What am i getting into.


Warner rails

Active Member
Hello, new to the forum and thought I would share my journey. My 6yr old son has been heavily into trains and I have always wanted to do an N scale layout. Just recently he discovered that my father has a small HO layout and now that's all he talks about. The other day I caught him ripping plants out of my garden and running into the house. I followed the dirt trail only to discover that he has covered nearly half of his bed with plants and was running his thomas tracks around them. That's when it clicked.
Now I've been around this hobby as far back as I can remember. Growing up my father had his entire basement packed with a massive HO layout that dwindled in time and with my parents separated so did the time spent with him. I know the basics to this hobby but that is 35+ yr old knowledge. So much has changed. I've kept up a little throughout the years for wanting to do a layout in my own basement when the wife finally gives in.

The click that I mentioned is that special loophole that fathers get with their children. And that is to build him an N scale layout for Christmas.. wife can't say no to that.. this will be HIS layout so I gotta take that into consideration. I'll have my own someday.

To start, the dimensions are 8ftx2ft L configuration. One single main loop with a side spur that goes into two different directions nothing fancy. The track is atlas code 80 flex and I haven't determined the turnouts yet. Tonight I started the project by cutting the foam and transferring the plans to it. I decided to simplify it by not adding any track elevation. The turn radius is 10.5in. The plan is to have it 75% completed and running for placement in his room Christmas eve. He can help and decide the rest of the layout. That's all for tonight, I'll be posting my progress and if there is something I'm missing please let me know.

Chad.
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Looks like a good start. I have just one word of caution; Is N scale to small for a six year old? I built an HO for my 8yo grandson using the Tyco trains my son in law had as a child. He became frustrated trying to replace the cars back on the track after bumping or knocking into the standard 4x8 size layout. We are now working on a Lionel 0-27 set up for him.
 
Looks like a good start. I have just one word of caution; Is N scale to small for a six year old? I built an HO for my 8yo grandson using the Tyco trains my son in law had as a child. He became frustrated trying to replace the cars back on the track after bumping or knocking into the standard 4x8 size layout. We are now working on a Lionel 0-27 set up for him.
I've thought about that myself. My father has a small scenery business and he has multiple gauges setup in his shop. My son constantly asks when can he run "mini trains" but it's just for reference. He is very focused and delicate with them and is able to put them on the rails. Then again, he understands and respects the fact that they are not his. So God only knows what frustrations will arise when he has his own personal layout. Lol.
 
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Worked on the second tunnel tonight. I decided to incorporate a limestone quarry into the side of the mountain. I live in Central PA about 30 mins from the horseshoe curve and this area is plastered with them so I think I'll go with a Central pa theme. My track bed should be here in the morning and I'll lay that before I cutout the river. That's all for tonight.
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Well... hands down to the artist that create these stunning layouts. It's a lot harder than I thought. Trying to do a rock vein on this hill and trying to work with this stuff is nuts.
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