My biggest layout to date
#1
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History... nearly three years ago, we moved from Phoenix to Indiana. I had a decent 10'x10' layout in Phoenix but completely dismantled it and boxed all the pieces up for the move. Two years later, I've now got a very nice basement and a decent sized room that nobody in the family has claimed... until now!
   

I've been working on a decent sized plan for a while now... somewhat mountainous stuff. I kept dragging my feet though at the thought of how much lumber was going to cost. Then, my boys school brought in a new modular for more classrooms and after they used the 2x4's to tie the two halves together during the installation/construction, they just threw them out in the grass. I asked what they were going to do with them and they told me they were going to throw them away! Can I have them? Yes, just get them out of here! Thus the solution to my dilemma! Granted, they were full of nails... but after I pulled them all out, I had 32 fairly decent 2x4's... FREE!

And so it began. I decided to cut and assemble all the framework down in my workshop so the tools and the sawdust would stay out of the house. Once the framework is more or less complete, I will bring it up to the house in manageable pieces and reassemble them.
The beginnings of the framework...
   

Starting the more tedious chore of the smaller framing that will support the foam and fascia.
   

The layout itself will occupy a space that is roughly 21' X 12' in a walkout basement room that is 38' X 15'. It's not complete, but I've used SCARM to help me get an idea of the 3D aspect.
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The layout will be N scale with a single line of HOn3 4" lower and around part of the perimeter. I figure with the similarities in the track, and the distance separation, it should not look too out of place.  Upon completion, I will be able to run 5 trains independently of each other, OR 1 train anywhere on the whole layout (with the exception of the HOn3 line. There are lots of tunnels but I have designed two access circles inside of two separate mountains for easy track access.
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#2
So once I got all the framework cut and assembled in the workshop, I broke it down for transport up to the house.
   

And then put it all back together again. Been working on the sky tonight.
   
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#3
Originally, I had stated that I was not going to share my track plan because it looked like a bowl of spaghetti and I did not feel like defending why it was that way.  Upon further prompting from other members, here it is.
   

It's a bit hard to follow but you should get the general idea.  I drew it all 1:1 in AutoCAD and then printed the whole thing out on overlapping 8 1/2 x 11's... taped them all together, transferred the centerlines onto the foam, laid ballast, and track after that.
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#4
After several years, I couldn't wait to unpack all my buildings and hypothetically place them around the layout. While that turned out to be a lot of fun, it was actually a pretty dumb idea as then I was constantly moving structures around as construction progressed.
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So, I started slowly buying supplies...
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...and laying out some areas (the harbor)...
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#5
Blue foam everywhere! My initial goal was to get the mainline complete and working and then I would start working on everything else a little at a time from there.
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#6
Looks like a very big and very fun project! Being as I'm not seeing any industrial sidings are you not planning on operations or are you adding them later?
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#7
There are a few being planned but they will come later.
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#8
Lots of work and fun Thumbsup

ps. Did you notice your avatar is replaced by the new standard Photobucket sign.
Reinhard
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#9
Why yes, yes I did. They also kidnapped every picture I've ever posted in any forum as well. I will not be paying the ransom. I'm working on fixing my avatar but it may take a while.

So, just down the road from my new house, about 6 miles, is the Tulip viaduct.
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While the real one is 2,295 feet, in N scale, I think that would take around 14 feet. Sooo, I opted for a slightly smaller version... I had 4 1/2' of available space!
I started with one tower...
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...and they quickly multiplied...
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#10
And with a lot of elevation planning, I managed to get it to come out to just the right height!
[Image: File_Aug_23_8_51_49_PM.jpg]

Special museum excursion is the first to cross.
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The next thing I was eager to get up was the backdrop. I spent many hours and scoured the internet for high resolution, panoramic images that I could photoshop and blend together to create one 20' long image and two other 8' images. Since my ex employer was kind of enough to offer to print them out on his plotter free of charge, I jumped at the chance. Before long, a tube showed up on my front door with my backdrops and I quickly spread them out on the living room floor to see what I had.

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Up they went that very night.

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I had one that intercepted a scenic divider and so I photoshopped those two to merge nearly undetectable...
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#11
Then came some more scenic elements...
Mountain with crumpled newspaper soon to get plaster cloth...
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Backside of same mountain with a huge coal mine scene to be worked in...
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Another plaster cloth hill. In the foreground, just below the tracks, I hope to model either the edge of a lake or ocean with waves crashing up on the rocks just below the tracks around most of the curve. Up on the hill, will be a small, low profile lighthouse.
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Bridges...
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#12
Industry planning. If the refinery looks familiar to you, it's because I am modeling it almost exactly how it was on my last layout... I liked it that much.
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The yard and engine maintenance facilities are taking shape.
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As well as the harbor scene...
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More on the refinery scene...
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#13
House hill...
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This is the first area that got a somewhat finished look to it.
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It was at this point that I visited a fellow modelers layout. Her layout was spectacular and I realized just how plain mine looked in comparison. She really woke me up as to how boring mine was and I decided I needed to wake up and start finding my WOW factor. She did so much in the tiniest of spaces and I had all this space with little to nothing going on. Soooo, I decided to experiment with Great Stuff expandable foam.

More to come....
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#14
All I can say is... WOW! That's a layout!
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#15
Very impressive indeed.
Reinhard
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