Layout inside a boxcar??

[CbarM]

I have thought about this numerous times. Has anyone else thought of this or am I just crazy? I thought it would be really authentic to build a layout inside a 50 or 60' reefer car so then at least its insulated. I have been looking at a few cars online and a 50' insulated car in descent shape can be had for about $25K...

[TheGloriousTachikoma]

It would be authentic. But that's a big box of steel, insulated or not. In summer it will get stiflingly warm and in winter it will become cold. So climate control will be needed at the least. And does that $25K include shipping? And then there's the cost of filling that boxcar with actual layout, which could be another $10-$25k when all is said and done. If you honestly have no better use for an extra $25-30k, then by all means. But That money would buy you a transferable M16 and a very good start on another layout.

[railfan]

My dream is to find, fix up and live in an old caboose, still sitting on an abandoned siding somewhere in northern canada, and have some kind of reliable AC generator to run trains on a huge N scale layout built inside my caboose home. I'd have a small woodstove in there.....and cool northwoods decorum, skis, snowshoes, rifle rack, animal skins, elk head trophy on the wall....and a good old dog....and maybe a friend. lol!



Mike

[steinjr]

No, you are not the first person to dream and talk about building a layout in a boxcar. Or in a 40-foot shipping container.

But it is likely to be cheaper and smarter to just build a shed for a layout in your back yard - wide enough to allow a layout with a couple of aisles.

But if you want a caboose for the coolness factor, and you have spare cash, why not?

Smile,
Stein

[CbarM]

Originally Posted by railfan

My dream is to find, fix up and live in an old caboose, still sitting on an abandoned siding somewhere in northern canada, and have some kind of reliable AC generator to run trains on a huge N scale layout built inside my caboose home. I'd have a small woodstove in there.....and cool northwoods decorum, skis, snowshoes, rifle rack, animal skins, elk head trophy on the wall....and a good old dog....and maybe a friend. lol!



Mike

That sounds like a real chick magnet idea!! LOL! I think it would be pretty cool to do that also!

[Gary B]

One layout idea I saw that struck me as so very cool was in 'Toy Trains' mag a number of years ago. Couple had a Christmas Lionel set up built on a restored baggage wagon. The house had double doors in the dinning room and at Christmas they would take out the table and roll the layout in from the garage. I just thought Christmas was a bad time to loose your dining room.

[Iron Horseman]

Originally Posted by CbarM

I have been looking at a few cars online and a 50' insulated car in descent shape can be had for about $25K...

Hmmm, I would think a standard steel building of the same square footage but better dimensions could be put up for about that same amount.

[LoudMusic]

I think I'd rather use a dome car for natural light.

[NH Mike]

The Cape Cod Model Railroad Club had their club layout in an old heavyweight passenger car in Marston Mills ( near Hyannis ), Mass.

[fireman93514]

A friend of mine used a large office trailer to build his layout. It was very nice.