Model Railroads

[Panache]

I know that Cessna152Towser has an elaborate model railway set up and that starbkjus, Michael Steinrok, and MacWAge all are interested in toy trains.
I was wondering how many model railroad enthusiasts were on X Marks the Scot?

Since it came up in another thread I thought I would show you my set up. Now I made the railroad more for the challenge of the gardening a miniature landscape than making an accurate scale model of a real railroad.

Most of the individual buildings are modifed birdhouses save for the downtown area which I made from scratch. I started working on the landscaping some three years ago but some of the trees were older bonsai that I felt would do better in the ground. The plant life includes Japanese Maples, Korean Hornbeams, birches, boxwoods, and a wide variety of groundcovers.

So here is the sleeply little town of Fretwell Falls

Overhead view





Villa



Ranger Station



Bend in the Track



Mulberry Street







I would be most interested to see other member's set ups.

Cheers

Jamie

[sporranlegionaire]

Great stuff. As the inventor of something called 'JigStones' back in '92 (you might have heard of it - the 'G' scale model building system), I was involved with this kind of thing commercially for some years. However my activities in garden railroad modelling have become diluted now with the passage of time, and having moved house recently I've no plans to tackle anything new.
To keep my interests alive I occasionally knock out the odd painting (the one shown below is of scaled down ride on railroad in Cornwall at a place called Dobwalls)

[Mark Keeney]

I have a very elaborate set up of Marklin HO trains in boxes in the basement since we moved 3 years ago. The tables are in the garage and won't go down the stairs. 3 tacks w/6 spur pull through station.

Maybe I should sell the trains and get kilts?

[Phil]

Not into trains myself but my brother-in-law broke his heart when he only had a daughter. He eventually built a train set in his loft and gave up pretending it was for the kids. I don't see any of the people in your setup wearing kilts. Is that just an oversight?

[Panache]

...I don't see any of the people in your setup wearing kilts. Is that just an oversight?

There is a drummer following a piper in the last photo.

There are a lot of kilted toy soldiers, pipers, and drummers to be had.
Sadly there are very few civilians.

Cheers

Jamie

[Mr. MacDougall]

Jamie,

Am I correct in understanding your setup is outdoors? That seems too high-maintenance to me... animals and weather carrying off people, disrupting track, dropping leaves and other stuff on the whole set-up... yeah. Sounds like work! Still, while I doubt I'd do it myself, yours looks nice!

My ex-wife and I used to do a christmas village around our tree, and we had a train that ran through and around it. That's about as close as I've gotten to serious model train stuff.

In Phoenix, there's a park called "McCormick Railroad Park," where they have a pretty impressive display of trains, both real and model.

[Kiltedfirepiper]

my 2 yo daughter LOVES thomas the tank engine, we have a bunch of the battery run/plastic sets and I have to say I've gotten into it too I would someday soon like to start modeling, I want to make an Island of Sodor complete with Castles and the seaside, coaling station...the WORKS! but first I need the space, and $$

as an aside...one of the Thomas episodes deals with Thomas trying to get the kilts to Angus at the castle for a big party even sir topham hat wore a kilt

[MacWage]

My "layout" right now is just track screwed onto a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I am VERY ambitious in my planning (and plan to have up to 4 O-guage trains running separate loops on my plywood, a stadium, airfield, town, and a small "industrial" area with a Coca-Cola bottling plant, micro-brewry/distillery, and racing shop (all with the same owner). At the "pub" will be parked a "who's who" of "spies" (several Bonds, Emma Peel, Steed, Austin Powers, and more (shown by the cars parked in front).

I also am trying to figure out how to make GOOD LOOKING 1/48 scale kilts on mini-people. I will also "tartan" a few cars, a tank, and AT LEAST 2 planes.

[CameronTaylor]

I'm an HO guy but branching out (or would that be branchlining out?) into On3. Currently building an outside frame 2-8-2 + 2-8-2 Garratt for the Crystal River Railway, a motor car and trailer for the Hawaii Consolidated in both HO and O, and a few cars of the BN Business car fleet in Grinstein colors (theatre car anyone ?)


CT - oh and making Rebecca's pink and black kilt (13" !!!)

[Tukaram]

http://tukaram.net/train.htm
I have a very neglected HO setup in my work shop. I was working on it pretty regularly for a while then just kind of lost interest.

The window unit air conditioner died at the end of last summer and it is just too darn hot to work out there now. (I really need a window unit heat pump then I'd be set for summer or winter)