heres a duesy for planner. im trying to build a very small N scale layout for bringing to show and to make use of some n scale equipement i have. Im planning on writing a article about the construvtion and submit it to Mr or RMC. heres the kicker; the layout can be any prototype, should have some operating capabilities, and be totally self contained in a 1 feet by 2 feet area. please email me or post link here, ill try to check as often as possible. thanks mrbigdaddybig@yahoo.com
Sounds interesting let me know how you progress, I wouldnt mind a similar size layout myself to take to work etc
Mini Japanese Layouts Hi, Ranchero, Here's some ideas, this gleened from the Japanese 'RM Models' model railroading magazine, what is apparently the Jan 2005 issue: These mini layouts are amazing in what they pack into a small space: The Japanese model railroaders take their craft seriously! (why are we not surprised by that?) I don't know where you might find a copy outside of Japan, but I do know of Doug Coster in Australia, who specializes in connecting us non-Japanese with Japanese model railroading supplies, magazines, etc: http://japanese-model-supplies.com/body.html The articles include how-to sequences: It's all in Japanese, of course, so I don't know what they say in words, but the pictures are nicely self-explanatory. Hope these ideas are interesting.
It seems to me you could do a small gold mining layout with a western theme. lots of cowboys and saloon girls and bears and elk. Native Americans with Teepee's. Bison. etc. Build everything really verticle. Tall pines. steep cliffs. A tall waterfall. Go atleast a foot tall. A small oval of N scale track with a small steam engine and a shorty passenger car. Maybe have a drawbar instead of a coupler so they don't disconnect on the tiny radius. Another oval with a mine train on Z scale track. A cross track on a spindly trestle with another train that goes back and forth. A small town made of tiny structures. A jail, saloon, bank, barber, general store. Gotta have a wagon or too. Overall I think the western theme would be a big hit with Japanese people. You could even sneak in some guys on harleys as a little joke. .... Idea's just keep coming. How about a cliffe dwelling too?
I think the MGM studio railroad in N scale would be about 14" x 36". Doesn't quite fit your criteria. http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/abs.jpg
For literally hundreds of small layouts, many of which would fit in that space in N scale, try Carl Arendt's excellent site and monthly "Scrapbook": http://www.carendt.us/
There was a cool port of Los Angeles(?) layout in MR a few years back that might fit your space requirements. I'll try and find some more info and post it. It was pretty cool and used a couple well cars, a tank car and a couple refrigerated cars. I'll go dig through all my torn out articles and get back to you. Maybe someone else here knows which one I'm talking about.
That was a very cool project and inspired me to return to model railroading when I saw it on the cover of Model Railroader. It was a four-part series by Bob Smaus that ran from December, 1990 to March, 1991. It was designed as an HO module and was 30 inches X 6 feet overall, so it might be a little tough to shrink to 1 foot by 2 feet, even in N scale. But some elements might be useful. The layout is now owned by A-Line and appears in some of their ads and on the front page of their website: http://www.ppw-aline.com/ Regards, Byron
Thanks Cuyama. Thant's the one I was thinking about. There's alot more track there than I remember. Whish they had some different photos--that's definately a cool module. There are several design elements that could be used for a smaller layout. Ranchero, what kind of theme were you thinking about?
