Dave’s been in touch with his CSX N scale layout:
“Al
I am a long-time reader. I am in awe of the talent of your contributors.
My layout is 8 X 14 in N scale.
Modern era with CSX, Norfolk and Southern and Amtrak since those are the local railroads (Cleveland area).
The layout is DCC using JMRI to run everything. I use Arduinos extensively to operate the servo turnouts and the crossing signals.
Definitely a work in progress.
Overview: Please excuse the mess on the floor. I have a new young rescue dog whose job is shredding cardboard and disemboweling his toys.
Suburb
Rural
Mountain: All the bridges except the road bridge in the foreground are home made. I found that store bought bridges constrained the spans too much.
Horse Farm and TBD:
City
Industrial Work In Progress:
I have not ballasted the track because a previous mistake filled layout resulted in too much trouble related to stray ballast causing derailments. So I painted the cork gray and called it a day.
There are gaps everywhere that need to be filled in as soon as modelers block is resolved.
I really enjoy the emails you send.
Dave in Strongsville Ohio”
A big thanks to Dave for sharing his CSX N scale layout. Can’t wait to see an update on this one.
I do enjoy seeing the printable buildings on a layout too.
I always think of Bill’s layout when it comes to N scale printable buildings:
Next up is Jay, who sent this in which I quite liked:
“My best model railroading tip, I’d have to say it’s not a technique nor a construction idea. It’s more subtle than that.
My tip is to appreciate the PURE ENJOYMENT OF MODEL RAILROADING no matter the scale. Whether it’s G gauge, O, HO, N, Z or any I’ve missed, model railroading gives those engaged in it the pleasure and satisfaction of planning, creating, constructing and running a railroad that is our own unique self-expression.
Whether we model the serenity of the British country side, the soot and grit of Pennsylvania coal mines and steel mills, or the rugged grandeur of mountain railroads in our Western States – our imaginations can recreate almost any place in the world where we find railroads.
So let your imaginations take you to your favorite place and enjoy creating the model railroad of your dreams. Sure there are challenges but solving them is part of the hobby. So appreciate the fact that Model Railroading gives us a gift – PURE ENJOYMENT.
Jay”
Lastly, more from ‘Bonkers John’ – another ‘how to’ video.
He’s been tinkering with one of the printable buildings, the stone embankment, and I have to say, I was amazed with what he came up with.
Believe it or not, it’s all made from just one print (printed out lots of times…)
It really does show how this embankment is only limited by your imagination.
You can make an embankment as long or as short as you like.
Here are the pics of his ‘creation’:
So how did he do it? Well, John was kind enough to record this ‘how to’ video:
I really can’t thank John enough.
(The embankment print is HO scale at 100% – as they all are. Print out at 54% for N scale).
You can see more of the print out scenery here in the store.
That’s all for this time folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the Silly Discount bundle.
Nice work you have achieved Dave with your N scale
Looks great
Dave that looks great , very impressive bridges you’ve made , they add quite a bit of character to your layout .
A lot has been done there and it all looks nice , as you mentioned , there’s always more to do , seems like they are never finished . Keep posting your progress and thanks for sharing your work .
I really like what Dave did with his layout. It is not too busy and has breathing room. The central roadway is a feature of interest. It has a good track plan too. Well done.
Jeff, I could not agree more.
Rob
Very nice!!!
I really like that your layout is realistic as to the amount of track, I just don’t have that amount of room. We’ll done.
FANTASTIC, just the right amount of detail…perfect
Dave, what a wonderful layout! The scenery is well done and so thoughtfully designed. And I love your roads. So often, roads are like an afterthought and don’t seem to go anywhere. But your roads add interest and really make the layout so much more fun for the eyes. Lots of wonderful details executed beautifully! I love it!
And Jay, you’re tip is absolutely right. It’s all about the enjoyment of model railroading! Large or small, whatever the scale, and whatever the setting is, it’s all about what the modeler wants to do and see. Great reminder!
very nice
That looks marvelous! I’d love to see a track plan. I’m trying to figure out how the trains make their way around and I’m getting stumped. That’s a good thing though. It just shows you how much more you can fit into an “N” scale layout. Great job!
very nice. good work. like the bridge.
What a hugh fantastic layout with terrific scenery detail.
Nice job Dave. Luv your comment about your dog eating your scraps and disemboweling them. I haven’t had that problem with my train scene scraps but I was missing a booty sock once. I will let you figure out what happened to it, dog is okay but the sock went in the trash 🤣
Your layout is very interesting and well thought out. I’m especially impressed with the farm scene and am very interested where you got the formable fence for the horse corrals. I’m building HO and hope your source has that gauge. Send more photos as you progress. Gerat job.
More scenery than track work, but that’s okay!
Dave, what a nice surprise to see such a large N-scale layout so well-planned and executed. I also appreciate the roads that make sense and actually enhance the layout. The only thing missing is life: it would benefit a lot from figures to create interesting scenes and cars and trucks to populate all those beautiful roads. I know that can get expensive when good painted figures go for $1 to $2 each and scale cars can be $10 to $20 apiece, but they add a lot of interest to an otherwise stark layout. Anyway, that’s just my opinion. It’s your layout and you can do whatever you like best.
It looks very nice.
A very nice start on your layouts with some very impressive structures to boot.
Making a very well laid plan working for you.