My N&E Layout

Well the layout has begun over the past weekend so I am gonna try and keep progress of it on here so bare with me.It is called the Nashville and Eastern and is loosely based on the real N&E that runs from Nashville 110 miles east.It receives freight from CSX's Radnor Yard and also has passenger service. Welcome to the Nashville Eastern Railroad Corp.

My layout is an L-shaped shelf layout that is 14'x18' but hopefully will be a continuous loop at some point in time.It will be an all branch line servicing industries around Nashville and will mostly be CSX switchers and GP38's and a few N&E U-boats.I am using code 83 Micro-Engineering and Atlas because I have an ample supply of both and will not be using cork but rather gluing straight down to the foam.The layout is only 12" deep which is not much but I think it will be perfect for what I am trying to achieve.Also the layout is housed in my trainroom which is 16'x24' and is air conditioned and heated(My wife calls it the man cave).Here are a few photos of the layout so far;

 

As you can see in the above photos I have the benchwork done with 1/2" plywood top and 1/2" foam.Also I have added 1/4" hardboard fascia and it has been painted an olive color.I have also painted the backdrop a sky blue right onto the walls after I prepped it and that was because it will not warp.I still need a few clouds in there but for now I think it turned out excellent.All for now...

 

Here is CAD design of the layout.I still have some tweaking to do but this is real close as to what I will have.

 

Thomas,

You're off to a great start.

Agree about having a run around. The one at Coca Cola might be okay, but need better access to it if it is going to be the only one.

You're missing another great industry. If the line across your railroad in the corner is another railroad, include an interchange track and it will provide additional spots.

Good luck, I look forward to your progress reports.

Larry
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/ppuser/8745/cat/500

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys.I have redone it and put it in the layout discussions for more help so please comment and let me know what you think of the changes and if I need something else.

On another note, I have one section that will be my team track so I have laid a piece of track to do some testing so I decided to paint and ballast it to just get an idea of whats to come.The first photo is just a piece of ME code 80 flextrack.The second and third photo is the finished look after paint and ballast.The color of the rail and ties was achieved by painting everything a Floquil rail brown and then a light dusting spray of Floquil grimy black.I then added the ballast with Arizona Rock and Mineral's medium gray blend and I mixed 4 bags of HO with 1 bag of N scale to give the ballast a realistic look.I must say this stuff blows Woodland Scenics ballast away.This is the only section that I will be working on for a while but I just wanted to get a feel of the finished look.I think it turned out better than I dreamed of.Thanks for looking.More photos to come...

 

I like that ballast. I think you're onto something there!

Keep the updates coming.

Mike

 

I agree. The ballast looks great.

 

Thanks guys for the comments.Here is my updated track plan.

 

Well I didnt get a lot done tonight that would need photos.I did however get all the wiring in and the Digitrax panels installed in the fascia.I also started working on Chestnut Street and got the styrene for the road down and also got the BLMA rubber grade crossing dry fitted to see what it would look like but didnt glue it yet as I still have to weather the ties and rail.It looks awesome and fits perfect with no modifications at all.Here is a photo of it and thats all for now;

 

Thanks Boxcab I am gonna mess around with it some more and see what I come up with.

 

Well I had some time off finally to get back to the layout and take a few more photos.I am working on the area around PFG Food Group.I still have a bunch of details to add but I decided to put down the glue and pick up the throttle and set a boxcar.Here are a few photos of the area which include the PFG building that includes a train dock and a tractor-trailer dock.In the foreground there is some construction going on but not sure what I am gonna do there yet.Enjoy...

 

Well I believe this is my last post on this thread as I think the HO forum has become a ghost town.I have actually been getting all of my answers in the N scale forum.I appreciate all the views so far but I feel as if no one is interested in HO scale in Trainboard anymore so hopefully I will see you guys on the other side (N scale).:tb-confused:

 

I have to agree that Trainboard is very N scale centric. That's fine, they deserve it. I was an N scaler for almost 20 years before switching to HO several years ago. They fully deserve forums more or less dedicated to their scale rather than playing second fiddle to HO, O etc.

Try the Atlas forum and the Kalmbach forums, they tend to me more evenly balanced scale wise.

 

Thanks guys for the comments and since I know someone is in the HO forums I guess I will keep it going.Unfortunately I havent been working on the layout much because I have been trying to unload a bunch of my N scale items.I did however get somethingdone on the construction scene on my layout.Here are some photos.The first photo shows the construction guys finally figuring out why the water pressure isnt as good as it was.Now all they have to figure out is who is gonna get down there and fix it.The second photo shows the Nashville and Eastern's U30B pushing a CSX boxcar into the Performance Food Group's dock.All for now...

 

I like it, a "Lance Mindheim" style ! :thumbs_up:

 

Lance Mindheim is one of my favorite modelers although I have never met him.I just hope to achieve half of what he has done.Thanks for the comments.