Ray’s been in touch with his DCC N Scale:
“Hi Al,
Like so many, I have enjoyed your blog very much and have used so many tips and tricks from your readers.
It has been a while since I have sent you something to share, primarily since I am in the process of reconstructing 3/4 of my layout.
When I first took up the hobby 6 years ago I started with a 4 by 8 foot piece of plywood and had a blast building a N scale layout.
About two years ago, I also upgraded to DCC N scale which was a total game changer for me. I would add on to the layout piecemeal as time went on until the layout took up my entire basement.
The problem was my benchwork was a mess, because my carpentry skill is so poor and the benchwork never totally matched up.
So I decided to take down the entire section that you will see in this video and start all over.
I made sure the bench work was consistent and covered most of it with 3/4 in foam board.
I relaid all the track and made sure everything ran smoothly before I started the scenery. I then recreated all of the scenery, taking my time, making sure I captured the look that I wanted.
Again, a great deal of the tips and techniques I used came from your blog.
I have been doing this “rebuild” for approximately 4 months and have really enjoyed the process.
Since I retired a year ago, this project has helped me stay busy.
I will keep you updated as I finish the project (if we ever really finish).
Thank you for providing such a great service to us modelers.
Best,
Ray
Massachusetts”
Now on to Don:
“Hello Mr Lee,
I will introduce myself as an old fool, when you see my plan you probably will suggest the adjectives are inadequate.
I was married in the late 1950 s and acquired a few locomotives since then but never completed a layout..
Recently I had an opportunity to purchase a portable 5 by 20 foot DCC layout.
It was built on a 5 by 12 foot trailer with storage for an 8 foot extension. The trailer had a removable frame supported tarpaulin for highway travel.
Two men could assemble and disassemble it in about 20 minutes. An old guy alone much much longer !
I am in the beginning of making it into a rigid one piece structure with castors at each end so I can move it around at will. This will give me a 5 by 16 and 5 by 20 foot storage areas that I could use for additional fair weather divisions.
I have included a snapshot of current condition
If you feel your readers would be interested I would provide followup.
Donald”
Next, Ernesto has been in touch.
There’s bit of a langauge barrier, but like others, his pics do all the talking:
“I gladly share some photos of my model
Ernesto”
A big thanks to Ernesto, Donald and Ray for sharing his DCC N scale.
Donald – yes we’d love to see more of your layout!
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day join in the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
PPS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
Donald, what a great idea. Please post more photos.
Brian – the HOn3 guy – Knysna RSA🇿🇦
Bonjour pour moi petit français. C’est juste monstrueux ce rĂ©seaux.
Je vais avoir une chambre de 3.5× 3.5 mètres pour mon réseaux, ce sera pas facile. Mais je vais y arriver. Merci pour ce partage.
Hello for me little French.
I’m going to have a 3.5 Ă— 3.5 meter room for my networks, it won’t be easy. But I will get there. Thank you for sharing.
Ray and Ernesto ..nice work both of you …Dangerous Dave
Ernesto, I really like the wooden bridges. I have a few spots on my work in progress layout that these or similar will look great. Thanks for the inspiration.
Pete
Pretty neat.!!!
I love both layouts they look fantastic a lot of time and thought went into them. Keep posting let us know how the changes go
Ray,
Very nice Boston and Maine layout! It appears you have the CITGO sign I see every time someone hits a home run over Fenway Park’s Green Monster. Is the Park itself sandwiched between some of the buildings and I just can’t see it.
Again, wonderful job!!
Tom
Suwanee, GA
Love both layouts thanks for posting. A lot of work and effort went into them.
Ernesto…
Very well done… The scenery is excellent.
Nice looking layout, Ernesto. You have some great looking and quite realistic scenery here. Great details as well.
Jim AZ
Some really nice detail work. Enjoy!
I would like to know how you did your water falls. I am going to have at lest one on my lay out. Started several years ago, but had health problems the last year and a half. Am going to try to finish it this year. Well enough to move it from the shop to the basement. Thanks
I’m sure we all appreciate the details and the work that has gone into this delightful layout. I love my O scale but there is no way to reach this level of detail without devoting more space than is possible here. Thanks for sharing!
I’m new to the modeling world. I’m starting out with Z scale. All I can say about your layout is “WOW”.
Ray and Ernesto what great scenery on your layouts. I am in awe of the stream/river done by Ernesto. It reminds me over so many of the trout streams back in Pennsylvania. Made me think of my great-uncle Chet who spent hours putting in a small dam across the stream behind his garage. I dropped my line in the pool it created many, many times. Thanks for the memories it awakened.
Ray…..great looking layout. I love those long runs.
Ernesto…..great pics
I would like to see more of Ernesto’s work. Fantastic scenery.
Ray,
I love the look of the ponds you have on the layout, what did you use to make them? Very realistic.
Thank you,
Bob in NH
When you raise part of your layout with stryafoam, dow do you attach the roadbead and tyack. If you glue it down, what type of glue do you use and is it removable if you want to rearrainge the layout. Thanks.
This is how I envision a ‘realistic’ layout should look like. buildings not shoved together ‘cheek-to-jowl’, countryside spread out to allow topographical modeling to be viewed and enjoyed for itself. Countryside vistas that aren’t cluttered with buildings. He has built this layout with an eye for more realism. Building structures is fun and all but to jam them on a layout detracts from the trains since they seem to be threading through a forest of houses. Well done!
Love Both Rail roads . Ray has such long straight runs love seeing that.
The second one’s landscaping is fan-tastic
Great Job Fellas.
The Critic
again hi al, hopefully one of these days, I’ll be able to send in some of pics of my mountain layout, but to date my layout is a state of disarray and I want it to be more presentable before showing it off . I’ve greatly appreciated all of the pics and tips, that others have sent in to date, all of them have been a great help and inspiration in building my layout.. thanks again. val in Utah….
Lots to like here, especially water and waterfalls. And small scenes which really make a layout unique. Well done!
Looks pretty kool.
Great looking layouts guys, well done.
Ernesto has captured the essence of what a model railroad should look like. Reminds me of those scenes on Gorre & Daphited (sp). The wood built ramps and truss bridges… have never seen better. Weathering, water and other is way realistic.
Regards, R
Loving, as always, the small scenes. They make a big difference.
the two lakes are very nicely done & the passenger train is awesome the city is too
How did you make the fruit tree with the ladder
So realistic ? Thank you
very nice work.
Agree with Rich B. Couldn’t say it better myself.