New house, new railroad


Dan Lawler

Member
Hi all,
After years away from model railroading and then a brief foray into a small N scale layout that never got finished, I then spent more years away. I have recently bought and moved into a new-to-me old house with a big closed-in porch. I took one look at that room and knew what I was going to do with it. I'm going to build a good sized HO layout! My freelance railroad, the Arizona Northland & Pacific, aka "Northland," is set in 1955. I dug out of storage a box of HO locomotives (so far all steam) and about fifty freight cars and one train worth of heavyweight passenger cars. I don't yet have even the first benchwork set up, nor even the layout planned, but there is a quietly bubbling sense of excitement about this new project. I'm in north central Arizona.
~Dan
 
Got some work done, but now bogged down in track plans.
Don't let it bog you down. You are using a 4x8 right. Just set up a sheet and try different things. That can be the most fun part, not a bog.

I discovered some of the best track plans for me just by piecing them together on a "blank" sheet of plywood. Set up a plan temporarily, run it for a while, discover the good and bad of it. Make notes. Try another plan. Eventually a pattern of what you like and what works for you will emerge. THEN you can begin hunting for a permanent arrangement.
 
Don't let it bog you down. You are using a 4x8 right. Just set up a sheet and try different things. That can be the most fun part, not a bog.

I discovered some of the best track plans for me just by piecing them together on a "blank" sheet of plywood. Set up a plan temporarily, run it for a while, discover the good and bad of it. Make notes. Try another plan. Eventually a pattern of what you like and what works for you will emerge. THEN you can begin hunting for a permanent arrangement.
I agree. My currently layout doesn't have any scenery because I keep re-arranging the track plan. I finally like most of what I have but am still working out a few areas. It has been valuable for me to run an existing plan for a while to see if I get bored with it or if it will satisfy my operational needs. My layout is 5'x9' with an planned expansion to add staging and some industries. I plan on eventually writing something up on it but haven't gotten to that yet. The layout name will be "Vine and Branches".
 
Hi all,
After years away from model railroading and then a brief foray into a small N scale layout that never got finished, I then spent more years away. I have recently bought and moved into a new-to-me old house with a big closed-in porch. I took one look at that room and knew what I was going to do with it. I'm going to build a good sized HO layout! My freelance railroad, the Arizona Northland & Pacific, aka "Northland," is set in 1955. I dug out of storage a box of HO locomotives (so far all steam) and about fifty freight cars and one train worth of heavyweight passenger cars. I don't yet have even the first benchwork set up, nor even the layout planned, but there is a quietly bubbling sense of excitement about this new project. I'm in north central Arizona.
~Dan
Welcome aboard. How close are you to Cottonwood, Arizona. There is a fabulous layout up in that town and it is available to be seen and operated on.
tomO
 
It is such an infinitesimal beginning... but it's the beginning. It's just an old particle board shelf bracketed to the wall with a few pieces of track laid loosely on it, but it's a place to get rolling stock out of the cardboard boxes and out where I can see them. They got packed in urgent desperation a couple of years ago, and were put away in some cases damaged and all of them dusty. Now they can be individually assessed, cleaned, repaired, and displayed on a shelf while the rest of the benchwork is still being planned. The old adage that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, this ratty old shelf is the first step in the rebirth of the Arizona Northland & Pacific railroad. :)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3363[1].jpg
    IMG_3363[1].jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 90
Welcome aboard. How close are you to Cottonwood, Arizona. There is a fabulous layout up in that town and it is available to be seen and operated on.
tomO
Tom, Cottonwood is "over the mountain" from me, about an hour's drive. Do you have any contact information? I would like to go see it and pick a few people's brains.
 
It is such an infinitesimal beginning... but it's the beginning. It's just an old particle board shelf bracketed to the wall with a few pieces of track laid loosely on it, but it's a place to get rolling stock out of the cardboard boxes and out where I can see them. They got packed in urgent desperation a couple of years ago, and were put away in some cases damaged and all of them dusty. Now they can be individually assessed, cleaned, repaired, and displayed on a shelf while the rest of the benchwork is still being planned. The old adage that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, this ratty old shelf is the first step in the rebirth of the Arizona Northland & Pacific railroad. :)
One small step for Dan, one giant leap for AN&P 👍
 



Back
Top