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A railroad on Mars -Echus Overlook Piste

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  • Member since
    April 2018
  • 5 posts
A railroad on Mars -Echus Overlook Piste
Posted by Nirgal on Thursday, April 5, 2018 4:02 PM

Helo,

I am new to this site. My layout, Echus Overlook Piste, is n scale on a 80" x 36" door. It is a freelanced layout. The time frame is 22nd century on Mars based on the railroad in the novel Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Reading, PA
  • 30,002 posts
Posted by rrinker on Thursday, April 5, 2018 4:43 PM

 Got any pictures? Loved that series. 

                         --Randy

 


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
    November 2007
  • From: California
  • 2,388 posts
Posted by HO-Velo on Thursday, April 5, 2018 4:48 PM

Your sci-fi layout sounds interesting and fun, hope you can post some photos.  And by gosh, I'll bet there's lots of reference photos available for doing scenery.  Btw, Mars is my second favorite planet.

Regards,  Peter 

  • Member since
    March 2017
  • 129 posts
Posted by Canalligators on Thursday, April 5, 2018 8:30 PM

Is it steel wheel on rail, mag-lev, warp field or anti-grav?

Genesee Terminal, freelanced HO in Upstate NY
  ...hosting Loon Bay Transit Authority and CSX Intermodal.  Interchange with CSX (CR)(NYC).

CP/D&H, N scale, somewhere on the Canadian Shield

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Chamberlain, ME
  • 5,084 posts
Posted by G Paine on Thursday, April 5, 2018 10:39 PM

Nirgal
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

I liked that series of books!!

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: Ontario Canada
  • 3,574 posts
Posted by Mark R. on Thursday, April 5, 2018 11:00 PM

Model Railroader did a conceptual layout on another planet. Mostly artist conception, but it had potential. Don't know the issue, but it was probably in the late 70s some time.

Mark.

¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Friday, April 6, 2018 12:07 AM

Hey Nirgal!

Welcome to the forums!!      Welcome

Your layout concept sounds really interesting. It will certainly be different! You will have to do lots of scratch building. That is my favourite part of the hobby.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    July 2017
  • 201 posts
Posted by marksrailroad on Friday, April 6, 2018 5:38 AM

There was a guy that had a Mars train and layout several years ago that was very much like the OP has. It was based on the 1990 movie Total Recall. And though it was very cool looking, it got boring after a few months and he tore it down and built a regular earth railroad...

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: St. Paul
  • 823 posts
Posted by garya on Friday, April 6, 2018 10:14 AM

Sounds interesting.  Recently a gentleman posted this,  https://smallurbanrails.wordpress.com/ , which has a link to the MR article on the Moon layout.

Post pictures!

Gary

  • Member since
    April 2011
  • 649 posts
Posted by LensCapOn on Friday, April 6, 2018 11:17 AM

There is also the train in John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars film if you've seen it.  (weak you tube clip)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVaoPGuVw50&t=45s

  • Member since
    March 2011
  • 39 posts
Posted by Modeleer on Friday, April 6, 2018 11:39 AM

garya

Sounds interesting.  Recently a gentleman posted this,  https://smallurbanrails.wordpress.com/ , which has a link to the MR article on the Moon layout. 

Welcome to the forums!

This is so wild - I just started a new discussion thread abouth my mining layout set on the planet Xenon III (very Mars-like) before I saw this post.  Looks like a trend is forming!

Check out my blog at smallurbanrails and maybe we can bounce some ideas around the community.

The MR article was "A Lunar Railroad You Can Model" in the April 1978 issue - exactly 40 years ago this month.

The future of model railroading looks bright! Go for it and keep on modeling!

-rich

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Southern California
  • 1,682 posts
Posted by Lone Wolf and Santa Fe on Friday, April 6, 2018 12:16 PM

    Welcome to Earth stranger. I can’t wait to see more about your layout. I too am planning to build a sci-fi layout as a second layout. It is based on the railroad in the movie, The Ghosts of Mars, and of course it is also influenced by the railroad in Total Recall.
    There is another modeler here who is currently working on a sci-fi layout also. He recently posted pictures of a locomotive he kit bashed. He has a blog somewhere with other pictures.
    My Mars layout is still in the planning stages. It is going to be a point to point layout with a wye at the end where the mine and the mining town are located, and a balloon track on the other end around the main city and spaceport. I plan on modifying some old Hot Wheels Sizzlers trains for use on it since they are HO scale. Alien

Modeling a fictional version of California set in the 1990s Lone Wolf and Santa Fe Railroad
  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,483 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Friday, April 6, 2018 2:11 PM

Many years ago, I was the "Chief Observer" at a radiotelescope, which also had what we called a "Planetary Radar."  One night, we were taking data on Mars.  Without intending to, I became the first human being to see Valles Marineris, the Grand Canyon of Mars.  It was nothing but a line of x's on a line printer, printed on that old green and white striped computer paper, but there it was.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, April 6, 2018 9:22 PM

Welcome to the Model Railroader Forums.

.

Your first few posts are moderator delayed, but that will end soon enough. Please stick it out with us!

.

"Nirgal", is that a female Nurgle? I can't even imagine what that would look like!

.

Please post some pictures. Your layout sounds great.

.

-Kevin

.

Living the dream.

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