# Bman's U-Shaped Layout



## Bman

Ok, I have started in on my new layout. Over the last week I have been busy cutting up the old table, from an 6'x16' to two ~7.5'x5' tables. I also added a 4'x8' and put the three together to make the U (picture below). Before I put the table in place I installed a new 20 amp breaker in the electrical box and ran 8 outlets under the middle table. I'm hoping this will give me enough juice to power all the train goodies.

I just got done leveling and joining all the tables together, I have painted the foam board a brown color and tomorrow I am gonna glue it down. 

I'm trying to go slowly as I am a real impatient person. So I think I will lay down the track first without the roadbed and then get some trains running. That way if I don't like the design I can change it before I get to far in!!

Oh, almost forgot, I installed the new lighting as well, 4 new lights, I think the lighting situation is a little better now.


















My workbench is a mess right now


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## novice

I'm impatient as well - looks good though - I did the same - set up the tables, ran/fixed/struggled with the trains for a few weeks.

Can't wait to see more progress pics


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## swiggy

looking good, ------------great idea on running them first, I just changed my design 3 times. 

i added 2 feet to connect and make a circle with center cut out on my new layout.

I will add pics tomorrow.


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## tjcruiser

Bman,

A bit crazy of me, but the photo I'm drooling over most is the one of the 8-stack of electrical outlets ... ohhhhhh ... nice .... I like !!!

TJ


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## Bman

Ok a couple of pics of the new layout. It's going slow but it's going. I'm just testing it out right now. I gonna lay down all the track and "play" trains for a long while first. At least the boy is happy now that he can watch the trains!!

Check out my video as well


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## swiggy

good work bman!!!!! I am a slight touch ahead of you, but i really like the three lines. Mine is extremely similar, but connects with center cut out.

I cannot wait to see what you put everywhere else:thumbsup:


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## Fighterpilot

Looking good Bman. I know you're anxious to get some progress going, but it's nice to have the trains running while you do the scenery. It's a good break, once in a while, to just sit and watch the trains running. 
I like your quad outlet boxes too. I hope you have them wired and fused at more than 15amps, or you have more than one circuit running to them.


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## Bman

*Turntable Placement*

I just got my new turntable and I wanted to get some opinions on where to put it. I had a couple of Ideas so I did a some mockups and took some pictures. Please let me know what one you like the best.
Thanks

In the first two pictures the turntable and engine house are near the end of the table, the engine house placement is different in the second photo


















Here I have moved the turntable closer to the back of the layout nearer to where the rest of the yard action is.









Different location of the engine house









Alternate view of the last photo.


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## tjcruiser

Fun progress! I like the placement of photo #2.

TJ


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## Bman

tjcruiser said:


> Fun progress! I like the placement of photo #2.
> 
> TJ


Thanks TJ for your reply.

I am going to be putting together more of the yard tonight. I think once that's done I can really have some fun!!!


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## BrooklynBound718

Great job, Bman. I like how your layout is progressing. Does your turntable just sit flat on the table or did you have to hollow out a circular shape to install the turntable?


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## Bman

It's just the inexpensive Atlas turntable but I think it'll do the job. It sits flat on the table you don't need to cut a recess into the top. You do need to have roadbed down under the track so the track and the turntable sits at the same height. 

Right now I won't be able to use the turntable because I purposely do not have any roadbed down. I want to "test drive" the layout first to make sure I have good flow.


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## Gansett

I like the placement in both the #1 and #2 photos, maybe a slight leaning towards #2.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I like the TT near the other tracks as in #1 or #2. The position of the train house is purely a dealer's choice IMO.


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## sstlaure

Are you going to have any other support activities for the engine shop? Sanding stations, diesel fuel depot, etc? I like the last couple of pics.


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## Bman

Thanks everyone for your input, I really appreciate it!!




sstlaure said:


> Are you going to have any other support activities for the engine shop? Sanding stations, diesel fuel depot, etc? I like the last couple of pics.


Yes I do have a sanding station and a fuel depot. I'm not really sure right now were the placement of those items will go. I think I will probably have to add another turnout and put them somewhere closer to the yard.

I have moved the turntable as close to the wall/back of the layout as possible, this will free up some space in front of it to add another spur or just leave it alone for some landscaping/other structures. See Picture below.


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## Bman

Well I ran out of track, so I had to stop with the layout building. But I got pretty far, in fact I am upwards of about 90% complete. 

No pictures on purpose, I am planning a video which I think might be pretty cool. I tried to make it tonight but after about the sixth take of getting it wrong I called it quits. Man it would stink to be a director!!!


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## cabledawg

I like number 4, but couldnt tell you exactly why. Just looks better I guess. Bman I love the space you have and I'm anxious to see the final layout. Curious, what kind of lights do you have overhead? They look pretty bright and clean cut.


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## Bman

cabledawg said:


> I like number 4, but couldnt tell you exactly why. Just looks better I guess. Bman I love the space you have and I'm anxious to see the final layout. Curious, what kind of lights do you have overhead? They look pretty bright and clean cut.


The lights I got from craigs list, I think the guy said they were out of a drug store that he remodeled, so I bought a few of them to put over the layout. 
I kinda ended up with the look of layout #4, I think I posted a pic of the layout design in my design thread.

I have built all of the layout with the exception of the engine storage track and engine maintenance building area, which will have to be modified as there is not enough room. I think it will be just one long track with a runaround for the engine shed. 

I am really liking the method of putting down some track, running the trains, then modifying what needs to be changed before I get too far in with roadbed and landscaping. I don't know how many times I have changed my mind, whether it be after I ran the trains or as I was laying down the track. 

Now I am going to buy some more track and have some more fun with the trains before I take the plunge and start laying down the roadbed!!


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## Komodo

now all you have to do is everything. I like it so far


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## CircusFreakGritz

I like the turntable...beautiful stuff!!


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## Bman

Wow, it's been a real long time since I've posted on the forum. 

Still working ever so slowly on my layout, a building here or there now and then. I've also installed all of my tortoise switch machines for the turnouts and I've wired all except one up to stationary decoders (Digitrax DS64). So at least I have 20 of my 21 turnout's operational. 

I haven't begun to do any landscaping yet and that's really killing me. I just wanted to get all my buildings in place fist and then layout where I am going to put the roads next. I'm almost done with the buildings, at least the ones that are going on the interior of the layout, I plan to eventually put buildings of some type all along the back of the layout by the wall.

I'm gonna make a few changes to the yard, nothing major but I think it will make it a little easier from an operational point of view.

Took a few shots of the layout the way it stands right now.
Feels good to be a part of the forum again!!!:thumbsup:

I really need to look at the camera settings, I apologize but these pictures are horrible, the lighting is dreadful, maybe it was because the batteries were dying

Overall pic










And some closer shots


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## gunrunnerjohn

Who were you again?  Welcome back, looks like you're making progress. You can run trains, so that's a good thing.


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## sstlaure

Nice progress Bman....


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## Mr.Buchholz

Amazing layout! Can't wait to see further progress (and more pics) !

-J.


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## New Berlin RR

Is that factory on the turn table your engine house? if not im needing that for my engine house!! :thumbsup:


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## Bman

Thanks for the comments everyone, I've had a lot of fun working on the train with my son. 






New Berlin RR said:


> Is that factory on the turn table your engine house? if not im needing that for my engine house!! :thumbsup:


The turntable is just an atlas turntable that I kit bashed with a couple of girder bridges. The dremel makes kit bashing easy!!


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## wilson44512

AHHH the good old Canon PowerShot S5 IS. I have one and its still going strong. I always leave it on AV And just adjust Aperture And leave the flash open. This camera likes a lot of light.:thumbsup:

OH And the layout looking good. I'm slowly working on mine


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## sawgunner

Very nice layout!!


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## Bman

wilson44512 said:


> AHHH the good old Canon PowerShot S5 IS. I have one and its still going strong. I always leave it on AV And just adjust Aperture And leave the flash open. This camera likes a lot of light.:thumbsup:
> 
> OH And the layout looking good. I'm slowly working on mine


Thanks for the tip, I'll have to try that.


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## joed2323

Very good so far bman. Next time come visit us sooner  good to see updates of your layout.

I see u managed to get the walthers paper mill before it went missing in action.... hope one day in the near future


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## Xnats

I missed when you posted this Bman  what did you do with the old layout? If I remember right the construction crew was adding a new spur onto a complete layout! Now that crew build a whole new city :laugh:
The new track design is just awesome, you'll have to keep us update


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## Bman

joed2323 said:


> Very good so far bman. Next time come visit us sooner  good to see updates of your layout.
> 
> I see u managed to get the walthers paper mill before it went missing in action.... hope one day in the near future


Yeah I forgot where I ordered that Kraft Mill from, but I'm guessing from your post it's hard to find now. I just picked it up about two months ago. 

Now I would really like that Superior Paper Mill, but I'm not quite sure it will fit, it's over 20" long!!



Xnats said:


> I missed when you posted this Bman  what did you do with the old layout? If I remember right the construction crew was adding a new spur onto a complete layout! Now that crew build a whole new city :laugh:
> The new track design is just awesome, you'll have to keep us update


I decided to change things up a bit. It's going pretty good. I'm still trying to figure out the final placement of some of these structure before I start to go crazy on the landscaping.

Thanks guys for the compliments!!


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## Bman

Well I have acquired the last structure I need for the paper industry, Superior Paper. Boy these buildings are pretty darn big, had to adjust the layout sightly to accommodate the Superior Paper Building. I can only fit 50' and smaller box cars in there, but I'm happy with that.

If you didn't hear the story in my thread about traveling to Wisconsin here's the short version.

I was in a hobby shop in WI when I asked the clerk if they had the Superior Paper Mill, they didn't but this guy came up to me and asked if I wanted to buy his it was already assembled, we met a few hours later and the deal went down, $20.

I didn't really like the color, too red, so I painted it to match my other buildings, had a hard time finding the right color but I think it turned out ok.

Old Building 










Remodeled










The weathering is much more subdued when I look at it here in person, the camera sure pulls out all the colors and makes them a little more intense then they really are


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## joed2323

so jealous of you.... ive been looking for the paper mill also, no luck for me

Looks very good bman, keep the pics coming:thumbsup:

btw, the color is perfect, we have a few paper mills near me, and one looks just like that one, but a little more yellow... nice man


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## sstlaure

Looks great...much better than that red color. 

Have you thought about running that bldg at an angle? You'd have a straighter shot into the loading bay and could probably have a spur along the outside of the building to spot a few cars as well.


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## joed2323

good idea on moving the building over a tad to get a spur next to the building... I like that, sounds like a good move:thumbsup:


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## Bman

sstlaure said:


> Looks great...much better than that red color.
> 
> Have you thought about running that bldg at an angle? You'd have a straighter shot into the loading bay and could probably have a spur along the outside of the building to spot a few cars as well.


I like it as well, my luck is that I laid the track and got it all put down just right, then I read your post, damn!! Oh well track can be moved


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## steam chaser

Very nice,great job.


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## Bman

A couple different configurations for my paper industry. (I'm planning to put a road where I drew the lines in the foreground of the picture)

Getting the box cars in and out of this one was really tight, only small 50' box cars could fit.










Easier for box cars but I thought the loading docks kinda looked awkward facing the tracks like that.










This one could be OK, definitely a different look with the building turned.


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## NIMT

I like the layout in #3 but I think it's not logical, truck traffic would have to cross the main lead in like to the plant.
I would go with layout #2.


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## wilson44512

The progress is looking great:thumbsup:


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## Bman

Gotta put some ballast down one day...but before I do that I need to fill in those missing railroad ties!!! Slow and steady wins the race.


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## Bman

Sorry for that pic size. I was doing a little experimenting with my camera phone!


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## sstlaure

Looking good....got any updated overall shots?


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## tjcruiser

That's an impressive freight yard ... quite the footage of track!

TJ


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## joed2323

Your layout is looking good.. I especially like your paper mill, since im modeling one as well. How big is your space for your mill area? I think your doing a really good job

I like the second picture. In the second picture, could may be able to sneak a spur track just to the right of your warehouse to park some boxcars??? Could you move your warehouse down more to allow for another track? You may have to move the kraft mill over some?? 

Either way you slice it, your doing a good job. Its good to see someone else modeling this industry.

Nice size yard you have


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## broox

sstlaure said:


> Looking good....got any updated overall shots?


Yeah I'd be interested in seeing a full length shot /trackplan


tjcruiser said:


> That's an impressive freight yard ... quite the footage of track!
> 
> TJ


Just puttin it out there... I'm jealous of the size of that yard!


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## Bman

Thanks everyone!!

I've just finished putting in my last two turnouts, I decided to change the yard a little bit and make it easier for departing/arriving trains.

I needed to give the track a good thorough cleaning so I picked up that new tidy track cleaner tool and I must say it works really well!! Anyway, I removed all the engines and cars from the track, so the layout is a mess right now. 

I think my next step is to add ballast to the track. I plan to start with the yard first.

Note: I have no idea how that cement factory ended up next to the turntable. I'm not even sure the cement factory has a place in this layout anymore!










I've moved things around a little in paper mill land. I think I like this configuration the best now.


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## joed2323

Do you have pictures of your tracks leading into the warehouse and mill area??
How far do you plan on going with your mill? Is it going to have a digester, wood chip pyle, log pyle and so on and so on?? I hope you have some room for a log pyle and or woodchip pyle. Good job with the placement of your structures.

I like this industry. You can look out many different model paper mills on the net and in real life and not 1 is alike, they are all different in shape and size.

You mentioned ballasting the track. Did you plan on painting the track at all? If so its easier to do it now before you ballast

Btw- your layout is looking very nice.


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## KAL5

Great looking layout love the track work and the yard. I wish i did a little more planing like you did when i did my layout.


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## Bman

It's been a long slow road with this layout, but partly on purpose. I really wanted to run trains and then make adjustments to the track to make the layout operate smoother. I think its working pretty well now and I wanted to start moving on to some landscaping. 

I'm gone right now, when I get back I want to post some more pics, answer the questions you guys had and most importantly get more of your opinions


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## Bman

joed2323 said:


> Do you have pictures of your tracks leading into the warehouse and mill area??
> How far do you plan on going with your mill? Is it going to have a digester, wood chip pyle, log pyle and so on and so on?? I hope you have some room for a log pyle and or woodchip pyle. Good job with the placement of your structures.
> 
> You mentioned ballasting the track. Did you plan on painting the track at all? If so its easier to do it now before you ballast
> 
> Btw- your layout is looking very nice.


Thanks!! I'm hoping to at least have a woodchip pile and I would really like to have a log pile as well. I think I should be able to squeeze it in. I'm going to post some pics in my next post so say tuned!!!

As for painting the track, I didn't really want to do that but now I'm starting to have some second thoughts, I'm going to have to consider that now.




KAL5 said:


> Great looking layout love the track work and the yard. I wish i did a little more planing like you did when i did my layout.


That's funny that you said that, when I look at other layouts I feel exactly the same way.


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## Bman

I have some new pics that I would like to share.

I wanted to get a shot of my modification to the yard. The arrow points to a new turnout I installed, with this turnout my first yard spur is now an arrival/departure (A/D) track. My thoughts on this was that the train can pull off of Main #2 into A/D #1, if A/D #1 is occupied it can pull into A/D #2. On the other end, both A/D #1 and #2 empty back directly to Main #2 (next pic).










Again, the arrow in this pic is a new turnout so A/D #2 can empty into Main #2










This is just a shot of where I would like to put in some piping to go along with my oil tanks. I'm trying to model some tanker cars being offloaded and/or filled here.










Here are some shots of the Paper Mill buildings. I moved the Paper mill around, I like the side of the building that now faces the road. This allows for the spur to easily enter the building and truck traffic can now proceed between the two buildings to the dock at the back of the mill. 










The arrow in this pic points to a spur I'm not sure I need any longer. Although I can probably do some brainstorming on how to incorporate it.


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## broox

Looks like a fun layout mate :thumbsup:

what are you planning for sceniking?


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## gunrunnerjohn

Looks like it's going to be an impressive layout!


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## joed2323

Bman- layout is looking good!

About painting the track, that is totally your call if you want to or not.
I think once the track is painted and ballasted it really comes alive and looks good! Personal preference really...

What are those other 2 buildings going to be or suppose to be at the paper mill area? The pikestuff building i actually am using that one as a trucking company truck shop.
I am definitely interested in your paper mill industry.

I think you did a good with your layout thus far. Keep us posted with updates of course...


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## Bman

joed2323 said:


> Bman- layout is looking good!
> 
> About painting the track, that is totally your call if you want to or not.
> I think once the track is painted and ballasted it really comes alive and looks good! Personal preference really...
> 
> What are those other 2 buildings going to be or suppose to be at the paper mill area? The pikestuff building i actually am using that one as a trucking company truck shop.
> I am definitely interested in your paper mill industry.
> 
> I think you did a good with your layout thus far. Keep us posted with updates of course...


Thanks joed, from what I gather, in my last picture the building in front on the left is the main building, it's where the paper is made and shipped out. The building on the right in front is the Kraft mill, where the wood is made into pulp and the building in the back on the right is the recovery boiler. I guess its boils down the leftovers from the kraft mill and ships it out/burns it to power the entire paper operation.

I'm not some kind of paper mill expert by any means, I got all my info from the walthers site in the description of the kits/


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## Bman

broox said:


> Looks like a fun layout mate :thumbsup:
> 
> what are you planning for sceniking?


Sorry I missed your question!!

I didn't want to get too fancy with this layout, meaning elevation. I was really just going for a big yard and some industry. A real inner city type of feel.


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## norgale

Darn I sure envy you guys with nice big basements. Oh well,maybe someday. Looking great Bman. Pete


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## buickestate

Looks good, wish I was at that stage...


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## Mr.Buchholz

Buildings look awesome, that main yard is massive, and it's neat to see all the CN locos and rolling stock, as well as some of that Grand Trunk rolling stock you have. I pondered some GT stuff, seeing as how my layout is CN rail based. Haven't decided yet, though.

Keep up the good work!

-J.


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## joed2323

bman- hope you have some updates for us. Ive been wondering how your layout is coming along?


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## Bman

*Sorry it's been a while!!*

It was a crazy last semester for me, had a tough class and a big paper to write but it is all over with now, (I now have a Master's degree in Chemistry )

Anywho...Christmas was crazy as usual but I've had some time off and some ambition to get working on the RR again. I've done some ballasting, not completed yet but getting closer. Here are a few pics. 

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


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## joed2323

Good to hear from you again brandon!:thumbsup:

Good for you on your degree

Now back to the train room you and get to workin


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## BrooklynBound718

Bman said:


> It was a crazy last semester for me, had a tough class and a big paper to write but it is all over with now, (I now have a Master's degree in Chemistry )
> 
> Anywho...Christmas was crazy as usual but I've had some time off and some ambition to get working on the RR again. I've done some ballasting, not completed yet but getting closer. Here are a few pics.
> 
> I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and....
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


Congrats on the Masters degree. I received my Masters this past June in Social Work. I know the science degrees are no joke. My wife has a B.S. in Science and a Masters in Material Science and Engineering. Congrats again on your achievement :thumbsup:


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## sstlaure

Nice job Bman - on both the RR and the degree. MS in Product Development (Engineering/Mgmt) 2003 here.


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## Bman

BB718 Good for you and your wife, (Material Science is good stuff) Thanks, and congrats to you and your wife as well!! :thumbsup:


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## Bman

Just a few shots of some landscaping I've been doing.


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## Bman

I'm asking for opinions here...I was looking at Google maps at overheads of train yards and I found this shot of a yard in Detroit near the Marathon refinery. What I like about it is how the trees line almost the entire one side of the yard.










That got me thinking about doing the same thing with my layout along the back wall. I could still do a backdrop some day as well but the trees in front might look pretty good. Any thoughts/other ideas??










Thanks


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## matt785115

I think that would look great back there!


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## sstlaure

That's a great idea. If you really wanted to go all out, you could go down there and take a series of pictures of the area from the proper angle and make a photo backdrop with the trees in the immediate foreground to hide the transition between backdrop and layout.


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## broox

Man that is coming along nicely

Just a bit of ballast and a few little trees really make it lift.

i cant wait to see how much difference a few more trees and a few more details make :thumbsup:


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## Big Ed

Either the row of trees you see were planted as a buffer zone between the yard and the rest of the world. Or they left them there while developing was going on. They do act as a sound barrier.

If you do it, I would do the backdrop then the trees.
It would be a whole lot easier.
To bad you didn't have an Art degree too. 
You could paint the backdrop on.:thumbsup:

Your table is looking great.An interesting layout. :thumbsup:


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## Bman

Thanks everyone...I'm happy to finally to some landscaping, a little bit of color really makes the layout look a lot better. The problem I usually have is that I'll come up with a plan and about half way through I'll realize that I like something better..or what I did really didn't turn out looking good and I'll have to start over hwell:

My method is to just take it slow and that seems to work for me!!

Now I have to stock up on some supplies and finish gluing down the rest of the ballast in the yard so I can run those trains again!! (That's what the boy and the girl want to see!)


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## Bman

More landscaping, it's going pretty well, I can't believe how much glue I am using, it's insane. 

Anyway, I thought my fueling/sanding area turned out pretty decent so I thought I'd throw up a pic.


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## sstlaure

Looks great.


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## coupman35

That coming alone very nice i which i had the place to do a bigger layout.


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## Bman

A little more progress today, it's only been about a year but I finally installed and powered the track inside my engine shed. I also finished the yard (for now). I still have some more work to do on the yard but I think I'm gonna call it good for a while.


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## N scale catastrophe

Looking good, like the weathering on the engines too.


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## Bman

N scale catastrophe said:


> Looking good, like the weathering on the engines too.


:thumbsup: Thanks, there was a whole lotta "I have no idea what I am doing" involved in weathering those engines!!


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## tjcruiser

Bman,

Your weathering / industrial ground cover is excellent. Dirty and grungy ... just like the real world! (I thought I was looking at a real-life pic there for a moment!)

TJ


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