I thought is was about time I start a layout thread for my new layout I am building, the "Woodland Industrial Spur".

The Woodland Industrial Spur is a freelance industrial spur set in Northern California, somewhere near actual city of
Woodland, California. It will be served by Southern Pacific and it will be set in the 1980's, however I may change later,

The spur serves three industries:

Sysco Food Service: Takes boxcars, reefers, and has a spot for a tank-car of vegetable oil

J.S. West Milling Co. : Takes various covered hoppers

American Metal Fabricators: Takes flat-cars, boxcars, and gondolas.

The layout is built on two 18" by 80" Hollow-Core Doors. I am using Peco code 100 turnouts and Atlas code 100 flex-track, I already have track laid and I am just starting building mock-ups, I will try to get it wired up soon so I can start ops sessions.

Here is the FINAL track-plan:

Well done Justin! Looks like you've got a solid concept and scenario here. Work at it steadily, even if you find a minor issue or two that does not satisfy you completely. That way you will have a good final product that gives you a practical knowledge and experience base for later layouts. The joy of smaller ISL's is that you have comparatively low investment for high learning and solid operation compared to larger layouts.
Keep up the good work and give us lots of photo's when you can.
Regards,
Andrew G.

Hi Justin,

Very nice plan, should work well. I look forward to seeing progress.


regards,

Mal

Most UK modellers would be trying to cram something a lot more complicated into this size of layout but the end result is often cramped and unrealistic. I love the simplicity and realism of the American approach to modelling.

Looks like a nice plan Justin. I'm guessing it's HO scale?

For a 14 (13 1/2?) footer looks like there's some wastage.

I'm not advocating a switching puzzle or overcrowding but,I would add another industry.

Brakie Wrote:For a 14 (13 1/2?) footer looks like there's some wastage.

I'm not advocating a switching puzzle or overcrowding but,I would add another industry.

I thought of that at first, but I wanted this layout to be as simple as possible, I want to have a layout that is very simple with lots of room for scenery, even at the cost of operations.



I apologize for the lack of progress, I have very little income and have been spending my money on other things. I hope I can get a job soon so I can have more money to work on the layout.

Justin,
You might want to look at the Meeker Southern (MSN) for inspiration. It seems to be along the lines of what you want to model.

I finally got started on scenery today, I have ballast and grass down on about a quarter of the layout, I made some mistakes when I first started, but things are going pretty smooth right now.

Once the layout looks show-able I will try and take some pictures

I know :needpics:

PHOTOS!!!

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the layout, keep in mind that I only had enough scenery to do a first coat and some of it has fallen off (as you can see in the second photo)

There are also some spots where the ballast is a little heavy, I still need so smooth it out with a brush and clear the turnouts.

Ok, a nice start. Do not hesitate to put less ballast at the first round. It is much easier to add than to remove ballast. Might be you did forget to put ties under the connections of tracks and switches? Adding them after the glue has set is very painful :x

I agree with Reinhard..Use less ballast to start.

I will add this..Go easy on nice clean ballast since its a industrial spur..

I would use a mixture of cinders,dark gray ballast and ground.I would add small weeds in the gauge.

Nice start to the layout, Justin.

I'm also currently ballasting my new layout, Deerfield Beach,FL and agree that it is best to start with less ballast and add more later.

I always find that there are areas which have been missed, usually around the turnouts, which require particular care.After gluing the ballast, I simply have a look around the and top-up areas until there are no gaps between rails and ties. This really improves the look of Peco Code 100 track. Results can be seen in my Palmetto Spur thread.

Also, as suggested by Brakie, mix ballast colors, I start with Woodland Scenics fine light gray, adding a little medium gray,buff and even a little brown.

Have fun and good luck,

Mal

This is looking good so far, and it sounds like you're getting some valid suggestions. I like that you are using mock-ups for your future buildings, that really helps to get things laid out in a more natural looking way.