Hi Everyone, I'm new here and am very Green to the habit.... but I've been bit and big time! As most here, I have always had a love for trains since my father bought me a Tyco set 6 months before I was born (because as he told my mother a boy needs a Train Set!). Well... now 36 years later I dusted off (sanded and buffed off) the grime of those old snap tracks and headed to the hobby shop to by traction tires for my Chattanooga (actually lived there for a while and got to hang out on the real thing). Christmas was coming and by God I was going to have a train set under the tree this year. My wife happily agreed, she's good that one. 
So now Christmas is over and with money in my pocket and my first REAL Engine purchased I am chomping at the bit and slaving over the digital oven, as it were, attempting to forge my first railroad!
Now some here may get put off by my ideas as I am a bit of maverick in everything I do. I have been reading over a years worth of back issues of Modern Railroder and skimming through the forums for the past month and I see a bit of a pattern.... ie. lots of 1950's to 1980's era so that a little of everything can plausibly be run.... well I want to break that mold a bit.
I'm a sci-fi fan and I have a vision (don't we all!). The year is 2065. War broke out 50 years ago. A violent and devastating war. Cities were crumbled. Infrastructure destroyed. Population and resources dwindled. Gone were the Planes and Ships as well as most of the people who could man them. Gone were the Automobile factories. Whole pockets of the earth radiated beyond life sustaining capabilities. Enter the railroads.... the unsung... undestroyed... unaffected travel, transport, and lifeline to those that survived. Steam museum relics were pulled back into service as coal and water were two easy resources to come by and the Old Diesels are slowly starting to be put back into service as a local Oil Refinery was just made operational. The place is somewhere in the plains of what's left of the US. Capitol City a thriving mini metropolis that only the very rich can afford. Below it.... deep under the beautiful walled city lives the heart of the city's rail lines. Capital City Railroad (C.C.R. and yes I get the band reference it's intended. ) a conglomeration of any and all rail equipment that could be scavenged from now defunct companies. Deep under the city several miles underground where the coal and oil resources are at easy reach and the solid stone above the vast cavern undercutting the city has kept the radiation at low enough levels that humans can "survive".
This is where this portion of the layout lives... in the underbelly, the cavernous deep. Later up the helix several layers the above ground city and landscape will be built.
Phew.... I can honestly say that's the first time I actually fully fleshed out the details of the back story of my railroad. Sorry for the long read... My posts aren't usually that in depth. I'm looking for feedback and thoughts so far. I'm sure I'm making some big mistakes and there are probably a few things in there that some veteran's will be scratching their heads over. My yard is the biggest concern I think I have at the moment. Even after reading over the Do's and Don'ts of yards.
There is an east and west bound as labeled which will later head up the helix and return as west and east bound accordingly.
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So now Christmas is over and with money in my pocket and my first REAL Engine purchased I am chomping at the bit and slaving over the digital oven, as it were, attempting to forge my first railroad!Now some here may get put off by my ideas as I am a bit of maverick in everything I do. I have been reading over a years worth of back issues of Modern Railroder and skimming through the forums for the past month and I see a bit of a pattern.... ie. lots of 1950's to 1980's era so that a little of everything can plausibly be run.... well I want to break that mold a bit.
I'm a sci-fi fan and I have a vision (don't we all!). The year is 2065. War broke out 50 years ago. A violent and devastating war. Cities were crumbled. Infrastructure destroyed. Population and resources dwindled. Gone were the Planes and Ships as well as most of the people who could man them. Gone were the Automobile factories. Whole pockets of the earth radiated beyond life sustaining capabilities. Enter the railroads.... the unsung... undestroyed... unaffected travel, transport, and lifeline to those that survived. Steam museum relics were pulled back into service as coal and water were two easy resources to come by and the Old Diesels are slowly starting to be put back into service as a local Oil Refinery was just made operational. The place is somewhere in the plains of what's left of the US. Capitol City a thriving mini metropolis that only the very rich can afford. Below it.... deep under the beautiful walled city lives the heart of the city's rail lines. Capital City Railroad (C.C.R. and yes I get the band reference it's intended.
) a conglomeration of any and all rail equipment that could be scavenged from now defunct companies. Deep under the city several miles underground where the coal and oil resources are at easy reach and the solid stone above the vast cavern undercutting the city has kept the radiation at low enough levels that humans can "survive". This is where this portion of the layout lives... in the underbelly, the cavernous deep. Later up the helix several layers the above ground city and landscape will be built.
Phew.... I can honestly say that's the first time I actually fully fleshed out the details of the back story of my railroad. Sorry for the long read... My posts aren't usually that in depth. I'm looking for feedback and thoughts so far. I'm sure I'm making some big mistakes and there are probably a few things in there that some veteran's will be scratching their heads over. My yard is the biggest concern I think I have at the moment. Even after reading over the Do's and Don'ts of yards.
There is an east and west bound as labeled which will later head up the helix and return as west and east bound accordingly.
