I am new to the forum and wanted to let you know a little bit about the layout I am building. It is being built in my basement, in HO and modeled on a fictitious subdivision of the Rio Grande between 1965-75. I am heavily influenced by Eric Brooman and his Utah Belt, as well as Lee Nicholas, Ted York, Doug Tagsold and Joe Fugate. The layout size is approx 20 x 45 with a mainline run of about 170 feet. The design is basically an around the walls oval with 2 lengthy peninsulas with return loops. There is an ample double ended staging yard on one end of the oval.
Here is a diagram of the mainline run of the layout:
We just moved into our home in January of this year and as you can see from the photos of the layout, I’ve been making pretty good progress. The benchwork is mostly done (except the staging yard), and I have laid track on the mainline. The roadbed is a spline using 1/8" wide harboard laminated 9 times (LOTS of work but well worth it!!!). Track is Atlas code 83 and turnouts will be #8 throughout. I debated what turnouts to use (Walthers or Atlas) but went with Atlas Mark IV and have had no regrets so far…NOT ONE DERAILMENT YET! To make them more prototype, I simply cut off the toy like ties at the end stubs and it gives them a more quality Walthers/Shinohara-type appearance.
Here are some photos of the layout room:
The lighting used is a sunlight florescent bulb that screws into a normal socket. They are costly but should be well worth it because they are very low wattage and will last (hopefully) for years. I am planning t
Thats some great progress so far. I like the way you’ve designed the layout so that your trains can really stretch out. So many layouts, due to space constrictions, don’t have that feature, and it adds so much. Nice job! Keep us posted on progress, OK? Thats going to be one heck of a layout!
And from the looks of it you have your self one heck of a layout going there! I love the main line runs, and the wide open spaces for those SD45’s have to stretch out the gears!
Spline roadbed construction is quite impressive too!
Have you done this before?
Also, I am wondering what method of scenery are you going to use and attaching it to the spline roadbed[?]
One more question. What material and process are you using for the backdrop and can you let us know your process for painting it too!
Nice layout. looks like you are off to a good start. I just recently took a trip followin the Tennessee pass line. If you would like i can pass on the photos I took if you would like. I also model the Rio Grande but at the moment do no have the space to build similar to yours. Looks like you are off to a good start.
Man! I wish I had as much room as you had when I built my layout. That looks great! Love how you made your backdrops. Please keep us posted with your progress.
One question:
Why did you build your roadbed only as narrow as your track. i’m curious to know what method you use to attach your scenery to roadbed? I’ve always been taught to leave a little ledge when it comes to roadbed, so you have room to attach your scenery.
First I’ll answer the question that has come up a couple of times: why narrow roadbed? I’m using a method that Joe Fugate uses on his layout with his spline roadbed. What I’ll be doing is attaching cardboard strips (web) with hot glue to the side of the spline to create a natural “fill effect”. Once satisfied with the contours, I’ll cover the strips with a cheesecloth method or the tried and true newspaper and papers towels with plaster. To smooth out the sides of the roadbed, I’ll fill in with hydrocal or some other type of patching plaster.
As for the backdrop, it’s just simple 1/8" 4x8 hardboard, cut to a 30" height lenghtwise. I covered the seams with drywall mud and put two layers of white primer on to ensure the sky blue layer of paint would have a deep effect.
I only ran the train a couple of times with this many cars to get the look and feel I’d want with longer trains. Also, I wanted to double check that my sidings would be long enough. Not a good idea to run rolling stock with no safety net!!![:(]
Very nice! It looks to me like you will need to start a club to help operate, I’m in, but it may take a while to get there.
I like the sweeping curves. Did you superelevate them?
I’m with you on running trains on open benchwork with no security net per say, like scenery. I am at the same stage and will not runn super long trains right now. The little woman would like to see the GS4 Daylighter run but I have not put in a decoder and When I ran DC I walked along with it with my hands at the ready, too much drama.
Good luck on the layout and we all hope to see many more photos of your project.
Thanks for sharing. I love to see the constuction photos, they inspire me to keep going even on the less like tasks.
Nice work, good design and construction. My helpers wanted to use the spline but this old dog just went the old way (comfort zone).
Enjoy, you have a great start!
Take Care
George P.
WOW!!! It’s very impressive, especially since you did all that since January.
I love the splined roadbed and your benchwork is impressive too. I can see the Utah Belt influence in your long, uninterrupted runs.
I’d be nervous about running such nice equipment without benefit of scenery. I’m glad you’re that confident in your tracklaying…I’d have to cover the floor with styrafoam packing peanuts!
Please keep us updated on your progress. Congratulations and THANK YOU!!
