smal layouts and theemes

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

brand new to the hobby got a 4-6 layout on horses running dc would love to run dcc.looking for theeme ideaas .using bachman track.the more i see on the net the more i smile .just like seeing a new truck or boat going down the road .throw me ideas my head is a swimmen

2

Your title says “small layouts.” Have you tried looking here:

http://carendt.us/

There are several in all scales!

{There are a few others but I can’t locate them in my filing cabinet right now}.

[8-|]

3

Have you considered:

  1. A deep river gorge spanned by a mighty bridge, some water at the bottom? You can saber saw the gorge into the plywood top, and use blue foam or hardshell scenery for the sides.

  2. A view block. Run it down the center of the layout to block the view of the far side. Paint a backdrop on it or purchase a preprinted backdrop. Build some hills at the bottom, with tunnels to the far side. This makes the layout look bigger, and you can have two radically different scenicking on the two sides. Say a downtown urban scene on one side and rural farm country on the other.

  3. A well protected grade crossing. Four crossbucks with red flashing LEDs, plus two crossing gates with red flashing LED’s run along the gates. Plus the electronics to detect trains, flash the lights, and lower the gates.

  4. A big industry with lots of in plant trackage, car dumpers, loading docks, tiny industrial locomotives shuffling cuts of cars. Say a paper mill, a cement plant, a mine, an auto plant a steel mill.

  5. A big city station with lots of tracks, passenger platforms, surface trolley lines, baggage wagons, Railway Express office, a coach yard, a railfan bridge crossing the coach yard.

4

thanks got to slowly grow and ithought i have to much fishing gear i just want to keep buying more toys

5

thanks for the insight myh head will be a swimmen tonight.came up with1 or 2 prier ideas and it really is a growing hobby

6

Or pick a small shortline to model. I myself am modeling the Arkansas Louisiana and Missouri in the mid '30’s using a couple of the PFM brass 4-6-0’s, one being painted for the #1 that its modeled after and the other is in the middle of a little redetailing to represent the #31 ( different stack and headlight). I also use a Akane USRA 0-6-0 for my yard goat. It closely resembles thier #458 locomotive. The railroad itself owned very little in the way of freight cars and only 1 caboose. They were mostly a bridge route for traffic on the MP and ICRR. The line traversed quite a bit of swamp land and was known to have gators and other not so nice animals sunning themselves on the right of way, espicaly the bridges I have read. The little ten wheelers are quite easy to find, Caboose Hobbies has several to choose from, they run like a fine swiss watch being built by Fugiyama, one of the top Japanese builders of that era. And while open frame motored, mine runs as quite as a can, draws under 1/4 amp with the drivers slipping and will pull a typical 7-10 car freight train depending on car type and weight. I have isolated both motor brushes and installed a TCS M1 decoder. Cheers