# Freelanced- HMMC RR



## XBadwordX (Jul 6, 2013)

Here is the Par-Finished 'Heather Mountain Mining Company' Railroad. Without getting too into details- I was big into HO as a Kid, grew out of trains and into girls & cars. 12 years later, my Girlfriend Heather Bought me a Single BNSF Covered Hopper Car. I Don't Think she realized the Beast she had awoken. so Rightfully, I named it after her.

The Nitty-Gritty on a Budget- being in my late 20's with heavy bills and low income, i really don't have the money to buy fancy things like cork roadbed, new loco's, Scenery, plaster, etc. I managed to build this so far for less than $200, random scraps and lots of Craigslist searching.
The roadbed is Old Trailer Liner (to protect from forklift damage), Pre-painted with grey Stone Spray paint. (I did manage to come across a few pieces of cork on CL). all the Scenery/Mountains are Packing foam/wood Frame with Caulk-cloth exterior & spray painted. 

It had to remain small and portable to be easily moved or stored out of the way, so i Impatiently chose a 4' X 6' max size. Min Radius is 15"

This is the first layout I built in almost 15 years, and given the circumstance & budget, i think i did quite well. all DC Common Rail Block Wiring, with the mine (upper level) on its own separate transformer, that way as it is completed, i can run the mainline/freight yard, and another can work the mine.I also created the "Glass Bridge" allowing me to see the switch at the beginning of the yard. 

This layout was built for short runs and switching operations without any need or want for intricate scenery, basically modelling a very small mountain mining RR, with a small "main street" area (yet to be finished). Ore cars travel from the mine up top to the yard below to be interchanged to a larger mainline. local freights and the occasional passenger train also come by.

still has its issues, but a model railroad is never really "Finished".


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## trains galore (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm excited to see another freelance railway (that's what my layout is, I just pick whatever trains, buildings etc I want, no limits)
Looks good, you just need some more buildings and also maybe consider some working signals, adds to the operations of it I got some modelpower signals for free but they didn't actually light up so I put leds in them
Also some lights inside the buildings are nice to have, I just use 12v MES globes as they are cheap and easy to find.
Also scratchbuilding buildings with what you have is far cheaper than buying buildings new, although model railway shows are a great place to find nice used buildings very cheap.
The most important thing is to put bare essentials (wiring, points, track etc) before buildings and flashy scenery. It's good to have part of it operational to keep you interested in it, and you can always add scenery and buildings later on.
Keep up the good work, looks great


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## XBadwordX (Jul 6, 2013)

i prefer freelanced as well, i can run whatever i want without having to stay within a certain period/location. it also keeps costs to a minimum and results in more time running the trains, which is of course, the point of this hobby (imo). i do have several buildings (most kit-bashed from craigslist buys), just not installed yet, there is a general store, auto/mechanic shop, scrap yard with a few small buildings, water tower, etc. once the base of the layout is completed, i will attach them using hole/peg system or velcro if it doesn't look too bad and they can be easily removed for storage. i also have telephone poles & signals, etc. none working, but will add to the overall look of the layout. i don't plan on running more than 2 trains at a time and Realism/looks isn't necessarily the goal here either- Running the trains are!. i do like the idea for the LED Diodes for signals, you can get them real cheap at micro center, so i suppose i will use that idea on my next build (N Scale). Thanks for the input TG!


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## trains galore (Jul 22, 2013)

Hi again
I completely agree, freelance is so much fun and more affordable for me too!
I just sit most of the buildings on my layout, some are glued. It's worth levelling the area you plan to place your building flat as gaps between the building and the ground look unrealistic. I ended up applying some scenic material around some of mine to cover the gap
With the signals I just used some leds controlled by a dpdt switch so the switch can turn on one set (green) or another (red). It wasn't expensive to do, and you would have to find either some cheap dummy signals (I got them free in a model power kit, alot of them come with them now) or scratch build something.
I set up my whole signal system to be 3v but most signals you can buy ready made run off 12v, so it's worth thinking about whether or not you might want to buy different signals later.

Have fun!


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