Clark’s been in touch with his N scale city layout:
“Hey Al!
As everyone else has mentioned, thx for all the continued stream of layouts, literally from around the world! I have greatly enjoyed them, and thought it was about time for an update on my own efforts.
I sent in my first post to you a little over a year ago, and thought it was about time to let everyone see where I’m at.
I designed in N scale a simple, constant running, 3′ x 5′ layout to learn all I could about the hobby. I’ve been an avid fan of this hobby for as far back as I can remember. But I retired at the end of 2019 so decided to build my own.
I always had it in my mind that if I were to build a small layout like this, I’d just make it all city, since there was nowhere to run to & from.
I’d have a freight train and a passenger train that could run simultaneously. I also wanted a trolley in the setup, as I remember seeing one as a kid at our local museum layout at a very young age.
I’ve reached sort of a landmark, in that I’ve finished all of the structures, lit them, and added street lights as well.
I plan on making a video of “night time” running that I’ll send under separate cover.
LOT’S more to complete . . .
Clark”
A huge big thanks to Clark for sharing his N scale city layout update.
If you want to see his last post to see how much he’s done, it’s right here.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming, it’s jolly quiet this end.
And if today is the day you stop dreaming and start doing, 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.
Very realistic, except that all the lights on in nearly every building in a city just wouldn’t be happening. I know that factories that run at night, which are mostly one huge room, would all be lit, but most of the non-factories at night would have many of the windows darkened…unless this was from 5-10pm. But even then thrifty people wouldn’t have all the lights on in every room. Maybe go through each building and see if blocking off some of the windows would make the layout truer to life.
Clark, I think that you have done exceptionally well for ‘n’ scale.
I love the lighted buildings and some of them showing an interior.
Well done.
Brian – the HOn3 guy in Knysna RSA 🇿🇦
Nice layout like the way you did the buildings, like the ballast job also. Great Job!
Looks good.
Whoever makes street lamps doesn’t seem to understand scale 🙁 I use N scale lights on my HO trolley platform. I’m not sure what you could have done differently
Nice workmanship But to small for me. I hope mine comes out that good.
I like the lighthouse, clever the way you put the coastline there. Very good and interesting layout.
Thanks again Al for the site.
Clark- Nice work- and a great concept! Keep the updates coming!
Nice. I like the city concept and the detailing is really good. I can appreciate a modeler who would sacrifice garage space as that is where my layout is. Thanks for sharing.
Jim AZ
Really nostalgic, you don’t see gas stations like that anymore !
Beautiful layout. Great detail. The layout needs people, however, to avoid looking like a ghost town.
Some of the best weathering I’ve seen on the buildings.
Great layout! I think you did a fantastic job with limited space. No doubt it can hold someone’s interest for hours. I would love a few tips on how you laid your trolley track. what did you use under the cobblestone sheets to keep the street and track level? Well done.
Very interesting. I was wondering if you plan to add more vehicles and people.
You really got a lot within such a small space.
Frank in Florida
All looks great Clark
To Joseph Mamourian:
I used standard Kato track, straight & 6″ radius curves. So what I did was “build up” the city blocks around it, with typical presentation foam board (I used two layers, but it has to be exactly 1/4″). Then I used DAS air dry clay (could have used plaster I think) and a cobblestone impresser I found online to form the streets.
Clark,
Beautiful layout in any size space and wonderfully done in a small space. Can post a clear track plan?
Wonderful modelling.
Brian
Wokingham, UK
Hi Clark. All looks great. Very difficult to get good quality finish and fine details in N gauge. In reality the degree of difficulty goes up in proportion to the reduction in scale. Please continue to post and keep us all up to date
This is ultimate for the size. Not a RR with city and ocean scenics but the building of a decaying city/world with a train sneaking through. Never gave a thought to go in reverse. Is this Elizabeth, NJ? See an awful lot of things that are Deja Vu (sp?) and Broad St….
Could see much more on this anytime at all. Very easy on the eyes and well thought out.
Regards, R
Nice detail on the rocks, bridges, buildings, and ledges, but trying to cram a 3 tier layout in such a small space is not very realistic. It’s not meant to be as realistic as it is to be fun I guess. At least you mentioned the overall size of the layout, which I appreciate.
Pardon me….4 tier.
Hey Clark, you did a great job putting this together. Please disregard the peoples comments who criticize and say your layout is not realistic. If it were theirs and in their garage then they spout off all day long about it. I love the adage “my layout, my rules”. I agree with the person asking about people. It doesn’t take many people to create scenes within your city or around your layout. I don’t know if this is too late or not, but the first thing I do when I’m adding a building is to black out a couple windows with black tape. Not so much with large factories but with smaller retail shops or offices. But it’s your choice. You’ve done a great job!
Structures and water features are impressive and proof, again, of just what you can do with whatever space you have available.
It’s all about imagination and creativity.
I agree about Mr. Holbrook’s comment when he says that realism does not necessarily play an important part of a layout. Of course, the main objective is to build something, no matter how big, tall, or small, that one can have fun with. It’s Clark’s layout, detailed as it may be, and that’s all that matters. So enjoy Clark and may you always have fun with what you have created. I was not meaning to be critical, but just expressing my opinion. N scale is not my my cup of tea, but everyone has their own particular idea of what works for them. It’s not how big or detailed something is, it’s the fun that one derives from what he has created.
What an amazing layout!
Wish I could switch to “N” gauge, but I don’t have the money or the tedious skills for that small a scale!
A very nice layout you have with a lot of scenery, great job !!!!
li like it.nice terrain.
Looks good man!
The buildings are fantastic- by the way, you can buy cheap voltage converters, to lower some of the light output.
It’s a nice looking layout Clark! About the lights in the buildings, it looks like you have single globe in the middle of each building and as such the light goes through all the windows at once. If you look at houses, shops, etc. not all room’s windows are on at the same time, thus, to give the impression of having rooms in the buildings, with no lights on, put a piece of black paper/card behind some windows to give the impression that room’s light is out. If you look at the photo of the shop window, as you look into the big window, you can see all of the inside of the building, if you were to put some cardboard walls in, that would look better as you can’t see through all of the shop. This could also be done to the multi-story buildings plus put in cardboard floors as well. You may require more lights, but it would look a bit better than what’s showing now. It would be best if you were to look at books/google about putting lights into buildings to help you there! All the best!
Very nice layout , you have managed to create a great scene overall . Great job on rocks and the wall is amazing . Water features are well done , just a nice layout through and through .
Y’all look at the first trolley photo. There are windows that are lit and windows that are dark. I don’t see what everyone is complaining about.
The weathering is excellent. And I especially liked the tires on little display stands at the service station–I remember those from long ago.
Tom in Mississippi
i hope you dont take ruben,s advice its your layout not his
Excellent work and you did a superb job of designing the layout of the city shops and factories. It’s clear that you took your time to create a place that could very well exist in the real world. Love the track plan and use of bridges…the lighthouse is perfect. The structures look great—fantastic job. N scale is amazing in that you can do so much in a very small space. I would consider delving into that scale if only my eyes could handle working with the incredibly tiny details! I get eye strain when working too many hours in HO scale. But I do love seeing what wonderful work people are doing in N. I look forward to more updates. Keep up the great work!
I like how you’ve incorporated the street car line.
Not bad man, not bad at all! 👍
I think you did a wonderful job with this.
I particularly like the way the RR tracks are curved. Your buildings are little gems.
I built a similar sized layout to take to train shows.. The base was a a flat screen TV Styrofoam box that I hauled out of a dumpster.
As I love streetcars my top layer is a circuit of Kato “road” with rhe track built in. I used the light tube method of lighting my buildings and street lights. Sorry I don’t have the brand name in my head.
One more time thanks for showing it. You do great work
Beautiful work. Love it.
Excellent