Ok,so no pics at the moment,but I will give out a basic summary of what I'm going to do. In a few months I'm going to be moving back into my old house,and my mom agreed that one of the rooms in the house could be used by me for a "train room". It is a 12x12,with the closet door nearly along the same wall as the entry door is. My plan however isn't going to be as complicated as some others' here,it's going to be simple,since I'm not sure how "permanent" this layout will be. My current plan is to buy some 6 feet by 30 inch tables and set them up. While people I've seen online try to suggest building benchwork,I've found these tables are quite sturdy. I've set 15 binders full of magazines on them,and left them there for weeks,and I've had some resemblance of a train layout on it for awhile..Currently the old 2x4 layout is history,and the table serves as a computer desk. I'm guessing(and hoping my mom cooperates with this) that I can fit five tables into the room. Now,the next thing I'm going to do is keep it very,very,very simple. As previously noted,I don't know if this setup is going to be long term(my mom is thinking about building a garage for me once I'm over there..hey,more space for me! )so I've decided to do just this: I'm going to buy Kato Unitrack and set up a nice little layout on the tables,ignoring scenery for the most part,and going with operations. However,I wouldn't mind finding some buildings to have as industries or "stations" to serve. My railroad of choice is the L&N,btw,and I'm considering mixing in some Southern with it. But lately I've been thinking about how I'm going to set this up,trying to figure out freight yards,setting up "blocks" (going with DC,DCC is too expensive!) with Kato's insulated unijoiners and such. I just figured I'd ask people for potential ideas out there. The first thing I'll probably get is just two tables,which will give me 12 feet by 30 inches to work with. When I'm ready,I'll add more tables. I think I might enjoy being able to do operations sooner and being able to watch trains run sooner. Scenery isn't as important to me,except for some buildings I wouldn't mind having on the tables. My problem is I'm horrible at anything kit-wise,so e-bay might be my option for better buildings(and not the basic stuff by Bachmann and whatnot) - Jeff
You'll get lots of good advice here I'm sure. I've recently adopted unitrack and it's excellent, particularly if you're uncertain about the permanency of the layout, unitrack will weather repeated handling extremely well. Are you suggesting you don't want to assemble any kits, but prefer ready made buildings? I've not had any experience of the ready made buildings but I'm sure others will comment. There are some good kits out their to cut your teeth on if you feel like it - time is the biggest investment!
I know kits aren't my thing. Messing with glue and all that. I'll probably be able to get started on the layout soon,just have to buy the tables and set them up and take my train stuff over there,the house has electricity and everything. I just wonder how many Kato power packs I can safely plug in without blowing the fuse. I'm thinking I might want four at the moment. I'll split the layout in half,with a power pack for the main line(s) on one side and another for the other side,and maybe two more for a yard on each end for the switcher. I think at the ends I'll have a yard,with a track curving around the outside of the yard to let me have an oval if I want.
Welcome to the world of Model Railroading I would recommend hollow core doors myself. Very sturdy and strong. they can be placed end to end and legs made for whatever height you like. I prefer my N scale at almost shoulder height, closer to eye level. That way I get away from the "helicopter" view of my layout. I would also caution about the depth of the layout. When trains derail on the rear track by the wall, and when the track needs cleaning you will want to be able to reach those areas easily. Being able to reach everything is important, same applies to tunnels. Having to move the tables out and climb behind them could be difficult or just plain inconvenient. Do you have a rough idea of the track plan you would like to build? Even if it is just a rough sketch it will be easier for people to visualize and offer helpful suggestions.
The tables aren't too high,which doesn't bother me. They don't even come up to my waist. I kinda like sitting down when it comes to working on something. I understand where you're coming from. The table's only 30 inches wide,and I can reach for something on the opposite side very easily. This layout's only temporary for the moment,but I might do a bit more planning if I get that garage I'm hoping for. I'd have a trackplan posted on here,just don't have the scanner working so I can't draw anything. I've been reading MR's Realistic Layouts' thing on freight yards for ideas on how I'll set the yard up. I might hunt down a layout design program for the computer and see what I can etch out.
Well,while I'm waiting to get this new stuff started,I'll post pics of my old 2x4 layout and some of the stuff I had for it: Was never really that good at ballasting unitrack. Like the look of some of my boxcars: http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/6347/mrrlayout10wp5.jpg http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/1475/mrrlayout11po3.jpg Need to find a replacement for that pipe sticking out of the roof,mine ended up breaking. Another one of my U25B's. Did get a chance to run my stuff on a club layout once back last July: They used Unitrack and I liked how it turned out for them after ballasting and all that,but for now,I'm not worried about scenery. My locomotive roster: L&N #508 - GP9 #1609 - U25B #1611 - U25B #1615 - U25B (Family Lines scheme) Southern #175 - GP18 #177 - GP18 Wouldn't mind finding some more locomotives in the L&N scheme(well,Southern too.),I'll get my chance at a train show at the end of the month and I'm saving up a bit of money. I was reading the issue of L&N magazine I bought about the GP30s,now I wish I had one or two in N scale,but I don't know if any were ever made.
Jeff, Nice to see some L&N/Family Lines pics! I'm in the process of relocating to the Pittsburgh area and I'm currently doing some "basement shopping" myself. After I get settled I'll be working on modeling about 100 miles worth of the L&N Chicago Subdivision between Danville Illinois and Chicago. Will be looking forward to seeing the progress on your layout! Mike Collier Phoenix Az..soon to be in Pittsburgh PA
Here's the room I have for now. The room apparently isn't a 12x12 after all. More like 11x something. So the two tables didn't exactly line up against the back wall. However,I'll try to get the 4 foot version of the table and see what configuration I can work up. For now,I just need to fill up the space I got before I do anything else. I think I'll need Kato's V3 Rail Yard set,a few magenetic uncoupler track pieces that they have and an L&N switcher. Train show's at the end of the month,so I guess I know what I have to look for. I think my Atlas GP9 could pull more than my U25B's(also Atlas). Had one derailment,the train was in a curve that was too sharp,so I guess I need to fix that. I'll also try to see if I can get an up & over going as well as a crossover maybe,to give me some more length. Made a video or two,will get it up on YouTube shortly. I'm also trying to decide what rolling stock I want other than the two main lines I like (L&N & Southern). I know railroads have rolling stock all over the place,but I figure I'll have more of some of the closer roads to my area. My considerations for additional rolling stock are: Baltimore & Ohio Chesapeake & Ohio Illinois Central Monon Norfolk & Western Western Maryland And maybe a few PRR,NYC cars as well,not many though. Also kinda interested in those modular kits they have out(Walthers I think makes them). They look like they'd be easy to put together..so I might give them a try.
Another video. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up9-5oB9JQY"]YouTube - Layout Video 1/27/08[/ame]
Hey Jeff, You're always welcomed to come back to the club house to run trains as you are building your layout. I have two 2x4s that were going to be N-Trak modules, but I have decided to try to do the same thing like you are doing with the tables. Your ballasting is fine. I don't know if you remembered the Station and Grain Elevator T-Trak modules at the Radcliff club layout when you were there. I simply ballasted the sides of the unitrack. I guess to be real, you need to ballast between the rails, but I'm not. Keep up the good work.
Having a club layout where you can run your trains while deciding what to do with your own layout -- or while construction is underway and running trains at home is out of the question is a nice option to have. You can learn a lot, maybe find a mentor to help you learn things you want to do (or decide NOT to do!) on your own layout, have a built-in sounding board for your home layout ideas, etc.
I'm thinking about trying this plan: 1.While I know I have an entire room almost I can use for a layout,I also know it's better to start small. The thing with this layout is,with that dead end track,I have an expansion option when I'm ready. 2. I already have a 3x6 piece of plywood sitting at this house,I just have to get it downstairs and over to the other house. Not to difficult to do,probably 10 minute job at most. 3. I've nearly got all the track I need for this,I think I need some more of the smaller radius curved track. I've got some foam boards from Lowe's that are probably an inch thick,I'm thinking of stacking three or four of them on top of the plywood to give me some elevation so I could add a bridge in somewhere if I want. Also I'll be able to leave openings in the bottom layer or two of foam to run the switch wires and the feeder wires through without having them sit on the table(as was the case with a previous layout). I'm also thinking about some modifications to that track plan. 1. I don't think I'm going to mess with that double crossover. I've got probably 11 or 12 KATO turnouts now,more than enough for the plan,so I might just have a crossover that way by using some more turnouts. 2. I also wouldn't mind expanding the yard on one side just a bit with an additional track or two.(I could explain,but it might get complicated,I would probably slide the turnout back one piece and get rid of the curve that branches off of the turnout to the little yard they have in the plan.) I like the idea of the divider in the middle,I think I would want to expand it to go over the tracks to have an easy tunnel.
Decided to redesign my layout,though I haven't really done much with it since February anyway. I'm moving it from one room to another in my house. This other room has the closet door and entry door on one side of the room,which means I'll also have access to all three room outlets. I'm going to try to mount the layout to the wall,using narrow boards of plywood(already have a 1x6 ready to go now) and making it wider for yards. Still basing it on the L&N. I think for now I'll keep location names real,with my own little take on things(an accurate recreation might be a bit of a task for me.) There are parts of the L&N Main I like and I think I'll try to incorporate in some fashion. Building a decent yard is another goal of mine.
