The East Broadtop is lanquishing. Since money is not object I’ll go 1:1 scale narrow gauge and make the owner an offer he cannot refuse. It would be chump change for the owners of Facebook, Amazon or Google.
Unfortuately that wouldn’t be me. I do have an uncle whose father refused to loan his drug store owner neighbor money for a start up. It was Noxzema
Any discussion about ultimate model layouts would have to include Dave Trussel’s Greeley Freight Station Museum in Greeley, Colorado.
He started with a 5,000 SF layout inside a 9,000 SF building, and says he wishes he had double the space.
Robert
Not sure if mine is the biggest private home layout . MR said that not I !! I know of at least one other out there that is close to 4500 sq ft. Mine is 3120. But the difference is while the 4500 sq ft is two levels I do have 4 levels in a few spots. Anyway even after almost 26 years in existence it’s still a fun railroad to operate on and has withstood the test of time well. I did have some help building it and still have help in resetting it between op sessions but all maintenance and any new construction is all me anymore. The RR has seen different eras over the years. The current era and probably the last is the late PRR and all of PC a 1964-1975 time period. Before that it was 1956-57 with both steam and diesel. The video done by Keller years ago was the 1976-1982 Conrail era period. Changing the eras for me keeps interest higher and more even rather than major tear downs . There are a number of recent video’s on You Tube by Bill Fagan that were taken earler this year. — Ken
For most of us that ultimate RR na na land. Sure, air craft hanger and runs that could represent San Francisco to Chicago - selectively compressed of course - is something I used to dream about. Eventually reality forces it’s way back!
I’d buy the UPs steam shops, FEF3, Challenger, Big Boy and cars and hire the crew. If the turntable is gone, I’d add one. Then I’d run excursions all over and give rail fans and kids priority for free rides. Then I’d start adding and restoring lots of other steamers, only requirement being U.S. examples. And maybe have some selective diesels, and some gas turbines. Perhaps I’d just buy the whole UP, and change motive power to steam. And buy the old Baldwin, Alco and other shops and start building new steam engines. And…
If funds were large but not unlimited, I’d tear down our existing house, dig a basement the full length and rebuild the house. (That way I will not need to repaint). I’d build an HO layout with dual mainline and long runs, which would allow more realistic block signalling. I would plan for operations & switching, but also be able to just run circuits when the grandkids visit.
Meanwhile, I’m having fun with my 5x10 layout. My dream layout would seem overwhelming but I would not want to hire help, preferring to see the fruits of my own effort.
I would build This: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=world's+largest+model+railroad+layout+germany&&view=detail&mid=8F6B1BCDF6C0AF1DD3008F6B1BCDF6C0AF1DD300&FORM=VRDGAR
and invite everyone on this forum to come and operate it. Of course I would have severl operations instructors, experts to pare rookies with and cameras to record your operating session.
[:P]
I’d build somewhat bigger, but more spreadout.
My train room is 21’ x 18’, which is big enough in HO for me to include pretty much everything on my wish list, except that the space between towns bears most of the “selective compression”. So if I had unlimited space and funds to match, I might add a town or two, but most of the expansion would be for mainline running.
Afterall, I’m the one who has to build and maintain it! [sn]
Jim
Right now, I WOULD buy the aircraft hanger. No, no. The BIG one, over there.
I’d use it as a venue for Free-mo setups.
There would be employees to “handle things”.
I’d build (with help from my guys, as necessary) the various modules that pop into my head. For example, there’d be a number of super modules with passing sidings QUITE long–maybe 60 feet. And etc.
Ed
Ken,
Got a chance to visit your layout during the Steel Mill Convention, Don’t under estimate the amount of layout there! Great layout!
I think the coolest thing with unlimited budget would be the environment: dedicated temp/ humidity control, positive pressure to keep the dust out. Add a dedicatd space for modellig (where we can still watch the trains run while we work) another space for painting (and another ducted space for spraying adhesives). Next let’s add programmable LED environment lighting so we can set the time of day as needed. Or let dawn to dusk to midnight run automatically, synced to a fast clock. Let’s take that one step further and make the backdrop a seamless series of OLED displays that change our skyline/ clouds/ etc in sync with those overhead LEDs. Imagine 4 F-units pulling 20 or so passenger cars not only through a landscape but through a visual timescape
I actually hope that by the time I build my big layout that tech has gotten cheap enough to do the time scape thing.
Or my railroad will be set in a perpetual sunset dusk or sunrise dawn lighting scheme.
Honestly Size wouldn’t be an issue as I don’t think I’d want anything more than 500-600 sq ft. What I’d like is a Model Railroad located in a fictional country, it would connect a remote Oil and Forestry town with a port city. Inspiration would be taken from railroads such as the ABB in Switzerland, the Geodrich-Exeter and Tshietin Transportation lines in Canada and Easter Eurpean logging lines. Most of the locomotive power would be second hand american units with occasional foreign made units traversing the rails.
I hope that I will have the resources to someday build a layout that models “most” of a system with a centralized terminus and several routes leaving that point… perhaps I will need to start a club to do so… of course this is when I retire…
I found this online and it turns out it is about 15 minutes from my house. I haven’t been there yet, but it seems exactly what you are talking about.
A guy with seemingly unlimited amount of funds buys a 50 x 75 warehouse and starts building.
We have some pretty decent versions of “the ultimate model railroad” going on right in this forum, with Michaelrose55 and his Georgetown & Allen Mountain RR., and a guy named Onewolf, who built a new building, and started filling it up.
Scroll back in this layout forum, you’ll find him.
That 50’x75’ is huge! Looks like they have assembled an army of people to build it.
Mike.
I’d probably build a larger version of the layout I have with longer runs between towns.
I’d have bigger staging yards and they would be easier to get at.
Broader curves would be nice too.
With unlimited funds, I could hire somebody to help with maintenance which a monster layout would need lots of.
I might even consider an S or O scale version of my HO layout. I’d have to see what was available.
I don’t need much for space. 40 by 40 would be perfect. I want to play alone, and I never want to “operate” a model railroad, so all I really need is a longer run for traines to enter and leave my scene. I would love to see the train disappear around a hill rather than just go into a tunnel.
.
I really don’t need any more money. I have pretty much everything I could ever want.
.
TIME… that is what I need, and it is in very short supply, and I cannot buy any more of it.
.
Steven… this is the asset you have the most of. Use it wisely, you can never get it back.
.
-Kevin
.
Some of the scenes I’d want emulate
http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=419379&key=7715507
http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=472639&key=3766063
http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=544163&key=3766063
http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=329149&key=4137828
http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=633659&key=2110657
http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=268226&key=2110657
Here’s a scene I’m definitely going to replicate on my railroad!
