DriverD’s Trains of Thought…
00:00 No.2 - A Model Railroader’s Journey
Welcome to Driver D trains. Thanks for stopping by! I’m your host Driver D. We’re joined again by our conductor and brakeman, Scratchy C. In our first video, I talked a bit about the model railroading hobby, and described some of my plans for this channel. I also mentioned that this channel features the D-Saver, the 1’ x 6’ switching puzzle layout I built on a shelf, that is my version of John Allen’s famous timesaver layout. I’ll get into more details about how I designed and operate the D-Saver in future videos but today I’d like to tell you a little about my experiences in model railroading, and the journey that brought me to this place.
[***Please see the transcript for the complete text of this episode.***]
01:17 Part 1: Childhood dreams…
My journey in model railroading began at the age of three when I received a Lionel steam locomotive freight train set for Christmas. I don’t know where my parents bought it, and whether it was an official Lionel set or one of the uncatalogued outfits the company produced for retailers. I imagine it was the latter, as Lionel was in the last days of its postwar era, it’s glory long past. But I still remember the smell of the burning smoke fluid, and waiting for those puffs of smoke to start rising from the stack.
06:05 Part 2: Out in the world…
I rediscovered my love of model trains after I moved away to college, when I walked into the local hardware store, and found a hobby store in the basement that was full of trains. I had never been into a hobby store that specialized in model trains before, and was awestruck by the floor to ceiling shelves packed full of Athearn Blue Box and Roundhouse kits, multiple varieties of track, and all kinds of scenery making materials.
09:15 Part 3: A birth and rebirth…
After a decade away from the hobby, it was time to return when my first son was born. So I returned to the hobby by retracing my steps backwards. First with LEGO trains, then an LGB garden scale set in the yard. Then HO scale trains, first set up first on the floor, and then on a 4’ by 6’ foam layout board.Finally, by the time my second son was born, with Lionel O-gauge trains, which still have the same smell of burning smoke fluid that I remember from when I was 3.
12:04 Part 4: Old is new again…
It started with space ships. Not being able to find timely news and information about rocketry and space flight on regular new sites, I turned to KZfaq in order to stay up to date. Shortly after that, I started paying more attention to the model railroading videos the KZfaq algorithm was sending my way. And I started thinking about getting some of my old trains out of storage from the closet. And so, after another decade away from the hobby, I was drawn back.
I decided that I would build my own version of a small switching puzzle layout, inspired by John Allen's Timesaver, with a bit of Inglenook mixed in, but sized and arranged to fit the small space I had in mind, and suitable for the modern 50 to 60-foot rolling stock, and four-axle GP switching locomotives, I already owned. The D-Saver was born!
In my next video I’ll take you through the various steps I took, and the tools I used to design the D-Saver layout. I’ll also introduce you to my custom designed D-Saver switching puzzle app, which I use to create and track the switch lists for the puzzles. In later videos I’ll show you how I control the layout and run my locomotives using DCC-EX, JMRI, and WiThrottle apps on my phone and tablet.
21:21 - Inspiration
Lastly, before I sign off, I’d like to highlight another one of the model railroaders here on KZfaq who inspired me to create this channel, Gregory from @Gregory’sModelTrains88. In 2017 Gregory made the difficult decision to tear down the model railroad that he had loved running for 9 years, to build a new and improved layout. Through a series of a dozen videos, Gregory documented on his channel how he spent the next three years tirelessly building the layout of his dreams. Gregory’s message that you can achieve your dreams through hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance when you set your mind to it, helped inspire me to create this channel.
22:55 - Credits
Other KZfaq channels featured in this video:
/ @ufishucamp
/ @blissfactor1
/ @boomerdioramas
/ @tracksidescenery
/ @johnsrrains
/ @poorfrank
/ @stevestrains
/ @joeybphotography
/ @humancityjunction
/ @dartsidescenics
/ @ducatifriedrich2910
/ @mike937739
/ @pacificcoastrailway
/ @dingo8my
also
NASASpaceflight
What about it!?
Starbase Pink
Bricksie
Thank you for the inspiration!
DriverD - May 2023