Completing my first layout: Lessons I Learned

SHarrison Jul 21, 2012

  1. CraigN

    CraigN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Beautiful layout !!!

    Great to see we have females in this hobby, and the awesome work they produce ! I wish I had your talent.

    My wife has no interest in trains, wish she did. Your husband is a very lucky man.

    So now that this one is done, what's next? HCD layout or maybe a bedroom layout?

    Craig
     
  2. randgust

    randgust TrainBoard Member

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    Wow. Beautiful work. I see a lot of research in there, and also a lot of restraint on things that are USUALLY done, but in this case, were not, by choice.

    I've seen scenes done like that, but only in museums. One of the most amazing N displays in the US of the Civil War era that nobody seems to know about is at Pithole, PA - the entire city is rendered in N scale, building by building, including the railroad, as it was in 1865: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16920

    I don't think I've EVER seen a canal scene done in N. Fantastic. Really establishes the rail vs. canal era.

    I've bumped into the era but never pursued it. I did a lot of research on the Virginia & Truckee to make my ore car kit. I have some logging locomotives on my 1920's layout that would have been originally built in the 1870's. With the Climaxes A's I've bumped into 1880's including making link and pin couplers.

    I guess I'm a little surprised you didn't try an Atlas 2-6-0. Big improvement over a lot of the Bachmann stuff, even if the exact locomotive is 1870. At least the wheel arrangement appeared prior to the Civil War.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 22, 2012
  3. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Sally: Not only a good layout, but a very good list of lessons learned. I will do well to remember not to re-learn them too many times. Train show this coming weekend so I will go over your list a few more times.
     
  4. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    @ hoyden

    Researching by seeing some of these historical sites is part of the fun. I traveled to and studied the area around the C&O (northern Virginia), Maryland along the Potomoc, and Harper's Ferry -- it's a gorgeous (EXPENSIVE!) area near Washington, D.C. For history buffs, it's a treasure trove!

    However, if you can't go to see it in person, the National Park Service does have period photos of the C&O canal and surrounding area. Or, if you want real funkiness, check out this Down the Old Potomac 1917 on Youtube.
     
  5. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    For me, the key was having a concept that kept me coming back. I guess I'm a closet anthropologist: I was amazed that people could survive and thrive without computers.
     
  6. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    Sharing hobbies with your wife is both a blessing ("Babe, can I have that loco, it's cute!") and a curse ("Stop taking apart engines if you're not going to put them back together! I can't see the dining room table anymore!")

    Bottom line: be careful what you ask for!

    As for my next project, it may not be trains: Shawn bought me a wood ship model for an anniversary gift years ago. He wants me to get that done, too.

    I'd like to stay in the 1850s -- the locos were as individual as the men who engineered them. I was thinking of a shelf layout because of space considerations. Maybe a wharf scene in Baltimore?
     
  7. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Sally-

    Please check your Private Messages.
     
  8. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    What ever you decide to do, it will be awesome, perhaps even more so, the next time!

    I am blown away by the quality and the look of your layout!
     
  9. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    @ randgust:

    I'd love to have a model making job at the Smithsonian! Will you put in a good word for me?

    I haven't been to Pithole, PA to see that n-scale display, but will make a point if I motor in that direction.

    For those interested in adding a canal: Langley Miniature Models made a Waterways Scene with 2 white metal canal boats. I had to cut mine down to fit, but can vouch for the detail (the wood locks are wonderful).

    I have to save my Atlas 2-6-0 for another layout due to proportions. The engine overwhelmed everything and had no where to go on such a small railroad. However, if I were to model Lincoln's Funeral Train, the 2-6-0 in bunting and a wreath would be a great fit!

    Sally
    (modeling 1850s with husband, Shawn)
     
  10. tigers1960

    tigers1960 TrainBoard Member

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    G'day again..Thanks...see where you're coming from..Same here in rural Tasmania.. Not much has changed , except the flashing signals perhaps in a century..We're about to build a Fingal Valley replica in our old railway station ,that was built itself in 1886...the same year as my own former railway cottage was built..Going to be done in N Scale..I use HO for my BNSF layout.. TASRAIL is buying 17 new locos from the USA and spending 220 million dollars in the next two years on track , rolling stock etc..about time.... so we might not be quite so ancient after that.
    Your depiction of the mid 1800s is fantastic and is something for you to be proud of... Cheers from Tassie... tigers1960 (Rod)..
     
  11. PacRail

    PacRail TrainBoard Supporter

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    Very nice. The canal is a unique feature and you did a great job with it.
     
  12. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    That's a lot of terrain to cover and some great history to contrast.
     
  13. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    @ PacRail

    Thanks, Mark. The concept of this layout was to contrast the dual transport methods of canal and rail. Unfortunately, by 1860, the railroad superseded most canal service and the stagecoaches that traveled the National Road (today's route 40). But, in my world, they all collided for a short span of time.
     
  14. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Sally,
    Nice work on the layout! Congrads.

    I really like the details in the scene with the stagecoach and two wagons!

    The only thing that I see that might be missing is a scene with a Gallow and a crowd! ;)
     
  15. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    @ Bendtracker1

    Thanks, the stagecoach was a scratch-build. And for those who wish to try, be forewarned: wagon design is just as in-depth as locomotive! After locating a side view I could use for plans, I had to figure out how the body was cradled on reinforced leather strapping above the axles!

    I'm sure there were hangings, but I wanted my world to be a bit brighter!
     

    Attached Files:

  16. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Understood, just that it was an Iconic scene!
     
  17. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Sally,

    Would you be able to show us an overhead photo so we can see your entire layout?

    Yours,

    John Bartolotto
     
  18. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    Sure, John, although it doesn't look like much from a birdseye view!

    Sally's first layout.jpg

    I originally chose the very first oval layout illustrated in Linn Westcott's 101 Track Plans, the Stockton & Darlington RR. But, I simplified it even further, because I didn't want to work with grades on my first try. [Not to mention, the Bachmann 4-4-0 isn't the most powerful locomotive!]

    Sally
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 24, 2012
  19. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Sally,

    Thanks for the photo! You've packed a load of details into a great oval layout!! You're an inspiration.

    John
     
  20. SHarrison

    SHarrison TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, John. My husband taught me that it's all about telling a story in 3-D.
     

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