I'e been doing what I call Crap-Building with an old Tyco GI JOE set. It's gotten to the point where I am going to need a small layout. This is what I got mostly finished today. It will be a water car to carry water up to the mine so they can steam up their equipment. My Loco needs a repaint after I did some sanding. The Water Car needs a paint job. The Gondola needs some weathering. And I need to get to work on a caboose. It may end up as either 28mm, or 35 mm scale. All of this needs a layout. I am thinking of these criteria: -Roundy Roundy with 15" radius curves -Maximum if 4-6 switches -Small but vertical, so I need to think in terms of a cube 3, or 3.5 feet x 4 feet x 1.5 feet tall -A disguised Atlas HO turntable -At least one bridge -A mine -A mill -A station -An engine house What else can be squeezed into a practice layout for Narrow Gauge?
I have seen micro-layouts which have plenty of detail. With careful planning, you can fit all that into the finished product.
I have been intrigued by the Australian Sugarcane Railroads, all narrow gauge little jems still pulling in the cash for the sugar industry in Australia. You should give them a look if you haven't already. That locomotive looks very similar to what I have seen on those railroads on youtube. I am no expert you should give it a look and see if it seems fun. Just search 'sugar cane narrow gauge australia' in youtube you will get lots of results.
I live in Colorado. Thus my preference is to do a sort of a fantasy mine line in Colorado. I have looked a lot at both the Gilpin Tramway and the Denver South Park & Pacific. I will be stealing ideas from both. I am working up a Gilpin caboose next. And once the xmas high prices on ebay go away, I plan to modify an Ho scale 4-4-0 to make a narrow gauge 1890's 4-4-0, but that one is a ways out.
