Great!

That's what it's all about...having fun, especially with your children.

Outstanding!

That's terrific!  Nice to see you including them early on.  Our two were the same ages and genders as yours around the time I started work on the layout, but I took way too long to get something running.  By the time I could hand them a throttle, they'd both moved on to other interests, and are now in college.

We've got a similar benchwork support or two where the kids signed and dated their work.  Great memories.  Thanks for sharing this with us.

Great to see!

Getting the kids involved is simply fantastic.  Kudos to you for letting them run all out at the end.

Congratulations!

A huge achievement in so little time, Marc!

Pembroke versus Hudson Bay

Rene,

I think we should also add a race between our respective railways since we both seem to post within (sometimes) minutes or a few hours of each other.  I have the added incentive of actually having something operable before this Saturday.  A bit of chainsaw carpentry has been involved, I suspect I may redo a couple of sections once the tour is over. 

You have the advantage of a smaller overall layout plan, I have the "advantage" of going RTR with track and switches.  Who'll finish first?

Get em' started young

While I have no kids of my own, I've been working over my 2 yr. old nephew.  Despite the efforts of his plane loving, pilot Daddy, Lil' Bennett is becoming "strong in the ways of the train" So much so that my Brother says that; if   they drive anywhere near my place with Benny he jumps up in his car car seat and asks ""Ungca"  Rick... Trains?

I'll chalk that up as one for our team ; )

I hope he keeps his love of  trains, I know I'll do anything I can to nurture it.

Well done. "mesimpson"

Who'll finish first

Okay, you're on.  But, what is the finish line?

I think you're already done compared to me: my goal is to have all the track on the visible part of the layout except the engine facility operating by end of year, and you appear to have trains running already.  All track, including staging and engine facilities is supposed to be operational by June 2014.

After that, I need to build some engines before I can have formal operating sessions.  I have only one right now.

VERY COOL!!!

My ops sessions have so far included me and my 6 and 8 year old daughters.....glad to see them enjoying the hobby!

define "finish"

I still have the majority of the first level track to complete (only got about 25 feet down so far), most complex trackage in the smelter remains to be finished.  Then I have the second level to finish, then the helix to connect the two, etc etc.  I think it will be a tight race myself.

The finish line

Okay, how about this: the first one invited over for a full operating session has to bring the beer.

define "full operating session"

Rene, I think your Brio floor setup with your daughter met this goal

nice progress btw Marc!  see you at Trains

md

you're on

We'll waive the rule about drinking on the job for that first ops session.  We have a comfortable guest bed if required.. 

Very Nice to See

Wonderful to see the children operating the trains.  Thanks for the post.  Very nice raiload on the go.  Hope to see more posts of the progress.

Finished?

  From what I have heard for years and from my own experience a layout is never done.              Dan loosely modeling the LWV and DL&W     

Awesome Op Session.

Its wonderful to see your children running the layout with you.  Mine are all grown and moved out to places of their own.  I do have an 8 yr old grandson who visits and likes to play trains with grandpa though.  Its a great hobby to share with them, isn't it?

8 year olds and trains....

I have found signs of my 8 year old playing with my trains when I am not there....and she lies about it. As I told my wife, I don't mind that she does, I just wish that she was honest about it!

2 year old operator

The 2 year old asked to run some trains yesterday when the older kids were away so dad happily obliged.  Happily tooted the horn and rang the bell, but he did require some close supervision as the throttle would occasionally get turned up to 99.  Nothing derailed so another track test was passed. 

Classic

That smile says it all!  Awesome photo, and great job as a dad being so involved with your kids.

nice!

I love to look on his face....2 days ago, my 8 year old asked me for a green loco...I might have a BN or a BNSF loco lost on the SP soon.....

Outstanding!

That is my smile for the day.

Awesome

Awesome, just plain awesome. Playing with Dad, doesn't get any better.

Really nice to see kids.....

...........holding a throttle instead of a "Game Boy"!  You are a lucky parent.  I'm curious about something in the second picture.  Have you made a sandwich of wood, foam and wood/homasote for your roadbed?  If so, how does it work for sound deadening?

Thank you.  Great Parents make Great Kids!!

Peter

sandwich recipe

It is indeed a sandwich of sorts, plywood, Woodland Scenics foam and Donnacona board on the top.  We don't have Homasote in this part of the world so Donnacona is the closest thing I could find.  Several other layouts in the area have used this material with good results. 

Honestly I have not noticed any difference with respect to noise, But I generally run slow, the prototype had a top speed in the 25-35mph range.  We have done some high speed runs for the kids and it is a bit louder but nothing unbearable. 

I'll be using cork roadbed for the non-yard areas elsewhere as I'm not that happy with the Donnacona strips for roadbed.  I'll use it in the yards where I have broad areas with trackage.