ONE theme layouts

[tatans]

I realize a very large percentage of modellers have layouts consisting of a general railroad,--freight trains, maybe one passenger train, a switcher, small towns, a couple of factories etc. etc. How many others out there have ONE specific theme? like only logging, or only passenger or a steel mill layout. It would be interesting to find out if there are some different themes for specific industries, or situations, let's hear from you. I assume statistics would almost be impossible to collect on this subject.

[Anonymous]

I am modeling the BN circa 1990, coal traffic from Alliance west over Crawford Hill including the pusher operation. All in N scale.

[Jetrock]

There are plenty of folks who model specific themes. Different types I have seen:

*Trolley layouts, that only model trolley operations.
*Steel mill layouts--these can be REALLY BIG. Even if it's just one mill, they can be immense.
*Coal haulers. Some folks really, really dig those 100-car coal trains pulled by a couple big black articulateds or heavy diesels. N scale is well-suited to this.
*Logging railroads. A favorite of narrow gaugers, logging lines tended to be owned by lumber companies whose business was cutting and selling logs, not general railroading, so all they carried were logs. Many modelers focus on logging railroads--even though they only carried logs, the quirky and unique equipment used by logging railroads is just amazing!
* Dockside layouts. While not limited to one kind of freight, many folks model layouts of docks, simulating shipping from ships and warehouses to the outside world, thus modeling a very specific location.

There are plenty more examples, I'm sure. My own layout isn't an industry-specific one, but it is specific in time and place--the Sacramento Northern's freight belt line around downtown Sacramento, between 1946 and 1965. It is focused on a few linear miles of track, serving mostly agriculture/food based industries but also with extensive interchange service. I don't run passenger equipment except for railfan trips.

[Anonymous]

From my Railroad Tycoon experiences, you can start with just one industry; a steel mill for example. But, in order to make steel you need coal, and thus a coal mine, and iron ore, which requires an iron mine. Once you make the steel, you need to send it somewhere, perhaps an auto factory. That also requires a tire manufacturing facility which is dependent upon a rubber farm. Then you need to sell the cars somewhere, such as an auto dealer. Then you need customers...
They need to live somewhere...
You need people to build the houses...
You need trains to transport all the people...
Passenger stations...
More trains!!!!
...
...
And so on!
So much for one theme!

Happy modeling!

[Anonymous]

Tatans, I realized that I could never pull off country or mountainous scenery convincingly with my space limitations. So, I opted to emulate a city scape using the few "fronts" available from DPM and scratch-built replicas of city buildings ('fronts' including Union Station, K.C., MO). I managed to represent two scale city blocks on one leg of the layout with backdrops of photo murals of city buildings applied to the wall surface behind the "fronts." This offers some dpeth to the viewer. There are two levels of action: the lower is passenger station action with attending yards. The upper level consists of the city buildings and a "dog bone" street car line running continuously. On the opposite side (garage), I hide the work bench with a pull-down shade painted to represent a suburban setting with an out croping of a steep bluff which the right of way penetrates via a short tunnel. The two legs are connected on one end by a viaduct (2 track mainline) and the other with a "removeable" truss R.R. type bridge (also 2 track). Considering the confined space, this "single theme" representation comes off pretty well with plenty of detail to keep the eye occupied. An "endless loop" conveyor belt powered by a turntable motor keeps motor traffic moving on the city side. The entrance and exit are view blocked with a tunnel entrance on one end and a wayside building on the other. My car shares the garage with the layout, so the "removeable section" is a hassle but neccessary. That's my situation for better or worse.

[jrbernier]

My layout models a Milwaukee Road branch line in SW Wisconsin. All very rural, and set in the 50's. There is no big yards or roundhouse, and no 'streamliner' running around the layout. Just lots of orange GP9's and rib-side boxcars.......

Jim Bernier

[CPPedler]

I'm doing an H.O. model of Keith Yard about 9miles or so west of Calgary. This yard is used to set up trains going west through the Rockies.,so there is quite a lot of loco exchanges going on. Taking off SD40's etc., and replacing with AC4400's and so on. To add some extra interest I'm adding a paper mill, totally fictitious, there are no paper mills in that area, that I'm aware of. So there is a lot of switching taking place. A paper mill generates a great deal of activity. Going in we have Oil to power the place, Slurry and Kaolin also in tank form, wood chip etc ., for paper making. Going out there is umpteen box cars of all sizes plus liquid waste that cannot be pumped into the adjacent Bow River. This layout is 29x10 with a possible future extention into the garden giving an out and back run of 220 ft. All with DCC. PLS

[twhite]

Although I can't say that I have ONE theme, I do have a PREDOMINANT theme on my Rio Grande California Extension. The era is 1940-52, the season is late Summer-early Fall, and reefer extras are still crowding the east main, while empties return on the west. I probably run more reefer blocks than any other kind of train. Something about those handsome Rio Grande steamers with solid blocks of ART, PFE or FGEX reefers behind them--
Tom [8D][8D]

[ksax73]

CURRENTLY...............my theme is present day passenger service. I have no freight but that's only because I don't have the space for it. To be prototypical, a layout must have freight as that is the dominant traffic in America's RR system. A layout with just passenger trains and no freight is less prototypical than having a mix.

[orsonroy]

My layout is a single-theme road: moving freight on the NKP across central Illinois, circa 1945-1950.

[ndbprr]

Well over the years I have had just about every form imaginable. I've had a fictional railroad parallel to the PRR called the Allegheney with ARR in keystones and trackage rights to the PRR. I've had switching layouts that hauled cars to a steel mill up a switchback from a lower part of town. After moving recently I gave serious consideration to modeling the proposed but never built PRR Sam Rae line that was supposed to follow roughly the route of I-80 across Pennsylvania. How could anybody dispute anything you did? I decided finally to model a portion of the corridor andf kept narrowing this down. I started with 30th St in Philly to Trenton with a double deck. Now I am down to the mile and a half east from North Philly station to Shore tower. I am planning to reproduce this full scale including large tunrouts and full size buildings. The railroad could be done and about 1/4 the space with selective compression and a fast clock but the single theme of this one will be realism.

[wesleyl849]

I am looking to model the automotive industry. I found a great book published by Walthers titled "America's Driving Force: Modeling Railroads and the Automotive Industry" This book covers the development of the auto industry in America, a history of freight cars used in the industry and modeling tips.

While waiting to build, I am collecting freight cars, auto-racks and the like.

[Paul3]

ksax73 wrote:

QUOTE: To be prototypical, a layout must have freight as that is the dominant traffic in America's RR system. A layout with just passenger trains and no freight is less prototypical than having a mix.

Not necessarily. The modern northeast has several lines that are passenger-only, or, at the very least, freight trains are kept to the earl-morning hours so as not to interfere with the passenger trains. MBTA is a prime example of this. Amtrak's NEC is almost passenger-only.

For myself, my theme is the New Haven Railroad. Any and all NH locos or equipment I collect, but my layout is Boston to Providence on the NH's Shore Line Route.

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[Jetrock]

Indeed, there were and are plenty of trolley/light-rail railroads that don't carry any freight--although plenty of trolley and interurban lines did offer freight service too!

[PistolPete]

My main focus is a fictional interchange between the BN, SF, and UP along with a divisional point for the BN. My 3 main lines have a total length of about 30 feet leading from some staging to the interchange tracks.