Hi all, I've been lurking a while so I thought I would finally post. For the last couple of months or so I've been building a new layout. It's portable, is roughly 15 feet by 6 feet (although you will see it's an odd shape). The layout is made up of three sections that are bolted together. It's on castors so I can move it around by myself. This is my first American N Scale layout, and my fourth layout over all. (The others were in British OO and New Zealand NZ120 scale.) I got inspired to build this after taking the Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago in October last year on a trip I made to the States. After I got back I bought some Atlas stuff and I spent a lot of my summer holidays building the benchwork. I have a track plan, but it is mostly in my head and scrawled on the benchwork at the moment! It will be a single mainline loop with a yard and industry at the front so I can watch the trains go by and switch for the industry. I'm planning on getting a Digitrax Zephyr for this. The layout is based in New Mexico, but not in any actual location. I liked the scenery around Glorietta, so it is sort of based on that area. I got the name from looking at Google maps. I intend to run BNSF freight and Amtrak on this (mostly the stuff I saw on my trip), and it will be set in the present (though this could all change). I don't know a lot about American railroads, so I'll probably be asking some questions of the knowledgeable folk on here. Some (substandard) pictures attached to show you my progress. Cheers, Grant
Welcome aboard, Grant! Looks like you're off to a great start. I think it's great planning to build the layout in portable sections. I've had to scrap two large layouts (both HO) because of moves, and I vowed to never again built a layout I can't take with me -- or upsize or downsize, if the situation warrants. I look forward to your progress reports. Good luck, and get those trains running as soon as possible! Jim
Hi all. More progress to report. I've now got a circuit of track so i'm running trains. I bought some Kato locomotives and some random rolling stock.
Wow, I was going to comment on the top notch benchwork you have going in the first set of photos, but the scenery in the second set it fantastic! Did you do all that in the span of a month? Outstanding, looking forward to seeing some more photos & progress!
Compliments on your progress... will be pleased to follow your work, so keep the pix coming! Some things notable to me: Ratio of scenery to track makes the layout special, it isn't a loopy/loopy oval, sight blocking scenery is awesome, thematic, and creates interest. All of which I may adopt next time. Appreciate your need (and solution) for transferability, and you're doing it in the garage. Two aspects I have in common.
Very nicely done...! Love the 'sectional' design, and, of course, the area modelled! sincerely, Bruce
Wonderful benchwork and great scenery. Broad curves, wide and distant scene with a single main line running through the center - it just soothes your eyes... peaceful and unwinding...
Cheers all. This is my first time modelling American scenery, so it's all a bit of an experiment at the moment.
Just a quick update. Glued on a lot of clump foliage (though lots more to go) and built a small laser cut house kit. Thanks for looking.
Very nice indeed. I particularly like that you've made it in pieces, not just for portability, but to add into the middle as you get new ideas and/or space. You get some kind of award for progressing from open plywood to photo-quality scenery in the fastest time here.
Cheers all. I knew pretty much what I wanted so I went for it. I reckon I'll be finished this by the end of the year. I'm actually thinking about building a more extensive layout after this, so this is a good opportunity to try things out. I might start the planning that soon.
I've done some more scenic work, and bought some little detail parts such as an Atlas pick up truck. Hmmm, that building is looking a bit crooked from this angle. :tb-biggrin:
