only have one picture click on the link there a second time.)
Note, if the picture won't upload most likely it is too big.

Your picture should be in the thread.


Go in advanced mode when you post, if you can't see the paper clip I am talking about let me know you will have to change something in your CP an easy fix.



All you need to do is go back to the post where the pictures are and click edit,
then advanced edit.
then look up top and click on the paper clip,
then click whatever shows.
If you only have one picture it will just be a link click on it.
more then one picture will say insert all click on it.
All your pictures will show as pictures.

Every time you upload a picture *after it uploads go back and click the paper clip a second time then click whatever shows.*
It inserts the pictures as pictures instead of a link.

We only have 48 hours to edit, if you miss that ask a mod to insert them for you.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2015)

Nick, the structure in the second photo on the left foreground.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

sjm9911 said:


> Wood, just don't leave anything train related unattended around big ed, thats how he grows his collection


You like my new avatar?
I am going to change the L to an E.:thumbsup:


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I got to use the other computers paint, it is a better program then this computers.:thumbsup:


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## Agent027 (Sep 7, 2015)

Nick, nice layout and thanks for posting your pics. There are far more layouts like yours than one would believe by reading the various train forums. It's too easy to make comparisons to some of the real nice layouts one can see and assume "well, no one's going to want to see my layout." Wrong! So thanks.

I'm surprised that big C&NW loco in your first couple shots clear the 027 switch housing. Same for what looks to be the Harry Potter passenger cars.

Well, I guess they must clear, but I personally prefer the smaller sized cars... like your other shot of the K-Line S-2 switcher (my favorite engine!)... they just look better to me on a smaller layout.

Guess I'm surprised too, your boy has the HO layout. Usually it's the kids that like the larger, more play oriented Lionel stuff.

Good thing it's still okay for us adults to be kids at heart and still enjoy a simple traditional train layout. :thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Looks like a train wreck in the making here, those trucks better get off the tracks!


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Looks like a train wreck in the making here, those trucks better get off the tracks!


Great junk yard!! You did a nice job filling in the track with gravel/marl. And, nice close-up photos just posted.


> Oh my humble layout


 This is very nice and clearly as you spend more time you will enhance your layout tremendously.



> agentO27 posted: I'm surprised that big C&NW loco in your first couple shots clear the 027 switch housing.


I am also surprised. Nick, FYI I also started with O27 curves and switches. As I grew I moved to O42 curves. It allowed for 90% of all equipment to pass the curves. I also changed my switches to Gargraves O42. They mate very nicely with O27 profile track. Also note the 3Rail Plastic ties.


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Agent027 said:


> Nick, nice layout and thanks for posting your pics. There are far more layouts like yours than one would believe by reading the various train forums. It's too easy to make comparisons to some of the real nice layouts one can see and assume "well, no one's going to want to see my layout." Wrong! So thanks.
> 
> I'm surprised that big C&NW loco in your first couple shots clear the 027 switch housing. Same for what looks to be the Harry Potter passenger cars.
> 
> ...



Yes, all the trains clear the switches, I got an incredible deal on the Harry Potter set and was happy that the cars make it through the switches but unfortunately the locomotive does not (O-36). It'll just have to wait for the Christmas layout when I use the fastrack I have.


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> Nick, the structure in the second photo on the left foreground.


That is the Clock tower coin bank, probably closer to HO in size, but a buddy found it at a flea market and picked it up for me for just a couple bucks. They sold them in 1974 when Spokane, WA hosted the World's Fair.


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Thanks for the help everyone!!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Funny Nick, I tried the Hogwarts Express on O31 track, and it was no go there either. The front pilot hit the cylinders. I even removed a little material and still couldn't get it around the O31 curves! 

Runs great on O72.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2015)

Thanks Nick for the information. Nice looking structure.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2015)

Department 56 Lionel Train Shop, one of my favorites.


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## J. S. Bach (Sep 20, 2015)

From another newbie, great pictures of a layout that actually does something. I really do like that clock tower; when I first saw it, I thought of the top of a building from about a hundred years ago.


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## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

Welcome to the forum great stuff cant wait to see more!


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

Welcome to the forum Nick. :smilie_daumenpos: great pictures. Thanks for sharing.


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2015)

*J.S. Bach, also a big welcome to the MTF.*

September has seen tremendous growth for this Forum. Let's keep it up!


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## bluecomet400 (Sep 13, 2015)

Welcome Nick!! Nice layout!!


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Thank you very much! Im very glad to be here!


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2015)

We are glad to have you here as well, Nick!


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I think I like the ho layout better lol, is that a batmobile down there?


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## Nick R. (Sep 19, 2015)

Yes! The Caped Crusader makes an occasional appearance on both layouts when needed...


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## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

Welcome Nick. There are quite a few newbies here.


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