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 Posted - July 05 2009 : 11:28:35 PM
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Since I have two more years left in college, and several years of internships after that, I took it as a design challenge to build myself a portable layout that I can take anywhere I happen to live. There were a couple of design parameters:
1) No longer than five feet (so it can easily fit in the back of my car)
2) Trackplan good for operation
3) Aesthetically pleasing while being durable
4) Able to pack the buildings and trains into the layout for transport
Based on that, I came up with this:
It's a British Inglenook switching puzzle that's been stretched for American rolling stock. It's about 4.5' long and will eventually have drawers for the trains and the Tyco interlocking tower. Handles on each end will make it easy for two people to carry. Right now it's getting a coat of polyurethane, and after that the next step is to put down grass and actually lay the track (the track in the pic is just a mock-up).
--Rio Grande--Thru the Rockies
Edited by - architrains on July 06 2009 11:09:45 PM
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Posted - July 06 2009 : 12:19:01 AM
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| Neat idea, it always amazes me what people do with modular stuff. Best part is you have a ton of options when it comes to adding scenery something like that!
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Posted - July 06 2009 : 3:15:49 PM
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That layout is puzzling indeed. 
Very nice idea, looks like it has a lot of potential for its size. Well thought out and designed for your specific needs too, I like that. 
    
- Matt -
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Posted - July 06 2009 : 7:30:53 PM
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| Very cool-- nice wood it is on too. To get your photo to post w/o compressing--change name of photo and end it in .jpg and it will appear normal on forum
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Posted - July 06 2009 : 11:43:54 PM
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Thanks for the picture uploading tip...forgot to use good ol' photoshop to make sure it was saving as lowercase.
The wood on the sides is oak, which I knew would turn a nice honey color with the polyurethane on it. The top is just particleboard shelving, since it will be covered with scenery anyway. Hopefully when it's finished (hopefully before school starts again  ) it will look like a nice piece of furniture with a model railroad on top.
Here's a detail of the scene around the tower:
Where the red convertible and camper are will be a road crossing the switching lead. About where the switcher is standing will be a water column.
The tower is getting a detailing overhaul, starting with the floor:
The floor is just an image of a wood floor printed off so the boards look about the right size. Next set of pics will hopefully be of the completed interior, interlocking and all, and some grass and trackwork on the layout itself!
--Rio Grande--Thru the Rockies
Edited by - architrains on July 06 2009 11:52:58 PM
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Posted - July 07 2009 : 10:53:33 AM
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Neat idea on the picture of wood, that looks amazing. 
- Matt -
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Posted - July 07 2009 : 6:09:24 PM
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Nice flooring! I thought you'd laid in actual strips. I can almost smell the urethane.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - August 03 2009 : 11:09:37 PM
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A bit of progress on the switching layout here in the past few weeks. Since the layout is going to be transported a lot and I never can get ballast to stick perfectly, I used stone texture spray paint on the roadbed.
It's pretty convincing.
I used a woodland scenics grass mat, which is a really good choice for a portable layout. It must be magical, because I rubbed my fingers across it really hard when I first unrolled and only a few flecks of ground foam came off.
Next step is getting the wiring done.
--Rio Grande--Thru the Rockies
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Posted - August 04 2009 : 01:44:26 AM
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| This does answer the question about the spray on ballast and how it would look! Only thing I would maybe consider is dry brushing or doing a wash on the track to weather it up a bit. Might help it blend in better with the road bed. Progress looks good so far!
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Posted - August 04 2009 : 5:59:07 PM
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I likes it!  Need to find the blueprints for those interlocking towers Like yours  I'd like to build a real one 1:1 scale 
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Posted - August 04 2009 : 11:59:30 PM
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I actually just finished painting the Atlas rerailer last night to look blended into the ballast:
I agree the rest of the track could use some weathering, though...esp. the sidings. I'm going to try to make some oil and grain spills to dirty them up a bit, in addition to some light gray dust. I might eventually rust the rails, too.
I also got the Caboose ground throw switches installed.
--Rio Grande--Thru the Rockies
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Posted - August 05 2009 : 09:02:54 AM
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| Wow thats a nice improvement to the rerailer! I was going to mention about using hand throws, but I didn't want to seem like I was complaining all the time haha. Looks great it should be nice when its done!
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Posted - August 05 2009 : 09:48:40 AM
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Thanks for the idea on painting the rerailer, looks great!
Mike
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Posted - August 08 2009 : 11:11:23 PM
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I got the road built today. The method I use for roads is from the May 1991 issue of Model Railroader on their "especially for beginners" layout. First I put down a layer of 3/16" foamcore, which is about the same thickness as the roadbed, followed by a top layer of 1/16" chipboard or illustration board.
I striped the road using Prismacolor colored pencils. I made a stencil for the RR crossing sign on the pavement from a PDF on street markings I downloaded from Model Railroader's website a few years ago when they ran a more recent article about making roads.
I also got the end of track bumpers built last week.
I hope to have the wiring done tomorrow or sometime next week so it's no longer just a diorama.
--Rio Grande--Thru the Rockies
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 Posted - August 09 2009 : 11:07:12 AM
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A++ work Chris. This is one amazing layout so far, I'm looking forward to seeing it finished!
- Matt -
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Posted - August 13 2009 : 12:50:56 AM
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Just a question: I never got the hang of securing ballast resulting in lots of headaches. Who makes the stone texture spray paint that you used? Awesome road!
I like caffeine and a chainsaw ...
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Posted - August 19 2009 : 11:15:15 PM
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Thanks for all the compliments, guys. The spray-paint I use for the ballast is Rust-oleum American Accents Stone. I got mine at Lowe's, IIRC there were several colors to choose from, so you might be able to do buff colored ballast with it, too.
In other news...
I was in a hobby shop in Boone, Iowa recently and stumbled across a rare find: a Hornby Signal Box and Water Tank set, for only $19.99! After some detailing work, it will let the layout take on it's alternate personality, Tycho Yard on the GWR, to go with my new pannier tank and it's gaggle of Thomas freight cars...
I did the same floor treatment as in the Tyco tower, and added a sitting Model Power figure. The level of detail in this British version of "Plasticville" kits is surprising. The switch levers were a decal included in the kit, and all the furniture was molded into the floor.
Speaking of Plasticville...
That's the Plasticville suburban station that I modified the roof on several years ago because I couldn't stand how flat the original hipped roof was. I just made a cardboard gabled roof that sat down on top of the middle of the plastic roof, and then covered it all with "tarpaper" made from pieces of black construction paper. It makes a nice whistle-stop small town station.
This layout is simple enough scenery-wise that I could change out buildings and trees like a movie set to have it represent any number of different stations, possibly for a youtube series idea I have kicking around in the back of my head...
--Rio Grande--Thru the Rockies
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Posted - August 21 2009 : 09:26:22 AM
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Hats off to you! You have done an outstanding job with what you have to work with. Its funny how people knock TYCO,Life-Like, and Bachmann products. With a little bit of imagination you can make thier structures look like gold which is apparent by what architrains has done in these pictures.
A lone amature built the ark! A large group of professionals built the titanic!
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