Large Scale Central

Lets see your track plan.

Track and Trestles
#41

Okay then…this is my upper loop mostly under the porch and going out into the yard. I have since widened it to 22 or 23 feet. It says 80 inches but really it runs from about shoulder level to a little above eye level.

(http://saintfrancisrailroad.com/layoutsimages/track1b.jpg)

And this is what I started out with for the lower level, although the yard is reversed in space and really I’ve deviated a lot from my plan. Plans plans plans…for me, they’re good for the general idea, but once I start building and laying track, I get better ideas!!!

(http://saintfrancisrailroad.com/layoutsimages/track2b.jpg)

#42

John M. said:

Man, you all have some fancy layouts.

You got that right John…the fancier, the better I say.

I always figure that this is a hobby, not a job, so there’s no timeline and no one but the modeller deciding what’s realistic and what isn’t!

(Now, most of us have finite time and money limits, but what the heck.)

#43

John Passaro said:

…

Plans plans plans…for me, they’re good for the general idea, but once I start building and laying track, I get better ideas!!!

Probably happens to all of us, however thinking long and hard about the plan means fewer corrections (aka “oh man, if only…” moments).

BTW doing it right the first time 'round saves time, I actually have a T-shirt to prove that.

(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/F-PIX/TheFirstTime_s.jpg)

#44

Don’t have a drawing, about 50 x 50 ten foot radius curves USA trains large switches

Don’t know why the picture never came out the first time

Don.

#45

guess i need to sketch some thing out

#46

okay this is not to scale, and living in the mountains on a slope, there are a ton of grades, except in the train room.

#47

Don and Craig, you have my vote for the cleanest tidiest RR. Very nice.

I like your RR John M you have tons of operating action there. Do you have photos or videos?

John P wrote; " this is what I started out with for the lower level, although the yard is reversed in space and really I’ve deviated a lot from my plan. Plans plans plans…for me, they’re good for the general idea, but once I start building and laying track, I get better ideas!!! "

This is so true and words of wisdom for the new guys. it is easy to take a track plan and set it up indoors for the lesser scales but track plans don’t translate well to th great outdoors when trees, grades and rocks and such get in the way. When it comes down to it make up a sketch and start laying and see where it takes you. I think the majority of us have done many redesigns over the years.

#48

OK I’ll play

Hard to see on this state paper towel…You use what you got!

Simple 2 loops,with a connecting track.

Each has a small yard.

#49

Phase 1 is completed. I need to build the retaining wall next to expand.

Grey area is the house, the brown outline is the deck.

WGR Layoutplan.

#50

Crazy action guys. I need ot check out your RR someday Sean.

#51

Great plans guys. It gives me a better idea of what your talking about when you describe an part of your layout.

#52

Here is the track plan for the Ottawa Valley club railways.

There is a whole section on our club website about the construction and re-construction of all the track work on different areas on the railways.

There are also videos and pictures taken during the annual American Invasions of Ottawa.

#53

Below is a diagram for the Bluestone Southern layout, as it now stands… The line from Nashville to Okawville is not installed as of yet…

Closeup of the Outside area.

Closeup of the inside yards.

I haven’t measured the size, so I don’t know…

#54

I’ve kept my layout very simple.

I have made some new editions.

A trolley line has been built at Silver Onyx and the gold mill tracks completed. I am getting ready to build another siding or two.

It’s a work in progress.

#55

We may not be a Charles Crocker or Thomas Durant but we are RailRoad men of distinction who are masters of our backyard empires.
All these fantastic layouts has me thinking that it would be cool to link them together. I remember a clever movie Greg Hunter made of his grassland train making its way over 3 or 4 of his friends layouts like it was one continous route.
Of course it would be too much money and alot of time to ship a piece of rolling stock around the country to be photographed or filmed on each of these RR’s so what is the next best idea? How about sending a decal to be affixed to a car. I believe this was done a number of years ago with a decal from Marty Cozads RR.
Tossing around ideas to somehow make a continous movie where the same car travels over all these RR’s we would need a car that many of us already have, probably collecting dust under our workbenches… DRUM ROLL PLEASE … the humble Bachmann Bobber caboose.

We could even design a decal that could be printed out from a computer, affixed to our bobber and filmed going around our RR’s . With all the movies put together it might appear that this one caboose made it across the country.

Good idea?

#56

Years ago, on a website far, far away, a friend of mine, who a lot of the old regulars know, named George Thomas, (aka Stumpy), had a figure he took around with him and photographed on different peoples layouts. He was from New Jersey and the figure showed up on layouts as far away as Colorado. Piute John owned one of the layouts. There were a bunch more. It was sorta like the gnome in the Travelocity commercial…always poppin up somewhere…:wink:

#57

Ken Brunt said:

Years ago, on a website far, far away, a friend of mine, who a lot of the old regulars know, named George Thomas, (aka Stumpy), had a figure he took around with him and photographed on different peoples layouts. He was from New Jersey and the figure showed up on layouts as far away as Colorado. Piute John owned one of the layouts. There were a bunch more. It was sorta like the gnome in the Travelocity commercial…always poppin up somewhere…:wink:

I still have a couple Jersey George figures. We should start this up again using his figure in his honor.

#58

Great way to remember him, Bob!

#59

Great. I’ll paint him up!

(http://i.imgur.com/An8jnFal.png)

#60

Bob McCown said:

Ken Brunt said:

Years ago, on a website far, far away, a friend of mine, who a lot of the old regulars know, named George Thomas, (aka Stumpy), had a figure he took around with him and photographed on different peoples layouts. He was from New Jersey and the figure showed up on layouts as far away as Colorado. Piute John owned one of the layouts. There were a bunch more. It was sorta like the gnome in the Travelocity commercial…always poppin up somewhere…:wink:

I still have a couple Jersey George figures. We should start this up again using his figure in his honor.

Go for it, Bob.
I think you’d probably have to start by making up a list so participants would know where to send it next. Now with the web we could add RR’s to the list anytime as new guys get on board the project. Put me on the list, the Littleton and Smallville RR.
There are a couple of my fellow clubmembers who lurk here; I could get pictures from their pikes as well, depending on how you’d want to work it. A figure makes a lot more sense than a car in large scale. Let’s roll!