# My mighty empire revisited



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

My "new" camera (a 5 year old Olympus c-4000 zoom) arrived today, so while trying to learn how to use it I took some additional pics of my huge (!) layout. Please try not to laugh too hard.


 


www.catfish-hollow.com/layout.html


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## dawgnabbit (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks like you're having fun...with the camera AND the layout! Thanks. 
Dawg


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/laugh.gif


 
Seriously, it looks great. You can do alot with an indoor layout, that can't be realized outdoors. Take a look at these sites. 

http://carendt.com/index.html


http://carendt.com/scrapbook/page42/index.html


http://www.layoutdesigns.com/categories/size/micro/


http://www.thortrains.net/trackplan/Gmini1.html


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Mine is very much a simple garden railway moved indoors. If I could, I'd have real plants and real water...but that's kind of hard to do in an apartment without ticking off the landlord.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Mik, from one small layout guy to another, it looks fine to me, I'm certainly not laughing


Always remember what you can't make up for in size, you can make up for in details. Still lots of opportunites on your layout for details, you can never have enough details. Always kitbash some more small engines and rolling stock to run on it as well. Even small layouts are never really done.


Big outdoor layouts are over-rated, at least we never have to weed. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif


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## wmumpower (Jan 2, 2008)

Or shovel snow....../DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crying.gif


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Just a little dusting, from time to time..../DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, I've gotten a few more detail things...some 55 gallon drums, a gazebo, a few more lemax figures...then I thought, "why bother?"  since I'm going to have to tear the whole thing apart in a month or two anyway. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sad.gif

Here's a funny...the jerk downstairs told the landlord's secretary I was making too much noise again last Saturday night...except I was in room 105 at the Holiday Inn in York...I must have noise fairies. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif


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## Dean Whipple (Jan 2, 2008)

WOW...you sure have squeezed a lot of detail in a small place.....very nice....


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Mik why would you have to take it down, are you planning to move?


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

As I said in another thread, the jerk downstairs has harassed and complained about the last 5 tenants in this apartment for making too much noise to suit him...The only solution that the landlord can come up with is to move me to another place (a 3 BR townhouse, which will be nice) when one opens up.  Even if it IS just down the street, moving is STILL a royal PitA. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sad.gif


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Mik on 01/25/2008 4:21 PM
As I said in another thread, the jerk downstairs has harassed and complained about the last 5 tenants in this apartment for making too much noise to suit him...The only solution that the landlord can come up with is to move me to another place (a 3 BR townhouse, which will be nice) when one opens up.  Even if it IS just down the street, moving is STILL a royal PitA. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sad.gif


Ooooo... bad idea to move just down the street.  I did that once (the deaf snorer upstairs with the TV on ALL night while he snored drove me out) and I had problems with the utility companies and mail.

I stopped my phone service and utilities at the old address and transfered the phone to my new address and assumed the other utilities in my name.  Seemed to go well.

I got home (the new one) from work about a week later and my phone was dead.  I used a neighbor's phone to see what the problem was and was informed that my landlord had called and had it disconnected.  I quickly realized what had happened and asked the name of the landlord that had called and it was the one from the old property.  I explained what had happened and she said it would be taken care of.

The next day the phone was reconnected.  Wonderful, but the next bill included another charge for "connection of services"!  I called to protest that and could NOT convince that it was THEIR fault for disconnecting the service from the wrong address.  Their only comment was, "Well, do you want telephone service?  If you do, you have to pay to have it connected."

The Gas and the Electric companies were nicer about it.  But they had not managed to get the services shut off as quickly as the phone company did, so my call just removed my name from the work list.

The previous landlord would not help either.  "Hey, I always call to disconnect the previous tenant's utility services, if you have a problem with that, take it up with the utilities!"

Mail got delivered to the wrong address for months afterward.  The address number changed from 4441 to 4405 and the apartment changed from "C" to "1", but the mailman was convinced my BILLS were simply missaddressed and delivered them to the old address.  The new tennant just threw them away!  More utility company problems and more expense (late payment fees) for me (the utility companies were not accomodating about that).

The only nice thing that happened in this fiasco was that the local Short Line RR (CRANDIC) had created a 90th anniversary video and I wrote a "letter to the editor" of the local newspaper complimenting the video and expressing appreciation for the company.  In response the CRANDIC President sent me a baseball cap with their logo on it.  They looked up my name in the phone book and sent it to the OLD address as still in the phone book.  The courier company noted that the name on the door at the old address did not match that on the package and went to a pay phone to call me to verify the address.  I GOT THE HAT!    Wish I could remember the name of that company... they were just a local in-city company, but I really appreciate them, too!  I wrote a letter to the editor about the courier company too, but it didn't get published.

Since you have only one landlord to deal with, maybe you won't have quite the number of problems, but if your street name doesn't change you may need to keep tabs on your mail for awhile. Speak to your regular carrier if you can catch him someday.


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

The only solution that the landlord can come up with is to move me to another place 
(a 3 BR townhouse, which will be nice) when one opens up. 
Even if it IS just down the street, moving is STILL a royal PitA. 



Three bedroom townhouse? Seems like a step up in the world from your current digs. 
Maybe you can convert one of the bedrooms to a 'train room' and build a bigger layout?


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By ThinkerT on 01/25/2008 11:19 PM
Three bedroom townhouse? Seems like a step up in the world from your current digs. 
Maybe you can convert one of the bedrooms to a 'train room' and build a bigger layout?

The space will be nice, not having to cart everything up the stairs will be nice, the moving? not so. The 3 BRs have a laundry room, but since I don't have a washer and dryer I'm thinking maybe setting up the drill press, the scroll saw, and maybe the lathe and mini mill in there. OTOH I've seen the 3rd BR in them...they are more of a walk in closet.

Not really being a meglomaniac, but still being impulsive.  I'm not sure how much bigger I would want to go. If I start, it might take over the house. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

Not really being a meglomaniac, but still being impulsive. 
I'm not sure how much bigger I would want to go. If I start, it might take over the house. 



And whats wrong with taking over the house?  

(Although the landlords reaction might be ... interesting) 

Has the gf expressed any interest in helping rebuild the newer and larger Catfish 
Hollow RR?


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Neat RR.  Who said you need a big layout.  Being able to run trains period is better than none at all.  Later RJD


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 01/29/2008 3:39 PM
....Being able to run trains period is better than none at all.


Actually one of it's major problems is it's proximity to the front door. The mail and other bits n bobs all gets flat filed on the end of the table. Operations require about 10 minutes of crap removal. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/shocked.gif


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