DriverD’s Trains of Thought…
#1 - Welcome to DriverDTrains.
Welcome to Driver D Trains. Thanks for stopping by! I’m your host Driver D. Joining us today is our conductor and brakeman, Scratchy-C. This is a channel about model trains, with a little bit of railfanning mixed in for good measure. I’ll be posting occasional updates with information about some of my own experiences in model railroading, both from the past, and what I am working on now. I’ll also post occasional videos about any cool trains I see during my travels.
For starters, I’ll be posting a number of videos that feature the D-Saver, my small 1‘ x 6‘ HO Scale switching puzzle layout that I built on a shelf using Atlas code 83 sectional track, along with a used Athearn Genesis Southern Pacific GP38-2, and some 20 year old rollingstock. It’s my version of John Allen’s Timesaver, which has been around for over 50 years, modified to fit my needs. Even though the D-Saver layout is tiny, it features Tsunami-2 sound decoders, DCC-EX running on an Arduino Mega, JMRI computer software, Wifi-Throttles running on my phone and tablet, and my custom designed switch-list generating puzzle app running in Microsoft Excel. So even though the layout is tiny, it’s good for hours of model railroad switching operations with each session, and no two are the same.
In future videos I will tell you about my inspiration for the layout, how and why I built it, how I designed it in Rail Modeler software and tested it, assembled and configured an Arduino base station and installed DCC-EX controller software, set up and used JMRI to decode, configure, and re-program my DCC locomotives, and set up wifi throttles on my phone and iPad. I’ll also take you on a tour of my custom-designed D-Saver switching app, and how I use it to create and keep a record of the switch lists for each operating session on the layout. I’ll also show you some of the things I learned along the way, mistakes I made, and challenges I overcame. Later I’ll show you how I paint and ballast the track, add some minimal scenery (think dirt; maybe some static grass), and print out a simple custom backdrop and some mock-ups for structures. Hopefully you will find something that you can use on your model railroad. Maybe even inspiration.
Finally, I'd like to highlight some of the model railroaders here on KZfaq that inspired me in my journey, and without knowing it encouraged me to create this channel. There are too many to name them all, and I’d miss some if I did, but I’ll try to highlight one or two from time to time. In no particular order here are the first three. I’ve included links to their channels here, and you can also find them in the channels section.
• Firstly, I’d like to mention Jimmy from the DIY & Digital, who has built so many different layouts during the last several years that I lost count, but who reminded me that our experience in model railroading, as in life, is about the journey, not the destination. Jimmy also opened my eyes to the possibilities of using Arduinos and DCC-EX on a small layout.
→ / @diydigitalrailroad
• Next I’d like to mention Rick and his helper Benjamin from SoCal Scale Models. On his channel almost daily, Rick showed me how much fun you can have on a layout performing switching operations on industrial leads, and the stories you can tell when your trains are the performers. Rick also made me realize that I could find happiness just listening to the sweet sounds of a noisy prime mover revving up, and steel wheels and brakes squealing on the rails.
→ / @socalscalemodels
• And lastly for today, I’d like to thank Joe Parker from the Pixel Depot. In several videos, Joe told me to stop procrastinating, get off my butt, and run some trains. A couch model railroader with a closet model railroad isn’t having much fun. Joe also explained through a series of videos how a layout diagram in a magazine inspired him to build his own small switching layout not much larger than what I had in mind. And Joe’s comment that he never likes to exactly copy someone else’s work helped me realize that I could design my layout however I wanted without having to apologize for not meeting someone else’s expectations.
→ / @thepixeldepotllc
Other KZfaq channels shown in this video:
→ Human[c]ity Junction: / @humancityjunction
→ Steves Trains: / @stevestrains
→ Late Night Model Railroad: / @joeybphotography
In my next video I will tell you a little about my past experiences in the model railroad hobby, and how I ended up designing and building the D-Saver. This is a work in progress so remember to subscribe to the channel, press the thumbs-up button to like the video, turn on notifications, and stay tuned for the next update.
As always, thank you to Mrs. DriverD for her love, encouragement, and support.
DriverD
April 2023