first layout

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
I was going through some old photos, and found this. The only surviving photo of my first HO layout. This shot is from late 1958, or early 1959. It's a 4'X6' board with one loop, and a couple of sidings. There's some plastic kits, some cardboard scratch built, and some balsa scratch built. The power line towers are scratched from balsa, and represent those found on the east end of Long Island in the late 50's and early 60's. In the center of the shot is my Varney "little Joe" 0-4-0T. The building, left foreground, was done from an article in Model Trains in 1958.
 

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Drew1125

Active Member
That photo is priceless, Pete!:cool:
I wish I had pictures of some of my earlier work.
My dad fixed me up with a 4x6 piece of plywood, & an old Marx set back in the early 60's...
That's so wonderful that you still have that! :)
 

Tyson Rayles

Active Member
Ahhhhhh, a blast from the past !!! Very nice, thanks for sharing. Gets me to thinking, I have some photos from my first attempt (glorified operating diorama) of 23 years ago laying around here somewhere. Now if I can just remember where. :cool:
 

Drew1125

Active Member
I wish I had pics of my first attempt at scenery!!
That would give everyone a great laugh!
I got ah HO train set, with a loop of track, nailed the track down to a 4x8 sheet of plywood, & proceeded to build what eventually came to resemble a train circling around a giant green birthday cake! :D:eek: :D
 

Tyson Rayles

Active Member
Speaking of first attempts! :eek: All the tree foliage and bushes were plain lichen (no ground foam) the track wasn't painted and was the good ol' Atlas code 1,000 :D . The grades were so steep and crooked I had to remove the lead and trailing trucks on that Bachman 2-6-2. It was on a piece of scrap plywood 18" X 32". The top of the mountain (can you tell where I stacked ceiling tile :rolleyes: ) had a lake on it. It was made out of 2 part epoxy. I named it "bubble lake" cause it had more bubbles per cubic inch than any body of water anywhere! :D
 

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Tyson Rayles

Active Member
BTW that was 25 years ago. The building in the foreground is now on top of the Carolina Furniture Co, that I just built! The truck facing the camera is getting a new paint job in preperation to becoming a NM maint. truck, and the truck backed in next to it is hauling the "Gauge Ind." box in the photo I just posted in the General Talk forum under "The Box". D*mn, I never would have guessed they were that old. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, that makes me how old now???????????????????? :eek:
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
Tyson,
I think the phrase is," old enough to know better, and young enough to do it anyway".

Typing "1958" in the post felt like I was writing a world history paper !!
Pete
 

alkcnw

Member
Hey Tyson, You still got that steamer? I just rebuilt one like that about two weeks ago. It was an 060 made by Mantua I bought it new in 1969. Alittle grease and oil, some new paint, general cleaning and its good as new!:eek:
 

Tyson Rayles

Active Member
Andy it was a n-scale Bachman. It didn't have axle bearings or journals and I ran that thing till the holes in the frame were so big the axles were falling out! It's in that roundhouse in the sky now. :D
 
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