My past N scale layout was 36" x 16' L shape and was the first N scale layout that I built then I took a long break from the Hobby to come back into Z scale my current home layout is 24" x 4' in Z and yes that is onboard sound in the middle unit. At this time I do plan to return to N in the next few months I just can't pass up all the nice stuff coming to N anymore..... The next layout will be something close to the MR Salt Lake Route they did but will have the feeling of Roseville to Donner something close to what I did in Z...... [video=youtube;8ykdKQ5Kmzs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ykdKQ5Kmzs&feature=share&list=UL8ykdKQ5Kmzs[/video]
Uh ... didn't you get the memo? We're s'posed to complain about how nothing new ever comes out in N. Sorry. Couldn't resist. Jim
Lol My bad Jim........but when you look at all the Big Power you Guys have in N and see what we have in Z you would understand how I feel I say bring it on!! AC4400, 70ACe's, SD90Macs, Gevo's
Lol My bad Jim........but when you look at all the Big Power you Guys have in N and see what we have in Z you would understand how I feel :wink: I say bring it on!! AC4400, 70ACe's, SD90Macs, Gevo's
My first N-scale layout was a 4' by 8'. Then I got hold of an L-shaped room 12' x 10' and built a completely new layout, freelanced with C&O as the prototype. After 4 years I moved, tore that layout down and started out in the new house in a 18' x 12' room. I built a double deck layout, with the decks connected by a 5½ turn double tracked helix with a 20" radius. Maximum mainline grade is 1,67%, making it possible to pull 25-28 car trains with either a brass 2-6-6-6 or 3 GP 9's. It depicts the C&O mainline between Handley, WVa and Hinton and farther up to Alleghany tunnel.The mainline run is double-tracked, some 220' between two hidden loop staging yards. It is DCC controlled. I gained a lot of experience from my mistakes with the earlier layouts, so for now, after 12 years of building the latest layout, I'm quite satisfied. However I could well use a train room double the present size. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaHkpbxhCwc
My first (and current) layout is 5' X 8', so 40 sq ft. in an 18' X 20' bedroom. It is tracked, mostly sculpted (foamboard), no scenery. At my age probably the only one I will ever have. I will be lucky to get this one finished.
You'd be more then invited to see what's I got. Check out my signature and click on YouTube. You will find videos, slide shows and some dialogue. Since, we are over the hump with Thanksgiving and Black Friday behind us. You can see for yourself... via video taken by John A., two mail trains pulling the Christmas Rush. Also, four of five slide shows, showing the layout being constructed and some views of the mini-city and grain elevator built and donated by Greg McGinnis. Look for the H&P RR.. Yes, you can build a layout in a tin shed (but not without certain difficulties). We get snow and it has a snow load of 3 feet deep. You to, can build a mountain layout that can handle 30 to 40 freight car trains and 12 full length passenger car trains. It also sports a hidden staging yard and the Santa Fe A yard (well part of it) at the San Bernardino, Ca.. If that doesn't wet your appetite, I'ma not sure what will. May I suggest, you need a look-see. It is a work in progress, scenery to materalize sometime next summer...if able. Grin! As far as questions having to do with studies done, scientific hypothesis and etc.. Do understand I don't much give a $#!+, it's all about what I want and what I enjoy. Everything else be...well...the Big Bear Dam. Grin! Model Railroader and Railroad Modeler as well as other wig wags have done polls and studies but nothing significant as to say there is only one way to build a layout. Enjoy the visit and thanks for taking a look.
I recently took down my dual layout with O gauge on lower and N on upper level. The amount of running time was not enough to justify the space it occupied in my finished basement. The N scale level was around 7' x 15' with double main and small yard. I am now refinishing the basement completely and am toying with the idea of building a modular layout for the N scale and it will be smaller by far than the past layout most likely in the neighborhood of 9' x 8' L shaped with a 12" depth.
My current project is a 3.5' x 7.5' layout in a spare bedroom approximately 7' x 10'. I've got no past N scale layouts to my credit, and I'm not concerned about any future layouts. Gotta complet'em one at a time.
First layout was a 4'x8'. Now my current layout is 11'x27'. Triple level. Bottom level is just a large staging yard, that could hold up to 30 trains, and reverse loops. The middle and top level will have the scenery etc. My helix is in my living room next to the entertainment center. Eventually it will be housed in its own cabinet. Steve
My currently 'in-progress' layout has barely gone beyond the benchwork stage... its been slowly progressing for about 3 yrs. Snails pace is probably too fast... as the snail work faster. There s some 35' of Unitrack on top of pink foam... but no continuous run yet. The layout is the largest I've attempted... most others were smaller HCD (hollow core door) or smaller. None ever get finished for one reason or another... it must be a genetic trait of mine. This one is an "E" shaped medium size endeavor which is 8' x 16.5' perimeter (there are two cut-ins about 3.5' wide). I always find reasons the stop the progress of these layouts... and usually its because I don't have enough room to run the passenger consists I favor. The California Zephyr is about 7' long and looks best on 19" or wider radii... I have mostly 15" radii on this layout. Even though this is a fairly ambitious layout... it doesn't work well for passenger trains or large freight hauls. It looks like either I disassembled the layout or I'll have to re-evaluate what I'm going to run... the later is the most reasonable... but least desireable. I'm looking at widening the turns to accomodate 19" radius... which means smaller aisles. Thought about multiple decks... but helixi are space eaters. I'm due for another inspirational boost to do some more work on this layout. The photo below is about 4 yrs ago... since then I added the center addition and an end addition to create the "E" shape. Thats a 40 car consist beginning to go up a 2% grade. The track ends about 6 feet from the front of the the C-Liners.
Come on out to Colorado, Glenn. We have lots of operating layouts and plenty of operators. My problem is that I spend a lot of my "train time" operating other folks layouts instead of working on mine. I've started plenty of layouts. Even started scenery on a few. 1st 1972- 3' x 8' then we moved from Iowa. 2nd 1975 - 2'4" x 6'8" then we moved from California 3rd 1976 - 1' 6" x 6' 0" then we moved from Minnesota 4th 1977 - 1' x 4' then we moved from Iowa 5th 1979 - 3' x 10' then we moved in California 1980-1990 - lots of NTRAK modules 6th 1991 - 7' x 18' then we divorced and moved In California 7th 1996 - 10' x 12' then I moved in California 8th 1998 - 8' x 13' then we moved (got married again) from Colorado 9th 2001 - 11' x 12' then we moved from Washington 10th 2005 - 11' x 14' then we moved from Alabama 11th and current - 17' x 36' in a 1950 square foot basement. I could use more of the space than I am, but that would be too big for me to maintain. If I move again it will have a basement that can fit the layout. In Colorado, there are plenty of basements and it's dry here. It's basically 8' dominoes. Where I'm modeling is pool table flat. (San Joaquin delta in CA) I am mulling over possibilities for the old folks home layout which I refer to as the diaper layout.
The Shed... I've mentioned this before. I have a 10' x 16' shed waiting for me to get home from Germany. I plan on doing something about one foot deep around the walls which would be 48 ft sq. Additionally I would like a two-foot peninsula running up the middle of the room giving another 24 ft sq. If I put shelves under the layout then I'll end up with a decent amount of storage. I'm pretty clueless about track plans other than I want a big union station with lots of long passenger trains as the focus. Terry
I'm actually in the process of designing my next layout, choosing to abandon my half way done HCD having determined it to be a 'learning project' for the newbie that is me. The new one is going to be a 4'x8' double decker. Sounds absurd, I know, but I'm positive it can be done Oh, and it's going to be portable! Will be starting a thread on this soon...
Enjoyed reading this thread so into the fray: 1st early 70': 2'x3' in a NYCity very small apartment with a lot of balsa wood scratchbuilt structures. 2nd late 80's: 3'x5' "closet" but with some hidden track and elevation able to run 3 trains. DC with lots of blocks, eh? Current: 2012: Have a portion of the guest bedroom and will build a U shape about 5 x 10 x 5. Construction begins February 1, 2013!!!! tentative design:
First - a 4x8 HO oval in grade school. Second - an NTrak 4' module (not really a layout, but . . . got me back in the hobby in 1990) Third - an over-ambitious basement empire in 14 X 30 feet, that got about 60% finished, then torn down to make a home theater room Fourth - 3 six-foot NTrak modules for a large yard for our NTrak club; 12 tracks (four per mainline) plus a corner module with an engine terminal Fifth - a small "U" shaped layout along one long wall of a bedroom, mostly finished and featured in an NKPHTS Modelers' Notebook article a couple of years ago Sixth - reclaimed basement from the home theater; current layout, in a 26 x 14-ish room. This layout is single-level around the walls with a duck-under entry point and a center peninsula. Basically a point-to-point design with staging yards at each end and a connection to allow continuous running. Mainline is about 100 feet (hadn't though about it before, but that's 16,000 scale feet, or a tad over 3 scale miles. Hmmm . . . ) John C.
This sounds like the space I have in my basement. But I think I can go maybe 8 to 10 feet on my "L". I would like to find something I can model after a PA railroad. New to N scale but not to the hobby. Bob
Past: None, but previously had a 4x12' HO scale layout. Present: 4x8' Future: Depends on where I'll be living But I built my current layout in a semi-modular form (it can split into two 4x4' sections for moving purposes) and if I acquire a larger space for trains in the future, I would like to retain my current layout and expand it, in a Free-MoN-ish manner. I have a yard that's planned to end at the edge of the layout, and a spur track that is intended to go to a proposed future module (staging or reverse loop), so I can easily add future layout sections for expansion.
Future layout plan is for 16 x 24 multi-deck of Tehachapi between Bakersfield and Tunnel-7 (beyond Cliff siding), with emphasis on the climb through Caliente, Bealville and Cliff.
