This is my layout and I’m looking for constructive criticism from fellow Model Railroaders. Please reply to this post and let me know what you think of what I have done with my layout so far. I am also looking for others who are really into kitbashing/scratch building, and who love switching and operating. If you would like to email me I can be emailed at lamajepa@devil-dog.com . Please let me know what you think, or if I should do something different to improve the layout.
The layout is HO scale with DCC and most locos have sound. The layout is around the walls with a center double sided peninsula with stageing on one side and switching on the other. The min radius is 22 but most turns are 24 or larger. The track is peco turnouts with atlas flex.
I have a freelanced, modern day short line layout. Most of my locos are scratch built, and are unique and interesting to me, such as a former IC GP10, a yard slug using the former Chessie System proto type, a chop nosed GP7, and a chop nose GP9. All these locos are P2K sound units along with 2 Atlas GP7’s, 1 Kato GP35, and a custom built kitbashed former Santa Fe CF7. All are painted in a French Royal Blue paint with white noses and lettered for the RSL which stands for Reynoldsville Short Line.
I like large industries and there are 11 medium to large industries on the layout, which include a grain elevator (made of 3 walthers grain elevator kits), a concrete plant (kitbashed from several different kits), a plastic molding plant (made of pikestuff and walthers kits), a chemical plant (made of 2 walthers centennial mills and kitbashed structures), and electric motor factory (made of several kits), a discount store warehouse (made from the walthers paper mill), a natural gas dealer, a team track, a furniture factory (made of 2 walthers back ground building), a performance auto parts wearhouse, and finally a coal fired power plant (made from the kraft mill left over from the paper mill cut down as a bld flat).
Welcome, and I for one would really like to view your Layout on the Forum, as
I`d be a little late for supper if I wondered over there from Western Australia
and the Wife would go crook at me.
Putum up and give us a gander, I love Shunting Wagons,
I’m one of the few that have run on Lane’s RSL layout. It’s a fun switching pike, with enough challenges to keep you occupied for a couple of hours switching out the industries. He didn’t mention it, but he uses the Old Line Graphics car card system. It works pretty well.
I don’t know how I missed this post, but HEY! I live in New Bern. I am in the planning stages of a layout right now, but plan on modeling a freelance line on the Norfolk Southern. I just got an Atlas Dash 8-40C. Just need a decoder and I’m golden. I would love to see the layout and watch you run them. I’ll shoot an e-mail later on.
For example if you look at the picture of the GP, notice the trucks are just black holes. Weathering the trucks with some dusty colors will lighten them so they show up in the pictures.
Notice how the rails shine. Painting the rails a dark brown (Roof Brown is a popular color) and then the ties a grayish brown deadens the track and makes the code 100 rail look smaller. If you have an air brush, paint the rails first at a low angle to hit the sides. Then paint the ties from directly above so you hit the tops and sides of the ties, but not too much on the rails.
Add some rust to the grain bins and chalking or paint peeling to the elevators and they will just pop out…
I went over and visited Lane’s layout. He packs alot into a small space. He gave me the throttle and he played conductor, I fired him a couple of times, lol. But truthfully, it was a great experience. I love switching, and that is what this layout is all about. He has planned this layout for years before building it, and his train room is better stocked then our local HS. I love the shortline theme, and he executes it well.
He is a kit basher. There are parts of locomotives, structures and rolling stock all over the place. He is gifted when it comes to that, hopefully he can pass on some of his skills to me.
Being new to DCC, it was a real treat to have him hand over the throttle. There is no going back now. And yeah, I gotta have sound too, he ruined me on that one.
The bad news is, now my prospective layout is no longer valid. I have to have a bigger yard, and still be able to run big trains on the mainline. So it’s back to the drawing board for me.
If anybody is in eastern NC, you have to look him up.
I wanted to say thanks for the ideas I have been given so far, and also for the visitors I have had to the layout. I have incorporated some of the ideas I have been given, such as weathering loco trucks and the grain bins and grainery structure. I plan to do the rails in the very near future. Thanks again.
Very nice. I agree that it all looks a little too new. Weathering can keep you going for a while. The kitbashing rep seems well earned. I love the pics. Thanks.
Great Layout needs some weathering,otherwise good looking structures. would like to visit it someday,plan on being up that way around April1-06.Hopefully can look you up when I’am up there.keep up the good work ,also post more pics.