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I dislike labels and I suppose my layout reflects that and it's been awhile sine I saw any layouts that run O scale tinplate, so I thought Id see if I could look at other layouts..or other settings more traditional.

One other evening about a year ago I came across a website run by a fellow by the name of Thor who invented a word called "tinscale" or you might call it a mixed bag and so the idea seemed odd but interesting..and I built the layout ( nearing completion) that runs Marx and Prewar Flyer tinplate on what resembles more of a "I don't know what" than a traditional tinplate setup....more progress has been made since I took these snapshots.

So I thought I would start what could be a thread since I have nothing better to do as the wife and daughter are enthralled watching girly shows.. 

 

An earlier version...playing with ideas before completely losing my mind...

 

Last edited by electroliner
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Electroliner, I've always been a fan of your layout.  I love your combination of tinplate trains and accessories with a more realistic style of scenery.

 

I'm not good with scenery, so my layout - which exists to provide an operating track for the windup trains, as well as a display space for a few tinplate accessories - has a very simple grass mat and sandpaper ballast under the track.  Someday, I'll add a tree or two...

 

 

 

 

CV's on the layout!

 

 

One word that comes to mind in seeing all these wonderful layouts is wow..and as a result I have changed my mind regarding putting up all my tinplate buildings and accessories for sale. There is just something about the straight forward approach of tinplate that is so appealing and to say the least, it ( a traditional tinplate layout )places the trains in the matching context which sort of expands the whole experience. Great photos..

Originally Posted by Pine Creek Railroad:

Electroliner,

    Thought you would like to see this years Christmas Tin Plate layout, your Tin is absolutley fantstic!

PCRR/Dave

 

Thats a terrific display and I wish I had your ambition to create something similarly as good. All I managed to do this year was put a circle of G around the tree as I though the bulk and size of G scale would deter the cats from knocking over the consists which they are fascinated by ..and then take swipes at the train as it passes. It didn't work out as foolproof. Lol...

I am in awe of those beautiful tin layouts.  In lieu of a layout photo, here's a short clip of my dining room floor. LOL! You gotta start somewhere and that's all we ever did when Dad used to set up his 1930's Lionel at Christmas.  He gave me that set a couple years ago and now it's become something my five year old grandson and I do together so the tradition goes on!  The bridge, tunnel, crane and light towers were Dad's. Everything else I picked up from other collectors, antique malls, flea markets etc.  I'm not picky.  If it's tin,  it's IN!  Though it's mostly Marx,  there are American Flyer, Lionel and Hafner items all mixed together.  

I do like the old streamliners!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA8b6T_J8J4

Electroliner,

   Thanks much for the nice complement on my little Tin Christmas layout, next year we add the CC FasTrack switches, tested the 072 WYE CC switches for the past few days, they work great with our Tin Plate. 

 

Cats are problem even with STD gauge, hay you can always figure something different out for next Christmas!

 

PCRR/Dave

Last edited by Pine Creek Railroad

Here's a few of my Marx tinplate layout. I repainted the table last year, adding a "lake" and a road, and brightening up the thing in general. The buildings are Marx, American Flyer, Hafner, and a bunch of cookie tins. I am in the process of switching out the vehicles with Tootsietoy ones, as I think they fit nicer.

 

 

 

 

J White

 

Originally Posted by arrsd90:

Hold on a minute,  Johnny, < wmtrainnut> I just,  well  I wish ( wont never happen, but I wish), about your setup,  and the  NEAT, beadboard, trim,  now your coming in for that extremely  nice tin plate,   Is it in another room, detached from main layout, how  bout another 20 pictures would be nice . Put the puzzle together,

PLEEEEAZZZE

arrsd90, this layout is in the same room with my high-rail scale layout.  There is a total of 52 square feet of tinplate fun.  Both o-gauge and standard gauge share this table.  The figures are G-gauge figures I got at a booth in the Orange hall at York.

 

Here's a few more shots of the layout featuring the 263E baby Blue Comet on the o-gauge line and a 390E with 500 series cars on the standard gauge line.

 

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Originally Posted by handyandy:

My little layout started as a postwar pike, but since finding Marx scale tin I've begun rebuilding it as a more tin-centric layout. I still plan to run postwar Lionel and Marx plastic from time to time, but mostly tin will rule. I like the "tin-scale" idea from Thor's site.

 

All hail the Tinman!  lol

 

Nice! I have that station.

That was some indoor/outdoor carpet that I had handy....and it turned out to be just enough to cover the layout.  It helps to deaden the sound a little bit, but still leaves me enough noise to bring back the days when I ran tinplate with the track nailed straight onto the plywood.    The roads are made out of cardstock, with the striping done free hand with a ruler and Sharpie.  I also like die-cast cars and trucks from the 1930 and 1940 era, so I have them on there too as I figure that fits in with the tinplate era.  All my trains are originals.  I do have a few that I restored because they were so far gone that was all that could be done with them, but I really prefer originals.  And I don't mind a few scratches or wear marks, it means someone else had a lot of of fun with them too.

 

Morristown isn't all that far.  I am about an hour north of Nashville, up on the  TN/KY border.

Terry,

          I can say this, too.  I spent a long time thinking about what I wanted to do...probably a lot more time than I should have (think years).  I finally realized one day that if I didn't do SOMETHING, then I'd never get started and I would probably end up regretting it.  So I just stopped the thinking and planning and said I am going to build it, knowing it would not be perfect, knowing it would not be exactly what I wanted in my mind, but also knowing it would be fun to run the trains on it no matter how it came out.   So my suggestion is to build it, and you can always change it later if it really, really isn't what you wanted.  But at least you will have had a chance to play with the trains, and that was and is their main purpose, to be toys that are played with.

Have fun,

 

Hank

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