I finally got around to posting a couple progress pictures of my layout. I'm home from college over the summer and decided to finally start on a model railroad.

Basic Info:

N Scale

late 50's PRR

Freelanced

3'x6'

I adapted Rick Van Laar's track plan, found in the Feburary 2011 issue of Model railroader, to N scale. and added a few extra sidings for more switching potential. 

Today I found this blog:

http://oldads.tumblr.com/

Where you can find all kind of old ads. Download, resize and print to use as billboards or poster signs.

I plan to have a quarry on the layout and want to run Ortner-style aggregate hoppers in sand & gravel service.  Ortners are available in HO (my scale) but they're running about $30 a piece!  Considering even a modest quarry will produce more than one car of stone in a day's work, I'll need a small fleet and buying even a handful of these will be way out of my budget. After seeing so many amazing scratchbuilt pieces, I've decided to take a crack at it myself and have selected two prototype models to base my model on.

In order to better understand my capabilities, I am creating a 12' modular mini-layout (chainsaw).  I may or may not keep it in the end, so I am building in the ability to expand it from the middle (red line near Oil Dealer) if it turns out well and I end up keeping it.  (This expansion would add an additional industry (Feed Mill) and extend the passing siding and yard tracks.

Scale is HO and train length will be limited to eight feet.