SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND RAILWAY - BOWES CREEK DIVISION

[CVSNE]

A little more than a year ago I posted a photo showing the scraps of my former layout heading down the street in a truck on the way to the recycling center.
After we moved into our new home earlier this year I spent several months dealing with outside and inside chores - but have found time to start my newest version of my Southern New England Railway - this one I'm calling the "Bowes Creek Division" until a better name suggests itself since (1) Bowe's Creek is the name of our street and (2) Numbering these fool things was getting depressing....
We plan to retire in this home, but I'm still working a more than fulltime job so the layout is designed to be simple and straightforward to build.
As proof of that, I'm using IKEA Ivar shelving for the legs and under layout shelves and cabinets.
I always regretted that I never got the underside of the last couple of layouts looking finished - so I made sure to paint the legs and stain the shelves before installing them in the room.


Marty

[Jerry]

Nice looking room!

Jerry

[GPdemayo]

Looking forward to following along on your journey with the new layout Marty.....

[ReadingBob]

Nice - a clean palette for a fresh start.  Count me in as looking forward to seeing where this goes.   

[ACL1504]

Marty,

Great room for the layout, looks wonderful. I'll be following along on the new adventure.

Happy to see you back at the layout building, even better a new one.

Tom

[Lynnb]

Very nice room for layout , will you be putting a valance from the ceiling?

[Janbouli]

Wow , pristine , wonder how long it will look that way , well I'll just have to follow along , won't I.

[Zephyrus52246]

That room is too clean for a layout room.  Must have been photoshopped! 


Jeff

[ndwolf68]

Marty,
Looking great, so far.  I'll definitely be following along!  This is quite a fine start.  Query: Are you closer or further from Bernie?  Is this going to cost you more for his backdrop painting services? LOL! 

R/,
Norm

[CVSNE]

Marty,
Looking great, so far.  I'll definitely be following along!  This is quite a fine start.  Query: Are you closer or further from Bernie?  Is this going to cost you more for his backdrop painting services? LOL! 

R/,
Norm

We're in Gainesville, just west of the Manassas battlefield. In fact, we're not all that far from the location of the 150th reenactments I was involved in planning a few years ago.


I think we're about the same distance from Bernie but don't have the "joy" of driving on Va. 28 for 5 miles...


I don't plan to have Bernie paint any backdrops for me this time - there was always a mismatch between the 6 feet or so he painted and the rest of the backdrop on the old layout. I'm also planning to use photos for the most part this time around and not have any backdrops other than around a couple of the exterior walls of the layout - no backdrops running down the center of peninsulas etc... they break the space up far too much and cause all kinds of issues with lighting and the like.


In fact, trying to host work sessions on the last couple of layouts has convinced me that they're far more trouble than they're worth - other than Stic coming by to help out from time to time, I'm planning on flying solo on this layout for the most part.

[CVSNE]

That room is too clean for a layout room.  Must have been photoshopped! 


Jeff

No, no  Photoshop involved!   Christine's marching orders were "make it look like part of the family room and not a perpetual construction site" - so that's what I've been trying to do.

My inspiration is Paul Dolkos - when Andy Sperandeo needed a photo for Great Model Railroads showing the underpinnings of a layout for something or another he called Paul, who hung up the phone, went down to his layout room, put the camera on the floor and took a photo and sent it to Andy within minutes.

Andy was shocked Paul got the photo to him so fast - since like most of us would Andy would have spent several days shoveling enough  crap out from under the layout to get a picture. In Paul's case there simply is never anything - nothing - under the layout but legs and carpet.

The first time Christine saw Paul's layout room her comment was "See, this is how they should look."

Frankly I got pretty brutal about what we moved - a LOT of stuff went into the dumpster before we moved - and more has joined it since we moved into the house.

I'm currently arranging the finished buildings and the like on the layout to see what fits, and what doesn't. Some models that don't find a home on the railroad will be kept as photo dioramas that I will display on the shelves under the layout. I also have some things I plan to use on future projects (different themes and even scales - but that amounts to less than a copier paper box of kit boxes at this point. If it doesn't find a home in one of those places it's going out the door.

Marty

[CVSNE]

Very nice room for layout , will you be putting a valance from the ceiling?

Thanks Lynn,


At this point no, I don't plan to drop a valence from the ceiling.


I had the builder install junction boxes in the ceiling over what I thought would be the aisles to include track lighting or perhaps tube fixtures. Honestly, I haven't gotten the lighting issue completely licked at this point - high ceilings are wonderful until you realize you loose a LOT of light in the six feet or so between the top of the layout and ceiling.

[CVSNE]

Marty,

Great room for the layout, looks wonderful. I'll be following along on the new adventure.

Happy to see you back at the layout building, even better a new one.

Tom

Thanks Tom,


I find I'm more productive ("inspired") when I have a layout - I never seem to get as much done when I'm just buildings models for the sake of building models - guess they have to have a purpose.
Besides, this is a LOT more fun than stacking stone for retaining walls.

[Blazeman]

Marty:  What is the width of the Ikea shelving?  Are you planning to keep that depth consistent, or will you widen as you see fit?

[Jim Donovan]

Hi Marty;

Wife and I are retired and have a home up north and a second in Florida. I am planning a southern 'branch' of railroad. I too need to have the layout neat, it will be in an enclosed Florida room, I negotiated 8 by 12 along the walls. Looking forward to seeing how you do it. Going to check out the shelving your using.

Jim D