HO Scale Model Railroad Operations - ATSF San Saba Local

[@locomotives9217]

Nice layout. I like the weathering of the cars and especially the track and yard area. It all looks worn and used, just the way it should.

[@kevintaylor3427]

Very good layout.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you Kevin!

[@DarkTerritory71]

Thanks for taking me along

[@hestheMaster]

Great looking ATSF model railroad in Texas. Thanks for showing it.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you and thank for checking it out!

[@elleryparsons2433]

Very Nice Well Done.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you Ellery!

[@DavidSmith-rc7hs]

Great vid...

[@derekalexander4030]

The scenery and weathering on your layout is very realistic and your camera work is excellent. When did you start this layout build? It looks like you have quite a few years of work in this layout and I’m glad you finally decided to share it with us. Thank you.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Again, very appreciated. I thought I was awful with the camera...lol. I started in 2010, and worked through the winter to get it up and running with base scenery by 2013. Since then it has been streaky, but even with kids in hockey, I still push to have updates, and weathering of rolling stock each winter. The push for me is Operating Sessions, and I tend to work away for 2-3 weeks before a session. I host 3 big ones per year.

[@tracksidemike]

Looks fantastic great scenery work 👍🏻 Thanks for sharing great video 👍🏻🚂

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you Mike!

[@railseast]

Love those B units on the Autorack train, very nicely done...

[@dbmartin60]

Nice layout,I live in Brownwood.San Saba and Brady is just up the road from me.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you! In reality, the location of Brownwood is where Inserted Temple just to give operations a little extra. Great to hear from someone who lives in the area!

[@dbmartin60]

Thanks!

[@brianknott6370]

Nice layout looks like a fun one to operate

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you!

[@BigDieselMan100]

Great Layout, keep these videos coming, Great Job Dave T

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you David!

[@davidbrown4823]

incredible switching moves. great video work. reminds me of bulk lime loads from Brookville Lime where my Dad worked.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you and nice reflection!

[@garymartz7587]

Very nice modeling!! Your equipment & structures are weathered realistically. Scenery looks great. Very inspiring layout!! Thanks for sharing your work!

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you Gary!

[@TouchoftheBrushModelWeathering]

This is an incredible layout. We need to get your channel out there more!

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you very much. New to the social media thing but I will definitely keep them coming. Back in 2018, Trainmasters TV visited the layout, but the changes in even 5 years shows a completely different look.

[@gregginter5867]

Agreed but the sound of your loco is very weak...just an observation...

[@bryanthunderfootporter4436]

Very enjoyable layout. As a New Englander modeler, I really appreciated those Vermont Railway cars like TMCX 138! I spotted those green logo boards right away! And you rarely see that road modeled. 😊

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Very cool notice. Cheers

[@sernajrlouis]

Awesome layout

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you!

[@chriskemper9344]

Sweet layout! Keep the layout videos coming. Just discovered this.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you Chris!

[@glennfoster2423]

Very nice railroad. Here is some information you may want to consider. Santa Fe structured the railroad into Lines (Eastern, Western and Coast Lines), Divisions (Albuquerque, Slaton, Middle, Valley, etc,), and Districts (First, Second, Grand Canyon, Kingman). The term "Subdivision" may have appeared long ago, but was not used , to my knowledge, in the 1980's or thereafter. You have captured the Hill Country of Texas with great appearance. Temple is at the Eastern edge where the Hill Country turns to Blackland Prairie.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you for the compliments Glenn. Subdivisions were in fact still used, but the whole thing was quite layered.

[@LoneRanger5150]

Nice layout. I like the backdrop pictures. Those are hard to find.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you!

[@ChessiePAdiv]

Very cool Railroad! I would love to see the track plan if you have one. Alternatively, perhaps a tour to walk us through the entire railroad. The scenery and operating scheme are both very believable. thanks for sharing!

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you. I do have a track plan and hope to do a layout tour once I finish my series of switching jobs.

[@ChessiePAdiv]

awesome! i look forward to seeing the overall railroad and will also enjoy seeing the other switching jobs.

[@tomstarcevich1147]

Looks awesome 👌 👏

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thank you!

[@rockton160807]

Great Job!

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Thanks bud!

[@tenticalteeth]

Second video of yours I’ve watched. Very interested in seeing more. One question that that I’ve never heard before and am genuinely curious about. I’m from western Canada and we call those cars autos and auto trains, are they called vehicle trains there?

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

That’s correct. The prefix that Santa Fe used I. The early-mid 90’s was V for vehicle trains. Autorack is a pretty universal term though.

[@jamesgriffin8354]

I actually live in Brady, TX and really like your layout! Sadly, in 2018-19, the majority of the sand mines in McCulloch County closed and the company operating the actual line had the trackage from Lometa to Brady embargoed. The tracks are still in place and there is hope that rail service can return in the future. Many locals here remember both the Texas Mining Company and Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corporation.

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

James, I appreciate your perspective and the state of things. Sad to hear of the current state of the line. Fingers crossed Brady gets trains back. I thought there were some other traffic sources in town in recent years as the west end looked to generate some revenue.

[@michaelearnest4175]

Just wondering what size the layout is?

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Hi. Roughly 42x12, plus a branchline

[@sawyerpac9878]

You for got your caboose why?

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

No caboose on that job.

[@sawyerpac9878]

Hi I'm Jerry from Santa Cruz ca, and I have a Ho Train layout and how do you do scenery? Mind is just Track on wood ?

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Hi Jerry. My benchwork is open frame with risers to set grades. 3/4" plywood cut for roadbed. I use 3/4" plywood sheets cut to fit in the level town/yard areas. I have a constant grade of between 1% and 2% to get between levels. Towns/yards are mostly flat.

[@glennfoster2423]

Kerry, you sound like a young modeler. Don:t get in a hurry to add scenery. Make sure you track is flawless. NO DERAILMENTS.! I suggest you get some info on different methods, "How To Do Scenery, Wiring etc..". Water based paint, ink different kind of medium choices bring different appearances. The "substrate can be anything - plastic wire, cardboard, foam sheets (easy to carve, but messy). You can spend a lifetime in this hobby and never "finish" the railroad If you can, visit a few railroads locally. Ask questions. The Bay area is a hotbed of clubs, museums and private models to see and learn from.

[@unkownuser8645]

Tried watching and wanted to let you know my reason for the thumbs down and not subscribing. The good stuff: beautiful layout and scenery with very nice rolling stock and locomotives. Also good that there isn’t lots of camera shaking and moving around so fast that the viewer gets dizzy - that was performed very well, thank you. The bad stuff: It was a little boring in comparison to many other similar channels I subscribed to - very quiet, no music, no dialogue, just pretty scenes but very quiet and slow almost putting me to sleep with such a lack of even minimal pizazz , not trying to be mean but just so slow and boring…

[@crsrdash-840b5]

nice layout....agggh code 100 rails - NO!

[@atsfslatonsub6257]

Yep. 100, and 83 on the branch lines and several sidings. While I agree 83 looks better, you can make 100 look pretty believable when you weather it properly and play with the profile between the raised mainline and the sidings. Operationally much more forgiving when running large OP sessions. I’ve operated many layouts with code 83 and 70, even 55, and while it looks fantastic, the dependability is tough to achieve the smaller you go and the more diverse the climate.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

@@atsfslatonsub6257 well since you put it that way....😁😇😍🤣. You're forgiven. On my CRSR I run all code 83 with 22-24 inch radius. I found that code 100 is best for high speed traffic and if you use code 83 ties, it makes more sense. I"m too scared to use code 70 and 55.