N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[MK]

It might be retro, but what's up with the pink "grass"?  No green or brown tablecloths?

...or vinyl tableclothes (preferably red and white checkered pattern). 

[DKS]

Something to ponder/tinker with...

[mcjaco]

Lee, thanks for sharing the story of the layout from your childhood.  Man, did that drag up old memories of mine too.  I could not wait for Thanksgiving weekend and the Christmas tree coming out of the depths of the basement storage closet, for that meant the old cardboard houses would be adorning the white sheet cover 1/4" piece of plywood that served as the foundation of the tree, and it's little snow covered village below.  And of course, my Father's extensive Globe, Varney and MDC locomotives and rolling stock to run endless circles under that said tree for the next 45 days.  Still my favorite time of the year!

[wm3798]

Something to ponder/tinker with...

Oooh.  A reverse loop!  How fancy!  Now I can schedule a peddler freight on an "out and back" mission!
I love it.  Never mind all my prattlings about the roundhouse in the back channel.  This is perfect.  And thank Garsh the coal pier is back!
This is the big city terminal I think I'm looking for.  And a perfect retro design of the classic "spaghetti bowl" effect!

And keeping the minimum curves to 11", I can use the reverse loop to turn passenger trains as well...with a little bit of backing...  perfect for commuter service for those PC roach coaches!

You've thought of everything, even if you haven't though of it!

Now to inventory what I'll need, and figure out the best way to do the platform...  Damn thing's startin' to almost look like an HCD...

Thanks again!
L

[Doug G.]

It might be retro, but what's up with the pink "grass"?  No green or brown tablecloths?

It's SO retro, I just used what was immediately available. Before the Treble-O-Lectric, I had an HO scale layout on it. And, it's not pink. It's more mauve.



Doug

[DKS]

Oooh.  A reverse loop!  How fancy!  Now I can schedule a peddler freight on an "out and back" mission!
I love it.  Never mind all my prattlings about the roundhouse in the back channel.  This is perfect.  And thank Garsh the coal pier is back!
This is the big city terminal I think I'm looking for.  And a perfect retro design of the classic "spaghetti bowl" effect!

And keeping the minimum curves to 11", I can use the reverse loop to turn passenger trains as well...with a little bit of backing...  perfect for commuter service for those PC roach coaches!

You've thought of everything, even if you haven't though of it!

Now to inventory what I'll need, and figure out the best way to do the platform...  Damn thing's startin' to almost look like an HCD...

Thanks again!
L

I tried to think of "everything." As for looking like an HCD, well... why not pull the trigger? Surely you have access to a used one from somewhere. You'd lose only 4" in length, and you can leave the "grey zone" clear for controls, but they'd physically be part of the layout, with no chance of anything becoming undone. Plus, room for more stuff. (Yes, an HCD wouldn't be truly "retro," in layout terms, but blue foam is even further astray...) Just some more fodder for the grey matter.

[Doug G.]

Retro it certainly is!  It even has the LPs in the left background.    Perfect timing as I just got caught up on the LP vs. CD/digital thread in the Crew Lounge. 

Yes and the trains are set up on the same mahogany table I had them on in 1963 in the same space as, after living in Rochester for 35 years, I am back in the house in which I grew up. They were on a white sheet, then.

I have a couple thousand LP's and a classic quad system, currently dismantled until I get all the equipment back from Rochester.

Doug

[DKS]

I have a couple thousand LP's and a classic quad system...

Yikes, I don't know what's more retro, the trains or this...

[Doug G.]

Yikes, I don't know what's more retro, the trains or this...

Some of the LP's predate my trains but the majority are post 1962.

Lee, what basic turntable is that?

Doug

[DKS]

Lee, what basic turntable is that?

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=46293.msg613248#msg613248

Lee, regarding the roster... there's room for more stalls, assuming the angles are tweaked, and probably room for one more diesel shop track.

[Doug G.]

I saw a layout for sale, not too long ago on eBay that was built on a door and I believe the seller said it was from the nineteen forties. It sure looked like it. So, retro would be maintained by an HCD.

Doug

[wm3798]

It just so happens that we're in the process of remodeling some bedrooms, and there are several... SEVERAL 30" HCD's coming available as the project evolves...  Unfortunately, none of that project will provide any more room in the corner of my office that is limited to the footprint presently being cultivated.

As we may have discussed elsewhere, I'm having so much fun with the Ttrak module concept, I may built the platform for this as a series of boxes...  I don't intend to use Unitrak... that's against the rules... I may work the end loop on the right so that it could be popped off and my Ttrak modules could be slipped in... you know, for safe storage...

The other advantage of doing that is that I can take whichever box I'm working on and sit at the table while the gals are crafting and not take up the whole table... then, when the box is more or less completed, with wiring, track and other fundamental infrastructure, I can install it semi-permanently.  While this technique may not be retro, I did state in my original thesis that I want to get the "feel" of a retro layout, but I also want to build in a manner that demonstrates that I've learned something, even if only a little bit, from practicing this hobby since 1975...

Lee

 

[conrad]

Nostalgia

Back in the mid 1950's my younger brother and I shared a New York City apartment bedroom.  Our HO "layout" (dad provided) consisted of 4 2x8's laid flat and forming a donut shaped rectangle.  Maybe 3 feet wide by 4/5 feet long.  The pieces were held together with hooks and eyes at each corner.  When not in use it was stored under my bed. There was one loop but I can't remember how the track was joined at the corners.  I do remember the the sole loco we had was a 0-4-0 tank switcher.  Rolling stock is a mystery.  Absolutely no scenery or buildings, just bare wood and track.  Minimalist!

Over 65 years ago, geez.

Conrad

[MK]

Nostalgia

Back in the mid 1950's my younger brother and I shared a New York City apartment bedroom.  Our HO "layout" (dad provided) consisted of 4 2x8's laid flat and forming a donut shaped rectangle.  Maybe 3 feet wide by 4/5 feet long.  The pieces were held together with hooks and eyes at each corner.  When not in use it was stored under my bed. There was one loop but I can't remember how the track was joined at the corners.  I do remember the the sole loco we had was a 0-4-0 tank switcher.  Rolling stock is a mystery.  Absolutely no scenery or buildings, just bare wood and track.  Minimalist!

Over 65 years ago, geez.
I'm
Conrad

So the math puts it at 8' x 12' rectangle.  You must live in a big NYC apartment!    . I grew up and spent my early adulthood there.

[peteski]

And, it's not pink. It's more mauve.

Well, pardon me!