# My 30" x 30" N scale Layout Project



## ptl5spd

*- If you would just like to view the pictures, check out this photobucket slideshow! -
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So today marks the beginning of my first model RR since I was about 12. I never really finished my first one before I lost interest. This time my age and the size of my layout should make it easier for me to complete.


This layout will be based on a Bachmann Highballer N scale train set made up of a 24" circle of track and a 30"x30" platform that will be made of insulation foam board.

My idea is to make a simple rural wooded area with a large hill/mountain, lake, saw mill, and coal mine. that goes into one corner of the mountain. I will be making the mountain from paper mache, the terrain will be sculpted into the foam with a torch. The lake will be made of that instant water stuff.

All together I think this layout might cost around $200 total and that's with every single piece I have to buy to complete it including the three buildings, trees, terrain, ballast, glue, everything down to the table it's put on.

here is my project plan. Just a simple vector layout made in photoshop.










The empty corner might be cut down and turned into a "control station" that way everything needed for the layout is on this board. The back of the mountain will actually be where the re-railer is, it will have an opening large enough for me to get in it. I pretty much want it to be something you can take the train off of, pick up, and plug in somewhere else.

Keep in mind I'm not really going for ultra realistic since this is just a circle and the terrain/idea might not be something you would see in real life. I wanted a small layout that I could build in a month or two for a small price.


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## tjcruiser

Looks like a fun micro setup! Our member Choo Choo (Greg) is a fan of micro layouts in HO ... he's posted pics of some really fun super-tiny examples (many from Japanese builders), and it's amazing how much realism can be incorporated into such a small, simple layout.

Have fun, and keep us posted,

TJ


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## ptl5spd

Yes I actually found him before I joined and that's what gave me the idea to start small. I was going to actually do a pizza layout but then when I got into adding all of my stuff and the control board I figured I should stick with a square.

I will be posting lots of pictures and videos as I am actually a editor/cameraman for a small advertising company and I've always got my Canon 60D or XSi within reach. The trains I had when I was a kid never really got photographed and when I went looking for my old train layout I found ONE picture of it half finished. I'm not going to let that happen this time!


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## deboardfam

Sweet look forward to it.. Would like to do something similar with a shelf layout.


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## ptl5spd

Update:

Got my kit in. Just a simple loco, 2 cars, caboose, and 24" circle track.

















Got everything out and tested it. Seems as if my controller has two speeds, fast and super fast. I talked to amazon and since the controller is the same model as the one they sell separately they said they would just send me one and to return the other as if it was bought by itself.

Since I was able to do this I jumped right in and did some aging. This was done with charcoal pastels grinded into a powder and brushed on with a small fan brush. Once I liked the finish I sprayed them with a single light coating of matte clear coat. 


















I took my time as well as I could and to the naked eye I think it looks really good. On the following shots you can see some finger groves and on the caboose I think I sprayed a bit too close and caused some little dots.




Here is the engine

before









after









on track











coal car

before








after









on track











box car

before








after









on track











caboose

before









after









on track














All together I think all of the cars took me 20-30 minutes including drying time. I think it would have taken much longer had I gone with an HO scale train and used more colors. At first I was going to wait and add more, but once I finished the coal car and sat it on the track it looked great to me. 


Tomorrow I am cutting out my foam board and I'm going to start texturing it and will probably start creating the mountains shape out of paper balls and stuff.


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## inxy

Nice job on the weathering. I am curious, how did you do the weathering - air brush, chalk or... ? My cars are weathered by old age, after cleaning from years of storage they still look beat up.


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## ptl5spd

Thanks!

This was done with charcoal pastels sanded into a powder and brushed on with a small fan brush. Once I liked the finish I sprayed them with a single light coating of matte clear coat.

I would cover the brush in the charcoal and brush it horizontally and vertically, then blew of the extra dust. I went back and used a cuetip/myfinger to thin out some of the open spots and keep the dirt by the groves. The clear coat was just krylon matte clear coat, you have to be about 6" away when you spray it and I only sprayed each side once with a quick swipe. I didn't want it to build up and be noticeable.

I know what you mean about the old dirt on stuff. My grandparents bought me a train set from Germany about 8 years ago when they went to visit family. I kept it because it was from germane and I don't think it's been out of its box for 5-6 years, I looked at it the other day and man does it look its age!


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## tjcruiser

Nice weatherng work / description!


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## inxy

Thank for the how you did it reply. Still working on scenery but headed to paint and weather soon, I hope.
I don't know which takes longer - learning how to do it or doing it. 

B


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## Conductorjoe

ptl5spd said:


> The trains I had when I was a kid never really got photographed and when I went looking for my old train layout I found ONE picture of it half finished. I'm not going to let that happen this time!


I agree......Have Built many layouts over the years. Wish I had pics of the ones I built as a kid.
I plan On taking alot of pics with my latest project.


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## ptl5spd

inxy said:


> Thank for the how you did it reply. Still working on scenery but headed to paint and weather soon, I hope.
> I don't know which takes longer - learning how to do it or doing it.
> 
> B


No problem! I think it always takes longer to learn, but practice makes perfect! I actually wanted to start a hobby that WOULD take time, my job is really fast paced and doing photo shoots and websites in my spare time has turned into work more than play. I like this cause I can sit at my card table with all of my supplies, prop up the iPad, have a soda, and work away while looking through youtube videos of layouts, how-tos, and parts/sets while I work on my layout


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## ptl5spd

Got my new controller in. Works much better. Here is a clip of my lowest running speed, well at least the lowest smooth running speed. 

Click here!

I have only run this loco about 5 minutes total since I got it. The other controller's internals were damaged and it would only run WOT and I just didn't even want to watch/listen to that lol. I'm gonna run it for a little bit while I cut my base out. Then once I'm done setting things up for the tunnel and I'm set to carve I'm gonna take it off the base and run it some more.

(btw the youtube embed thing doesn't seem to work and I would like to change my threads title to 30"x30"! can anyone help? thanks!)


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## tjcruiser

Thread title changed!

TJ


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## ptl5spd

tjcruiser said:


> Thread title changed!
> 
> TJ


Thanks a lot!


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## ptl5spd

update:

Tried to make my mountain this weekend and didn't like how it was turning out so I'm starting over this afternoon. I tried a little bit of everything this weekend from ballasting to aging track to carving foam and I've figured out a few things I wanna do.

The tunnel is going to be built from 3 layers of foam. They will be cut into 3 matching shapes, except the bottom two will have a tunnel cut out. Then I glue the 3 layers together then carve them as one piece. I will then take pieces of foam to fill in the ends where the tunnel will obviously be way too tall. 

The sand ballast looks good but i will have to paint it. I found a nice looking tan paint to use. I may order some real ballast with my terrain stuff to compare and see if I'd rather use it instead.

My Buildings should be on there way this week, I may get them by friday or next monday. Once I do I will be able to build up the terrain's shape with puddy. I'll paint the layout with a coat of tan latex paint and then set the track in place. I'll order my terrain supplies then apply ballast, grass, and trees. I will carve out the pond/lake and paint it until I get my realistic water stuff.

I'm already looking at another layout idea using the Little Joe train set. It will be a canyon set where the train is actually about 4"-5" off the ground. One turn will have a tunnel through the canyon, the two straights will have bridges, and the other turn will cut into the canyon on the other side. Then I'll have a dry riverbed on the base. But I'm going to focus on this one for now and make sure I can actually finish it and like it.


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## Xnats

That is the best thing to do. Just have fun and try different means and methods. When the time comes to start over you'll be better equipped, just try to save track, building and the pricey things. Gluing them down now can become destructive at demo time. I destroyed of lot of kato track ripping up my layout hwell: but then again I'll be using flex on the next anyway


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## ptl5spd

Yeah I'm not gluing ANYTHING down until I do the earth colored paint coat and think it looks good. I've got such a small layout that the 4x8 sheet of foam should be good for about 3-4 attempts at my mountain shape. Hopefully my first go around will turn out well enough for me to want to keep!


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## ptl5spd

UPDATE:

So I've made a bit of progress.

- Got my new mountain carved and added a few hills around the edge of the layout. Applied joint compound to the edges of the hills to blend them into the base. Also using joint compound to blend the layers of the mountain together. i have a lot of sanding and stuff to finish!

- Should have my buildings in today! Also ordered a woodland scenics "Mountain Valley" Kit that has all of the turf, trees, ballast, and everything I need to finish the layout as far as the terrain goes. The kit is designed for a 4x8 layout so I should definitely have enough to finish this layout and my next small layout. Looked at buying everything separately and it was going to cost almost twice as much as the kit.

So here's my total spending for my project:

train set: $60
Foam board: $20
Glue, sand paper, paint: $30
Buildings: $50
Scenery kit: $70

So all in all I'm in it $230. A bit over my target but the thing is my next one will only cost me the train set and buildings, since I will still have foam board and all of the other supplies to finish it.


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## tjcruiser

Sounds like a MasterCard commercial ...



ptl5spd said:


> train set: $60
> Foam board: $20
> Glue, sand paper, paint: $30
> Buildings: $50
> Scenery kit: $70


Smile on face: PRICELESS!

:thumbsup:


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## ptl5spd

haha yeah, I must admit that it is really fun. You have to know a little about everything to do this hobby, I've worked with art supplies, construction supplies, crafts, you name it I've had to do a bit of it to get my layout going.


UPDATE:

Pictures will be up this afternoon, worked on the laptop this weekend and didn't get everything finished in time to upload.

- I aged my buildings using the same method as I did with the loco and rolling stock

- Finished most of my touch up on the seams/edges of the layout with the joint compound, now I'm just sanding areas to smooth them out a little.

- Working on under-layout wiring for the structures and stuff.

- Now it's just a waiting game, my scenery kit should be in before Christmas and then this layout will be pretty much finished. I do plan on adding some signals at the tunnel ends and a crossing signal where the road is, but other than that my layout is too tiny to add a whole lot of extra stuff to it.


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## ptl5spd

So ran into a few snags the past few days, the girlfriends car wasn't starting and I got a bit of work done on it for her as an early Christmas present.

I did get the pictures of my ages buildings though. 

water tower










coal depot










lumber yard










and here is 2 snapshots of what I have done so far with my layout. I don't want to really show much until I get the earth coat on.



















I ALSO just won a ebay auction on a lot of n scale track. 49 pieces of straight track, 33 curved, 5 crossings, 3 switches and two power connector tracks. I will use this to make my next layout. from what I see I should be able to make it quite long but narrow. I will have 2 industries and one loco garage. Hopefully I can win an lot auction on some rolling stock someday soon too.


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## tjcruiser

PTL,

Nice progress! A well-themed micro layout. Looking forward to the next steps!

TJ


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## agiantfan

Nice thus far!!!


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## ptl5spd

Ok so I'm always jumping the gun and I'm having a hard time documenting ALL of my steps, once I start working I just don't stop lol.

Today I put the earth coat on the base and mountain, ballasted the sections of track that are in the tunnel so when you look down the tunnel it's got something in there. I then put the mountain on top and glued it down, patching the break point around the edges. I left the edges close to the track unfixed as I will take rocks and bushes to cover that up. I didn't want to get spackling in my ballast lol.

Here are some pictures of what's been done so far.














































Tomorrow I will paint my patches and do a little color washing. Then I will put my turf down. After that it's on to setting up my buildings, then building up turf around them.

I've also won another ebay auction for some rolling stock and a life like gp-38. I really wanted it for the rolling stock, the gp-38 supposedly runs but is jerky so I will take a look at it and see if I can get it running smooth. if not I think $24 for 9 pieces of rolling stock was a pretty good deal.


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## ptl5spd

UPDATE:

Also just won a yard boss set (model before the current one) for $26, new in box still in plastic wrap. Comes with 1 1/2 x 3ft of track, controller, 0-6-0 w/tender, 3 rolling stock and caboose. Was worth it just for the loco and rolling stock, will probably use track and controller for my larger layout I'm going to make with the track and rolling stock i won last week. Looks like ebay was the best way to get started in this hobby cheap! I'll be kept busy with all the stuff I've gotten recently.

still planning on finishing up the base coat, ballasting, and ground cover later today. was so bored last night i tested out a little ground cover on the very top of the mountain, it really helped. i thought it was starting to look a little iffy but I think I'll like it once I add the finishing touches.


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## eljefe

Seems like you have a high opinion of the Highballer set. I've been interested in N-scale but reviews of most sets seem to criticize durability. Does this set seem like something that will hold up over time?


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## ptl5spd

I think with proper care it will last a while. I would suggest it as a cheap starting point, along with the other bachmann n scale sets. A lot of people don't seem to like them, I'm not sure why. My loco can run nice and slow, never derails, same with my rolling stock, and the track and controller work just fine too. I think a lot of the people who have issues with durability are giving these sets to kids or they are treating them like toys.


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## Conductorjoe

eljefe said:


> Seems like you have a high opinion of the Highballer set. I've been interested in N-scale but reviews of most sets seem to criticize durability. Does this set seem like something that will hold up over time?


 I personally do not care for Bachman and consider it lower quality than something like Athearn, Atlas and Kato. However not everyone has the same tastes or the same pocket book.Even if they have the means to spend more they may choose not too. Its like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. There are different levels of quality in HO scale as well.
If it makes you happy and you are having fun thats all that matters in this hobby.
All my locos are either Atlas or Kato and I wont run anything else , but thats me.
As an experienced N scale modeler of many years , I see PTL taking a small set and making a very nice micro layout with it. Thats the other great thing about N scale is how much you can do in such little space.


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## ptl5spd

eljefe, definitely take note from conductorjoe. Bachmann is the cheapest/lowest quality, which is why there prices are the lowest. Not that the sets are bad, but a kato or athearn set would be much better. If you have the money or you're pretty sure you are going to stick with the hobby then I would suggest investing in a nice set. I bought mine purely as an impulse idea for a hobby because of it's low price, and now that I really enjoy it I plan on doing a full yard/industry layout with some quality locos and track.


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## ptl5spd

UPDATE:

So I finished ballasting and painting, and now I've thrown a temporary patch of green turf on. I'm going to see how I like it before I start to really get into it. I am still thinking of clearing an area by the mountain for a pond, but I am going to practice making the right color mix to create it.

Here's a few shots of the semi-turfed layout with full ballast. I am still cleaning a few bits off the edges of the rails and on the ties.





































I also got it the rolling stock and life like gp38 2 I won off of ebay. The rolling stock was in great condition but the engine did not run, but I knew that. I really wanted it for the rolling stock and I figured I could try to fix the loco. Well i got lucky and after a good cleaning the engine runs just fine. I put most of the rolling stock on the track and took it all for a spin with the new loco on the layout.

here's a short video!

My yard boss set should be in tomorrow or if not sometime next week. I believe it had an unreadable address when it first shipped so I'm not sure what the actual arrival time will be. Hopefully the steam loco runs well. It's brand new never opened still in the plastic.



*A question for a moderator or admin:* Is there any way to embed a youtube video in the forum? the youtube tag doesn't seem to work.


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## ptl5spd

Got in my 0-6-0 set. Runs pretty good. Here is a short clip of the loco running on my layout.


Bachmann 0-6-0 video


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## Xnats

It is looking sharp, grats on the Ebay win, that was a great steal.


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## ptl5spd

Thanks! I'm still moving along a little at a time. I'm glad I got lucky with those locos and stuff on ebay, I saved a lot of money!


UPDATE: I've put down more turf and added some bushes/trees/ The turf, rocks, and bushes are all glued down, the trees are just sitting there until I'm sure I like them there. The buildings are also not secured, and as some of you might have noticed there's no way to get to them! I'm going to get some grey ballast and use it as a "gravel" road and parking, but I am thinking about adding a freight depot on the opposite side of the track in the empty corner. I've got a lot of box cars, no lumber loads, and only 2 coal cars. I'll pick up some lumber cars with my freight depot unless I find some good deals on ebay again!


*here is another update video!*




**​


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## ptl5spd

UPDATE:

I have finished my basic terrain as of now. My last steps are blending my buildings into the terrain, adding a dirt road, and then adding other little things like people, animals, cars, signs, and more.























































To add my base terrain I first covered my rails with some masking tape, then sprayed down the entire layout with scenic spray. I then sprinkled on a mixed fine green turf. Once I covered the entire layout I added a medium green turf on top to add some depth. I then added bushes, gluing them down with elmers glue. Once I was happy with the base terrain I then sprayed the entire layout with more scenic spray. The trees are just sitting on the layout until I get some more and decide where I want to put them for sure. I still need to get some light grey ballast to add my gravel roads and parking lots.


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## tjcruiser

PTL,

That looks FABULOUS! Our local micro resident Choo Choo (Greg) is an HO guy, but he's going to be very, very jealous of your layout. Very, very nice.

My only suggestion is in regards to the tunnel portals ... or lack thereof. I realize your going for a mining operations look, so I wouldn't expect lavish stone/mason portals. However, wouldn't any mining tunnel have some sort of timber bracing in way of the portals, echoing some timber framing in way of the tunnel roof itself?

Looks great ... thanks for sharing,

TJ


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## ptl5spd

I'm glad you think it turned out well! 

As far as tunnel portals I really wanted to add some that look like they were thrown together really quick with some spare lumber, but I wasn't sure what to use as lumber.

Here's an example of what I'd want to go for. 










I was thinking about balsa wood for planks and dowels that I would carve into logs or something, but I wasn't sure if there was a more realistic alternative. I'm also not sure what to do to make the wood actually look like aged wood instead of brand new 2x4's.

When I figure that out and make my tunnel portals I also want to make a mine entrance in the front of the mountain. I would make a small rail system leading back to the coal depot using the rails from some spare pieces of track. I'd have to figure out what to do about mining cars, I guess I would just have to build them myself.


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## ptl5spd

So I decided to play with some photoshop and show off my final ideas. 

Here is what the road and the possible mine tunnel and rail will look like.










this sketch is really crude compared to my tunnel portal ideas.



















I found some tutorials on aging balsa/bass wood, I'm going to run by a hobby shop sometime this week and pick some up to practice on.


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## tjcruiser

Your concepts look quite good ... I think you're on a great track (no pun intended!).

I'd suggest you shy away from balsa ... it's quite soft, and I don't think it will give the realistic weathered wood you're going for. Boxwood is a good choice for modeling, if you can get your hands on some. As for aging, I've actually burried wood in dirt in the yard for a while, and then dug it up ... does wonders for adding "character"! Extended bright direct sun can help, too, but you likely don't have the luxury of time.

Keep us posted!

TJ


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## ptl5spd

I will see what I can find as far as wood. I hear bass wood is also a lot better than balsa. Balsa was the first thing that came to mind since I was in drafting all through middle school and high school and we built all sorts of stuff out of it. Easy to work with and easy to get, but was very soft and too fine.


As far as aging I will def try the real world aging while I try out other things. I'm in no rush as far as the finishing details, I just wanted to get the bulk of the dirty work done before Christmas because the table I was using was actually one of the ones we were going to have to use for our dinner


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## mwpeber

Nice progress in such a short time! I have been admiring your weathering affects on the buildings and rolling stock.


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## ptl5spd

Thanks! I'm just one of those people who can't put something down until its finished 

I am glad you like my weathering! I think down the road I am going to make an HO pizza layout, and I am going to try to get super detailed on the engine/rolling stock since I will have a lot more to work with.


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## ptl5spd

A little update:


Got in a few more coal cars off of ebay, decided to age them and the caboose for the layout. Now it's just a matter of finding some lumber rolling stock.
















































I also decided to make another temp layout to use to test repairs and modifications. The room I work in is HUGE and has this desk that just sits there unused, so I cleaned if off and put down some of my track.










It's an oval with a kink in it, and there's a turnout were I "park" the train.


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## ptl5spd

So I'm thinking about switching out my lumber yard for oil storage. The lumber yard kind of needs a saw mill, and I'm limited on space.

I'm also thinking about switching my coal depot for a coal loader, water tank, and shed. I played with adding a mine entrance and rails but it just looked too far away.

I have 2 oil tanker cars on hand, and I could grab an oil pump and a storage tank. I might just go with 2 tanks and lead a road off of the end of the layout to invoke that the oil is coming from "out there". My only issue is how do I get the oil in the tanker car? I saw one model with an overhanging arm but my layout is curved and it would not reach the tanker. What material would I use to model a pipe? I found this plastruct coated wire that is supposed to be easy to bend, would this work?


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## Massey

Those are actually gondolas but I guess they could be used as coal cars if needed. They look good all and all.

Massey


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## ptl5spd

Massey said:


> Those are actually gondolas but I guess they could be used as coal cars if needed. They look good all and all.
> 
> Massey


Yeah I did notice that after some research, but they are full of "coal"  If I find some real coal cars in an auction I will be swapping them out.


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## ptl5spd

UPDATE:

So After looking at the layout and seeing what I could do with what I have, I'm going to stick with the lumber yard and coal mine.

I did a bit of research and found a few super tiny mines that don't have tracks, but instead carts with wheels, so I'm going to try and mimic that setup with a small dirt path that leads to a small mine entrance in the side of the mountain. The lumber yard will just have stacks of 2x4's and plywood around the back, and I will just have to find some flat cars and add my own lumber.

Right now I'm focusing on the pizza while I start my new years budgeting, so my new materials are on hold till later this month.


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## Massey

small mines would use small rail carts that could be pulled up out of the mine with a cable and winch. you could take a bit of Z scale track and make a couple of Z scale carts by canabalizing some Z equipment and have your own mine cart train. The winch if you wanted to make it operational could be manually cranked or you could get a servo motor and remove the stops and use that too. Just a thought

Massey


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## ptl5spd

I like that idea. I expected z scale equipment to be quite pricey but the track and trucks weren't that bad. I'll just make some wooden ore carts and mount the trucks to them. 

I guess I need a little history on the whole process of a small coal mine. I've got the entrance into the mountain, now I've got the ore carts and wench to get the coal out of the mine, now my last step is getting it back to the depot. It's fairly far away from the mountain since my track is just a circle. I could move it close to one of the tunnel entrances which would give it a much better shot.


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## ptl5spd

So I have come up with an idea to add in my coal mine. I had a lot of empty space in the middle of the layout and figured that I could add a small hill/mountain that the mine could go into.

Here's the basic idea.



















The entrance will be built out of basswood or boxwood depending on what I can find. I'll use a section of z track and make a few hand made wooden carts.​


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## tjcruiser

I like that idea a lot. For extra realism, though, I'd make sure that the orientation of the entrance to the new mine didn't point directly towards one of your trees(underground roots and all that). Maybe rotate it CCW 50 deg or so, and have it point more towards the hill ???

TJ


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## ptl5spd

TJcruiser: I'm not sure I'm getting you? Are you just saying make sure I don't put any trees by or in front of the mine entrance? Or is there a tree that is somehow in a bad place?

the trees aren't glued down, they're going to be the last thing set in place. I just set the entrance straight across from the coal depot, which can actually move a few inches either way down the line if need be. I really was trying to get the mine right close to the depot so I can use a single piece of z track  Only thing that's glued down is the grass, ballast, and some of the bushes.


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## tjcruiser

Well, I'm certainly no miner. Just a layman here. But if it were a mine shaft (even a low profile one), I would think that it would penetrate horizontally (more or less) underground for some distance. And, if there were a tree (above ground) along that nearby route, the tree roots would wreak havoc with the mine shaft. I would guess (naively) that any mine diggers would avoid any large-tree root systems in planning their mine shaft near-ground path. Maybe???

I guess it depends upon how steeply (angle) the shaft decends into the ground.

TJ


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## ptl5spd

Ah I get you. So wherever my mine runs underground the trees shouldn't be near that route.


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## tjcruiser

Bingo. I would think. But then again, I know basically zilch about real-world mining.


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## ptl5spd

Ah yes but logic tells me you've got the right idea, so I'm going with it 

Tomorrow I'm going to try and run by the hobby lobby and pick up some wood supplies. I'd like to get my entrances and mine started, along with my bridge for the pizza.


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## ptl5spd

After all of these years, I've got updates!

Long story short, life happened and my layouts were forgotten in my Grandparent's attic. I recently dug them back up and I'm working on them again. I purchased a Bachmann Empire Builder set with the 4-8-4 Northern for this 30"x30" layout. 

Here's a quick video of it running on the layout.

It's not the most detailed loco, but it actually runs really well. With a bit of weathering I think it will look great. 

My plans for this layout have changed a bit. I may add a small water feature, and a small freight depot of some sort. I'll have to draw up some plans and look at some structures before I start doing much. 

I'll be doing some weathering on the track and ballast as well.


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## ptl5spd

*Weathering the 4-8-4 Northern and Rolling Stock*

Started weathering my loco and rolling stock the other night, just using pastel chalks from the hobby store. 

Going to go back and touch up some places with finger prints and stuff, and remove/add some color here and there. I'll aso add a bit of weathering to a few of the trucks that are still shiny and clean.










































































Next on this layout is to weather the ballast a bit with some acrylic washes.


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