New Layout update 12/1/2014

Right on! I wish I had a basement... there would be "tunnels" in almost every wall!

Looks like you're making good progress.  Still lots of hours to go, but it is so satisfying once trains are running.  I hope your supervisor keeps you on your toes!

 

Mike

 

I know that feeling all too well (over a decade itching to build a layout!!!) I have to finish the basement, which will take another couple of years, so a spare bedroom is what I am relegated to.

 

Looks like a good start to a fun layout!

Looks great and you have good help too.  Once you can start to run trains that when the fun begins.  Keep posting updates.  Nick 

Great start; looking good.

We are very happy for you that you are off to such a great start. ScaleTrax too!

 

I'm a realtor here in western NC and always keep a lookout for a suitable basement or 'bonus' room to alert friends too. We are personally looking for a new home ourselves with another layout in mind...

Awesome start.  Good idea in front of the window.  I have the exact same situation with an egress window.  It looks like a duck under so you can still get to the window?  I look forward to seeing the progress. 

Nicely done.

Peter

Nice Start!!

looking forward to the updates

 

The absolute best pic is that of the young Railmaster....!...FAMILY!!!

I took a break from wiring this past week to start on some basic scenery items. The entire layout got a base coat of brown paint. The river bed was caulked at the seams of the bench work so there will be no Envirotex disaster this time.  I also started placing some structures to get a good idea of what is going to fit and what is not.  All this while planning the backdrops and other scenes.  

This week I started on the foreground terrain and hillside.  Using cardboard strips hot glued in place and covered with masking tape. Next a plaster, portland cement and vermiculite mix with go on as the hardshell.  

Your making tremendous progress.

Keep up the Great Work!!

You are on a ROLL for sure..

NO Sleep..

Work on the Railroad

Looking good!  Sure to be a fabulous layout when completed.

 

Keep those updates coming!

That looks very nice, I especially like the idea of going thru the walls into adjoining rooms.  I love the idea of a basement, but it seems most are located where there is snow.   Dont like the idea of snow too much.  Ü

 

Thanks for the comments. I am happy with how much I have completed. I am able to squeeze in about an hour a night to work on the layout. I would like to get the first phase about 90% completed before moving into the adjoining room. Hopefully the second room will be finished by the end of summer. I will be posting some pics of that space soon.

 

Surprisingly there has been no real issues with the building the layout so far. All of the locomotives are running without issue. Stay tuned for more updates. 

 

 

 

 

Having fun making some mud with celluclay.       

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I had some time to gett the river poured. I used envirotex with some modge podge on top.  I also began working on the next scene. It will be a small coal distributor. I started off with pink foam stacked to the contour of the land. Roads were made with card board. Next I cover the pink foam with masking tape and that gets painted  an earth brown color. Today I hope get to the plaster work. I'll keep you updated.  

Great job!

Peter

Nice work! You have certainly advanced your scenery skills from the previous layout.

I got a chuckle from the envirotex comment. I can see where that was a lesson learned.

The boys really seem to enjoy it.

Thanks for sharing your project and fun!

I like it, the river turned out great as well as the coal bin area.  Nick

The river scene looks incredible!  Great job!

 

 

Looks good, George.

Seems that all the time in the apt was put to good use planning! Execution is excellent!

Great work, George.  Not sure where you are getting the time to do all this, but your layout is coming along just fine.

 

Ron

Ron, that's an easy answer.Full time husband,daddy, firefighter, part time model railroader. Plenty of time. Not !

Nice job George, especially like the creek!

Going through this thread again........I loved the picture of your boys helping out....a great memory for you and for them! You will treasure those pics when they are older!

 

Peter

My boys are two special little guys. That's the best part of this hobby is enjoying with them. Nothing beats waking up early on a Saturday morning, getting my coffee and their chocolate milk only to  go downstairs and run the heck out the trains.Some people worry about what the hobby is going to be years from now. Say things like" Will kids still be involved"? sure they will!  I don't force trains on them. Its what I like and if they want to help I surely find something for them to do on the layout. I don't force it on them though and if they want to put something on the layout that is out of place or out of scale. So be it. 

Hi Marty, hope everything is well. As you can see the scaletrax is going to good use! The coal breaker will be in phase two once I get the other room finished. I did have one mishap with the turntable though. After surviving 8 months in storage and the move to the new house, I accidentally dropped a box on the turntable bridge. Sadly It shattered into pieces.I am saving my coins so I could buy a new one from Ross.

 

 

Excellent work, George!

 

And this picture certainly is worth repeating:

 

 

 

Alex

Finishing up some scenery work around the concrete plant.  

 

Beautiful!

 

Peter

nice work in a short time , especially that you just moved in

 

Thought I would post what I've completed this month. Here is mountain area I am finishing up.  I am also awaiting another section of backdrop that is due in any day now. 

 

 

Very Cool... Great job! Im really like seeing how you are making your mountains and placing your tree's! I especially like the weathered diesel... looks a lot like the one we have been running out here in the west coast in our consists...  Keep the pictures coming! 

 

Great work in a very short amount of time! Keep the updates coming 

 

 

Andy

The layout is shaping up nicely. Glad to see the kids involved in the build.

After a very busy month of August, I am finally able to post what I have completed on the layout. Some of the items completed have vastly changed the look of the layout like the backdrop I installed from LARC products. I also painted the fascia a grey color. This helps give it a finished look.  Some other items were minor in nature but help in operations. Taking care of some track issues and a lot of contemplating where I will place that K & P coal mine has really rattled my brain but I think i got it figured out.  

 

Finally, the decision to expand the layout has made a change for the better. The original plan called for a tunnel to link the main layout room and the den. This den would have to be finished and was really delaying the plan of going forward with what I call phase 2.  After long negotiations with my beautiful wife, and my boys, We have now decided that the layout could now expand in the unused portion of the main basement area which is already finished. This will give me room for a yard and allow me to finally get my Ross turntable into operation. The den will become a guest bedroom.  The benchwork for phase II is scheduled to start in late September so stay tuned for that update.