My high school is a one hundred year old building just waiting to be modeled.  In my layout i am going to pretty much make a scale model of our main street area.  There is a double track mainline and at the back of the layout on a slight hill will be the high school.  I am building a scale model using everything i got, i have taken scale measurements and i am using google earth aswell to give me a top view perspective. I have never built a model from scratch before. Any tips?

Also in the back almost as a tribute i am putting my marching band out on the field.  I am a big of fan of my trumpet as trains so i want to combine them.  I have my drill charts from which i am accurately going to place the figures. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this kind of a set up.  Does anybody know of any companies that make the figures or should i hand paint them nd make little instruments. If it helps our band has around 120 people.

Thanks in advance,
      NYCgirl

For Christmas, i recieved a New York Central Niagara and a bunch of track to add to my layout. i put the niagara on a long straight tht is seperate from the layout(DC) and turned on my controller.  The tender's light turned on, but the rest of the locomotive wont turn on its lights or move at all.  I am currently using bachmann easy track. All of the track connections look secure.
I tried my little prairie and it ran for a couple of minutes, but after tht only the smoke and lights worked.  Am i messing up the track wiring?
any help or tips to getting it to run would be greatly appreciated

Every year i set up my 20 year old lionel PRR 4-4-2 engine, and matching Broadway Limited cars around the tree.  We have porcelain houses that are put on top of the baby grand we have in our living roon.  This year i am setting up an HO layout around the houses. 
There are quite a bit of buildings and one large station.  We use a snow "blanket".  The track i am going to use is bachmann extrack so that the snow is away from the track and doesnt get into any points.
I have a 2-6-2 prairie and a variety of short cars, plus a dummy big boy that i am going to set up, the big boy is a kit and therefore track radius is not a problem. 
I was curious to see if anyone had any good track plans or if a circle would be best.  Also is there any tips for the snow as to keep it out of the tracks?
(Any radius that a small 2-6-2 prairie and 40ft boxcars can handle is fine)

i cant believe they built this loco
its gorgeous and now i have a desire to go to the UK to see this thing in action!!




if they can build this they can build a niagara or J3a hudson

i think that servicing and running a steam locomotive would be a perfect idea for the show dirty jobs on discovery channel

what are your thoughts

i am trying to get the idea out there so if you agree log on to http://www.discoverychannel.com and head to the dirty jobs
if we annoy them with enough posts we might get our wish and knowing the show they might get all of us train fans a look on how they run our favorite steam locomotives such as...

UP Challenger
UP FEF
Sante Fe's 4-8-4

please help

does anyone know of any manufacters that have these:

4-4-6-4 PRR crestline loco

OR A


6-4-4-6

in HO i love these locomotives especially the 4-4-6-4 even though i model the New York Central i want one

does anyone know any good track plans for the following spaces

5 by 8
5 by 9
5 by 10

that can accomidate locomotives with centepide tenders and as large as a big boy

what are the possibilities of bachmann making hudsons and possibly streamlined hudsons
and if not who manufactuers these in ho scale

im fairly new to the hobby but always a dieheart nyc and up fan.  Im building an engine shed 24 by 20 in which i believe should give me room for 8 tracks and length clearance for big boys and challengers.  My layout is a freelanced and fictional junction of the union pacific and new york central.

also needed is suggestions on the switches i should use dividing the tracks to the engine shed that can accomadate the big boys, challengers, and niagaras with their tenders