Good morning everyone!!
I thought I’d get started, so wanted to have some folks hop in with suggestions, questions, comments, etc.
We have had a Christmas train that has run in the front yard with our Christmas light display for the last few years. This year we went a little extra and laid track in a 36x20 loop with floating roadbed. Thoughts were to keep the front yard layout going and someday connect it to a layout that will be constructed in the backyard. That has changed just a bit.
We have decided to take the front yard layout down, and rebuild in the back yard. The train layout for Christmas 2006 will consist of a temporary setup, with a 30x15 dog-bone style layout from now on. We’ll adjust it a little every year so it doesn’t become boring for onlookers around Christmas time.
In the back yard we have decided to do the following:
- Take all existing deckwork down
- Fill in the current pond that we have
- Build a screened in porch off both back doors, the screened in area will be 14x20, which will have a 16x12 loop running on the floor.
- Rebuild the deck area to approximately 24x18, to give enough room for our table and chairs and a new grill area.
- The SC&A will run a double pass loop style mainline, with connections to the screened area for storage of stock and engines.
We are happy to announce that after some discussion and talks with other large scale railroaders in the area, the SC&A has joined with an upstart line, which will be named the Mid-Arkansas Railroad. (The Mid-Arkansas Railroad is going to be the name of a Garden Railroad club that is in the planning and formation stages even as we speak. There will be more information available about that as things progress.)
Below is a link to the RR track plan of the Mid-Ark Shadow Creek & Augusta line, as it stands right now. This setup only takes up a 30x36 area of the backyard, will incorporate some of the line into the deck itself, and a new and improved pond and stream will grace the northern (left side looking at the diagram) side of the layout.
We are also in the planning stage of reworking a layout of a friend that is just magnificent, but needs to be strengthened by bulking up the benchwork that the railroad runs on. We’re getting measurements and ideas together, and hope to break ground on that remodel soon.
Also, there are some behind the scenes work going on as well. Buildings are being drawn up, cut out, nailed, screwed, and glued together to fill up the Mid-Ark SC&A layout, and ground improvements are well under way to ensure the plantings have the best possible means to succeed well in the layout.
So to make a long story short, there is a lot going on, and we hope to have the screened in area and the first small loop running by Mid April at the latest.
I’m going to be reading many different threads and asking a LOT of questions because I’m not sure I’m going to settle with a floating roadbed for this layout, might just tackle another more sturdy approach, even though this layout is going to be somewhat on ground level as well.
Everyone take care, offer suggestions or ask questions as you see fit, and thanks for catching up with whats going on with the Mid-Ark SC&A.
RR Track layout diagram: Can open if you have the RR track program
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/ballhog24//Mid-Ark-Shadow%20Creek&%20Augusta%202.rrt