The Whole Layout

I believe you can’t beat the luxury of a lot of space when it comes to trains.

I said this in a prior post. Arnold Palmer as a senior golfer said about his sport: there is nothing like youth.

I say, when it comes to model trains, there is nothing like space (a lot of it). 

But, when we get older or have limited space, we do our best.

Very nicely done, Arnold.  You are definitely right about space, “O” takes a lot of room.

Arnold said "But, when we get older or have limited space, we do our best."

And this situation can give fuel to stimulate imagination and creativity too.

Very nice layout Arnold!  Nice thread too!

Well done Arnold.  

Great looking Layout, thanks for sharing the video! There is a lot going on that one could pick upi and use for there own layout! Thanks again!

Very nice! , thanks for sharing that.  That was a great video showing how the layout moves. 

Arnold, That's a FINE video. There's a lot of action going on and I really like that D&H diesel! 

Well done, Arnold. Very enjoyable video & layout!.

Do you have a diagram of your layout? If you already have posted it, I missed it (sorry).

Thank you for sharing.

Alex

I love the double reversing loops Arnold. I wish I had thought of that before I did typical ovals. The loop round the boiler is the best.

Bob

I am impressed.  Good video.  Great use of space.

Since Arnold asked......

Mine is easy since its only 4X8. I packed in as much as humanly possible I think

I can watch youtube videos all day long in Firefox without any problems, but whatever player this video uses operates very sporadically - it plays for a second or two, stops, jumps forward, plays another second or two, jumps, and so on.  Repeated searches online for a fix have resulted in no joy.

It won't play in Explorer either, and Quick Time is up to date.  The only browser this type of video will play in is Google Chrome, which I refuse to leave on my pcs because it's the worst spyware I've ever encountered, I only installed it to see if these types of videos would play.

I am using the latest version of Firefox and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.  If anyone can help I sure would appreciate it.

Pete

Great videos, and great use of space. Here's a drawing of mine. It looks mostly the same now, but the area where the log and coal loaders are has been re-designated as a passenger yard. With the exception of 2 sidings, all curves are O-72. 

RSJB18 posted:

Since Arnold asked......

Mine is easy since its only 4X8. I packed in as much as humanly possible I think

You weren't kidding Bob, you packed that table tight! But I think if you try you could fit a trolley system in there somewhere! LOL

Texas Pete posted:

I can watch youtube videos all day long in Firefox without any problems, but whatever player this video uses operates very sporadically - it plays for a second or two, stops, jumps forward, plays another second or two, jumps, and so on.  Repeated searches online for a fix have resulted in no joy.

It won't play in Explorer either, and Quick Time is up to date.  The only browser this type of video will play in is Google Chrome, which I refuse to leave on my pcs because it's the worst spyware I've ever encountered, I only installed it to see if these types of videos would play.

I am using the latest version of Firefox and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.  If anyone can help I sure would appreciate it.

Pete

I use firefox and have the same problem sometimes. Sometimes I find that opening the video in a separate window works better that viewing right in the forum post. To try it-  hit play on the video, they right click over the image and click view video in the list. Seems to work better.

Bob

I'd have to go to a third level Mike.  HMMMMMMM........

Gentlemen,

   Real nice video's and some very nice layouts!  I like them a lot.

PCRR/Dave

Very nice videos guys. Arnold, love the way you placed all the older Lionel accessories. Well done.

Very nice layout. Lots of action in a small space, without looking crowded.

Jeff

Arnold and Bob, You both have made great use of the space you have available!  The layouts look great!

John, The layout plan looks great too!  

RSJB18 posted:

Texas Pete posted:

I can watch youtube videos all day long in Firefox without any problems, but whatever player this video uses operates very sporadically - it plays for a second or two, stops, jumps forward, plays another second or two, jumps, and so on.  Repeated searches online for a fix have resulted in no joy.

It won't play in Explorer either, and Quick Time is up to date.  The only browser this type of video will play in is Google Chrome, which I refuse to leave on my pcs because it's the worst spyware I've ever encountered, I only installed it to see if these types of videos would play.

I am using the latest version of Firefox and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.  If anyone can help I sure would appreciate it.

Pete

I use firefox and have the same problem sometimes. Sometimes I find that opening the video in a separate window works better that viewing right in the forum post. To try it-  hit play on the video, they right click over the image and click view video in the list. Seems to work better.

Bob

Still no joy, but thanks for trying.  The videos play ok on my wife's desktop, same browser, same OS.  I might think it was the fault of the notebook or the wi-fi if it wasn't for the fact that you tube and netflix play no problem.

Pete

Mark Boyce posted:

Arnold and Bob, You both have made great use of the space you have available!  The layouts look great!

John, The layout plan looks great too!  

Thanks Mark. Nothing elaborate compared to a lot of what we see here, but I wanted to keep it relatively simple. I always liked Fritz Von Tagen's layout from the TM videos and tried to duplicate what he did, minus the T-Rail track. O-72 curves limit what you can do, but to me it's worth it because of the way the trains look and run on the wider curves. 

I think it’s great, John.  As for me, there is only so much you can do in a room 11 1/2 ft x 11 1/2 ft with a big sliding glass door on the side.

mowingman posted:

Very nice layout. Lots of action in a small space, without looking crowded.

Jeff

I might take 1 or 2 accessories off it and put more green and brown landscape in it. Sometimes less is more.

RSJB18 posted:

Since Arnold asked......

Mine is easy since its only 4X8. I packed in as much as humanly possible I think

Nice layout and use of Lionel trestle.

Thanks guys. I am but your humble forum mate. If I had the space I'd have a monster layout with all the goodies.
making the best of what space I have been allotted by the CEO.

Here's my track plan.

Bob

RSJB18 posted:

Thanks guys. I am but your humble forum mate. If I had the space I'd have a monster layout with all the goodies.
making the best of what space I have been allotted by the CEO.

Here's my track plan.

Bob

It looks like you have done very well, Bob.

Thanks Arnold. One big drawback is the steep grades. I discovered last night that I can double head my 0-4-0 tanks and pull the hill.

Bob

Arnold, when shooting videos of my layout I would avoid entire shots of the layout. Didn't even shoot many wide shots. Most are medium and tight shots. Seeing what the entire layout looks like (for me) takes away the magic your trying to produce. Detail is very important and to shot it you need tight shots. For me less is more. A super wide shot of the layout must be held for a much longer time. There is just too much to see. I like to force the viewer through focus and framing to look what I want them to see. Just a few thoughts. Don

Please watch in 1080 HD. 

When I suggested to my dad that we extend the layout using wooden ramps to go places like another plywood table, his answer was a emphatic No. So now you can understand why I have a layout where the trains not only go to several different tables, they also tunnel through the wall to go to a different room. LOL

It looks like your trains ran very smoothly on your trestles. 

Arnold

Very nice video, Scale Rail!  Wonderful layout!

scale rail posted:

Arnold, when shooting videos of my layout I would avoid entire shots of the layout. Didn't even shoot many wide shots. Most are medium and tight shots. Seeing what the entire layout looks like (for me) takes away the magic your trying to produce. Detail is very important and to shot it you need tight shots. For me less is more. A super wide shot of the layout must be held for a much longer time. There is just too much to see. I like to force the viewer through focus and framing to look what I want them to see. Just a few thoughts. Don

Please watch in 1080 HD. 

Don, the above video is a great example of the effectiveness of using tight shots showing fascinating and charming details as you say in your reply.

You probably already know from my prior numerous posts that I have a passion for combining music and trains.I loved your choices of music in the above video. 

Arnold

PS: Don, you are also getting me hooked on the Milwaukee Railroad: what beautiful trains & scenery.

Folks, if you have not looked and listened to Don’s  Videos in this thread, do yourself a favor and do it. It doesn’t get better than those videos, IMHO.

It looks like a lot of layout to me.  And a lot of fun.  Nice work! 

One more thing. Although very few of us will create a museum quality masterpiece of a railroad empire in our basements, homes, etc., we can each experience a bit of that magic. I think most of us have, or soon will, do that. 

It can be done on a carpet central too.

BlueComet400 posted:

Great videos, and great use of space. Here's a drawing of mine. It looks mostly the same now, but the area where the log and coal loaders are has been re-designated as a passenger yard. With the exception of 2 sidings, all curves are O-72. 

It looks like your layout has some very nice features, BlueComet 400, including good space and size (12 by 24 feet), action because of the accessories, it does not appear from the diagram that it is too cluttered, and the 072 curves enable you to run the Big Boys, something I cannot do.

Arnold, just saw your reply. Thank you for the kind words. Don

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

BlueComet400 posted:

Great videos, and great use of space. Here's a drawing of mine. It looks mostly the same now, but the area where the log and coal loaders are has been re-designated as a passenger yard. With the exception of 2 sidings, all curves are O-72. 

 

It looks like your layout has some very nice features, BlueComet 400, including good space and size (12 by 24 feet), action because of the accessories, it does not appear from the diagram that it is too cluttered, and the 072 curves enable you to run the Big Boys, something I cannot do.

Arnold, it's going to be very full by the time I'm done. There are lots of prewar accessories under the benchwork. I pretty much designed the layout around the 3 biggest (Hell Gate Bridge, terrace and power station) as those have to be out, IMO. The size of those really dictates what can be done with track, but I'm happy with it for now. Someday the terrace may be on an elevated platform to allow more trains running under it, but that's a long way off. 

John

Very nice indeed, lots of accessory to play with.