What's the oddest layout you've ever seen ?...

[Anonymous]

Several years ago, I stopped by to check in on my friend James that had recently finished a new layout. As we walked back to his train room, he kept saying-now don't laugh, don't laugh. We get back there, and there sits this 4X12 table with the surface of Mars on it... It had a Mars colony, people in pressure suits working on things and a really cool looking train that he had made up from a Metro train by painting it all white and puting decals on it.
He said he got the idea from the movie Total Recall with Arnold Swartzenegger, and that the best thing about it was that other than the colony, space craft and train, he didn't have to worry with landscaping materails. I don't know about that guy sometimes... I have to admit though, he did a really good job.

trainluver1

[cwclark]

the oddest train layout i ever saw was in MRR a couple of years ago..there was this G gauge set up of some wild west mining town and it was really strange...the radii on some of the track was so sharp there was no way a train could transverse the rails and everything about the layout was really odd and strange...chuck

[ukguy]

Sounds cool trainluver1, I have often toyed with the idea of a futuristic layout or an off world 'railroad'. Do you/he have any pics of this Mars world? would love to see if you do.

Have fun & be safe,
Karl.

[davekelly]

trainluver1,

That sounds really neat. I guess he doesn't have to worry about rivit counters either! Given that it is acceptable to model the past and present, prototype and freelance I think it is an interesting idea to model the future. Of course just like with more "traditional" layouts one can either just use what's available and slightly modify it to look like something that could exist on Mars like your friend did, or one could research and learn about how structures etc have to be constructed to survive in an atomosphere on another planet or one could just imagine what such things would look like (the next Speilburg!). Several years ago MRR did a little article on a lunar layout - the thing was pretty cool looking. Is it possible that your friend would let you post some pics? Would love to see it!!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ukguy

Sounds cool trainluver1, I have often toyed with the idea of a futuristic layout or an off world 'railroad'. Do you/he have any pics of this Mars world? would love to see if you do.

Have fun & be safe,
Karl.

Sorry guys. James no longer lives here, and I'm sure the layout has probably been torn down. However, I'll do my best to describe it to you.

Like I said. The layout was 4X12 and in N scale. The surface was what I call clay orange. It had two or three mountains with tunnels on it and a pink back ground to represent the sky. The base or colony was white and reminded me of moon base Alpha from Space 1999. The colony was lighted because he turned the lights off and fired it all up and it really looked cool!. Out from the colony there were two landing pads with landing craft on them that looked like eggs with landing legs that had flags and other details on them such as rocket engines and so forth. The course of the train curved through and around the mountains and went through an air-lock type station on one side of the colony.
I remember asking him if he was going to put in any alien artifacts and he said no, that he wanted to keep it realistic (realistic?-okay!...).

Hope this helps.

trainluver1

[ereimer]

you could do a mars layout in pink foam and not even have to paint it [(-D]

[ereimer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

the oddest train layout i ever saw was in MRR a couple of years ago..there was this G gauge set up of some wild west mining town and it was really strange...the radii on some of the track was so sharp there was no way a train could transverse the rails and everything about the layout was really odd and strange...chuck

i'll bet that was Malcolm Furlow's Ferrocarril de Rio Mantanas layout in the sept. 2003 MR . malcolm is well known for incredibly detailed highly exagerated layouts and models . some people think he's too far out there and his models are a caricature of model railroading . while i wouldn't (couldn't???) build a layout in his style , i always enjoy seeing his work

[West Coast S]

I once encountered a layout with a perfect rendition of Mt. Rushmore, complete with all the presidents carved in great detail. It took a couple of minutes to determine why I had this odd feeling I was being watched.

Closer investigation determined that the owner had motorized the eyes and when a sensor (?) was tripped by walking down the aisle they would follow you , creepy to say the least. I never went back to see what other odd features might be discovered.

[rtraincollector]

QUOTE: you could do a mars layout in pink foam and not even have to paint it

Okay this sounds like a Fergie train layout to me from what I've picked up on about PINK and Fergie [8D][:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ereimer

you could do a mars layout in pink foam and not even have to paint it [(-D]

The surface of Mars is orange with a pink sky. I'm not a fan of pink but that's the way it is...

trainluver1

[Anonymous]

long ago there was a railway in model railroader built on wood risers. it was about two feet off the floor , i think, no scenery of any kind...the builder was a well known name at the time , but it escapes me