Joe has been in touch with his HO scale layout DCC:
“This is my newest HO DCC layout. It measures 12x10x11 FT. I use a lot of balsa wood in my buildings and scenery, running 2 tracks all around with sidings.
It’s built on plywood covered with 2 inch insulation boards.
Note the 7-11 store appears to be looking inside but it’s just a pic with lights behind, all my buildings use this.
All my curves are 18 and 22 radius with lots of flex track. The roadways have 1/2 inch balsa sidewalks and roadway is wallboard joint compound in a convex shape. The trees are bush cuttings with pillow fiber sprayed with glue and fine turf grass sprinkled on.
When I bought my first DCC HO set i traded out the snap tracks since I think it looks like a toy set. I use atlas track with a bead of Elmers glue then sprinkle on fine ballast, patted down then brushed when dry.
I stride to make everything look like real life.
I’ve seen many modelers have lots of buildings but no place for cars to park. Each of my buildings has a parking lot with lines which are strips of cut printer paper.
I run two BNSF/SantaFe freights and Two Amtraks.All my trains are Bachmann.
A couple of facts i left out. There are over 200 cars and over a dozen trucks and over 200 people throughout the layout.
Here is a video and some pix. Sorry about the shaking I’m 77yrs old and using my cell phone to record it.
Joe”
A huge big thank you to Joe for sharing his HO scale layout DCC. His video had me smiling from ear to ear.
What I liked about it best, as you can see how much fun he’s having: his layout, his rules. I loved it.
It reminded me of Jim’s: DCC layout.
And Tom’s: DCC track layout.
That’s all for today 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 Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
PPS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
What may I ask is a Wawa?
Joe, that is an amazing layout , superb detail throughout . Most impressive that you created so much of the scenery yourself , great idea on the parking lot stripes , everything looks real , scaled and very detailed to reflect reality . Nicely done , very nicely done .
Thank you Al for sharing my new layout. I enjoy all your posts everyday.
Just the best coffee and convenience stores around most of the northeastern US and parts of the south east , You can also buy gas and/ recharge your car at all the bigger new WaWas they originated back in the late 1960s from WaWa farms in PA.
Wawa is a US chain of convenience stores
Hi Joe – this is an amazing layout with so much attention to detail and great street and garden scenes that really brings the town to life! Many thanks for sharing your great work.
Joe
I am crazy jealous of the space you have but you used it marvelously. Love the building interiors with pics-very clever.
You’ve nailed rural America with your planning and it looks right.
I have also asked many times on this blog how to get streets & sidewalks right -something I could not achieve to my liking but I like what you did and I’m going to try it.
Big Al
Muchos Gracias Amigo.
Robert- WaWa is a chain of gas stations in some parts of the USA
In my opinion, this is one of the best layouts to be featured on Al’s blog. A lot going on. Kids in a swimming pool, people hanging clothes, fire engines on a call, men working at a power substation, men adding an addition to a building. Great layout Joe!
Answering Robert, WaWa is a convenience store that had it’s beginning in the small town of WaWa, Pennsylvania. It was then selling all things Philadelphia such as soft pretzels (a Philadelphia staple), hoagie submarine sandwiches using rolls from the largest Italian bakery in Philadelphia, Tasty-Kake snacks (originating in Philadelphia), etc. It has since grown into a mammoth chain having stores in about 7 states, 460 cities, and approximately 37,000 employees.
What a wonderful layout. I really enjoyed all the little scenes: the backyard pool party while the neighbors are getting an addition built onto their home, the ducks around the pond at the park (water looks great), and the tanker truck refilling the fuel at the gas station…all so wonderfully done. Everything is laid out so well it makes me wonder if you were a city planner back in the day. Great job with all of it!
I am guessing it’s a gas and convenance store similar to a Casy’s or Loaf & Jug you might find in the Midwest on the USA.
WaWa’s have great soft pretzels !!
It looks very nice. But not very much detail about the actual model railroad. But it has very good detail with everything else
Impressive layout and I’m truly envious of all that space. You’ve modeled many interesting and unique scenes and with great details. The lighting effects and visual elements inside and outside are amazing. Great job.
Jim AZ
Fabulous detail!! I love the White Castle and the Wawa convenience store–my faves!! Great job.
Oh my, what an amazing layout! One suggestion- lightly weather it, even the people.
i see 7-11, and cvs, wheres the walgreens? nice layout.
Good job there, Joe! Looking at your photo of the night time scene, the streetlights look a bit bright to me, if you have a look at the photo, you may see what I mean there. If they were toned down just a touch, I think the night scene would look better. If it is easy for you to do so that means it should be easy to re-instate them again. It’s just my thoughts there! Well done!!
Thank you for sharing your work. Amazing scenes. Especially like the “area for parking cars at busineses.
General comment: While I have noticed some amazing layouts; the one thing that has caught my attention is the ties for the track. They are all (at least the ones I have seen) pure black. Don’t know about mainline RRs, but almost all the tracks I have seen are much duller, scuffed up, and grey or even some light colors in the cross ties. Not a criticism of this layout, but a note for track manufacturers.
To DON R From Florida. Thank you for an Indepth history lesson about Wawa. I’m in south Florida and i get gas from there every week.
RB
The people in the last few layout (posts) seem to have a lot clearer detail than I’ve seen before. Are they hand painted? The poses are unique in some. Are they posable with a little heat? Where do you find them?
excellent