Rich has been back in touch with an update on his large N scale layout.
It’s 24x10x18 – so quite big:
“Hi Al.
I have been able to put in quite a bit of time this past 2 weeks, adding overpasses, walkways between station tracks, adding road systems, a scenic divider between Denver and Salt Lake City, more vehicles, added backdrop buildings and a tad bit(that is a little more than a tid bit but not as much as a scosh bit) more of color.
I have been buying figures as decent deals come up but I won’t add them until bigger jobs get done so I don’t damage things with my clumsyness.
The roads I did by painting on the layout base. The fun for me is to figure out how and where to build all the infrastructure to make sense of it all. I will improve these as I move forward.
I am trying to do as much as I can before I am faced with possibly more serious back surgery which may slow things down a bit(probably more than a scosh bit).
In the meantime I am very pleased to report that trains are running well and smoothly over all of the layout track, so I can just sit back at various places to train watch and be surprised by the various train meets that occur.
I repurpose a lot of pieces of “stuff” as much as I can. This time I have some overview pictures of the whole layout, I cannot get it all in one picture. Also including some pictures of each town as I have done some work in each area this past 2 weeks.
I sure do enjoy seeing all the input from the model railroad family.on Al’s site and appreciate all of Al’s work to keep this site up.
I cannot get the layout all in one shot, that’s the difficulty with a large N scale layout.
Reminding all that the two long walls are each 24 feet long, the Chicago wall is 10.5 feet long. The aisle is 18 feet long.
Thanks ever so much Al for allowing me to be connected with all the fellow railroaders on your site. I hope there are some things of interest for everyone.
Sincerely Dick (little r) Chapple Sr Hardin Mt USA
Be well and safe Al”
A huge thank you to Dick for sharing his large N scale update – can’t wait for the next one.
If you want to get up to speed, Dick’s last post is here.
And don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here if you want to grab the bull by the horns and start your own layout.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here. Still updated everyday.
Excellent I see it’s kato which I use.i like the way you have tgectram system built over the station platforms,awesome a track plan would be useful as well as the size,well done for all the time and effort it must have taken.alan over the pond in england
Saw many LGB boxes under the table. Do you run G-Scale as well?
Dick. The layout is coming along really well. The areas that have been detailed look very good. If I were to comment it would be the hill or rock outcrop. It just looks as an afterthought. It sticks out and does not appear to blend in at all with the rest of the layout. It’s Rick sizes are way out of scale and I’d like to see any bus take on that hill. Keep up the good work and please keep reporting
It’s an immense undertaking. Do like the mountain, had to look at it a few minutes to understand the idea behind it all. Great idea using upside-down cork roadbed strips between redi-ballast trackage. Clean fascia around perimeter vs following landscape is noted. Guess your name has to be Rich for out of box thinking. Also nice work with armored cable run on wall- very neat.
Just Another Rich😊
I am SO envious of the enormous space you have. That long straight quadruple-track mainline is magnificent, and there’s just something about that simple, basic urban passenger station that seems to do the trick for me. I’ve saved many pics of the station area, and hope to model something similar … it seems to subtly suggest that there is a big city on the unseen side of the structure. I too share the same weakness for long N scale passenger trains, and I’m finding many hints and suggestions in Dick’s posts … please do keep them coming!
You completed a lot in a short amount of time. Love the layout. Looks like great fun to operate 😃
That Kool layout
Howdy Al: I was just thinking that you have a lot to do with this site. Do you have help? and are you training some one to take over at times? I’m not volenteering. But do shore do appreciate all that you do. Big thanks!!!
Thank you friends for the kind comments and thoughts.
Alan, if you can look back at my prior posts you will find my detailed layout plan with physical size included.
Hi Ted:
Yes I have mountains of G scale trains. Got bit by the G scale bug in the Ninties really bad. Our basement has a G scale layout. It really is getting more difficult to handle my big stuff. Which is partly why I started an N scale layout. I have a riding scale train in our backyard, it is too risky to build a G scale outside in our area for fear of theft.
Colin:
The mountain actually was the first thought, rather than an afterthought. Right now yes it pretty much looks like wedding cake mountain after an earthquake hahaha. The mountain needs a lot of detail attention yet, in due time. Vertical scenery is an excellent tool in N scale, tons of real life examples of mountains like this exist. In fact much of this area is from looking at a few pictures I have of the Rockies. The road up the mountain is another story. This was a fun part to figure a way up to the top. My only Grandson Hector and I worked on this. It definitely is for 4 wheel drive units. I have a bus set aside that will be for this purpose. The original bus driver that got up to where he is refused to bring it back down, he took off, so we hired a scruffy old redneck used to doing hill climbs on motorcycles to do this route. He has no fear. Of course the kids are wide eyed…hahahaa.
Rich B. I used HO scale cork roadbed as it exactly matches Kato Unitrack.
The fascia I am using to protect the trains from hitting the floor. I have not yet decided whether to leave as is to use for track schematics in some areas, or to paint for blending into the scenery. I’ve done both ways on prior layouts but right now I really like this clean look. My aisles are a bit narrow for any outcroppings from the flat fascia. The white plastic bars you see connected to the fascia is for mounting micro switches for the turnouts. I am finding however, that most of the switches I really enjoy operating manually.
Again thanks everyone for your input to keep me going, it is as always a work in progress. The key is to enjoy. I can’t tell you how nice it is to come out here and be able to set some trains running and not have derailments and problems in N scale. I can run these long trains forwards and backwards through all of the trackwork without a problem. I see lots of location opportunities for miniature train watching and picture taking at eye level developing. Seeing all the wonderful things others are doing keeps me fired up.
I would love to see the entire layout plan. My RR Club has enough space to utilize many of your excellent ideas.
Thank you Joseph.
I made this plan so that it would allow four men stationed at each city, and extras could do switching moves at industries. I think it would do well, especially if the club had extra width for generous aisles etc. One thing I’d like to do somehow is add a way to turn a train at Oakland.
I have posted the entire layout plan on here in prior posts.
See if you can go back through and find it.
If not please holler again as I will ask Al if he will republish it.
Thank you Joseph.
I made this plan so that it would allow four men stationed at each city, and extras could do switching moves at industries. I think it would do well, especially if the club had extra width for generous aisles etc. One thing I’d like to do somehow is add a way to turn a train at Oakland.
I have posted the entire layout plan on here in prior posts.
Notice that Al include a link to my last entry, click on that one, and then you will again see a link to click on the past entry, do that and you will see the layout diagram and measurements.
If not please holler again as I will ask Al if he will republish it.