Would like some help on layout please.

[C.P.C.S.]

As some know I am a teenager, so money is limited. Yet I am a model train collector and I have had it in my blood since I was born. I would like someone to help me plan a Germanic-Arkansas(US) type look. Reason for German: German farms and country side have a beautiful serene look and I want that.

Reason for Arkansas: Arkansas has a mountain to farm life look. From mountains and hills to gentle farm land. I like that look, especially when it snows.

I just need someone to tell me what supplys I need to get, and what type of layout I need. I have 4$ a week which isn't much, but you'd be surprised to find out how much scenery you can buy for that much. When Birthday comes along I will get around 300$ so that will overall cover scenery,hills, and track. Yes I am a teenager. No I am not new to model railroading. Hobby locations for me.

Hobby Lobby
Local Hobby Store In Nearby City

and Ebay.

Those are closest to me. I am currently getting my trains fixed(broken couplers,missing wheels,and engine problems.) I almost have all this done, so next comes layout. Please help.

 -Caleb(Please do not think wrong of me for my age.)

[PRR_in_AZ]

OK.  What scale is your equipment?  Is it modern or old (steam era, transition era or diesel era)?  How much space do you have to work with?

Chris

[C.P.C.S.]

Scale: HO Age: 1946-1953 Loco: Diesel, Electric, and a steam possibly. I am measuring it right now.

 Caleb

 

Edit*

Measurments(for now):11 ft long 6 ft tall and 3 ft tall. It looks like this

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Those are measurements for now. To be completely accurate I will have to wait till Christmas when my family gives me model trains and so on. So it could get bigger. For now I just need to know what materials to stock up for

[steinjr]

Grin,
Stein

 

[PRR_in_AZ]

Caleb,

Have you started to think of a plan yet?  If not, you may want to see about getting some track planning books or looking on the internet for track plans.  Kinda hard to start buying things if you haven't developed a track plan yet.  Also draw a top down view of your room and how much space the layout takes up.  Is the layout going to be L shaped or rectangular like a 4x8 sheet of plywood?  Once you start thinking about those things people will be more willing to give you ideas.  Understand?

Chris

 

[steinjr]

 Okay - here is a layout proposal that should be simple to build, possible to fit into a regular sized bedroom, and have a least a minimum of potensial for both realistic looking scenery and operations:

 

 No, it doesn't have miles of forrest, and it doesn't have continous run, so you can loop around and around and around in a little circle until you get dizzy. 

 What it has is this:

1) A place for trains to come from and go to (staging).  Staging represents "off to the east" (or west, or north or south) - it can represent a town just down the line, or a destination halfway across the continent.

 You can drive a passenger train in from staging, stop it at the depot, and then run the engine around and head out in the opposite direction (into staging again).

 Or you can have your passenger train wait on the track in front of the depot (after running the engine around), while a freight train comes in (from staging) and pulls into the siding next to the passenger train. Then the passenger train departs.

 You can have a freigh train bring in empty cars for the elevator, leave the empty cars in the siding, run past the empty cars, get the loaded cars from  the elevator, leave them on the main in front of the depot, put the empty cars into the elevator spur and depart with the loaded cars.

2) It has a couple of destinations on your layout - a freight house, a team track (where stuff would be unloaded from cars into trucks or horse drawn carts), a depot and an elevator.

3) You can have a steam engine stopping at the water tower to get more water.

4) You can model some trees, a farm or two, maybe a hillside and a little bridge across a creek in the corner scene of the layout.

 5) It only uses four turnouts. Easy to wire, easy to build, does not need a lot of costly components.And yet you can sort cars, do a little switching, run around cars etc.

 6) Landscape, trees, roads, buildings etc you can build in pretty inexpensive ways - using e.g. cardboard as material for the buildings.

 Not what you had in mind ? Probably not.

 But start thinking about what you want to be able to do with the trains on your layout, and how much space you have in your room (or wherever you want to have your layout).

Smile,
Stein

 

[Paulus Jas]

hi

here are two idea's to complement Stein.

I like Stein's proposal very much, one of the best small rural designs I've seen. I've drawn a traditional 8 x 4 with a cassette added. It has a continuous run but when placed in the corner of a room you will have access problems, placed otherwise it is a space hog.

Cut the 8x4 into four small boards and you get the HOG (Heart of Georgia, designed by Scott Perry); I just draw a version with less switches. You will be surprised but the Hog needs the same roomspace as the 8 x 4, if the latter is not build in the corner a room.

You could compare the radii on the three pikes, trainlength, reach-in qualities, operational possibilities, ease of building or costs.

So maybe you can start by making a drawing of your room and some idea's about the railroad you would like to have, or dream about.

Have fun, keep smiling

Paul

BTW the original HOG:

[HTower]

While you're considering locations to purchase from, take a look at Walthers' website.  They usually have several items on sale, you just have to wait for the ones you want to go on sale.

You mentioned that you are almost getting your trains fixed, and the next step is the layout.  Please consider though, once you start building your layout, don't stop working on your freight cars, don't do all of the track laying at once, etc.  Lay a section of track, and then put together one of your buildings before doing more track work.  Diversity of task helps keep me away from "Well, now I need to make 400 trees for my layout" or "I have to ballast how many scale miles of track now?"

[tgindy]

C.P.C.S.

Scale: HO Age: 1946-1953 Loco: Diesel, Electric, and a steam possibly. I am measuring it right now.

Don't overlook the Doodlebug Gas Electric Rail Car, usually available via Bachmann, for a trip in the country for passenger & mail service, and; even an attached car for a milk run, or shortline industry service.

[route_rock]

  I am all about you modeling Arkansas ( My great grandparents lived in Hardy Ar and I LOVE that area) My only problem is the German type farms. Not many in that area really But what the heck right?

  Keep asking questions and dont worry about your age. We were all your age once ( some of us are still there and some have forgotten lol) I would suggest some open land area for some cattle farms. Your time frame you can have some stock moves and it can add some intrest plus cuts back on some of the trees you would have to do.

[Doc in CT]

C.P.C.S.

Hobby locations for me.
Hobby Lobby and Ebay.

 

Check out the HO Yard Sale site

Also, out of production POLA kits, and current Faller and Kibri kits tend to be German/European in flavor.
(Check out Euro Rail Hobbies as a quick way to figure out what is out there).

Doc