This weekend I setup my RailPro controller and 1 locomotive. Overall, I am very impressed with the Railpro system.

Installation was straight forward. Usage and configuration is super easy.

I have a few issues to figure out yet; mostly sound related things that don't make sense, but overall, setting this thing up has been a fine experience.

Messed up your Crossing Signal Towers? No worries, you can still use them!

By the looks of the tracks in the ditch on Friday, some poor truck driver ran down this signal bridge. The truck is long gone, but the tracks indicate a large excavator was used in the recovery.

Not unlike the like the BNSF Signal Upgrade, we'll call this "a scene you can model".

Last month I spoke about the car card and waybills used on the Kanunda and Emu Flat Railway. This month I hope to explain how I re-stage the layout between operating sessions.

The shelf I'm using I purchased at lowes. Pics of it in my first post, will post better ones when I get a chance. It's about 4 feet long and 10" deep. I covered the top with a piece of Gator foam. I save the foam from packages of items we buy now and again, comes in handy. From my measurements I found my shelf was about an inch too narrow so I added another strip of foam to the back, to make up for it.

I've finally succumbed to the lure of On30 ... you know, those 'toy trains' produced by Bachmann which are so cute, reasonably priced, and readily available.

With a locomotive on its way to my door, I need to build something to run it on ... you know, a model railroad layout.

After enjoying this site for over two years and learning a great deal from the many contributors, I have decided to start a blog to chronicle the construction of my prototype layout of the Iowa Interstate’s Milan branch. My hope is that by “going public” it will motivate me to keep progressing with the layout so that I actually have things to share. Nothing like a good dose of accountability to keep one from procrastinating, right? 

Below is the control installation for the crossover in my last post, with the control knob sticking out of the track diagram on the fascia:

So in a previous comment I had said that I based my layout on a version from " Small, Smart and Practical Track Plans" by Iain Rice I came across when researching this. it was based on a three shelf layout he had done.

So Here are a couple of pics from the book that I've based mine on with some modification.

This is my first layout, so being that I don't have a large amount of space I'm starting small.
I figure this way I'll be realizing some accomplishment with my work sooner than trying to attempt a large layout.
I've decided to go with a shelf switchng layout, after searching for information on small layouts.
So here are some pics on what I've done so far.

I need a few single crossovers like the one shown below. This post describes how I combine two Fast Tracks #6 N-scale switches into a single crossover.