My first layouts were all small - 4x8, 6x6 1/2, 4x8. Then 11x19 and 11x23. Then 11x31 followed by a break to build a 5x12 for a Lionel layout my grandson could run. There were probably some others I have forgotten.
And now what will probably be the last large one at 13 1/2 x 36.
None of these have been finished, but I have enjoyed working on them all.
I also currently have a small 5x12 where I can try out stuff.
This is a hobby - do what appeals to you. You can always do something else later.
Paul
Hi schief,
How many man hours does it take to build a layout? Here is one example:
Our club's new layout was started just over two years ago. We are now at the point where scenery has begun. The layout is 20' x 25' and there is a little over 600' of track including +-100 Tortoise equipped turnouts. DCC by the way.
The layout has typically been worked on during our weekly 2 hour Tuesday night sessions where there might be an average of six people doing the work. In addition to that a few individuals have been coming in for a few hours throughout the week. Not every Tuesday night was a work night. We hold monthly business meetings which may or may not take up most of the evening, and we have other tasks like maintaining the portable layout and getting ready for train shows several times a year.
I'm going to make a wild guess and say that the layout has taken somewhere between 1500 - 2000 hours to get to this point. If you are working by yourself that is the equivalent of full time work for a year. That doesn't sound particularly doable even if you are retired and have nothing else to do. However, over four years that works out to about 500 hours per year, or less than 10 hours per week. If you have some help obviously things will go faster, but you also need to add some breaks into the equation too or you might burn yourself out.
Keep in mind that this is a pretty loose estimate, and it only gets you to the beginning of doing scenery. Given your preferences that might be too long to wait before you can do any real scenery.
I'm not sure if any of the above is helpful, or just adding to the confusion. I hope the former.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
schief Growing up browsing the pages of Model Railroader, I dreamed of one day having a big basement to build an empire. Now that I have a basement to fit those needs, the idea of making a huge railroad to fill it up seems like a task I would probably never complete. In reality, I could go back and forth trying to decide on a scale, era, theme etc forever. I find myself thinking about building several small railroads and the idea is becoming more and more appealing all the time. I enjoy the modeling of scenes aspect as opposed to operation so this seems like a way to have my cake and eat it to. Whatever scale or theme I desire, I can build and have a reasonable amount of work done in a reasonable amount of time. Has anybody else here taken this approach? If so, what size of layout do you typically do?
Growing up browsing the pages of Model Railroader, I dreamed of one day having a big basement to build an empire.
Now that I have a basement to fit those needs, the idea of making a huge railroad to fill it up seems like a task I would probably never complete. In reality, I could go back and forth trying to decide on a scale, era, theme etc forever.
I find myself thinking about building several small railroads and the idea is becoming more and more appealing all the time. I enjoy the modeling of scenes aspect as opposed to operation so this seems like a way to have my cake and eat it to. Whatever scale or theme I desire, I can build and have a reasonable amount of work done in a reasonable amount of time.
Has anybody else here taken this approach? If so, what size of layout do you typically do?
Well, if you can decide on a scale, basic theme and single era, you can approach building a large layout as several smaller ones connected together if you design it right.
And if you never build it all, so what?
Large layouts can be planned to be built in phases.
And, a large layout can be planned to operate in sections.
On my new layout the main yard and industrial area could be considered an ISL (industrial switching layout) all by itself, and I plan to build that first and get it operational before filling the rest of the 1400 sq ft with double track mainline.
Even after the mainline is complete, the yard and industries will be able to be operated without ever taking a train out on the mainline.
After I build the yard, industrial area, engine terminal and passenger terminal, the next leg of the layout will take me to a wye and a 10 track hidden staging yard. That will greatly expand operations long before the mainline is complete.
Eventually the layout will go all the way around the basement, with two large peninsulas, and stage about 30 trains.
Sheldon