A previous thread on “The first layout you can remember” got me going on this little project. I remember my Grandfather knelt down beside the HO figure 8 in the living room, pipe in his hand marveling over the creation he presented me with. I was mesmerized by that set.
So I decided to honor that memory with a layout I could just pick up and go with…hence, the “Pickemup and Hitdatrail R.R.” was born.
I was given a Samsonite briefcase of his after he passed away and it’s been in my closet collecting dust. I figured it would be a good to start with.
I had a couple of pieces of 1" blue foam from witch I made a base for inside the briefcase. I only had room for a small oval or circle and the oval turned out too close to the case edges to run right, so I opted for a circle.
After painting and sceniking the base, I painted underneath the tracks dove grey to help blend in the ballast when it’s finally put down. After that, I mounted the track down with track brads and wired the powerpack to it. The pack fits nicely in the divided file holder in the top half of the case as well as 4 or 5 boxed trains.
The kids love it and it makes a great goodie to take along on trips…the little one can set it up and play in no time flat.
I still have a few things I’d like to do to it yet such as more scenery. The nice thing is I can set i out for the little one and work on the big layout at the same time.
My LHS owner has a Z scale layout in an aluminum suitcase that is superdetailed and very neat to watch. He’s got a pretty intricate trackplan for such a small space, including mountains and grades. He had it for sale for quite a pretty price, I think around $2000. Neat idea and a great way to honor your grandfather
