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Having completed any building I could think of on my previous layout, and enjoying the creative process of building, I took it all down and started fresh, with a new layout design. I characterize this design as minimalist and sparse: I created a modular layout using 1/2" birch plywood, stained and polyurethaned, with Lionel FasTrack laid on top. The outer loop is O72; the inner loop is O60. 
I think of the new design as furniture with a layout. I should mention that this new design is only possible because I don’t have small grandkids anymore, and can run all the Legacy engines with a speed limit, to minimize the chance of a fall off the track.
As in my two previous layouts in this video series, the layout is in a 12' x 13.5' spare room. The rebuilding process took six months; it is captured in 4 minutes 30 seconds of video. Here's the link:

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Mark - Thanks for your comment. The main factor driving me was a hope for simplicity. No curtain hiding a rats-nest of wiring. No attempt at realism, given that I'd given it my best shot in my previous layout (which made the cover of the Jan '17 OGRR). As part of the simplicity, I'm using only Legacy and TMCC engines, so can keep a constant 15v track, and run all switches and lights from the same track power. I do feed the track every four feet or so, from a 16-gauge wire underneath paralleling each of the two main lines. I knew it would work because the RR-Track layout program is very accurate, and I've used 2x2 framing before, and knew it was strong enough. But it was a work in progress, learning as I went. Thanks again for asking.

Bob, 

Thank you so much for posting this. This is so impressive. I really "get" your layout. I have been thinking about this type of design for a while. My new layout will be very much along these lines. I am very interested in capturing a mid century modernist feel when construction begins in January 2018. I want to possibly add one or two  very small "floating" stuctural pads adjacent trackside for a classic accessory or two. 

Again, thanks for sharing this.

John

Bob,

I have always enjoyed your layout and videos. I often directed forum members there trying to find out how to build a fun layout in a reasonable space.

This past summer, someone posted a product and followed up with a catalog from a company that built 2-rail O scale modules much like yours. The company built a display for customer's exposition at the World's Fair in New York. I'll dig a little a find the threads (posts) about the product.

I like the concept a lot. I am more of a runner than modeler, which is probably why I was attracted to your previous layout. You did fit a lot of scenic detail into those, although, my appreciation was more because of the "play value".

Thank you for posting the videos of this project. I am sure that you'll find the approach will strike a chord with many. Time to run some trains!

PS - bring back the "crew"

Bob, You have created a really neat layout and a work of art. It really shows off your carpentry skills, which normally get hidden under all of the paint, foam, scenery, etc.  

I've enjoyed watcing your other operations videos in the past. You do a great job on the videos and have a great voice for narration. 

JD

Brewman1973 (Dave B) - I've used finished 2x2s as underpinning for years, with no warping. The longest piece, a leg support, is only 36" long, so there are no long runs that might warp. The ones I buy from the local lumber store seem to be fully dried. I'm very pleased with them. With some cross-bracing (I use 1x1" occasionally for braces) they seem very stable and supportive. Thanks for asking.

Bob A.   

Beautiful layout, the approach kind of reminds me of the furniture they call "Scandinavian" or "Swedish" design, both the woodworking and the style. One of the things this style of layout cannot hide would be inferior craftsmanship, and yours is world class (and I am green with envy, if I tried something like this would look like something the Tasmanian devil built in a fit of anger *lol*). 

I think it also highlights very much that there are so many ways to enjoy this hobby and all are right and good, too. Sometimes I see people getting locked up into what makes them tick, they forget ultimately that this all is about what brings joy to ourselves

Glad I didn't have access to something like this when I was a kid, that kind of elevated layout with post war trains that can go like 300 scale MPH would just be too much of a temptation *lol*. 

Bob Anderson posted:

Brewman1973 (Dave B) - I've used finished 2x2s as underpinning for years, with no warping. The longest piece, a leg support, is only 36" long, so there are no long runs that might warp. The ones I buy from the local lumber store seem to be fully dried. I'm very pleased with them. With some cross-bracing (I use 1x1" occasionally for braces) they seem very stable and supportive. Thanks for asking.

Bob A.   

Mr. Anderson, two questions if I might...

1. What camera do you use to record your YouTube videos? And...

2. What software do you use to produce the final voice-over video?

Low priority...

LaramieJoe

LaramieJoe - Thanks for your comments. In answering your questions, I use a Canon Vixia HFM30 HD videocamera, almost always on a tripod. It's small enough to mount on a flatcar if I need track motion videos, and has a wide enough angle lens to capture much of the layout when I want a wide angle. I use iMovie on an Apple iMac to produce the videos from the clips I make. It allows me either to narrate over the background sound (dimming the background appropriately), or else detach the clip's sound and just substitute a narration track in its place. I also like its cross-dissolve between clips and ability to crop, to provide a "Ken Burns" effect in zooming, and to adjust the exposure and color to match between clips. There are fancier programs, but so far this works for me. - Bob A.

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