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 Posted - November 22 2009 : 4:15:54 PM
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Hi all,
this is the story of a little train layout, which I actually built especially for a train show. Recently one of my railfan-friends asked me, if I'd like to join him for a model train show. I said yes and he also suggested me to be an exhibitor as well.
Three weeks before the show he asked me, what I'm gonna do. "Well, dunno....". He said he's got another old layout in his basement, one of these molded landscapes, where you just add houses and tracks. I took it!
I was thinking a lot, what to do with this thing. I didnt like it at all. A couple of beers later, a vision hit me! I'm gonna built the "Baghdad Railway", the famous railway that runs all the way from Istanbul/Turkey to Baghdad.
Here's what it looked like when I was offered this layout.
My buddy kept the Trix 3-rail track. After removing the buildings and laying out some Lima track it looked like this:
/tyco/forum/uploaded/martin67/3131310.jpg
Then I visited a shop for construction material. I bought spray paint in different colors, some sand, some gravel. Now, work could start, the exhibition was right ahead. It looked much better after the first treatment, more like a dry desert like scenery.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/martin67/3131312.jpg
I took the track layout like in my first test. It was not perfect, but not so bad either. The track was sprayed in rusty color and the laid and ballasted.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/martin67/3168965.jpg
The station building already had a very southern european look, I just left it as it was (except the base), the other buildings are all reworked.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/martin67/3228431.jpg
/tyco/forum/uploaded/martin67/3233432.jpg
An essential thing for a southern look are palm trees. It actually was not really easy to find them. Finally and just four days before the show I found some in a model shop for military kits. I ordered online and finally recieved these palm trees one day before the show. Again some paint to remove the plastic look, planted some bushes around them to hide the bases and it was almost ready for the show.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/martin67/3241876.jpg
I found out that "Baghdad Railway" was only the title when work started. It proved really flexible, and the scenery fits into any country around the Mediterranean Sea and it fits to many of my exotic models. I also found out that you can do a working exhibition layout with Lima steel track. And finally I found out that those cheap models (Lima, Mehano...) are good and smooth runners and none of them dissappointed me during the long (9hrs a day) running sessions.
Have fun,
Martin
http://mmiwakoh.de/Eigene%20Webs/lima-modellbahn/index.htm
Edited by - martin67 on November 22 2009 4:19:24 PM
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 4:34:16 PM
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| nice work there mate,does you justice and i bet gave everybody fun ken
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 4:46:34 PM
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That's really cool. I don't remember ever seeing a desert model railway before. Very unique
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 5:00:24 PM
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Very nice! It's nice to see how projects go from start to finish, with all the details. Modeling things can be extremely fun! Very nice to see this thread.
Rus
Starting my Tyco and other favorites collection over again after 37 years.
My still in progress list of inventory and wantlist: tyconut.com
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 5:00:53 PM
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Thanks mates,
well, people had some good fun with it, even though some declared it a "wild west" theme. O.k., the engines I ran were mostly American types, Alco DL500CC and other export locos.
The trucks you see are northern european. This is prototypical, as in the 70's and until the mid 80's there were hundreds of trucks each day going from Europe all the way to the middle east, even as far a Pakistan and Afghanistan. This was the longest and hardest tour a trucker could do anywhere in the world.
Here are some more pictures:
See ya,
Martin
http://mmiwakoh.de/Eigene%20Webs/lima-modellbahn/index.htm
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 5:08:54 PM
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Excellent...
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 5:12:52 PM
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Thank you! It makes me a bit shy, but well, it was actually my first layout I've ever built.... That's no joke!
Martin
http://mmiwakoh.de/Eigene%20Webs/lima-modellbahn/index.htm
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 5:38:17 PM
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| I meant to ask, how did you make the sand stick? Did you just paint on some glue, or is there a special trick to it?
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 5:45:08 PM
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I used spray-on glue, then spread the sand, after that there was a layer of paint. It worked well in most places.
Martin
http://mmiwakoh.de/Eigene%20Webs/lima-modellbahn/index.htm
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Posted - November 22 2009 : 6:39:39 PM
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Whoa, that's pretty awesome. I like it sincerely and I didn't get a wild-west vibe at all! More like Indiana Jones, ha ha. I like that cinder-block hut you built too.
Great reimagining of a corny pre-made landscape! Would be perfect for the GI Joe set!
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Posted - November 23 2009 : 4:25:47 PM
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| Martin - unique layout. i didn't get the wild west vision as G-I-C stated but too the Indiana Jones vision. This si the first dessert themed layout i have ever seen modeled. Great to see modelers from other countries layouts and equipment. --Brian
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Posted - November 24 2009 : 4:28:47 PM
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Hi all,
nice to get such positive feedback. Actually, I wanted to do something really different. One of the reasons was my collection of exotic models. The Diesel shown is a Mehanotehnika/AHM GP18 in Yugoslavian Railways colour. The model is extremely rare. But it proved to be a really good runner, smooth and powerful.
The second reason to build something different was, that if you want to show a layout in public, it has to be eyecatching. I just had this ready-made landscape, which is not really special, and which would not have drawn any interrest at all. I was somewhat forced to do this.
My real layout, I only have the benchwork for that by now, will look totally different. It will be much bigger and the theme will be "Somewhere in Europe in the 60's". I will start this project soon, although, I can't show it in public due to its size!
Cheerio,
Martin
http://mmiwakoh.de/Eigene%20Webs/lima-modellbahn/index.htm
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Posted - November 26 2009 : 10:43:01 PM
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quote:
The second reason to build something different was, that if you want to show a layout in public, it has to be eyecatching. I just had this ready-made landscape, which is not really special, and which would not have drawn any interrest at all. I was somewhat forced to do this.
Originally posted by martin67-November 24 2009: 4:28:47 PM
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I'd say eyecatching sums it up! How did people like it? The size it cool too, it would be nice right now to have something just that size for loco testing and staging photos.
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Posted - November 27 2009 : 01:00:11 AM
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Well, most people liked it right away. Many asked me about the techniques of ballasting and especially about the sand. Some wanted to know where I've got those palm trees from.
The track layout is very basic and only good for a single train. So it didn't make people stop for a long time. But there were many who took pictures, some very spontaneous with their mobile phone cameras.
For me the exhibition was good fun. It was a first time for me as an exhibitor. Probably, next year I'll be there again. Until then, I keep this little layout as you said, for locomotive testing and photo shootings......
Cheers,
Martin
http://mmiwakoh.de/Eigene%20Webs/lima-modellbahn/index.htm
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