I’ve been thinking lately that I should start dabling in N scale. Being in the military I don’t have have room to build a decent sized ho layout, and limiting my MRing to collecting the things I will need to build my dream layout when I retire is not cutting it. I’m going to continue with aquiring all the ho scale stuff I’m going to need for my dream layout in the future, but I am going to build a small N scale switching layout for sure.
I want to model the Frisco in Ft. Worth in the mid-late 70’s. I was thinking of using the Pike City Beltline as a layout. I only have room in the breakfast nook of our apartment. We don’t eat at the table in there because there’s not enough elbow room. Can I scale down an 8x12 foot ho scale layout to 4x8 n scale and still fit everything from the track plan in?
For those of you unfamiliar with the plan I’m refering to here is a link to it
N scale is just a little over half the size of HO scale, so you should be able to scale down the track plan to fit the available space. Btw, nice selection, you will be able to enjoy a lot of operation…
To my knowledge, there are already some locos that offer DCC and sound. This month´s MR has a review of an Athearn N scale F45, equipped with a Soundtraxx Tsunami. I would not like to miss sound anymore, it was the missing dimension for so long… [:)]
I have not been to Bremerton since 1974, when I was an exchange srudent to Bainbridge Island High. Man, I guess I will not recognize the place anymore…
Everything is still pretty much the same, at least in Bremerton. Silverdale has grown up. I wasn’t around back then, but from what I’ve heard it’s gone from a one stop sign town to a decent sized comunity with a mall, and even a very elabrate highway on/off ramp.
Thanks for the advice. I’m really kind of hesitant of switching. Even though I will still continue to look for and aquire those things I want in a free lanced late 1930’s shortline. But I have to do something. Since I’m from Ft. Worth, and I just saw a beautiful Atlas N scale Frisco GP-38-2 I’ve decided to build a little something to play with.
I am absolutly limited to 8 feet on the back wall. But I was thinking that if I kept the penninsula at 8 feet, I could have a decent size representation of the Frisco’s 8th ave. yard.
layouts in my country are mainly of the “let-the-train-circle-around-type”, so most of them look like a bowl of spaghetti. Building switching layouts is widely unknown, and it took me also a while to get acquainted with it. I have also very little space available, as my house has no basement or an attic which I could use. The little space I have I even have to share with my wife´s hobby of painting… [:D]
Switching with a sound equipped loco is really fun - gets you close to the real thing. The deep rumble of those EMD prime movers, the clicking sound of a coupler release, the bell ringing, the revving up of the engine before the loco starts to move, the sounding of the horn - man, I get carried away again… [(-D]
… and you don´t need much track to enjoy all of that. Lance Mindheim (somehow he has turned into a guru for me) promotes a very minimalistic approach by saying, “the more you know about prototype operation, the less track you need”.
When I was in Silverdale it did not even have one stop sign…[}:)]
Dive right into N scale… The water’s fine! The best part about doing a shelf style switching layout is that it can be incorporated later into a future larger layout. As for sound, there are chips available that you can install in certain locomotives, and there seems to be more options available all the time. I’ve seen sound installed in the Bachmann Consolidation, which is a very good, affordable steam engine that would be appropriate for your 1930’s era.
If you wish to run smaller steam (harder to get a sound board in) one trick I’ve seen done to great effect is to place speakers under the layout, and just tie the sound chip to the track power, addressed to your locomotive. On a small switching layout, this works well, plus you can wake up your room mate with a steam whistle now and then!
If you can get it, I highly recommend the Atlas code 55 track system for it’s economy and superior appearance to the more typical track you find in train sets. It’s pretty widely available on line, and if your local dealer doesn’t stock it, he can get it for you.
Another thought would be to build your deck using blank door slabs. This is a very popular way to get a layout up and running quickly. For the configuration you’re looking at, get a pair of 18" wide blanks at the Home Depot. (A friend of mine needed a 12" wide panel for a yard element, so he bought a 24" wide bi-fold door for about $50, and got two!)
You might also take a look at Dave Vollmer’s n scale layout. Dave is in the Air Force, and knows all about being on the move…
Nice layout to use. As stated N scale is 54% the size of HO, so you could easily fit the layout in the space that you have. Sountraxx and MRC both make drop in decoders with sound. I would suggest small locomotives (e.g. 4 axle) locomotives for a switching layout such as the one you are thinking about.
I’m thinking of using an Atlas GP-38-2. On a layout that big I only need one. I might get a second one if I want to have another operator to work the yard.
Hey!! My wifes from Bremerton,and I was stationed at PSNS for a year and a half ,1964-65. I was a dental tech at the bases dental offices. Haven’t been over there for a few years either.
N scale is great for shelf layouts too, I don’t know where you’d put one though if your’e hot bunkin it on a submarine. Are they still building them there? Sounds like you might have an apt. there. Also a pretty good Model Railroad hobby shop is or at least was in the area,called Poulsbo pacific. It used to be out at Poulsb but I think it moved to downtown Bremerton. Anyways good luck with your railroadin. BILL
The hobby shop close a few years ago. It was over on the corner of Burwell and Montgomery in the Knights of Columbus building. They’re not building the subs at PSNS anymore, just cutting them up. We’re living in an apartment. Jackson park is full. Was JP housing back then or was it still munitions storage. Every few years they have to go in a clean up a different part of the area becuase they find high lead levels.
JP musta still been a munitions dump. I don’t remember any such housing project. Haven’t been around there since the early 90s when the father-in-law died. Mother inlaw moved over to DesMoines,WA on the other side of the sound. We still own property on Vashon though. Most of visiting to the area is to desMoines and east of Everett where trainwatching on the BNSF is great going over Stevens pass.
One thing I do remember is that shipbuilding was in full swing in the 60s. The shipyard had a nifty railroad that would make an excellent subject for a layout. GE 44 tonners where trundling all sorts of loads back and forth . They were gray painted with just a few stencils on em for markings. Mighta had PSNS on the side of the cab. I think they commisioned the Sacremento the year or so I was there. There were also a lot of lumber carriers modified to haul sheet iron for the ship construction to add to the busy-ness of the place. BILL
1st - N Scale CR&T starts off by downsizing (MR’s) HO Scale “Chippewa Central” to N Scale. Chippewa Central benchwork has (2) 4’x4’ end sections connected by a 2’x4’ section. Here is the math: 4’ x 55% = 2.2’. In N Scale that comes to (2) 2.2’x2.2’ sections and (1) 1.1’x2.2 section.
2nd - CR&T will be incorporated into a larger layout beyond the community of Conemaugh, and; is part (1/6) of a U-shaped two-level layout. The CR&T (Chippewa) trackplan will also be surrounded by a 2-track PRR mainline, and interchange both freight & passenger between CR&T and the Pennsy.
So, the suggestion is to think in terms of what can be constructed today, and how your layout can be incorporated into a larger layout when circumstances permit expansion. For example, Pike City Belt Line could add another mainline track that would later connect to the greater world beyond, but currently act as a staging track until then.