The Forever Never Layout
It figures that just as I was finally ready to start "the big one"—my last permanent home layout—I was suddenly, literally faced with a life crisis that forced me to give up on... everything. Given that the layout room didn't even have drywall yet, it would seem unlikely I'd make any substantial headway on the layout before I died. So, I threw in the towel. What remains are my detailed plans herein for curious onlookers or the oddball who might like to give it a try. Trust me, though, I'm still busily building the layout in my head, and likely to be doing so until my final breath
Layout Summary
Setting: |
Black River & Western RR (headquartered in Ringoes, NJ) |
Time period: |
1975-1985 |
Scale: |
N |
Size: |
11' 8" by 14' 10" |
Style: |
G-shaped around-the-walls shelf |
Track: |
Railcraft Code 40 flex, handlaid Code 40 turnouts |
Min. radius: |
15" |
Max. grade: |
2% |
Control: |
homemade PWM throttles |
Benchwork: |
extruded Styrofoam sheet insulation on steel two-by-four frame |
Scenery: |
Sculptamold on Styrofoam |
Inception: |
2020 |
Status: |
cancelled |
Chapters
- The Layout Room
- A Brief Visit To a Parallel Universe
- Introducing The Black River & Western
- BR&W Deep Dive
- Equipment Roster
- Benchwork
- Animation and Lighting Effects
A Note About Links
This is an old website that's been revised countless times. That it's also quite large (close to 200 pages) complicates matters still further. All of which is to say there's a good chance you'll encounter bad links once in a while. I've been doing my best to address this, although by the time you're reading this, I'll probably be dead (literally). If you're so inclined, you can bring it to the attention of the website's new caretaker, but given his workload, please don't count on it getting fixed.
A Note About Reference Images
Many of the nearly 500 reference images that appear on this website were sourced online. Since this is a non-profit site, my intention was never about taking advantage of anyone's work. I have attempted to properly credit the photos I've used, wherever that information was available. If you find an image of yours here and object to its use, please contact the website's new caretaker and he will either remove it or credit it, as you prefer; in either case, please be patient. Thank you.