Im new to to community, in a sense that i havent dealt with model railroading since i was a child. now that i am older, and actually have the resources to accommodate such a hobby, i am looking for advice on what i can/able to do. I am a US soldier, so i dont stay in any place longer than a couple years, so something permanent is out of the question. Just looking for some advice on what i can build, design and whatnot. I am interested in HO/N scale building…
You might want to research N-Trak/modular. Free-Mo and domino designs and approaches as the end result is designed to be moved. You can use the common standards which will allow you to join your modules to those of clubs and organizations, or roll your own.
N-scale will allow for more in less space (and would be lighter, somewhat), even to the point of building a complete layout on a 36x80 luan faced flush door.
Stein (who also posts here) put some nice small switching layouts on this thread
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=118794&page=4
ratled
I feel your pain as I am currently stationed on a Air Force ICBM test range in the South Pacific, i’ve elected to devote my spare time to designing my new layout and constructing some rolling stock kits that can be easily and affordably transported back to the states. Personally, I don’t see myself constructing any type of portable layout, despite the urge to get hands on. Of course I renewed all my magazine subsriptions and my wife, bless her, has forwarded several new DVD’s and books on my wish list to pass the time, need I mention online forums such as this one to keep you in touch with the hobby.
Dave
Somewhere in the balmy South Pacific when not modeling the SP during the golden age 3 /16 to the foot.
Hmmm - so one key design factor certainly is transportable.
What kind of limitations on size are you normally facing with regards to living quarters and moving from one place to another? Would you typically have a spare bedroom, or just a corner of a living room or a shelf in a bedroom?
Would you normally be shipping your belongings in a container or moving truck half way across the country?
Would you sometimes be living overseas for extended periods of time - and if so, would you need to store your layout while overseas, or would you expect to be able to ship a layout to where you would be?
Some of the possible options is
a) to do a hollow core layout (36 x 80") in N scale, and enclosing the layout in a box to ship it (with buildings and trains and such things being packed in their own boxes, with plenty of packing peanuts to prevent breakage in transit).
Or
b) doing a fairly small shelf switching layout, in one or more pieces. You can do a quite nice switching layout in N scale e.g. on two 12-15" deep shelves that meet in a corner, going e.g. 6 foot out one way and 5 foot out the other way, or some such thing.
Or
c) You can do modules intended to be run in cooperation with other modelers. You make one module and bring it along to meets, where you can run trains with a whole bunch of other people who also bring their modules. Freemo is a popular such standard.
Or
d
[#welcome]
This question comes up from time to time from service people who have to move more often than they would probably like.
I have often thought about what I would do if I was in the the same position. When you are transferred how are your possessions moved? Does a moving company do it or do you rent a truck and do it yourself? Are you limited as to how much stuff you can take with you? How your stuff gets moved would make a big difference as to how I would go about building a portable movable layout. [:)]
Brent
[#welcome]
Thank you for your service.
When I did my six years I mostly collected and detailing of locomotives and cars. There was no place in a barracks for building any kind of module or layout. I visited the local hobby shops and hooked up with some local modelers. Most were very friendly especially in Germany. Some were in clubs that invited me to run and operate their layouts.
You can expect a few damaged items in shipping when it comes time to move. I learned after the first move to pack and mail your stuff home then have your parents/relative ship it to your new duty station. Especially when it comes to over seas shipping. Customs does a number on you personal property and it is damn near impossible to recoup damages. I only had one of twenty five beer steins make it and my Fleishman wreck crane was broken in half when the Army shipped my stuff from Germany to Fort Knox. They even confiscated my hand made broad sword but left the wood stand. Never trust military shipping and mail your valuables.
I do not know where your stationed, but there may be a local model RR club. That would probably be your best bet. I learned lots from the local modelers while I was at my duty stations. Except for the year in Korea at the 38th parallel I have met some great modelers and had a great time doing it.
Stay safe and CYOB
Pete
As a 42 year U.S. Army veteran I know your pain. I had model railroad items lost, stolen, or severely damaged every time I moved, which was every 2 or 3 years. I finally gave up and put everything in storage until after I retired.
I’m currently a member of an HO and N scale club. We have a large HO permanent layout, a smaller permanent N scale layout, and have built and are adding onto a portable HO modular layout. For it, we went to Henry Roofing Products in Tucson, Arizona, and had them cut us 12 blocks of white styrofoam that is 4 inches thick into 2 x 8 foot sections. When we set this layout up, fold up portable tables are used for the base. Each section is light enough for one person to carry easily. The roadbed and track is fastened to the foam with black latex caulk, and all of the buildings and taller scenery are removable. You might consider something like this as your layout base.
When it comes time to move, the moving company should be able to handle it without too much damage.
Well if I were back in your boots I would look into something like or exactly the same as “The Salt Lake Route” featured in MR. For all intents and purposes it’s a modular layout, it uses what I call modular track track & roadbed combination which makes for very easy assembly, it’s n scale so you have a lot more scale room then HO but you could make a viable HO version of it. It has intermodal action switching, real nice scenery potential etc. It would at least be a good foundation for a nice mobile railroad. Depending on where you live right now if you have the room maybe a possible variant would be to cut their layout in half which would make for an easier layout to transport but build it so you could add additional modules on either side or eventually making it into an L shape or even a U shape. Sort of what MR did with the Beer line layout. I would consider keeping the height of any scenery and structures to with in a reasonable limit so you would be able to construct sides in hinges. When the sides are down they are the layout fascia and you fold then up to make the four sides of a box and put a piece of plywood or OSB on as a top. I’m sure you can work out a simple method of locking the top to the sides so when it’s in transport you have one sealed box with fold up legs just like the SLR layout and I think the Beer line employed a similar folding leg system. We helped on eof our club member build such a layout system as he called it. As of now he lives in a town home with an extra bedroom where his layout lives but when the time comes for permanent residency he plans on just attaching the already built modules to the wall via a ledger board and then just keep adding on.
Unfortunately when your in a situation like your in you’ll have to sacrifice on the some of the grandiose scenery opportunities but nothing compared to the sacrifice your making for the rest of us back home.
Thanks
Given your situation I would go with N-track ( even though I personally don’t like some of their standards ), since you move alot. You should be able to find a group almost anywhere you are stationed (remember many overseas when I was a member).
The Salt Lake Route is not a modular (or sectional) layout. The track used is sectional. Ie it comes in fixed lengths and with fixed curves, with a plastic track bed molded on under the ties. But the layout is not built with the track laying loose on the table, to be taken apart and put together again on a different table, like a train set. The track on the Salt Lake Route is fastened down, just like flextrack.
A sectional layout is a layout built in sections - like the parts shown by red lines in the figure below:
With a sectional layout, each section has to mate up with it’s intended neighboring section.
With a modular layout, on the other hand, all sections have standard edges (e.g. “always two tracks, center line of first track always 3” in from front edge, center line of second track always 5" in from front edge, tracks at module boundaries always at height 46" from the floor, adjustable legs" or some such thing).
That way any two modules can be put next to each other. The Beer Line layout was a modular layout.
The Salt Lake Route is neither a sectional layout nor a modular layout. It is a normal island style layout. Probably a bit big (at 5 x 9 feet) to lug around up stairs and through doors in a normal home or apartment while moving. And it is a display running layout that takes up
If I am not mistaken, this layout has recently moved: http://www.thevollmerfamily.com/Pennsy/
The Salt Lake Route is not a modular (or sectional) layout. The track used is sectional. Ie it comes in fixed lengths and with fixed curves, with a plastic track bed molded on under the ties. But the layout is not built with the track laying loose on the table, to be taken apart and put together again on a different table, like a train set. The track on the Salt Lake Route is fastened down, just like flextrack.
I don’t know what kind of modular layouts you build where you come from but every modular layout I have ever seen or helped build has/had permanently affixed to the roadbed and not laying loose as you put it,and only uses small sections of track to connect the two modules together.
The Salt lake is and is not a modular layout in the true sense of the word. It is a modular in that it is self contained and can be moved form location to location and is not a permanent fixture in someone’s home being that it was built with the purpose of being portable hence the builders reason for building the legs designed to fold up. It is not a true modular layout in that it is only one section of piece and encompasses a relatively small foot print. My suggestion was to the O/P that this layout could very easily be added on to by building similar sections and figuring that possible expansion into the track plan. It is without question designed to be a portable self contained layout. Portable is the key word for the O/P Part of being a model railroader is to put one’s creativity and imagination to work either by creating something totally new and different or by taking another idea and adapting it to your situation.
In the US military we called that Improvise Adapt and Over come, I think the O/P can relate.
No, that’s not at all the definition of modular as it relates to model railroading. And a solid chunk of layout 5X9 or so is not even very portable.
A layout built in manageable sections, modular or not, is usually the best choice for someone who must move a lot, particularly if a contractor is going to be doing the moving.
Byron
In the Norwegian army, we learn that when you mean a rifle you call it a rifle, when you mean a howitzer, you call it a howitzer and when you mean a mortar, you call it a mortar.
We don’t make up our own personal definitions of words and go around calling the stuff that comes out of a mortar “bullets”, just because you can use the word “gun” as a generic descriptive term for things that makes a bang and use some form of powder to propel projectiles through a barrel.
Modular has a precise meaning in model railroading. You may not know that meaning, but it still has a precise meaning.
[comment edited]
Totally up to you whether you take that advice or not.
Smile,
Stein
Well, the house that my wife and i currently live in is on post, so i cannot do anything too permanent (ie painting walls, etc.). As for living space, the house is a 3 bedroom; one is a computer room, then our room, and finally a spare room where most of my gear is strewn about (mostly in the closet) that room is: 11’ 8" x 11’ 10" (minus the closet, cause it is a walk in). So i have some room to work with. As for moving, when it comes time to pack up and move on, the military hires people to come in and pack up the house, with my supervision as to make sure that nothing is magically misplaced or comes up missing from a 5 finger discount. The same goes for it if i was to move overseas.
How long have you been in? How many moves has the military done for you?
Same as when I was in. They packed it real nice and secure. Outbound customs and inbound customs did a nice job ripping everything apart. After your belongings are packed the packers are done. What happens after that is not their problem and they could care less. Customs will give you a note describing everything they keep and destroy just try to get your money out of them for damages. I actually lost more stuff on in country moves.
Three bedroom on post housing? You must have a bar or two on your lapel.[;)] On post housing was real hard to get for enlisted guys when I was in. Especially one with extra rooms. When I moved to Ft Knox we had to stay in a 2 bedroom until a 3 opened up. Instead of moving to a 3 bedroom they broke us up and sent me to Korea and the family stayed in the 2 bedroom for the year I was living in a tent at Warrior Base.
Pete
I’m not going to split hairs over definition or get in to a flame war over what you perceive as what right or not. It was given as creative advice to the O/P that he could take that layout which is portable or why else do you put wheels and folding legs on it, Oh that because the man who built it if you bothered to read the article or watch the videos takes it to train shows and demonstrates it. but it’s not portable.
That’s plenty of room for a layout.
Depending on what type of layout you are looking for, I would recommend either doing
a) if you want to be able to have continuous running (ie some form of loop) and be able run e.g. 15-car trains and still be able to fit the train into a 5-6 foot siding, I would recommend N scale, and building a layout on a hollow core door (36x80", i.e. 3 x 6 2/3 foot).
That would allow you about the same amount of space for tracks and scenery as you would have gotten on a 5x12 foot H0 scale layout, so you can adapt the basic track plan from any of thousands of H0 scale 4x8 foot, 4x10 foot, 5x9 foot etc layouts, and even thin out the track plan some, to allow more space for scenery.
It also is fairly transportable when carrying into or out of a home, and it isn’t too horribly deep - if you are forced to locate the layout with one long side up against a wall you still can (marginally) reach across the table from the aisle, to grab a derailed car at the rear of the layout, possibly with the help of a chair or something to stand on, if the layout is at a sensible viewing height.
or
b) If you are more fascinated by railroading up close - e.g. engines moving cars at industries and yards rather than trains moving through the landscape, I would recommend at least considering an H0 scale sectional switching layout on a couple of shelves.
“Shelves” is a relative term - the layout itself would typically be built on a few hollow “platforms” that sits on top of something - either wall mounted shelves, or free standing waist or shoulder high storage cabinets or bookshelves.
A prett
A Sailor’s solution: with some planning, you can indeed build and ship a train layout.
I have been building and moving a now fully landscaped 9 x 10 ft HO layout for over 10 years and five military moves, with no damages to date. I have a simple sectional layout: (1) several flat table sections built of 1/2 inch plywood on 1 x 3 frames, (2) an equally flat track plan, (3) buildings that are removable & packable, (4) landscaped hills of foam insulation that are also removable & packable (trees & all), and (5) a simple DCC control system to minimize the wiring.
I disassemble and pack the layout over a couple weekends before every move. The movers just list the boxes and table sections on their inventory, and away it all goes. Takes a bit longer to reassemble, but with labelling and a few simple diagrams, everything falls into place. The layout has fit everywhere we have been stationed, from the Beltway to WESTPAC.