My wife asked me this... how long will the track, engines run? Currently my layout is two years old. Peco switches, ho scale. Use it pretty frequently.
Short of being used in a commercial operation like a museum or resturant, a layout can last a normal human life time if not longer. Engines can and do wear out, same for switch motors and power supplies. But the track and such unless damaged by something being dropped on it ect, should last beyond our typical life span. Mike
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
If you treat it right, your train stuff should last a lifetime.
DSC03121 (2) by wp8thsub, on Flickr
DSC03121 (2)
The lead loco here started off over 40 years ago, and I detailed and painted it as shown in the late 1980s. The F unit behind it also dates to the 80s. The deck girder bridge in the photo has been recycled through a module and a few layouts, and is likewise ~30 years old. The layout continues to use other locos, freight cars, flex track, turnouts, etc. that range in age from brand new to over 30 years in age.
I've changed electronics to work with newer control systems (like revising 1980s Dynatrol to 1990s RailCommand to modern DCC), swapped out wheelsets, added decals or weathering, etc. Of course quality products will hold up better, and longevity also depends on how roughly items are handled.
Rob Spangler
Outsailing86 My wife asked me this... how long will the track, engines run? Currently my layout is two years old. Peco switches, ho scale. Use it pretty frequently.
Many personal and club layouts are still in operation after being largely completed/operational many decades ago.
I was once a member of the Severna Park Model Railroad Club who's layout was begun in the mid 60's and was largely complete by the mid 70's.
The layout is still in operation with the largely the same track, scenery, structures, control systems, and even locos and rolling stock from the 60's and 70's.
They have made changes and a few upgrades, but much of the layout is now 50-60 years old.
You can find pictures and info on Facebook and YouTube.
Sheldon
Once you get it running in a reliable manner, with the usual quality construction standards and periodic maintenance; and assuming its in a climate controlled space, it will last for a very, very long time, or until at the sooner of:
Until then, enjoy the hobby, it's the dreaming, planning, problem solving, gratification in the large and small accomplishments, and above all, spending time in things you like to do.
Jim
How long will layout last?
Depends upon how you mean that. Others have pointed out that if constructed well and handled correctly, a layout can last a lifetime, and sometimes beyond that.
But, a noted model railroad actuary, Dr. D.E. Molish, has spent a lifetime researching this issue and has concluded that the average life expectancy of a layout is 3 to 5 years, no matter how well constructed and maintained.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain How long will layout last? Depends upon how you mean that. Others have pointed out that if constructed well and handled correctly, a layout can last a lifetime, and sometimes beyond that. But, a noted model railroad actuary, Dr. D.E. Molish, has spent a lifetime researching this issue and has concluded that the average life expectancy of a layout is 3 to 5 years, no matter how well constructed and maintained. Rich
You are funny Rich.
I understand the learning curve thing for newer people and we all face the possible "moving to a new location" problem.
But I have known, and still know, a great many modelers with layouts that have been in place for decades - some took a decade or more to build.........
My new layout will only be my 5th in 54 years and that includes two that only lasted a year or two because of unexpected moves when I was young.
I would say that as you reach a leveling off of the learning curve, and if you are not someone who gets bored easy, and you don't have to move, it is likely a medium sized layout could last a long, long time for many modelers.
After I build this next one, I don't see myself ever tearing it down to rebuild or replace it. I only did that once, all others came down because of moving. I plan to be carried out of this house......... and I will not take the layout down because I am "old"........
Knowing what you "want" is a big part of the question.
But model railroad "components" will generally last a lifetime for the most part. There will be items on my last layout, that were on my first layout........some of which date to before me..........
Outsailing86"How long will layout last?".
As mentioned, it can last a lifetime, and, in some cases, even beyond that.
However, it might last only as long as your interest in it lasts. Some folks get fed up with theirs and decide to build a "better" one, while others simply walk away from the hobby completely.
Mine should last until I'm gone, but I can guarantee that it will likely be gone before my corpse turns cold....apparently, "somebody" doesn't really care for it.
Wayne
I have built 5 versions of the STRATTON AND GILLETTE.
#1 met its demise when I moved out of my cheap one bedroom apartment and into a rented room (in a very nice house) when I was 19.
#2 came to an end when the house/land was sold to a developer and it was demolished.
#3 was taken down when I switched to HO scale.
#4 lasted over 10 years, but was cut up and thrown away when I got an unused bedroom to build a new layout.
#5 was demolished when I began the remodel on the house to include an 11 by 22 train room.
So... they last as long as the space they occupy is available and a better space does not become available.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Lots of good response here.........hopefully mine will fit in.
Other than a move, or "act of God", or owner change of taste, a well designed, constructed and maintained layout should last many, many years.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Excellent answers by everyone and even though some answers are completely different to others; all are correct imo.
Most of my locomotives are over 30 years old; some over 40. They have been on different layouts, purely due to the places the layout has been built.
To answer the OPs actual question, here in the UK I know two layouts that have outlasted their owners and are still being operated -
1) Madder Valley Railway https://pendonmuseum.com/about/madder-valley-railway
2) Buckingham Great Central
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Our club layout was started in 1981, and running trains in 1982. It's still going strong even after sitting dormant last year. This year will be our 40th anniversary.
Joe
I do recall that one club had some sections of track wear out but this was after something like more than 50 years and was brass, we use nickel silver now, much stronger for the alloy used.
Layout has been up for 33 years and so far so good. Have HO on top and O gauge on the bottom filling a 24x 24 room. Used 22 sheets of plywood and many 2x4s. Model Power brass flex track and Atlas brass turnouts comprise the HO portion. Gargraves not so flexible flex track and Gargraves switches comprise the O gauge portion. Prefer a heavy industrial small town urban setting as opposed to plaster mountains and scenery. Getting up in years and have every intention of letting my kids deal with removal upon my departure. Will enjoy it as long as possible. Have hundreds of locomotives and freight cars in both HO and O requiring maintenance along with normal layout maintenance to keep me busy. To summarize....build solid benchwork and lay the track with great care. The rest will fall into place and you will make changes as the years go by....plan accordingly. I can not think of a better lifetime hobby. Enjoy!
It's probably more likely that something will be replaced on the layout because something better came along, rather than something actually failing. My second HO engine purchase - a Bachmann Spectrum GP-30 I bought in 1988 - was still working until a few months ago, when I decided to see about adding sound. I decided because of the design of the old engine that it would be easier just to buy a new one and swap out the bodies. I found a GP-30 with a SoundValue decoder on sale; with a coupon I had I think it cost $79. I could have added a sound decoder and stuff, but for the cost of a sound decoder I got a sound decoder, new motor, new drive train etc.
Hello All,
Your question reminds me of the old Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop commercial:
"Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?"
"One...Two...Three...CRUNCH!!! Three!"
Some modelers keep a pike for a lifetime after "finishing", others will keep building and adding so technically they never "finish" until their passing.
While others will tire quickly of their finished pike, tear it down and begin anew.
I have Tyco Operating 34-foot hoppers that were produced in the mid-1970s. With some updating, they are now running on my pike some 45-years later, with no signs of being retired.
As far as locomotives. Newer- -those manufactured within the past 10 or so years should also last a "lifetime" barring any major manufacturing defects.
Some members of these forums have been running DC pikes with the associated motive power for decades.
Until there is a major shift in how we run our pikes- -DCC becoming "obsolete" the control systems should outlast us.
Unlike prototypical railroads that update, replace, and are required to retire certain technologies we as modelers can keep them going until we shuffle off this mortal coil.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
LastspikemikeThe really interesting development would be some sort of wireless power delivery forever disconnecting the locomotive power from the rails. Imagine totally wireless DCC. No more reversing section posts....
Dead rail already does that, Mike, although you do have to plug-in the battery every so often to re-charge it.
I started my layout in 2004. It was not complete when I moved to a smaller house in 2018. I will rebuild it, but space restrictions will make it smaller. Hopefully, mistakes I made the first time will be fixed.
The track will still have some of the same curves. I don't plan any new structures initially, and I may be through buying locomotives and rolling stock, at least for a while. Some parts will be old. Others will be new.
I think of this as the same layout, just improved and reconfigured. Others may say it's a new layout. I still have rolling stock and structures from my teenage layout in the sixties. I can still run my original train set from that layout, albeit with a dummy engine because it wasn't worth replacing the motor.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I did my layout design work in 1988 and finished laying track in late 1989 (140’ NS tack, Twice Around Design, Dual Mode DC or DCC). My first HO locomotive, a MDC 0-6-0 kit, purchased with paper route money in 1951 was on the rails before Christmas 1989 and its still running like new even after a long drop to the concrete floor. MDC replaced the frame with the broken front step in the 90s no charge.I have many locomotives that have hundreds of hours on them, some over a thousand hours.I built my layout (10’ x 14’) from ½” plywood and lots of 2”x4”s on metal casters so it can be moved after I’m gone. It should outlast the next owner too.Mel Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Aging is not for wimps.
Who sells a dead rail locomotive and how do you control it?
What we all seem to be saying is that there really isn't a typical layout. They're all unique, as are the rolling stock and locomotive design and quality, hours of use, construction quality, quality initial plan and design...and on it goes.
If I were pressed, I would say that the heavy majority don't last more than about 6-8 years, possibly quite a bit less strictly statistically. The reasons would be the dreaded move, but also growth in understanding and in realizing some rather serious design flaws. Once the bloom is off the rose, that really fun-to-build first layout is just an hour away from kindling or the dumpster. If this happens, it happens quickly...as in after maybe two or three months. The wise operator knows to bide his time and to spring its demise (and his failure) on Da Boss at a more opportune moment. How 'bout Mother's Day, or a birthday?
Outsailing86 Who sells a dead rail locomotive and how do you control it?
Nobody.
You have to buy a regular locomotive, buy an onboard direct radio control system like Railpro, and find a suitable battery setup, and install the whole thing yourself in the locomotive.
Wedding anniversar, kids birthday... great options. I was concerned about the springs in the Peco switches.
Outsailing86 Wedding anniversar, kids birthday... great options. I was concerned about the springs in the Peco switches.
I don't use PECO switches, but I have known modelers who do for more than 35 years. Never heard of a spring wearing out on one.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Outsailing86 Who sells a dead rail locomotive and how do you control it? Nobody. You have to buy a regular locomotive, buy an onboard direct radio control system like Railpro, and find a suitable battery setup, and install the whole thing yourself in the locomotive. Sheldon
A friend had an older Mantua Pacific, which I converted into a Hudson, but he also wanted to try so-called dead rail operations....
He ordered the necessary hardware through an acquaintance who lives nearby, and got, at what I suspect to be a substantial price, all the parts to run the locomotive using a system from Air Wire.
The package includes a decoder for the locomotive...
(I installed it in the tender, as there wasn't sufficient space inside the loco) which is equipped with what's likely the original open frame motor.
I would have replaced it with a can motor or at least switched-out the original magnets for neodymium magnets, but he insisted that it not be changed.
Also included is a wireless walk-around throttle, an 11.1 volt re-chargeable Lithium-Ion battery and a plug-in battery charger.
I've wired the decoder to the battery and to the loco's motor, and also added, under the removeable "coal pile"....
...a plug-in for battery charging and an easy-to-use slide switch for running or shutting down the loco, and a labelled receptacle for battery charging...
I also added a plug-in between the loco and tender, which will supply power to the motor and control over the front and rear lights.
Here's the wireless throttle and the battery charger...
Once the loco and tender are painted, I'll get them to the owner, who will then take them to the friend who supplied the hardware, so that he can do the programming.
In my opinion, I don't think that my friend will be all that impressed, but I think his interest in it is mainly to not have to worry about cleaning track, as his layout is in an outbuilding.I'd guess that the loco could at least pull (or maybe better) push a track cleaner car around the layout to ensure that all the other DC-powered locos will have clean track on which to run.
rrebell ATLANTIC CENTRAL Outsailing86 Who sells a dead rail locomotive and how do you control it? Nobody. You have to buy a regular locomotive, buy an onboard direct radio control system like Railpro, and find a suitable battery setup, and install the whole thing yourself in the locomotive. Sheldon Guess what buisness Dead Rail Installs is in, LOL.
Guess what buisness Dead Rail Installs is in, LOL.
Well OK, but there are still no factory installed systems.
I have removed a lot of old layouts from residences after the owner had passed.
Not a single one of them had reached its built-in expiration date. I think a well-built layout will last as long as the owner, at least that is what I have seen.