My Layout and Garden Railroad

[Plow_Bender]

Considering the fact that several people have asked to see my large scale models (or layout), I've decided to go ahead and post some photos.  Keep in mind that what I show is not my entire large scale collection, as I will only be showing what Thomas/Bachmann related models I have.

To start off with, I've basically got a shelf layout that runs around the perimeter of my room which is about 11' x 12' 6".  A corner of the layout cuts across with a bridge as the door leading into the room is too tall to make the swing under the layout.  Work began on this setup back in the winter of 2015-2016 and to this day is still pretty much a work in progress.  Although I don't have photos of when the shelf was put up, I do have 1 which shows the shelf with a temporary section of track and without the reinforced edges.



The layout only has one track, but provides space behind to store trains and/or rolling stock that is not in use.  I would like to eventually finish laying track (as it only goes half way around at this time) and possibly add a background.  I'm still looking into either staining or painting the shelf as well, but have yet to make a decision.  I honestly don't want to get too much into this layout incase I ever decide to move, because chances are I won't be taking the shelf with me.




Over the summer of 2016, I also took the time to setup a temporary garden railroad outside in my front yard.  This railroad wasn't very large and only measured about 8' x 14'.  The tracks were raised up on chimney bricks and spent about 6 months out in the elements.  Because it was brass track, I had no problems with it.  I wouldn't recommend trying that with Bachmann's steel track which many of you guys who purchased the large scale Thomas and Percy sets would have.  Anyways, here's some photos I took of the garden railroad I built.








My hopes are to set up a larger garden railroad this spring, but whether the funds will be there to do so are another story.  If this does in fact happen though, the new garden railroad will be about 32' x 68' and include sidings so friends and fellow hobbyists can stop by and run their large scale trains as well.  My personal opinion is that if you're going to run large scale, you've got to run it outside.  Don't get me wrong, layouts are nice, but when you model indoors you are dealing with the illusion of reality. When you model outdoors, reality stares you in the face.  That's probably the best part about it.

-Rusty

[Captain Crutch]

The layout looks amazing. I've been wanting a shelf layout for years. It's the solution when you don't have any space on the ground. Also where did you get Emily's snowplow and how do you attach it? I love the way it looks, it just completes that picture. As for the large scale belongs outside thing, I agree. From everyone I've seen that has one, well let's say the ones outside look best. I say the shelf layout is a good idea because I prefer HO models. The large scale ties just seem too tight or childish. Sometimes even the most accurate HO layouts make the train look unnatural though. You know what I mean? Anyways I do love the layout. Also I see you switched out the couplers on the locos. Very smart, if only I could do that with the HOs...

[UPTODAY]

Very nice photos!The outdoor layout in snow looks very realistic!Percy looking at the camera and the TT'S,in the snow,
is a priceless shot!!!!!

UPTODAY

[Chaz]

Having you around here on this forum has been great for so many reasons, and this is definitely one of them.  The work you put into these setups looks great and it does make me wish I could have the money and space for large scale.  The photos of the models out in the snow especially look great, especially with the snowplows.  Hopefully the large scale range can get something decent this year, so we can see more photos like this from you in the future.  Keep up the good work!

[donaldthescottishtwin]

Percy in the snow is definitely desktop worthy.

[Plow_Bender]

To answer Mr. HLC Railroad's question, I built Emily's snowplow from scratch in December of 2015.  The photos below are from my first attempt at building the plow, but this was entirely scrapped because it was poorly shaped due to my measurements being off.  Back to the drawing board...






The plow itself is made of tin which was cut and shaped with the help of a stencil as a guide. The mounting bracket for the plow was originally made of 1mm styrene, but was too flimsy to hold up the weight of the plow, therefore letting it drag on the tracks.  Good way to cause a short circuit...  To get around this problem, I replaced the styrene bracket with an identical one made from 1.5mm aluminum.  I did however recycle the supports from the styrene bracket, but this was because there was nothing wrong with them in the first place.  I did toy with the idea of soldering, but since I was using 3 different materials, I just decided to go with JB Weld as a way of securing all the parts together.






Before I had even started on the plow, I did explore my options of how to mount it to Emily, but in the end I consulted the episode Thomas, Emily, and the Snowplow.  After reviewing the footage from the episode, I decided to go with mounting the plow on Emily's buffers just as it was in the series.  Once I had tested the plow on the model and made sure it fit without any issues, I sanded it down and then gave it a coat of red primer.  Another sanding was done afterwards, followed by another coat of red primer, and then aluminum paint.  After drying for a few days, I painted the sides of the plow hunter green which I felt came pretty close to Emily's color.





Now before anyone says anything, my goal was to design the plow to that of the one Emily had in Season 8 of the series.  I know some will argue that it's inaccurate that I'm using a model series plow with a CGI series Emily, but I don't care.  It's my project, not yours...




One thing that's really nice with Emily's plow is that it can be taken on/off in a short amount of time, without the need to remove the front coupler.  This is the exact opposite in regards to the Bachmann Thomas snowplow, but I understand the way it mounts assists in the structural integrity of it.  Emily's snowplow does work with light, powdery snow, but like most large scale plows, cannot handle wet, heavy stuff.  Although I feel the plow and it's mounting bracket could more than likely take the abuse, I fear Emily's plastic buffers wouldn't.  Either way, it's a nice touch to the model and one of my favorite large scale projects I've done.

-Rusty