Thanks, Marc and Wayne!
I'm pleased that you like look of the track. It's all Peco Code 55, except for some Atlas Code 80 in the hidden sections, where I wanted to keep a precise radius. I read somewhere that it helps to ballast the Peco track quite deeply, to disguise the thick sleepers and deep rail section as much as possible. A lot depends on the lighting angle, though. I like the look of the Atlas Code 55 track but for me the ready availability of Peco in the UK is the deciding factor.
I thought I'd throw in a few shots of the layout's early construction, starting with the plan I worked on in 2007. The layout's expanded a fair bit since then but the initial bits are still much the same.
The plan's a little weird as it goes against lots of good advice for layout design. I decided to run the tracks around the room twice, so about half the track is hidden, running under hills or inside buidings. The storage yard is also totally hidden, but monitored by wireless cameras, i figured early on that it was too fiddly to lift cars and off the layout at that point, so if I could make it reliable enough I could cover most of the thing with additional scenery or viewblocks. I must admit at this point I had very little idea of what sort of topography was appropriate for the theme.
Here's the baseboard for the industrial section on the top of the plan. At this point i was just putting down track temporarily to have some fun running.
I then decided to add some elevation by fixing a 1 inch foam layer above the boards, using Woodland Scenics sheets. This worked better than I hoped as the thickness of the foam, plus cork roadbed, is just enough to conceal a Peco point motor and a microswitch. Hence, I didn't need to start hacking huge holes in the baseboards.
This is one of the two original dumb-bell shaped turnback loops. The track transitions from baseboard level to the 1 inch foam using Woodland Scenics gradients.
Developing hills and associated terrain using card, plaster sheet, rock castings and Sculptamould.
Since the hidden line sneaks under these hills, large chunks of them are removable for access. I've never needed to clean the track in these areas.
By the time I took this shot, in mid 2008, I was already developing the bridge and swamp scene to quite a finished condition. I prefer to develop areas of the layout before moving onto the next bit, as that way I keep my motivation. Other than some additional foliage, nothing has changed here in 12 years.
I felt that the swamp needed some gators so not being able to find any in N, I made my own:
More to come in due course, and thanks for reading.
to the Model Railroader Forums!
That's one good-looking railroad - the trains, the structures, and the scenery, too.
The S-curves in the first photo look great, and I'm especially impressed by the size of the structures, which look like they actually need rail service, rather than some guy in a pick-up truck making deliveries.
Please feel free to post more photos if ya got 'em!
Wayne
The potential of N scale is here.
It's difficult to see it's N scale.
As an old N scaler ( around 48 years now !) I always appreciate to see N scale layout.
I like your curved siding and the look of your track.
Again excellent modeling in .....N scale.
I hope to share soon pictures of my own layout.
And I hope to see more pictures of yours, very entertainment for me because of N scale
Marc
Here are a few pictures shot around my 12 x 11 foot Gulf, Atlanta & Eastern layout which I started about 12 years ago. The layout is based in a spare bedroom in my home in Wales, UK. The model is loosely based on the Southern Railway, which I chose because I'd seen a few layouts in Model Railroader which appealed to me, especially with the steam and diesel loco liveries. Atlanta was also the first city I visited in the States, so the two factors came together and led me to purchasing a Lifelife SD7 in Southern as my first N scale loco! At that point all I had was a few feet of track to run it on and it took a few years (and a house move) before I was ready to start on the layout. The GA&E appeared in Model Railroader a few years ago but I've developed it a fair bit since then, including adding a peninsula and a small classification yard, which has greatly increased the operating potential.
Many thanks for reading and I hope these views are of interest.