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Yes, We do use DCC for switch control. We also very easily can have multiple control panels. Once a Switch is set up for DCC control it is easy to make another control panel and it only requires one small six wire cable to connect it.   We use NCE Mini-Panels Mounted directly to the control panel and stationary decoders at the switches. This eliminates a great deal of wire and diode matrices. It also allows flexibility in changing the switch routing. To use the  DCS System requires all of the above wiring to have a control panel to throw switches.  On a layout with a large number of switches and possible routes it is very difficult to quickly scroll through the switch menu on the handheld Remote.  John Doty

Regarding the question about why we use two control systems, to me it's very simple (John may have a more complex answer for you).  A DCS Controller controls many things, but it can do them only one at a time.  Therefore your DCS Train may well arrive at the Switch Matrix you desire well before you've been able to type in the name of the Switch Matrix that you desire.  A button on your control panel track plan takes care of the problem.  This is a variation on the quandary presented to a DCS Hand-Held Operator when he has three trains approaching the same junction at the same time:  Problem, you can only talk to one train at a time.  It's kind of Un-American to just push the Panic Button.  isn't it.

Clarke

Delia has carved and scenic-ed the edges. The fascia is up (minus the little doors which are finished but not installed). Note how the pine shines between the painted top and bottom with its four finish coats. The signals are signaling as they should. The street lights are lit and the buildings glow from within. Even the Smoke House is doing its thing: smoking! I'll show you the town lit up on Monday. It was ready to photograph. I wasn't.

Barbfront with edge finishedleft front cornerright front cornerMill on the river closer upsmoke house smokingsmoke house smokingvegetable stand lit up

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Images (6)
  • front with edge finished
  • left front corner
  • right front corner
  • Mill on the river
  • Smoke House smoking
  • Vegetable Stand lit up

Details. Details. Details. Here are some 'peopled' scenes (which is what I do) plus a look at how the 'little doors' , which provide access to the track through the fascia, work. They attach with velcro thereby eliminating the need for hinges and keeping the surface look sleek except for the knobs.  Next time I check in I'll concentrate on showing you trains.

Barbscene with people-1scene with people-2scene with people-3scene with people-4scene with peope-5fascia with 'little doors' in'little door' in placehow the 'little doors' workopening the 'little door'

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Images (9)
  • scene with people-1
  • scene with people-2
  • scene with people-3
  • scene with people-4
  • scene with peope-5
  • fascia with 'little doors' in
  • 'little door' in place
  • how the 'little doors' work
  • opening the 'little door'

Yesterday was our day to do a photo shoot on the Quechee Gorge Layout. Clarke and Fletcher did roughs for a video for u-tube and our website. That won't be ready right away but I did a series of stills and a 'teaser' video which I'll happily share with you.The "from above" pics were shot by Roy who went up in the Genie Lift to get the angle. This view won't ever be available to photograph after the layout is delivered to its home in Vermont because the client's ceiling height won't allow for 'above' shots.

Barb

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Images (11)
  • Quechee Gorge Layout left end view
  • Quechee Gorge Layout from front left end
  • Quechee Gorge Layout long view from left end
  • Quechee Layout center left view
  • Quechee Layout leftfacing view of whole front
  • Quechee Gorge Layout, right end mountain
  • Quechee Layout view from right end
  • Quechee Gorge Layout from right end-rear
  • Quechee Layout view of whole layout from above
  • Quechee Layout view from above
  • Quechee Layout view from above-2
Videos (1)
video of trains over Quechee Gorge bridges MVI_0059

There are always those 'little' details...like 'will the client's trains run?' We know the layout works so we asked the client to send us ALL of his engines (we know the cars will clear) for John to check out, not on a test track, but on the layout itself. So here they are. What a fine collection: such regional consistency. (Remember this layout is going home to Vermont.)And a side note: with Quechee Gorge heading for Vermont shortly, and the Family Heritage Lionel Layout well underway, we're past the planning stage and into building a new large "O" layout: the Allegheny & Pacific Railway for a client in Pennsylvania. (I'll start a thread on that one within a week.) But that leaves the Studio with room to design and start building one more large or two smaller layouts still this year. Anyone who's interested in having us build your dream layout, please get in touch with Clarke.

Barbthe client's colorful enginesa Vermont statementthose New England trains!

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Images (3)
  • our client's colorful engines
  • a Vermont statement
  • those New England trains!

Actually, we're already in the "mock-up" stage for the new Allegheny & Pacific layout.  There will be a city made up of fifty Dept. 56 buildings climbing the "foothills" of a large mountain range.  Delia and I have already gotten the ceramic buildings up on top of a full size printout of the city area and are building up the "mountainside" in full scale mock-up dimension (which I must say is already getting pretty close to the "real" thing).  This is a great way to approach an idea that has been formulated in 2-D and to give it a "shove" into 3-D.  We'll post this process as soon a Barb gets the new "Allegheny and Pacific" thread set up.  Which will be soon.    Clarke

Also, I noticed that Barb mentioned what's coming up in the future here at Dunham Studios.  She didn't mention that one of the projects takes us "all the way down" to Z-Scale.  And it's huge for Z-Scale--6 X 11 feet.  That's a plantation of a layout in O-Scale!  We originally did this layout some many years ago (back in the days of pencil draftings), and we'd nearly forgotten about it, though it would come up in conversations now and then.  It's long enough ago that it can actually benefit from the passage of time.  When we built it, "American" rolling stock was in still someone's imagination.  Now it's real, as is Digital Control.  So the challenge is to to take a Euro-Centric layout and Americanize it, Modernize it, and Digitize it.  Should be fun.   And because of the tiny physical size of this layout project, it will allow us to add another full-size project here in the near future.  Any takers?      Clarke

In reply to "Horse Shoe Curve's" question about the Allegheny and Pacific RR. the answer is, no.  It's an "Amalgam-of-O-Gauge, I'll run what I like" kind of layout, but will be a ton of fun, I think.  Our new client provided us with a very well thought-out trackplan to which we have added some Dunham Studios twists, mostly in the alignment of its Accessories and some additional  Dunham Studios "story telling".  But if you want to see a really gorgeous pure PRR Layout, try our layout at the Altoona Railroader's Memorial Museum, right in the huge Altoona Yards below your favorite Horse Shoe Curve.  Clarke

CBQer posted:

Our railroad museum in Sioux City has one of his early layouts in HO scale that was built in 1991 for a gentleman in Omaha. go to www.milwaukeerailroadshops.org. Yes, it still is running and really in pretty good condition as it runs 6 days a week. You can also see the Great Northern steamer 1355 on the web site.

Dick

I live in Sioux City and have seen this layout many times.  As my son and I have begun o gauge railroading I've often looked to this layout for what could be even though it is an ho.  I love Mr. Dunham's comments about the art of model railroading and the momentary suspension of belief.  I recently took a few pictures of this layout as inspiration for a future attempt at building mountains on our own layout.  Thank you for this thread and the inspiration.  I took these pictures of the Dunham studios layout in Sioux City a couple of weeks ago.IMG_0039IMG_0040

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Images (2)
  • IMG_0039
  • IMG_0040

I took close to 100 pictures of the disassembly and load out yesterday of the Quechee Gorge Layout, which today is being assembled at the home of our client in Vermont. I culled the lot but it still took me several hours to set up on the Dunham Studios facebook site. I had to post the photos in four parts as facebook wouldn't take them all as a whole entry. Take a look at my four Dunham Studios facebook posts if you'd like to see them now. I'll post an abbreviated number here on the Forum in the next few days. Clarke's taking pictures at the load-in and we'll post some of those as well.

Here are a fair number of my load-out pictures: to see even more, go to Dunham Studios facebook . But these give you a good feel for how a load-out of a good-sized layout proceeds. The whole Dunham Studios gang was hard at work on this one but you won't see shots of of what was going on under the layout where the multitude of wires that go to the tracks, signals, turnouts, animations, street and building lights had to be disconnected.

BarbIMG_0307 Fletcher going over plans for load-out[2)IMG_0309 Roy removing little town[4)IMG_0310[Delia getting buildings from Roy [5)IMG_0311Roy & Fletch remove cyce [6)IMG_0313John removes mountain top [7)IMG_0314Roy removes front of mountain [8)IMG_0319 left side mountain top is raised [13)IMG_0320Delia & John carry left mountain top[14)IMG_0321Left side mountain is off [15)IMG_0326hollow where right side mountain was [19)IMG_0327hollow where left side mountain was [20)IMG_0332packing fascia piece-3 [25)IMG_0333Tom & Fletch check track bridge before removing [26)IMG_0343Fletch removing track from bridge [33)IMG_0352Roy & Fletch remove track bridge [39)IMG_0354Mike lifts out a section of track[41)IMG_0356 Tom detatching circle of track [43)IMG_0358separation between sections [45)IMG_0360placing layout section on horses [47)IMG_0360placing layout section on horses [47)IMG_0368first piece on load bars [54)IMG_0370 Tom loosens bolts on base [55)IMG_0372Roy carries out under-layout control panel [57)IMG_0373 Mike packing client's engines [58)IMG_0374Fletcher separating layout sections [59)IMG_0375Delia separates layout sections [60)IMG_0378Roy lifting out separated section [63)IMG_0380 second piece in truck [65)IMG_0384center section of layout goes into truck [68)IMG_0385layout piece is put on floor of truck [69)IMG_0386 separating trestle section of layout [70)IMG_0389left rear section sits free on base [72)IMG_0391Delia cuts through river to free end piece [73)IMG_0392Roy continues lostening right end piece [74)IMG_0395right end is separated [76)IMG_0396large bridge section is lifted out [77)IMG_0398bridge section is carried to truck [78)IMG_0410layout piece is raised onto load bars [85)IMG_0412 trestle section stands alone [86)IMG_0413Delia cuts fascia away from trestle section[87)IMG_0414trestle to the truck [88)IMG_0417more pieces into the truck [90)IMG_0418Fletch moves forest against wall [91)

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Images (42)
  • IMG_0307 Fletcher going over plans for load-out(2)
  • IMG_0309 Roy removing little town(4)
  • IMG_0310(Delia getting buildings from Roy (5)
  • IMG_0311Roy & Fletch remove cyce (6)
  • IMG_0313John removes mountain top (7)
  • IMG_0314Roy removes front of mountain (8)
  • IMG_0319 left side mountain top is raised (13)
  • IMG_0320Delia & John carry left mountain top(14)
  • IMG_0321Left side mountain is off (15)
  • IMG_0326hollow where right side mountain was (19)
  • IMG_0327hollow where left side mountain was (20)
  • IMG_0332packing fascia piece-3 (25)
  • IMG_0333Tom & Fletch check track bridge before removing (26)
  • IMG_0343Fletch removing track from bridge (33)
  • IMG_0352Roy & Fletch remove track bridge (39)
  • IMG_0354Mike lifts out a section of track(41)
  • IMG_0356 Tom detatching circle of track (43)
  • IMG_0358separation between sections (45)
  • IMG_0360placing layout section on horses (47)
  • IMG_0368first piece on load bars (54)
  • IMG_0370 Tom loosens bolts on base (55)
  • IMG_0372Roy carries out under-layout control panel (57)
  • IMG_0373 Mike packing client's engines (58)
  • IMG_0374Fletcher separating layout sections (59)
  • IMG_0375Delia separates layout sections (60)
  • IMG_0378Roy lifting out separated section (63)
  • IMG_0380 second piece in truck (65)
  • IMG_0384center section of layout goes into truck (68)
  • IMG_0385layout piece is put on floor of truck (69)
  • IMG_0386 separating trestle section of layout (70)
  • IMG_0389left rear section sits free on base (72)
  • IMG_0391Delia cuts through river to free end piece (73)
  • IMG_0392Roy continues lostening right end piece (74)
  • IMG_0395right end is separated (76)
  • IMG_0396large bridge section is lifted out (77)
  • IMG_0398bridge section is carried to truck (78)
  • IMG_0410layout piece is raised onto load bars (85)
  • IMG_0412 trestle section stands alone (86)
  • IMG_0413Delia cuts fascia away from trestle section(87)
  • IMG_0414trestle to the truck (88)
  • IMG_0417more pieces into the truck (90)
  • IMG_0418Fletch moves forest against wall (91)
Last edited by Dunham Studios

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