• Rule 3. I can't count the number of people who've sneered when I tell them I model in On30. That is, until they saw photos. Then, I couldn't count the same people who then said, "Oh, you're not running with shorty cars and 10" curves. I like it!" Even still, some of the same people have asked me why I didn't go with HOn3 as there were ET&WNC locomotives in that scale. I always then asked if they knew how well those things ran (they run terribly, a lot like early brass imports). But once people see my layout, I do get a lot of, "That's not at all what I envisioned when you said On30," but in a good way.
• Rule 4. I spent over a year planning my layout, but at the same time I was buying/modifying/painted/decalling/weathering rolling stock and structures. When the layout bench work was done, I had a great deal of stuff already completed.
• Rule 8. I've been saying this for a while now. Long before I even started planning on building my layout, I wanted to model a specific place in a very specific time. it's a narrow-gauge RR, so there's no interchange. I bought very little stuff I couldn't use once the layout was looking like I wanted it.
• Rule 10. True, because they'll often make up stuff. I knew a SP "expert" whom to this day I suspect never picked up a book on the railroad. Most of the stuff he 'knew' was utter BS.

You can never have too much detail or too many trees on a layout.

... when this was first posted on this forum, I created a tabloid size (11" x 17") poster and have it prominently posted near my layout. For those that would like it, here I post it in a size that would fit herein.

Thank you, Laurell (JRG1951)