I’ll be putting up my house up for sale tomorrow, and hopefully will be able to move to our new house, which I already bought, in a few months. Then I will start a new layout in a very large basement. The layout will take a little less than half, but will still be about 32 x 37 feet.
In the meantime, I have to dismantle this layout, my first experience in O-Gauge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHJILcpAp-g
Hope you like the video.
Alex
Alex, that is a fantastic layout. Sorry you have to take her down, but I am sure with the new house comes a new opportunity to build something even better. Good luck with everything. Thanks for sharing.
Dennis
nice layout; nice video!
hope you can salvage some of it - looks like a lot of work was involved.
What brand track?
runtime
Absolutely Marvelous ! That is the one bad thing about this hobby. After all the time, and expense of a layout, and its ultimate demise is usually totally disassemble. It is also very obvious that those hours spent in designing and building, were hours of enjoyment and relaxation. Remember to take plenty of pictures, and looking forward to see pictures of the next one!
ALEX: What a beautiful job. Can’t wait to see pictures of your next venture. All the best.
PS 32’ x 37’ is about the size of my apartment. [:)]
Super job on the layout and the video.
OSHA have anything to say about the guy holding the hose that loads the tank cars? I know, he must be wearing the required magnetraction equipped shoes so he can stay in place when the gantry is up!
Track is Lionel Fastrack. I wanted something to go down fast and trouble-free, and after some searching, I selected Fastrack. Results: 100% satisfied. I used RR-Track to design the layout, everything fit fine, and I have not had any problems whatsoever. Of the 14 turnouts I used, one of the LED’s burned out after one day of operation, and that has been the only malfunction.
Hose-Man: That is correct, he is wearing OSHA approved gear, including mangetraction shoes, so he can do his job safely. [:D]
Thank you all for your nice comments!
Alex
Regarding picture-taking. Yes, I took many, but mostly after I was almost done. Even when I thought I was taking enough, such as during the construction of the bridge, it would have been helpful had I taken a few more. Next time I will take a lot more during the construction process.
Thanks.
Alex
Nice layout indeed. Let me know when you start taking it down, I’ll be the one going thru you trash.
“I’ll be the one going thru your trash.”
Interesting that you said that! I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to salvage the Fastrack, to which I added ballast (as shown in the video) and hope to be able to remove the ballast and leave the track as close as possible as when it was new. Same thing for the turnouts. I plan to use Atlas track for the next layout, but hope to find use for the Fastrack; such as the staging tracks I plan to have ‘under’ the layout.
The bench frame is bolted and screwed together, so it can come apart easily and reused. The top, 1/2" plywood and 1/2" QuietBrace*, should be OK for next time as well.
Thanks!
Alex
AEWSOME ALEX!!! You are DA Bs KNEES!!! Good luck with the new layout. I have a feeling you’ll outdo yourself.
Question? How did you make your water scene. What paint colors did you use? It looks like it has great depth. Good job.
laz57
This was my first try at water, and I lucked out. The ‘pond’ is about 12" x 40".
For the ‘water’ itself I used 16-oz of a two-part epoxy I had from earlier days and had never used, Envirotex Lite, which resulted in a film about 1/16” thick. I just looked it up and you can buy it at some Amazon sellers for a reasonable price; otherwise it is about $22.
For the bottom, I first painted the plywood dark blue, then a few areas lighter blue, and finally some dark green stripes hoping that they would appear as waves. To my surprise, it worked!
Good luck and thank you -
Alex
Hey Alex, great video and great layout!! Good luck in your new home and with your new layout!
Alex,
Did you ever think about selling your existing layout rather than tearing it down?
Bruce Baker
Bruce,
Nothing I would like more than to sell it - if it were possible. It would be great if someone would buy the house and the layout, with controls, etc. but without the trains, of course. I would even consider including the buildings.
Moving the layout elsewhere could be done as well since the bench is screwed together. The ‘board’ sections could be separated after the wiring was removed and the track separated at the right junctures.
However, after talking with several people and realtors, the consensus was that the layout would be more of detriment to sell the house.
I have started packing the trains (I have all the original boxes and packing), but I am dragging my feet in taking the actual layout apart . . .[sigh]
Thanks!
Alex
Advertise it on craigslist. It is free and easy.
Bruce Baker