All Aboard?

When I moved to NW Pa. this is what the area around my house looked like.
And below is what it looks like now.
I really am trying NOT to complain, but after all, I am a Florida boy. Seems like it has snowed everyday since Thanksgiving. Here it is the 12th of February and it is snowing still.
One could get cabin fever. I think that is why hobbies were invented. However, whittling duck figurines or tying dry fishing lures are not for me. No offense to those who find the whittling and tying fascinating and rewarding. Just not my cup of tea that's all.Notice that the deer are almost up to their bellies in snow.
All aboard! Got off of my behind and started doing what I was talking about. Model Railroading 101. Thought that I knew something about model trains etc. Wow was I on the short end of the information on that subject. Since I last touched a model train (of any kind-except the one that ran under the Christmas Tree this last Christmas, O gauge with 3 rails) preferably HO scale (at least that is what I was thinking, how dumb!) the industry, the hobby, and the technology has changed dramatically! And did I mention that it has changed a lot too?
Well, after getting over the shock of it all, I actually started making inquiries at a place called "@ The Bank" where it turns out is the location of Tom's Train Terminal. Cute huh? So I got hooked again but this time on N scale trains. There are many different scales. The 3 most common are: O , HO and N. I chose N scale over HO, mainly because I can't locate my HO set. I know I packed it back in the mid 90's for one of 6 subsequent household moves. It disappeared somewhere in the middle of all those moves.
The great thing about N scale is that you can have a fairly impressive layout in a small (relatively speaking of course) area. I happen to have an "office" which I have claimed for myself [thanks Jude! =8-) ]Above, token photos of my present layout in progress. It is about 38 inches deep and 74 inches long. It has 8 switches, 3 re-railers, and two bridge sections and lots of track! ( the cardboard pieces under the track just before the bridge will be replaced with a hill and landscaping.)
So, to sum it up, O scale cars are about a foot long, HO cars are about 6 inches long, and N cars are about 3 inches long. That means you can get the same type of layout in N scale in about 1/4th the area as O scale.
More later.