Who Has The Smallest O Gauge Layout?

[Anonymous]

People like to brag about how big their layouts are. Do any of you folks have layouts smaller than 4'x8' ?

[Jim Duda]

Me! I win! How about a 3' X 8'...
EVERYTHING is smaller in Texussssss!

[thor CNJ]

I've got plans on my website for some very small pikes. You can fit a nice trolley or tinplate pike in a 3' by 5' area, and some even smaller! I am currently working on another set of mini layouts like the batch I put up around June of this year. You'd be surprised what yo ucan do with O / O27!

[Dave Farquhar]

My first layout was one of Thor's 3'x5' plans. I could run a train of 3-4 O27 cars; more Marx cars. It had four switches to give a little bit of variety. I wanted to run trains and didn't have much money, with it being right after Christmas when I started. I bought a bit of clean used track and four Marx manual switches, built a table out of scrap lumber, and was in business.

My Christmas layout this year is a 4'x6'. Basically I set up two reverse loops and put a little more than the minimum amount of track between them. It would be hard to cram one into a 4'x5'. But a two-reverse-loop plan doesn't take much space, only requires two switches, and is more interesting to watch than a train going around in circles.

[brianel027]

Mine is 37.5 inches by 8 feet with a moveable yard that is 12 inches by 64 inches.

The main layout is a somewhat schewed oval with a cut across/reverse. There's a siding to a scratch-built custom designed operating icing station. There's another siding to a half-kitbahsed/half custom built operating coal mine that is set into a mountain. Another siding goes to a custom designed and built operating chemical tank plus a bubbling tower and a custom kitbashed K-Line factory that now operates. There's also an operating plastic 027 K-Line diner. Another siding has an MTH Operating Freight Station that I altered, improved and made smaller. There's also a passenger station. The last siding leads to the moveable yard.

Also on the main layout are a heavily altered K-Line Junction Tower and a redesigned kitbashed K-Line Fuel Loading Station. There are a couple scratchbuilt crossbucks and a couple heavily altered K-Line Signal Bridges (cut in half for starters). Also a couple of Z-Line block singals and a modified K-Line Crossing Gate. There are a couple cut aways where there are bridges over water or a creek. There's also an overhead track that is on custom trestles that is used for storage, but can also accomodate stationary operating cars. There's also a custom built and designed Frieght Loader and a Fork Lift Loader so many kinds of cars can be loaded. A cheap Lionel plastic crane was modified to operate and mounted on a beater Lionel Junction Tower frame. A manually operated MPC Freight loader shed was also modified to load box cars instead of gondolas. There's also a K-Line Water Tower that I modified to now operate. There's also a custom designed, scratch built operating Looney Toons accessory that kids love. Plus an Operating K-Line Beacon Tower.

All accessories and buildings, whether designed and built by me, or modified from existing items are ALL custom painted. I estimate nearly 85% of all my rolling stock is now custom painted. 95% of all locos are custom repainted and many modified and improved. Even the few that are left alone (paint scheme wise) have improvements to the paint and added decals.

Everything runs on DC current. Operating Lionel cars like the Milk Car, Barrel Car, Merchandise Car have all been altered to run and operate without use of the RC track. Many locos (esp. the ones with truck mounted DC can motors) have had circuit boards removed - they run so much better on straight DC w/o the circuit boards - I'll never go back... it's a big improvement. Sounds are all off board. A Lionel whistle is mounted inside the passenger station and the diesel horns are custom built by me.

The yard contains one main and 3 secondary sidings. There's a custom scratch built and designed overhead operating barrel loader and a very heavily altered and improved K-Line operating Barrel Loader. There's also an elevated storage track running along the yard and partially over the main layout.

The track is all 027 ballasted with custom self cut/painted ties. The turnouts have been chopped to nothing more than the track itself (which was a big pain but well worth it on a small layout where space is at a premium). Uncoupling tracks are all rewired to run off secondary non-track power. There are 5 isolated blocks on the main line and every siding is isolated. One altered 1033 runs the trains and another the lights and accessories. I can go between AC and DC to the track for a few locos, but mostly run DC at this point. A 5amp secondary 12v transformer provides additional power and a 3amp 12volt for the yard..... I have A LOT of lights, but they're all 3-5 volt bubs so I have no problem with overload

I find for a small layout, I can run trains for hours should I choose and have not shortage of action.

[mcattardo]

My tmcc closet layout is about 41" x 43". It's an oval of 031 with 1 siding (ok,I can only spot 1 car on it). Since I don't have space for a bigger layout with more running room, I decided to go with operating accessories, when I get past scenery etc.. If your wondering why O and not N, I like the noise, smoke & operating accesories. Plus I already had trains, track & tmcc sitting there doing nothing. My previous layout was about 40" x 6'.

[laz 57]

Looks good Jim!
Laz 57


"There's a race of men that don't fit in, " by Robert William Service

[FJ and G]

Interesting topic. (nice layout, Jim D).

My layout under construction is not the smallest but it is fairly narrow, 2X25. It's so narrow, the trains can't turn around so they are relegated to switching duties. :-)

[thor CNJ]

How many would think it worthwhile if I designed mini layoutsu sing the new Fatstrtack? I can buy the library from RRtrack.

[mersenne6]

My O gauge layout is 12 inches long x 4 inches deep - I modeled an abandoned railroad - just dirt, ties, a rusty Bettendorf truck, and the foundation of a burned out railroad flag stop station! [:)]

[lionelsoni]

Do those ties have spike holes for two or three rails?..;-)

[ChiefEagles]

I did. This was the beginning of my temp layout in the room full of youngest's wedding presents [at that time called the Wedding Presents Hills].[:D]



Was a few sections of straight track with a couple of curved sections. Had a pillow at each end to be sure the trains did not run off of the track ends.

[Jim Duda]

Dave V. There's plenty o' secluded places on the pissAnt table for you to take your babes in your convertible and park and ...

Merry Christmas, my friend.

[daan]

Mine is 1,60x 3,50 meters, thats about 5 x 11 ft. I cramped a double loop on it, a 5 track locomotive depot, a small switch yard for freight and a siding on the other end of the layout.
I had to use special Y switches and one piece Z switches to get the tracks close enough. The normal Lionel switches gave too much space between the tracks and that left me with only an oval and a few sidings.
If you want to see small layouts, you should see those English modellers!! They make industrial layouts of only a few feet with a few switches and operate it by only switching trains back and forth..

[Anonymous]

My layout is 8 X 8 with three main lines. Run by Conventional, DCS or TMCC.

[3railguy]

I have a layout sitting here next to my pooter table. It is 30" x 40" with a single loop of 027 track. So far it's the smallest. For those of you who think I spend more times reading and posting on forums than I run trains, you are wrong. I do both.

[flyingyankee616]

[:D] Very impressive Jim,my grandson really likes your hat also.Merry Christmas

[palallin]

Under the little Christmas tree in my son's room, he has a 28" x 28" wioth the front two corners rounded off to parallel the 027 circle.

[guilfordrr]

I have two layouts, and the small one is only 3 by 6 feet, with just a simple oval of O tubular track and some postwar accessories.