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This is the model railroad page
In June 1997 I decided to build a new model railroad layout. I wanted it to be something special. I wanted it to last. But most of all I wanted it to be small. N-scale was the natural choice. But where to begin?
I decided on a 3x6' layout. This would take the form of a table. After some careful thought I came up with the idea to actually build the layout inside the table frame and give it a glass top. Now this is where it got tricky. I wanted the table to function as a table when it wasn't a railroad so this imposed certain restraints on dimensions, i.e. height and depth. If it were too tall it would be uncomfortable to sit at. It could not be too deep or you would not be able to sit with your legs under the table. After some experiments I finally arrived at the best balance of dimensions. I would have to build the whole thing in less than 4 1/2 inches of vertical space. This may not sound to bad if you are going to build a flat layout. But this one was to have hills, bridges, structures, and even a tunnel. Quite a challenge.
First, if all of this was to fit inside the table frame, the frame itself could not be too bulky. Another challenge? The only way I could pull this off was to use hardwoods, carefully assembled. The only lumber I could afford at the time was oak. Maple would have been better. But the oak would do nicely for half the price. Now don't get the idea that oak is cheap. The wood for this project cost me $150. All the joints would have to be glued and fastened with screws. 1x 6" lumber would form the sides and ends of the frame. 2x 2" lumber would be used for the legs. 1/4" aspen plywood would be used for the bottom where the layout would be built. This would be supported by 1x 2" framing laid flat to save space. (I'm working on a diagram of the frame it will be added to this site as soon as it's completed.)
Now this layout may not sound very big, but believe it or not it now has over 48' of track, 11 switches, 200' of wire, 10 buildings, 2 bridges and a tunnel. Not to mention quite few trees. OK, I mentioned them. Anyway, if think you can't fit a lot of railroad in a small space, think again. This operation has dual controls and is divided into 14 blocks. 2 trains can be run with ease and we've had 4 running at once. The track plan is twice around with an irregular figure 8 cutoff that doubles as a reversing loop. There are 3 dead end spurs, for parking and switching cars, and 2 passing sidings.
These are some of the American Model Builders structures I have on my layout.
Interlocking Tower
Miner's Cabin
Country Barn
Depot
Dill's Market
Engine House
The AMB laser kits that these structures are made from are made of wood and in N-scale actually look scratch built. The detail in these models is excellent. It took me about 6-10 hours to complete one kit.
For rolling stock I selected Micro Trains actually there is none better. If you get frustrated with your trains not running smoothly or have a lot of derailments you should switch to Micro Trains trucks on all your cars they are 100% better than any other brand.
(more to come)
