Hey guys,
My 8 yr old son and I are about to build our first layout together. We've been researching and reading about model railroading for the last 6 weeks or so and attending a large train show about 3 weeks ago. We got some good ideas, but we also have a few questions.
The first is, portability. There is no room in the house, so the garage is the only place to set up a layout, but I must take it down after each session. So I' thinking of 8 foot long segments. Still undecided on weather to go 18" or 24" wide. I will not be able to keep any scenery of any kind on the layout since I need to keep the footprint small when not in use. How sturdy are the buildings and kits? I would like to use them as a point of reference as it's a mainly switching layout, but they would need to be stored in box or storage bin when not in use. If they are too fragile to be moved 4-8 times a month, can you think of anything stronger? I've been using the Atlas RTS track planner, any got some good ideas, but having a hard time judging the footprint needed for buildings.
My eventual layout will be "C" shape. 16 foot in length which will feature the sidings and industries (which I'm still deciding) and 8 feet sides which will feature mini-staging yards to represent incoming and out going cars.
The only thing I have in my train collection is a GP40 DCC loco. I know I want to model 80's or beyond as that's what I grew up watching. Got nothing else. Planning on the NCE Power Cab starter set (played with it at the train show and loved it). So starting from scratch. Have a small budget to start up the hobby with the DCC power, buying lumber to build the first 8' segment, and track and a few rolling stock. Then slowly expanding from there.
Any advice or tips would be much appreciated.
-Bill
Hi Bill,
Welcome to the forums and great to hear you're planning a new layout with your son.
On your specific questions, the first I'd query is whether you actually need to take down the layout. Is it possible to hinge it to the garage wall so that after use it folds flat (well almost flat) against the wall. You'd need support legs building underneath (again to hinge out when open), but that would save you a lot of time and effort. I think any 8' module is going to be heavy and awkward to handle and store.
Plastic kits should be strong enough, especially if you reinforce the structures with square section styrene.
I have the Power Cab and it's a great system.
Finally, with junior in mind, you won't want the disappointment of poor running locos, and the Atlas Trainman range which runs superbly but has fewer fragile details should be on your shopping list.
Regards,
Ian
I would not say no to scenery. You can add grass and small bushes and even a few trees if you go with a layout like mentioned above. Once they are glued they are on there fairly strong. It will make the train experiance a lot better than looking at plywood.
In a fairly recent issue of either Model Railroad Planning or Great Model Railroads there was a layout featured that was sectional and in a one car garage. Might be a great source of ideas, I just wish I could recall what magazine it was in. I'll try and find it...
Welcome to the forums.
The above post may be referring to the article in How to Build More Layout In Less Space, a special issue from MR. Part of the layout stays in place, other peices are moveable to get the car in.
You can find many threads on modular layouts if you go to Search Our Community in the right hand column of this page. I agree 8' sections would be hard to move on a frequent basis. Find out if there is a local club that has a modular layout. Use their standards and maybe someday you could join in their fun. 2" extruded foam insulation would make a good lightweight base, it comes in 2'x8' peices, could make two 4' sections. I would recommend placing it on a sheet of 1/4" plywood and putting a trim around the edges to protect it from edge damage during all the moving.
Hope your sons interest blossoms along with yours.
Have fun,
Richard
Welcome Bill - Just for you http://lancemindheim.com/bookstore.htm
He has a trailer on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGJE9Q1EBOM
ratled
Modeling the Klamath River area in HO on a proto-lanced sub of the SP “The State of Jefferson Line”
Welcome aboard!
The key to solid buildings is internal structure. I have a lot of building kits on my layout, and they've "evolved" as my own skill at putting them together has improved. Now, I routinely put interior floors and walls into the buildings, which makes them visually more interesting when illuminated, and also makes the buildings much stronger. For the insides, I use foam-core board from a craft store, and I print out wall and floor textures on the computer and glue them to the board to make a "finished" interior. Also, when you glue together walls at the corners, don't depend on the thin edge-to-edge surface for the glue. Add a strip of plastic or balsa wood in the corner for reinforcement.
If you plan to have a true "shelf'" layout with some sort of brackets mounted on the wall, then you can attach a background with structures to the wall itself, and leave it there even when you remove your layout for storage. There is a whole class of structure kits called "Background Buildings" which are no more than an inch or two deep, designed to go against the back wall of a layout. Or, you can simply take a single wall of a full building kit and attach it to the wall of the garage, which will give you a reference point for train operations, some scenery to make the layout interesting, and 3 more walls for somewhere else on the layout.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Wow!
That's a lot of quick responses! Lots of great ideas too. I don't have much room along the walls of the garage at them moment, however I do have an attic that has no floor, so getting that finished should take care of the wall issue. Sigh, looks like I pushed back building the layout by a few weeks, but if ya want it done right, be prepared to put the time into it, right?
Seriously, thanks for the feedback. I got some even better ideas now, and I can't wait to show them to you guys.
Kudos to you!
Jimmy
ROUTE ROCK!
Bill,
Remember an attic can have climate (hot/cold) issues, if you plan for them you should be alright.
If you and your son want to get a train running while all this "other stuff" is going on a simple 4'x6' sheet of plywood or foam would provide you with a place to do so. A coat of paint and sprinkle on some ground foam, make a few trees, a hunk of foam insulation for a hill. Lots of good pratice space for you and your son to improve your skills before you start on your larger layout.
I have a related, but different problem.
I am temporarily living in the USA and when my posting concludes, I will need to pack my layout up and have it shipped back to Australia. Why this is relevant is because I've built a small shelf layout so that I can "play trains"! I too need a portable solution.
I have built my shelf layout from sheets of 8'x4'x 5/16" ply. each sheet cost me about $20. I had Home Depot cut it up for me. Each module is effectively a box that is 4'x1'6"x6". The only deviation is that the back is also my "backdrop". It measures 4'x2'6". i've also used 2"x1" timber to reinforce corners and attachment points.
My cutting list is as follows:
one piece 4x2'6" (this is the back)
one piece 4x1'6" (this is the top)
one piece 4x0'6" (this is the front)
one piece 4x0'6" (this will be further cut down to make the ends each 1'5" 6/16th or 17 6/16")
The ends fit between the front and back so that the overall width is 18". You could have a 24" wide shelf, just adjust the cutting list above accordingly.
Remembering that the ends are an "inside" fit, I cut two pieces of 2x1 to size. One for the top edge of the front and one at the 6" mark on the back. This will be what the top is fitted to. make a similar arrangement for the ends, screw/glue together and there you have a shelf module.
This is very strong and very light therefore making it easy to move and store. I bought a set of cheap trestles to use as legs (again about $20/pair from home depot). All works very well. Before doing anything, I highly recommend painting ALL surfaces to seal the plywood.
If i can figure out how to post pictures, I'll put some up shortly.
Good luck!
Dan
Modeling the railways of South Australia in HO scale!
South Australian Railways and the Commonwealth Railways.
As promised, here are some photos of my shelf layout.
Firstly here are the two on their "cheap" trestles as legs.
http://thumbs.fotopic.net/316069000313.jpg
And here is a photo, showing the inside detail of what makes it light and strong.
http://thumbs.fotopic.net/315069000313.jpg
I hope that you find these images useful.
Hmmmm... those links didn't work so well... try these
First link: http://images.fotopic.net/15clhv.jpg
Second: http://images.fotopic.net/15clhu.jpg
See how these go...
Cools! Images! Those are certainly close to what I want to build. Thanks for your input!