For me deciding to move house was the instigator of building my second layout, I also took the opportunity to change scales and technology from an N scale conventional dc to HO dcc and sound. It has been a great transition and am currently in the middle of scenery after spending hours of operations to ensure i was happy with the deign. My plan is to complete the first layer of scenery then continue to add detail, with the right operations and the ability to add detail scenes I think this layout will be my last
WELL.... we are pretty sure the layout is in working order... but... the layout's motor home might be somewhat stationary unless it has been maintained at least as well as the layout has.
Not only that but...how many people can say they can run their trains while the wife is driving them 70mph down the freeway ;-)
THE RV is pretty well maintained. Just know that if I have to move I can start it and move the layout without tearing it down.
Mike... Here is the one of the first pics I took inside...during 'demo'... 6.8.12 Here is one of tha latest...9.26.14 I really should do one now...even though not a lot has been done since the last one....Log Cabin Motel and the yard lights....and the graveyard at the church...and planted a little more grass...and of course the trees along the sidewalls. I guess I have done a lot in there since Sept 2014...LOL The rest of the pics I have are in the build thread... T-H-E-R-R-Reborn! If ya need pics of anything in particular...let me know Mike.
George , Did I miss a thread on this? The Idea is very cool but I guess I would as Why in the motorhome? Thanks , Mike
Mike, Georges thread is excellent reading! For George I think it was portability, as for me, it is definitely portability! I maintain and manage a trailer park, so whatever I build needs to be mobile. His is a bit more mobile being self propelled, whereas mine will require having it unskirted, unblocked and pulled by a truck. I got a 1962, 10x52 mobile home that was dry but very rough. That is in the Future home of the northern pacific and black hills thread here somewhere....if I knew how to link it, I would.
Mike... The decision has a 2 prong approach. First...as renters there is always the possibility of having to move again and again. Second...tearing down layouts. I spent a lot of time building them to just have to tear em apart to move. As renters you CAN'T put holes in the walls...you CAN'T paint walls, especialy backgrounds for train layouts. So...I started the last one in an old travel trailer. One particular harsh winter...the roof caved in under 2.5 feet of heavy wet snow. Reasearch showed that travel trailer are NOT required to have a 'metal' skeleton. A Motor home on the other hand IS required to have a metal skeleton. People ride inside a motorhome so the safety thinking is that a better 'steel' studded skeleton will help protect the inhabitants. This lead me to the belief that once gutted inside...the roof would still hold the weight of snow. As an added precaution I put in 2 interior 1 1/2 inch square steel tubing braces once the interior walls where torn out. The last heavy snow...the roof only deflected 1/8 inch ! The 1 1/2 inch steel studs inside the walls and roof are doing their job as designed. THE RV is solid!!! ;-) Short answer...the convenience of moving the layout without tearing it apart...and the fact of not having a layout 'in the way' (as THE Wife puts it) in the house, garage, attic etc. Its a win, win, for Me...THE wife...the layout...the trains. As a final thought....I picked up the used motorhome up for a song and a dance ;-)
Yes. You have missed one: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?143989-T-H-E-R-R-Reborn!
Forgot about the NOT having the trains 'in the way.' As it goes 'Happy wife, ...' Didn't mean to speak for you George, oops, sorry.
LOL...no prob. In the end...Mike could get his 2 car garage back. That would make him AND his wife happy I bet ;-)
Repeat after me... "2 car garage...mobile layout...2 car garage...mobile layout...2 car garage...mobile layout "
I have a small layout, L-shaped 8'x8', and one half of the layout I did not like until I had rebuilt it twice. Have you thought of rebuilding the layout specifically for operations? That was the goal of my layout. 2 staging yards, 4 towns and 12 industries all in a small layout. Hans https://www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Pennsylvania-Railroad/519927431428861
