N Scale Appalachian coal railroad for hollow core door(s) help needed

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I don’t have room for an HO layout until I move and that’s a few years off. I’m thinking about building an N-Scale layout with an N&W them, using the Walthers 2-8-8-2 engines. I’m torn between a single sided layout with a tall backdrop and photo backdrop with a few inches of staging on the back side, or a layout with a mountain ridge in center, and railroading on the opposite side, as well. I have room for up to 3 door modules, but prefer a max of 2. I’d optimally like to sell it when I move, and if too large, it would be harder to sell.

I want a mine, prefer two. 2-3 tracks. passing siding off mainline.

I’d like double track, but could go with single track mainline.

Want tall scenery and some trestles and tunnels.

I’d like a small town with a street that parallels the tracks, and the street runs right up against the tracks, so that there are only buildings on one side (opposite tracks). I’d like a station. To keep the street up against the tracks, I think maybe the station should be on the opposite side of the tracks from the town (outside edge of the mainline).

I designed this a while back, but really prefer something longer. Any help would be really appreciated.

2

Here’s some video of someone’s from Germany Switzerland. I’d like if I could do something like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=WBl2rekJc5w

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=Bo2zuac3BE4

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=2ZAWJ4iE3lE

3

nw_fan,

don´t let the Swiss know, that you converted them to Germans [:D]

Building something like what you have seen in the videos requires a little more space than you can dedicate to it, I am afraid.

Have you had a look at Dave Vollmer´s wonderful Pennsy layout, built on a hollow core door?

This is the track plan:

I think it could be adapted to your needs - with a an extra yard added.

Check Dave´s web page here!

4

When I read your description, the first thing to pop into my head was Lionel Strang’s ‘Appalachian Central,’ a small project layout that ran in MR a few years ago. It has pretty much everything you requested. You can go through MR’s layout listings to find what issues it was in, or do what I did and spend a few bucks to download it from MR’s PDF series. It will fit on two doors just fine.

Don

5

I really like his layout. I have it saved to my favorites.