Layout How finished are you?

I know all stages of layout construction are fun but I am just curious, if you were to rate your layout as TOTALLY FINISHED, where are you on a scale of 1 to 10?

Even though mine looks nearly complete there are many details to finish and tie up other projects on the layout.

Also maybe how many layouts have you actually TOTALLY FINISHED?
For me NONE. I have always started over before one is completed.

Mike

 

I can do mainline running on my pike. There's only a few sections of track (in and around tunnel portals mostly) that are ballasted. Large part of mountains aren't done yet. I'm sort of waiting to visit the area my layout is based on to do more research into the rocks and local trees/flora. My town has a few structures, but no streets yet. It's always one thing that needs to be done before others can that's holding me up.

 

Since I just started the new door layout, I put a one.

We have the door. I covered it in 2" foam and Macey painted that.

Right before I left I mounted legs on the door.

That is as far as I have gotten. Since this is a door layout, I guess you could say that the benchwork is complete.

 

Mine was at about a 5. Now its at about a 1 :tb-sad:

The roof leaked bad on T.H.E.Train Trailer. I have one mainline running...thus a 1 rating. :tb-wacky:

The NEW plan is:

1) Buy a new house and have a room inside....niiiiicceeeeeeeee

2) Build a room addition. Stll inside and more control on room size etc. Keeeeewwwwwwwlllllll

3) Fix the roof on T.H.E.Train Trailer...start over on the layout ( Unitrack ) and hope for the best.

We will see how the lawsuit goes and the settlememt dictates the outcome ;-)

 

Mike....

I just noticed the new url for your store :tb-wink:

.

 

I put 1 as I'm getting back into N scale and am just at the planning stage. I'm trying to be a bit more methodical in my planning this time and plan on taking my time starting with rock solid track work before I continue so as to keep from getting frustrated.

 

Oakville is probably closer to a ten than a nine, but I put nine...I'm at the tweaking stage now, and enjoying it completely.

 

Well It want let me vote but I am a 1 just started over on a new N scale around the room layout.

 

My present RR is about a three,benchwork done,all the styrofoam mountains,roads,ETC,roughed in,but no actual scenery,mainlines up and running,yards started.It's a 12X12 room,modeling a specific area/era,I'm just starting to scratchbuild the actual buildings from the area I'm modeling..My last one was totally "finished" for over 6 years,tore it out when I moved,although I used to make small changes and additions from time to time.I've probably completed 7 or 8 over my lifetime,I'm also working on a small backwoods steam logging/ice/mining RR based loosely on the LV operations in the Lopez, Pa area in the 20's....

 

I have been building my present layout for nine years. benchwork and track are done for the lower level. Little scenery. I give it a two minus. I have been busy building modules in HO, N -Trak and T-Trak. The funny thing is they are scenicked and are around an eight or nine in condition.

 

The only layout I ever finished was one I built with my dad and brothers as a kid. It was a 3x4 HO layout with a small mountain and tunnels and ran an old-time loco and cars painted and lettered for Virginia & Truckee Railroad. I think it had a single switch and siding and was basically an irregular oval of track. We did scenery (hydrocal mountain, with more hydrocal for hills and things, lots of lichen trees and bushes, grass, roads, etc.) structures, vehicles and people. We built it for some display at the local library, then used it as a Christmas tree layout for several years afterwards. I remember how strong that mountain was. You could stand on top of it and it wouldn't budge. And I do mean stand on it (we tried, so did my dad)! Hopefully I'll at least be able to finish a diorama or T-track module one of these days, if not my harbor layout. But at least building some trains has been really fun. I sure have missed model railroading!

 

Well with the original layout now torndown and the remains ready to move I could have said a 1 but, I've built a number of modules that are ready to plug into the new benchwork and have a lot of structures packed away that are ready to be installed so I'm about one third of the way there on the retirement layout even before I start it.

 

Well... I really don't know for sure what I've got going on is a "2"... but its beyond a "1" since the benchwork is mostly finished, some trackwork is operational and there are buildings ready to put on the layout. Unfortunately... all of this is very disjointed and subject to the whims of my confused and ever-changing mind of what I'm going to do. For all I know this whole thing could be torn-down in the next few days or finished in a few more months. More than likely it will continue to wallow in limbo til I build-up the motivation to do something again.

 

My layout is small enough that all scenery was complete within three years of starting the layout. 'Finished' is a pretty rubbery word in this context. At this point, projects have a definite start and end with limited scope; add/replace a building, reroute track. Here's the view of 35 percent of the layout from 3 years ago.

 

I guess I'm one of a couple that voted '9'. Layout was started in 1983, and now it's in what I call 'evolutionary replacement' stage. Or maybe constructive demolition. To look at it, it appears completely done. The only thing 'missing' is some detail items like more telephone poles, maybe some more trees, nothing that a casual observer would note - only me. The only new equipment to come on is better stuff replacing older stuff that's getting sold or scrapped.

But what has really been going on is a highly disruptive process of replacements and upgrades. Just two weeks ago the entire fueling pad in Winslow was demolished, replastered, and redone - as my Trainboard contacts found me pictures of the actual fueling facilities. Those are now built and going back in.

And all three SD45's are pulled, getting paint touchups, more decals, number boards and weathering. They were first done about 1990.

And about six more cars have been identified as 'on the block' with replacements in line. Intermountain cabooses are slowly replacing Trix that date back to the 70's.

Two more lighting kits from Richmond Controls are on the way. I want to finish mirror replacement with the good front-surface mirrors, which makes a horrible mess.

And so it goes. It will never see a 10. I really enjoy the detail process though, its one reason I stick with fairly small layouts so I have at least some hope of ever getting to this stage.

 

After 6 years the C&W is:

• fully operational save for the working train-order semaphores (9.5 out of 10 for that category),
• I have all the rolling stock but it needs to be weathered (7 out of 10 for that),
• is about 40% sceniced (4 out of 10), and
• has next to no buildings beyond mock-up and I expect that will always be the case save for the bridges and company buildings.

Given my focus on operations and scenery I weighted these areas more heavily against *my expectations* of what finished means for me. So for the whole layout I gave a 7 out of 10. Said another way, I am 70% of the way towards where I wish to end up.

Should anyone be interested, here are two very recent Flikr albums. The first is a passenger train running across 90% of the mainline run and the second from an invitational 3 day operating event 2 weekends ago. [note: you may need to cut and paste the links into your browser]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27907618@N02/sets/72157627583978672/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27907618@N02/sets/72157627524936901/

Have a great week everyone!

md

 

I'm about 3 years into it. My layout is 9' x 14' around the wall. There is a 4' x 7' "opperating pit". All the track is down. I just finished powering all the frogs and finding and fixing dead spots within some of my Atlas code 55 turnouts. (That was fun- not!). Now it's on to the control panels (4 of them). I was able to recycle a bunch of buildings from a prvious layout. I still have a whole bunch to assemble. I'm probably in the 2-3 range.

Enjoy,
Wolf

 

Tad, does starting a new layout mean you destroyed the old one?

I really like your layout. I always found it amazing to see how big you made it look and how interesting the operations could be. I'll be interested to see what you do with the new one.

 

Your layout really is coming along. It's beautiful.