In today's video, I run a couple of my model trains through our California house one last time...
Before the trains all get packed up for our move to our new house in Washington state.
If you've seen my model train videos before, this one's going to look kind of funny...
Because the house is really emptying out.
A lot of the furniture has been sold off.
Things we'll be taking with us have been packed up in to boxes and stored in the garage.
And it makes for a really different backdrop for my model trains than what you've seen in my previous videos.
And also, I'll show you a cool feature of the trains that I've never managed to catch on camera before.
Let's get started...
We're running my Amtrak passenger train today.
Let me show you the layout I've set up.
We start in the living room.
There used to be a couch right there, until we sold it off the other day.
Then the tracks take us through the kitchen, and out in to the garage.
The garage is where we're temporarily storing all the stuff we've already packed up...
In preparation for the arrival of a big moving truck a few weeks from now.
So, the train tracks do a big loop around all those boxes and all that stuff.
And then it's back through the laundry room, and through the kitchen again...
And in to our dining room, where the tracks weave through the legs of the dining room table and chairs.
And then we head down the hallway to the other end of the house.
It enters my train room, where I normally store a lot of my model train stuff.
You may remember this room from some of my previous videos.
I've packed up just about everything that used to be in here...
Except for what I needed to make this layout today.
Then it's back out to the hallway...
And past my wife's craft room on the right there.
We are never allowed to run train tracks through there!
And finally, we're back to that empty living room, right where we started.
It takes about a minute and a half for the train to make one complete loop through today's layout.
So, that's the overview of the layout.
I am going to stop talking now and let you enjoy the sights and sounds of the train running through the layout.
And you're going to see it from several different angles and viewpoints shot with several different cameras. Enjoy!
We’re only about five minutes in to our video, and there is a lot more to come…
Including some other viewpoints from different camera angles…
And later, a cool feature of the trains that I've never managed to catch on camera before.
So, don’t go away. We’re right back after this short break.
With the GoPro mounted on the side of the locomotive…
The sound gets even more interesting... Especially if you listen with headphones.
Now we hear more of the rumble of the engine.
And just for fun, I can not resist doing this…
Let’s turn down the on-camera microphone and do a lap or two with music instead!
Earlier, I mentioned that I happened to catch on camera...
Something I’ve never managed to put in one of my model train videos before.
It has to do with the Doppler effect.
That’s where when a locomotive is coming towards you, blowing its horn…
The pitch of the sound of the horn will shift as the train passes by you.
These MTH-brand locomotives have some pretty impressive sound effects built in to their DCC circuitry…
And one of them is a Doppler effect... which I never really played around with much, until I was making this video.
So, check out this clip with both of my MTH locomotives simulating the doppler effect as they pass by the camera.
Well, there you have it... the final model train video from our house here in California.
I’m going to be packing up the last of the train stuff now…
In preparation for our move to Washington at the end of August.
I’m going to have a LOT on my plate at the beginning of September…
So, there might not be new weekly videos during that period, but…
I’d say by the end of September I should be able to set up the trains at the new house…
And make the first of what I think are going to be my best model train videos yet.
Our dream house in Washington was designed specifically for model trains.
And, you know, I just recently retired…
So, I’m going to have a lot more time on my hands this Fall to make videos.
I think things are going to get really interesting here on my YouTube channel.
Be sure to subscribe, and to click on the bell icon to turn notifications on…
So that YouTube will let you know the minute I post anything new.
Thanks for watching! I’m Jim Zim.
And hey, if you saw that recent video about my trip to the Emergency Room…
Don’t worry, I’m completely passed that now, and feeling fantastic thanks to the new meds.
It’s like being the 40-year-old version of Jim Zim all over again!