What to build???

Lawsonhouse,

 

Came across this video a while ago. Its HO scale but maybe it can be useful.

 

 

Cesar

FatBoy,

 

thanks! The video has TONS of details. Really impressed with the factories. im wondering about having a large factory as a focal point. Also it would help to break up the loop. Something messy... Minds really churning on it!

Lawsonhouse for what my two cents are worth let me make a few suggestions that you may find useful. My observation is that the layout will be viewable from all sides?

That you made it modular so that you can take it apart or incrementally expand it with minimum disruption to what you have already acomplished?

Lastly from the fine detailing I obseved with your house, you would like to make the layout 'believeable?

 

I would create a backdrop down the center using panels of gator board that would be plugged into braces attached to the layout. Objective is to block the view of trains going round in circles and enable you to create multiple small sceens to add iterest.

 

Attach relief flats to your backdropwith velco so they are removable as your design changes.  

Look through old forums for images that Jim Policastro posts. He is a master at making every inch an interesting sceen. 

 

The objective is to have fun while making every investment in your time and materials valuable over the long run.

 

Les Lewis

 

my wes site www.westportmodleworks.com also has some posting on projects I have under taken with this objective.

 

 

Les, I had to think about your suggestions for a bit. The layout is able to be viewed from all sides, but two sides are from outside through windows, and one of those views cannot be close up (no deck). And at first I didn't like the idea of a panel in the middle, but today I finished cleaning all the track and got my first train runs in and I noticed that if I did have the central panel, not only would it break the circle, but also hide me from view while in the central access/work area! Excellent! So I am in favor of that concept, but I'm not sure if it will work since half the layout would also be cut off from a direct view. Also, does you (or anyone else) know of any sites or other resources, that have pics of older buildings specifically for modeling purposes? I have a serious itch for super detail ideas.

Lawsonhouse,

Ok I have a slightly better idea of your situation.  Before investing in any materials I would gather some large cardboard boxes and masking tape and use these to block out portions of the layout into various sceens you may want to create. I see you live in Georgia and if your in or visit Atlanta or some other large city, take your camera and seek out the older and industrial sections of town and look for building that appeal to you and would fit into the sceen you visualize.  If you go to my web site www.westportmodelworks.com I have a posting on 'My current project'. It sort of explains the process I use in my model building. Which is as simple as defining my site, creating a list of criteria, and searching for a building that meets the requirements, and then trying to model it.

 

As to what buildings you make, it is fun to have a theme or idea of how they all inter-relate.  It can be anything, such as a theme of making a '50s small town, or silly - take the Blazing Saddles approach (every business in town was named "Johnson").  Some theme, serious or silly , makes it more, well, fun.  I have one area of my layout that is nothing but car dealers (so I have places to display diecast cars) and another where I try to reproduce the main street in my grandfather's hometown when I was a kid.  Regardless, some theme you like makes it more fun . . .

 

Your idea of buildings that you can " lift out and replace" is a great one and I recommend taking that route.   The reasons are: First, you can work on the building off the layout.  Second, you can move buildings around: about 30% of the buildings on my layout have moved as I gradually found a better arrangement for them.  Third, you can build more buildings than will fit, switching them out from time to time: I'm at this point now: when I complete new building it often has to replace an old one because there is no room for all of them.

 

Anyway, there are two ways to do this "lift off and replace."  The first is the obvious approach - build the building itself freestanding but never glue it to the layout, as in the two pictures below.  However, you might learn some things, as I did, by studying the Woodland Scenics built-ups - that company very cleverly glues 'attachments' to their edges of buildings like trashcans and dumsters against the back and side wall, a dog sleeping near the front door, bikes or scooters leaning against a side wall, etc., that add a lot to the building's look when on the layout.  Completes the look once the building is in place.  I do a lot of this now, having learned from them.  Anyway, an example of such a building on my layout -

The Indian Restaurant is there . . .

Two seconds later, the Indian Restaurant is not there . . . (I put it back after this photo)

 

The second approach, which I use more often, is to build the building and area immediately around it as a "vignette" on a small piece of wood.  I then leave a hole or a space sized for that piece on the layout.  I build small vignettes on 1/8 inch model plywood,  larger ones on 1/4" plywood or foamboard if light.  The pallet below is a modified/bashed Woodland Scenics Harley shop turned into a moonshiner's garage.  I did the entire 14" x 11" scene off the layout and then transfer it to "hole" in the layout where it fits, doing all the tiny detail and wiring it (there is a welder under the '50 Ford as a guy under there puts on a tiny set of headers) before just transferring it to the layout.  If this approach interests you, I posted pictures earlier this past week on the 3-rail forum about my "Race Team Headquarters" which is the largest pallet I have made so far that show more detail on the method.

Lucus Doolin's Moonshiners garage is a 14" x 11" assembly, complete, that slips into a 14" x 11" hole on the layout.

Lee, that is exactly what I want to do! Not just the buildings but a whole theme. I just added a shot to the scenic showcase for this week of an abandoned house I built last time the layout was up. I have lots of graveyard and halloween stuff and I plan on doing an entire segment. Initially it was suppose to be just one modular in length, but I am now looking at doing two mods. And for the Christmas concept, I hope to take up three!

 

Les, I totally get what you are say and I checked out your site. And if your the New Haven I am thinking about, then have spent hours looking at your layout back in the '90's! Love the detail!! I live out in the middle of no-wheres-ville peach country and I am thinking about doing something that sort of merges the concept of a peach industry with an urban setting. Never heard of that before, but there are LOTS of old warehouse buildings around here to model after. Plus I know of a still in business peach orchard about 20 min away I can study as well. That would sort of give a good general feel over the whole layout.

 

Being that it is only 8'x16', placement is essential and I have three switches that are currently not be used along with two sidings that are currently displaying broken engines. I am torn between using two of the switches to connect my two loops or to use the switches for additional sidings. In anyones opinion which is more fun, additional sidings or switching tracks?

Greetings:

Lee's module based buildings may be the greatest idea I've seen on here.

I love how they let you change the layout for a holiday or season.

 

Now, using the switches:

I like being able to swap from track to track but if I had to choose I'd have the sidings.

Looping forever seems to get old after a while and I want businesses for my railroad to serve. Source and consumer of each product gives a reason for the train to run. Note that I run very little passenger service.

I'm in a very slow upgrade of my layout and the revised version will have dual mainlines and 4 major business' to serve. 2 were owned by my uncles and the 3rd by a family friend. My father worked on the 4th when much younger.

Add a yard and I can swap out empties for loaded cars at each one and run loaded ones to consumers in most cases. Now, to make it realistic I'm using double sidings at most of the locations. One for loaded cars awaiting pickup, one to drop empties on. You can do without the extra siding by a bit of switching on the line.

 

Unfortunately the two concepts do not mesh well unless you make copies of your business' for each season.

Pulling them out for a Halloween layout  or Christmas theme is easily workable though.