How many out there?

[claycts]

How many of us are running on the "PLYWOOD CENTRAL" becuase it is more fun than working on scenery?
I am guilty of the TEST plywood central. LOL
Take Care
George P.

[Adelie]

Well, I am but involuntarily. I got a good deal of my plywood, roadbed and track down when my wife announced she wants to move elsewhere sometime next year. So, I'm not about to fini***he trackwork and, worse, start scenery while that time bomb is ticking.

Some time next year this urge will either pass (continue building and move from the Plywood Central), result in a move (where I can start all over again) or I'll kill her (continue on with the current design).

On the bright side, if it works out I can have the entire basement for a new Plywood Central. Hmm, it does plant the seed for some interesting rolling stock livery, doesn't it?

[West Coast S]

I'm planning a variation upon it, miminal track, basic scenery, zero track elevation changes, elimination of space and resource consuming yards and engine facalities. Not exactly "plywood" but bare bones just the same...


Dave

[cwclark]

I'm still in the plywood central mode but it's because i've been real lazy lately and really need to get in gear and get started with the scenery...someday it will look like a real railroad...chuck

[tommyr]

I am in the scenery stage now & loving it. It is for me the best part of layout building. It is also my wifes favourite part-adding people, animals & details.

[MisterBeasley]

How about the Bluefoam Valley Railroad? Or the Pink Panther Railroad? I plan on a fully scenicked railroad, but for now I've still got trackwork and a whole lot of wiring to do first. But, no plywood.

[nbrodar]

It's the Pink Panther for me. Right now my layout is 1/3 pink foam, 1/3 basic scenery (basically carved foam and paint), and 1/3 finish scenery. But I like building scenery and buildings, so that ratio changes frequently.

[jxtrrx]

I love this thread! I'm not into the scenery as much either, and it's good to know I'm not alone. Seeing the photos here and in MR magazine, you start getting an inferiority complex! I'm not on bare plywood... have a tunnel and some trees and ground foam, and a few structures that I enjoyed building... but kitbashing, and detailing... not for me.

[Anonymous]

I have my feet firmly in both camps. I have 3 of 7 planed sections built which gives me a loop to run on. One section s getting scenery but the other two are still bare foam.

[trainfreek92]

I am about to start my 4x8 N scale. I am 13 so i do not have the money to do a lot of scenery. but will have a few mountains, trees and ground foam. But when i am older i plan one having a basement empire modeling New England.[:D] But back to the current project, i am going to have 5 siding freight yard, 2 passenger stations. and 4 mainline routes. Tim

[CNJ831]

I would bet that nearly 50% of all the currently existing model railroad layouts are in some form of the "plywood/raw foam" stage. Those that actually get into the overall well scenicked stage (far enough along that you are actually proud to show it off to friends, relatives, or neighbors) are a lot more of a rarity than most hobbyists believe.

CNJ831

[rrinker]

I'm running on the Pink Prairie myself, since I'm using foam. One of these days I'll actually clean everything off so I can at least put down the earthy brown paint I bought.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

At least you bought the paint! Good luck to all in the graduation to the "Senicked Splendor" at least the Plywood Central, Pink Panther, or BlueFoam Valley have the process in gear and hopefully you are running some trains.
Adelie: if the prognosis is really bad the hole in the basement floor under the layout may be a solution, and you can use the excess sand and dirt for scenic detailing Just kidding, don't use up all the stock in case you "inherit" a new train room within the year. First thing after a move is errecting plywood/foam or whatever.

Will

[Anonymous]

I'm like Adelie in the future.

I had a "plywood central" that stayed that way for about a year after roadbed was downa nd track laid, because we started to consider moving.

Then we DID move, and I got 75% of the basement for trains as part of the deal yeee-haaaw.

Of course, that's the UNfinished basement, so right now I'm still hard at work studding walls, running electric and similar. Figure I'm about a month left in the 'make the room' mode before I can even start building plywood central.

My past layouts, barring pending moves on the one, have all progressed beyond plywood central, but the pace certainly decreases once you have track and can run the little babies...

[jwar]

My first layout was never more then the plywood central. Returning to the hobby after more decades then I care to count, I decided that I would tackle scenery before the layout was compleated, glad I did as I really think not getting into scenery or other neat tasks before everything was done, (my personal openion) can lead to burnout. What was neat is that I could tackle any job, laying track, weathering cars, scenery, build the helix or just tinker around.

Some say get the track in and perfect before doing any scenery, why....there is allways some area one can do that does not effect the running of the layout. So what the heck if you rip it out and start a small area over, its not that expensive to do, unless your into Geodesic Foam Scenery, then one has to have a long range game plan, thats expensive.

If I thought I was going to move it would have course been different, how about building a small diarama that you could incorporate into the next layout.
Take Care...John

[zigg72md]

I know there are a lot of prototypical types and scenery experts. I really enjoy there work. I however am a very minimalist kind of guy. All I have is grass paper(soon to be replaced with green felt). and thats they way I intended it. I may put a building or two. Probably a divider in a few years. Certainly a pre fab tunnel or two. But thats about it. I'm not that good with small things. I just want to lay track and run trains. But thats just me and I know im in the minority.

BTW thanks again to all you other guys. I do sincerly like your work and yes I am a little jealous but Im big enough to admit it.

[TomDiehl]

Still looking for space to put up my Plywood Central.

Fortunately, I can run on the club layout. [:D]

[jacon12]

I guess I'm still in the 'testing' stage. Oh, I have the Blue Prarie on the benchwork and I have track laid in a temporary fashion, testing this and that, but thats as far as I've gotten. I guess the main reason for not much forward progress is my lack (so far) of a solid trackplan that I like. Since I'm new to all this (just this year) I joined a local mr club and I'm enjoying that right now. We have a modular layout set up at the largest fair in the area and it's been a real learning experience. At least I get to talk to other modlers and see their engines, cars etc..
But... when I come home and look into the layout area.. why.. it's just like I left it. Still the Blue Prarie.
JaRRell

[tstage]

I've had the pink version of Jarrell's prarie for over a year now and don't really take much notice of it anymore. I'm more concerned about doming up with my final layout design.

My current one is more of a stepping stone to a shelf layout. I'm enjoying learning, making trees, weathers cars and buildings, putting together structures, etc. It's slow progress..but at least it IS progress. [:)]

Tom

[Anonymous]

I am running plywood on my two 4X8's. I got good quality however. I purchased 3/4" oak plywood. Heavy and sturdy.

[IRONROOSTER]

My current layout is still in the plywood stage, mainly because all the track isn't laid yet. But scenery was planned. This was a fairly simple layout I started when time and money were in short supply. Now that I have more time and money is not so tight, I am going to build a bigger layout with scenery. But this is a hobby and as long as you are having fun so what. I remember years ago seeing a picture of a very large layout that had no scenery - the owner wasn't interested.
Enjoy
Paul

[rolleiman]

Mine's still in the prarie phase but isn't intended to stay that way... 6 or 7 years ago, my Nephew asked "what year are you going to get to the plaster?"... I still don't have an answer for him....

http://www.rolleiman.com/trains/

Jeff
[8D]

[vsmith]

Still running on the Plywood Desert!

Not by choice, I had to put further progress on hold as the whole thing is going to be removed and stored till a new garage is built to house it. So I've held off doing anything that would be a headache to dismantle.

[DavidGSmith]

I am in the half and half group. I like to have the layout in various stages of construction, then I can work on what ever I want or feel like. Doing scenery right now. When visiting layouts at conventions I usually look for ones with most of the scenery in place. I know what plywood looks like and dont need to see more.

[mcs08097]

Mine has been in plywood for five years now (4X12 cookie cutter). Finally have the track the way I want it and wired. Now starting to add the pink stuff for landscape foundation (mountains, valleys, etc). Who knows, maybe 3 of 4 years from now I might start on the cool stuff (buildings, landscape, etc.). Then again maybe not.

[norbs]

Ah, the joy of having plywood, foam or any other kind of frame work down. I'm still in the dreaming stages of that. The building is completed, the insulation and sheetrock are up I'm almost done taping and 2 walls have primer on it. Hopefully by Christmas I will start to put the girder benchwork up for my 17" X 24' mini empire and get to the plywood central stage. Right now track on a plywood prarie is looking pretty good to me.

[Anonymous]

AArgh!!! I moved too late! I had a completely finished layout,and built it in sections cause I knew that, sooner or later, I'd be moving to a bigger house.Well,I moved,and then decided that the layout just wasn't gonna work in my new space.The new room is twice the size of the old one,but because the old one was an odd shape,and the layout was great in that room,it just couldn't really get 'morphed" into the new one without major compromises,SO...In the garbage it went.[yes,major crying and sadness!!!![:(]] But,in the end,the new railroad should be much nicer now.I went from a layout with 3 mainlines,2 yards,a nine stall roundhouse,seperate branchline,and killer scenery,to test running locomotives on a 2x3 piece of UNPAINTED styrofoam.Oh well....

[Anonymous]

As for me?

Well technicolor prairie stage. I have some pink foam, some blue and quite a bit of white in terms of Woodland Scenics sub-terrain. I do have one rather large (and really nice looking) trestle bridge, a couple of other small bridges and some tunnels. My wife and daughter are threatening to make a winter project out of scenerey.

John