Ray Dunakin's layout

Ray Dunakin lives in San Diego.

He was kind enough to share his layout with us after the 2008 NGRC.

He has a site with many (much better than I took) pictures of his layout. I've put a few here to whet your appetite. All I can tell you is that the pictures do not do justice to the real thing, it's great.

To start, here are 2 pictures to show the entire layout, he has a radical slope up behind his house:

Here's a closeup view of the lower left end, the layout is basically a long dogbone, folded back and forth as it zig zags up the hill.

Moving to the right, still on the lower level: (Ray and I tried to count all the bridges on the layout, we sort of lost count, but we agreed on about 22!

Here's the far right hand end of the layout, still at the lower levels:

Here's some more pictures from above:

(That's Ray in the hat and Ted Doskaris beyond him).

That's R.J. DeBerg, checking all track alignments!

Now, you have seen a lot of tunnels in the layout. Also, you have seen steps in the layout. Ray used crinkled aluminum foil to make the faces of the steps blend into the scenery better:

Notice the non-slip mat on the concrete step top? Good idea!, but what's this?

What are those metal loops? I wonder? Uh oh! Is he attacking? No, the two handles can hook into the holes, and lift the concrete cover off, and whammo, you have access to the tunnel below. Yep, Ray coordinated the steps with the tunnel hatches. Very cool.

Ray built all his bridges and trestles himself. We were noticing the nice detail on a trestle, and the more we looked, the more we appreciated the threaded bolts that held the trestle together, but they were too tiny to be real. Solution? Ray took a length of hex styrene, and sliced off the "heads", and then glued it to a type of finishing nail. You also notice the ridges on the nail that look like threads? He put this assembly through the wood. To make the "nut" he took a length of styrene tube, and sliced off lengths and pressed them on. Finally he trimmed the excess a bit past the "nut". It looks totally realistic and it was of inexpensive materials.

There's a lot more details all over his layout, but here's some details that just plain knocked my socks off. The minature agave and ocotillo  plants were so realistic that I just stared at them!

All I can say is wow and thanks Ray! 

Internet Forum Tips

Basic operation:

Internet forums have their own set of rules and conventions, and not all forum rules and operation are the same. Be sure to read the forum rules, and all the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) posts. When you first join a forum, your first impression often lasts with the memebers. Don't be branded foolish, discourteous, self-centered, or dumb!

Forums usually have more than one "section". These are usually called forums themselves. Each forum is normally intended for a particular topic. Common courtesy says to keep to the general topic.

Within each forum, there are "threads" or "topics". This is a string of "postings" or "posts" by individuals, normally in chronological order. When you add a "post" to a "thread", your's normally goes at the end.

Because of this, when you post, make sure that it's clear what you are talking about. If your comments refer to the last post, then it's pretty clear what you are talking about. But if your comments refer to a much earlier post, then make it clear what you are referring to, normally by quoting PART of the post you are referring to.

Bottom line, make it clear what you are referring to.

Many forums have a mechanism for you to receive an email if someone "adds" or "replies" to a thread you have been "on". Some forums have a way to get a "daily digest" of ALL posts on the entire forum. 

There's normally a "settings" or "preferences" section somewhere on the forum, and they are ALL DIFFERENT and normally confusing. If you are new, ask for help.

Etiquitte:

Follow some simple rules. Many people get "bigger" and "braver" behind a keyboard. Try to imagine that you are face to face with a group of people instead of typing in a keyboard.

Avoid swear words, poor sentence construction, or looking like a 13 year old typing a text message. Many people cannot spell well, and if you are one of them, use a Internet browser like Firefox that has a built in spell checker. Many people will be at the very least distracted by poor spelling.

A wise moderator once told me about "Socrates' three filters":

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.

One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Three Filter Test."

Three filter?"

That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the three filter test.

The first filter is TRUTH. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of GOODNESS. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

No, on the contrary..."

So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of USEFULNESS. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

No, not really."

Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

~Author Unknown~

Why did I put all that there? Because, like the "golden rule", if you follow that above alone, you will be head and shoulders ahead in posting etiquette.

Also, don't get into a fight with someone who wants to fight, remember "Never fight with a pig, you only get dirty and the pig loves it".

Egoless posting:

Don't post just for your ego:

• Don't post just to increase your post count. Many forums show your "count" by your name, and also give you "levels" based on your total post count.
• Don't post meaningless posts that have nothing to do with the topic.
• Don't post "yeah, me too" posts unless someone is doing a poll.

Posting pictures:

This seems to be the hardest thing for people to do.

First, every forum seems to have different options. 

Some forums have the ability to upload a picture from your computer, save it on their "server" and show it on the post.

But, by and large, you need to have the picture somewhere "on the internet" first. Your computer hard drive is NOT accessible from the Internet, so the picture needs to be "uploaded" somewhere, and somewhere designed to allow you to reference it from the Internet.

Many places on the Internet provide this service. When you get the picture where you want it, you will also get an "address" for it, known as a URL... it will look something like: http://kodak.photoworks/yourname/picture.jpg

Things that start with http:// are "addresses" or URLs to a "location" on the Internet.

Once you have accomplished this, you normally paste this "address" into your post. 

Phil lives in sunny Arizona. Sunny isn't the half of it, he's got some heat in the summer, and has had to work out expansion issues on the rails.

Here are some pictures, and I'll be posting a track plan soon.

(By the way, thanks Phil for keeping my house safe! Phil is a pilot and flew over my house with a load of fire retardant when we had bad fires in San Diego).

OK, so let's take a tour of Phil's layout. Phil's back yard is on the North side of the lot, so the back wall is North, the right hand is East, and the Left hand side is West.

This is a "virtual" tour, so just pretend you are following the track around as I narrate. 

This first picture is from the West end of the yard, looking almost due East.
Notice the location of the patio structure on the right.

This shot is still looking due East, but now you are further South, looking "through" that patio structure.
You can now see the Koi pond, and the tracks go from the raised area to a trestle.

We will start our tour from the loop in the Southeastern corner of the yard, right next to the wall.
This picture shows a diesel just starting North behind the tree trunk. This loop is 10 foot diameter:

This picture is looking back South along the East wall, near the Koi pond.
As you come North from the loop you come by the Koi pond.
You can see the loop at the very back of this picture.

As you continue North along the East wall, you pass the the Koi Pond, and meet the rest of the layout.
Most of the layout is raised  from the back yard with 3 courses of block wall.
You are on the raised trestle as you pass the Koi pond.

You are now headed to the Northeast corner of the yard.
You can see the trestle that meets the raised area on the right.

Here's a closeup, you are looking North, towards the NE corner of the yard, as you have just come by the Koi pond, and you are on the trestle.
You are on the right hand track as you heat North.
You can see the raised area just ahead.

You continue to travel to the Northeast corner of the yard.
You are nearest the wall, and will go behing the coaling towers and the two palm trees whose trunks you can see in the distance at the left rear of this picture.

You are now going to be headed West, coming "towards" the camera in this picture.
The main line is the third track out from the wall, there are 2 sidings here with coal cars on them.
You will pass by the station on the main line.

Here's a long shot of a train against the back wall, proceeding West.

Here's another shot looking West and at the back wall.
As we continue our tour, you go from right to left on the main line, near the back wall.
The track that goes over the bridge and viaduct is the main line returning.
The track in the foreground is a siding.

You're now getting close to the West end of the layout, where the track will loop back.
You are looking West in this picture, the main line stays near the wall.
The main line loops and returns, you can just see see it through the Ocotillo.
it's the track that goes to the left of the tan "bowl" and to the left of the Ocotillo in the forground.

Here you are at the very West end of the layout.
You can see that you passed the "bowl" in the far right, and have circled around the two palm trees in the left side.
Now the track comes back out close the the retaining wall and heads back East.
 

As you head back East, the train snakes along the retaining wall, past your old friend, the Sago palm in the "bowl", and the Ocotillo.

You are now coming to the narrowest part of the layout.
You can see the main line, the long sidings you passed before.
You can also see the end of the siding nearest the pool.
 

As you proceed East on the main line, the layout widens.
The Westbound main line is just visible on the left.
You, however,  are headed East, and will cross the Warren truss bridge and the viaduct.
The track on the right is the siding that jogs around the steps.

As you continue East, you return to the Northeast part of the layout.
Here you will rejoin the main line double track on the East wall, or
continue onto the long siding that curves back West, in the foreground.

Here's a view of that "intersection" from a different angle, looking South.
If you stay on the main line, you will take the curved track nearest the coaling tower.
This route will take you back to where you started, South to the koi pond and the first loop.
If you take the switch, you will take the track on the right, which is a long siding that turns back East.
 

If you decided to take the siding, you would be on the track in the foreground,
looping back around to head East.

Travelling East on the long siding, you see a couple of short sidings.
You pass the switch tower, and jog around the steps.

Here is a view of the siding from the West end, looking back.
It's a long siding

Thanks for the tour Phil!

R.J.'s layout pictures

Here are some pictures of R.J.'s layout. It is a long oval that runs east west.

Here we are starting at the Southwest corner, the track  has just  come around the shed and is heading  East. A passing siding begins near the signal bridge.

Now we have continued East to the end of the shed. The main line jogs to the right (South)

We are now East of the jog in the mainline, still headed due East.  The tracks in the foreground center are part of the inner loop. In the distance you can see the switchyard.

Here's a slightly different angle (the mainline is off to the right). This shows the new reversing connection from the inner loop to the Northern center of the main line. 

Here's a picture from the SouthWestern end of the layout, looking back at the way we just came. Notice the convenient viewing area complete with seating! (Where's the beer keg RJ?) 

Now after hitting the East end of the layout, the track turns back to the West. This picture is looking from South to North at about the middle of the layout, and you can also see the electronics cabinet. 

The track in the foreground is the main line. The first track behind the cabinet is the coal spur. The very furthest track is the trolley line. 

As we continue East, we come to the tracks that allow crossing over to the inner loop. This picture is looking back East, you can see the electronics cabinet at the right rear. 

And finally, continuing East, we come to the shed again, now on the North side. As the track passes the shed, it curves around South to complete our trip. Thanks RJ!