OR, maybe the person who came in and asked the question/asked for help is not a proficient computer or internet user and has no idea that they could, or should, search through older posts for an answer to a question. Maybe they should be treated with kindness. maybe answer their question if you can, and then politely inform them that "Hey, by the way, if you have any other questions you can search the forums in this manner for past threads on your topic and you might be able to find a faster answer/solution that way.". 

I've sent you a private message "raveoned".

I guess private messaging is disabled.   

WOW! That was way more detailed than I ever could have expected. I did forget to mention about the green baggage car. I bought that last year. I'll check the details see exactly which set this is. Either way thank you very much for the info.

Hi all,

I've got a large scale set I bought maybe 6 or 7 years ago (something like that). I don't have the original box any longer but need help identifying this as a Bachmann set, or not. I think it is, but can not find anything about this exact set doing a Google search. My question is, is it a Bachmann set? I think it is. It's got Virginia & Truckee livery.

Pictures below.

I do believe that get's 'er done sir. Thank you for the time to find your notes and post your findings here.  I think I'm now ready to make the move to order track. I am considering NOT adding the docks and boats to the end that is on the one built by The Bac-Mann. I am thinking of taking an approach where I will easily be able to add to that section should I want to expand my layout in the future. Anyway, I feel way more confident now about what I need to order and in what quantities.

Mr. Bach-Man,

Would you please chime in if at all possible on what you remember the radius of E-Z Track used on the lower level inner loop segment, closest to the docs? I still don't have a 100% clear understanding if it is 18 degree radius at that juncture. I thought you said that you used 22 degrees for the outer loop on the lower level, and 18 degree radius on the inner loop. I'm really trying to be as precises as I can when ordering my track, but mainly want to make sure I don't come up short and that I order the proper track. DO you think you used 15 degree radius on the top level with the smaller loop for Thomas? And maybe 18 degree outer and 15 degree inner for the middle level?

Thanks for any help you can give. Now that my son and daughter know we are going to be doing this project they are bugging me every day about it.

You're "board" - or "bored"? 

Sweet. Great info. I happen to be able to get my hands on a lot of spare ethernet cable as well. I'm in good with our IT guy. 

I will make sure all my polarity is correct before running any locos.

I will not be using any 15 degree radius for the lower layout, as I know it's the wrong size (even if I asked it earlier). The locos that will go there can't use it. I'll figure out what I did wrong on my planning and the inner loop will have 18 degree.

All my track will be level, so hopefully no turn our issues. Have decided DC - no DCC. And will certainly be using Nickel Silver track.

BTW Jonathan.. saw Toy Story 3 this weekend as well. My son turned 4 the week prior and we did his birthday party at our local theater and watched that movie. Not very fun though when you have a party like that and have to pay for every kid that shows up.. 15 kids at $12.xx a pop.. good grief!  That being said everyone had a great time and the movie was great. What a great ending to a movie series, even it was only a trilogy.

Thanks for the feeder wire info, that will certainly help a lot. The feeder wire(s), that's obviously what comes from the transformer.. right? If so, do you just run one long wire and attach the feeder wires to that? (Or, one wire per rail +/- I should say) What minimum gauge wire should the feeder wire be?

Next question, about the EZ Track.. I've seen where people say that the EZ Track turn outs are unreliable and have frequent problems. Is this correct? Am I going to need to worry about frequent derailing or power problems with them?

As for them being simple ovals, with the likely-hood of becoming boring.. yes, I agree. BUT, this layout is not for me.. it's for my kids. And like I said in my previous post, the fact that they can run their own trains on the same layout is a huge deal for me. And, this is hopefully going to be a real big family involved project. I'm greatly excited about the fact that I will be working on it WITH my kids, and wife hopefully. With that said, it very well may not be picture perfect, which is OK by me.

I'm still trying to figure out the correct track diameter size to use on the lower level inner loop closest to the dock. For some reason I just can't make the 18 radius work. Maybe it's 15 radius?

Thanks, I'm definitely going with the Nickel Silver. Everything I've read leads me to that direction.

I think I'll just go the DC route for now and make sure I get enough feeder wires. How far apart should they be, every 24" - 36" or so? I do think I have enough transformers to run the 5 loops, I have two that have dual controls on them and the one that came with the Thomas & Clarabel set I bought my son (that got this Sodor Island thing started). That doesn't leave me any poser for the turn outs and other stuff, so I'll need at least one more. This make sense. Oh, and I don't plan on messing with my Varney Dockside engine (except adding some knuckle couples). It's actually in very good shape.

Thank you.. very easy to understand that. So, does it require me to alter my plans to use Nickel Silver Easy Track for this layout? And are there any special considerations I need to take ahead of time concerning layout? I plan to only run one consist at a time on each line. I plan to pretty much only run Thomas stuff (which I will put the DCC decoders in as I get them). The sounds and lights and all really interest me, but no running multiple trains on one line and stuff like that.

What extra will DCC offer that I'm not getting with DC? Also, does it require special track, or just a train with a decoder and DCC power pack?

BTW - thanks again for all the suggestions and help. Was going to go purchase my foam today and get cracking, but my lawnmower broke and I had to have a new one. So...  

---> Mr. Bach-Man, I see you have 22 outer and 18 inner on the lower level for the Sodor layout. That's what I have used in my RTS layout, but for some reason the 18s are meeting properly on the end closest to the dock. It's like there isn't enough room to fit them.

I've got images of my track layout for each level now and they are below. Thanks again for all your help, really!

---> Jonathan, I looked through your thread where you refurbed your Varney (right?) engine, I have that exact same engine.. I just realized that today.

Lower Level Picture


Middle Level Picture


Upper Level Picture

Right on Cyber.. sounds like a real good plan. Thanks a ton for the foam info. I'm hoping to head out tomorrow and pick some up. I'll add your email address and we can definitely keep up with each others progress.

Thanks for your response OldTImer.

It will help a lot to know what to ask for when I go find the foam pieces.

The question I'm going to ask here is only because I am a rookie, so don't take it as a wise-crack. But, I agree that it's very complicated from a layering and scenic standpoint (which my plan it to go REAL slow and build it 1 layer at a time), but the lower layer for example looks to simply be an outer oval with some turn outs that dead-end that runs on it's own power. And then an inner oval that has no turn outs that runs on it's own power.. and then the same for each layer above. Is it not that simple? That's one of the main reasons I'm attracted to it, because each track can be run independent of each other so my kids won't fight over who gets to run the train. So what you're saying is that with it being multi-leveled that's where you believe I'm getting in over my head? What if I cut it down to just 2 levels, you think that would help to cut down on my stress level any?

Thanks for the feedback and please keep it coming. Also, I do really need someone to help me figure out my lower level track layout issue? :/

Thank you for the reply. I'll try and get the files posted somewhere so I can link to them, but I'm good with emailing them to someone too.

I thought about posting this in the Thomas Section, but it really is more of general questions/help needed (it is for the Sodor layout, but all questions I think are pretty generic  in nature) type thing so I was hoping this was the appropriate place.