How nice of a ho layout could I build for a $1.000 bucks in a big room or a garge.
Well, it kind of depends on how "big" and how "nice" you want to get. Model Railroad Hobbyist had a series of articles a while back (for a contest) called the "$500 layout" which is kind of along those lines, so I know it can be done. As I recall, those layouts were somwhat small-ish, and used a lot of "reclaimed" materials, and not all the layouts were taken to the completely finished point.
You'd be surprised how quickly $1000 will go, but with some careful planning, willingness to use some good second-hand equipment (e.g. used locos from eBay), and willingness to finish scenery to a "good enough" point, it should be do-able and could be a fun exercise. It would also make an interesting blog read for others starting out in the hobby.
Dan Stokes
My other car is a tunnel motor
It might help to know what your interests are.
Versus a table-top, an around the wall layout often can save on materials if the wall is usd as the primary support.
Depends on how good you are at finding bargains, scrounging in your shop for materials, etc.
The absolute essential is track. Used track and trackwork can be found at shows, as well as bargains here and there on new.
And you'll need wire. Expensive new because of the price of copper, recycled can cost anywhere from a whole lot less to zero. Electrical switches can be found cheap.
Scenery is often underlaid with pink foam. That can be found as scraps from building projects or is cheap enough to buy new. It can also form the basic structure of the layout if you get the 2" thick stuff.
That's just for starts. You could buy all new track and find everything else cheap or free and have a great layout. Or virtually any other combination.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
For a dollar your not going to get too far.
If you go "old school" on your building technics, IOWs hardware store materials instead of hobby shop materials, you can build a $1000 layout for $500, maybe less.
One reason layouts are so expensive is the prevelence of ready made scenery items like trees, prepainted buildings, plastic ballasted EZ-track, scenery materials and other things that modelers used to build or model from scratch, trees were made from wire armatures with torn up foam or sponge "folage" hills and scenery was cardboard and plaster or even paper mache, all buildings were built from cardstock, basswood or sheet plastic. All of which are far less expensive than the RTR stuff being sold out there, I know the reasons why the RTR stuff is so populer but at the same time alot of valuable skills are slowly going away in model railroading.
Have fun with your trains
I read about ten years ago that the typical cost of a layout is $50-75 a square foot. A 4X8 has 32 square feet. Of course that is just an estimate. It depends on so many factors so you could spend more or less. Will you have lots of structures, which can be expensive or will there be lots of landscape? Will you scratch build or kit build or buy built up structures. How many locos? What kind? How much rolling stock? DC or DCC? All of these would have to be weighed into an estimate.
I think it would be very possible to build a nice layout with a few DC locos for $1000 or less. But if you want DCC with sound, you could eat up a good chunk of a $1000 budget just on a couple locos.
Just $1? Hmmm, you could imagine it for that amount.
Gas Man rrHow nice of a ho layout could I build for a $1.000 bucks in a big room or a garge.
The deep canyon module that my children did for the Youth In Model Railroading 1999 NMRA show is about 2x4 feet. I made them keep very careful records of the price. At that time the cost was $197 or $24.6 a square foot. No turnouts, no turnout motors, just benchwork, straight track, wiring, a bridge, and scenery.
The module on the right.
I think a "nice" layout with new-in-box stuff in the space available is going to prove a stretch for $1000 but there are ways to do it.
Certainly there are areas where money can be saved -- hitting the swap meets for used but good trains from the 1960s on for example, often being sold by modelers who simply don't want to bother installing decoders. (An older generation of helpful Kalmbach books are often quite cheap at swap meets, too.)
Electrical -- it is not only possible these days to get MRC DC units that just a few years ago would have been top of the line. I have seen DC walk around control units of various makes and level of sophistication at really low prices at swap meets, being sold by the guys who have gone to DCC.
You can scrounge wood, with permission -- perhaps easier when the home construction business was busier and the "burn piles" more plentiful. Scrounged wood is often not very good wood, but with enough screws it can be bulled into shape. Some of my David Barrow style domino sections were made with truly subpar pine, which is where not using any length greater than 4' actually helps quite a bit. It is up to the modeler to decide however whether scrounged wood (often pretty ugly stuff) can make a "nice" layout. Some of my lumber has large knots, and in some cases the cut was close to the bark and the wood is not always present across the length but is kind of chomped away looking. It remains structurally fine.
You can also scrounge, with permission, foam for scenery, again at house construction or, if you can use white beadboard, at places that throw away packing material. I just saw a presentation using the packing material that comes in gray plastic bags that fits tightly against electronic equipment and then is expanded to fit the space. It can be free if you find a place that discards it and allows you to take it.
At one time it was even possible to scrounge, with permission, surprising quantities of excellent copper wire in house construction dumpsters before it became so valuable that homes under construction are oftem stripped of all wiring overnight -- and hence scroungers are no longer tolerated.
Dave Nelson
I think for $1000 you can build an HO layout that realistically fits within the budget confines of a $1000 budget. In other words, you may indeed have a "big room or garage" that in your mind would make a great space for a large model railroad, but your finances/budget don't match the available space. So, study some plans (there are many on this website) that are realistic and fit your budgetary constraints (remember to factor in a locomotive, some rolling stock, a power supply, wire etc etc) and answer some very basic questions:
1. What is it you are looking to achieve from your layout? Just watching trains move about? Switching cars in and out of an industry or industries? Passenger trains? Other operations?
2. What era are you striving for? Steam? Transition era (steam/diesel)? Diesel? This will help you price out some equipment like locomotives and rolling stock.
3. DC or DCC? Frankly, for a $1000 budget for everything, DC is your only real option. But that's not say that you can't upgrade to DCC at a later point in time should you desire to.
4. What can you live with and what can you live without (wants vs needs)? The "wants" may not happen initially as the "needs" generally take priority (i.e. that new locomotive looks sweet...but you cannot operate it without track or a power supply).
I am sure others here could add additional questions.
Bottom line, yes I humbly think you can make an HO layout for $1000. But you need to be shrewd (buy used equipment if needs be, visit train shows/swop meets etc), scrounge materials wherever possible (many of us do that!), be honest with yourself, set a materials budget for each item(s) and stick to it, be patient...be patient again, ask questions, read...read some more, but remember...HAVE FUN ! Fun is what it's all about. Also, the journey is often more satisfying then the destination .
Good luck and happy modeling!
Don.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train and not fly."
Here's what $450.00 got me including buildings.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
$1000 will get you off to a nice start. If this is your first layout, a tabletop is a good start to get your feet wet. I suggest you follow one of MR's project layouts like this years Rice Harbor or the Virgnian from a couple of years ago. Over several issues (4 or 5) they cover all the steps involved in detail with puctures. You can of course make changes along the way if you want.
While it's tempting to start big when you have lots of space, it's also easy to get in way over your head. This hobby is a lot more complicated than it first appears.
Good luck
Paul
Well, if MR would float me the $1000, I think it can be done and pretty well. Might be only one locomotive and a few cars, but most of the rest could be scratch built. I'm a big propropnent of scratch building as a way to stretch modeling dollars and get the most ROI on time.
I haven't kept records, but spend only a couple hundred a year or less.
so far i have gotten luckey.i got my bench work for free from a guy that had to take his apart. i have only spent 80 bucks to rent the truck to get the wood home and 3 bucks for the new saw blades because mine were dull...i am going to get my turnouts from the same guy so that should save me some more money..and most of the turnouts have not been put down but are out of box.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Hi Gas Man rr
At todays prices probably not.
Having said that just ignor it, because it is probably very possable.
You will have to make quite a lot yourself and very carefully think things through.
You will have to make the best use of every inch of track wood and anything else you use, definatly no pre built structures.
Some rolling stock will have to be second hand and revitalized.
If you don't know anything about loco repairs stick to new products.
With your track plan make sure you design in somewhere to expand the layout because on a limited budget it often means building a smaller layout than you would want, but it can always expand later when funding is avalable.
You certainly won't get one of the giant basement empires so beloved of the model press but you should be able to get a worthwhile and very enjoyable project.
It will be a bit of a chalange be in no doubt about that, but I think worth it.
regards John
So much depends on how quickly you are intending to "complete" your planned layout.The faster you build, the faster you will spend your money. you could order a very small railroad from a professional builder, and have it delivered in fairly short order. If you take time, patiently seek out materials on sale over time; invest effort in building scenery and structures from "scratch", not ready made or from kits(though you will find many excellent kits available)- your $1,000 could go a very long ways toward building a garage filling layout. As others have pointed out, figuring your druthers-the things that you really want to model-is a key step. Many good layouts have been steadily built up over long periods of time. Start small, enjoy some success and accomplishment- then add on and grow in the hobby.
Don H.
OK, I assume you mean One Thousand dollars (not One dollar)............
Here is the deal.......... Spend your money on benchwork, track/roadbed, and wiring. This is the heart of your layout, and you need to get the best material and effort you can muster here.
Later on, as you have additional funds, you can spend additional monies on cars/tracks/structures/scenery. Remember, a layout can easily last for many years (my last one was 13 years) and you will always want to buy stuff for it at your timetable.
Of course "everyone" wants fancy locos and cars to start with, but you are much better off putting your money in the layouts infastructure.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
WOW thanks for all the input guys, as for cars and locos I have 3 locos and 30 cars all I really need to do is bulid the layout it self, so I was hoping I could build it for a $1,000and I want to build it as big as I can for that amount of money in a 10x10 or bigger room in my house.Thanks All
Many years ago when I lived in an apartment (1988) I built a 4X8 in the spare bedroom. Including the track, structures, signals and scenery, I had around $500 in it. That was also when you could buy NS flex track for 99 cents and turnouts for less than $5.00 !
Looking at prices today, there's no way I could replicate it for under $1000, but then it was pretty involved for a small layout. Ebay and train shows are your best friends today.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
I think, given that you have locomotives and rolling stock, you could build a nice layout for $1000 in the size you're talking. Now it won't be the super duper pike with the latest DCC, but would be an operating layout with a practical trackplan and basic scenary and structures. L-girder benchwork is not that expensive, esp if you use classic open bench top and classic scenary construction such as hardshell instead of layers of styrofoam. Keep the trackwork simple to less than 10 switches and basic flextrack which will be more realistic looking in the space available than a bowl of spaghetti track plan. For electric either run a single train or use a couple of Atlas selectors. Scratchbuild structures with basic wood parts, balsa, etc.
Nothing I'm talking about is expensive and yet it produces a final product that's as good as any other. These were the basic techniques that most of us started with years ago because there was nothing else and they are just as good today as they were then. In fact they have several advantages -- you get to learn new skills and expand your ability to create the railroad, they take longer so you get to enjoy each dollar you spend much more than plopping RTR buildings on RTR scenary running RTR trains, well you get the idea.
Now these techniques won't create a dream layout in a weekend, though you could get benchwork up and basic track laid in a weekend if you wanted for a 10x10 space. Then spend all the time in the world working on scenary and structures.
Well is the $1000 the limit or is it a $1000 now and then a little over time later.
For starters, You would have to break down your budget to each area; benchwork, track, scenery, buildings and locos& freight cars to try to meet that.
IMHO the biggest expense is the track, the link below is to the atlas online store. It shows all the layouts from their track books with the retail price of all the track and accessories (switch machines and panel switches etc) already totaled up.
http://shop.atlasrr.com/d-20-all-scales-layouts.aspx?pagenum=2
For example the dispacters delight (HO-2) is a 4x6 layout consisting of an oval and some sidings etc has a price of $284. The plywood summit lines is a 4x8 for $830 and Berkshire valley is a 4x12 for $1030. There alot more trackplans listed there.
Granted these are retail prices but given that this stuff is unlikely to be all available at the same place or if at all, when its all said and done any discount may not be all that great.
The second issue availability of track Atlas is hard to get right now,so if you substitute walthers track, it is substantially more expensive. Even Bachmann track with the roadbed attached is more expensive. you get the picture.
I would say If your plan is 1000 now and maybe a budget of $20/month after ($250/yr) then you got a chance for something more than bare bones.
Locomotives and freight cars, buildings and scenery can be purchased over time once the track plan is in. You could also build the layout in sections to defer cost over time. There is a book called the best of model railroading track plans that discusses techniques for building a portion the railroad and expanding it over time. there are other track planning books too that discuss this.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0961269200/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used
Good Luck
I suppose a thread could go on forever about how to scrounge, but I have a couple of ideas. I got enough wire for my whole layout when the company I work for upgraded its furniture. They pulled out and replaced all the phone and computer wiring and threw it away (4-strand and 8-strand wire, some of it 60 foot lengths). When the IT guys heard I was scrounging wire, they gave me boxes of computer power cords and cables. If you have any companies with a lot of computer power nearby, it could be a good source. All my woodwork did come from a construction site (with permission) - the table is all 2x6 or 2x8 construction.
Mike R
A layout for 1,000 bucks?
Well, if you are prepared to hand.lay your track, built your own turnouts, scratchbuild all the structures, forget DCC and go for manual control of your turnouts, than that sum might get you a layout like this:
And, of course, the amount is to be understood excluding any rollong stock.
LION built his big layout on the cheap. Him used surplus lumber that was stored in a barn. It had come from some buildings that we had torn down. The table tops came from ten sheets of Celotex that were stored in the gym. They used to be a ceiling somewhere before the advent of building codes. Much of my wire came from old telephone cables, the kind that went from pole to pole. All of our phone lines are underground now, and so the old stuff was stored surplus in the power house.
What did I buy? Nine hundred feet of track, figure about $300 per box of 100 pcs. Twelve sets of subway cars, figure $1,200, more than that really, and over $3,000 at today's prices. Fifty Tortoise switch machines ($12.00 each in those days -- $600.00----about $1,600 today). Power supply, additional cable, 50 relays at $4.00 each; 100 relays at .75 each. ($275).
And THAT is building on the CHEAP, it includes dumpster diving for foam and fiberglass materials, and as many construction shortcuts as possible. And it includes using cat litter for ballast, and building my own signals. Most stations (there are over 40 platform edges) are made from cardboard and other such materials.
That is what CHEAP is!
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Size has something to do with it. Mine is about $50 bucks of 1x4 and plywood. One sheet of styrofoam. About 30 feet of track, some handlaid. Seven Atlas custom line switches that are on their 4th layout, some of which I bought in college over 30 years ago. Single power supply that I think I paid like $60 bucks for some years ago. About fifteen freight cars, mostly Athearn and Roundhouse kits that were about $5 each, with a couple of recent Atlas RTR cars added in. Largest layout specific expense was a bunch of Walters cornerstone modulars to build the cotton mill. Now to be honest I have more locomotives, cars, and kits in the box, but those don't count since they aren't all needed, I've just collected them over the years.
I wonder if MR would buy a series of articles on attempting to build the $1000 layout??