# Layouts: replicate real life or made up scenes?



## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

In everyone's experience, do you normally see people modeling real life locations, completely fantasy or a mixture? There's one large set up that's nearby me that they went ahead and put together a bunch of local areas, compacted down into one huge layout. I really like that idea. I'm sure every detail isn't exact for the time period but it's themed anyway. 

From what I've read, it looks like a lot of people pick themes from an area they like. If I was planning a set up right now, there's a few different areas I'd like to model that are roughly 50 miles apart but would be really neat to model together in a layout. To go with several locales put into one layout, I think it would make it more interesting. Some could be modeled very close to real life while other areas might be harder to replicate.


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## Bucklaew (Oct 7, 2010)

I think it is go with what you want. I am working on a fictional village of Buck's Ville. That being said I think a little artistic licence is taken by every builder. To me it is just the fun of making something which catches my Grandsons eye. But it is all fun.


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## Smokestack Lightning (Oct 31, 2010)

If you like realism. Pick a time frame and do several dioramas in a row. Tying them together into 1 badass setup. That's my ultimate plan. I will concentrate on one scene before moving on. This way you won't get overwhelmed.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I like realistic free-lanced layouts. Not necessarily identical to a prototype, but using selective compression to get the overall feel/identity of the prototype you're trying to emulate.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

completely made up, not basing on any specific location, but rather building what fits. on top of north American freight (BNSF, NS mostly) my fiction world also has excursion passanger trains of german origin: E10 electric engine epoh IV , BR610 DMU and a BR97 steamer with almost matching coaches.


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## beavis (Dec 3, 2010)

I'm planning on simulating S.E. Michigan and only using train lines and freight that run in these parts but other than that all fictional. But to stay in theme, it won't have mountains or desert and such, just native Michigan ground cover.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

I prefer scenes over theming a whole layout, primarily because you can completely replicate much of what's around a railroad except mileage. Scenes catch people's eye better as well. A perfect replica of a local hill or a stretch of track in HO scale looks little different that a freelanced one but a particular scene can easily be recognized by those familiar with the area. Something I built a couple years back to honor a fellow modeler who passed away earlier, this was his shop...


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## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

Wow! Awesome job on that pharmacy. 

It looks like I'm not off base with what I'd like to do eventually. I have to tell you guys, the area where I live (and work around) is like a train lovers Mecca. 
If you look at Illinois on a map and look up to the farthest NW tip of IL, there's a little town called E. Dubuque, right across the Mississippi from Dubuque, IA. At the end of the main street in that town, there's a tunnel that comes out of the hillside that would be great to model off of a wall. 

There's a BNSF office right next to it. The track goes under a large bridge that goes across the river and then three tracks with sidings, run parallel along 4-lane U.S. 20 for several miles before splitting off. Its pretty busy up there. 

That track continues 50 miles south to the town where I live. The pair of tracks run along the Mississippi (the roadbed blends into riprap going down to the river's edge) for several miles. Then we've got an IC&E yard in town with a large BNSF yard next to it! A lot of cool old and new bridges around. A lot of train traffic to look at 24/7. 

If I don't like these settings, about 20 miles south of me there's a large Union Pacific yard next to a major ADM facility next to the river that's really cool. I get ideas about every time I leave my house.


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

sstlaure said:


> I like realistic free-lanced layouts. Not necessarily identical to a prototype, but using selective compression to get the overall feel/identity of the prototype you're trying to emulate.


This is what we are doing with our layout. We wanted to do my hometown of Colville, which has alot of small industry switching possibilities, but there is no way we could replicate the entire town on our layout. So we chose our town theme, which is a main street with some side streets. 

Main street will have older 2-3 story buildings with a drive in burger joint and a gas station. We are actually trying to build the burger joint to replicate the one in our hometown, but everything else will just have the "feel" of Colville. Our expansion will include sawmills similar to those in Colville and while we want to include the feed store, we may substitute that for a tractor and implement shop to give the kids some freight to haul around.

What is different about our town, however, is that Colville doesnt have a passenger terminal, but our town does. The kids wanted a passenger train, so we simply added a spur track and a terminal building. 

Once everything is done, somebody from Colville may recognize a few features, but otherwise it isnt prototypical.


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