Getting Started

In June 2008 I found a large
Samsonite suitcase (26" x 20" x 8")
on eBay which I bought for only $7.99
(plus $31.10 shipping & handling). At
the time, I wasn't sure what layout I
would use it for. As the summer
progressed I began to think that
perhaps an "Old West" layout would be
nice. Although none of the Z scale
manufacturers made buildings, trains,
vehicles, people, or other landscape
items (like saguaro and prickly pear
cactus). Still, it seemed like a fun
layout.

Many years ago Janet had bought some
books of paper cut & assemble models.
One of the books contained buildings

for "A Western Frontier Town." The buildings were sized for HO scale, but I wrote to Dover and received permission to scan the pictures in so that I could resize and print them out with Adobe Photoshop. I did a search with Google and found that there are other places (such as Fiddlersgreen.net, Paperbeam, and Whitewash City) that sell cut & assemble buildings for the old west.

Marklin has made two train sets, the Illinois Central Diamond Special and the Illinois Central Casey Jones, which are "old time" steam trains. I thought that I might repaint one or both for use on my "Tucson & El Dorado" line.