christmastrains posted:steam rules posted:For me, simplest quick excitement upgrade SWITCHES! they really add to the complexity of running trains, which adds to the interest. One or two straight tracks for a siding where extra rolling stock can be stored waiting for pick-up, or a curve or two for a passing siding. Two switches will connect the two loops of a figure eight which changes the train's direction of travel without increasing the size of the current layout.
Thanks, great idea. I was actually looking into these last night. But aren't switches like $50-80 *each*? Just seems crazy expensive - here I though the FasTrack was pricey enough as it is!
We also have a few extra track pieces right now I think with the Figure 8 layout, so maybe I could even just buy 1 manual switch (so my 5 year old doesn't break the remote, etc.) and then just a bumper piece for the end? Where would I insert the switch in my current Figure 8 layout? Sorry I'm a newb.
Manual switches are cheaper but it is still a lot of coin flowing out at one time for only being used for a short time during the year. I had trouble justifying the expense with my wife. Also, I got kicked out from under the tree but we have a spare room for storage and kids' use in the basement I got permission to take over so that worked to my benefit. In a previous year, got a couple of folding picnic tables and kicked the car out of the garage for a month. Like you I was looking to do something more interesting than an oval or the figure 8. I balked at the price on switches and trestles. Instead I built my own trestle using Legos and other blocks for the piers and cheap but sturdy edge wainscot plank paneling from Lowe's to support the track everywhere. This allowed for a lot of flexibility in tinkering with the layout and adjusting. Once the skeleton support was in place, I added white foam I had saved from packaging over the year and covered it all with the white cottony rolls you see at the hardware stores and other places around Christmas. Not the most spectacular but it worked well this year and it was definitely a lot more interesting to run the trains on it than the flat oval or figure 8.
Nect year I am looking to add a couple of manual switches and set up some reversing loops.
Pictures attached of what I did this year.
Alex
