First photo Effort

Engineer Bob

So I've been busy sorting through all of the yard sale finds, but finally got around to playing with the Tomy track which is what pulled me into this in the first place. I don't have a lot yet, so everything in the picture is probably basic stuff but after seeing all of your cool set ups I felt I needed to contribute something, plus I'll use this photo as a teaser on facebook for the kids to get excited for the Christmas layout. This particular set up is on a hollow-core door I used for Lionel trains. I still have no yellow risers. I've definitely got to find some.

Engineer Bob

By the way, it's a twice-around loop, with a simple circle of track in the middle for a second train. The door is 36" by 77" so it's a tight space to work with.

sunhuntin

nice work. nothing wrong with small layouts at all. having to work to a restricted size is a challenge, making things fit where you want them and having to find a work-around.

Super

I like what you have done with the space you have Bob and I love your idea of teasing the children with clips of whats to come. Adding some yellow riser and more levels should really catch the younguns eyes for sure. Thats a cool Train Yard too. Look forward to the evolution and Xmas finale. Sunhuntin has quite a lot of experience with themed Train show Layouts in small and large spaces including Xmas for the children and adults to admire.

Finno

Looks good so far. I also only have a small space for layouts - it's a challenge.

leylandvictory2

start with a proof of concept on paper first. If possible, measure the dimension of space and the dimension of the tracks. Yes, it will be difficult for curve tracks but it will be a lot easier later on.

Engineer Bob

Yes, good advice. For the Christmas layout I'll be using banquet tables which are 8' by 30". The Plarail and HiT tracks should be pretty easy to figure out since I don't have a lot. The Trackmaster II stuff will be harder if I'm going to incorporate all of the features that are in the sets. I hope to modify them in such a way that they come together in a more linear fashion. The church basement is only so big and I have other people putting layouts up too. My home layout on the door is small enough at this point that I sit and fiddle with the track trying to come up with ideas. I definitely need to purchase some risers to get more track on the table. Right now with my limited selection of track and almost no risers I can either do a fancy layout for a single train, like the twice-around I'm running now, or do a couple of ovals so I can run multiple trains, but with a simplistic pathway. I'll have to decide later how much space I want to take up for a home layout. My fear is that size will continue to increase...

Engineer Bob

I continue to work on the small door layout, learning the 'ins and outs' of Tomy track, and working with what I have on hand. Here's a couple of Saturday morning photos...

Super

Looking good Bob. Will this be the size for the Xmas Layout?

Engineer Bob

No I hope to double it for the Christmas layout. I'll also have a HiT layout and a TMR layout. So it should be fairly respectible for a first effort. It looks like I've got more track than scenery at this point so I hope to do some foam carving to fill in some of the empty areas. If there is enough track I might have one larger loop that transitions between the three different types of track, traveling from one layout to the next. It always looks great in my mind, we'll see what I can actually turn it all into.

Super

Foam carving...that is interesting.

Off The Rails

I like that! I saw an interior door someone was throwing out the other day and so wanted to grab it for my railroad table. Alas, with the whole family in the car, it wouldn’t fit!

Super

Engineer Bob

I put together a short video of the layout. I had my friend Ed lend a hand...

https://youtu.be/kqmdQOG1SaU

leylandvictory2

i wonder which set the coach Emily pulling came from.

Does the other engines run? If you have the stop tracks, you can have more than one train running on the same track without crashing.

Engineer Bob

I don't know where the green coach came from. I bought it in a lot at a yard sale, but it was the closest match to Emily from what I have to work with. All of the other engines are operational. It wasn't until after I filmed that I thought about running multiple engines. Thanks for the tip with the stop track. I saw someone else do that too. Will use it in the future. The video was sort of an impromptu test using and old iPhone 5 camera. It came out pretty well.

Super

Very nice video Bob and please pass these sentiments on to Ed when next you see him.

That is an interesting Coach and it doesn't look like the one that came with Emily. Does it look to be custom painted Bob or factory?

Engineer Bob

Upon closer inspection it appears to be a knock-off brand. When I made that big garage sale purchase last month I noticed some of the blue track was knock-off as well, slightly different color blue and no 'Tomy' branding. So I'm guessing this coach came with whatever set that track was in.

Super

Ah, maybe thats it. The wheel color looks off along with that coupler. Does the shell pop off and if it does is there any details inside like seats?

Engineer Bob

I popped the shell off. No interior details. I went back through the items I have and found a second bottom chassis identical to this but no upper shell for it. Guess that will become a 'custom' at some point.