How Old is Your Layout and How Much is Completed


Roger Hensley said:
. . . I only know one man who completely finished his layout and he promptly lost interest in it.
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That is one heck of a timeline, Roger! I'm sure when I finish my layout I will continue to have fun with it. Right now I have two mainlines planned, but eventually want to run three more. That will total seven continuous loops—all analog (I have five MRC 3000GS new-old-stock controllers ready and waiting, plus a dual-cab MRC 2800, and a Kato controller). I plan to run the most independent, roundy-round loops possible in my allotted space:

Phase I: Complete Unitram city center-section and Portram dual-loops (operational now): Thanksgiving 2016.
Phase II: Complete left-section and right-section track and scenery with double-mainline Kato Unitrack: Christmas 2016.
Phase III: Convert end-loops to Micro Engineering code 55 concrete-tie track: Spring 2017.
Phase III: Add second elevated double-mainline, or re-lay quadruple-track mainline (e.g., Tomix FineTrack): summer 2017.
Phase IV: Add elevated viaduct loop for Tomix electric commuter line, plus auto-reversed point-to-point Portram lines: Christmas 2017.

At the end of phase II (this Christmas!), I should have all major scenery elements built and scenicked, and the double-mainline should be 100% operational. My continuing goal is to always have at least one loop of trains running while I work on other parts of the layout. All Portram trains will be either at constant-throttle, or automatically operated. Below is my "new" dual-cab MRC 2800 controller (which I bought for only $12!) to operate my dual-track Portrams (which don't need momentum or braking), one of my seven MRC controllers:

MRC2800-1.jpg


Right now, I only have my dual-track Portrams running. But even now, I just walk into the garage to watch my Portrams run, even for just a few minutes, and get a huge kick out of running them just in their little oval. Even in this limited layout, I never seem to get tired of watching those little guys run around my little Unitram city. Later, I'll add some auto-reversing, point-to-point Portram lines as well:

unichalk-16.jpg
 
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LOL! I'M seeing very many posts of pretty much the same thing in this thread.

"I've found something to do that will take the rest of my life to "finish".

I find it comforting in a way, but I'm getting more and more disabled and I'm already "retired" so... not much else TO do that I CAN do except "putz" with a layout in slower and slower motion.
 
Started mine in 2008. Tired of it in 2015. Taking it apart. Lists being made of the stuff. Looks like Veterans day I will start removing track from Homosote modules.
 
Y3a said:
Started mine in 2008. Tired of it in 2015. Taking it apart. Lists being made of the stuff. Looks like Veterans day I will start removing track from Homosote modules.
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Somebody play "Taps"! If it was closer I'd be in a truck and on my way to salvage anything you might want to throw away! Sad to hear but I'm sure you have your reasons!
 
I started my current [second] layout about five years ago, and took most of two winters to complete .. now it's touch up, adding more trees, mostly just running it ..
 
NP2626 said:
Were I to start over on my layout that is now 28 years old, I would build with an eye towards needing to move the layout at some future point. I would build a layout that would have 2X2, 2X4, 2X6; or, 2X8 foot sections. Even though, in my case, we have lived at this location for 38 years and have no intentions; or, need of ever moving, the idea of making a layout so it can fairly easily be torn down and moved; or, simply gotten rid of, makes total sense. We all eventually get to a point where our lack of abilities precludes continuing in the hobby of model railroading and preparing for this eventuality makes perfect sense.
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I do build my layouts in a modular fashion in section sizes that you listed, starting with my grad school garage layout back around 1990. It was 16x19' but wouldn't have fit in the basement where I moved to so I sold it. My present layout is in similar sections but the way it is designed, I may not be able to use much of it in a future layout; only it will be a little easier to remove in a year or two.
 
My layout is about 3 years old. I actually have to finish alot of details. I just went through and soldered up the feeders to tracks in the staging yard. I had been running trains over 15' of track without feeders. I need to finish the backdrop. I don't have any large buildings finished. The largest building is supposed to be represented by a long loading dock. I haven't figured out the details yet. I am probably 40-50%. This is concentrated on a 5'x6' section, I hate doing scenery. Progress is slow when you are a perfectionist and little clumsy. I have a tendency to set aside half finished projects and start a new one.

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HMMmm, I suppose one could say that a "Layout" is never finished and "Models" must be.

So it comes back to what you are doing, a copy of a copy that someone copied, or a unique creation. Apples and Oranges are both delicious!
 
I started building this current version of the D&J Railroad in Jan 2012. That is, I drove the first screw to start putting up benchwork. The detailed track planning was going on in my head while I built the benchwork for the general right of way. Now, the benchwork is 98% complete, scenery is about 60%, electronics about 90% complete, buildings, structures and roads about 15% complete, back ground about 15% (blue sky) and rolling stuff about 280% complete.
The intent of this video is to show the size of the layout. It was shot in March of 2014. A lot of scenery work has been completed since then.

[video=youtube;ErgO6upj8UQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErgO6upj8UQ[/video]
 
My layout is less than a year old. Bench work is done, main lines have roadbed and sub-roadbed done, starting to lay track. No scenery done. It's an adventure, learning new things every day. I enjoy all of the different elements you have to learn that have to come together, history, train operations, modeling skills, the building process, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computers and technology, topography, and railroading in general.
 
You guys influenced me to get off my butt and get the backdrop painted. I am now somewhere between 41% and 51% done. @ D&J Railroad rolling stuff at 280% lol. The upside/down side of the new era I am modeling is the limited variety of cars. Though my rolling stock is about 90% of the cars 'needed ' to fill the staging yard.

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Track is 100% laid, ballasted and operational. Mountain/tunnel is 100% complete. Buildings are 50%. Foliage is 0%. Started work on it around 2000. Ignored it for the last 15 years raising kids as they had no interest. Now the grandkids are showing interest, so reviving it and picking up where I left off.
 
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