Though my "home layout" is only a length of track on shelf in my office, it will eventually be a fictitious small-town in West Virginia - 1920s. 
It comes spent just about every summer during the 60s and 70s around Wheeling, Pittsburgh, Romney, Harper's Ferry, Elizabeth.  Add in plenty of hiking/biking along the Appalachian Trail and C&O Canal, and I'm a big WM, and B&O and PRR fan.  Relatives worked for the C&O down around Clifton Forge.
So the locale comes from childhood, but I like the 20s because railroads were at the top of their game then.

The club I belong to in Denver is early 50s Colorado, so it's a similar and different.

Waaaaay back in the 80s  the army didn't pay much, so I had to resort to using coffee cans, insides of old radios, plastic pipe and other things on my layout.  I even used a .50 caliber training round painted white with decals from an airplane kit as a missile "display" in my town park. 
As far as the old days, i was recently looking at a Model Railroader from 1990 (a mere 20 years ago) and was struck by how many mail-order ads there were, as well as the fact that it was mostly black-and-white.

Bummer.  Hope you try again.

Quote from: trainsrock on April 26, 2010, 10:16:33 PM

Please feel free to post your negative, positive or whatever type of comments you have about my railfanning photos or my model railroad work...

Cody

Love the in-cab shots!  That must have been fun.
When I was young the Chessie System parked an old Alco on a siding near my house and didn't lock the cab.  We, of course, climbed in and imagined we were engineers.  I have some similar shots from that day, but being the 70s, they aren't digital. Maybe I can scan 'em...

That's interesting, Jonathan.  I'm a fan of all the Chessie System lines, and I am considering creating a town for my (future) layout which the B&O and C&O both serve.  It will probably be set in southwestern WVA, where the two came fairly close together, I think.  If I make it the town up, but use the real railroads, I will have a lot more freedom to play around with facts!

Quote from: pdlethbridge on April 08, 2010, 09:26:10 PM
The B&O had some strange designs. I have a photo of a mallet that has 3 tender trucks. Go figure.

I recall reading in one of Charles Roberts' books that they used this configuration on more than a few tenders, but this is the first time I've actually seen it.  Didn't the Pennsy have a tender with more wheels behind the T-1?

Quote from: pdlethbridge on April 06, 2010, 09:19:46 PM
and this one
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo905s.jpg

I love how the tender is sloped to provide more visibility in switching moves, and then that is rendered completely useless by the extended coal bunker!

That was fascinating!  Even though I am "working" , I couldn't take my eyes off it.  The total lack of any traffic etiquette was amazing.  Thanks so much for sharing.

"...Stuff happens and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it..."
Wrong.  Vote out those who use fear and "continual war" as tools for their political gain.  Vote in those who will hopefully win/end it.

"...a small section of society will seek to...disrupt what we see as 'a normal life'. So normal has to change..."
I don't agree.  I'm not much for surrendering, and I see that as surrender.

"...Better than risking an attack? Definitely..."
No.  If you really are afraid of an attack, and truly want to stop any chance, just shut down the railroads.  That would be effective.  The BS this kid suffered is not.  Just another kid who may grow up to distrust authority and ignore, amidst the noise, the many real threats we face.

Thanks to excessive fear and paranoia, we railfans have ended up on the front lines of the fight for keeping America from becoming just another police state.  I worked in Dubai, and there was no crime to speak of there.  However, they put people in jail for kissing.  Police states are very secure, I would rather be very free.  I will film to my heart's content.  Including filming and reporting anyone doing things that are actually suspicious.  We can help the railroads and the nation much more than the few security guards out there.

An 0-8-0, preferably USRA.  i loves me those big, burly switchers.

ABC -
Not to worry - I was calling myself an idiot, just not that idiot!  
And believe me, money is usually very much an object, but this was a reward to myself for a large commission check.  My wife, who I work with, got a new outfit as her reward.  
Also, 02/02/10 was one year since I quit smoking, and I saved over $1,800 last year by not smoking.  That's found money!

As far as ePay, I save plenty of money on 42-yeear-old car parts there, but I never have even looked at model trains.  The last time I modeled, there wasn't even an internet yet!

Quote from: ABC on March 03, 2010, 12:31:49 PM
My point is that if you take 3 to 4 weeks and check ebay and other online dealers, you will be able to find a Bachmann 2-8-0 with DCC for $30 or less guaranteed. Whereas, the 2-8-0 with sound starts at about $150....What I am getting at is that any idiot that looks long enough...can get a 2-8-0 for $20 to $30, all it takes is patience and the ability to be awake at 3 or 4 in the morning.

My point is that if I had waited 3-4 weeks, i never would have gotten back into the hobby.  It was an impulse buy at a train show, and I'm glad I did it.  As a hobby, it is supposed to be fun, and bringing that home and playing with it that night was worth every penny.  I am restoring a 1968 Plymouth, so I know the ins/outs benefits/detriments of ePay very well, and I know exactly what I can afford.  I've never found bargain hunting for the sake of bargain hunting enjoyable.
I suppose "any idiot" could do that, but I'm not that idiot.  And if you notice the posting time, I was awake at 0300-0400 this morning... 

I was going to mention the Red Roof in Deerfield, as well. (Waukegan Rd & Deerfield Rd).  Very close to the Metra station.  If he does have a car, go north a few miles to Lake Forest and check out the lakeside mansions and the beach.

Quote from: jlg759 on December 27, 2009, 11:10:34 PM
I just received a new Spectrum 2-8-0 and I am having a problem with the tender lifting off the track...The drawbar does not seem to be going down all the way...

I purchased mine very recently and had the same problem.  The connection was "catching" before it went all the way.  Some gentle wiggling/pushing solved it.

Quote from: ABC on January 24, 2010, 05:58:53 PM
The sound version costs over twice as much as the DCC only version. The MSRP for the DCC only version is $139.00, the MSRP for the DCC and sound version is $318.00...

Ah, but Wal-Mart and eBay have taught us never to pay MSRP!  I got the sound-equipped version for $189 and I think the sound is worth the $50.  I'm just getting back into the hobby after 20 years and so never had sound before.  I love it!