How many layouts have you built and what did you learn from them?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

2/28/06
I posted this a couple years ago and thought I’d bring this post back because there’s a wealth of experience for the “newbies” to benifit from.

I always catch here and there people saying they’er building their second, third or fourth layout and how much they learned from the previous. As for myself, I’m working on my second layout. I got a lot of practical experience from the first one but I had a few problems with too sharp of curves and grades and so I decided to start over again. What blows me away is all the new technologies and techniques in the last few years. Foam construction, digital control, signaling systems and computer interface.

G.

2

Zero, zilch. nadda!
I’m still working on my first & it’s been a learning experience from day one.

Gordon

3

I’m on my fifth layout, more due to moves than anything else. My building skills have improved. I have also gotten a better idea of what I like and don’t like. One thing I like is more than one train running at a time so my current layout (under construction) will have a double track mainline around the room with a couple of staging tracks and a branch line in the middle of the room where I can run a local freight and do some switching. This is my tallest layout at 58". While it makes the duckunder at the door easier, I need a step stool to lay track. Unfortunately I need the storage area under part of the layout so I’ll live with it. But I think 3 1/2 to 4 feet is probably a better height. On the other hand the viewing angle is pretty cool.
Enjoy
Paul

4

I have actually lost count…

Let me explain. My first layout was a Garden Railway using LGB (never really worked outside without a lot of work, so I scrapped the idea.) My next real layout was an HO layout that was sizable…

That HO was many layouts. It started as a sheet of plywood… then the jig saw came out one night, more lumber appeared, and it grew. It had a leg grow from the side… then the sawsall came out, more lumber again (we think this came one night by carrier pidgeons.) It suddenly had a dog leg down one wall, but some areas could no longer be accessed… the chain saw came out, and lumber disappeared! (still trying to find it.) Smaller additions and subtractions continued for a couple of years… then it all vanished and became a spare bedroom!!!

So, on to N scale (space considerations,) well, same story at least three major layout changes, and now a modular “U” 12.5’ x 16.5’ is the end result (back in the original room.)

With that, you tell me, is that three? Many of the “renovations” were very extensive, and some were complete overhauls… I count that as at least 6 layouts… and still trying to make it “perfect!”

5

Funny you should ask. I have built two layouts and am in the beginning stages of a third. Here is an article I wrote about the last one but never did anything with. The layout discussed here was a Marklin layout. Sorry that it is so long.

Ten things I did wrong and would fix on the next layout

  1. Not making a clean electrical connection to every track piece. This error caused me more grief than any other mistake (except spraying the power studs). When the track is new and laying on the cork, it usually functions perfectly. However, after painting, ballasting and gluing of the ballast the track often loses electrical contact Glue seeps in between the press on track connectors and interrupts the electrical flow between pieces. My advice: solder leads to every piece of track. This will take longer in the beginning but not half as long as I have spent trying to make up for not doing it.

  2. Spraying the studs. Nothing I did was as bad as this mistake. It dogged the railroad the entire time and was a huge error. When applying glue to the ballast , I soaked the heck out of everything. I sprayed and sprayed matt medium to make sure that things stayed put. The layout looked great but nothing would run at all. For two rail track all one has to do is brite boy the rails and your off and running. Marklin track has studs. Lots of them . They must be individually scraped. There are still dead spots that I have never been able to fix from that fatal spraying. Advice: spray the track sparingly, wipe with a wet cloth to remove the glue. Use a dropper when possible, between the rails (this strategy worked fine on other sections of track)

  3. steep grades. Ok, everyone does this at least once and I am sure that those of you bent on doing the steep grade thing are not going to be swayed by seeing the warning in print again. The reasons for having 5 or 6 percent grades are that one can climb (in a short run) high enough to cross over the other track and it is p

6

I spent 20 years in the military and everytime I moved, I sold my current layout and then started a new one. For space considerations, I started out in N scale, now I am into HO. Now the wife says she wants a Christmas layout for her Dept 56 structures and that means On30. How many layouts? I am currently on #5. What have I learned? Never do steep grades, sharp curves, and measure twice before cutting. AND there is always someone who knows more than I do…Happy Railroading
Chr

7

I have built so many layouts in my 40+ yrs in the hobby that I’ve lost count.
I have had layouts last only 6 months or so but my current layout has been in place since 1997 and is still growing. I think it will be my last layout as I can see it will take another few years to even get it near finished and I am getting to old to start over.

8

I’ve built several layouts, and have learned a lot each time!

My first layout was a simple 4x8. I learned not to use brass track, and that running in small circles was boring. I did learn a lot about wiring a simple two-cab layout, using Atlas selectors.

My second layout was a much larger 32’ long layout, with 4’x6’ turnbacks at each end. I learned that running long trains with 22" radius curves is not a good idea, and worked on improving my tracklaying skills and soldering. I also discovered that staging would be helpful!

My third layout was a large, 14x26 portable layout built in the basement of the first house I rented. I learned a LOT with that layout. I worked on foam layout construction and module building, as well as experimenting with many different construction techniques. I learned that staging IS good, that duckunders suck, that unfinished basements suck, and that bad lighting sucks. I learned how to wire a multicab layout, and built my first large yard.

My fourth layout was actually built for my dad. I perfected many foam layout construction techniques and scenic effects on that layout, which is a 4x32 dogbone in my parent’s basement (the benchwork is from my second layout). That one still exists, and Dad’s quite happy with it!

My fifth layout is also still with me, and is my Ntrak modules. Six in all, I’ve learned how to work with N scale (I’m an HO-er at home), including switching, scenery, and scratchbuilding. I take my modules on the road 2-3 times a year with our local Ntrak club, and have developed a no-tools-required PVC leg system that’s the envy of everyone who sees it!

My sixth and current layout is a 12x25 three-level layout in my new home. I’ve used a lot of what I learned over the years and am trying to get this layout to be the first one I get “right”. I’ve got a 225’ point-to-point mainline with provisions for continuous running on the top deck (the best of both worlds), I’m eliminating block contro

9

two HO layouts. The first one was on 5/8" plywood, which bowed at the ends because the girders weren’t long enough, and I tried to make it “cookie cutter” after that, which was a disaster. The second one was on 3/4" plywood, still not perfect, because I hadn’t done the cookie cutter technique. Now it was just a flat 4 X 8 but I had a two-track main with 22" and 18" radius curves. I learned a lot about block wiring, I had all of the switches wired up and controlled from a single control panel. I had a crossover line that ran from one side of the layout to the other, which taught me to respect polarity.

I had tried to start scenery, using Sculptamold and following the pointers in the how-to books, I made a thorough mess of things. It was either too stiff or too wet and I just gave up on making scenery.

That was 14 years ago, and due to military constraints, I didn’t start building another layout. I’m working on two different layouts now, one in HO and one in N, and while the N won’t be very large, I think that I’ll make it DCC, since I like the control that DCC gives. The HO will definitely be DCC. Techniques for modelling scenery are new - we didn’t use extruded foam, but acoustic ceiling tiles were great for retaining walls, stratified rock, etc.

Nonetheless, I had fun building that layout and I’m sure that I’ll have fun with these and any future layouts I build.

10

I am on my 3rd or 4th layout. The last one was a good 2 level with a 4 layer helix. It was great for freight, then I got some nice passenger equipment and it looks like heck on a 24" radius. Two things I learned from that layout…Be generous with the curves, and DON"T build the helix and low duckunder lapping a doorway…DUH!
Helping a friend with his layout I have learned some neat things I will be incorporating in the new one such as the use of slide switches as manual turnout operators, double tracking a larger radius helix, and the wonders of DCC. John Colley, Port Townsend, WA

11

I am working on my 7th layout at present. All have been HO from a 4’ X 8’ to a 12’ X 14’ around the walls.
What have I learned?
Good trackwork is VERY, VERY important, make sure to get it right.
Use the largest curve radius as possible.
Use quality products for track work.
Good bench work is very important.
Good electrical connections are very important.
Scenery can always be torn down and done over.
Wait a few days before you decide if something is really good or really bad.
Patience pays off in the long run.
If it is not fun, you are doing something wrong.

Have fun,
Paul

12

I’ve build few layouts. 2 in HO - never completed - and 1 in N scale, which is at the moment still under construction (but I can operate part of it).

for N scale, the lesson I’ve learned is powering turnouts frog! I got some peco electrofrog code 55 turnouts; they “automatically” power the frog by pressing the switch against the rail but sometimes, expecially when you start to lay ballast and weather rails, it’ not enough.
I lately start to solder a wire to the frog metal parts underneath the turnout BEFORE laying and gluing the turnout on roadbed. this allow me to use a microswitch connected to the turnout-motor or to the manual rod, and supply the right pole to the frog according to switch position.

13

Working on my first “true” layout, N-scale, roughly 3’ x 5’, not counting all the boxed trainset HO layouts I had to build as a kid without any budget or experience, as a poor boy having to use banana peels for roadbed and grandma’s cristmas gift knitted sweaters as scenery filler material.

I’m working on scenery now, but I have already made some “unexpected discoveries”:

1/4" plywood - someone mentioned it already. Not good for anything, not even N scale track, especially when going the cookie cutter way. It warps as soon as you put the jigsaw to it, makes for some pretty wavey track. Plywood is one of those things you can’t scale down.

Using cheap construction lumber instead of dimensional pine. Major warpage here.

Insulated joiners on curves - Using insulated joiners to avoid buying a Dremel and doing it Sperandeo’s way created trackage kinks that I can barely live with. A real eyesore.

14

Al least six in five different houses and what I have learned is that I cna find new ways to screw it up somehow.

15

2 semi finsihed, working on the third. All N Scale

First when I was in High School… we won’t say how long ago.

Second 5 years ago. actually designed to move and moved well… had a helix and everything. However, scenery never completed because I met my wife. moved into a new house, and have been busy with that.

Just started the third. Things I have learned…

Make sure the roadbed is firm enough… this doesn’t mean that it actually has to be really thick plywood ( I swear that some of the N scale pictures I’ve seen look like their built on 3/4" plywood with supports every 2 feet… come on guys, our models aren’t that heavy) but it does mean that it should not flex under the expected load (which includes scenery, etc).

Vertical easements are a necessity, not a luxury.

Solder all rail except where you want isolation.

And always be ablt to laugh at yourself… it comes in handy quite often…

JW

16

I like the collection of wisdom here; a distillation of this thread might make for a decent magazine article.

Rather than echo so much of the above, I’ll just say this: one thing I have learned is that less can be so much more.

I used to crave having a layout with switches all over the place, loops and lines and bridges aplenty, as many continuous-run mainlines as possible, and giant sprawling rail yards. Nowadays, I find that a simple straight run of single-track mainline can be just as satisfying, even moreso because of the operational challenge it presents. As an experiment, I have built a “layout” (what most would call a diorama) which is just one single piece of Kato Unitrack, dressed up with six inches of scenery (three inches either side), only twelve inches in length. The thought was that by creating a series of these, I can make a sectional layout which comes apart as easily as Unitrack does, and along the way I get all the thrill of full-blown layout modeling. I wish now that I had thought of this before I got my 200-square-foot layout going, because it is surprisingly fulfilling.

17

I learned I like continuious running - kind of like “railfaning”… I like my trains as “actors”. Decide what type of trains and scenes you like, and then design track plan accordingly. Provide run-around and passing sidings. More operation interest w/ spurs in both directions. Single Track forces “meets”. Watch reverse curves - especially in cross-overs, w/ long passenger equ. Use K-D couplers. Keep perm. magnets off main line. Use Nickle-silver rail. Simplicity is golden.
AND ENJOY THE RAILROAD!

18

Gary:

I’'ve tried a couple using the typical 4x8 (or smaller) plywood approach. None worked well. Here is what I have learned.

  1. Start simple and let your skills build.

  2. Plan, plan, plan, then be ready to change it

  3. To that end, don’t add grades on your first layout unless you really have space to make them smooth. I tried to cram an overpass into a 4x8 in HO, and it just doesn’t add anything.

  4. Benchwork needs to be steady.

  5. #6 or larger switches really make a difference

  6. Keep radii as large as you can.

  7. Make sure cars are properly weighted.

  8. Don’t ru***rack laying, and solder the rail joints

  9. Break up the layout into scenes for visual interest, with viewblocks if possible

  10. Not all rail needs to be visible, which reinforces the point above. Let the imagination wander.

  11. Operations are important. Once I figured out that you don’t accelerate on a curve life became a little easier.

  12. Have something for the trains to actually do. I like watching them run in circles, but that only holds my interest for so long (then again, everyone is unique here).

Good luck,
Jer

19

I am on my third layout (I didn’t build it myself. I bought it for $50 including the table, trees and Atlas code 83 truetrack {a $200 value by itself}). Anyways, I learned 3 things with those layouts. 1) Keep track joints tight 2) Don’t use brass track in visible areas (looks like ****) 3) keep your jelous sister out of the “train room”

20

I’ve built five, but I have also worked on two club layouts quite a bit, so I count them as well.

As a matter of fact, working on a club layout is a great way to pick up skills and get an idea what you like and don’t like.

The first layout I built was when I was in Junior High and never got down more than a few feet of track and a bit of scenery. The layout was 10 x 15’ but I never got more than the first few feet of benchwork up using scrap lumber. I experimented with handlaying track and zip texturing, and had a blast doing it. Used brass track and learned quickly that nickel silver was the way to go, period.

The second layout was when I was in High School and did it with a friend. Again, never got more than a bit of it finished, but tried handlaying switches this time, including a double slip switch, that worked, believe it or not. Learned about Kadee couplers during this time and experimented with them to learn how to properly mount them on all kinds of equipment.

The third layout was when I was in college and was much more refined, and had an operating turntable. I perfected my turnout laying skills on this layout, and started scratchbuilding bridges. Plus I used L-Girder benchwork on this one.

The fourth layout was as a young married, and was intended from the start to just be a test bed for ideas. I scratchbuilt a #10 crossover between doubletrack, and experimented with long wheelbase steam power, and techniques for doing water since I wanted to do some track running along a body of water or seacoast.

During layouts 3 and 4, I also experimented a lot with “dream layout” plans in various room configurations since by this time I had also been a part of two clubs and was forming my ideas on what kind or layout I wanted. I determined that I love switching, especially yard switching when you have a nice running yard switcher.

I also started operating on other layouts I admired to get an idea of what kind of operat