William has been in touch with his DCC N scale auto reverse loop:
“My layout is 4′ X 10′.
The railroad has a trestle and 3 other bridges crossing a stream.
It has 2 reverse loops and light sensitive switching to prevent the train from approaching a switch thrown the wrong way.
If the switch is in the incorrect position it will automatically correct itself and accordingly change the color of the LED on the control panel fascia. Because of the automatic switching the route is long as it travels behind the big mountain and the next time it travels in front of the big mountain.
It’s a Great Northern/Santa Fe layout. I have I have 4 Great Northern DCC Sound Engines and 1 Santa Fe DCC sound engine.
At one point the double track oval merges into a single track for a little while and then reopens to a double track…Because of the change to a single track, running two or more trains at once requires an attentive engineer to avoid a collision.(Just like in real railroading).
The big mountain was cast from a large piece of petrified wood. The DCC is Digitrax. The reverse loops are flawlessly controlled by 2 “Tony’s” PSX reversers.
The real railroading fun is the ability to program horns, engine start, engine stop, lights, bells, etc.
William”
(All pictures are clickable)
And now the latest from Dangerous Dave.
It’s wonderful to see videos of layouts with the trains running, but sometimes the videos can be slightly ‘wobbly’.
Dave’s bought himself a new toy – a gimble to stop camera wobble. And you watch the vid, you’ll see his camera following a train flawlessly:
Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
A big thanks to Dave and tp William for sharing his DCC N scale auto reverse loop.
(There are lots more N scale layouts here.)
William’s layout reminded me of some print out scenery: the hotel/saloon.
Somehow, it never got put on the site, so I’m going to put that right this week.
It’s worth seeing again just for the bonkers video John did.
It’s all HO scale, so if you want N scale, just reduce the print by 54%.
Here’s the saloon – or hotel – depending on what sign you stick on it (you get both with the print).
And if you’ve watched the video below, you’ll also see that John used the same print to make this little shed:
And here are the fences – here the pics only show a short length of them – but of course, you can print out as many as you like and make the fences as long as you like.
The patios are included in this set of prints too – but I didn’t take any pics – you’ll see them on the vid though. John also made a wall out of one of the patio prints too:
Here’s the vid:
Right now, you can get all three for just $9 – that’s a $18 saving.
Just click here, or the button below, to buy them right now at the discount price, and save yourself $18. Course, I’m biased, but that’s not a bad saving at all.
You can more of the printable buildings range here.
That’s all this time folks.
Hope you enjoyed John’s video as much as me – I think he’s been on the coffee again.
Best
Al
PS Looking for the Beginner’s Guide? It’s here.
I liked to see the use of smaller cars as it makes the layout look bigger. The ore cars and small tank cars are what I use on my layout. When I clicked on the pictures I was pleasantly surprised when I could see them a bit more up close. Thanks.
What are “Tony’s” PSX reversers ??
Wow William! That is a really great layout. The scenery is awesome.
Thanks for sharing
Mal
Wales
I also wondered as to what “Tony’s” PSX reversers” were so I Googled it to find the answer, best to have a look your self. They are add on cicuit breake / reverser for digital control from Tony<s Train Exchange.
Regard Pete
I am just about ready to build my rock formations on my 4×8 layout and your rock formations are exactly what I want or at least it will guide me on how to hand mold my rock scenery. The detail is perfect in my opinion. I’m layout will be set in the Allegheny mountians of Pennsylvania. These are what I see in my creek in Maryland. Great job. I archiving this for later. Thx for the post. Patrick (Md-USA)
Very nice scenery William, must have taken a long time to do but worth it, very realistic.
Dave, you love trying out gadgets, nice smooth filming, great job.
Eric (Leeds) UK
Dave is slipping – no appearance from the gingerbread man!
To Al, Dave and everybody – keep up the good work. Love the daily bits and pieces.
Today found a good way of making hedges – bought a pack of green plastic pot scourers. Cut into strips, with ordinary scissors, they make a very passable hedges. They come in different thicknesses and shades of green, but they look pretty good for N scale, and I think would come up well for HO as well.
realistic photog great work William.
William Is there a track diagram or sketch of the entire layout you could share with the viewing public? I for one would like to see your pictures in reference to the nsketch/ thanks
Don J
William; Please show us the track plan. Awesome scenery details…
Thanks, I’m in the process of building an Old West layout and this gave me some ideas.
More than a great job on the layout, William. But I think many of us would like much more info on the DCC switching, controls, and the entire approach on how you accomplish this fine job. A further explanation would be greatly appreciated by those of us who are just now involved in DCC. Thank you.
Supperb! All in 4 x 10. Landscape and color very real. Not too bright. Thanks William.
I really love this layout. It looks so realistic. I wondered what the red stake truck was loaded with? What was the product?
Hi William, I have not seen a layout where the scenery is this good in my life of seeing them in person or Al’s pics. my man they are great. I would really love to see this layout in person. what can I say other than can we see more pics of this layout?
Just like to say , I have changed the settings on the Gimbal and the cameraphone to 60 fps , and it is now panning a lot smoother , trial and error as they say ..Dangerous Dave
I too, would love to know more about the automatic switching, as I have 2 areas that would be very useful.
As always great information and beautiful work on all
Very nicely done, William. You should be pleased and very proud of with your modeling skills. The mountain side scene could to be the start of another Mount Rushmore. 😎 Great job and thanks for sharing.
Jim AZ
This is a very beautiful layout. But what gauge/scale is it? I think it could be HO gauge but nowhere is the gauge/scale mentioned. I really think that the gauge/scale of every layout posted should be announced at the beginning of each post. This would clarify things greatly.
Love those shorty tank cars!
D.J.Radanovich, Milwaukee.
Super Cool Landscape!!
Nice layout William – very realistic scenery.
Wow Dave – layout and garden looking great.
Best to all. Brian, Wokingham, UK
Very very nice layout .
Your garden is absolutely beautiful.
Well done layout William. Would like to see a layout diagram, more photos and more info on the “light sensitive switching”. Also please confirm the scale.
Dave and William great job, well done. Question for Dave, where did you get those Lafarge tanker cement cars? I would like to purchase some, I worked for Lafarge back in the states. thanks
Sharp looking layout Will!!
Hi William,
I’m just starting out with my first HO scale train layout project. The size of table I have made is a 4×10 and would like some advice,suggestions and tips help and even ideas on what i can do.
The first pic of the court house you should try to find a “DeLorean” al la “back to the future just psrk in front of the court house. You might find one for HO well that’s opinion. Great looking layout!!
Kevin
Amazing scenery !!!
really cool winter scene, pun intended. bery nice layout.