An Interested Son - Another Model Railroad
Fast forward a few years and our son developed an interest in trains, doublestacks, and Santa Fe and Amtrak passenger trains in particular. As neither of those fit very well on a model of a California narrow gauge railroad, it was time to build another model railroad! Work on the NCNG went on hold while we built a 5'x9' HO scale model railroad, the Martinez & Truckee, suspended from the garage ceiling (which allowed the Firebird to still park underneath). And so we started our foray back to HO standard gauge mainline model railroading.
We had a lot of fun with this railroad, and in 2004 it hosted my son's Cub Scout Den for a Model Achievement Den meeting where each of the Scouts were able to build a plastic freight car kit and get their hands dirty building scenery.
Why Start a Consulting Business?
Along the way, helping other model railroaders and promoting the hobby has been an ongoing interest. With new entrants to the hobby as well as new technologies like DCC, the demand for help has grown. Casually helping people with DCC or locomotive issues at the local hobby shop led to the suggestion turn an informal endeavor into a model railroad consulting practice.
So that brings us up to present day with the model railroad(s) currently under construction and the start of Dave's Model Railroad Consulting! What's missing are all the great train chasing trips over the years. But that's a future web page!
The College Years - Still Time for Chasing Trains and Meeting a Lifelong Friend
A sojourn at UC Berkeley interrupted my model railroading career. However the interest in trains remained strong. A couple of summers were spent at a summer job in Fresno where I met a fellow employee who also was a railfan. That led to more than a few trips to Tehachapi chasing the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe, SP 4449 during the Bicentennial year, as well as a lifelong friendship with numerous trips together since.
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Embracing DCC, Rekindling an Old Flame, and a Significant Change
Experience with the Martinez and Truckee resulted in several significant outcomes:
- Originally wired for analog direct current Cab Control to allow for two operators, a conversion to Digital Command Control as a test bed for the NCNG model railroad proved that DCC was far better operationally offering unfettered travel around the railroad without having to worry about block limits. DCC, particularly on a small model railroad with multiple operators, was clearly the way to go. And the wiring could be simplified a lot. A later conversion from tethered to wireless throttles just reinforced that conclusion.
- I realized I missed modeling those mainline Southern Pacific trains that I had spent so many years chasing! Yes, a narrow gauger can still have fond memories of a set of SP diesels grinding their way upgrade or an ALCo S-6 switching Fresno yard.
Taking the two together resulted in a significant decision - rebuild the two-level NCNG model railroad in the train room into a reduced scope single level design keeping part of the upper level, and add a SP themed HO scale model railroad underneath. At the time benchwork was 75% complete and trackwork was well underway. But it was the right thing to do. Back to the drawing board (actually computer this time around) to write a set of design criteria and then design the new model railroads. In 2008 demolition of the existing benchwork started and construction of the new railroads began.
An Introduction to Model Railroading Club Style and Taking the Plunge into On3
Out of college and working in the early 1980s, I joined a local HO scale model railroad club. While I worked on the standard gauge too, I ended up spending most of my effort working with the other narrow gaugers working on the railroad. One of the gang had ridden the Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge and decided to take the plunge into On3 (O scale narrow gauge).
When he started building a model railroad at his home, that became our new "model railroad club." I was now firmly on the O scale narrow gauge path. Thirty years later, and even though he has moved twice and is now in another State, parts of that model railroad still exist incorporated into a newer railroad. And we still get together as a group once a year.
One by one we all caught the On3 bug too, but for different railroads. For me, reading Gerald Best's book on the Nevada County Narrow Gauge (NCNG) and seeing an On3 model of NCNG #5 in the hobby shop provided the push to make the change. The NCNG seemed like the perfect narrow gauge railroad, a common carrier in California's Gold Country, close enough to visit the area, great looking equipment, and it interchanged with my old friend the Southern Pacific.
A 1.5'x6' module resulted with hand-laid track and the rail spiked to each tie. The rest of the gang also built modules, and we got together for occasional operating sessions with all of the modules.
Engaged + House = Train Room (and Other Stuff Too)
Fast forward a few years to 1991 and I was going to be getting married and was looking for a house. We found the perfect opportunity as the model home had an almost two story tall garage and was only about a mile from where I was living. Needless to say, a little work with the builder (also a Cal grad), resulted in the second story being boosted up 18", the roof pitch flattened to maintain the same roof height, and a 23'x23' combination darkroom and train room blossomed above the garage. Finally, enough room to build a great NCNG model railroad!
It turns out that moving into a new home with no landscaping means you spend a few years doing a lot of yard work and building decks and retaining walls! Along the way our son was born in 1996. However planning for the NCNG proceeded and plans for a two-level model railroad resulted. Construction started in earnest in 1998 when I took a short break between jobs.
With the new Shay, it was time to build my second model railroad, an L-shaped 3'x6' railroad above my desk. From a small yard at the base, you went up a couple of switchbacks past a log loading and mine tipple to arrive at upper town with a couple of Campbell kits. Working in narrow gauge then meant that you built pretty much everything kits. So building each car was a journey in itself.
Dave's Model Railroad Consulting
Helping model railroaders achieve their vision
Grad School - Space For A New Model Railroad
Staying at Berkeley for grad school in a studio apartment with no roommates meant I had space to build a 2'x4' HOn3 module. This railroad contained a small yard with a couple of industries (the Campbell kits with some new additions). Most importantly, I applied what I'd learned what and what not to do from the first railroad. Later, a second 3'x4' module with a reverse loop and mining scene was built so the trains had somewhere to go. The two modules were connected by a scratchbuilt Rio Grande Southern trestle based on drawings in the NMRA Bulletin.
HO Narrow Gauge - My Start in Scale Model Railroading
When I attended Church Camp in 1970, one of the activities was a day hike to the nearby Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad and a ride behind their ex-Westside Lumber Company #10 3' narrow gauge Shay locomotive. I got bit by the narrow gauge and geared locomotive bugs, which led to the decision to switch to scale model railroading. Savings from my paper route turned into a deposit for a HO scale 3' narrow gauge PFM Benson Shay, and sale of my Lionel model railroad took care of the rest. (Years later, I would recreate the Lionel train set through the magic of eBay.)
Lionel - A Great Way to Start!
My interest trains started with seeing the Southern Pacific trains paralleling Highway 99 on our monthly family trips to my grandparent's farm south of Fresno. I believe that, coupled with being given a wooden train and track set (think pre-Brio) along with Legos and an Erector Set, cemented my interest in things mechanical. No doubt that set the stage for my later engineering career working on a variety of power plants.
My model railroading career started in the mid-1960s when I discovered a Lionel train set that had come with the house that my parents purchased. That led to my first model railroad, a loop of track with a passing siding and some spurs. While it might be a little crude by today's standards, it provided many hours of fun switching the Baby Ruth boxcar and flatcar.