Building My First Layout


santafewillie said:
I somehow missed this thread when you first started it on Veteran's Day, but I just caught up. Here are some thoughts.
I use cork roadbed directly on 1/2" plywood. My layout has no grades, thus making it easier to build. There are places where I added elevation alongside tracks (corners for example), by just adding layers of Homasote because that's what I had on hand. Foam could also be used.

If you weren't trying to clear another track, the Bascule bridge wouldn't need quite as much elevation. Maybe a river painted directly on the plywood. It could be made more realistic with riverbanks made of 1" foam. Or a section of the plywood could be cut out and lowered to make the riverbed.

Those old Tyco structures can be dressed up and made to look much better. Honoring your father with their inclusion is a great idea.

After you determine the track plan, use a pencil and trace roughly on the sides of the tracks. It won't be as wide as the cork roadbed but it would give you some guidelines as to where to place it. There is a small amount of forgiveness in sectional track, but be careful not to kink it. Flex track would give more flexibility. I use Elmer's White Glue to hold the cork in place, and then use track nails to fasten the track. I use flex on most of the layout and all of my curves are at least 28" radius. My holdover sectional track is used on sidings. If you're planning on using mostly sectional track, be prepared to add many more feeders for power.

I'll be following along, and you already seem to know that we like lots of pictures!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information and tips! I have some leftover 2" pink foam insulation board from a previous remodeling project in my mudroom. The right side of the layout will be a fake tunnel with cliffs and elevation. Where I had the bascule bridge in my first post, it went over a track that wouldn't really be used, because it ended in the fake tunnel. Putting the bridge back in that location is probably my best and easiest option. It came with 3 bridge piers with a max elevation of 1 3/8". I'll check to see if Woodland Scenics has a set of risers that height, just in case it's a better option than using the bridge piers.

I do plan on using feeders (Atlas terminal joiners) on each spur and all the sidings, with Atlas selectors to control them. I'll create as many blocks as necessary to control the power to the different parts of the layout.

I'll attach a pic of the plastic bridge piers from my cell phone shortly...
PXL_20231124_132315199.jpg
 
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I made some progress today. I started by making the layout bigger. I added a 1ft x 4ft section on the left side of the layout, so it is now 15ft long. I also added a 2ft x 2ft section where the waterfront will be. 1ft x 2ft at the level of the rest of the table, and another 1ft x 2ft section where the water will be, and it's about 2" lower than the rest of the table.

I then added a 9" straight to the outer mainline, and 11.5" of straight length to the inner mainline, both on the left side of the layout. I then adjusted my 5 spurs on the top left to move them a little closer together. Then I went back to the right side and put the bascule bridge back in it's place.

I put the 4 petroleum tanks on the new spur that I added today, just to see how they would fit. The other new spur is next to the waterfront, and will be for refer boxcars to haul fresh shrimp and seafood out of the small port.

So now the layout is 10ft of 6ft width, and 5ft of 4ft width, or 80sq ft. I've pretty well maximized the usable space in my attic. The rest of the attic is for my other hobbies.

This is without the tanks
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This shows the new waterfront addition
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And the bascule bridge again
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In the right corner is a sawmill that may or may not stay there
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I put leveling feet on all of my 2x4 legs, like this new 1ft x 4ft section today
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That's all for now...
 
I just noticed your layout and you have a nice, big space, I wonder how you are accessing the middle of the plywood?

I have seen some guys cut a removable access hole.

As far as foam board for terrain goes, there are a couple school of thought. I do not use it and prefer to use hydrocal, which is a plaster like material which dries very hard and does not shrink. Pick your lowest elevation and that would be the plywood and work up from there if you want topography.

I am curious what your locomotives look like?

Dave LASM
 
logandsawman said:
I just noticed your layout and you have a nice, big space, I wonder how you are accessing the middle of the plywood?

I have seen some guys cut a removable access hole.

As far as foam board for terrain goes, there are a couple school of thought. I do not use it and prefer to use hydrocal, which is a plaster like material which dries very hard and does not shrink. Pick your lowest elevation and that would be the plywood and work up from there if you want topography.

I am curious what your locomotives look like?

Dave LASM
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave! I can access the middle of my layout by reaching across any of the four sides. I have enough space to walk around the entire layout, so 6ft of width is max. The 15ft length is also max, due to limited space to walk around the layout.

The only elevation change I have that affects the trains is the bascule bridge. The right side of the layout will be some cliffs, but that's all I have planned for "higher elevation" landscaping. That could change after I start getting things in their proper places.

I'll have to gather my locos and post a pic of them later. I put all of them back in their boxes after I tried to do a test run with most of them.
 
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Here are pics of my locomotives...

The two Chessie System engines run great. The Sanat Fe in the center needs a new pancake motor, so it will be a non-working display engine.
PXL_20231128_150830877.jpg


The Amtrak on the left came in the wrong box. This is a train I had as a child, and the box is marked as an F7. None of these three engines are assembled yet. The center engine is also not labeled correctly because it's a PA1 dummy.
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These two engines aren't assembled yet
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These two engines aren't assembled yet
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This John Bull is a complete train set, and has never been out of the box
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This loco has never been out of the box
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The Amtrak on the right is also from my childhood, and marked F7 on the box, not sure why, and it's also not assembled yet. The engine on the left is a GG1
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More in the next post
 

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Loco pics continued...

This one has never been out of the box
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The engine on the left is a Mantua brand
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These two War Bonnets are labeled as F9's
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Most were new until I opened them. My dad was a huge John Wayne fan, and a fan of the Wild West in general. I think that explains why he had so many steam locos.

Keep in mind that this wasn't ALL of his train stuff. I only got about half or 2/3's of what he had.
 
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With 7 steam locos and 9 diesel/electric locos (not including dummy units) I'll be keeping a lot of them on the turntable. As long as I can get all of them to work properly, I plan to run all of them periodically.

I think my next step is to mark the track on the plywood and get ready to lay the cork roadbed. I'll do the 2 mainlines first, then progress from there.
 
Marlin338MX said:
Loco pics cont

This one has never been out of the box
View attachment 177438

The engine on the left is a Mantua brand
View attachment 177439

View attachment 177440

These two War Bonnets are F9's
View attachment 177441

Most were new until I opened them. My dad was a huge John Wayne fan, and a fan of the Wild West in general. I think that explains why he had so many steam locos.

Keep in mind that this wasn't ALL of his train stuff. I only got about half or 2/3's of what he had.
Click to expand...
Nice!

I notice the GN 2-8-0, looks like a Bachman, I worked on these models (as in repairs). They developed cracks in the driving gears quite predictably. I was somewhat successful at making them run but would be curious if a new in the box is going to present that issue.

At the very least, it is an attractive display model!

Dave LASM
 
logandsawman said:
Nice!

I notice the GN 2-8-0, looks like a Bachman, I worked on these models (as in repairs). They developed cracks in the driving gears quite predictably. I was somewhat successful at making them run but would be curious if a new in the box is going to present that issue.

At the very least, it is an attractive display model!

Dave LASM
Click to expand...

Thank you!

You are right, that GN 2-8-0 is part of the Bachmann Classic Collector's series. I'll be paying close attention to all the gears and moving parts when I finally get around to doing maintenance on all of my engines.

Are replacement parts easy to find for these old engines?
 
Marlin338MX said:
Thank you!

You are right, that GN 2-8-0 is part of the Bachmann Classic Collector's series. I'll be paying close attention to all the gears and moving parts when I finally get around to doing maintenance on all of my engines.

Are replacement parts easy to find for these old engines?
Click to expand...
For this specific model the repair part was unavailable. I purchased a total of three locomotives to make one operational.

I made a helpful youtube video on disassembly and repair of this (Bachmann 2-8-0) the link is on my signature below.

Dave LASM
 
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