Do YOU remember your first layout attempt
- Thread starter interurban
- Start date
All materials pertaining to my old road were confiscated by the securities exchange commission during the Merger.I am sure they are filed away in some warehouse amongst 15,000,000,000,000,000 others. If you find them, please forward them for historical preservation Thank you!!
I'm still working on my first attempt. 
Ver 5.1 still being tinkered with. Thought of tearing the entire thing down and starting over today. :curse:
Actually, my first solo attempt was an HO layout that consisted of 2 ovals...never could figure out how to get the current to flow correctly to get train A to track B. Which explains why the new layout is single train operation.
Blissfully, no photos exist!
Ver 5.1 still being tinkered with. Thought of tearing the entire thing down and starting over today. :curse:
Actually, my first solo attempt was an HO layout that consisted of 2 ovals...never could figure out how to get the current to flow correctly to get train A to track B. Which explains why the new layout is single train operation.
Blissfully, no photos exist!
Not counting my first toy train set, my first layout was HO about 12 by 6 feet. I cut my own ties from balsum and hand laid the rails using little rail spikes. This was when the drive system consist of rubber bands. I barely got the track layed and started on the mountain when we moved. I demolished the layout and gave the 2 engines and about 10 cars to a neighbor kid.
I am glad I don't have a pictures as it was a sore spot.
This was in the early 60's.
I am glad I don't have a pictures as it was a sore spot.
This was in the early 60's.
Yup. But no photographs have survived.
It was about 1948. A figure 8, about 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 feet, HO. But I did it the "right" way: Open frame benchwork, pine subroadbed with what we considered state of the art at the time: Tru-Scale self-gauging roadbed with hand-spiked code 100 brass rail and kit-built turnouts.
At least when the rails had just been cleaned, it ran quite well, particularly considering I was 14 and had built it with no help or even advice (except for the help of Model Railroader magazine and a fairly patient hobby shop owner.) We lived in the wilds of Oregon, ten miles from the nearest paved road, and except for the hobby shop guy I didn't even KNOW anyone else in model railroading. (My father was no help at all; he figured I was too old to be "playing with toy trains".)
I built a few card stock structures from scratch but otherwise never got any scenery on it before we moved when I was 16.
BillS
It was about 1948. A figure 8, about 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 feet, HO. But I did it the "right" way: Open frame benchwork, pine subroadbed with what we considered state of the art at the time: Tru-Scale self-gauging roadbed with hand-spiked code 100 brass rail and kit-built turnouts.
At least when the rails had just been cleaned, it ran quite well, particularly considering I was 14 and had built it with no help or even advice (except for the help of Model Railroader magazine and a fairly patient hobby shop owner.) We lived in the wilds of Oregon, ten miles from the nearest paved road, and except for the hobby shop guy I didn't even KNOW anyone else in model railroading. (My father was no help at all; he figured I was too old to be "playing with toy trains".)
I built a few card stock structures from scratch but otherwise never got any scenery on it before we moved when I was 16.
BillS
My first intro to train was at age 9,we had just arrived in this country from Belgium in late November and I went kicking and screaming I might add. So to calm me down for Christmas my dad bought me a Lionel set that I still have to this day. I would have to say its not in perfect shape but I still have all the pieces and some of the boxes.Not bad after 34 years. Interurben although I know this is not exactly what you meant in this thread but this has brought back some happy and sad memories.I'll have to dig them out and take a look at them maybe build a display case, thanks Pat.
Do I remember my first layout? Why, of course, I remember it like it was yesterday..... Hmm, come to think about it, it was yesterday
The first time I tried to build a layout was about 11 years ago...I didn't have the wherewithall to take pictures of it...that's probably a good thing!
The best way I could describe it would be to say, Imagine a giant green birthday cake that's been dropped from a great height, into the middle of a 4x8 sheet of plywood!ops:
The best way I could describe it would be to say, Imagine a giant green birthday cake that's been dropped from a great height, into the middle of a 4x8 sheet of plywood!
ops: Originally posted by Tyson Rayles
Chris I guess I was smarter than you as I didn't take any pics of my first attempts!
I'm schmardt too! No pics. Or it may be that we weren't allowed to take pictures without permission
You layout doesn't look that bad for a first one. Mine was a bone flat 4 X 8 with all one color green sawdust grass and a plaster mountain in the corner. The buildin's, loco's and rollin' stock survive. It had two turnouts before it was said and done, but it started with a single loop.
Sorry, no photos from my early days. --I had started modelling I suppose at the tender age of seven with one O - scale BING (wish I still had it) 0-6-0 clockwork. (Come to think of it, it never ever did stall at a turnout) Anyway, the fascination with laying track all over the place has never really left me. I can still remember my mother (Bless her) stating I could use the spare bedroom to run the trains, as she never used it much. I was over the moon, I could leave the tracks down for as long as I wanted, come home from school and run trains. Wrong! - My dear mother meant I could use the room, not infest it with tracks. The law was laid down, I could run trains, but afterwards, remove the tracks before bedtime. (Oh dear, those days were very hard for a seven year old.) I really started serious modelling when I was 15 years old with 00 scale British layouts, it wasn’t until I was around 40 years old that the American Model railroading started hitting me. I liked what I saw and so started to model it. N-scale was my first adventure into the realms of fantasy, building many layouts and changing scales to H0 before “Raton Snake Valley” was born. (1990). Here’s a photo from the RSV. Well, you know the rest of my story, a few more H0 layouts before entering into 0n30.
Shamus
Shamus
F
Fred_M
Hi Mikey they say the second thing we lose is our memorie I cant think what the first think to go was now!!!!!! Which proves the second I do remember that thread now I even post a pic or two. Thanks again Mikey.
If you don't count my first layout, which was actually built by my father, I guess my own first layout is the one I am working on.
It is now in version 2.X. Version 1.X was a plywood table with homemade styrofoam risers. I abandoned this and went to cookie cutter in "lighter" 1/2" ply with 1x4 supporting members. Much better than the 3/4" 4x8 on 2x4 framework.
Andrew
It is now in version 2.X. Version 1.X was a plywood table with homemade styrofoam risers. I abandoned this and went to cookie cutter in "lighter" 1/2" ply with 1x4 supporting members. Much better than the 3/4" 4x8 on 2x4 framework.
Andrew
I replicated the HO 4X8 layout shown in a series in Boy's Life magazine around 1970 or so. I built it with permission from my parents in my bedroom...barely enough room to get around it so I made the benchwork out of 2X4 construction so I could actually stand on the layout if necessary.
Ralph
Ralph