There are forums for micro layouts. Mostly European. shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Thank you Kevin. The late Carl Arendt was a prolific builder and supporter of micro layouts. He defined them as the following:
"Micro layouts are small model railroads, usually less than three or four square feet in area, that nonetheless have a clear purpose and excellent operating capability. "
Think of it as an operating diorama that allows operations, like switching cars in and out of an industry. If you do a Google search for micro model railways you will find several excellent examples.
I enjoy building them since I do not have the space to build a large layout.
Tom
Ed,
I agree that close is good enough.
Thanks for the tip on the purple paint. I'll look for it the next time I'm in Wally World.
I havent tried to open the opioid cars yet, but it will soon be necessary. I'll remember abouit triming the bulkheads, I hope!
Thanks again.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
I as well would like to thank everyone for all their contributions that made another great WPF.
Again I enjoyed looking at all the great projects here. Some fine craftsmanship and beautiful work everyone.
Thanks again
TF
Thank you to all the contributors for this weekly edition of Weekend Photo Fun.
Dennis: The projects for the build off look like a lot of fun. Good luck with the rest of it.
Danny: I love the appearance of your layout. Thanks for sharing the great pictures.
Peter: Your pictures are always amazing.
Ed: Great work on your signals. You are right, it is important to do the tasks when you are in the mood to do them. Also, you are right about the way projects seem to keep adding tasks as you move along. The Amfleet car looks very good.
Tommy: I do not know what a micro-layout is exactly, but whatever you have done looks completely amazing! That is an incredible scene.
Allan: I sure do envy all you guys that can get passenger cars done. I just look at them for a couple of minutes and lose interest.
I will see you all again next weekend. Stay safe.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Your Obs looks great, Allan! UP had some that were pretty close, and close is good in my book
UPP 203 Idaho inspection observation by Ed W, on Flickr
One color of Rustoleum I found that works for "Amtrak Interior Purple" is called Aubergine (?)
https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/painters-touch-2x-ultra-cover/satin?ls=257419&lc=Satin%20Aubergine
2006 photos 627 by Edmund, on Flickr
I'm glad the purple paisley era didn't last long!
Do you have the Proto Amfleet cars? Once you get them pried open (the tubular construction makes them difficult to open) you can trim down the ovoid sides of the bulkheads to make reassembly a little easier, or gasp — if you have to open them again!
Cheers, Ed
Good Luck, Ed
Dennis - Progress.
Kevin - Good looking cars. Unusual road name.
Ed - Thanks for the information. I'll just wing it.
Bear - Thanks for the 'Bear-Toon'. John would be proud.
tbdanny - Really neat little engines! Great scenes.
Peter - Nice street scene.
Ed - The signals are great stuff. My hat's off to you. The Amtrak coasch was a revelation. I have several the need their interiors painted. Now I have to find purple paint.
dtommy - nice scene.
My project for the weekend. An interior for my G. Bush train's observation car. The finished product. Lighting, interior and people all in place.
Keep the ideas and photos coming guys. Thanks to you WPF is always the best thread of the week.
A scene from my latest HO micro layout.
Thanks again for starting this WPF off, Kevin.
Too many great contributions to comment on every one other than, fantastic! A great inspiration and fun to see
I was still in the "signal mood" and, while I had the tools handy and the right "frame-of-mind" I installed two more.
Signal_approach-medium by Edmund, on Flickr
This one protects the lead from the staging track and on to the main line. I forced it to show approach medium here but, with that caboose just in the distance it should be at STOP. It is also linked to the turnout so it can not display anything but stop when the TO is against traffic.
I had put this one in a while ago but got it wired up for automatic operation, too.
PRR_9501_F3 by Edmund, on Flickr
Here's one of those "mini-projects" that seems to turn up more often than not.
Last week someone had a question about Amfleet trucks. So while I got a few of my cars out to photograph them I noticed one of the couplers was way too low!
As these things go, I found that the floor was not flush with the car body, that means I had to open 'er up. Turns out that some fiber optic pipes I had installed for marker lamp illumination was interfering with the end bulkhead. That was an easy fix but opening these "tubular" cars is a real chore
I fiigured as long as I had it open now is the time to paint the seats in Amtrak Purple and put some little people inside.
Amfleet_passengers by Edmund, on Flickr
The windows are heavily tinted so I'm not concerned with using my "best" little peeps. I did a little preliminary weathering to eliminate the shiny-chrome wheels as well:
AMfleet_Coach by Edmund, on Flickr
Neat Stuff this weekend, folks! Thanks to all
Kevin, Thanks for the WPF opening, always nice to find some treasures, and you've packed a lot of delight into those little dioramas.
TF, like your extraordinary bridge.
Always great to see a whole lotta' model railroadin' goin' on.
Thanks to all the contributors and viewers, have a good weekend, regards, Peter
Fantastic work in this thread, as always!
As for me, I've finally got the dirt down on the top deck of my layout. So now I'm running trains for a bit, until I'm sure it's all good. I also don't know if I want to keep the log siding and supply track in their current positions or swap them.
So here are some photos from some recent running sessions:
No. 12 departs Camp B with a supply train. Tunnel portal was built from stripwood and coffee stirrers. Rocks were plaster castings, and I'll be adding some plants and greenery between them along with the rest of the scenery.
No. 3 departs Camp A with a passenger train while pilot no. 4 stands by.
No. 2 takes on water before leaving Camp D. (And yes, those cars in the background are supposed to be in the town scene. Whoops ).
The Location: Forests of the Pacific Northwest, OregonThe Year: 1948The Scale: On30The Blog: http://bvlcorr.tumblr.com
...if it is thought to be inappropriate, I’ll take it down.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
N Scale Train BoyYup, those are ours! Basically, the O&LR is our analog for the Ogdensburgh and Lake Champlain. Its a branch line under Central Vermont control that interchanges with the NEB&W at Alburgh.
Thank you for all that! I am glad to know my information was correct.
I did like the set of decals. I had been telling people the roadname was from the NEB&W layout, but was not completely sure.
SeeYou190 Can you give me any information about this roadname, the OLDENSBURG AND LAKE RICHELIEU? -Kevin
Can you give me any information about this roadname, the OLDENSBURG AND LAKE RICHELIEU?
Yup, those are ours! Basically, the O&LR is our analog for the Ogdensburgh and Lake Champlain. Its a branch line under Central Vermont control that interchanges with the NEB&W at Alburgh, but only appears on our layout as a branch of the branch line in Chateaugay. These facebook posts should help in giving you more information :
https://www.facebook.com/NEBandW/posts/1294526500633889
https://www.facebook.com/NEBandW/posts/1138775719542302
https://www.facebook.com/NEBandW/posts/1049806555105886
Hope this helps! Glad to help out!
Check out the Balfour and Colucci Creek Southern Railroad, my proto-freelanced N scale model railroad, at bccsrailroad.weebly.com or on Youtube on my channel, N Scale Train Boy.
-Dennis
BRVRRCan someone identify the type of car? Observation/Lounge/Sleeper? Some combination?
Hi, Allan
Some combination is right. These cars, two of which were built by Pullman for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Broadway Limited service had two master rooms and one bedroom, buffet, lounge, observation.
http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?september98/09-14-98/prr-towerview.jpg
Mountain View was painted in sky blue for the 1969 Golden Spike Centennial train so it would have seen some use on the Union Pacific.
Tower View is, I believe, located at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
Great contributions this weekend, everyone. I'll be back later with a few photos.
N Scale Train Boy As this year's president of the NEB&W, I am so glad that despite our two year abscence from the modeling scene, our railroad still makes people excited!
I received these decals from a local modeler that moved down from New York, and he said they came from the NEB&W club. Is any of this true?
I painted these two freight cars using the decal set he gave me.
Kevin : Thanks for kicking us off this weekend! As this year's president of the NEB&W, I am so glad that despite our two year abscence from the modeling scene, our railroad still makes people excited!
David : Lovely little scene, and since that article came out over 2 years ago now, I can confirm that we are most certainly not gone and if all goes to plan, hopefully we'll be able to move into the new space that's been made for us in the fall!
Fiddler : Great looking bridge! If the rest of the bridges turn out like that, you'll have a great looking set!
Chuck : Great looking unit! Glad you settled on something to model, took me a few years to decide as well!
Rick : Those pieces of rolling stock look great!
Jimmy : Any progress is good progress! Hope the switches are coming along well.
snjroy : Beautiful locomotives!
Allan : Always great to take a break and simply run some trains! Hope you had a good time.
John : That crossing came out so well! Great to see that progress from last time!
Bear : Didn't really know Randy well since I've been on and off when it comes to interacting on the forums here, but I think based on what I know of him he'd be glad to be remembered on here.
To bring things back around to the start of the thread, we've made some pretty good progress on the NEB&W's Walthers National Model Railroad Build-Off piece. The kits are looking good, with the bridge and country store kits being basically done, and the houses coming along well, so the only kit left to start work on is the massive coal company kit, which we'll start in this week, and our base is pretty much done and ready to start being sculpted, sceniced, and have models placed.
Randy would love it! Good one Bear!
I left this one, to think about overnight, and while I think it’s a suitable tribute, if it is thought to be inappropriate, I’ll take it down.
I am not very good at interpretting social norms, but I think it is perfect.
I left this one, to think about overnight, and while I think it’s a suitable tribute, if it is thought to be inappropriate, I’ll take it down. The Bear.
That's a funny one, and I think Randy would be laughing. He may be right now.
York1 John
Kevin, once again thanks for hosting this weekend's Photo Fun. Nice that you found something you really wanted with the boxcars.
David, you're an expert staging small scenes like that. I'm wondering, since the daughter seems to have her hands on her hips, she and mom may have just had a disagreement.
TF, it will be great to see how this viaduct looks once you get track and elevations added. Good work.
Chuck, nice paint job on the Kato locomotive. Great detail for an N scale loco.
Rick, love your cars. I especially like the Northern Pacific boxcar. My great uncle worked for NP in Tacoma. As a kid, I always liked the yin yang symbol on NP cars.
Simon, that's a nice photo of the two locomotives coming off the bridge.
Allan, I love passenger trains. I can't identify the car, though. Let us know how your lighting and passengers look when you finish.
I don't have a photo, but I have a 45 second video of my N Scale crossing signal. I can't tell you how much blood, sweat, and tears went into this.
When I first began the project, I was just going to buy a signal. Then Mel inspired me to try my hand at making the signal instead. With a very thin tube, tiny LEDs, the smallest washers from the hardware store, I put together the signal.
Unfortunately, that was the easy part. I got some Arduino stuff and began to learn how to program the lights. I tried copying some code, but nothing worked correctly.
Finally, I stopped building, and subscribed to several Youtube channels on how to write Arduino code. That took some weeks, but I finally got enough basics to program the nano chip to run the lights.
I also realized once I got everything set up, that I had the undertrack sensors too close to the crossing. The lights barely come on by the time the train hits the crossing. I've learned.
From the blinking passenger car lights, it looks like it's time to clean some track.
-Kevin: Thanks for the start to WPF. Cool boxcars. David's contribution increases the interest.
David: Great scene. A little vignette. Make up your own story to fit the scene.
TF: The bridges look good.
trwroute: Great looking engine. If its N-scale, great photos too.
Rick: Love the NYC caboose. Thats what they should look like! Nice boxcars too. The amount of detail you incorporate is amazing. Nice photo too.
Simon: Nice engines. Unusual.
Kevin: the mini-dioramas are a great idea!
Not much new this week on the BRVRR. Here is the next candidate for lighting, interior and passengers for my George Bush train. Can someone identify the type of car? Observation/Lounge/Sleeper? Some combination?
Took some time to run trains this week. Santa Fe #3761 belongs to one of my grandsons and rarely gets to run. Here it is at the head of a short passenger train of mixed heavyweight and modernized cars.
Keep the photos and ideas coming guys. Thanks to you WPF is always the best thread of the week.
NorthBritSimple, easy scenes that have nothing to do with the railroad. Just what I like; little scenes we see (most) every day. Hopefully bringing it all together.
I understand that.
One of my sub-hobbies is making these tiny dioramas. These can be placed and moved about the layouts to make scenes more interesting.
Thanks, Kevin, TF, Chuck, Rick.
Simple, easy scenes that have nothing to do with the railroad. Just what I like; little scenes we see (most) every day. Hopefully bringing it all together.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
David: I like the scene with the woman on the park bench. It is simple, peaceful, and looks right.
Fiddler: The rock painting on the new bridge looks great in the photographs you shared. You really did a great job on these.
Chuck: Your locomotive really looks good. You did a great job on this one. When my friend Randy started his N scale layout back in 1992 it wa supposed to be SCL/FAMILY LINES, but lack of equipment availability made him change to NORFOLK SOUTHERN/CSX.
Rick: That NORTHERN PACIFIC boxcar is amazing! The large monad herald and the "NP" both make it into a very striking model. Beautiful.
Jimmy: I am looking forward to seeing pictures of your trackwork.
Simon: Congratulations on the xuccessful modifications to make your magnificent locomotive operable on your layout.
Wow, great start folks! I managed to re-motor and install a decoder in my Selkirk. Better yet, I was successful tweaking it to allow it to run on my 22" curves. Extra weight on the front truck, and a bit of dremel work on the rear truck made it work. I also had one offending turnout that caused derailments - fixed that too with some filing. Anyway, here she is pushing the Hudson:
20210420_220143b on Flickr
Beautiful work all
All I've got are fast track switches, no photo atm, but im up to about 4 functional ones
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
Good morning from suuny and cool Northeast Ohio!
Kevin, thanks for starting us out, nice looking boxcars, never knew that they were offered.
David, neat looking little mini-scene!
TF, all your bridges are coming along they really look good.
TW, good looking engine, I will be doing one of those in HO with the extended dynamic brake box on the hood.
I got a couple of projects done this week!
Lambert brass caboose, painted with Floquil Jade Green and lettered with Microscale Decals.
Intermountain Pullman Standarad 60' Boxcar Kit, painted with Scalecoat II ATSF Mineral Brown and Silver Paints, then lettered with Microscale Decals. The NP purchased 6 of these boxcars for pool service to the Pontiac plant in Flint Michigan, the assignment was quickly painted over and they ended up in general service on the NP hauling paper, wood and wood pulp.
An Athearn FMC 60' Boxcar kit almost 100% complete, will head to the paint shop and decaling this week.
Rivarossi U25C engines with a string of various H39 and H37 Hoppers (including the H39 that I finished last week) on the Strongsville Club Layout.
Thanks for looking!
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!