Gauge Layout party No. 4

This sounds like a good idea but a little too late for me. I spent the last two months working on a mountain for my layout. Right now I am out of supplies and money for the winter. My sons and I usually do the RR model during the summer when he his off from school and I don't have tuition payment to make.
 
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Fred_M

Good work fellow modellers. :thumb:

I love trains doc, and history too.

Tom, duh me, of course that's your water tower diorama water tower. :eek:ops: I will just look there again for a better veiw. I'm gathering ideas for a generic version using all the features I like from them all. (right now I'm thinking Pettycoat junction wink wink). Preisler still make them necked sunbathers?

trains1972, strip and sheetwood is cheap as is elmers. This coaling tower cost under $15 in supplies and was a load of fun to build. Give wood a try. :wave: :thumb: :) Or look at something done by Mathyro. He uses cardboard and elmers which is as close to free as you can get. ;)

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I do have the section ready to build a city on. I could try to build row homes with wood. I was going to put the streets and sidewalk in on my layout before I built the buildings. Anyone have any ideas how to put streets and sidewalk in cheap. The street has to be 1/4" thick to become level with the track the sidewalk 10mm higher. Here is the area that the city will be in.
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Fred_M

There are lots of ways to do roads. My favorite easy methods are 1. use matte board and paint it with acrylic paints after cracking and sectioning it with a ball point pen. The pen depresses the paper and after they are painted and weathered with ink/alcohol they look like cracks. If painting the streets just put straight hobby acrylic in the middle of the road and brush to the edges. Gives a broomed concrete look after weathering.

Another way is to go to hobby lobby, or such, and get scenic sand like they put in bottles. It comes in black and gray which are two great colors for roads. Mix up about 1/4 elmers and 3/4 blue windsheild washer fluid in a spray bottle. Spread the sand to make your road and then mist it with the glue mix to wet it, then spray it harder until you soak it and puddles are standing. The misting at first freezes the surface so it don't move during the heavier spraying. Then put a fan on it (optional) until it dries, (a day at most). Then weather it and stripe it. Now it will be so hard you can sand wood with it. Those are my pet methods of cheap roads.

I build up by gluing on cardboard layers. After the glue mix it too become hard as brick. Sidewalks, I have also cast them from plaster in a mold and liked that too. The mold was made from painted stripwood and the bottom with packing tape covered cardboard. he sidewalk can then be scribed for cracks and washed with watered down tan/gray paint mix to taste. Fred
 
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Fred_M

Today I put white directional LEDs in my little yellow sw 1500+ Fred
 

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Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
Yesterday I ripped up and replaced some bad track.
The rails had seperated from the ties on this section.
 

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Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
I had an insulation gap cut into the rails on this curve that was causing derailments so I removed all the track to this point.
 

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Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
I also removed this section of track on th ramp to realign the curve.
The track is reinstalled on the lower main line in this photo. I moved the insulated joints to the straight track.
 

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Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
This is a look at the other end with the track installed.
I also cut down the facia that I had extending 1/4" above the layout as a gaurd rail to keep trains from falling off. It didn't work that well and looked bad.
 

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TomPM

Another Fried Egg Fan
Looks like everyone is off and running!

Trains1972
I will be following your progress as I am thinking about doing a city/town scape for the next diorama project. BTW Where are you in the Philly area?

Nice work Fred! Do you do 1:1 wiring and lighting? I have a bunch of lighting projects around the house needing an expert.

Ray
Nice work! You are rolling a long!

Me? I am hoping to start soon.
 
I just got finished putting together the first building for the city. I still have to weather it. It took 6 hours to build and paint. I found out the windows and door that I would have to get for scratch building cost more then the kits.
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TomPM I am 5 miles northeast of center city.
 

JAyers

New Member
1st time post, layout party entry

Hi, All,

This is my first post. I'm getting back into the hobby and intend to take it seriously this time! Well, the last time was when I was 8 and had no clue how to make a nice layout.

So, to ease back in and hone some skills, before I tackle my planned model of the GTW Romeo subdivision, I am going to make test track, where I will have a place to test run locos I get off of eBay, test some handlaying of switches and work on ballasting and scenicking before diving into a bigger situation. Simply, here's what I'm going to do:

Build an oval of track in as small a space as I can with my old snap track. It will have two ladder yards, used for switching or industrial spurs, depending on whether I'm coming or going.

Use a piece of OSB I have sitting around. I will put masonite under all of the track and some sort of cork or foam roadbed for the oval "mainline".

I can build up and test ground cover techniques on this before I move to the bigger layout, and I can get locos and rolling stock working well in the mean time. The layout is below, and I know, the radius after the turnout is horrible. I bought one piece of flex track and I'll use it there, and fiddle with it till it works.

I was inspired to do this by the website for the Micro layouts. What a cool site.

So, I'm cleaning and laying old track and getting old and used locos and rolling stock back in working shape.

John
 

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C

Catt

Hi John, :wave: welcome to the Gauge and welcome to the party.First (and only) is rule don't be afraid to ask questions about anything trains. :D
 

Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
I made some progress with the landscaping and painting.
I have the base colors down and I'm almost ready to put down the ground cover and ballast.
I haven't decided if I should pave the road or make it a dirt road.
 

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Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
I gave the mine a wash of black acrylic then blended the base into the layout with drywall joint compound and gave the compound a wash of paint.
 

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ddavidv

Member
No more plywood prairie. :D
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Sorry about the image size.
I spent almost the entire day doing that in the hopes of getting it painted before my next Ntrak meeting Tuesday. Next: paint the base color, paint the track, begin ballasting.
 

TomPM

Another Fried Egg Fan
Way to go everyone!

Ray
You are making great progress on the layout!

Trains1972
Nice looking buildings!

Jayers
Welcome to the Gauge. Can't wait to see some progress shots.

Ddavidv
Nice start!
 
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