Many model railroader's choose a specific railroad line to
model. Since UP, DRGW, WP, Sante Fe, Utah Railway and many
other railroads all run within 10 miles from my home. So I
decided to run them all, after all its my layout and I can do
what I want with it.
 PLANNING
 What started out as a simple oval on a 4x8 has evolved into
something much larger as additional space was procured for my
layout. I had always wanted to have and over under layout
configuration where the trains could pass each other like they
did just west of town when I was growing so I put in a figure
eight configuration, concealing part of it with a mountain.
Then as my need changed I added a freight yard which doubles
as a staging yard for different trains to run on the layout as
well as provide storage for my growing fleet
CONSTRUCTION
 My layout is constructed out of 2x4's and wafer board, a bit
over built, but a very stable and sturdy layout nonetheless. I
built tables to support the waferboard and then layout out
with a pencil the center lines for both tracks. Then the cork
went down, and after that the track went down, I used code 100
flex track and turnouts from atlas. I also ran a bus line
under the layout and fed feeders down from every piece of
track to ensure good electrical conductivity. After that the
mountains were built and the roads and ground foam went in. I
also painted the track using black, grey and brown primer in a
spray can. I used N scale ballast which went quite well using
tips i learned from the Atlas model railroad forum.
SCENERY
A special thanks should go out to all the fine members of the
atlas model railroad forum who tutored me on scenery
construction. I learned how to make trees from scratch, build
roads, construct structure and weather them as well. With the
assistance of my kids we have made over 400 trees and my
daughter has painted a number of rose bushes for me. I have
spent many hours hand painting people to place around the
layout and thanks to the local discount store I have nearly
100 autos on my layout. I also have a number of vignettes
around the layout that you have to see to appreciate. Whether
it be the dog marking his territory or a bear scaring a hiker
or the kids stuck on a billboard because the ladder fell down.
I also have a number of WWII era planes that are performing
maneuvers above the layout. |
