Red River Station

[Pauljag900]

Edited September 21, 2020 by disturbman

[cteno4]

Wow, you’ve been watering your trains a lot — they grew!

 

jeff

[Kiha66]

Awesome new layout Paul, the grandkids are very lucky.  That looks like a lot of fun!

[Pauljag900]

Cheers everyone👍😀

so by way of an introduction here s a few pics and what my plans are.

Du to its sheer size and space available,try as hard as I did I just could nt fit anything more than a plain double loop.

based loosely on a small American town,I say loosely as one of the trains is german,unfortunarely the only two starter sets with sound and steam are these. I d already planned it fairly well from pictures etc and I made some footprints of the buildings I want so I had a pretty good idea of what was going where.I d bought a few bits and bobs accessories wise and had a load of scenic stuff anyway so I proceeded to start groundcover in the different areas.

I then realised that the buildings in the middle would be hiding the trains so I reduced the width of the tracks and put the buildings behind.

this is how it is today.

 

small allotment area next to the station,

camping scene not yet done,

 

main station and platform

 

i m calling this area the “resting place” as the picnic set that will go there is called that.

 

However,I may be changing it😂😂👍I ve worked out that if I raise the train tracks 10” I can fit a 3rd loop in at ground level that will be a single tram line,basically the train tracks will be on top of the buildings,the front of the buildings will sit flush with the edge of the raised station area.

I need to give it some thought😂😂

[RogerK]

Paul,

 

By all means keep this thread alive as you transition to large scale trains in the garden.  G Scale Central is a British based forum that you will probably find very useful as you move forward.

 

Roger

[serotta1972]

Paul is back at it again!  Already got another layout going while some of us are stuck in the planning phase.  I'm still acquiring rolling stock and then I will build a layout.  Darn it Paul, where am I gonna send my surplus trains to now.  🙂

[Pauljag900]

after a lot of deliberating and chopping and changing things I think I ve come up with a firm plan(at least for now😂😂)

I m going to raise the train tracks 1’ and put the buildings underneath,so the track plan will be this,the shaded area is the raised tracks,

So I did a bit of experimenting.
if I place 9mm mdf onto the baseboard then put the building baseplates/pavement on top it s the right height for the train tracks to look sunken like tram tracks.

 

 

 

So I proceeded to do some spacing,the green building is where it will sit,the train tracks will run above it with the front of the building more or less flush with the viaduct.

 

 

it will be laid out as per the photo with the 9mm mdf going to the edge of the board,this creates a natural step up to the pavement from the road which is wide enough for two lanes and parking/ unloading on one side.The Center piece to infill the tracks will need to be made.

i ve had a rough go at it and this is the best result so far.
I placed the baseplate in the photocopier and this is the result,the baseplate is on the right and the paper copy on the left,

the theory is to print it on to Matt photo card and glue it to 9mm mdf cut to the right width,I m hoping any colour difference can be disguised by weathering.

i ve also altered the tracks slightly to fit the station on the top making more space on the lower level.

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by Pauljag900

[bill937ca]

Are you going to run the tram around and around?  You could use an automatic reverser which would give you more action.

[Pauljag900]

56 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

Are you going to run the tram around and around?  You could use an automatic reverser which would give you more action.

 I m considering both versions mate,but I’m a long way from needing to make that choice😂😂😂
the main issue is that if it’s an automated back and forth it’s not controlled where as if it’s on a loop the grandkids can play with it,I suppose I could do a loop with automation and just turn the automation off when the grand kids are here

Edited January 19, 2020 by Pauljag900

[Sheffie]

There’s a difference between telling a kid they’re going a bit fast and telling them they’re getting to the end of the line and need to stop. Not if you have a direction switch, I suppose, and just slam it into reverse. But it’s easier to relax and lose yourself in a loop because it can just keep going without intervention. Applies to grownups as well as kids....

 

I went to to visit a guy over the holidays who had a room full, and I do mean full, of classic 1950’s style American HO railway — entirely DCC, with custom lights and sound effects everywhere, tons of incidental models like buildings and animals, neat tricks like coal loading and unloading facilities, switching and stock yards underground (see the closed circuit TV channels for details)... but...in all of this finery, there was not a single loop. He couldn’t just sit and watch his trains running. I guess he knew what he wanted, but even my wife thought it was weird that there were no loops 

[Pauljag900]

Thanks Sheffie,like you say it’s personal preference.

Considering the kids is a high priority for me,I ll be honest,the fun for me is in the building it and getting it to work,lights etc,I m quite happy to sit and watch it going round and round,viewing the trains moving is fine by me,but then we re all different mate and as you said,he knew what he wanted.

the piece that goes across the door is removable and I simply disconnect 4 pieces of track and lift the board out,takes about 30 seconds,so the way I see it is that I can have both,I can leave the curves off that end and have it as a back and forth shuttle unit or I can put the track in and disconnect the shuttle and just run it in a loop for the kids. So it’s something I ll probably do in time.

piko actually do the shuttle unit that simply plugs into the back of the power supply.

[cteno4]

On the auto point to point you could have a dead section of track at each end to allow manual reversal and not worry they will slam off the end! You can use the diode trick as well so when it hits the diode protected section at the end the train auto stops if they are running it and then when they reverse the power they can pull out the other direction. Neat way to allow them to operate point to point but they can’t run it off the ends!

 

jeff

[Pauljag900]

Last few weeks has been a bit too cold to go outside but finally I ve managed to do the alterations to the Boards to get two tram lines in,not enough room for two loops but one loop and a back and forth automated line.

 

i raised the track by 12” to push the buildings under giving enough space for the tram track.The arched railing along the platform section will eventually go all around.

I constructed the raised tracks in sections then removed as many side supports as I could and supported it with cut down brush handles which will be painted black In due course.

this is the overall view from the shed doors,the box section on the left will house the electrics to avoid getting underneath.

 course.

the Main Street,pretty much will stay the same apart from buildings and Scenics.

 

not so much space this side so will be more rural with small single story buildings and a small platform for the tram 
 

 

 

 

Looking back from inside,I disconnect  the curves and the board slides out.

Bella is making sure no one gets in without a ticket! 😂😂

 

A view of the tram tracks.

 

Lots to do but at least I ve made a start.

[bill937ca]

Nice tram line. I've ridden trams like that in Portugal in the last decade. Carry on, Paul!

[Pauljag900]

 

Spent quite a bit of time working on the layout as there s not much else to do for any of us at the moment.

had a go at scratch building some shops,turned out ok for first attempt.

its very narrow on the right board as there s no space so I used allotment buildings etc.

 

 

 

 

 

[Pauljag900]

 

[Pauljag900]

The tour car may be a million miles away so for now I ve done my own😂😂

as I don’t have n gauge anymore it will travel on my layout as a freight load for some posh kids ride on minature railway.👍😂😂

[bill937ca]

Looking very good, Paul.  

[cteno4]

Love it Paul! Great repurpose to the new layout! 
 

cheers

 

jeff

[serotta1972]

Paul is at it again, completing another layout before some of us are barely going through the planning stages. Looks great as always buddy.  🙂

[Pauljag900]

For the first time since I can remember we re having an Easter weekend of basking in glorious sunshine,and we re on lockdown! 😂😂👍

so with all that said I decided to make a start on red river in the garden.

Having brought the start forward means limited cash so I ve used the track from the shed for the garden and will replace it in due course.

two days in and this is where I am,

The area measures approx 15x12 feet.

i was given some large radius curves by a friend and came up with this plan on anyrail.

it gives me three areas for decoration.

a small pond will sit in where the rocks are.The other two oval areas will be stepped height,planted with various plats then gravelled over.

 

 

Where the track crosses over the flags they will be left and the track screwed to them,the rest will be removed,once finished this is how it will look using the small slate clippings as ballast.

 

This is how far I ve got.

The beige flags on the right will stay as they are and eventually will have the station and buildings etc plus lights.

 

I m waiting for some screw track connectors to arrive from Germany, once they do I can lay the track permenantly.

 

 

 

 

[Pauljag900]

So four days solid on the garden layout
 

End of day 2

 

 

today,day 4

 

found an aquatic shop that’s open so hopefully get the pond finished tomorrow.

the strip of asto turf will provide the base for the station and buildings.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Pauljag900

[cteno4]

Wow Paul, you’ve been busier than a beaver! Looks great!

 

jeff

[Pauljag900]

CheersJeff.

to be fair the ground was fairly flat so minimum preparation there.

i already had most of what I needed,all I ve bought is a ton of top soil,some plants and some plant edging.
my daughter bought the pond and pump as an early birthday pressie.

i purposely left some of the flagstones down so I could screw the track to it,more as a security thing than anything else.

i m just waiting for some screw connectors for the rest of the track.

at least now I get to make some more model kits!😂😂👍

[Martijn Meerts]

I'm in the middle of working on some ideas for my garden, going to redo the whole thing. Seeing this pictures is making things more difficult.. I do have some 0-gauge stuff 😉