Well, for once, I believe that what they say is true. I mean, I’ve heard of plenty of stories where a gear head finds his dream car under a pile of crap at the back of a barn ready to fall over and it’s been sitting there so long the current owners forgot they had it untill they started cleaning out the barn in case there was something in there they didn’t want the barn to fall on top of. But now I have my own story [:)]. Anywho, we live in an apartement complex of 5 buildings so everything gets tossed into dumpsters. Took the garbage out yesterday afternoon, before coming onto the forums actually, and found a pair of 1/4 inch plywood boards. Couple hours later after getting hope I checked as I threw something out, and sure enough, they where still in there. It took a little bit of coaxing with part of an old metal bed frame laying next to the garbage dumpster, but I got them with in reach and snatched em up. They even came with a few good L-brackets (not strong enough for my lay out but a possible future project) and some chunks of 1x6. The chunks aren’t big enough for my usagle, but I’ll keep them hanging around. So now I can do one of my plans on the cheap, since half the material I already have! It’s basically a 6 x 2 foot top with a small 24 x 18 inch wing for the computer monitor and a small staging/yard track. Framing will be cheap and easy. 1x3 boards are only 3 bucks for an 8 foot board, which I would need 6 or 7, and I already have a box of screws laying around, plus now that I think it I have some 1x2 or 1x3 shelf boards laying around. It will be DC, not sure whether I’m going manual turn outs or powered yet though. I am going with sectional track, it’s my first layout so I don’t want to mess with trying to figure out flex track, and Atlas code 80 rail. I’ve already checked and with the exception of the Atlas turn outs I know my LHS has all the different track pieces in on stock, out on a wall display actually. So, like I said, one man’s junk is another man’s sub board for his layout
I remember going through the new construction sites in a new housing industry near us… lots of scrap plywood, 2X4’s. 2X2’s, etc… I would ask before I took, and they had plenty of wood that is now the structure of my layout.
When they build a new house around here there is usually a pile of debris that gets hauled off to the landfill. Those piles usually have enough scrap pieces or broken sheets of 1/2", 3/4" and 2" foam insulation to do an entire layout. When the time comes I am going to stop by and ask the foreman if I can have dibs on anything about to be hauled off. Jamie
Going back a half-century, Model Railroader used to have a running cartoon series, The Silver Plate Road, following the adventures of Mister Van, his butler (Qwyl?) and occasional guest notables. My favorite involved Mister Van diving into a trash can to rescue the perfect piece of handrail wire. He was escorting Mrs Van in the Easter Parade at the time…
More recently, I got permission to gather up a load of cut-off ends at a construction site some years ago. They ended up being most of my next-built layout’s framing.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I take great satisfaction in having salvaged 80-90 percent of my benchwork lumber from the trash pile of a home construction site.
Though I had to actually purchase the plywood.
Just think of it as a “green” layout. (And the price was certainly right!)
Wouldn’t it be crazy if you went to your dumpster one day and you found the oldest and most sought after locomotive from the 1980’s. If only that would happen to us all.
I’ve wanted to do that but there isn’t really any construction going on around here other than more condos, but they use steel and spray-on insulation so really nothing much of use. I would even try getting close to one of those things because someone might think I’m tresspasing on a public beach…
I have however got several roofing tiles that my workplace was throwing away. I still have them, but I would like to use them. I also snagged several boxes that are great for making carrying cases. From my father’s work I’ve gotten some foam rubber (used in carry cases) and some ammunition boxes and used .50-cal rounds (they make good weights since they weigh 1/2 ounce).
IRVW, I’d have to slap myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming if that happened to me. (either the Atlas/Kato RS11s or RS3s, or OMI SD40-2s, C30-7s, or C636s)
Come look in my dumpster! I’m into all aspects of construction and am always pitching lumber and plywood. I tried saving it at one time but it rapidly overtook my garage. You could look in there and not realise there is a 57 chevy wagon in there, theres that much stuff. Talk to the framers and job supers about dumpster diving. Alot like it because they don’t have to empty the dumpster as fast. Just try to stay away from the treated lumber (green). It’s pretty nasty in the corrosive aspect, and any metal (including track) exposed to it or the sawdust will start to rust/ corrode.
Its not so crazy, if you live near a manufacturers site. Lionel use to throw away a ton of good cars and locomotives when the plant was open here in Mt. Clemens. Most meet the crusher now instead of being repaired… tis sad, they should donate to a kids foundation and write it off…
Well not exactly Dumpster diving but it seems every where I go I am looking at things not in 1:1 scale but rather in 1:87. I’m in the store with my wife looking at god knows what and I spot something and say hum? That will work as this or that. But my greatest find wasn’t lumber or foam or plywood. My wife is the yard sale queen and goes to only god knows how many. She calls me on her cell phone and says I’m at a sale and they have trains. She begins to describe them as very heavy followed by they look funny. I said what do u mean funny she replied they’re not black like all of yours there a yellowish color. I almost dropped the phone, I said like brass! I was still on my phone backing my truck out of the driveway headed towards her location. I told her I don’t care if you have to sit on the box don’t let anyone buy them. I get across town to find a box of what the girl running the sale called “her fathers junk” Seems the gentleman had recently went to the big roundhouse in the sky and they were cleaning out his house. Poor guy probably wasn’t in the ground a week. I gave her what she asked for the box $50.00 only because she was so arrogant and disrespectful. She went on a her little rant about how he would waste so much time down in the basement bla bla bla (Basement =layout) I asked if there was any other stuff like the layout it’s self. Her husband appeared out of the garage and said come on down Ill show you. I walked into the basement and was horrified to see what mush have been a beautiful layout approx. 50’x30’ all cut up into pieces and a Sawsall lying on the floor. I truly wanted to cry. He told me take what you want it’s all junk. I salvaged a couple of boxes filled with structures and a few other pieces but he was right al junk now.
So I guess I saved what was left of his layout from the landfill. I actually got his name from one of the boxes a locomotive kit from Bowser so he’ll have a small town named after him on my new railroad.
Well well well. Here I thought this post was gonna go down after a while and here I am typing more. A little back story first before I get to my point. What I should have also mentioned in this post was that a way while back, I do believe it was begining of fall, some one threw out a perfectly good 2 x 4 foot coffee table. Don’t ask me why, all I can say is they were stupid. Only thing wrong with it was it was a little loose and the glass panel was missing. Well it was loose because whoever made it, my guess some one taking a wood shop class, decided to put it together with tiny L-brackets and wood screws. Only thing glued was the L-shaped legs and table top pieces. So a screw driver fixed that. Now back about…probably closs to 2 years now someone threw out a good piece of oval glass, around 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 feet. It’s kinda heavy because it’s a quarter inch thick, but anywho the guy who lived below us, a good friend and unfortunetly moved out about 2 years ago, said it was too good of something to throw away. He saved it from the dumpster but knew he would never use it. So after a few words of encouragement about the barage I would get from the ‘wife’ for saving some junk someone threw out in the garbage dumpster, I took that big ol piece of glass. And now here is where I get to rub it all in her face, and as of later to day I can do that! Literally!!
Well with picking up that small coffee table I got the idea of doing a coffee table layout. Then after reading into more modeling stuff it was mentioned that as a beginer one should start small and learn to build up, assentially don’t take a bigger bite of the cookie than you can chew. Then, after seeing the coffee table layout built in the January MR issue it really got me thinkin’ (Unfortunetly there was an overload of information on creating the table but nothing on wiring, track plan, structers etc. etc.). So about 5:30 this morning after pulling an all nighter (yes I’m still up, I guess an advantage of being young, I
And some people say this hobby is “EXPENSIVE!!!”
I didn’t realize you said this before or I said something and forgot that I did, but I’d be very more than willing to take that ol ‘57 off your hands for ya if you’d like a little more room in that gair-ag for ya. Don’t bother me that’s a wagon either, if’n that’s what yur thinkin’. And now I’m not a red neck either I just thought it was fun writing it that way. I’m just a regular ol country boy-turned city boy. Ooh, I just thought that car would match the diecast '55 Nomad model I have pretty goodly.