# Making two older layouts into one giant one



## OceanRailroader (Jul 26, 2016)

In the next year or two I plan on building a steel building or moving into a larger house with a huge room for a train set.

One of the things I have been thinking about doing lately is building a large rural town layout with two or three small towns along the railroad's main line. 

A intersting idea I've thought about is most small towns look different from one another. So what not take two or three older layouts off of cerglist or from other other people who don't want them anymore. And then take the layouts and build a large railroad main line and highway that runs between the two to three towns.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Trying to mesh two or more older layouts can
be problematic. 

First, you would want to consider
the size of each and how difficult it would be to
transport them. If, say, 4X8, you would probably
find a simple oval that would not
necessarily fit into your ideas.

Then so many older layouts used brass track
which can be a serious maintenance problem.

The wiring is another area that can be
difficult. How well marked are all of the
cables?

It would seem to me that when all is said
and done you would be better off dismantling
the older layouts and use the various
parts, buildings and the like on completely
new benchwork with all new wiring and
tracks.

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

While it's an interesting idea, I think it would be trouble.

In the first place, no one else is going to have quite the same interests and standards as you, so you will have difficulty finding ones that match your own operating scheme and build quality. I also wouldn't trust anyone else's trackwork and wiring.

For the time and expense of acquiring a used layout, I'd rather just do it myself.


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## OceanRailroader (Jul 26, 2016)

I would rip out all of the wiring on it and I would only buy it if it was clean looking. Such as I would only buy it if the track was the same type that I use. And in terms of the layout I would change the track work. But I would keep the town and the street layouts the same in the train set.

What gave me the idea once was there was this giant impressive train set on Cerglist.


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

I read VegasN did that. He has his own layout.
He bought a layout from someone.
He had all kinds of difficulty trying to put the two together

Edit: But yours is a different case, since you actually built both of them.


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