i’ve finally ended up in a place where i can afford to, and have the space to build a small layout. (point to point) My poblem is that i am not allowed to have knives (have a couple exacto already hidden). Im also not allowed to use any sort of heated tool, so no hot wire tool. They What im wondering is if you have any ideas for building with those restrictions. plus i have to hide all of the wiring so any tips for that. My main problems is figuring out how to wire the track up wit out a sodering gun.
If if you are using a soldering gun, you are going to melt the ties. I would use a 15->30 Watt soldering iron That said…
Atlas offers feeder wires directly attached to rail joiners. You can then use displacement or suitcase connectors, or european strips to create a bus from which to hook the feeder wires.
I seriously doubt the school would get you in trouble for a hobby knife considering the knives in a kitchen are much more dangerous. Swiss knives are considered tools in many engineering classes.
Foam is a fire hazard as it releases toxic fumes when it burns. So I would stick with tried and true cardboard weaving with plaster cloth overlays. This is an older time tested and proven solution. Plus it creates much less of a mess PROVIDED you lay out plastic around your layout first. (That plaster gets everywhere) However foam tidbits are worse to cleanup. They stick to everything!
Hiding wiring is simple. You’ll need a support frame under the module you’ll build. Hide it in the support framing.
There are many many shelf switching plans available. I’m sure you’ll have fun.
whoops, i ment soldering iron. I haven’t tried using cardboard scenery, how hard is it to create round shapes? Im planning on a simple point to point layout with a runaround on each end. To add to the inital question, any tips for being dirt cheap? im planning on doing winter scenery and that cuts down on flocking costs by a ton, and then handmade wire trees. (not fun to make en mass but cheap)
Does the school have a shop open to students where heated tools and knives are allowed. If so you could do any work not allowed in the dorm there. Of course you would then have to periodically transport it between the shop and dorm.
Unfortunately we do not, but we do have a nice 3D printer thats free for students! I wna to build a shelf layout and that would make it so much harder to move. haha
LION would not build in the college dorm. The classroom above the library works much better. And it has a lock on the door.
Him had some HO scale stuff in the Navy, aboard ship yet as I bought the stuff in Japan. Stuff got broken and stolen before I could get it home. Besides, if you are living in a college dorm, you should be worring about reports and text books and things like that. Once you have your PhD, you can go to work for McDonalds and make really big money, and can aford a studio apartment of your own.
But im not woried about it getting stolen, everything requires keycards and its a small dorm where i know everyone. Plus there is thousands in unproteted computers lying around evewhere.
My first layout ever used Atlas terminal track pieces. IIRC I hid the tops with some kind of trackside shanty.Terminal joiners work, too-- just attach to a bus with wire nuts and you’re good to go. My current layout-in-progress is built on hollow core doors and I want to avoid wires beneath, but there is a layer of foam on top-- cut small grooves in the foam, embed the wires, scenic over it later once it’s been troubleshot and deemed bulletproof.
Being a graduate student, I’m on a pretty tight budget. If you’re looking for ways to be cheap, find out if there are any construction or crafts recycling/re-use stores anywhere near you. I’ve found so many secondhand materials in those places for this layout, including stockpiling cements, matte medium, gloss medium, model paints and brushes, scale wood for replacement ties, benchwork materials, shelf brackets, etc. etc.
First off, 2" foam is the way to go, you can build the basic landforms off campus, then bring them back to the dorm. For wire free, you can always go dead rail, very easy in On30 but just as doable in HO, just a little more cramped and bluerail trains plug-n-play in an 8 pin socket will be shipping in Nov.
Buy the rail joiners that already have the wires soldered onto them. You can find them online at Amazon or eBay. The ones made by other modelers are cheaper than the name brand. I make my own on the work bench first. I don’t solder the track, never found the need to if I use new connectors and make sure I don’t bend them so they stay snug. All the other connections you can just twist together or use connectors that crimp onto wires.
Except for building models you don’t really need an Exacto knife. You for sure don’t need a pocket knife. Scissors that cut through anything are better.
Build your scenery using plaster soaked paper towels or plaster impregnated gauze over a cardboard frame. I use scrap boxes. Plaster soaked towels are great for winter scenery because it already looks like a snow covered landscape. They have better detail than the gauze. There are also rock molds and ready made rocks for sale.
Put your time into your studies. If you’re doing college properly, you won’t have a lot of spare time for hobbies. You’re also surrounded by lots of people your own age with whom you probably share common interests. You will never have that opportunity again in life.
Get a girlfriend. Get a guitar. Play intramural softball. College is a time to be social and interact with people around you. There will be time, money and space to build a layout after you graduate.
Good. Glad to see someone else taking that leap of faith. I did have a layout in my college dorm room, but I was attending school back in the heady days of it being possible to get a single dorm room rather than a roommate.
Couple of things, I found out. X-acto knives, ain’t “knives”. Depending on your major they are tools of the trade, that happen to work with your hobby. I used them for my school job of being on the campus Movie committee and in the Geography and geology dept when the only good way of erasing ink on mylar was a VERY sharp razor or knife blade. So no worries there.
Soldering I didn’t even bother with. As other have stated, get the Athearn or Bachmann quick railconnectors and don’t look back. The other thing you could do is strip the wire ends, twist, and flatten the result. Then take a rail connector and feed it into the connector and slide the facing rail in and then the trailing rail so that the trailing rail is flush with the remaining stripped wire. Worked for two years.
Wiring: Why do you have to hide the wiring?
Security: One thing that has been mentioned is security. I never had a problem with it, but I admit my layout operated in unique circumstances. When the Electrical Engineering dept found out that there was a model railroad in the dorms, they asked for permission to test stuff out on it. Permission was granted with the caveat that they could only use the Athearn engines as they are/still bullet proof. I had a low volume of use for two years, and since EE’s are quiet I could still work, and they knew they had to put up with whatever I was listening to when they wanted to tinker. I had wing and floor-mates that would use the layout when they needed to relax, again same rules applied. For two years the ONLY problem I had with damage was a someone sat on an Atlas Turnout control and it melted the casi
OK, its nice to hear from someone who actualy thinks i should go for it. Im thinking of sticking to cardboard and plaster for the scenery for cost and mess. ive used foamboard before and it ends up everywhere. i was woried about wiring because it will be a rather long layout, conecting the two aeras that i can have a bit of scenery. Wiring i bet is strongly frowned apon based on there other polcies, no coffee makers and so on, super woried about fires. Im going n scale (Gauge?) and power it through one of the old POS dc powerboxes that i have lying around from childhood train sets. My room mates are super on board with this, so thats nice. Im planing on modeling late rutland as i really cant see a way to fit donner into my room. haha Any other things i should know?
Get used to the fact that the layout will be communial and that you’re only the owner and principle operator. And remember: KEEP IT CHEAP.
Edit: One other thing, as long as the powerpack is turned off or kept close to the outlet, your wiring from the pack to the track is going to be of such low voltage you should be able to get away with it. It’s not 110 after all it’s at most 17.
Will try to keep it cheap, thinking about going out and getting atlas n flex track. It it a good price? Is there cheaper? Is it worth it to use a roadbed cork thingie? is there a cheaper option?
As for rolling stock, I’m on the market for a old atlas rs1/3 and at most 5 ps1’s from the great ebay crapshoot.
Would anybody be interested updates about how it is going?
I believe that the main difference between Atlas and Micro Engineering (ME) is that the Atlas one is very elastic (springs back straight) whereas ME track holds the approximate shape you bend it to. I will leave it at that since I am not really familiar with the N scale products (I work in HO scale).
Cork roadbed is to dampen vibrations and also give a nicely shaped hill for the ballast to sit on. It is not a necessity and modellers don’t always use it everywhere. An example is in industrial sidings where the track is not raised. If you use foam board as your layout ‘ground’ and lay track on it you will be fine. You could probably just use cardboard if you want to raise the track a bit.
I know a modeler who swears by using seam sealer used in house construction for a cheap replacement for cork roadbed. Its the foam material sold in Lowe’s and Home Depot coming in about 3-1/2 inch wide strip on a 50 ft roll. It is usually blue foam like material or have also seen white foam. For n scale one roll should produce 200 ft of roadbed underlayment as you could cut it to about 3/4 inch strips. Just an idea for cost savings.
Obviously you are there for your education, but having something for a little R&R isn’t a bad idea either. I think the key is to keep it simple. A loop, so you can just sit back and let’er run and a couple of sidings for a little operation when you want to. You already know N scale will give you the most possibilities in such a small space.
My first layout came with the used Lionel set I was given. It was just a plywood base with the roadbed and roads painted brown and the rest green with dyed sawdust (grass material of the time) sprinkled on. Though I loved it as a kid, it only had one double ended siding, not too exciting for more advanced modelers. However, a couple of industrial sidings would have added operations and interest.
A few simple buildings and a lot of imagination will add to the layout, without adding much cost or items that could be damaged or permanently borrowed. Small buildings made from a block of wood or foam are durable and cheap.
A piece of plywood for strength and maybe a piece of foam on top, if you want to add a stream below grade. Carve out a few simple hills from scrap pieces of foam and add them. I wouldn’t plan much for trees, as they would be vulnerable to damage. Just paint the surface and add ground foam and clump foliage for texture.
My most used tool for working with foam is the Shaver (21-15, I think). Also, get a can of anti static spray to keep the little bits of foam from sticking to everything.
If you build your rolling stock and buildings from kits, that will take up a little time and give you a variety of things to do.
For buildings consider card modles like those from Clever Models. http://www.clevermodels.net/ They are inexpensive and can be built into fine models even in N scale.
I wouldn’t build a layout in your dorm but rather look to a local club for some space or help out on their layout. Which university do you attend? Some colleges have model railroad clubs so that might be a way to go.
