A review of Kremer's Lehigh Valley layout (in latest CTT)

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

Well, I’ll go out on a limb and do a review of this “professionally built” layout, since the purpose of this forum is to share opinions and information.

I really liked the article and photos, taken by Paul Dolkos, one of, if not the best model railroad photographer (who also is an excellent writer).

Like many of you, I appreciated the overall view of the layout, unlike a few CTT articles of the past, which only had “tight in” shots.

Don Kremer is fortunate to have grown up in Bethlehem, Pa, where there are plenty of interesting trains. He had a great idea of focusing on trains in the Lehigh Valley area. There are many colorful trains that plied these rails from about the 1950s through the 1970s. However, he sort of lost focus with the N&W coal drag, which, if memory serves, was somewhat south of the Lehigh Valley. But that is minor.

The layout itself is a nicely balanced “operator” layout, with a fair amount of switching duties to tend to. Although it packs a lot of track, there is a feeling of openness because it is not crowded with too many elements.

Don had the good foresight to situate the controls outside of the middle of the donut so he would not get Exorcist neck.

The layout itself is sturdy, even using 2x4s to hold it up; something I advocate to prevent minor earthquakes.

Don opted for conventional control. I think that he would have been better off using DCS, but that’s just personal opinion, and model railroaders have used the tried and true block system for decades with success and joy.

Grades are moderate and realistic and Don’s conventional controls will give him some good hands-on-throttle experience running thru the Alleghenies.

The scenery and materials used are pretty standard and well executed. I particularly liked the trees made from sage banches and if ever I come across them, will try to imitate those.

Lastly, it is a shame that Don’s layout wasn’t portable when he

2

The article and layout were both well-done. The fact that it is custom-built does not bother me in the least. I think we can see that this is a layout that might be attainable by any of us with time, work and a modest amount of space.

Personally, I appreciate CTT devoting so much space to modest sized layouts. I can look at these and say, “Perhaps I could do that.” While I appreciate the huge layouts, I know that I have neither the desire nor resources to create one.

As to the layout itself, I like the use of curved turnouts to make more effective use of space. It certainly has a realistic look about it, while remaining high-rail. Scenery was first-rate and while there was a lot of trackage, it did not look like a spaghetti bowl layout to me. I wi***hat they had elaborated more about the gate leading into the center of the layout.

3

“custom built” articles don’t bother me, I’ll steal ideas from anyone.

Dr, I also like the fact that CTT offers some articles and track plans in a more realistic “modest size”, for exactly the reason you stated.

Tim

4

As a follow-up article, it would be most interesting to see how the model railroad enthusiast dismantled the layout and then set it up again (if he was successful, that is). I’ve never seen an article about dismantling and then mantling, if that is a word.

5

Custom layouts are expen$ive. To actually give his away rather than sell it was beyond me. Even if he sold it for half or 1/4 of what he paid for it, it would have been something in return. Talk about a fool and his money!

Jim

6

Jim,

He probably has some money. Some folks down the street from me the other day threw out a perfectly good gas grill because they’re moving and they wanted a new one. Works perfectly and no rust.

I’ve got 5 computers in my house that I found on the street waiting for the dumpster. They work perfectly too.

One other thing about that pro layout. The tunnel in the back seems like it would be a challenge getting to a derailed train inside or cleaning the track unless the scenery lifts up.

7

Hello To all

Maybe off topic, but if you want to see some nice track plans I would
suggest buying the book “Toy Train Track plans”. I’ve always have been in 3-rail scale, but I think I will use one of the track plans and build a layout for my grandson. I believe these are some of the best plans that I can remmeber seeing.

8

The twice around , over and under method is what impressed me the most on this L.V. layout. Grrrreat scenery !!! A smart way to build with limited space. On another topic. Could anyone out there recommend a method or product to strip paint off of postwar shells? I read how to do this with metal ; what about plastic ? Happy Memorial Day everybody. And Thanks for any suggestions…

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Bill,

You likely won’t find a fine trackplan like this in a toy train handbook. Having said that, I haven’t seen the book you are mentioning. Usually, toy train trackplans don’t feature flex track. I have a feeling that this layout used a lot of flextrack. One other thing about the plan is that it allows for long trains and long, easy sweeping curves that make the trains look more realistic, vice tight turning radius. Goes to show you can have your cake and eat it too with a small-medium layout like this.

Spark,

From all of the research I’ve conducted and a bit of experience in painting (but nowhere’s near what most of you have done), my first choice would be to simply paint over the paint. I’ve done this and the detailing remains vivid. Many chemicals can harm plastic and you really won’t know until you try.

One device that has worked well–and I don’t know where to get one–is putting the shell into a popcorn like machine that hurls soft plastic pellets at the shell and “sandblasts” the paint off. Others could elaborate.

BTW, welcome to the forum, and you might wi***o hang your question in a separate topic post.

10

FJ&G

You are right the track plans are for sectional track using Lionel, Atlas and Mth.
I am not comparing the track plans with the Lehigh Valley layout in CTT, its a nice layout . But The book " Toy Train Track Plans " has some nice plans and use 0-72 as some are 8’ wide and I think anyone could use flex track and build some of the plans. the plans use tradional operating accessaries and bridges
and are capable of running two or more trains. I think “Toy Train Track Plans” is one of the best Planing books to hit the stores in a long time

11

It would be nice if a professional layout builder would author a book on layout building. Someone who builds layouts for a living would get a lot of practice building them and would have a lot of knowledge to share.

George

12

Ok, i read the artical, and have to say i both liked, and disliked it. HTe devil is in the detials, and the closeups provided a wealth of nice detail. However, and this is pruly personel prefence, i didn’t like the overall effect. This layout is even smaller, but with the the great use up scenery blocks, it creats a illusion of being much larger.
http://home.comcast.net/~graz6/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-537751.html
WEll there is my two cents, have a great day. Bill

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I will offer my opinion of the article and the layout:
First, I do not mind that it was professionally built. I only regret those articles when they do not have some valuable points regarding layout design (why certain features were chosen, how the customer’s wants were fit into the available space, etc). I think the article dealt nicely with those issues. I do wonder why they featured a layout that was built in 1998 (I may have that date wrong) and that was taken down a few years later. I would think they’d have tons of people’s layouts to feature, so why pick one that no longer exists? But, I am building a layout in the same sized space, so I appreciate that they have some layout features that do not rquire me to build a new house or knock down walls, etc.

As for the layout. I know that many of you will disagree with this, BUT, I did not like the big open HOLE in the middle of the layout. I’ve been to the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, and except for the strip-mine wastelands, there are no big holes in the scenery! When I look at his layout (that is, when I look at the pictures…) I lose the illusion of real life because there’s this big hole in the middle! My mind loses the trains and focuses on the benchwork and the big hole! Like I say, some may disagree, and that’s surely fine, because we all like what we like and dislike what we dislike and that’s what makes the world a great place. But I did not like that hole. Particularly since the command center was along the outside of the layout (I agree with that), they could have used the center (the hole) as scenery, perhaps with a pop-up if that’s what they wanted to access the other side of the layout.

I’ve got a room that is about 8’ x 12’ and I’ve got a layout in progress that is essentially a dogbone bent into a “U”. The aisle that runs downt he middle of the “U” is only 2 feet wide, and I can not reach the outer edges from the aisle. There is no room to get to the edges at all as the layout is right up against

14

Castrol Super Clean, available at auto stores, WalMart, etc., will strip paint off of plastic without harming the plastic. After the paint is stripped, wash with liquid dish detergent and rinse the part well, and let it air dry. Repair any defects, wash and rinse again, then prime before painting. I use Tamiya White Fine Surface Primer.

Jim

15

Hey it was his layout and he is the guy paying for it so it looks like it was up to him. No judgements like I said before " It blew his skirt up".
laz57