"Portway Center", small O scale layout.

Great switching layout - and very well done!

Beautiful Layout. Being a resident of said prototype, I can confirm that you have aptly captured it's essence. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks Jon - that means a lot, especially as I have never actually set foot in the USA in general, let alone MN in particular!!

The landscape reminds me of rural western regions of the state. I must ask how or why you selected such an obscure location as Minnesota to model? A remarkable rendition, considering you have never actually seen it. The magic of the internet.

Great work!!! Any more pictures showing the track plan or just more of the layout?

 

Minnesota "obscure"..??!! MN is the center of my Railfan Universe!!! The Twin Cities were a major location for this rather wonderful Railroad, and these great locos it used to run -

My main interest is the Soo Line, and these are some of my O Scale collection.

 

Minneapolis/St Paul also plays host to this Short Line -

 

and this one, which used to run this loco -

 

Center of the Universe.

The PGR & MNNR models are in HO, pictured on a layout I was building up in my loft (attic), until recently, when I rather foolishly did a size comparison with my O Scale stuff -

... so the HO track has been torn up & I am starting work on an O Scale layout up there, too. Actually another reason was that I needed to simplify my focus - trying to work in two scales has meant really accomplishing less in either.

 

CoasterP - The track plan is really simple & this under-construction photo from last December shows it all, really.

 

The line enters the scenic section past Allports Truckstop, which is a Bachmann Plasticville model which has come up rather well, I think, from what is essentially a 'toy' item.

 

I like a bit of humour on a layout, if it's subtle...

"I know I left that dang thing here someplace!!"

 

This is my take on an old classic (was it Chuck Youngirth(spelling??) )

 

This has been done before as well on a US layout in the UK. There's an old Country & Western song "King of the Road". The two opening lines of it are here, if you look closely -

 

Finally my rickety track from another angle.

 

Thanks for the interest!!

 

Beautiful work, shows the advantage of O scale but even more so that you don't need a huge basement to have an outstanding layout.

Scotie

Great looking layout.

That is just beautiful!  The road crossing really is an eye catcher..to me anyway, along with the track work.  Bigger is not always better and you have put a bunch of detail in to a small package....excellent modeling.

WOW what a great layout especially when you consider the size! this proves 2 rail in a small space is attainable. keep up the great work!!!!!

WOW! What a nice, nice layout. Thanks for posting. Love the "grassy" track.

Malcolm

Well done, Roger Miller would be proud.

 

"Trailer for sale or rent,

Room to let 50 cents,

no phone, no food, no pets,

ain't got no cigarettes,

 

Richie

 

I just noticed your switch ground throw with the targets.  Is it operable manually and does the target rotate?  Thanks for showing this style of layout - very detailed and in the spirit of Lance Mindheim and Mike Cougill.

Love it.

This is just so very well done, indeed!

 

I think it is all executed superbly but I really like the backdrops. They look very believable and add a great deal.

 

Thanks!

 

 by American standards it might as well be a Micro Layout!!!

It is 12ft by 2ft, divided into 8ft scenic section and 4ft hidden staging. 

 

LOL! That's funny! On a cable TV show called "ManCaves"- according to their crew they built a "HUGE 7'x7' train layout" as a centerpiece of the room!

Gregg, sorry to disappoint but the ground throws are dummies -Caboose Industries HO ones (can't recall the part # offhand) that aren't connected and have rather crude static targets glued to them!! The switches are thrown by under-board steel rods to the edge of the board.

Very nicely done. The interchange theme let's you reasonably run most types of rolling stock: a big plus. Any chance of you posting a video, at you tube perhaps, so we can see the "rockin' & rollin'" in action?

Awesome

Beautiful

Thanks for sharing !!

Thanks for posting pictures of your fine layout. I would also love to see a track plan, simple as it may be.

Allot of great things showing here. Thanks for posting.

I did try a YouTube clip, but trying to operate & film at the same time didn't really work. Currently the layout isn't set up so I won't have another go for some while.

Looks GREAT!!! I really like the "bad" track work.

Love that CF7. Is that a Pecos River Brass model from several years ago?

Excellent craftsmanship!  Thanks for sharing!

 

--Greg

Very very nice !

The CF7, along with the PGR SW1500 & the PGR SD38-2, are all HO models - the CF7 is Athearn! The SW1500 is Athearn Blue Box & the SD38-2 Kato. I repainted them all, as well as most of my O Scale locos.
I do wish there was an r-t-r CF7 available in O !!

I concur: an O scale CF-7 is very much needed.

 

Very nice indeed.  Who's GP40 in the Soo Bandit paint scheme?

 

Greg

Beautiful layout....you should consider sending in pictures, etc. to our Editor for consideration for publication!

 

Alan

I also like it very much.    Your trackwork is so realistic.  Thank you for posting! 

The Ex-MILW Bandit GP-40 is a "kitbash" of a Weaver GP38-2 combined with Atlas SD40 & GP35 parts, & brass plow and all-weather window. It has a Pittman motor, Weaver/P&D chain drive, & a "super Tsunami" from Protocraft, the one they do modified to a 3amp capacity.

 

Here's a pic of it under construction. Black parts are Weaver, gray Atlas.

It uses a slightly shortened Atlas SD40 long hood (old weaver GP38 hood to the side) and battery boxes under the cab. The dynamics blister is Atlas GP35.

 

The Weaver fuel tank seems to be a short-range type? I may have got this wrong, but from the photos I could find of MILW GP40s, they seemed to have longer tanks, so I made a couple of brass overlays to make the tank longer.

 

The great thing about the Soo Bandit scheme was that I didn't have to buy any Milwaukee Road decals, and could have a Soo Line loco that was utterly different to the White & Red scheme!! I painted the black with a rattle-can, and hand-brushed the orange, finishing the weathering with dry-brushing & an airbrush. Decals were dry-rub 'Letraset' type lettering.

 

 

The reference photo in particular that I used for her dates from about 1990, so that's about the time period for the condition my model is depicted in. As I understand it, the real #2041 is still in CP Rail service. Now she has plated-over class lights, fitted ditch lights, and is still in this "temporary" black-patch scheme, but looking even more decrepit than ever!! Clearly CP Rail are as reluctant to spend money on paint as the Soo Line was!!!

P.S. Note the MILW-specific details - number boards on the sides of the dynamics blister, & bell located behind the Fireman's side of the cab. Not bad railfanning from 5,000 miles away, eh??

!!!WWWOOOWWW!!!

sunday shunter thanks for posting this. great Milwaukee build only bad thing its in the soo patch scheme.

That's nice!

 

The Peco track code 124 is well hidden. Well done!

 

Your layout is tiny but interesting for operation. That's inspirational.

 

 

Thanks Jack - welcome to the Large Scale Dark Side!!!!
J.

Thank you J.

 

I'm always attracted by the dark side big scales: big scales like O are good for many things. I always come back to O scale. I like this scale a lot.

 

I'm planning a small O scale (2-rail) US shortline layout. Something I haven't yet try!

I've still built several layouts (N US shortline, HO US shortline (locomotives), On30/Oe French, O French shortline) and now, I have been hooked by the impressive look of the O scale standard gauge models from the USA.

 

I like your tiny but interesting layout. It's enough "big" to have a realistic operation with its only 2 turnouts. Great.

A small layout permits to add a lot of details and to save time because I don't have a lot of time and motivation to make a large layout like our American friends.

 

At this time I'm preparing some US Weaver and Atlas rolling stock and I'm scratchbuilding two flat cars.

 

ì stay tuned to learn more informations and see more photos of your layout.

 

I hope my English isn't too bad.

 

Cheers,

 

Jack