N scale layout

Cleggie Aug 20, 2007

  1. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    Cleggers,
    Got me sum kest chuns ter ask. Uh... I mean, I need to ask you some questions.

    Are you using white glue or liquid nails?

    What is the level for? Side to side rail height?

    Even the raw bench work shots of your layout are really inspiring.
     
  2. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    Geekie:

    I use liquid nails to glue both the track and the road bed. I find it has the right amount of tackyness to hold things in place. I do however use push pins to make sure that nothing moves. The other thing I like is it cures fast. In about 20 minutes you are good to roll trains.

    I use white glue for ballast but that usually happens long after I have put the track down.

    Ok, here's the little level I talked about.

    [​IMG]

    It is easier to use when there is no scenery down, just bare trackwork, and I only use it to give me a general feel for what the track is like. If I hold it like in the pic and slide it along the rails I should be able to see if the bubble wobbles form side to side or stays in the middle. With foam roadbed you have to be careful not to push down too hard otherwise you can get a false reading.

    Hope that helps.

    As I mentioned earlier, I have become quite busy at work so I don't expect to do any more on the layout untill the Easter break. Have fun!
     
  3. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    I had a bombshell drop on me today. I rent the property that Tina and I live in and have been here for over ten years but we have just been given notice that the owners are returning and want their house back. So we have to the end of June to find new digs and vacate this one.

    This is doom for my N scale layout. I will start packing up all my goodies and begin thinking about how to dismantle my layout. I think most of the scenery is toast. Oh, man this is heart breaking. When I began building the layout I had in mind the need to make things easy to dismantle but as the build progressed... well it took on a life of it's own.

    My hope is that I can find a place to run trains. A house with a double garage would be my best bet as Tina doesn't drive and we have only one car. Anyway, it will be somewhat exciting to move on to something new.
     
  4. N-Jineer

    N-Jineer TrainBoard Member

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    Ken,

    So sorry to hear your news.

    I wish you the very best of luck in your search for a new home.
     
  5. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Ken,

    This is tragic. You have such a beautiful layout! It's a very sad day to have to see that go. Perhaps negotiating with the owners to let them "buy" it instead of destroying it? :p Keep your locos, rolling stock, and buildings and such, but if the scenery and track is toast anyways.. might as well give it a chance at longer life. Who knows, might even pull another into the hobby.
     
  6. CSXDixieLine

    CSXDixieLine Passed Away January 27, 2013 In Memoriam

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    Ditto. Hate to see your layout go but will be looking forward to your next one! Good luck with the house search and hopefully your non-model railroad life isn't too unsettled by this move. Jamie
     
  7. fifer

    fifer TrainBoard Supporter Advertiser

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    Hi , Ken , I always think that things like that happen for a reason and I am sure it will be for the best.
    Wishing you the best.
    Mike & Robin
     
  8. pastoolio

    pastoolio TrainBoard Member

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    Ken, man, wow that really sucks :(
    Your layout is awesome... at least you have a ton of pictures and video to remember it with. Hopefully you'll find a new place with a nice sized area for another superb layout :)

    -Mike
     
  9. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the kind words guys. I have to look on the positive side of things, like all the good memories, the photos and videos. I know there will be another model railroad in my future, we will have to wait and see what size. I may have to downsize to a HCD or something similar.

    Don't worry I will be chipping in with my $0.02 worth of opinion on you guys, happy modelling.
     
  10. westcoaster

    westcoaster TrainBoard Supporter

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    What a bummer cleggie.Ive just here tonight and read the whole thread,trying not to skip anybits(gone through lots of coffee).Its been a dam good journey,amazing work.As we are on yearly contracts i cant make my layout permanent,can run trains and experiment with scenery(going by yours,I need alot more experimenting!)But never mind.Good luck for the future,something will turn up.Well thats about all I wanted to say,hope to here more from you soon,cheers stu.
     
  11. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    Ouch - That Does Suck!

    I've never been so far along that needed to be concerned about taking my layout down. When I see the 100s of hours you have spent I can still feel the pain along with everything else that comes from having your life up-ended.

    I just finished watching "Across the Layout" on page 27 of this thread. You seem to have hundreds of very nice pine trees along with tens of feet of beautiful scenery and backdrops. Given the uncertain nature of the future and that things may spend a long time in storage you may want to consider giving a few of the trees to friends as tokens / momentos and maybe you can find a suitable recipient for your backdrops.

    Seeing how far you have come I can tell you are the type that will build an even more impressive layout next time. Nicely done.
     
  12. jhn_plsn

    jhn_plsn TrainBoard Supporter

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    Sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation. I do look forward to you applying your experience to a new layout. I guess you can strike this layout up as your test bed.

    Anything stand out in your mind that you have learned from this layout?
     
  13. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Stu, and welcome to trainboard. Make sure you share your experiments with the "group"

    Hi Steve, my hope is to save as much as I can and move it to my new digs and that will depend on how much room I end up with.

    John the main thing I have learned from this layout is that: I LOVE N SCALE! I still have a lot of HO stuff and I may one day make another HO layout, but N scale has really captured my imagination.
     
  14. Gats

    Gats TrainBoard Member

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    Geez, Ken, that bites! No matter how much anyone may rabbit on about the journey, etc., having to move when you're so far ahead with the construction truly sucks.

    It's been great watching the layout grow and mature and hopefully you can salvage the layout and transpose it to it's new destination with as little damage and rework as possible.

    Maybe for the next layout party? :)
     
  15. GregK

    GregK TrainBoard Member

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    Look at it as a way to correct any mistakes (not that there are any) or as a way to change something now that you couldn't have then!

    Sorry to here about your news.
     
  16. pachyderm217

    pachyderm217 TrainBoard Member

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    Ken, we in the hollow core door realm would welcome you with open arms. Be brave, my friend; there truly is life after L-girders.

    Disappointed as I am, I look forward to your new opportunities.
     
  17. ppuinn

    ppuinn Staff Member

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    OWW! That's sad news...but look at the silver lining of this cloud: you have gained an incredible amount of experience that will allow you to improve your next layout.

    I've had to tear down and move major layout benchwork 4 times in the last 35 years. With each move, I knew I was gaining more layout space, so each time I moved, I carefully saved sections that I would incorporate into the new layout.

    What actually happened, though, was that I would "save" the best sections of the previous layout, patch the parts back together with various expansions and other improvements, and then...inevitably...I'd look at the patchwork and would be dissatisfied with the results. I'd know that I could do better, so I'd end up totally tearing out the sections that I'd painstakingly attempted to save. Not one of the sections I attempted to save made it intact into the next layout for more than a few months.

    So when I made the most recent move in June 2003, I decided I'd remove all wiring, scenery, and track down to the bare boards before the move instead of after some failed attempt to "save" previous work.

    This approach led to what was definitely the happiest of the moves because I had a chance to incorporate so much more of what I'd learned on each previous layout. I didn't have to cover over anything with a patchwork job. I didn't have to settle for the best that I could do in 2002 or 2001...if I had learned how to do something better in the meantime, starting over from bare boards in 2003 gave me the opportunity to incorporate that insight into the new layout instead of saying, "I'll save what was my best from several years ago, even though I know I have better skills now."

    For me, my skills in track planning, benchwork, wiring, installing trackwork, ballasting, and scenery have grown immensely with construction of each new layout. If I had reached some pinnacle of modeling proficiency, I suppose I'd be much more inclined to try and preserve something from the old layouts and incorporate it exactly the same on the new layout...But, I'm constantly discovering ways my layout can be better. I see someone else's inspirational work here on Trainboard or in the magazines that I'd like to emulate; or I find some new product or technique to use; or I learn something new about the RRs or businesses I'm modeling so I'll try representing it on my layout. As a result, what I accept as "the best that I can do" is always creeping upwards a little bit at a time.

    So, for me, the Cloud has a Silver Lining: the sadness and loss associated with tearing down one layout (which is, after all, not as perfect as I'd like it to be) is offset by the enjoyment of getting a chance to build a better layout.
     
  18. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    Hi Gats,
    A layout party or two more likely, yeah, it's been a great journey so far and now I am preparing for the next stage. I have been busy this last week moving into our new house, and it has been raining everyday and is still raining today (curse you, weather Gods) On a positive note , there is a large single garage with attached carport (no prizes for guessing where my car will go.)


    Thanks Greg,
    There are always mistakes and things you wish you had done better and my layout has it's fair share of them, so some changes are very likely.



    Thanks Todd,
    This new house has room for a HCD layout inside somewhere I'm sure ( just have to sneek it past Tina)

    Hi Dave,

    I'm still in two minds about how to approach moving my layout, there is plenty of room in the garage for the layout so saving the layout in large movable lumps is an option. However, stripping the layout down to bare benchwork would be easier.

    I will start another thread in the N scale forum that will document the rise of the new layout, Broken Ridge and Silverado Railroad MKII.
     
  19. N-Jineer

    N-Jineer TrainBoard Member

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    Ken,

    Glad to hear you've found and moved into a new home so quickly.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 24, 2009
  20. Rowan

    Rowan TrainBoard Member

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    So sad cleggie , a beutiful layout. Hope it all works out for you.

    :)
     

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