A new layout for the new house!

[wiley209]

LOTS of updates to mention!
Well, my mother and I both agreed that we should probably keep the layout as a 12x8 L-shape instead of a C-shape, due to the way the basement is designed, and I found I can still fit what I want on the layout anyways, thanks to moving some stuff around (that's another benefit of not jumping into doing landscaping and with using E-Z Track, according to "The HO Model Railroading Handbook - 3rd Edition."


An overview of the layout; it's easier to do such photos at different angles with this new location.


My Amtrak "Genesis" diesel pulling the Amfleet cars.


Working on setting up the TYCO unloading hopper car.




Running the track-cleaning boxcar just to give the rails a quick once-over.


I've finally got both ends of the track on both platforms connected!


My freight train running on the second platform.


This is why you have to be careful with double-track railroad crossings.

Here's a video I shot, too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJTp3SqtJNI

Since all this, I removed the small passing siding on the second platform as I found it unnecessary with the revisions.

[wiley209]

Time for some more updates, yet again!


The longer Amtrak consist looks better when running on the outer loop and onto the second platform. It's worth noting that regarding the Amtrak dome car (currently the only piece of Amtrak rolling stock Bachmann makes!), Amtrak really does have a dome car that looks very much like that (complete with Phase III paint scheme) that they use on the Downeaster train in August and September. And since Budd made the car way back when, it doesn't look too out of place with the Amfleet cars (up here in New England, we just use the Amfleet I cars, which is what Bachmann's Amfleet models were of.)


Testing out the TYCO Freight Unloading Depot. I set it on a 1/4-inch piece of Woodland Scenics styrofoam cut to fit, and the clearance and height is just about perfect! I got a few nice big sheets pf 1/4-inch styrofoam to use as "building sites" for some railroad structures that will be right alongside the tracks (such as stations.)


The TYCO Lighted Signal Crossing in action. Even if the lights get their power from the track, it doesn't affect train operation very much, including compared to on the previous layout (I did give the rails a good cleaning with a Walthers Bright Boy track cleaner before setting uo the crossing.)


The TYCO hopper car unloading set all set up on the layout. I recently replaced the horn/hook couplers on the hopper with E-Z Mate Mark II couplers using Kadee talgo truck adapters. The doors on the bottom seem keen on staying open a crack, so I will probably use a thicker "coal" material than what came with the set.


I just carved the stream to go under the bridge!


A slope along side one of the curves. The bottom of it separated from the rest of the foam by accident, but I'll just glue it all together once I actually glue the foam base to the plywood when I am ready for landscaping.


The Amtrak train stopped at the train station near the stream.

[J3a-614]

I've been looking at this thread, and am glad you--and the rest of us!--are enjoying it as much as we all are.

One of the interesting things is recognizing some of the structure kits.  Among the ones you have is a one-story industrial building visible behind a silver or grey Virginian hopper in one photo.  I don't know who currently offers it, but it's original offering, based on ads in a bunch of old Model Railroaders I have, was by Ulrich back in the 1950s. 

It's amazing how many old structure models like that are still around, reissued or still in production by other firms who bought the tooling.

A lot are still useful, too, either as kitbashing fodder, or even just dressed up with something as simple as a good paint job and window glazing.  I did that with my own version of the "Ulrich" factory, and I'm pleased with the result--red bricks and antique white or aged concrete mortar lines and "stonework."

Occasionally you'll even come across something like your corner diner--I think yours is Tyco, while one I have is, I think, AHM--which has interior detail!  Oh my, the fun you can have with paint on that one--including figuring out what colors you want to use!!

(Darn, I STILL miss Floquil paints and Champion and Walthers decals!)

[wiley209]

One of the interesting things is recognizing some of the structure kits.  Among the ones you have is a one-story industrial building visible behind a silver or grey Virginian hopper in one photo.  I don't know who currently offers it, but it's original offering, based on ads in a bunch of old Model Railroaders I have, was by Ulrich back in the 1950s. 

It's amazing how many old structure models like that are still around, reissued or still in production by other firms who bought the tooling.

That industrial building was later sold by Life-Like from the 80s until this decade. Mine is the Life-Like version; it came new-old-stock in the 80s-style packaging, and I applied some weathering as I built it.
Yeah, it's amazing how several are those old structures are still around. Many of the old Pola building kits that AHM and TYCO sold in the 70s and 80s are currently being sold by Walthers under their Trainline series. And of course many of the Plasticville kits date back to the 40s and 50s! (One thing I really like about Bachmann is how they are making products that they've been making for decades, with several of them in new and improved versions (like the locomotives and rolling stock.)

[Joe323]

I found many of my more vintage buildings on ebay.

[wiley209]

Trying out some realistic railroad switching operations... (I will soon install uncoupling magnets under the track once the landscaping is done.)


I've got the control panel built on my train table! (The reason for the TYCO pack is because with the Bachmann power speed controller I got, the AC terminals don't work.) I will have a lot of drilling into the panel to do in order to hook up the remote switches for the turnouts (along with a lot of those 10" switch extension wires)...

[Jhanecker2]

To Wiley209 & J3a-314 : that  building is  Mt Vernon Mfg Co,  and was available as a Life-Like product  .   I own 3 units  myself and they are definitely suitable for kit-basing .  John2.

[bbmiroku]

I have the same building, but as part of the Grusome Casket Company.  LifeLike (and I'm assuming other companies, but I have the most experience with LL) tended to reuse the shapes of their models (Fire House, Police Station, and Equitable /bank are three examples that I own).

[wiley209]

I won't be starting the landscaping process until March, but I have been gathering up the materials to use...

It probably won't be enough for the entire layout, but it's a start. I'll probably get a couple of cans of earth and dark green latex paints to use as well, instead of just relying on the Woodland Scenics undercoatings. I am also considering trying some Bachmann SceneScapes products (I already have some of their trees, left from the previous layout.)


I bought some cheap HO-scale plastic stairs from an eBay seller from China to use with these train station platforms elevated on the Woodland Scenics 1/4-inch foam. When I do landscaping, these styrofoam pieces will be painted gray.


Another styrofoam base under one of the train stations.


Just a shot of my Amtrak train passing on the ledge. Again, all rolling stock is Bachmann, while the locomotive is from Athearn. Yeah, it does look more like a stereotypical model passenger train in this show, but so what? This is supposed to be fun!


Both of my current train consists in action. My Bachmann BNSF GP40 (the first DCC locomotive I ever bought, which came with my E-Z Command control unit) is still going strong.


A nice close-up shot of the Amtrak train parked on the bridge next to the station.

[Len]

At Home Depot you can get 8oz 'sample' jars of paint for around $4.00 each. They are nice for working small areas at a time, and varying colors in different areas without having a lot of paint left over. They are a white base, with tint of the appropriate colors added to it.

I use exterior paints to avoid problems with wet plaster, plaster cloth, and water based glues. I've tried a couple of brands, and find the Behr flat exterior Gardener's Soil (MQ2-54), Potting Soil (N360-7), and Native Soil (PPU7-24) work well as an under coating before applying grass and weeds. Some flat black for roads, two or three shades of gray for concrete and cinderblock, and a few shades of blue for water are handy too.

Len

[bbmiroku]

Will that be a stream or a canal under that bridge?

[wiley209]

Will that be a stream or a canal under that bridge?

Something like a stream. With the finished result, the "water" won't be very shallow, and I may put a couple fishers in a rowboat at the "end". I'm thinking to use dark blue glossy paints on the bottom, maybe with a few bits of seaweed sticking up from them, and then a couple layers of blue shrink-wrap above it. This is to be my first layout where I've done something like this.

[Joe323]

I have that same train station that you have the Amtrak train running Through Obviously the platform is not long enough do you intend to expand it?

[Len]

You might consider an Atlas #706 passenger station for your Amtrak train. They're still available, and the tooling's been around long enough it would fit right in with your Tyco & Life-Like buildings:



Len

[bbmiroku]

Since it'll be a stream, you might want to 'lean' the edges of the embankment away from the 'water'.  But your layout looks great so far!