I have decided to start my first N-scale layout in my closet on top of my desk.
The desk is 20x40 with a little cubby deep enough for a keyboard.
I'm going to put a thin (maybe .5 inch) 21x41 foam board on top of it, cut out holes for the four legs of the computer stand, and lay a grass mat on top, cut to size.
I have a Bachmann DCC Alco Mogul from 2013 I recently got at a swap meet for $35, some train cars and cork roadbed I got from the local hobby shop from MicroScale, Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast (gray), a 33x35 grass mat and some trees from Michael's, a terminal joiners from Atlas, and a MRC Railpower 1300 I got for $5 at the same swap meet.
I have enough curved and straight track from Atlas. I still need the rerailers and the right-hand turnout (remote) to start running my train.
Then I'll get about 2 feet of N-scale roadway, a ballast spreader, a bumper and some glue and start to scenic.
I will have pictures soon, and hopefully an update!
This is my plan, made in AnyRail v.7.
I picked up 2 pieces of 1"x2'x2' pink insulation board from Home Depot earlier today and, using the metal end of the measuring tape they have at the self-service cutting station, scored and snapped them to the right dimensions, making sure to take the chunks with me for future use. I also picked up a stapler, staples, and foam-safe glue (Titebond wood glue) to glue down the grass mat and staple the edges.
Tonight, I make simple terrain!
Question
Even if I plan to run this little loop on DC power, should I make the switch track a DCC programming track, or just leave it all DC?
I stapled and glued the grassmat down, realizing I had to go get another. So I was only able to scenic a portion of the foam. I'm not going to foam out the "mountain" in the middle, instead just wrap it in a strip of grass mat and glue some flat rocks to it from outside. In Arizona, there are plenty of rocks outside.
I made a final plan for the buildings I want on my display. The "brown" line on the right is a town street.
I finished with the grassmats. I may have to pick up a 21"x41" piece of plywood to help the foam straighten out. Weighting the foam hasn't worked so far.
I found a couple packs of track lying around from the last time I went to the hobby store. I'd been searching for them for about 17 days! It's all curve track since my first plan was an all-curve dogbone shape, but it's the same radius.
Now I need a switch track, the bumper, and the rerailers. I will pick up the switch track this weekend, and maybe the bumper. It would be great if I can pick up all the track I need, but money does need to go to real life as well.
The hobby shop didn't have any rerailer tracks and I'm not paying ~$35 for a single turnout, so I picked up the bumpers.
I'll get the rest from halfpricehobbies, I guess...
Started out with the Atlas code 80 track, turnouts and rerailers etc. Now a Kato for ease of re-arranging my layout. But the Atlas pinned (nailed) to homasote board did make for a very stable layout. Inclines, trestles and bridges were easier to do. Flextrack combined with the snap track adds lots of variety.
I'm going to glue cork roadbed to the grassmats and nail in the code 80 sectional track, then ballast it to blend the cork and the grass.
Update (finally, but small)
I finally picked up a stiffener for the foam. On my trip to Home Depot, a new product caught my eye; a piece of 2'x4' reversible blackboard/whiteboard with a similar stiffness to the board I was going to get at half the price. So this week I will be gluing the board under the grassmatted foam pieces. If, in a few weeks of weighing and letting everything settle, there is still a bow in the foam, I can still get some braces to put underneath with the cost savings of the white/blackboard.
I have decided to put a small stream leading back from the "mountain" in the middle under the tracks. Since the track lies so close to the edge, I have gotten an Atlas Viaduct from eBay, to be delivered quite soon.
I want to use this small loop of track as a sort of tester for techniques I've never used in my temporary layouts in HO like making water, soldering track and wires, fastening buildings and track to a base, and using and weathering cork roadbed, among others.
On a small loop like this, should I put feeder wires on the tracks, or just solder the tracks together?
I finally glued the stiffening board to the underside of the foam and am currently waiting for it to dry.
I took a second look at the holes I made for the computer stand and remeasured their distance to the side. They are off-center by a few inches. I opened up my trackplan and moved some things around. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The only thing I needed to take out was the demolition house by model power.