My First 4X8 Layout, So Far.....


R

Richard Boddington

Member
Hello All,

If you'd like to have a look at what I've come up with so far you can see the pics here:

http://homepage.mac.com/rboddington/Boddington_Railroad/PhotoAlbum1274.html

Just click one to see the full size. Any feedback from the pros would be welcome as I still have some areas to fill in with trees and buildings. I'm running the DCC Lenz system and three engines right now with a fourth on the way. Getting the Lenz system up and running was a challenge but it's working ok now. DCC is fun...once it works :cool:

The entire layout is built on three inches of styrofoam so that I could cut down below the track and make the gorge and river. Plus it's great to be able to pin every thing down whilst you work.

I customized a layout I found on the web to accommodate the gorge and bridges, over all I think it's a pretty good use of space.

I think I'll run this track for about 18 mos to two years then scrap it and go into the Modu Rail system from Woodland Scenics, I'm quite impressed with the value they offer for the money.

But in the mean time I'll keep filling in this 4X8 until I'm totally bored with it. Right now it's pretty good fun running all the engines at once.

So what do you think? I'm a film director for my day job so feel free to be brutal, I'm used to having my work torn apart and savaged. :D

Thanks
Richard,

PS: I have the three passenger cars for the GO Train but they won't stay together in the S curve they are too long. I need a full length piece of straight in the middle of the S curve and there is just no room. Right now there is an 8cm piece of straight in there so that the longer freight cars can handle the turn.
 
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Good looking layout so far. You need some sort of visible support beneath your raised trackage. Rails aren't held up by just the ties.
 
looks pretty good. I have never seen anyone like mod-u-rail for the value. $135 bucks to buy from ws direct for a 18x36 straight. You could probably make one for 40 bucks.
 
jeffrey-wimberly said:
Good looking layout so far. You need some sort of visible support beneath your raised trackage. Rails aren't held up by just the ties.
Click to expand...

You mean between the gray posts? Hmmmm, I'm looking at the box it came in, 47 piece Over N' Under Pier Set from Atlas. It just shows the piers holding up the track there is nothing in between the piers.

Are you sure about that? It seems to work fine. There is a grabbing piece for each joining point and a support pier for the middle.

You may be right, that's just not how they have it on the box cover :D

R,
 
Richard Boddington said:
You mean between the gray posts? Hmmmm, I'm looking at the box it came in, 47 piece Over N' Under Pier Set from Atlas. It just shows the piers holding up the track there is nothing in between the piers.

Are you sure about that? It seems to work fine. There is a grabbing piece for each joining point and a support pier for the middle.

You may be right, that's just not how they have it on the box cover :D

R,
Click to expand...
I know it works fine. I used to have a very similar set. I'm talking about the way it looks. Go look at a real railroad bridge. Between the piers is a rigid steel framework that supports the track. Real trains weigh thousands of tons. A similar structure will give the impression that the train is heavier than it actually is and the track will look better too.
 
jeffrey-wimberly said:
I know it works fine. I used to have a very similar set. I'm talking about the way it looks. Go look at a real railroad bridge. Between the piers is a rigid steel framework that supports the track. Real trains weigh thousands of tons. A similar structure will give the impression that the train is heavier than it actually is and the track will look better too.
Click to expand...

Ah right, but is there a kit for that?

That's just not some thing I want to build from scratch :eek:

Maybe in two years I'll bring in a pro-builder from the USA and have him build my layout for a month or so. I hear there are guys that do this for a career.

R,
 
There are kits out there that can be cannibalized for what you need. I've been known to build a kitbashed bridge or two in my time.
 
You can use Atlas or Model Engineering plate girders to simulate the bridge structure. Just glue down a two inch wide piece of 1/2 inch thick foam to either side of the track and pier ends and then glue the plate girders onto the foam. It won't be exactly right but close enough for a movie. :)
 
UP2CSX said:
You can use Atlas or Model Engineering plate girders to simulate the bridge structure. Just glue down a two inch wide piece of 1/2 inch thick foam to either side of the track and pier ends and then glue the plate girders onto the foam. It won't be exactly right but close enough for a movie. :)
Click to expand...

Hmmm, Atlas could always provide some thing like that in a more advanced kit.

I did think about building the raised portion on a raised ground that was landscaped. But you get a better view with the raised track.

My tunnel is from Wood Land Scenics, I thought about building one with the plaster but decided to just go with theirs. I could landscape it right into the layout but then I have no access to that portion of the track in the event of a de-railment.

Good thing I didn't glue it down because we had such an accident today. My junior engineer, 5 1/2 year old son, decided to slam on the breaks on the CN train he was driving. I in turn slammed into the back of him with the GO train, yuck what a mess. Cars de-railed, road bed chewed up etc, and it happed while I was mostly still in the tunnel. So it was a very good thing that I could just lift up the tunnel to set every thing right.

Yes I know what you're thinking...don't follow so close at high speed to another train. Point taken, but sheesh doesn't a 5 1/2 year old engineer know better? :D

R,
 
looks very nice. looks like you are having fun. I do agree that something needs to be under the tracks in the raised sections. I think if you built hill sides to the tracks it will not only look more realistic but it will also act as a back drop so to speak and seaparate the layout to make it look bigger. you can create hillsides with cheap home insulation foam, with the help of newspaper scraps or cardboard. Use a hot knife cutting tool for the foam and then place the newspaper or cardboard to get the hillside shape you like. then use woodlands plaster cloth to drape over the foam to make the hillside.

paint when dry and add grass, rocks trees to the hillside. it will look great with some time and experimenting
 
It takes time.

Richard,

There are lots of things that would make your layout better, but as the old cliche goes, " Rome wasn't built in a day". That is one of the great things about this hobby in that there is always something to learn. Having fun is most important, but don't be afraid to try new things even if you don't put it on the layout. Try scenery techniques on scrap wood and foam. Buy some simple kits, structures or rolling stock, and then work up to more complex kits, step by step. Hang out on the modeling forums as there is much to learn and inspire on this one and others. Read the MRR magazines, watch how to videos and search the internet. Above all be patient, no one became an expert modeler overnight.

Bob
 
Yes, I will be attending the big train show here in the Barrie Ontario area next month, as I do every year. Except now I have a layout to add to!

I just discovered today that the black Norfolk Southern GP40 that came with one of my sets is in fact DCC ready! When I looked before I didn't really know what I was looking for. Today when I opened it up I said hey wait a minute that looks like an 8 pin plug and sure enough it was. I pulled off the dummy plug and plugged in the extra 8 pin DCC board I had.

Programmed it and away it went! Very happy about that because the Atlas version of that engine is much better than the Bachmann version I bought off ebay. It's a NIB engine but it gives me an error message when I try to program it, so I had to send it back.

Running three locos is great fun, only a few minor rear endings so far :eek:

It's going to be even more fun when the steam train gets here, and I run four at a time.

Hey is there a record for most number of engines being controlled by one guy at the same time? :D

R,
 
Richard, you'll find out the record when you end up with pile of twisted plastic and metal. :) Now you have to get used to the concept of passing sidings, where one train sits while the other one goes by. You can run more trains that way with a lot less wrecks.
 
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