American 'style' layouts

Hi Does anyone know of any of the big, room-sized, multi-station layout as often seen in Model Railroader but with a UK theme?

Del.

Reply to
Del The Obscure
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Just about to embark on a 40ftx 25ft loft layout :)

havent settled on a scale yet

n is favoured atm :)

altho em is a good possibility

Reply to
Rob

Rob offered me a plate of cheese and whispered:

Luxury! I *dream* of having 40ftx 25ft.

-- Enzo

I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.

Reply to
Enzo Matrix

I would think there may be one or two at York show this weekend :)

But seriously I know of one that has been built quite locally to me by a private individual (rather than a club) about 12 feet by 40 ft. I know of another guy locally to me that is building a US outline model on similar lines to to the sort you refer in his extended double garage.

So I would think there are many examples of this type of layout on both US and UK practice all over the country.

RichC

Reply to
Rich

"Del The Obscure"

Yes.

Trouble is, it's located about 3000 miles from both of us.

For me, it's about a five day drive, for you it's a transatlantic flight.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

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Reply to
Roger T.

We all know yours is tiny.

Reply to
MartinS

Seriously, that sort of area needs really careful thought, sometimes less really is more, in other words you really could see the trains operate in the countryside or where ever - just cramming in as many stations as one can or as much track as one can is not the thing to do.

Too true

its going to be a split level double oval (twice round the loft ) with a decent sized thru/terminus station/industrial complex/TMD on one side of the loft

and a coaching stock depot on the other :) along with a small thru 2 track station :) and maybe a small engineering yard to be home to a tamping machine or 2

Reply to
Rob

Toronto?

Reply to
MartinS

Del,

There's a very large layout based on the WCML to P4 (I think) based in Australia (I think) which has been featured in the MRJ. Sorry about the 'I thinks' but I'm away from home and going by my very dodgy memory.

But this layout is very large and could be compared to some of these gigantic US layouts.

Jim.

Reply to
Jim Guthrie

Maybe a six day drive, Maritimes.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

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Reply to
Roger T.

I, on the other hand, am going to rebuild my GER along UK styling with one station and yard along half my 12 x 16 foot wall space, and a double ended staging yard along the other half.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

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Reply to
Roger T.

"MartinS" <

:
Reply to
Roger T.

There ya go, Enzo. No time to lose!

Reply to
MartinS

MartinS offered me a plate of cheese and whispered:

I'm there already! :-)

-- Enzo

I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.

Reply to
Enzo Matrix

Interested in the "why". I know the idea of a big layout sounds great, until you've done it. Then I'm not so sure.

My old layout was US-themed in HO in a 24' x 14' shed specifically built to house a layout. Got right carried away I did. Completely filled it with track. Every point had a Tenshodo/NJI switch machine, all contacts wired, DCC, interlocked 3-aspect colour signalling (48 wires on a Bachmann signal bridge - brrrrr). Built to all the gospel at the time for operation, off track staging, matched industries, super-detailed Kato/Athearn/P2K, etc etc etc. Layout was walk in design. No, let me correct that - sidle in design. I figured I could get away with 16" aisles at one point.

After a few years I stopped going down there except for round robin nights. It was a major chore to properly clean and service, and it became a maintenance monster - trouble shooting in about 1.5 km of cable is not fun. Plus as I got older, my eyes and hands got shakier and my soldering skills slipped alarmingly.

(if we fast forward a few years) the whole layout was removed. The L-girder tables around the perimeter of the room remained, with modules designed in On30 (I changed gauges/scales) to fit on it. At one end of the layout - it is basically C-shaped now - my only nod to complexity was to double deck the sawmill and logging camp, access to the top deck by a switchback or zig-zag. (What are they called in the UK, anyway?) The shelf on which the layout stands is only 24" wide, the rest of the centre of the room is now space for an old lounge setting and coffee table. A hi-fi system is built under the layout, with rear speakers for home theatre use mounted on the ceiling, along with a Sanyo projector. A cheapie pull-down screen is mounted at one end on the valences which come down from the ceiling level with the edge of the benchwork. Energy-saver bulbs are mounted behind this for the layout. And, in view of our summers, I put in an air conditioner - here it's not a luxury... So now I have a much smaller (in terms of run) layout, but with much more in terms of creature comfort and a much more pleasant atmosphere, if that's the right word.

So I'm ambivalent about big layouts. Mind might have been better with better design, I'll be the first to admit. Plus I have seen MONSTER* sized layout, so I knew it was pointless getting into a "mind is bigger than yours" arguement. Still, I suppose, you won't know until you try.

Steve Newcastle NSW Aust

  • - this layout was in purpose built building too. But I would never call it a shed. The main floor was 80' x 50' for his O-scale layout, the "smaller" room beneath it was for his HO layout - only 60' x 40'. No columns or piers, totally free-standing floor area. Oh, well... :)
Reply to
Steve Magee

Hi

Our layout is only 8' x 20' but is done in n gauge with three track mainline - one for each child.

Under construction.

Best way to descibe it is a three leaf clover.

Leaf 1 is scenic - track down and scenery starting. Leaf 2 has main station and village - module built and track under construction Leaf 3 is scenic - module just started being built.

Must always be someone with a bigger layout than yours. Otherwise you can never dream of that extra extension piece. :-)

Andrew

atmosphere,

Reply to
Andrew Robson

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