Layout idea


B

bigcanoe

New Member
My son and I have a few ideas for a town/country layout we want to build. We are actually more focused on the scenery than the trains that will run through it at this point. We have a few key items we want to appear, not sure how disjointed this is gonna be...

"Haunted" house and a graveyard
A stream with fisherman
A small race track ala Nascar
A small downtown area with country store, gas station, etc.


We are thinking early 30s, early 40s era South East? Could this work with a steam engine?
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portable vaporizer
 
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Short answer, yes. I would make sure to match the steam engine to the local you are modeling. You may not think it important now, but things change as you grow into the hobby.

I suggest reading my Beginner's Guide clickable below.
 
The only thing that wouldn't exactly fit would be the race track. About the only kind of car racing in the 30's and 40's was dirt track racing, usually at fairgrounds. If you wanted to do a small dirt track out in the back 40, that would probably work. Steam engines were the only thing moving in the southeast in the 30's and early 40's except for some diesels on crack passenger trains and passenger motor cars. Steam engines are mandatory if you're going to model the South during the depression.
 
I like the idea of doing a small dirt track! How would I go about finding an appropriate steam engine and line for my target area (central North Carolina)?
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Kawasaki F11
 
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I don't know the area, but a trip to you local library would be a start. I'd ask the librarian. Or if there is a train club or hobby shop they should know. If the hobby shop doesn't know, find another hobby shop.
 
As Chip said, assuming you live in the area, a local hobby shop and library would be the first place to start. If you don't live in the area, find out what railroads ran during your time period. You can usually go to the web sites of the historical societies of major lines, like the Seaboard, and find old route maps that show all the connecting lines. Then it's a matter of picking a railroad and starting to search the web for historical societies and any locomotive pictures available. You may also find roster information for that time period.
 
I've been planning a simple toy train type of design to represent a part of the UP running through the Wasatch range near Wyoming. I wanted an East Bound and a West Bound track and could only think of a dog bone that would accomplish the job. Then, I hit on the idea of two ovals with one oval completely separate on each level from the other. One would be Eastbound and one West bound. There will be no switches since the layout is for exhibition only. You can set up one train on one oval while the other is running around on the other. A similar design was used in Caboose hobbies in Denver. A design like mine, with a few switches should work fine for a model railroad even though it is a toy train concept. I forgot to mention that the layout is N scale and on a couple of hollow doors.
 
Is your layout intended to go to Train shows? If it is I have some simple Ideas that I used when I showed my last layout...... I learned these from showing!
 
bigcanoe said:
How would I go about finding an appropriate steam engine and line for my target area (central North Carolina)?
Click to expand...

Bachmann Spectrum has a medium sized 2-8-0. IHC has some similar. The Spectrum is also available in N. These come available painted in black and in the green of the Southern RR passenger colors. Don't get the green one if you want it to look prototypical. Except for passenger excursions in the 1960's-1980's no 2-8-0's were painted in passenger colors TMK. I would also stick to 36-40' freight cars, wood side cabooses etc, and short trains, 10 cars max!
 
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To find out what works in central north carolina simply go to google and type "Central north carolina steam engine"
You'll be surprised how much info you'll find.
 
I'm still debating about train shows

vato loco said:
Is your layout intended to go to Train shows? If it is I have some simple Ideas that I used when I showed my last layout...... I learned these from showing!
Click to expand...

Yes, I would like pointers. I'm still debating about taking the set up to Denver (150 miles away), but I would like to show it at rest homes, the campus union, and the library. The two hollow doors would be placed side to side rather than end to end. (A friend says I should keep them separatable so I can get them out of a dogleg to the basement. I KNOW IT WOULD BE VERY CLOSE).
 
bigcanoe said:
I hadnt intended it for that purpose, but it cant hurt to think about it. What did you have in mind?
Click to expand...

The model railroad plan books always assume that a layout should be one continuous whole where every track is connected with every other. For a simple layout, it may make more sense to go the toy train layout route because it allows for operation without interfering with what amounts to a second layout. There is always something moving which is ideal for shows. (Just suggestion of course. There are always possibilities.)
 
hamltnblue said:
To find out what works in central north carolina simply go to google and type "Central north carolina steam engine"
You'll be surprised how much info you'll find.
Click to expand...

Wow, your right! I found out there is a steam engine on display, and a museum the next town over!

The is the Old Steam Locomotive #12 at the Railroad House Museum in Sanford, North Carolina. Built in 1872, the Railroad House is the oldest house in Sanford. Originally built as a home for the first depot agent of the Raleigh and Augusta Airline Railroad, the Railroad House now houses the local museum. Artifacts, documents, pictures and other items of historical value are preserved there.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/9977
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ZL1000A
 
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