# Layout Decisions - HELP!!!



## charliem (Dec 23, 2012)

On most of the post I've seen of others layouts, they all seem to have a name and/or a theme. And truthfully it's a bit overwhelming!!! I'm wanting to build a small N scale layout (still considering a Z scale but that's another debate !) that I can setup and take down easily, and transport if need be. Looking at approx. 36"x24" . But, back to the theme / era of the layout. How do you decide on which way to go? Part of me would enjoy recreating a 1920's / 1930's era Southeast Texas scene. Is there one era that's more suited for a newer modeler to build? Are there any articles / books on this subject? And, when a era / theme is decided on, where do you get ideas for structures, landscaping, etc? Maybe I'm making the decision more difficult than it is. 

Also, if anyone wants to chime in on N vs Z, I'll gladly listen to any opinions. I had a HO layout in the late 70's but no room for one now. Thanks!


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Unfortunately, there is no shortcut, and we would mostly advise not looking for one. It's part of the charm of our hobby; the history of railroading, and what part of that history your own may have intersected with. That's where we often take our cues. 

If your only history with railroading is the modern diesel and operations, that seems to be a great starting point...unless you have some other bug working in you, such as logging railways of the early 20th Century.

You have to figure this out for yourself. You read lots, think about what your emotions are telling you, and then you go on line and begin to look for rolling stock that might be available to you. You look in at least two scales. From there, you will understand how easily you will be able to build a layout of any description and enjoy the hobby with semi-realistic and representative items of all kinds, structures, rails, rolling stock, scenery....

The further back in history you want to go, the tougher it is generally. If there's little market for that stuff, there's going to be little incentive to capitalize models and keep them gathering dust on shelves until some poor soul comes along and offers to buy. Our entrants over the years tend to get railroading under their skin based on what they see, and that is what rolls on the rails at present. The older folks, often near retirement or fully put out to pasture, tend to harken back to older times in their childhood. For 90% of us that are left, that puts us at the very end of steam, or into the 60's where there was no mainline steam working anywhere in N. America.

Truth be told, many of us fudge. We like some steam, we like the modern SD-70M-2. And we'll eventually pay for at least one of each. And, we'll enjoy both, even while both are mounted on the rails in full view. We have to determine, each of us, what we want out of the hobby. The challenge, then is how to go about getting to that point.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

charliem said:


> Maybe I'm making the decision more difficult than it is.


Bingo!

There is really no guide to this except your own feelings and desires. And, as mesenteria says, there is no reason you HAVE to be consistent. Your layout, your rules.

There is a wealth of information out there, both on the Internet and in print, about what ran where and when. If you want to be realistic, some digging will tell you what you need to know. If you don't want to be realistic, then who cares what you do.

I personally use a modified reality. The setting is the Connecticut Valley line of the New Haven RR in Summer, 1956. But in my alternate world, the hurricane of '55 was much more severe, so traffic that formerly ran over the Shore Line is routed up to Middletown and back south over the Valley Line, and the shortage of locomotives made the NH re-activate some mothballed steam locomotives (historically, the NH was all diesel by 1953). So this gives me an "excuse" to run the levels of traffic I want, the types of equipment I want, in the location I want.

You don't even have to pick one location. Strategic use of scenery dividers (whether backdrops or tall scenery / structures) can effectively separate your layout into two or more sections which can have entirely different scenery.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*N vs Z and ease of era*



charliem said:


> On most of the post I've seen of others layouts, they all seem to have a name and/or a theme. And truthfully it's a bit overwhelming!!! I'm wanting to build a small N scale layout (still considering a Z scale but that's another debate !) that I can setup and take down easily, and transport if need be. Looking at approx. 36"x24" . But, back to the theme / era of the layout. How do you decide on which way to go? Part of me would enjoy recreating a 1920's / 1930's era Southeast Texas scene. Is there one era that's more suited for a newer modeler to build? Are there any articles / books on this subject? And, when a era / theme is decided on, where do you get ideas for structures, landscaping, etc? Maybe I'm making the decision more difficult than it is.
> 
> Also, if anyone wants to chime in on N vs Z, I'll gladly listen to any opinions. I had a HO layout in the late 70's but no room for one now. Thanks!


charliem;

N-scale is much more popular than Z-scale. This has two benefits. First there is a wider variety of equipment available. Second N-scale is a little less expensive than Z-scale. That said, they are both perfectly viable scales, and either would fit your small space. 
The selection issue gets more significant the further back in history you set your railroad. Modeling the 1920s means steam locomotives. Diesels didn't even start to show up on American railroads until the mid-1930s. There are a lot more American steam locomotive available in N-scale. The freight, and passenger, cars are also more plentiful in N-scale. There are structures available too. Design Preservation Models offers brick and wood stores, warehouses, etc. which would fit any era from 1900 up to the present day.
So, if you want to model a tiny bit of Texas, in the 1920s, you should be able to find what you will need in N-scale.
As far as actual construction is concerned, one era is no harder than another. If you mean availability of the parts needed, then generally, the further back you go, the less there is available. As you can see above, the scale choice also has a strong effect on the number of available products.

good luck, have fun!

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:

I model the 1920s on my Milwaukee electrified railroad, in N-scale. Electrics were the only alternative to steam back then, but they were pretty rare in the USA.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

You mentioned the ability to pick up and go. I have seen at show suit case layouts for Z scale and sometimes N. Basically the complete layout is self contained in the suitcase and when opened all that needs to be done is to place the cars on the track and enjoy.


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