How far along are you on your layout?

[Medina1128]

I have all the track laid, wired and ballasted. Almost ALL of the scenery is done! Woo hooo! I'm currently working on the background scenery for the upper level. This scenery hides the transition track that runs from the lower to the upper level.

 

[Espee Black Widow]

I started my layout back around 1986 or so and was never able to complete it. Since then life happened, career, marriage, family and so on. I was able to store the unfinished layout for all these years and recently decided to take it out of storage and set it up. I have the benchwork complete with all the roadbed in place, some electrical started, mostly the DCC bus and feeders and some switch machines, and a small area with the initial plaster ground contour in place. Most recently I have been working on building the control panel so I can make sure everything operates well before I get serious about the scenery.

I have it "temporarily" setup in the house but I am going to have to create some space in the basement to relocate it to. Everyone ends up placing stuff on top of it where its located and I can see that isn't going to work once the rolling stock is put out and the scenery starts.

[EM-1]

 In addition to my afformentioned planning, I have also been engaged in some work on track and rolling stock.  I am in process of (slowly) replacing plastic wheels with metal, I have replaced nearly all horn-hook couplers with a combination of McHenery, Intermountain, Kadee, et all Knuckle couplers, have converted some older box cars to no roofwalks, half ladders, roller bearing trucks, etc.  Also, have been completing some kitbashing projects, such as bashing an FL-9 from a couple Athearn blue box F-7s )still working on the 3rd rail pick-up shoes), converting a Life-Like little Joe Dockside to a free-lance fireless steamer, upgrading/repairing some older cheap brass and steam locos (International MKT 0-8-0, 1890s 0-6-0, Atherarn B&M plastic 4-6-2), and motorizing an Athearn rotary snow plow that has also somewhat been re-detailed from steam to diesel-electricpower. Have also re-worked and cleaned some older switches, and scrapped the old Atlas fiber flex track, salvaging some of the rail.   Have also been laying in supplies to build a few momentum/brake action throttles (I don't see my budget allowing me to convert to DCC,  I might be able to set up a minimum portion of my future layout for limited DCC, though.  Just to use some locos that have dual-control capability)

Periodically, I lay out an oval with a couple switches of E-Z track just to test things.

[tbdanny]

On my N scale Las Vegas New Mexico switching layout, I had the benchwork, track and electricals completed by June this year.  I ran a few operating sessions, and have got all bar four of my cars set up with car cards & waybills.  Now that I know the layout can support my operating schema, I have started to construct building kits so as to begin laying down scenery.

[HaroldA]

Well let's see - over a year ago I started rebuilding and modifying a layout that was moved from my old house.  So far all the benchwork is done, all the track is laid, wiring was done until I decided to convert to DCC and now I am starting to work on scenery to go with the structures I had been building all along. But a few days ago I realized I had 16 feet of empty space that I could easily take over so now I am thinking about an extension which would significantly improve operation and give the trains a couple more places to go. 

[SMassey]

Well I have been thinking hard on what I want to build for quite a while now.  A nice layout in the dining room area was my first idea, wife said OK what ever you want honey (read I dont want it there but do what ever) so I decided to work on something a little smaller and more portable.  I just posted a track plan for critiques from those who are more experienced at this than I.  So I am really still in the planning stages. 

 

[Pennsy nut]

I have a 5'x13' HO layout that I started on and got the double track mainline down.  But, I am unhappy with it and want to tear it down.

I am in negotiations with the "better half" for more space in the rec room and I want to put in better lighting before hand...  I have sketched up a VERY rough plan for my new idea... the only thing I am pretty set on is the mainline and the basic overall shape.  I am very restricted by doors and a closet in this room...

 In the mean time, I built this little 2x4 N scale table top for some friends who wanted it to give as a Christmas present.  I was very constrained on the budget by them, so there are lots of details needed in the future.  But I had fun doing it and it got me wanting to work on mine again...

[thatboy37]

well i am almost finished laying track on the bottom level and will then move on to the upper level. after that wiring then ballast then scenery. i have a ways to go

[TravelinJohnnie]

I began working on a 12 x18 HO layout in May and to date I have the benchwork complete, 80 % track down on lower level, wiring about the same.  Enough done to run my coal drag around the mainline!  This is my third attempt building a layout and with the kids mostly out of the house I was able to capture half of the basement.  Taking things slow and steady to make sure each step is done best I can... learning as I go!

Bart

[steinjr]

 Not very far :-)

 Took up a mainline that worked and tore down benchwork before the summer vacation - had gotten increasingly annoyed with myself for not having made benchwork sectional, so I could take it out of the house to work on things that smell or make noise (small row house, wife and one of our kids are allergic and very sensitive to paint fumes).

  So I started over again in the fall. Built lightweight sections of 1/4" plywood with foam on top:

 

And then took a several months long break doing other things before I got started again.

 Am now doing risers and inclines, road bed, testing building placement, and getting ready to finally lay some track and get trains moving again:

 

 

Can't exactly say I am one of the people who work fast on my own layout :-)

Smile,
Stein

 

 

[E-L man tom]

Well, I see that it runs the gamut, from really getting after it to moving along slowly. I'm afraid I fit in amont the latter end of the spectrum.

Thank you all so much for the comments, the ideas and the great looking pictures. Soon, when I learn how to post pictures on the internet, I'll show the progress that I'm making. This is a rather humble layout that I'm honing my modeling skills on for that "big" layout someday.

[AltoonaRailroader]

 I was sort of in your boat last year. I had built my first big layout since I was a kid, it was a 4'x8' with a 44"x60" piece on the end that made it a small "L" shaped layout. It was nice but I should have taken more time with it. I had done a lot to it and spent a lot of time on it, but about half way through I decided I wasn't happy with what I had done and decided to tear it down and start over. Well, that and I was starting to remodel my basement and there just wasn't room for the layout. (should have kept it to 4x8 eh?) Anyhow, this time around I'm starting with 2'x5' sectional pieces and this seems to be giving me what I want so far. Now I can't run trains yet, but it is giving me the smaller space to work in/on instead of being overwhelmed by a huge layout that "I'll never get done". I'll be posting pics of my first section progress on this board pretty soon.

Sometimes it's good to start over, hind sight is 20/20 ya know? 

[E-L man tom]

Altoona, thanks for the insight and encouragement. I have a small space in a second bedroom in an apartment. The room, which has the layout sharing space with my office, is approximately 8'X10'. I have a 9 foot section along one wall and a 5' section adjoining aliong another to make an "L". The 9' side is the main part of the layout; it is 2' wide. The 5' section is 1' wide and I had originally planned on making a "fiddle" yard or staging but I may make it a part of the modeled layout as it does already have a painted backdrop behind it too (with painted-on clouds and all) as does the rest of the layout. 

I tore the track up when I decided that the vacant corner was too much of a waste of space. I decided to build a brewery complex in that corner, which meant moving the "main line" out further toward the edge of the table as well as re-configuring the trackage to accommodate access to the brewery complex with three tracks serving it. As I get picture-worthy material (and get time to learn how to post pictures on the internet), I will post pictures of my progress.

[PRR_in_AZ]

Hey Tom,

I'm right there with ya.  I'm currently in the tear down and simplify stage.  See my post in the general discussion on "I'm losing motivation".  I'll get there eventually but it won't be fast by any means.

Chris

[AzBaja]

It's best just to look at the photos on my web site.  I'm done with 2/3 of the bench work.  I need to get the last 3rd in before summer.  Then operations can start and all the other stuff that will go with a fully benched out layout.

P.S.  I lay my track as each section goes in place.

 

E.G.Hall

www.GSMrr.net

 

[twhite]

Well, let's see. 

I started the present Yuba River Sub eight years ago with the benchwork and foam 'topping', got the track laid in in about two weeks (yah, this one I PLANNED!),  all the electrical blocks and thingies done about a month later.    Worked on the scenery for about four years, went back and started 'tuning' the electrical, went back and tore out some scenery and rebuilt it, then relaid some trackage that I didn't really care for, cut some really deep holes for big bridges, then went back and 'tuned' the electrical again, relaid some track that one of my big non-articulateds (a brass 2-10-2) was having a few problems with, then decided my 'blocks' were really too short for the length of trains I was running, re-did THEM--WHEW!! 

Spent some time deciding if I wanted to convert my layout to DCC, until I realized that converting 55 brass steamers was financially Out Of The Question, worked on the scenery some more, now that all of my locos did not have problems on my trackage--

Tore out my main yard and relaid it with Peco turnouts, because it didn't work very well with the original turnouts I'd bought---

Took out my Searchlight signals in favor of Upper Quadrant Semaphores (they look neater), then decided that I wanted my layout to represent October of any year between 1939-1952, which meant tearing out most of my 'deciduous' trees in favor of Autumn colors--

SO:  Right now, about 55% of the scenery is put in, a lot of it to be re-done this Spring when the weather's better and the glue will dry faster.  Track is FINALLY to where it's about 80% bullet-proof, signals are in and (mostly) working. 

So, how far am I along?   I figure that the layout might be 'done' assuming my son and grandson still want to work on it long, LONG after I've departed to that Great Railroad Yard In The Sky. 

The Yuba River Sub is an ON-GOING thing.  It'll NEVER be done, as far as I'm concerned. 

Tom 

 

[hon30critter]

I am in this for the long haul. In other words I don't think I will have a layout for several years (anybody out there paying for kid's tuition will understand). I have a detailed track plan designed using 3rd Planit (I have tried very hard to listen to the many cautions offered by experienced modelers about the pitfalls of CAD design and functional layout practises) and I have built most of the structures (some from kits, many scratch built). I have a reasonable selection of rolling stock, all weighted and gauged to NMRA standards and with Kadee couplers and steel wheels. I have installed decoders with sound in 3 locos including an SW9 switcher and I have kit bashed several pieces of rolling stock including an HOn30 critter from an N scale 4-4-0 drive mechanism. I have also acquired most of the turnouts needed for the layout. Quite frankly, even with a layout way down the road, I am having a ball! My better half supports my involvement in the hobby and has accepted the fact that she will never be able to park her car in our garage despite our Canadian winters.

Dave

[tugboat95]

Started building my second last November.  My first was as a teenager into my early 20's.  I have built the the benchwork basically two set of industrial grade metal shelves (compromise with the wife, she gets the storage).  It is 11' down one wall and turns down the other in an L for 8'.  I then laid 1/2" plywood on top  slightly larger and expanded on both ends to accommodate a dogbone design. Average depth is 30" with the ends being 40".  I am discovering that I will probably have to put a a leg under them for support.   Then covered in foam.  I went with plywood since the end turns are not fully supported.  I have purchased and built the track for the mainline, currently using DC as I already had an MRC from earlier days, but I plan to use DCC by the summer.  Using my models from 25 years ago I have laid out my urban area at one end of the track and the trainyard at the other.  I have also bought two engines (one steam) and about a dozen cars of various stuff.  Namely pretty colors to keep my 12 yr interested.  Not worried about a roadname right now, just wanted to run a train with my son.  The only industry for sure will be a small oil refinery as I work in transporting oil between them on the water.   Wanted a pier,but just don't have the room.  The 2 of us are in negotiations about just where to put the bridge he wants.  I want it on the back up for depth perception, etc.  He wants up front where he can see it.  We both had a very good Christmas and I am out of money, but if nothing else I can run two trains right now in an old style block system.  The main line is pretty much set as its the only configuration that will fit.  But everything in it as well as the hills and a river somewhere and such is still up for debate.  My son and I have had a ball doing this so much my father has decided to build one himself at his place.

[Cass shays]

            I think I'm working on my final layout. I started with a bare room in February of 04. Ten  months ago I finished the benchwork on a 1,400sf layout. 99% of both the track and wiring is complete. Once I get Walthers blast furnace assembled, I will lay the last 15 - 20' of track in the steel mill and then I will spend the rest of my life building scenery and running trains. I believe that getting the trains to run smoothly is more important than scenery. If your trains won't run smoothly or stay on the track you have a major problem . Don't worry about your scenery, people have imaginations. I have been blessed to have the support in its construction from many places. God willing, I'll continue.

[JEDDIJOE]

 

[Raylora]

The only thing left to do on my HO scale 8 x 11 ft Yardley and Hilton is to run the trains. Lately I have been improving a few scene details. Now I need a bit of help operating.

RayLora

[K4s_PRR]

I'd be well along except that I still have to build a wall to make my RR room.  Problems beyond my control prevent me from finishing it for the while.  It will be a 17x17 ft space.  My plan is for a PRR branch based on the Turtle Creek branch which is just SE of Pittsburgh.  I plan for a round the walls with peninsula setup. 

Charles Sanchez

PRR-Perfect RailRoad

[mozetti]

Hey everyone. Just registered here the other day as I'm just getting ready to start a layout. This will be a learning experience the whole way - carpentry, rail, modeling, scenery. I never really got past putting down an oval and building a few models with my dad when I was a kid.

 I've certainly soaked up a lot of info already and am doing some planning ahead of time. I'm working in HO scale and the room I have available to me is 43" wide by 84" long. I want to run it continuous with an elevated bridge. I was never really exposed to a solely switching/siding/operations scenarios but, I will be building those into my layout to get some experience and see how I like it. I imagine that, given my space limitations, some below-grade staging/turnaround areas would be ideal.

 Here is a link to some of the layout shape options I've dreamed up: Layout options.

1. The bottom is the entry and it is open, the sides and top are drywall
   
2. Each square represents 1"x1"
3. The vertical yellow lines just separate one option from the other
4. The black-shaded area is my access so there is no benchwork or platform.
5. The gray-shaded area is a second access area (pop-up, drop-down, or hinged -- probably pop-up)
   

As I get started -- not sure exactly when -- I'm sure you'll see me more often.

[rxanand]

• I designed my current layout in the fall of 2007 (check out my blog about this link below)
• Started construction around Thanksgiving 2007.
• Finished benchwork by approximately April 2008
• Put down the sub roadbed by Fall 2008
• Spent the first half of 2009 laying the tracks
• Wired up the layout Fall 2009
• Currently installing train detection sensors

[E-L man tom]

Well, thanks again for all the insight, ideas, struggles and successes; it's been very informative for me. As for those of you who do not think they have the time or the money for a layout, all I can say is where there's a will there's a way. With the limited space that I have available to me at the present time I have found a way to get some railroading in. I think the great inspiration to me was the "Urban Corridor" article by Jonathan Jones in the May, 2001 issue of MR. His layout is even smaller than mine. It is a testament to how much one can fit into such a small (2' x 10') space. Now, I have been collecting HO scale equipment since 1993 and I have accumulated quite a bit of it- - probably the majority of it will never make it on the rails of this layout. The key here, however, is to hone my modeling skills so that when I do move into a house (hopefully with a basement) I will have a more advanced knowledge of the hobby when I build that "dream" layout; that equals fewer pitfalls and mistakes and better efficiency, meaning less money spent, less time on construction and more time to enjoy the trains, although I do get a tremendous amout of joy out of certain types of construction, such as building structures and working on scenery and scene details. At any rate, thank you all so much and remember - - this is supposed to be a fun venture that takes you out of life's challenges and often drudgery. Have fun!

[cahrn]

I probably wont start building a layout until after I finish college. Building a layout now just doesn't make a whole lot of sense for me. My family lives on the west coast but about 8 months of the year I'm at school in Pennsylvania. For now I'm collecting rolling stock, installing decoders, and patching some locomotives.

[kain687]

i have a 15' long dog bone layout

i broke my lay out into 3 segments and i am about half finished with it. i did stop about 4 months ago  do to not knowing what i wanted to do " let my train run around with nothing to do or give it a job". i ended up ripping track out and replanning on a 1/3 of my lay out, so that i have places to go and things to do

[tomkat-13]

I model a freelance bridge RR the Missouri & Arkansas Railway used by the CB&Q & MKT that takes place in Eastern Missouri. The line starts out at Old Monroe Mo on the Cuivre River at MO. State Highway 79, then west to Hawk Point then south along MO. State Highway 47 across the old Wabash / Norfolk & Western RR line near Warrenton Mo. thru Missouri Wine Country to connect with MKT near Marthasville Mo. on State Highway 94. Since this is "my" railroad most places will have the "flavor" of this area but may not be perfect to the prototype.  Time is pre Burlington Northern (1970). The location & time frame gives me a lot of room of equipment I can use plus freight cars from so many different Railroads from all over the country. As with many railroads built in the 1800’s they never reached all the way as planned. So they never made it all the way to Arkansas.

  #1 This will be a point to point RR built on Hollow-core doors (about $24 ea) along two walls, so it will be in sections. 

#2 It's going to be less track, no yard, no switch machines, open staging, & simple engine service area.

#3 Just a few small towns with one or two sidings.

#4 More open scenery between towns.

#5 Interchange with RR on each end.

 

Here is my first section or "domino"

 

 

 

 

 

[acelachaser]

My  HO scale Philly - Harrisburg, PA line (Amtrak/ NS present day) was originally single level and had 3/4 of the benchwork done and 1/2 of the track laid. (12x60 ft in an old converted mobile home). I originally omitted the ruling grade town of Gap, PA for space. But then I picked up Tony Koester's book on multi deck layouts and now I'm lowering the main benchwork and building the top level. Gap will be at the helix connecting the two levels and justify helper service.

It was REAL fun moving a 24 ft yard from a center peninsula to a wall in one piece! The yard is 90% completed with scenery and a few tweaks still left and the lower level main is moving along. Still not looking forward to building all that catenary! good thing thats a ways away! 

As is this time of year the layout takes a backseat to the holidays, but the Christmas decorations are finally down and it's back to "steaming along" before yard work season starts!

[Sailormatlac]

@ Cass Shay: "Don't worry about your scenery, people have imaginations."

 It's exactly what my fellow members always say about scenery. We focussed on good track laying and operation over scenery and never regretted it. We are actually building an extension with scenery that will compensate our desire to build gracious trees and finely scratchbuilded wood structures.

The layout will celebrate its four anniversary in Febuary.

It started as an harbor railway U-shaped layout about 8' x 11' and expanded along the walls of the guest room with a locomotive shop, yard and passenger station. The layout is completed except the scenery and we are actually optimizing the track plan as we got feedback from operation. Buildings are about 60-70% completed but no scenery was applied yet on the Homasote. Other club members don't feel ready for permanent scenery.

 

I'm actually building an extension which is a logging and mining railway branchline. I intend to experiment scenery with it. It is a 4' x 5' HO layout. It started as a small run over layout for my nephews but it interested my fellow club members to integrate it to the main layout. I'm trying to show that there can be a lot of realistic operation on a small layout. The track is functionnal but the wood warren-truss bridge is under construction. We almost completed the styrofoam mountains and will soon start plastering everything. The lower tracks are partly ballasted. It is linked with the main layout with a 10-feet long movable "interchange bridge" running through the basement corridor to the garage!!! I would never think 20 sq. ft. could give so much challenge and fun...Cars over 36' are prohibed and only small locos are allowed there (18" on mainline and 16" radius on few sidings).

 

Matt