Richard, welcome to the

Richard, welcome to the forum. This is a fantastic place to learn and meet people. This is the friendliest forum I have ever experienced! 

I look forward to seeing some of your work...

Gary

Welcome back

Things have changed a bit in the hobby since you've been gone!

One layout that might be a reasonable challenge and work with your Shay very well would be the one being discussed here https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/my-first-love-with-layouts-12186951

I'd love to build that layout! Could be running locos quickly and spend a long time filling it out!

Welcome

Welcome Richard

We are glad to have you back in the hobby and here on the MRH forum.  I was out of modeling for over 25 years and am trying to get my first ever model rr started.  The members here have been very patient and have taught me just about everything.

BTW - I am from LA (lower Alabama - Mobile and Enterprise), but I live in southeast MIssouri now.  Glad to have you aboard.

HO logging

Here is a photo of my HO logging layout, it is very simple but can keep you occupied for a long time switching. It is operated by geared and articulated locos. It has not run for several years, but has done many exhibitions.

Mike Ruby

me, too

You have company, Richard. I'm age 73 and out of MRR since the mid-1960s, when I built some HO stuff -- remember Varney? Just getting back in by happening across an eight-pack of 2002 Railroad Model Craftsman magazines on eBay. Found MRH online and very much enjoy reading it. I have tremors and shaking hands, plus pretty bad vision, so I think I'm destined to be an armchair modeler but I do love trains. The B & O track ran 1 block below my grandma's house in Mars, PA (Butler County), and I'll never forget my Dad taking me to stand beside a B & O steam engine. Something like that will impress you for life.

Bill

Long Beach, CA

There are mountains in Alabama?

Hi Richard! We tease and cajole a lot here, but there is a lot of accumulated knowledge that can be tapped for general projects, or specific questions.

I live in Colorado, so I always give the Easterners a hard time when they talk about mountains.

Steam & Thunder in the Timber

Richard,

I'm 67 and have been away for a while too.  I'm going to model the logging portion of the North Pacific Coast RR which ran from Sausalito into the Redwood forests 100 miles north.  I'm modeling in ON30.  Bachmann has plenty of Spectrum engines available in that scale including a Shay and a Climax.  Backwoods Miniatures has a number of dress up kits for both engines.  ON30 runs on HO Scale track but the engines themselves are O Scale, a bit easier on old eyes.

If you are interested in logging railroad operations, locos, rolling stock etc., you might think about investing $100 (what I paid) in an out of print book by Michael Koch called "Steam & Thunder in the Timber" (c) 1979.  The book is just over 500 pages.  The first major section covers the history and evolution of logging railroads.  The second goes through the country region by region and covers many of the logging railroads by region.  Photos are black and white but there are a significant number of color plates of color paintings.  Koch was an interesting and very knowledgeable writer.  If you are interested in Shays, there must be at least 100 photos.

The copy I just picked up  cost me $100 for an author signed special edition.  Just Google the book title.  They are out there.

Tom

...

Richard, you may give On30 a good look over, you may find it to be ideal for your application.

Bachmann sells a shay you can find for around $100-$200 and the log cars run right around $20-$50 for three of them - that's Ebay, of course.