4x8

Say what one will about the 4x8, but... I still get a bit excited over a nice 4x8 layout! There's just something about a 4x8 that brings back great memories, and especially a well done 4x8 like that one is just exciting. I look at it, and think "Man, I wish I could run some of my trains on that one!"

Every look at those photos, and I see something new! There is a thread asking about a Revell sanding house, and I see it right there on that layout! beautiful work! That engine shed is also a work of art! I'm loving how that main street is set up... it looks like a functional city, instead of just an accent to a model railroad! I love the cut being used to block the view of the train, rather than a tunnel. I know tunnels are cool (and I'll probably build one some day) but I see so many, it's cool to see view blocks that aren't tunnels, and look so natural!

I am definitely a fan of that layout!

Clearly you have built

Clearly you have built something that has given you a great deal of joy over the years. That is the purpose of any hobby or leisure activity. The other nice thing is sharing it with others, something you seem prepared to do. I built one of those years ago and my kids ran it a lot and never caused it any problems, they were all younger than school age at the time. Hopefully you will be able to share with them soon.

Thanks for sharing, Nick. I'm

Thanks for sharing, Nick. I'm glad you and others have had the opportunity to have fun with it.

Nice work Nick

Hi Nick,

I particularly like the way you have your dustcover organised. Well done. 

Ah very nice Brings back

Ah very nice

Brings back memories of my first 4x8, that I helped my dad build. Mine you I was running Lima brand trains. English engines, freight cars.

Phil

I see quite a few..............

..............Revell buildings I remember from my youth on my 4 x 8 layout in my bedroom!  Remember, "If it's Revell, it's swell"!! 

Thanks for sharing.........

Peter

Great Layout

Nice to see a well done 4x8. Goes to show what can be done with one if you don't give up on it and keep adding details until it looks right. I have see similar stories in N Scale mag about those who have a 2x4 or close to it and just kept working on it over the years.

Makes me wonder about some of those MR project layouts. Quite often they seem to be the start of something great and then they only go so far.

Jack

the camera

makes it look longer than a 4 by 8 , you got a lot of track in that space.......DaveB

Classic 4' x 8' Layout

Hi Nick, thank you for sharing the layout photos. Like many I started with a 4 x 8 HO scale layout. Your photos bring back many fond memories, although mine layout was not as highly detailed as the layout in your photo's, Great Job. It's good to see that the layout has kept it's owner busy and interested in the hobby for 45 years.

Thanks for....

Thanks for sharing Nick.  Love the layout and amazed at how much one can do with a 4x8.  Even though I do plan on moving onto a bigger layout in the future, I know that if I do the 4x8 right (like shown above) I will enjoy "playing" with it for years to come.

Nicely done, and it goes to

Nicely done, and it goes to show that one doesn't need a huge layout to enjoy the hobby. The dust cover is a very practical idea to preserve the layout and maintain reliability.

Track Plan?

I would like to see a track plan of this layout, if one exists?

This does look a LOT longer than 8 feet ... thinking 10 or 12?

I do like the idea though ... a small classification yard with some locomotive facilities.  A few small industries to provide a bit of local work.  Guessing the main operation is building a train from cars in the yard and then running it around on the outer loop?

You guys are sharp!

You are correct about the size.  Dad added "the cut" after a trip to California where he got to do a little rail fanning.  I'd forgotten about that when I posted at first.  I'll get out the tape measure and check it.  My off hand guess is that the end of the Walthers backdrop is the end of the original 8'.  There is also a small staging yard off the left rear. If I remember correctly the yard in the middle is still brass track.  The rest is nickel silver.  Dad was into railfanning but his love was building kits and the railroad in general.  Operations wasn't a big priority.  He liked the cars and trucks and he enjoyed having me and his grandsons and his great grandsons run it!

I happen to be 20 feet from it now and will be 208 miles from it this afternoon.  I'll see if I can get some quick dimensions and a rough track plan started before we leave.

Thanks for your comments and thoughts.

Nick

Thanks, Nick

Glad you shared that with layout us. Looks nicely done, and your pride of ownership shows in the care you've bestowed on it. 

The layout stands as a reminder of when model railroading fun could be derived simply from the sheer joy of running trains, before operations and its "let's get into serious fun" mentality permeated the hobby's culture.

4x8 the grew some

It is a beautiful layout, and looks like a simple growth just extended the mainline and moved the curve onto the new section with the cut.

All nicely done.

Details on the layout.

 Thank you for all the great comments. They meant a lot to my father-in-law he appreciated knowing that a few more people enjoyed his railroad. This morning I went into the cellar and did some measuring. I also took a few more pictures of the railroad. 

 Dad and I did layout plans similarly. His work done in black pen and mine were done with my purple pen.  The first picture is of the major layout.

 Next is a picture of the hidden staging yard. It emanates from the arrow on the upper left hand corner of the layout diagram.

 Here is a picture of this basement where the layout is. I think that a 16' x 24'  room would hold the layout easily including the hidden staging and the workbench at the far left. 

Now I would like to include a couple close-ups of the layout.  The first is the hidden staging. Some of dad's nicest freight cars are here.  The top was plexiglass and very close to the cars so I couldn't reach in and move them.  There was hardly enough room for dust if it could have got in!

 Dad probably will not make it into the basement again.  We have enjoyed a lot of time together operating and  admiring. Thank you for requesting the diagrams and the dimensions. It gave me another chance to admire dad's work. Dad read voraciously and Model Railroader was his sole source of thoughts from the outside. I can see  many of the ideas of the time incorporated into in his railroad. This will help me lock in the memories of the railroad.  In the near future it will probably be dismantled and but a wonderful memory.

Nick

It's beautiful!

So here we have a 4x8, but done in such a way, that it doesn't look like the standard 4x8! It looks like you can do operations, and if you ever wanted to do a TOMA and start attaching modules, there is still that option.

All that, plus the scenery makes it look a LOT bigger than what it is, PLUS the benefit of a roundy round, so if you just want to watch the trains go, you can!

It's like the best of all worlds right there! I like it!

track plan in SCARM

I worked up this track plan of the layout with SCARM, estimating as best I could see from the photos. Some sections are not clearly visible in the photos and the hand-drawn track plan has some inconsistencies. I've drawn this SCARM plan almost entirely with Atlas sectional track but I think the actual layout has some flextrack. The visible switches look like Atlas, probably a mix of #4 and "snap" switches. Looks like they have been converted to under-table switch machines or hand throws.

I'm speculating that the layout may have started out as a single oval with center yard on a 4x8 table, then the table was lengthened to about 4x10 and the outer oval added. And the hidden yard was added as a separate extension off the upper left corner.

It's a nice-looking layout with many familiar old "classic" HO trains and structures.

Great track plan!

Hi Ace

Looks great to me!  The only thing I'd change is the spur on the left continues around farther and is inside the outer loop.  Certainly not a big deal.  We both designed by looking at the space on the "board".  He did go to long sections of flex track when he put in "the cut".  The cut was a result of a trip to California around Riversiide where Dad and his brother in law did some real serious railfanning.  It is on the far right of the diagram.  It made a significant impression on Dad.  He was a member of the SP historical society.  A New Englander through and through however.

Thanks for your time!!!

Nick

The roots of Model Railroading

This is what I think of as the typical model railroad. It is obvious that this layout provided a wealth of entertainment over the years. The man who built it put hours of his time into it and it proved to be time well spent. I can't help but be a bit melancholy when you say he probably won't make it to the basement again. Dismantled or not, this layout has made an impact beyond the scope of imagination. Entertaining him, his son, grandsons and great grandsons. They will forever be molded by his efforts and he will carry on in memory for many years to come. What a legacy! 

Long live the 4x8!

A 4 by 8 layout for the ages

Nick, Thank you and your Father in Law for photos of this wonderful layout. This layout shows that model railroading is a life time hobby and you don't need a basement filling empire to enjoy our hobby. 

Ace, Thank you for the track plan created with the SCARM software, very nice.

slight revision

I think this is closer to what Nick sketched and described regarding the long spur at the left. I couldn't see it in the photos so this is an estimate. I'm supposing that the plan was built mostly with Atlas sectional track. Wondering if Nick can confirm that?

Thanks, Ace and right on, Rich!

Thanks for rendering the track plan so well, Ace. 

 I don't think that can ever be stated enough, Rich. The Brits have proved it for decades.

Thanks Nick

For providing the sketch of the track plan and dimensions; as well as the additional photos.  

And thanks Ace for the SCARM rendition ... I think the main base board is 4' x 12' per Nick's notes (you've made it 4' x 10'?).  The additional 2' provides another 9" on the yard tracks (looks like 5 cars ~30" on the straight sections) as well as opening up the space between the ends of the loops.

As mentioned before, this plan does pack a lot of railroad into the given space.  A yard, continuous running, some customer's for switching, staging ....   The additional length makes the yard quite nice and the scenery really makes it look like it is a real place.  Inspiring!  

Thanks again for sharing.  Kudos to your dad-in-law for a job well done!