A little Europe

Here's a short movie of my layout from its "Version 1" days...back when I had just a single door layout. Some aspects are relatively unchanged, others are unrecognizable! I am currently working on "Version 2.1", which will increase the size of the downtown area, add a lot more lighting, and add a large, stub-end passenger station. These things are all waiting for the end of summer...and the start of 'train season'! :-)

Thalys and Steam!

Hard to believe that its been almost two weeks since my last post! I've been preoccupied with my lighting installation and building construction work that I referred to several posts ago. In between painting and soldering, I've also been running the trains and attempting to capture some 'dramatic' shots of the layout. My goal is to replicate the 'magic' that I saw in the beautiful photos that first captivated me in the 2003 Minitrix catalog!

So whilst carefully avoiding photos of areas of the layout currently under 'renovation', and with a little bit of 'photoshop' magic, here's a couple of photos of the layout from a 'close in' perspective. The above photo obviously shows some harried commuters/passengers on the Kato suburban station platform. Perhaps they are excited to have excited from their Swiss Class 450 Zurich S-Bahn to find themselves at a Japanese suburban station with two German steam locomotives across the platform?!

Below is the Kato Thalys, going through an admittedly fantasy like 'rock cut' (there's not a whole lot of mountains between Amsterdam and Paris as I recall!) as it departs a siding and enters the main line.

Finally, another view of the 'steam meet' between the German Class 44 and Class 3 steam locomotives.

Morning on the Layout: Kof II idling in the yard.

Sunshine is streaming in through the windows this morning and I was able to get this photo of the little Minitrix Kof II locomotive sitting in the yard.

The one thing that sticks out to me in this photo are the shiny rails and the 'unballasted' Unitrack in the foreground. If model railroading is therapy, I have years of solace awaiting ahead!

Locomotive Roster: DB Class 323 (KoF II); Minitrix 12544

This is a TINY locomotive, it looks a lot larger in the photos and video than it is in real life! That the folks at Minitrix were able to not only fit the more, lights, but a DCC decoder into this little engine!

Of course, all of the meticulous engineering in the world cannot overcome one of the physical realities that a light, two-axle locomotive is challenged with...and that is that it really needs clean track and has no tolerance for non-powered switch frogs! Fortunately, I have all 'powered frogs' on my layout and the little engine worked marvelously with the Kato Unitrack. Ironically, I originally had a very small loop with Minitrix switches and Atlas flex track, but due to this engines absolute intolerance to run on this track (it would stall everytime it reached the non-powered frog of the Minitrix switch), I ended up replacing all of the track with Unitrack!



The LED's are not very bright, but I suppose that is the 'cost' one pays of attempting to put any sort of light in such a small space. This is minor, the big thing that I would be careful about for any potential operator is the question of how well, or not, this light, two axle locomotive will do on your track.
I am keeping this review short, as I feel like the photo and video (which is also short!) say it all! So for a very small locomotive, a very small review!

Locomotive Roster: DB Class 221; Minitrix 11120 (Set)

I've already mentioned that this locomotive (and its companion Class 03) in the Minitrix "Super Starter Digital Set" are good runners. It is, in my opinion, a good locomotive for the money (although if you're buying one of those larger starter sets, it really pays to shop around. Most websites were asking US $950 or so for this set, but I found a site where it was going for US $700). Trix (and other German manufacturers) all offer the same or similar versions of this locomotive, so I am sure there are better quality versions (and higher prices?) and plentiful supplies wherever you look!

As a modeller, in my mind, this locomotive is similar to the classic EMD F units in the States, if not in appearance, at least in terms of fondness of memory for German (and other) railfans.

I don't have any 'cons' with this locomotive. Its been a very consistent, reliable running engine, with great traction. Most of this is plastic (as compared to more premium versions that are more die-cast), it does not have LED lights, but it did come equipped with a decoder already installed.

I think that's all I have to say about this engine, enjoy the photos!

Locomotive Roster: DB V100; Fleischmann 8-7230

And now time to look at one of the Fleischmann models on the layout. I actually was thinking of posting some more layout pictures since I haven't really focused specifically on that since I laid the track down and completed most of the wiring connections, but I think that sharing my photos of these locomotives on the current layout - while also giving a 'user's opinion' of them-is a decent way to 'kill two birds with one stone'.



On to this post's model....this is a model of a DB V100 with a pre-installed digital decoder, giving it the '8' prefix in Fleischmann's catalog. The detailing on this, like many of the newer models from Minitrix and Fleischmann (don't know about Roco, but I assume this is true) feature a higher level of detail than past versions of these locomotives. I would go so far as to say if you did not know the scale in the photos, you could assume they were HO (except for those classic Rapido stype couplers! Which I don't mind saying that I love for their simplicity and functionality, but I know many people despise them). In fact, before I acquired this locomotive, I had a low impression of Fleischmann quality, which was probably influenced by seeing a lot of Fleischmann HO stuff in the states in the 70's that was never really taken care of (e.g. it was usually in boxes of 'junk' at swap meets). I was very young at the time, but that association sort of stayed in the back of my mind. I am glad to see that it was not true....or at least, is not true today. The locomotive has proven very durable and has even survived a fall from the layout to the floor (which has a thin carpeting material over the concrete....not much protection for the dreaded dropped loco!!!).



Impressions:
Pros:
- Its digital operation from the decoder was flawless from the start. Right out of the box, never had a problem with the programming or operation with either a LokBoss or the Trix Mobile Station.
- Detailing. As mentioned above, it looks great, the headlights have the appropriate amount of brightness.
- Motor: Not the strongest locomotive by any means, but a solid motor, although I find it does work better after having 'warmed up' a bit.
- Insensistive: This locomotive seamingly retains solid electrical contact through virtually all conditions. One of the more reliable operators on the layout.

Cons:
- None to speak of. I've owned it for about 6 months, and no issues. Let's hope that continues!

Locomotive Roster: DB Class 44; Minitrix 12449

This is my most recent addition to my growing N Gauge roster, the Minitrix 12449, which is an oil-fired steam locomotive known, apparantly, in Germany as the Class 44, but better known in the US as a 2-10-0 configuration.

The features of this model are that it already comes with a DCC chip installed with Sound! I posted a video of the locomotive in action:


My impressions:
PROS:

- Sound is not only remarkable for this scale and this locomotive, but Marklin/Minitrix went the extra step with this model to give it 'smart sound', in that it will automatically make sounds and change over time as it sits idle, or will reduce / stop the 'chugging' sound as it coasts. Really well done.
- Operation so far has been excellent, although I've only run it for a couple of hours. The real test will be how it works in a year or two from now...
- Detail/construction: The detailing looks very nice as well. Additionally, the body is die-cast metal, so it is hefty and solid and feels like a quality item that can pull a long string of hoppers!

CONS:

- Really, its the price, but you get what you pay for.
I've barely had this locomotive running for a week, so still far too early to know if there is any issue to be surprised with as it ages. I expect to report back if my opinion of this item changes, but given the apparent quality and price tag of this item, my expectations at this point are quite high.

My first insipration and first purchase

What inspired me to make the switch from O Gauge was the Trix 2003 catalog. Somehow, a copy was given to me at the Toy Train Shop in Oakland California back in the Summer of 2003. This was still while is the middle of my "O Gauge' days, but I was also somewhat disillusioned with the hobby at that gauge for a couple of reasons. The scale is just too large, while its fun to hold and run these large locomotives and cars, building a layout and acquiring new equipment were very expensive. I also was not sure what railroad' line to model, and I did know that the space requirements for O Gauge were always going to be something of a challenge.

So seeing the Minitrix 2003 catalog triggered something in me. For one, my dad had built for me a small N Scale layout back in the mid-70's that counts as my first 'read' model train experience. So there was quite a bit of nostalgia in this scale for me. I also recall the Minitrix brand from those days. Needless to say, being exposed to the brand again after nearly 30 years brought a lot of excitement and joy to a hobby that, for me, was starting to become a burden. N Scale, and Minitrix, I thought, would one day be in my future.

We moved from the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, etc...) to the Seattle area, where I build one more O Gauge layout in the 3rd stall of our three car garage (sealing it off with its own wall from the rest of the garage to make it a true 'room' rather than a garage space. This layout was a project and nearly complete, when in the Spring of 2007 it had to come pending a move (that never actually happened). Tearing down the O Scale layout was a mixed blessing, its sad to see something that you put so much work into get torn down, but I know that I could now 'start over' in model railroading with N Scale.

I put nearly all of my O Scale collection on eBay, and was able to use the money I made from these sales to start my N Scale / Minitrix era!!!

What was my first purchase? This nicely packaged set: The Minitrix Trix Systems Era IV Super Starter Set with 2 Trains and a Large Oval of Track (11120).

Why this one? For one, it came with a DCC system (the trix Mobile Station) which would help me make the direct leap into DCC without too much trouble, and I knew that I wanted digital control after having great success with in the O Gauge scales. A set is always a great way to get the ball rolling, and I like the combination of the diesel and the steam engine.