Hi, I am loosely planning building a layout, but have no experience at all with it. My idea is to construct a farmland which is mainly composed of turf and grass with animals around. At the very initial stage, should I lay out the track first and apply the pebbles on the tracks, and then seup the farmland later? or Should I set up the tracks without pebbles, and then set up the farmland and then finally apply pebbles to the tracks?
In the Model RR dvd, they built the layout on a blue foam. Where can I get those foam?
Since a layout’s first purpose is to run trains,I’d start with the trackwork.Draw a plan of the trackwork and then install it in order to run trains as soon as can be.It’s so much more rewarding and encourageing to work on the details when you already have some enjoyment operating.
It is easier to adapt scenery to your trackwork than doing it the other way around.Wether you do your ballasting (pebbles) before,while or after your scenery is done is up to you Other than building a mountain before you install the trees on it,there aren’t any real sequence to sceney work.Some will elect to terminate an area of their layout while others prefer decorating here and there and come back to individual areas to improve them as time goes on.Your choice…
Foam can generally be found at construction materials suppliers.Personnally I prefer the pink one.My two cents…
[#welcome]. Some “homework” is in order, so, here are some helpful links to get you started.
First: http://www.nmra.org/. Half way down the page is a link, Beginners Page Project, to starting a layout and what all should be considered. This will help answer a lot of the basic questions. The NMRA web site has a lot of good information.
Second:
Once you have an idea, track planning s/w will help you. There are a few for free such as Atlas RTS (Right Track Software) @ http://www.atlasrr.com/ and XtrkCad @ http://www.sillub.com/ (be sure to read about the free registration part)
Third:
4 by 8 layouts are common to start with. Some who’ve done more than a few layouts may not agree with a 4 x 8, but it is a valid choice. You can get some ideas on what can be done with a 4 x 8 other than just round and round running @ http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsvc/id28.html
Fourth:
Once you have a design in mind, post it here on the forum and the members will help you fine tune it and/or answer specific questions.