Newport & Rock Falls: Another Retro Micro-Layout

[DKS]

It's all Lee's fault. His retro layout has had me itching for something cut from the same cloth--actually it was his comment about the layout appearing in the old book N Scale Model Railroad Track Plans (to the effect of making it a challenge) was the final little nudge. I'd started a retro layout back in early 2018, but it wasn't doing it for me because I made it purely Postage Stamp, which to be frank was way too restrictive. So, a week or so ago I pulled the trigger... kinda slowly, because I had to be sure this was going to be worth the effort.

For a while now Lee and I have been burning up the back channels working on one another's projects and striking up mutually beneficial barter deals. Now, with a big bundle of Atlas Snap Track winging its way to me, as well as having scrounged up a (nearly) full compliment of the first-gen kits I need, I can pull the curtain back on the Newport and Rock Falls.

The principal goal is to dive back into the golden glow of N Scale's early days, to see many of my favorite old kits built straight (no kitbashing), and to run favorite old trains that wouldn't roll on anything but Code 80 track, all on a layout of the same size and basic configuration as my first "real" layout. Another reason to start yet another small layout project is to help snap me out of a very long, very deep funk, because as exciting as the Black River & Western is, I can't start on it until the layout room is done, and that's many months down the road.

So, here's the 2' x 4' Newport & Rock Falls, which I nicknamed the "Nerf," in all of its old-school glory (with thanks to Lee for his help designing the bay):



Every one of the 16 first-gen building kits are identified here: http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/NewportRockFalls/nrf2-2.htm

The base is mostly done; I just need to wait until I have the track in hand so I can cut the upper level:



Let the games begin!

[wm3798]

Boy.  If I had a nickel for every time someone declared it was all my fault...

But in this case, I'll take full credit!
Looking forward to watching this dogbone unfold!
Lee

[up1950s]

Or is that a folded over dog bone , that's what I was told by my father about 1955 when he built an L shaped folded over dog bone 027 layout for me . Lionel PRR S2 was my loco .

[jpec]

Loving these retro layouts...takes us back to the days when we could look at a sectional-tracked layout with rudimentary  scenery and envision it as part of a  major transportation system. I remember that "Six HO Railroads You Can Build"....wore those pages  back to pulp. That and the one that had "The Junior Pretzel" in it.

Jeff

[Philip H]

Boy.  If I had a nickel for every time someone declared it was all my fault...

But in this case, I'll take full credit!
Looking forward to watching this dogbone unfold!
Lee

Well it’s either you or @Ed Kapuscinski

[mu26aeh]

Well it’s either you or @Ed Kapuscinski

Or in the case of my layout, it's both of them

[DKS]

Broke out all of these great old first-gen kits to have some plastic fun...

[peteski]

Broke out all of these great old first-gen kits to have some plastic fun...

And hopefully you still have a bottle of Ambroid cement or Testors tube glue to do these kits justice. 

[DKS]

And hopefully you still have a bottle of Ambroid cement or Testors tube glue to do these kits justice. 

Yeah, well, I'm not a purist, so it's MEK for these bad boys.

Anyway, MEK was around back then, so it's not completely improbable...

 

[Dave V]

Are you going to go über-retro and not only skip the paint, but ensure a generous spillover of glue in all the joints?   

Lichen trees, too, right?  God, I remember that smell.  All those smells.  Ambroid glue, lichen clumps, smoke oil, Dio-Sol...  They say your sense of smell is the one most closely tied to memory...

[DKS]

Are you going to go über-retro and not only skip the paint, but ensure a generous spillover of glue in all the joints?   

Lichen trees, too, right?  God, I remember that smell.  All those smells.  Ambroid glue, lichen clumps, smoke oil, Dio-Sol...  They say your sense of smell is the one most closely tied to memory...

Ha! Yeah, well... I had a rule back when I was starting to develop my modeling skills, and still hold true to it: When it comes to plastic models, paint absolutely everything.

I went the lichen tree route for the layout I refurbished a while back (http://davidksmith.com/modeling/rock.htm), and I'll probably do the same with this one, although I'll be adding one more very retro touch:



Oh, and dyed sawdust.

As for those smells... oh yes. Lichen, Ambroid, Floquil paint, instant coffee (I used it as a wood stain), and the smell of a brand new plastic kit in a freshly-opened box.

You should enjoy this: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180723155726.htm

 

[wm3798]

I suspect that if you enjoy that mEK aroma too much, you might not remember much about why...

[DKS]

I suspect that if you enjoy that mEK aroma too much, you might not remember much about why...

Damn straight, bro.

[CRL]

Don’t forget the pretty aquarium rocks for your steam beds.

[chicken45]

I love these microlayouts and the fun concepts that inspire them!