Layout Themes

[Anonymous]

How many here have made a layout based on a certain theme or time period? Many here I am sure does, based on the layout pics I have seen.

Some would think that those out there who simply make a layout and just run any kind of train on any kind of theme or no theme at all has something wrong with them. Or having a layout with no scenery whatsoever; just running train and track. Many have floor layouts as well and seem satisfied with that.

It takes alot of skill and know-how to create a layout based on certain things, and some are strict as to only buying certain roadname engines or rolling stock pertaining to what they are creating the layout for. And that great for those that do those things.

Myself, I dont have any kind of layout theme (don't have any kind of layout at all right now). Oftentimes I have thought of a ficticious roadname I could give my railroad and simply run any type of cars and engines that I would like, even if they don't match in real life (and often alot of real railroads pull mixed names). I personally think that as long as you enjoy your railroad the way you like it, one should never think that they should be like someone else or that their layout wont be good enough if they don't have a certain theme to it. Some people out there take model railroading too seriously and when you get too serious about something, the fun factor starts to disappear and then afterward its not as fun as it should be.

For all the money you put into your railroad, theme-based or not, you should enjoy it to the fullest. That's what model railroading is all about. Recalling what Spankybird told me when I met him at his house back in Feb, mentioning that "I just want to run trains".

And that's what it should be all about. [:)]

Chris

[thor]

Ours, such as it is, is entirely fictional but the story keeps growing, in fact I've started writing some of it down because our little girl remembers every detail and I sometimes forget especially since it was often made up on the spot.

One year ago before we had any trains at all or any notion of getting some, I was teaching her how useful wooden blocks were by building a model of my home town and telling her about who lived where and who did what. It was a very simple story to start with and I helped it along by finding some photos and showing them to her.

Well that story, like Topsy, just growed! The trains arrived in the nick of time as I'd mentioned the 'going to school on a train just like Thomas' and so our fictional layout became a mixture of Sodor and my faulty memories with a LOT of padding!

Our railway company doesnt have a name yet but it'll have to one day.

[cnw1995]

1900 rural northwestern Illinois electric traction company -The Junction Traction Company inspired by a combination of the Elgin and Belvidere and Woodstock and Sycamore -- few autos, a few farms, a few in-the-middle-of-nowhere halts, Not too prototypical though.

[tschmidt]

It's just a hodge podge of all kinds of stuff.

TomS

[Anonymous]

I'm a big fan of theme-based layouts, but I also can well understand how some folks simply enjoy toy trains without any specific theme in mind.

I like themes because they tend to unify a pike, give it a time frame, and provide a reason for its existence as a scaled-down slice of the real world. And, having a theme makes it easier to model convincing and appropriate scenery. Also, a theme makes it far easier to maintain a realistic hobby budget. And, of course, for those who enjoy writing, it is kind of fun to create a theme supplemented by a fictional account of the history and operation of the railroad.

Personal favorite themes that I have followed in the past or plan for the future include narrow gauge logging and mining pikes, trolley layouts, Civil War era layouts, and certain roadname-specific lines, especially B&O, Alaska RR, and Western Maryland.

[jimhaleyscomet]

The theme of my layout is the kind of stuff I like to buy combined with the scenery I am able to create. I named my turnouts so I know which switch does what. Some examples are as follows:

Trailer Turnout
Front Spur
Shanty Turnout
Gateman Turnout
Horn (Lionel Building)
Water tower Turnout
Downtown Spur
Oil Well Switch
Factory Switch

I have e industrial/city areas I will name after places I lived plus a few that I have visited.
Martin (Tenn)
Union City (Tenn)
Chicago
Santa Fe

Sometimes I will change the theme to a certain railroad area (Penn / NYC, Santa Fe / UP, just UP). Sometimes I just run them all together!

Jim H

[Frank53]

my layout in porgress is based in the northeast - central New Jersey. I am only using road names which are kinda sorta in the area - NYC, JC, Peensylvania and I stretched and added New Haven, just because I like the post war New Havens.

The railroad itself isn't specific to anything, as I have too little room to try and duplicate anything that was real. The structures, sections of scenery, etc all have a specific purpose and tie to an overall theme however.

[corton]

Ours centers around an airport, because both I and my son fly. We've basically just started with the scenery, but so far we have a runway with official ILS category markings, the Plasticville hangar, Plasticville terminal, the Lionel rotating radar antenna, and we're eyeing eBay for a decent 494 rotating beacon. We're setting it in a desert environment, because he'll be starting Embry-Riddle / Prescott AZ this fall.

[pbjwilson]

The sun never shines on my layout. It's always nighttime. I have forest green carpet for grass and a navy blue backdrop. All the buildings are illuminated and there are streetlights and a lighted billboard. Always enjoyed running my trains with the lights off in the room so I decided to build a nighttime layout. I really enjoy it and it's something you dont see alot. Also all the colors of the locomotives and rolling stock really stand out against the dark backdrop. Very dramatic.

[Jumijo]

Ours is based in the fictional town of Jumijo, New Hampshire, circa autumn 1956. Roadnames from all over the world, from the Island of Sodor to the UP, Santa Fe, even the Polar Express itself has been known to traverse the rails there.

Jim

[johnandjulie13]

Our layout right now could be called the "cement floor express" as we have an oval of track set up on our basement floor. Having recently gotten into the hobby, I am trying to learn all I can from some of the more seasoned pros on this and other forums. But, frankly, just having the train go around in an oval is a blast for me and my 2 1/2 year old son. He especially likes holding a railroad worker figure while the train steams by...

Regards,

John

[phillyreading]

What I am doing is running Pennsylvania area trains; Pennsy, Reading, Lionel post-war steam, the freight cars are from, Pennsy, Reading, Sante Fe, Lehigh Valley, Hershey's Candy, even have a Septa Trolly. I have one really nice Williams Santa Fe F-7 passenger set. Have diesel and steam locomotives in O Gauge and only steam in S gauge.Not really sticking to any theme per say but have a four track main in O Gauge or 027/GarGraves combination. Have a two track American Flyer S Gauge in the center, looks like narrow gauge trains and Pennsylvania had quite a few narrow gauge railroads in the late 1800's. Not trying to model any city scene just have a few houses on the main level and working on the second level, that should be primarily 027 & GarGraves track with a passenger train or two.
One of the reasons I like Santa Fe so well is that I saw an old photo of the Reading Company yard with a Santa Fe box car in it, also like the movie The Harvey Girls which is about things that may have happened on the A.T. & S.F. Railroad.
Lee Fritz

[Anonymous]

My theme is 19th Century, Virginia & Truckee. I love the MTH 19th Century stuff, and find that sticking to a theme keeps me focused and doesn't do unrepairable damage to my budget. [:D]

It helps to live in the area you model, and hopefully in the forseeable future, I'll be moving 5 minutes from historic Virginia City.
Greg

[palallin]

Ozark hills, tunnels, bridges; Frisco, MoPac, and T & P; Narrow Gauge feeder line; Late Steam Era (not too picky on that point).

[Dr. John]

When I picked up a Lionel Copper Ridge set with the docksider and ore cars, I played around with the idea of building a small copper mining layout set in the southwest. I already had K-Lines Kennecott Copper Company MP-15 and a few associated cars. I also have a copy of the compilation of Model Railroaders' Jerome & Southwestern HO project railroad from the late 70s early 80s for inspiration.

I finally decided against the layout (I have too much other equipment that just would not fit in a southwest mining layout) but I may still build a diorama for the fun of it.

My current plans are to build a more generic, toy-like layout using the names of Marx tin stations I have collected and running mostly equipment from southeastern and middle American roads ( GM&O, Illinois Central, L&N, etc.).

[fifedog]

Chessie era (1976) depicting my 3 favorite trainwatching spots:Cumberland-Meyersdale-Pittsburgh. Middle section, which contains a finished keystone Viaduct (WM over B&O rails) set in winter, started out as the Christmas layout. I have already designed an ambitious Narrows entry into Cumberland (phase 2), and a, cultivating ideas for the Port Perrry section of Steel City complete with steel mill. I will also have to encorporate my Lionel rotary coal dumper into a Power plant.

[Demon09]

I'd love to have a specific theme, but as a college student I don't have the time or budget..... I am running completely mixed consists and road names from all across the board.... 2 steamers (soon to be 3, with the addition of the polar express) and a diesel, with a meager layout of rusted switches, ceramic buildings of christmas leftovers, quck cardboard creations, and a few k-line sale items....

The polar express will allow me to do something more thematic around christmas time, as I plan to get a small piece of plywood and make an annual christmas layout under the family tree.... I can finally use those ceramic christmas buildings I have in a more believable manner, not to mention make christmas time seem more nastalgic.

[Jumijo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Frank53

my layout in porgress is based in the northeast - central New Jersey. I am only using road names which are kinda sorta in the area - NYC, JC, Peensylvania and I stretched and added New Haven, just because I like the post war New Havens.

The railroad itself isn't specific to anything, as I have too little room to try and duplicate anything that was real. The structures, sections of scenery, etc all have a specific purpose and tie to an overall theme however.

How can you possibly go without THE icon of all PW Lionel icons - a set of Santa Fe F3s, Frank? Our layout is set in New Hampshire, Fall of 1956 (Look for the "I Like Ike" campaign signs), and we have a SF war bonnet passenger set.

Jim

[FJ and G]

Theme time periods:

1940s-50s

1960s-70s

I keep trains separate and operate them whatever time period suits me.

Railroad:

Used to be called the 6th subdivision of the 7th District of the Santa Fe; but I changed the name recently to "Hound Central."

The star of the railroad can be seen here beside some cedar planks being readied to cut into ties:

[Anonymous]

The theme of my modest railroad is the ATSF (Santa Fe) in the Mojave Desert circa 1950.

[Frank53]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jaabat

How can you possibly go without THE icon of all PW Lionel icons - a set of Santa Fe F3s, Frank? Our layout is set in New Hampshire, Fall of 1956 (Look for the "I Like Ike" campaign signs), and we have a SF war bonnet passenger set.

Jim

I kinda doubt a Santa Fe would be tooling around in NY Central territory. They are beauties, no doubt, and perhaps at some future time, I'll take the plunge.

[darianj]

I mostly go for thing that I would've seen while growing up in NYC in the '70's and 80's. But I will also buy anything that I like...theme or not.

Like you said, as long as you're having fun.[:)]

[FJ and G]

Paul writes: "The sun never shines on my layout. It's always nighttime. "

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I think it looks really cool.

[Anonymous]

Pure Marx trains, tin stations, accesories and Plasticville for me. No one can confuse my toy train layout with a scale model!

[poppyl]

Different strokes for different folks -- that's the beauty of our hobby. No theme is actually a theme in some sense.

I was in HO for quite some time and that is all about theme. So I'm disposed in that direction but that's just me. Currently I'm modeling the Western Maryland from Hagerstown to Connellsville with a coal sub to either Elkins WVA or Gray PA during the period from 1945 to 1955.

Poppyl

[overall]

My theme is the southeastern united states circa 1970 to the present time. I have violated that however when I bought my NYC SD-80 MAC a couple of years ago and when I bought my Williams Pennsylvania GG-1 last month. I do try to keep to my theme, but if something comes along that I decide I want bad enough, I go ahead and get it. A theme to me is a guiding principle, but not an iron clad law.

George