How many layouts have you built and what did you learn from them?

[selector]

So much has already been said, I hesitate to add my experience. Still, you have asked, so I will answer.

I have my first layout, at 11' X 8', nearly completed. I am just adding trees and a few other details.

What I have learned:

a. A 52 year old man should be able to pick up new hands-on skills. I had never soldered (still can't, but the trains run on what I've done), never built a table, pony walls, never carved foam, etc. I just tried to have courage and faith in my innate intelligence and determination, and I dove into it.

b. If you want something badly enough, you'll find a way to make it happen. I wanted a big layout, and by gosh I'm nearly there! Where did the last seven weeks go?

c. Read lots, plan lots, and take small steps to ensure you don't make a catastrophic error. I found that if I took some time the previous evening to read about, say, soldering, in this forum, I was at least mentally ready to tackle it the next morning.

d. Safety is as important on this 'jobsite' as it is anywhere else. Treading on extension cords, placing hot soldering irons on foam, leaving drills with bits under foot, and other breaches of basic safety just because you are having fun and in a rhythm is as wrong at that time as it woould be on a construction site. THINK SAFETY!!!

e. I'll echo the curve issue...use the largest radius you can, at or over 22". The minimum for the sakes of both you and any loco is about 22", but go higher if you can manage it. Honestly, apart from looking better , especially with the larger locomotives and pax cars, it just runs better...period.

f. Find a way, during your initial planning, to facilitate easy access to every inch of your track. If you have hidden track, you'll have unreachable problems. The most highly proficient layer of track has a 99.99% probability of eventual problems somewhere on his/her layout. To ensure that you can get to the problem, even if it's as bizarre as a swing-up mountain, do it.

g. Lastly, if you are certain that you have done a fairly decent job of laying your track (gauged it, filed it, relaid it, resoldered it, etc), and a certain piece of rolling stock derails consistently at a given point, try adding weight to that item. I had balky ore cars, so I added real ore-like rocks to them, and they now run just fine. Most manufacturers make their rolling stock too light.

When you have more time and patience, though, go back over that place on the track, using your finger nail to run where the wheel flanges rub, and use a magnifiying glass. You may actually discover the problem really was with the track, particularly at a join.

[HarryHotspur]

I've built two layouts, excluding the ones I built as a kid.

I have learned that:

1. I really enjoy working with tight curves and steep grades, both operationally and scenically, and

2. The conventional wisdom does not always work best for me.

[Medina1128]

I am working on my second layout and I've learned about the flexibility of open grid and L-girder over a flat top on a sheet of plywood. I'm also learning the fun and ease of using foam in making scenery.
The biggest thing I've learned is that less is more. I've toned down the colors in my scenery. Subtle looks more realistic.

[dickencr]

This is my second, my first in N Scale.

Planning never ends. It starts with a good idea and evolves into what you put into hard-form.

Experimentation is important. Don't be affraid to try something new and different. You never know.

If you don't know, ASK some one. If they don't know ask for a referral. Keep digging. I find out more than I ever though possible the more I dig into it.

Have fun and relax. That's the whole point of this anyway.

[nbrodar]

I've built 7 layouts. Some things I've learned:

1.) Build it to move - 4 of the 7 layouts were lost to moves.

2.) Bigger isn't better - I attempted to build 20x20, 12x20, and 16 x16 layouts, none got much beyond benchwork and track (the 20x20 never even had the track finished). My current 10x12 is operational, and the scenery is well underway.

3.) Work in stages - so you won't get burned out on one aspect of the hobby. Lay some track, do some scenery, build a building, fine tune some rolling stock.

4.) Make friends with the owner of the your LHS - they can offer advice, turn you on to special runs, or order things with you in mind.

5.) Don't be afraid to change your plans - while you are building, you may get a better idea, or see something in a book, magazine, or on another layout.

6.) Think about scenery during the intial planning - while not set in stone, a rough idea of the scenery, can help with track planning, and benchwork construction.

Nick

[Icefoot]

#1 Lesson Learned from ALL layouts: A man's GOTTA have a hobby and this one has the MOST variety to hold your interest!

Currently working on layout #5 (if you count the one that never got past benchwork). The current on is my first foray into HO scale. All the others were N scale mostly due to space limitations and later because of all the N scale stuff I had laying around (didn't have to buy much of anything to build them). Here is how they went:

1. Somewhere around age 14, my brothes and I built a 4' x 4' figure-8 N scale layout from a trackplan in an old Atlas trackplan book. Never got it past running some trains. Matter of fact, I don't remember even finishing the tracklaying! But was a good intro to the hobby. Learned innovative ways to utilize limited space (plywood base was hinged to swing up and latch against a wall when not in use).

2. Got permission from parents (was about 16 at the time) to use my dad's old darkroom since it had not been used for photography in many years. Started building an L shaped layout about 4' x 9' in total size with a totally freelanced trackplan. Didn't get past laying the doubletrack mainline. Learned the importance of planning (or at least having a clear vision of what you want) BEFORE you start work. Also learned the importance of good benchwork.

3. <<<time warp>>> After graduating high school and spending nearly 10 years in military service (GO USAF!), unpacked old N scale stuff to get back into hobby. Started building a layout in a 10' x 12' area of my new house's basement. Found out I didn't learn the lesson of layout #2 so well in regards to having a plan before staring construction. Layout didn't progress beyond a couple of L-girder sections with no subroadbed or track installed.

4. During the same time as layout #3, MRR issue arrived with a trackplan for building an N scale layout on a hollow core door. Had everything needed to do it, so stopped work on layout #3 and started #4. Became a HUGE fan of hollow core door benchwork for portable layouts! Got the tracklaying completed and trains running. Then had to move and everything went back into mothballs. This one saw a brief ressurection at the new house about a year later, but the old locos (all bought for layout #1) broke and I didn't fix them, work ate up too much time, and the layout was dismantled for good.

5. About three years ago, my wife gave me an HO scale 0-6-0 switcher as a birthday gift after I mentioned wanting to get back into the hobby and try HO this time (got tired of working on the tiny parts in N scale). I took the planning lesson to heart this time and didn't start a THING until I had a workable trackplan and vision. Became a HUGE fan of hollow core door benchwork for SHELF layouts! Just about to install rocks/cliffs and the rest of the scenery on this one.

All in all, these layout taught me several things:

A) Have a plan before starting. Even if it is only in your head. But have a plan. Otherwise, you will spend money and time doing things that won't work in the end. And get frustrated because you can't figure out what to do next. And sell all your railroad stuff on eBay and violate Lesson #1 (Man's gotta have a hobby). A plan will keep you focused on what to do next and keep the hobby interesting.

B) Be a perfectionist with trackwork. This is one area where it is ok. Without GOOD benchwork and tracklaying, the rest isn't work doing. Take your time with the track. Make sure it is as flawless as humanly possible before moving on to scenery. Extra time spent in this stage will pay enormous dividends in enjoyment later. Remember, you can still run trains in an operating session without scenery. Just put paper labels (or footprint cutouts of structures made from old phone book pages [:)] ) to designate industries, towns, stations, etc. Then after testing your track and fixing any problems revealed by operations, start installing the scenery.

C) HAVE FUN! If you don't like some aspect of the hobby, don't feel pressured to do it by others who do like that aspect. Do what you find fun. If there is an aspect of the hobby you don't really like that is critical to the model (like benchwork construction, tracklaying, or wiring), find a friend who is good at it and willing to get you past this stage.

[:D] I LOVE this hobby....

[tomikawaTT]

In addition to the five club layouts I got actively involved in, I've gotten started on a dozen of my own, about half of which reached semioperational status before succumbing to a move. (One module, originally built in 1980, survived three such calamities and is now, finally, scheduled to become part of a layout that should have a half-life longer than Francium.)

At the moment I'm hard at work on a layout that promises to outlast me. No more moves!

What I have learned can be boiled down into a few simple observations:

1. Operation is addictive. As soon as wheels begin to roll, construction slows dramatically. (I've reached that phase now.)

2. Try new ideas. Some of them actually work.

3. If you are unsure of what to do, don't hesitate to ask an expert.

4. "Good enough" isn't. No prototype railroad would tolerate repeated derailments or permanent slow orders, and model railroaders shouldn't either.

5. Superior operational qualities are more important than superior appearance.

6. It's your railroad. Run it the way you wish, whether that be absolute adherence to a prototype or a wild feat of imagineering. (I've been guilty of both.)

7. Above all, this is a hobby, not a job. Have fun.

[conagher]

I've built 9 or 10 layouts in N, HO & O scale and I've learned many things over the past 60 years. Here are a few:

First: don't suffer from paralysis through analysis...get started instead of daydreaming for years trying to design the perfect layout. Something is better than nothing.

Second: if possible, get a minimal amount of track down so when you get tired of building sidings, branch lines or scenery, you can run a train for awhile before leaving the room.

Third: don't worry what other people will say when they see your layout. What suits you is all that matters. It's YOUR railroad.

Fourth: don't be afraid to ask for help. Join a local club, visit forums such as this and read the many How-To books available until you find your answers. Digging for information can be lots of fun.

Fifth: and remember, this is supposed to be fun. If you get frustrated, walk away and come back when you're in a better mood. Like other guys have said, this is a hobby.

[SMassey]

Im on #2. You can see al of my first one and how I did it on my website listed in my sig. I learned alot from that one. I found that while Woodland Scenics has great products and the foam riser system is pretty good, I dont really like using it for large areas. By the time I got to the end of the layout I found other methods that I liked using much better and started using the pink foam. The next thing I learned was I needed to plan everything before I started. When I layed the track plan I didnt consider operations. I didnt know what industries I wanted (other than I wanted an intermodal yard), where to put them, nor what their purpose was going to be. I planned the trackwork for contunous running and that turned out great but.... What I would (and did) do the second time around:
1. make sure that there is a purpose for your industries it makes for more fun in the operations.
2. If continous running is a must (it usualy is for me), make sure that the trains have something to do other than run in circles, it helps keep you from getting bored.
3. some type of a yard is a great Idea. It provides a place to store a few Locos/cars you may not want to run right now and answers item #2.
4 make a list of things you want out of the layout. Make the list in order of importance to you before yo ustart planning the layout. This will help make sure that you end up getting what you want in the end and that helps keep the number of layouts you build down.

So that being said here is what I applied to my second layout.
My list of wants in no particular order.
1. small enough to share the room with my son. (#1 must 4x8 was just the right size)
2. continous running of 2 trains at same time
3. interesting operations with purpose
4. some type of yard
5. make the layout portable (I am in the military I dont plan on being moved till around 2009 but you never know)
6. make it expandable.

Out of the parts of my list that I have the only one that I was not able to make come true smoothly was the last one. I can build onto this layout but not without tearing out some major tracks. I think I may just leave this as a stand-alone and update the details as my skills grow. Soon I will have the new layout on my website I have made sure to take pics of it as I built it. It took less than 2 weeks from the time I started building the benchwork till I was able to run a train. I am far from finished my trains are running through a wonder land of pink snow right now but they are running. It sure helps to have all the stuff you need to build, lay track, paint and glue before you start that saves alot of time and money. I hope that by the time I move to layout #3 it will be even better than the others I have built. (it should be #3 is not going to happen till I get a house after my navy stuff is done)

[MisterBeasley]

This is an update from almost a year ago, when I was days away from starting the benchwork. I've now got my 5x12 foot HO layout up and running, almost all the track layed, and some scenery done.

1. Don't re-use old brass track. I tried to use one old Shinohara 3-way turnout in my yard, figuring well, it's just in the yard, and new NS ones are very expensive. Nothing but problems, and now it's been replaced by a Peco which works much better.

2. Plan thoroughly, but don't be afraid to change the plans once you get started.

3. Be patient. Do NOT set timetables and deadlines. Instead, take as long as you need to do things. If it takes a month to build that engine house kit the way you want it to look, then it takes a month.

4. Take progress pictures all the way through. The temptation is to take pictures only of the finished project, but the journey is interesting in itself.

5. Don't buy too much stuff until you are really ready for it. I've got a lot of building kits now that I may not really have room for. Actually, I will probably make room for them, but things will end up more crowded than I would like.

6. The room is never big enough.

[AggroJones]

Bump

 

[ARTHILL]

Thanks Aggro. I am on number 5, but this is the first one that runs. I have learned:

1. Get the track work working.

2. Plan for changes because I do change my mind

3. Design it so I spend the most time on what I like to do the most, scenery

[IRONROOSTER]

When I last posted on this thread 3 years ago I was on my 5th layout.  I have now started my 6th.  What changed. Well, I have most of the basement available now and there is no way to really expand the old layout that makes sense to me.  Also, the double track oval layout was a compromise based on the space available and isn't what I'd like to have.  The trouble with ovals is they get boring, at least the smaller ones.  The 2 ft aisle wasn't enough and the 2 1/2 ft aisle seemed a little skimpy.  The new layout will have aisles of 3+ ft except for the aisles on either side of a 180 degree curve where it'll be 2 1/2 ft The new layout will be a shortline based (loosely) on the Ma&Pa and have a mainline of about 115 feet.  This will allow me to actually run 2+ trains and have meets. It will also be built for DCC.

Enjoy

Paul 

[bearman]

I'm now on my second and I have learned that nothing works for a satisfying layout better than planning planning planning. My first was ok but lack of planning sense didn't make operating it very satisfying. I also learned that running trains is a great stress buster after a stressful day at the office.  This second is rather modest, but I will be able to operate it alone, I will be able to run two trains and a switcher and it is thematically connected. I also have to learn how to solder.

[gallagher]

This is a good long thread. I wonder why it has such long gaps between postings but I guess people run out of "gas."

My layout is about #3 plus a module for a local Delaware Valley (Philadelphia) traction club.

A few things learned:

1. I fully support posters on good trackwork. Use that NMRA gauge, even on commercial track. Have plenty of track spikes, jewelers files, a Dremel tool with many disks for cutting, razor saw, and a mirror. Use that mirror to sight along the track at a shallow angle. You will be surprised how many kinks and bumps show up that will make cars wiggle, derail, and just run badly.

2. Make all transitions gradual. Use easements for entry to all curves and switches. ... and exiting those switches and curves.

3. Good sturdy benchwork is a must. There are good books and videos on this and you don't need a woodworking shop to do it. Do use drywall screws and a screw gun with appropriate bit but I also recommend gluing in addition to screws, unless it is a part to be taken apart. Use clamps to hold parts together, check for squareness and alignment, and then screw them together. Be willing to add extra braces for sturdy benchwork. It also applies to shoring up sags and dips and, after scenery is in, who sees it?

4. Get some thing running soon, even if it is just a few feet of track. I find that running trains (trolleys in my case) kept the interest up and, if I didn't have time to work, I did have something to do - that is run. I built a small return loop, on the single track module design. That loop is still on my layout and it moves to a new location when I add mainline track so my cars can always return.

5. Jumper wires are necessary between sections of track or else wire each section to a bus. Rail joiners keep rails aligned, and many solder them but some must be unsoldered so the rail can expand/contract.

Well, that is my 2 cents worth. Keep those ideas coming. We all learn from each other.

Oh, one final recommendation. Read John Armstrong's books on layout design and also see if you can get a copy of Frank Ellison's great article titled "The Art of Model Railroading." It was published in the July 1976 issue of Model Railroader.

Have fun.

 John  

[nucat78]

I'm on number 6. 

1) O27 plywood central

2) HO 4X8 tabletop

3) HO 14 X 22 on Homasote with L-girders

4) N 3 X 7 on foam

5) N  2 x 8 on foam

6) N  1.5 X 7 on foam

I've learned I much prefer foam to plywood and / or Homasote, prefer shelves / around-the-walls, see no point in spending much time and dinero on benchwork when simple shelf brackets do nicely for my applications, really dislike spaghetti bowls, good couplers are a must, easements are a must, use Ribbon Rail trackguides when laying track, things that hobby shops sell for big bucks can be found for MUCH less at craft stores like Michaels, drywall screws are a heavenly gift for multiple applications, wire lots of jumpers, keep your turnouts clean, modules beat the heck out of massive layouts that can't be moved.  And finally, no matter how precise you are when planning, the track will never lay exactly like the plan.

 

[fwright]

I've built or been one of the primary builders of 7 layouts over the years.  Things I have learned - usually the hard way (others' experiences are often very different):

Planning:

• consider an era that fits the space available
• mulitple eras mean multiple costs at the LHS.  The same is true for adding narrow gauge or traction.  Multiple prototypes also mean multiple costs.
• lack of loco roster planning means greater temptation (and greater costs) at the LHS
• sight lines (to see turnouts, uncoupling ramp markers, etc) are as important as reach when conducting switching operations on a layout
• normally allow enough distance for a 45 degree slope between parallel tracks at different levels 

Benchwork and track:

• L-girder framework is great for people like me who have trouble cutting wood accurately (measure 3 times and still get it wrong).
• L-girder framework is too "thick" to move easily.
• All benchwork screws are driven from the side or underneath.
• Homasote substitutes aren't Homasote.
• cork roadbed isn't cork roadbed after 10 years; it's crumbs
• bending plywood subroadbed gives smooth grade transitions without any calculations. Foam requires more effort to get smooth grade transitions.
• Don't be lazy, add joists and risers where needed to hold the plywood where it's wanted. 
• sanding tie tops before spiking rail is critical for good handlaid track.  Sanding cork roadbed smooth is critical for good flex track and commercial turnout work
• not all track gauges are made to the same gauge!  I had 2 Kemtron 3 point gauges that disagreed by about a railhead's width.
• rail joiners are ugly and a waste of time, at least in HO and smaller.  Pre-bending rail and flex track is the better way.  But "springy" Atlas flex track will give all kinds of fits on curves without soldered rail joiner joints.
• use ballast made from real rock to avoid some of the "floating" of the Woodland Scenics stuff
• carefully plan where the Kadee under-the-track magnets are going to go before installing the track

Other lessons learned:

• metal wheels run frequently help keep track clean
• thin scenery shells give decent access to hidden trackage and other stuff underneath.  Stacked foam requires planning for these things.
• don't carpet the room before building the scenery shell (plaster or foam, doesn't matter!)
• keeping a wiring notebook is critical, my memory doesn't last as long as my layouts
• Kadee coupler height gauges are the best circuit breaker test devices ever invented.  They also "disappear" into the scenery better than any other gauge.

Keep the posts coming - I much prefer to learn from the mistakes of others rather than my own

Fred W

[CMSTPP]

Well, its not the amount of railroads I have built it's how many time have the track plans changed on the same wood design, for me. I have probably changed my railroad 6 to 7 times over the past 3 or 4 years and I finally found a layout track plan that worked for me. With help from some of the guys around here I decided to have more industry switching and less main line trains. It just works better. I still have a couple of mainlines in but It has been brought down to the switching part. I have also learned how to lay track better than before. I started out laying it anywhere that would run a train but it was unsatisfactory and the trains would derail in many spots. Now that I have revised and talked around for awhile all of these things have been renewed and now I don't have to many problems. So, for me, it just took a few years of learning and understanding what is going on. It's a learning process, you never finish learning.

Happy railroading

James

[tangerine-jack]

Volumes could be written on how many layouts I've built and what I've learned from them.  Perhaps 15 or more?  Somewhere in that number I think is accurate.  I've learned lots, mostly what not to do.  Bottom line areas in which to NEVER compromise in all of them:

 

• 1. Strong bench work
• 2. High quality track and track laying techniques
• 3. railroads need a purpose to exist- move product from A to B or you're just running in circles. I prefer point to point operations.
• 4. Cheap rolling stock is just that, cheap. Pay for better equipment- you may buy less of it but what you have will add to you operating ease and result in far less frustration
• 5. Keep your goals realistic, work on small sections at a time. Get at least some trains running as early in the construction as you can.
• 6. It's OK to back up and re-do something
• 7. Take your time, but don't take forever. Sooner or later you have to look at something and call it "done"
• 8. HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[IRONROOSTER]

... see if you can get a copy of Frank Ellison's great article titled "The Art of Model Railroading." It was published in the July 1976 issue of Model Railroader.

Have fun.

 John  

I agree that was a great piece.  The full article spanned 6 issues and was last reprinted in full in the August 1964 - January 1965 issues. BTW I think the July 1976 issue is one of the best MR has ever done.

Enjoy

Paul 

[Medina1128]

I'm on my 3rd layout. What I've learned:

1. Make the sections in 2x4' modules. As I complete one section, I drill and insert dowels, to line things back up for when I have to move.
2. Use hairspray bottles to mist ballast. The mist is really fine.
3. Lay track with acrylic caulk. It's a breeze.
4. Plaster cloth is great stuff! As is foam and Liquid Nails for Projects.
5. Open girder or L-girder leaves much more scenicking possiblities than a flat sheet of plywood.
6. Xuron's rail nippers are DA BOMB!!
7. Don't scrimp on a soldering iron. Those cheapie $2.99 ones at Wal-Mart get hot, but the tips won't "tin" worth a darn.
8. Buying sand tubes from Wal-Mart is a cheap source of ballast.
9. Check the local hardware stores for mismatched paint. I bought a gallon of flat tan for $5.
10. Make a solid work bench to work on.
11. Using leveling feet on your benchwork legs makes leveling your layout a snap.
12. Carpet at least the areas next to the layout. It's much easier on the feet, calves and ankles than concrete.
13. Shop around for a good train room with a decent house above it.
14. Since I've re-immersed myself back into model railroading, I'm a lot easier to shop for at Father's day, anniversaries, birthdays and Christmas.
15. The more time you spend on laying good trackwork, the more enjoyable the layout will be. Nothing's worse than having to tear out trackwork. I glue down the roadbed with acrylic caulk, then sand the top, then glue the track down with caulk. Near perfect EVERY time.

 

[John Busby]

Hi gsetter

I have built 3 and two bits of layouts

the main things I learned

Are not to get the ambitions and capabilities mixed up

KISS rule is king

Make sure you track work is spot on and you have the best locomotives you can afford and a decent transformer controller

Take the layout forward in small manageable bites ( its the only way ) that's what I did not do with the "N" gauge that ended up getting demolished and sold off.

Starting with getting just enough track down to run a train then work from there

Have a clear idea of what you want before you start make sketches and notes before the first piece of wood is bought and the first nail hammered

Use the wiring method that you understand draw a diagram and label the wiring on the layout so that when it goes wrong you can fix it.

Don't be afraid to rip out that piece of scenery you just did if you think it did not turn out right.

It does not matter what buildings or trains you use kit, prebuilt. scratch built its the finished result that matters.

RAILWAY MODELING IS FUN is really the first and most important thing because if it isn't you got the wrong hobby

The last layout built is always the best well it will be when I have finished it and got the garden that surrounds it properly finished decided a change was in order so went out side.

I still do some indoor stuff when its too cold and wet.

regards John

[Bill54]

First I'd like to thank gsetter for starting this thread and AggroJones for bumping it back to the top.  This has been some very interesting reading.

I'm building my first real layout at age 52.  I've had track on plywood tables before but never really built a layout.

My layout is 15' x 20 1/2'.  I pondered building a smaller layout but the more I thought about it the less I liked it. 

My planning process has taken 14 months.  I started construction on 10 February 2007.  So far I have stuck to my plan for the most part but have had to make at least one adjustment due to an unforeseen clearance problem.

I've been reading these threads for months and books on benchwork, trackwork, wiring, DCC, and many others prior to beginning construction.   

With my limited knowledge of layouts I would stress a few things:

1. Read Read Read and Read some more.  You can never gain enough knowledge.

2. Work from a plan.  Without one you will be guessing at everything.

3. Purchase quality tools.  They make a huge difference in the ease of construction.

4. Ask the experts when you don't know the answer.  This site is a great resource.

5. This is a hobby, walk away for a while if you get frustrated.

6. Above all...Have Fun!

Bill

[cmrproducts]

I am working on my 20th layout (which is my own home layout.  It is probably my largest with over 2200 sq ft and almost 3000 feet of track).

I have helped the Club I belong to with most of the layout over the past 25 years of being a member.  One of the problems with clubs is losing the club room and having to start over.  And with a club having 4 layout in 4 scales you get to work on a lot of layout very quickly when starting over!

Now that the background is out of the way - the things I have learned is: 

1. Build sturdy benchwork with solid subroadbed. If the roadbed is constantly changing with humidity then the trains will derail constantly!

2. Take your time and lay the track without any kinks (both horizontal or vertical).  This is the foundation of the layout and it does no good if the trains derail all of the time (or occasionally) - ZERO Derailments.

3. Wire the layout properly.  YES you can just use 2 wires and the trains will run but 1 or 2 or 3 years from now when they don't want to run smoothly it isn't the engines it is usually the wiring! With lots of drop wires you can lose 10% of them and the layout will still run properly.  Take a short cut now and you will tire of the layout due to the poor running.  The Club learned in the first 3 or so layouts only because the majority didn't think we needed any wires! (It took too long)

4. Set standards for the engines and rolling stock.  Weighted, Wheel Gauge and Kadee couplers.  Otherwise more derailments!

5. And maintaining a very large layout will not take all of your time IF you follow the above items religiously.  The choice is yours but having 4 club layouts that are open to the public the trains have to run FIRST TIME EVERY TIME ! and they do only because we finally learned and followed the above rules.

Every time you cut a corner (no matter how small) it WILL come back to haunt you forever!

Been there and finally learned after 19 layouts !

BOB H – Clarion, PA

[MisterBeasley]

Wow, another year has gone by.  I think I've got a post on each page of this thread.

Remember what I said about taking time?  Well, I have been, but I've also been spending time.  I originally thought, way back in March of aught-five, that I'd have something pretty presentable by Christmas.  Well, I still feel the same way, but I've stopped predicting which Christmas that will be.

I've learned that I can make trackwork that works very well.  And I've learned that a small steamer will derail on my trackwork that otherwise works very well.  I've learned that I can fix trackwork, even if that means ripping it up, ballast and all, and doing it again until that steamer will stay on the track, no matter what.  Finally, I've learned that getting a big steamer means going back and re-doing some of that very same trackwork one more time.  Best of all, I've learned to do all of this without throwing things.

Plan for the future, even if the future is, well, The Past.  I avoided putting too many things that "dated" my layout on the table, other than removeables like engines, rolling stock and automobiles.  Buildings are the kind that could have been built any time over the last century, and the advertising is for old products, and it's faded so it could be very old itself.  When I move back and forth between 1967 and 1937, things won't look out of place.  (That movie poster for "The Graduate" with Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft's leg will bother me, though, even if no on else notices.)

The edge of the layout may not be the edge forever.  Kind of out of the blue, without any negotiating, it appears that at some point I'll get a larger share of the family room for my layout.  So, I've begun planning how to connect my free-standing 5x12 to something else, and what that something else should look like.

I've learned that I need staging.  This is one I learned too late.  However, with more space I'll be able to do that, and it's number one on the list.

And I've learned to appreciate my friends on this forum.  I love Weekend Photo Fun.  More than anything else, the pictures I see right here are my inspiration.

[selector]

This may sound depressing, but what I have learned is the following:

a. no matter how much planning you do up front, it won't turn out like you had planned;

b. if you aren't prepared to deviate from your plan, expect to have an awful time of it;

c. when you tell yourself that it'll be okay...it won't.  This is especially true of trackwork;

d. when you are getting angry and frustrated, STOP!!!!!!  Tools down, back away, read the newspaper;

e. sleeping on it is not to be underestimated.  A good night's rest will shed a whole new light on things...try it;

f. trite though it may be in our hobby, if you're not enjoying what you are doing, having fun, then you should be doing something else.  Can't be said more succinctly.

[cudaken]

 Still messing with the first mistake. What I have learned.

 1 Make friends with Bob Villa, my wood working skills sucks.

 2 Garage floors have a bulit in grade, use levers on the bech work legs.

 3 If it is aginst a wall don't make it more than 3' foot wide.

 4 Read, Read, Read and bug people here that know more.

 5 If it is a POS, find out how to fix it and don't give up.

 6 Learn from your mistake's, make more and keep learing from them and figuer out how to fix them.

 I have just added a new 5' X 8' section that will be done as right as I can make it. That means I will have bigger mistakes but it will turn out great with some work.

                  Cuda Ken

[JMartin]

I am on my first.  I am not counting getting benchwork up for a 4x8 layout as that is as far as it got.  Currently in the design phase for a double deck MILW layout (locale to be determined).

 

John 

[wickman]

I'm on my third layout first 2 were'nt what I was looking for and by the time I put another year into this one I'll probably realize I want more than what my realestate can handle, and rebuild.

I found with out business from op sessions I grow bored real quick.

I need to be able to just see the trains running through the scenery.

Rushing gets you no where.

Best time spent invested is the track work after all who wants to be spending time rerailing cars and engines.

Staging area is a must.

Dcc rocks

Sound is a must.

There are many many options for making your own scenery.

Try every option out there at least once.

No such thing as the right or wrong way.

Only one you have to please is yourself.

 

[IRONROOSTER]

...

e. sleeping on it is not to be underestimated.  A good night's rest will shed a whole new light on things...try it;

 

Didn't work, the track was just too uncomfortable and the locomotive headlights were too bright.

Enjoy

Paul