Sun 6 Jul 2008

Boxes! Digging out …

Posted by Daniel Swearingen under Layout Progress , Uncategorized
[6] comments / Leave a comment 

barn full of boxes

Last time I was Packing. Now we’re unpacking.

This long July 4th weekend has been mainly devoted to getting the whole dang house out of boxes. Fortunately we’re moving from a 1300 square foot condo apartment into a significantly larger house with a workshop/studio outbuilding in the back. Moving from smaller to bigger is almost always the happier direction.

My wife and I have a lot of books and I have my over 40 years of Model Railroader back issues (and all the Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazettes, and a bunch of other modeling magazines…). Incredibly the previous owner had the garage turned into an office/library with a loft full of bookcases.

upper deck of library

If the place had a 2000 sq. foot full basement with no obstructions it might be more perfect but this is northern California and full basements are not typically found until you go several states over.

In the mean time, I must get these boxes unpacked so I can use that studio!

barn full of boxes

Wish me luck! My son got lost somewhere back there this morning.

barn full of boxes

 

6 Responses to “Boxes! Digging out …”

  1. David Lyman Says:
    July 7th, 2008 at 9:29 am

    Nice space! Is it going to be devoted to a model railroad? That would be sweet!

  2. Daniel Swearingen Says:
    July 7th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    Hi David,

    Well, my 8×11 San Juan Central will certainly be part of the space. I think I really want to “finish” the layout so I’m going to resist (well, try to resist…) the temptation to sprawl.

    I’ll use the rest of the space for work shop areas and kid’s crafts classes I’m planning to teach.

    Dan

  3. Alan De Filippo Says:
    July 12th, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    Hello Dan,
    Found your web site while googling my favorite railroad model train memories from my early days in Model Railroading- Malcolm Furlow- and was happy to see that others have kept that railroad and concept alive.

    In the 50s and 60s my folks supported my hobby – and my room consisted of a bed and a 4 x 8 model railroad. College, and later a wife and kids, kept me from returning to my hobby until the mid 80′s when I had a bedroom devoted to a railroad with early command control with sound. A move again kept me from railroading until now – and I want to thank Bachmann and their line of On30 for bringing me back.
    I agree with you, that Furlow’s layout would be great in On30 and will also probably use that as a basis for a layout.

    I will follow your work – because we seem to share many interest.

    I spent many summers camping at Bodega Bay and always passing that stranded ship in the Bay – and always wondered about it’s history. I walked much of the NWP track and used to visit its old yard and listen to the old Railroaders in Eureka talk about bringing back passenger service.

    An old guy in McKenleyville gave me a tour of his Real Steam engines and told me of others stored outside of time – many old shays in various conditions. It will be fun to return to Model Railroading for the 3rd time and build that dream layout- this time in a 3 car garage.

    Thanks for letting me bend your ear – and I would enjoy hearing from you.

    Alan from Merced

  4. Daniel Swearingen Says:
    July 12th, 2008 at 5:52 pm

    Hi Alan,

    Thank you for writing. Bachmann’s products have really stimulated a wave of new and creative layout ideas and I’d love to hear how your project progresses.

    Be sure to check out the On30Conspiracy (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/On30conspiracy/) at Yahoo! Groups. It’s a great source of information, inspiration, and discussion about On30.

    Regards,
    Dan

  5. Duncan McRee Says:
    July 12th, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    Hi Dan,

    I have really enjoyed reading your blogs. The North Pacific Coast has always been a favorite railroad of mine as I grew up in Marin County on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais. I am currently modeling a layout based loosely on the Southern Pacific. In my version the SP starts in Sausalito, goes over the Sierras, across the desert to Ogden. I spent a lot of time over in Tiburon and rode the ferry from there many times.

    Duncan

    P.S. I put a link to your blog at my blog. http://www.tamvalleyrr.com/blog.html

  6. Daniel Swearingen Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 6:17 am

    Hi Duncan,

    I really liked your layout and photos. I’m just getting my workshop set up and I’ve been a bit nuts on eBay.

    Thanks,
    Dan