Can It Be Done


stationmaster

stationmaster

Crusty Old Geezer
Well, I've been a bit bored lately. Land locked in Indiana with no boat makes me grouchy, ill-tempered, bored, and otherwise socially displeasing. So, in one of my abundant times of laborious thought, I came up with an idea. Always looking for a challenge, it came to me. Just how cheaply, using quality components, can one build a layout?

Now, I have no idea how much I have in mine, it is quite detailed and very well equipped with a huge roster. I'm talkin' kinda "bare-bones". One or two freights, maybe a passenger train, and a switching operation and small yard. Something a beginner might try to do. A couple of 4x8 styrofoam sheets, L-shape........ A bit of easy scenery, a few structures.....

Now, I think I can do this for under $250. DC, transformer, maybe four engines, rolling stock, track, switches........ Watcha think?

I'll let you know this, I already go the foam board. There is a guy in the neighborhood that was going to throw away (10)sheets if 1" Dow Blue Board today, and I ended up taking it off his hands for the price of carrying it 4 houses down. That's my kind of price. FREE! Actually the sheets are what got me thinkin' on this project. Ya think it can be done?

Decent quality trains, Athearn, Roundhouse, Brancline, Bowser, ect, or better, DC, scenery... All newly acquired, not necessarily new product. Stuff may be used, bought at yard sales, eBay, eBid, train shows...... Tables and frames can be made of scrap lumber....... Can it be done? An 8x12 layout for under $250?

Bob
 
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I think you can do it.

Make sure to start a blog or something about it. I think it might inspire some new people into the hobby when they can see how cheap you can actually do something.
 
Having NEVER built a rigid table layout. I'm going to delve into the project. At least give it a "looky-see".

But, I need to set some criteria, rules. I need to ponder on this a bit.

Maybe some of you could help set the rules, eh? Then I will hash out some of the particulars.

One rule that should be included. I can't use anything, other than scrap wood and the blue board, that I currently have, such as engines, rolling stock and structures. Items that I have laying around, paint, wood, glue, and such, would be OK. This will be primer for a beginner's layout on a shoe string budget. That will be the theme.

Bob
 
I think it could be done. One can easily get scrap wood and board and other generic materials for nothing. At least some of the structures can be built from scratch (or simply not have too many!), leaving most of the budget for track and trains. The key is probably the patience to wait for the good deals to come up.
 
My little 27"x48" n scale layout is built from recycled wood from a 2 old layouts. Only wood I bought was for the facia. But If I had to Buy the wood plus every thing else I bought, I would say I got about $200 in the bench work. The track is a diffrent story:) If you go N scale, you can keep the bench work price down, cause the a simple over all layout would be smaller!;)

Look at my layout's album......Might give you some ideas:)
 
What matters is whether we're talking about a simple "train board", or a "model railroad", because there is a huge difference in costs between the two. Simply slapping down some track on a couple of foam panels and running a couple of cheap, big-box store, train sets on it can certainly be done for under $500, especially if recycled items are available to detail it from a former layout. However, anything deserving of the title of "model railroad layout", exhibiting at least a moderate degree of realism and quality, running distinctly better than toy train set equipment, immediately runs into the thousands of dollars. So you should make it honestly clear to readers here just what your precise goal is and the quality of what it will include. About a decade ago MR ran a feature article on building a 4x8 "layout" for $500. In my opinion, it looked like something a kid might have built back in the 1950's. My experience says anything beyond a simple 4x8, done up as a true model railroad, starts at $5,000 and goes rapidly upwards from there.

NYW&B
 
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I partially agree with NYW&B, but then again...there are few topics more argued than, "What is the definition of Modeling." If one uses their creativity and skills to build from "junk" and with the goal of realism, is that not modeling? The end result is irrelevant, providing the modeler has done their best and is satisfied.

FYI: Someone on here even used junked air cleaners from WalMart to replicate modern sky scrappers. With a little imagination and proper scenery, it was believable.;)
 
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My goal would be to construct a layout, as cheaply as possible, yet have a somewhat prototypical(whatever that is) operation. I would like to see multiple trains running without DCC with the understanding that it could be DCC.

This is one of the places that can drive up the cost and confusion, thereby intimidating the modeler into submission. Power districts can be intimidating. Isolating the districts, supplying adequate power....... Not easy, and in some cases, not cheap. The $250 spending cap may be a it unrealistic.

The plan is to use as much "natural" material as possible for things such as trees(use various weeds as armatures), real dirt and gravel......... The use of "recycled" lumber is also a boon and a reliably effective cost reducing item. Still, I may be a bit delusional in my hope to accomplish the project for $250.

Bob
 
stationmaster said:
My goal would be to construct a layout, as cheaply as possible, yet have a somewhat prototypical(whatever that is) operation. I would like to see multiple trains running without DCC with the understanding that it could be DCC.

This is one of the places that can drive up the cost and confusion, thereby intimidating the modeler into submission. Power districts can be intimidating. Isolating the districts, supplying adequate power....... Not easy, and in some cases, not cheap. The $250 spending cap may be a it unrealistic.

The plan is to use as much "natural" material as possible for things such as trees(use various weeds as armatures), real dirt and gravel......... The use of "recycled" lumber is also a boon and a reliably effective cost reducing item. Still, I may be a bit delusional in my hope to accomplish the project for $250.

Bob
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Ripping dimential lumber from Plywood is also a cheap way to get lower prices! But it requires u to have a table saw though. $250 is posible if you go n scale and the layout is small! My sons layout table is the same as mine..... the folding table legs cost me more then the wood and foam! Legs $30, 4'x4'x5/8"or 3/4" plywood $20(For the table top and for bench work), and 4'x8' blue foam board $12= $62.00. you'll be left with enough foam fer a mountain!
 
Chris, I have my fully equipped wood shop at my disposal.

I have lumber from a recent new home being built, trim for the fascia, now(10)sheets of 1" Dow blueboard insulation a 6-foot tall stack of used ceiling tiles, About (12)4-foot, 2-tube fluorescent lighting fixtures and (24)can lights from a friend's remodel, numerous cans of paint, .... all available. I must decide how much of this stuff the "Average Joe" would have around the house. Though I'm not a pack rat, I do have quite a bit of material floatin' around. More than most.

Bob
 
Good, Fast, Cheap, pick two. Sounds like you want good and cheap. So it will take some time to find the right deals. It can be done.

Watch the prices on any "new" items. Around here, a 4x8 2" piece of foam is $30. So two of those would be 25% of your $250 budget. If you look around construction sites, you could probably find all of the foam you need for free.

I have a local hobby shop that sells used rolling stock, engines, track, and structures. With $250 you could get quite a lot. Box cars are $3-$4, engines from $10 to $30. All DC, and they usually need some maintenance, but cleaning some wheels and adding a drop or two of oil usually does the trick.

Go for it. Keep us up to date on your progress.
Doug
 
Doug, I picked up (10) sheets of foam yesterday evening for the price of carrying them down the alley four houses. But, on the second trip, I did take down a couple of extra "Silver Bullets". Then we spent the next 40 minutes shooting the bull before taking the last few sheets to my shop. And don't worry, I have plenty of "Bullets" left at home.

I plan on visiting a few shops that deal with used stock. Not that many around my neck of the woods, that I know of. A couple of flea markets, and of course, shows starting in the next couple of months. I am figuring that the biggest expense will be the track, track bed, and switches, even used. Code 100 flex track, my preference. Atlas snap switches or better. Athearn or better cars and engines.

I have given thought to scratch building the structures, but after spending an hour looking at buildings and such on eBay, I doubt that I could build some as cheaply as I could buy them.

Still thinkin' about starting the project. It seems that it may be a bit long in terms of time and maybe money. I have to really study this and see if I want to devote this much time to something I won't use. And I must be sure I can succeed in accomplishing the end result and stay within the set budget. Sure seems daunting to me.

Bob
 
Just some thoughts:
Bob, I sure don't know if it is possible to do all you want for that price. When you talk of running multiple trains, you are now dealing with the cost of many switches and several controls in DC and only a command module/throttle with DCC. Personally and considering multiple trains, I believe you would come out better buying a starter DCC and not spend much more than DC for the power. DCC would certainly be easier and standard engine decoders are not that expensive.

Lumber: I would be careful about some lumber. Scrap lumber is fine if it were a good quality to begin with. You certainly don't want the boards to warp later on. Dirt: Hey man! I use real dirt on my layout with complete success (just clean it up by sifting and sterilizing). Trees: All my trees are made from a wild bush here in the South or from globs of pillow stuffing with a technique called puff balls.

Some chastise those of us that buy on the web, but I have saved thousands of dollars and have more layout because of it. When you figure 20-25% discount and then include some fantastic sale prices, you save a bundle compared to what you would pay in an LHS

You are right about scratch building...it can be expensive. I tried that and ended up paying more than for a kit for approximately the same structure. Do go with kits, as they are much cheaper than ready built.

Hit some train shows. Sometimes you can get a bargain or two with a little haggling. Watch for garage sales or flea markets.
 
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Here's a thought: You want to show that you can make a prototypical layout on the cheap, especially those who are new to the hobby. What if your starting point was a decent pre-packaged 'train set'? For someone new to model trains, they might have purchased such an item to realize that a train running in a circle isn't what they were looking for. With a budget of $250, what could you do to transform the set into a simple, but nice layout. That way you start with some track, a loco and a bit of rolling stock. Of course, I don't know if you can get the quality of items that you are looking for.
 
RexHea said:
Just some thoughts:
Some chastise those of us that buy on the web, but I have saved thousands of dollars and have more layout because of it. When you figure 20-25% discount and then include some fantastic sale prices, you save a bundle compared to what you would pay in an LHS

Hit some train shows. Sometimes you can get a bargain or two with a little haggling. Watch for garage sales or flea markets.
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Man Rex, you hit the nail on the head! Don't forget Estate sales, to can sometime's net you fine catches! Sounds goolish, but even model railroaders die:(:( and they leave all their trains to the widow and family who realy doesn't want them. and get rid of them for next to nothing. One of my O scale friend does that......needless to say he always has a new train or two.

But my friend Rex has me in his will to get all his trains!:D;):D:p

Bob, I would raise the bar to $400 rather than $250. It would be a tad bit easier!
 
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I agree with DJShaggy. This is how most people get into the hobby. Also you don't have to build anything to figure out how much it costs. Just price out the material and supplies and trains. If you wait for deals you may well be able to do this for $250. Especially if you have the train set already. I don't think you would get very far trying to do this with everything new. $250. won't buy you much at your local hobby store. On the other hand a few estate sales or train shows may give you nearly everything you need. Theres always someone around with a box or two of used track and switches. Or a box of old Athearn or Atlas diesels that just need a good cleaning. I think it could easily be done for that price if you search for deals.
 
Fomr my experience and what I've read, about the cheapest you can build any layout with more than just a circle of track and trains set quality equipment is about $10 a square foot. That's $320 for a 4x8. I think that's a realistic budget for a barebones layout. As has been said, all the toggle switches, wire, and a control panel really add up. A small starter DCC set like the Bachmann E-Z Command would actually save you a few bucks and lots of work.
 
i think this can easily be achieved.
as for source of material you guys completely forgot about Craig list. only yesterday i came across of add giving away 12 4x8 sheets of 1/4 plywood. sure wish i had a van available that moment. there is always unwanted lumber, leftover paint, shingles and what not. hek, i even senn 4x8 plywood with track nailed to it already once!
for my 4x7 table only things i paid money for is the uni-strut+hardware (which i could have avoided had i had more patience), tube of foam adhesive, several sheets of, "as-is" 2" foam at 5$ a piece (2 sheets were almost perfect, not sure why they marked them down) , pack of shims and plaster of paris. made a 5$ mistake of buying paint from wallmart as i later found nice pile of oops-pain in home depo at 1$ and 0.5$ a can.
i will not count screws, blades and other consumables such into the cost since most of it i have and use on regular basis anyways.

so again , IMO 250$ is easily achievable for starter layout.
120 - MRC prodigy express starter DCC set. new. (just as example)
80 - some kind of engine. no athrean genesis but i think for that price quality mark is reached (perhaps even with decoder)
50 for track.

with carefull shopping around 250$ will go even longer way.

just my 2 cents
 
Anton, those are some great suggestion. They will certainly help the bencheork costs. My experience is that, unless you want to run the Plywood Pacific, a mojority of that $10 afoor cost comes from scenery. Ballast, ground cover, roads, trees, structures, and all the little details like building and highways signs, grade crossings, etc. If you want lights, that drives the price up even more. I'll still stick to my about $320 as the cost of a barebones but sceniced layout.
 
the advice really goes beyound just benchwork.
there was a great "how i save money" thread i read on this board. ballast and ground cover, actually all these things you mentioned do not have to have money spent on.

but once things get rolling one is not going to stop at 250$. thats for sure :)
 
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