We have a sense that most folks are building freight cars, so the next step is to put them on the rails. We'll post a poll to assess what folks are doing with layouts.
I run trains on my layout, which has track but is a sea of pink and blue foam, and I will bring items over to my friend's layout (almost like a club layout--3 decks, 24X32), though the Frisco stuff looks a little odd on a layout set in the Rocky Mountains.
Thanks for sharing the photos, Gary. Looking forward to seeing photos of your own layout regardless of the technicolor scenery!
Chris, the truth is that the layout (and my workbench underneath it) is such a mess that I am embarrassed to post pictures.
Over the last two weeks I have had a great surge of adrenalin and have worked on the aesthetics of my layout space. Can't really explain why but maybe that alien abduction has straightened out my priorities. I have been working on walls (yuk) and carpeting (yay). Unfortunately, the walls have to be finished before the carpeting goes down and I have been using Bondo as my "mud" between the drywall and tempered hardboard. Bondo is a wicked material but it sticks to everything. I will try to snap a few photos of the progress tonight. I have to tell you guys that this is the first time ever that I have had a layout with carpeting. The operating crew last Monday night wouldn't stop operating. Brad Slone was in the crew about two weeks ago and he can tell you what a difference carpeting makes. Brad ran Rosedale Yard that night. Don't forget to log your hours for your Chief Dispatcher AP Certificate. This weekend will find me working on more Bondo and curved walls but I am getting close to breaking out of Ft Scott and building toward Springfield. The two stops south of Ft Scott will be Lamar and Elwood. I also plan on modeling Nichols Jct. Not sure of the timing but I am in the basement some every day making progress. I did take a little vacation from the layout room and got some 40' box cars put together last week and on the layout. I am having the time of my life. Never ever thought it would be this good. Somebody slap me. Ship IT on the Frisco! Rick
NEWSFLASH I figured out how to do an Album so take a look when you have time. I shot a few photos of my layout last night since I have actually made some progress recently. Ship IT on the Frisco! Rick
I am finally running my trains on my own tracks!! A couple of photos are in my album. I just put down an oval to get started, but have plans for the whole yard! Now only if I can win the Lotto! I have been collecting large scale for abot 20 years now, and just decided to do it. My g-sons love it too. Long live the Frisco in G scale!!! Later, Dan
With a small percentage of precincts reporting, there's a definite trend toward more folks being "in the planning stages." While I'm glad I've moved into tangible construction (and Rick and Don's layout photos in particular are proving to be a powerful motivator), I'm wondering how many are in the "pondering" step of the planning stage? In other words, how many are trying to decide what-if any-Frisco prototype location they want to model. For those who like to doodle I see a great opportunity to sketch some very basic LDEs (layout design elements) that would not take up a lot of space but might necessitate some basic staging. With the preponderance of detailed track plans on the KC Sub thanks to Karl Brand's father, and the fresh Sanborn maps there's plenty of prototype data ripe for the picking. Even if one only has 16-24 linear feet x 2-4' wide, it'd be easy to even model a small, main-line location such as was proposed for Wingate, IN (NKP) in one of the very early issues of Model Railroad Planning.
All I can say is, thank the good Lord for hollow-core doors- they're the N scaler's best friends when it comes to layout building. True, my ArkLaTex Sub is a simple loop, but with staging on the back, the local comes out one side, does its work, and goes off-stage the other side, leaving the switch crew to od its work- in this case, the Baldwin switcher at the paper mill. Also, the MP local can come into town, drop off & pick up interchange, and head back out on its interchange track. Meanwhile, the local running the opposite direction comes in, does its work, and leaves. Not every stretch of track is as busy as the BNSF Transcon main- lots of lines don't see quite that much traffic. Which is why I model a freelalce secondary line.
I can see that 50% of us are in the planning stage maybe there should have been a choice for those of us in that 50% that are still try to scure right of way. It doesn't matter if the railroad is prototype or model it seems to take an act of congress to get right of way LOL
This evening I made "ALOT" of progress on my 12'X24' layout. I have been specifically targeting the yard so I can get all the cars out of boxes. Since I have been using my 4-8-4 as a test engine beins it has the largest wheel base of all of my loco's, and since it is still in the shop until Saturday. I figured it would be fun to get out the Ballast spreader and do a lil MOW. I have 4 storage tracks done completely with snow and everything, and tonight I poured my turntable pit and it came out great. I havent really decided on what towns Im gonna have or anything close to prototypical, but I will cross that perverbial bridge when I come to it. Right now I have a yard, a city, an industry area, a locale for 2 farms, and my wife started building the cemetary tonight. TOmorrow, I will be working on modifictions to my turntable bridge and then I am gonna sling more ballast and snow. I also plan on laying the tracks for my grain elevator. I also plan on cleaning up the layout so I can snap off a few shots to post on here for ya'll to enjoy!
Frisco's Ozark & Missouri Sub Division This freelance N scale layout, built between 2001 and 2005, has a double track mainline on nine modules creating a kidney bean shape. It measures ten feet long, nine feet wide on one end and five feet at the other. Four modules are rectangular and the others are a stretched hexagon shape, all have twelve to eighteen inch interfaces. Half inch foam stack-up is used for terrain, on top of half inch plywood and a one by two frame. Quarter inch Masonite face sheets were attached to interface ends and eighth inch to all remaining sides. The legs are made from PVC pipe and fittings. Threaded fittings on the top positions added a leveling feature like the bolts at the bottom of a standard N-Track or HO modular layout. Rail height is set for 40 inches so track is about five or six inches below eye level when sitting down. Two 1/4 inch bolts in matched drilled holes hold each module together and aligned track. Trains are controlled with two hand held throttles and one base. A multiple track staging area is under a mountain on one module. The layout is primarily a main line operation but has a small yard and a few sidings for switching. It also has a branch line option once the nine modules are complete. All visible tracks are Code 55 Micro Engineering flex track and Peco Electro-frog turnouts with index finger control. Staging tracks are Code 80 Atlas flex and turnouts with manual switch machines. The layout was designed to be displayed at train shows so easy transportation and setup was a must. By setting modules on their sides and clamping each to a piece of one by two it will fit in a standard size van. The time for setup was targeted for one hour. First time I took it to a train show a train was running in fifty minutes. I designed the wiring to form into a harness that plugged into each module with a nine pin computer plug. This made electrical setup in about five minutes counting throttles. Telephone cable with #24 conductors was used through-out the whole layout. Connecting both ends together made each conductor effectively double in size, making it close to #18. Trains with four locomotives ran with no problem. Never felt the need to try five but I'm sure there would not be any problems. Two trains ran all day at shows with no derailments. Nine days total. Layout diagram is shown below. Photos are attached in my next post on this thread. Joe
Please start at previous post for layout desription and track plan. If treated as a single main the track could be stretched from one lap to seven, 35 feet to 240. Each lap would have a different routing instruction and by operator's location to be changed also it made a nice run. Keeping maximum speed to 45 scale mph a complete run would take about twenty minutes with a stop in the yard and each siding for switching. Sadly I had to sell the layout just as I was starting to lay track for the yard. There were over 150 trees and a lot more scenery and buildings completed, but for some reason I didn't take photos before it was disassembled. Always take lots of photos as you build a layout. Don't make the same mistake I did. A good photo album of your layout is a treasure to have. Module 1: Eureka Springs was my inspiration for this module. With steep streets several buildings required some kit-bashing. The inside main can be seen at the far right as it goes under the town to the staging area in module 9 to the left. The track behind the station connects the outside main to its staging area. Module 2: Features a Walthers double track truss and two Atlas plate girder bridges. (plate bridges not shown) Module 3: The yard lead ties onto the outside main. Module 4: Peco turntable and scratch built roundhouse. A small extension was added for the roundhouse. Roundhouse mockup is shown. Module 5: Left end of yard with mains running in front of station. Smoke from stack is part of a cotton ball sprayed with dove gray and a touch of flat black. Tease with a toothpick and light spray again. Module 6: Right end of yard and a siding from outside main to left end of yard. Oil dealership is a major customer. Track behind station is low enough to provide a door level loading and unloading area. Also has a large grain mill connecting to the inside main, shown in next photo. Module 7: Right end of yard where branch line was to cross creek and to future module at upper right. Walthers grain mill with add-on silos on module 6. Module 8: The outside main goes through mountain to the other side and inside main connects to staging area under module 9. Outside main does have a turnout in tunnel to connect to its staging. Module 9: Outside main runs at base of cliff and branch line, sawmill and tunnel is on to of staging area. Staging: Top of module 9 lifts off for easy access to staging tracks. There is a six inch clearance when top is on. Enough room to reach tracks, if needed, from the back of module. Top of modules 1 and 8 are also removable for maintenance. Joe
Looks like a pretty decent trackplan. I have some questions: How much room did it take up? What was the radius on the mainline curves? I can see this layout, with some alterations (say, single-track unstead of double) working well in the house. Thanks for sharing!
I had the layout setup in a two car garage. It fit in a 10 by 10 foot space with at least 36 inches to nearest wall. There is one very short 18 inch radius on module 2 by the bridge. The remaining turns are 20-1/2 and 22 inch radius. I went with the double track plan for display at train shows. If I were to build it again I too would go with single track and one passing track. My current layout plan is a single main on a 12 inch shelf around a spare bedroom. See post #1 and #7 http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?t=3819 Thanks for the compliment! Joe
Frisco in the Rocky Mountain West? Burlington Chinese Red and Harbormist Gray units operated on Rio Grande run-throughs over the Moffat Tunnel route and Frisco black and yellow F units invaded the Santa Fe over Cajon Pass, all in the swingin´ 60s! The fun of model railroading is setting up your own run-through or sending diesels to another railroad for testing or leasing same due to a power shortage. Joe Toth The Trinity River Bottoms Boomer
