As always seems to happen, summer rolls around and I end up spending more time doing things outside of the layout room than inside of it and this year was no exception. Between travel, side hustles, and a few seasonal interests I haven’t spent a lot of time with the layout this summer. But as…
Layout Update – June 15, 2024
Once again it’s been a while since I’ve updated the page. A lot of things have happened, and there’s been some significant work done on the west side of the layout. Some of that was hinted in the post on the Class 158 but since then there’s been even more work done. I still haven’t…
New On The Layout – Rapido RTL Turboliner
Ahhh Rapido, makers of highly detailed trains that almost nobody else does… One of their first HO models was the United Aircraft TurboTrain – and a few years after that they released an N Scale version. It was the second time that somebody had ever released the TurboTrain in N Scale – the first being…
New on the Layout – British Rail Class 158 DMU
The layout’s a bit of a mess right now. A few weeks ago I decided that it was finally time to start moving forward with landscaping out the West Side Yard. Things have been sorted from the edge of the layout on the west side from the Centerville West Station towards the Yard tracks with…
New on the Layout – Kato ACS-64
I’ve mentioned before that there isn’t really a whole lot available in N Scale if you’re looking for models from the Northeast Corridor. Bachmann used to offer an E-60, the Acela Express set and the HHP-8 although none of them are still in production and all are hard to find. GG-1s are a relatively new…
Updates – January 20, 2024
I think traditionally most modelers get more done on their layouts this time of year than any other. Cooler temps and inclement weather makes it easy to justify spending more time with your layout and not less. But, I seem to go opposite the trend – yes the weather has been awful, but holiday travel…
New on The Layout – Atlas GE Dash 8-40BW
I mentioned in the last post the pre-Black Friday purchase of the ScaleTrains ET44C GEVO, but it wasn’t the only pre-Black Friday purchase. I also picked up two Atlas Master GE Dash 8-40BW locomotives from TrainWorld – Amtrak 504 and 509. Since they were released in the last two weeks, TrainWorld lists them as a…
New On The Layout – ScaleTrains ET44C GEVO
Unlike in previous years, I kept some funds in reserve for the expected Black Friday sales. I didn’t buy much, but the first purchase arrived the other day, my first ScaleTrains locomotive, an ET44C GEVO from their Rivet Counter line. I’ve got to say, overall I’m really impressed. I’ve always heard good things about the…
Catenary Poles Installed
The Centreville Railroad is partway through a major capitol project with the installation of an overhead wire catenary system along the main route and select yard tracks. Well, ok not really. I’m mostly through the process of installing Kato catenary poles along the layout so I’ll have simulated catenary on the line. It is possible…
Yard Maintenance Platforms
Every so often I do a search on Thingiverse on “N Scale” to see what comes up. Over the past several months I’ve come across quite a few interesting items to print for the layout. The “N Scale Raised Platforms or Walkways” posted by akjochev in February 2011 caught my eye and I decided to…