HO Theme Park; N scale Train.

I've never actually tried this, but maybe you could heat seated plastic figures enough to adjust their legs. You'd have to be careful not to heat them too much that they turn into an unrecognizable blob, but it could work. (I once used a soldering iron to "open" the door of a cheap HO auto for a scrapyard scene. This would be a similar technique.)

Well, that's thinking. It never would have occurred to me to do that. I'll probably burn my apartment down while attempting it, but it's worth a shot.

I've posted a few videos of the Fantasy Island Iron Horse train ride on YouTube. Here's one that I like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSw5OJsrrJg

This video shows the train crossing the trestle and sounding it's whistle.

I rode the train about five times that day, and followed it around the park with my camera. The driver must have thought I was some psycho stalking him all day. Hopefully he, too, was a rail enthusiast and assumed the same of me. The things we do for model railroading.

Fantasy Island has two park trains--both Herschell Iron Horses--that are rotated during the course of the season. The locomotive of the train used during my visit was painted silver and black, with red and silver coaches. The other is painted red and green, and pulls matching red and green coaches, with yellow trim.

In terms of figures, I would look out on eBay for the cheap quantities of figures from China. They are not on a par with those offered by Woodland Scenics et al, but at least in N Scale they work out to less than ten cents each including shipping for larger quantities. (The minimum quantity is 100.) I believe that they may not be exactly to scale (the N Scale ones may really be 1:150 not 1:160) but they certainly appear close enough for my use.

The clothing is rather garish and the poses aren't perfect, but they can be looked at as "raw material". I have seen "seated figures" offered in these quantities so that might be an avenue for you. I have 100 Z Scale figures waiting to populate "Pretend Land" as I figure they'll make good N Scale children.

Another option is the unpainted sets of figures from Preiser. I'm not really familiar with them other than knowing that they exist and that there have been articles in print magazines on how to paint them realistically. They do seem to be more detailed than the Chinese figures.

Well, I went through Preiser's entire catalog and they do have a few figures postured to serve my purposes. Unfortunately, however, they're either Nazis or they're nude: not exactly the "theme" I want my theme park to have.

Whatever. I'll figure something out; I usually do.

No unpainted figures any more in the Preiser catalog? That's too bad. I know of model railroaders who kept costs down by buying those and painting them.

No, no. Preiser does, indeed, sell unpainted figures. I'm not looking for unpainted figures, though; I'm looking for figures with appropriate posture for sitting on the park train. That's what I couldn't find...except, as I mentioned, for a few Nazi figures and some nudes.

Well, the second element of my theme park train project is on the way: I've ordered the locomotive--an Atlas 2-6-0--and at a bargain price...only $78.00 (as compared with the $110-$130 pricetags I've seen elsewhere).

http://www.tandkhobby.com/Atlas---N-2-6 ... 69C60.aspx

This will be the first of two locomotives I intend to operate on the layout when it's completed. The stack and pilot will be repainted in bright red; the smokebox, pistons, and domes in sky blue. That is the classic and most frequently selected color scheme of CP Huntington park trains.

Whenever I get around to acquiring a second locomotive, it will most likely be repainted in the scarlet, black, and brass scheme most typically seen on Allan Herschell "Iron Horse" trains. Like this one:

http://www.arizonaandpacificrr.com/spot ... esugi.html

I can report a bit of forward progress on my own efforts... I have at least the placement of "Pretend Land" on the extension now.

This is all part of my continuing saga which I am calling "Constructing Au Sable" on the website I have for my model railroad. This is the direct link to the page with the start of "Pretend Land":

http://www.irwinsjournal.com/wny/wny-asf03.htm

And a photo:

Fantastic! I love the way you're incorporating this theme park into your layout; it's going to be a really interesting element when it's finished. I only wish I had so much room to work with. As it is, my entire layout will be about the size of your Pretendland. I suppose I should be grateful that I only have such limited space, because if I had as much space as you, it would cost me a fortune to transform it into a theme park. And I'd spend it, too.
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The buildings are perfect, incidentally: they have a very theme park-like character about them. I'm really looking forward to seeing your progress.

There's been a little more progress which will show up in the next online installment. I've put the two inch pink foam down, further expanding the width in this area to a full four feet. (Who needs wide aisles anyway? )

That will be it for a while as I need to go back to the "infrastructure" like setting up the DCC busses and figuring out the rest of the trackplan more formally.

I don't think there will be any more N Scale trackage in the "Pretend Land" area than the sweeping turnback curve, which is temporarily laid out with 19 inch radius sectional track as seen in the photo. But there is the opportunity to drop in a turnout for a short spur, perhaps to hold the Rail Diesel Car that will (improbably) provide passenger service to the area.

The area in the photo is about 2 x 4 feet or so. The equivalent in HO would be about 4 x 8 so you're probably right in terms of how generous the space is. It probably won't seem that way once I get going in earnest! But don't we all have that problem...

My area to work with is an odd 4x3 architectural anomoly in my bedroom. I currently use it as a place to throw keys, mail, magazines. It's a completely useless space. It occurred to me some time ago to turn the area into a train layout, but with my HO scale equipment, it would have made for a sad little circular loop, indeed. Pointless, in other words. I never liked N scale because of its size but then the amusement park idea dawned on me and suddenly my HO scale mind was able to embrace an N scale train...as a miniature train on an HO scale park layout.

I could add another foot to the length, and I probably will. My plan for the track layout is essentially a loop, with a straight section on one length and a sort of "S" curve on the opposite length, if that makes sense (a peanut with a flat side, if you will). Very simple, in other words. And the rest, of course--rides, concession stands, walkways--will be within the track layout.

With such a small layout, there won't be much opportunity to 'play' with it in terms of adding new elements over time. It won't take long to complete the layout and when it's done, it's done. With that in mind, I have to imagine I'll turn to the trains, themselves, for variety and interest, acquiring new locomotives and coaches in different paint schemes. I may even model different types of park trains, apart from the false-steamer-with-covered-coaches variety I'm currently obsessed with. Perhaps a diesel with open, topless coaches, for example. I see, too, that there's a nice 4-4-0 available in N scale that bears a passing resemblance to a Cagney steamer. Lots of possibilities.

Someone already stated this, but you'll also need a switch and a spur for servicing and support (can't have the mainline blocked when repairing one of the locos) - this could go into one bay of a service area garage for the park, where you could also put trash compactors, maintainance equipment (like mowers, trailers, front-loaders and tractors, pickup trucks lettered for the park, and so on - this would be valid from the 1930s onward), storage containers or crates (depending on area), maybe a stable if the park has pony rides, piles of leaves, grass clippings, mulch, dirt, junk, etc. Invariably there will be some junked equipment used for parts, so if you want to try modeling a execursion car via the flatcar + benches + wire/styrene roof, and it doesn't work so well, heavily rust/weather it and shove it off the tracks by the side of the maintainance area (well...place it there gently, and don't forget the weeds).
Having been trained as a engineer (the electrical kind), having worked in the Parks dept., and being of a mechanical bent, I often find the maintainance and support areas of theme parks more interesting than the attractions themselves...

Sir Ray:

All great ideas, and it did occur to me to, like you say, feature a spur and even a small service barn to park coaches not in use. Although I'd really love to do that and to have fun featuring all the mainenance-related elements that you mention, I'm just not sure I'll have the room for it. But I love to weather things and your idea of a few old, rusting and useless coaches parked in a maintenance area really appeals to me.

One of the two parks serving as the inspiration for my project is Fantasy Island in Grand Island, NY. Their railroad is pretty big and it features a spur for extra trains, and that spur--covered by a tunnel, of sorts--leads to a great big red maintenance buidling (looks like a barn). That area is surrounded by a tall white fence so park patrons riding by on the train can't see all the crap behind it...but you can, in fact, see some of the junk scattered about.

That's all much more than I'll have room for, I'm afraid, but perhaps it would be possible to make room for just a small spur and maybe even a very narrow barn over the spur, all separated from the park by tall fencing and landscaping. It would be alot of fun to introduce that type of element. We'll see. I suspect I'll find myself ultimately stymied in that regard by space limitations, though.

Finally, this layout, given its small size, is meant to represent just one area of an amusement park, and not an entire park. So if I'm unable to find the space to introduce a maintenance area without making the layout, as a whole, look like a crowded mess, there are ways to imply that, just like the park, the railroad continues on, thus rendering a maintenance area unecessary.

But it's still a great idea. I hope I can make it happen. Oh look...as I type, the UPS man arriveth and handeth me my locomotive!

Opening package...

Boy, that's tiny. Won't this be a joy to paint. Good thing I have a steady hand. Is it better to achieve a high-gloss effect by using glossy paint or should I use flat paint and apply a glossy clearcoat afterwards?

George:

I've been communicating with a theme park enthusiast named Rose and I brought your project up because she mentioned that she had written a book called "Kiddie Parks of the Adirondacks" published by Arcadia. It's one of those little local landmark history books one finds tons of in any bookstore. She mentioned it because she's co-authoring another Arcadia book, this time about Fantasy Island, and she wants to borrow some old photos I have of the park from the 70s.

At any rate, when she mentioned "Kiddie Parks of the Adirondacks" I immediately thought of you and your project and said, "hey, funny you should mention that; I'm engaged in a discussion forum dialogue with a guy who's building a theme park on his layout based on a defunct kiddie park in Upper Jay."

I haven't heard back from her yet, but I'm sure when she responds she'll be enthralled by your "Pretendland". Do you happen to have a copy of her book?

James

As a matter of fact, I do

The book covers, in order, Santa's Workshop, Storytown USA, Arto Monaco's Land of Make Believe (the major inspiration for my "Pretend Land"), The Enchanted Forest of the Adirondacks, and the Magic Forest.

Each one of these Kiddie Parks had a train ride!

In terms of painting, a steady hand and a 10/0 brush might be helpful. It is a very small loco, even in N Scale. The way the rear coupler (a Rapido, unfortunately) seems huge compared to the tender is an indication.

Sir Ray: I have been wrestling with the concept of whether to add a spur for servicing the equipment. Those Micro-Track turnouts are kind of expensive! There is one potential "out" though, and that's at Northlandz outside of Flemington, NJ. The train runs through a "tunnel" which appears to serves as a storage shed when the train is not in use. Why else would a tunnel have doors? (I know, a few prototype tunnels did.)

George:

Cool beans; I'll have to look for the book next time I'm in Barnes & Noble or Borders. They're coming out with one of those books about the Arcade & Attica Railroad next year, which I can't wait to see.

I'll talk to Rose again on Monday. Would you mind if I shared the link to your website with her? I know she'll go into an ecstasy when she sees what you're doing. Who knows? Maybe she'll decide to write a book about it. Ironically, it turns out that she and I were both at Fantasy Island on Labor Day and didn't realize it.

As far as the matter of storage sheds for park trains, I was at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk last weekend. They have a CP Huntington park train and they've built a great big barn the length of an entire train right over a section of the actual train route, itself, not on a spur. It's a fun tunnel feature for riders to experience by day, and a storage shed by night. Just like you mentioned, George. So that's one way to go.

That rapido coupler on my tender! Ghastly thing. Ugh! What were they thinking? It isn't compatible with the couplers on my coaches. I assume these couplers can be easily removed and exchanged for different ones, like they can in HO scale. Please tell me they can.

I've uploaded a few images of the new locomotive with my modified Jackson Sharp coaches on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42675478@N ... 413859756/