Bee’s added to the small shelf layouts on the blog. Some folk may know it as the the Gump Stump and Snowshoe layout.
“Al,
I started small for two reasons.
Firstly, my wife and I do live in a large house but after 51 years of marriage there isn’t a lot of uncovered space. I also had small amount of trackage and six engines from 40 years ago that was only enough to build a small setup. Three of the six engines worked so I was in pretty good shape. Unfortunately none of the old switches were recoverable.
Secondly, I had never done scenery of any kind. I was really intent on doing something neat but was not sure how well it would go. Your site was very helpful in this regard. Lots of pointers on what to do and a bit of how to do it. I was a late comer to the print out houses and such, but I did make two of the engine sheds just to see if I could do it. Although they came out great I did not find a place to use them. I am confident they or better versions will be in the next layout.
The entire layout was based on an old article I read in Model Railroader’s TRACK PLANNING IDEAS (1981). This layout was called the Gump Stump and Snowshoe. I call mine the BJandCK. This is based on the initials of myself, my wife, and my two sons.
I can’t really tell you how much actual time it took to build. It was done in spurts and sputters over approximately 6 months. My guess is I could do the entire thing today in a few days.
Not sure what scenery will come out of my head, but I will cross that trestle when I get there.
Thanks for taking the time to publish any of this. Keep up the good work on the site. I look forward to your emails
every morning.
Bee”
Small shelf layouts:
(images are clickable by the way)
“Hi Al,
I was able to get one of the Mobius cameras and it is impressive. It is quite small and reasonable for the budget minded. It is also small. I was able to mount it on a small flat wagon with some double sided tape. Then I took it for a spin around my layout. This time I went what to me is clockwise. Perhaps in a week or so, I will make a video other way around. I certainly found it entertaining. Perhaps your reader will also find it interesting.
Rob”
Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
A huge thanks to Bee for adding to the small shelf layouts, and to Rob too. I loved Bee’s narrative – just goes to show the thorny issue of space is always something that gets in the way of having a go.
And I can’t wait to see his engine sheds!
Rob’s also no stranger to the site – have a look at some of his other posts. Stunning stuff.
That’s all this time folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And don’t don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide – it’s the easiest way to side step the pitfalls and traps we all fall in to.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
PPS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
