Just finished this for my two nephews. Didn’t quite make Christmas but I will deliver it next week to them.
I got this door layout from Thortrains and it’s really a lot of fun. A switcher and a few cars and you can have a lot of fun. I installed 4 remote tracks to increase the switching possiblities. Also, added a 397 and a milk car/platform and gateman.
I’ve included a few pics. All wiring is invisible as I had a shop teacher route the bottom as seen in pic 3. Buried all wires and it came out pretty nice. Almost don’t want to part with it.
I like how you painted the surface. Can you describe the technique you used to paint the grass? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a layout that looks quite like it.
Since this layout is for really young boys (6 and 4), I kept it toy like. It’s also meant to be stored away when not in use in a vertical position. Because of this I elected not to use ground foam. Mostly because I didn’t want my sister-in-law to have to be vacuuming it up all the time. Same for ballast.
I still wanted to give them a turf and ballast look so I basically brushed in some dark green and creamy yellow house paint to give it a faux shrubby kind of look. Kept it wet and just pushed paint around with the brush. Almost like sponging but with a brush.
I figure if they want and my sister-in-law is up to it, they can add ground foam and ballast on their own. Can’t do the whole thing for them[:)]
I’m a big proponent of door layouts. My last “permanent” layout was made from 3 doors making an approximately 5x9 layout. I also built a temporaru test layout using the identical trackplan to yours (yes, from thortrains.net) with Marx manual swithces, but without any scenery. Yours looks great! Using a router to create wiring channels is a great idea. I also like the paint technique you used. I imagine your nephews will be thrilled! [:)]
That is a really great layout - nice use of space. I especially like the accessories - defintely increases the play value and makes things more interesting.
It is amazing what you did in the space of a door!
Nice work, Mike! I hope those youngsters appreciate what a talented uncle they have. I’m sure their mom will! Any kid receiving that layout is very lucky indeed!
I am curious about the wiring arrangement. It appears there is a main feeder runing down the middle on the underneath side with wiring to the vaious accessories. What is the main feeder line made of and how is the wiring from the transformer and the accessories connected to it? Thanks
I know I’ve already chimed in, but I’d like to say it again. That is one wonderful little layout. It’s an inspirational, motivational thing for me to see. I hope to build one very much like it soon.
