Describe your very first layout :)

[St Enodoc]

On 19/02/2020 at 08:34, Harlequin said:

I desperately wanted a Battle Space Turbo car but Dad said it was unrealistic and silly.

Me too.

[Adrian Stevenson]

My first layout was a roundy roundy in the spare little bedroom. Dad built the baseboards around the room and cut the bedroom door in half so you entered in like a stable door and you emerged into the middle of the baseboards. OO Gauge and a mixture of Tri-ang Hornby and the odd bit of Wrenn.  GWR themed with card buildings. Sadly no pictures survive.

 

Cheers, Ade.

[Happy Hippo]

!958:

 

A double track oval of Hornby gauge o tinplate the ovals connected with a crossover and a point leading off the inner oval to a turntable.

 

Two 0-4-0 locos with tenders, two coaches, an open wagon and a box van.

 

It was clockwork, and complimented the real railway at the bottom of the garden.

[Joseph_Pestell]

First  "layout" (train set) was in the spare room, probably 1962. It was a north facing room and hideously cold for much of the year. It was also decorated in a awful shade of green. I actually did some of the painting, aged 5 or 6.

 

Board was, I think, a sheet of 8 x 4 softboard split in two with "bridges" to create the continuous run. Not sure what we did with it when guests came to stay. Can't have been much room left for them as it was a small house.

 

I think that the main circuit was part single part double based on a CJF plan. I added a further circuit (all curves) of Series 3 track with a Triang catenary set for my EM2 (1965?). I still have a fascination for Woodhead.

 

Never got any scenery that I recall. That came with the second layout in the shed and a large papier mache hill with single track tunnel.

[St Enodoc]

About 1960 when I was 3 or 4. A single oval with an up-and-over loop and a couple of sidings, using Tri-ang Series 3 track, in the spare bedroom. Locos were a 2-6-2T and a Transcontinental electric (but there were no overhead wires). No photos of this that I can trace but its successor is shown in the first post on my layout thread - link below.

[4901]

My first layout was started when I was 17 in 1959, using 00 Peco brass bullhead track my father had bought many years before and Peco cast metal frogs for the turnouts.  I could not afford to buy ready-made track so I used shellacked card for the track bed and the sleepers.  The rail was soldered to brass tacks hammered into the baseboard.  The baseboard eventually warped - it was the fibre board recommended in the Railway Modeller on a soft wood frame of 1" by 2".   

 

For electrical control I used an old aircraft WW2 switch box that had all sorts of switches and even a morse key.  The only engine I had was the R! Hornby's first two-rail locomotive, a couple of southern green Kitmaster coaches that I still use on my current layout complete with Peco interiors and Kitmaster people on the seats and standing in the corridors.  I installed fine-scale wheels from a tiny shop near New Street Station in Birmingham (decades before Ian Allen).  Goods wagons were Peco Wonderful Wagons and they ran so sweetly.   

 

The very first length of track I built was from Peco flat-bottom glued onto the shellacked card sleepers and base but I started using th Peco bullhead for the rest of the layout.

 

I recall going to a model railway show in Birmingham and seeing Iliffe Stokes layout featured in the RM.  A club member, Smokey Bourne, took time to draw wiring diagrams for point motors and I read the RM to understand cab wiring.  I was even about to wire a rotary switch for route control but left home to start my career away from home.  The layout was demolished by my father but I recently  found a poor black and white photo of the layout that shows a double crossover in the station.  I had forgotten how complex I made the layout but the cast frogs made it quite easy to build points.  Point control was by Gem point levers and wire-in-tube with a piece of brass across the wire to change the polarity of the points.     The layout was never finished but the stock ran smoothly over it.    

 

In building that layout, I learned woodwork, soldering, wiring, filing metal, etc.,   skills I used to add a ring main to our first house eight years later, as well as building shelves, cupboards, etc.!    I still ave a bundle of the Peco Bullhead brass rail and the paper templates they made for laying track.

 

 

 

 

[ianmacc]

I for one have really enjoyed reading this thread thus far.

 

The serious layouts are fascinating reads obviously but this is very relatable.

[RAF96]

This is the mimic panel for my first layout in a loft. The layout was L shaped about 15’ x 12’. The wall mounted indicator,panel,was 3’x2’ large enough to see from the far end of the layout.

 

 

Edit - As per normal for me the layout got as far as operational but never finished.

Edited February 24, 2020 by RAF96

[Keith Addenbrooke]

My Dad built some Superquick kits for a plastic push-along Playcraft set we had as kids in the early 1970s . My brother may still have some of the kits.

 

As for an identifiable model railway, it's Nov 1977 or 1978 for me: N gauge Peco Settrack oval with one siding (left hand point), train-set style. H&M Powermaster Controller (which I still have), ready for expansion.

Train was a Grafar 94xx GWR Pannier (my favourite UK loco then and now) and two chocolate and cream corridor coaches.

Baseboard of Sundeala offcuts 3'8" x 2'2" built for me by my Dad as a Birthday present - no legs (sat on the floor, stored in a wardrobe).

Advantage of a late Nov birthday is that Christmas brought four more points and some Peco goods wagons.

No photos exist (my small 110 wasn't a flash camera).

Further track and 2 (non-matching) blue BR diesels and undersized 1:160 Lima Mk1 coaches followed, along with some kit-built buildings, but never any ballasting or scenery.

It was eventually stored and sold off, after overambitious plans I had to rebuild the boards myself into a larger layout didn't work out (I thought I could build a new layout in 3 days - no comment).

I've remained interested in operating and layout design (UK and US) ever since, but am only now starting work on what could yet be that elusive first scenic layout (a UK micro and US diorama).

Perhaps, for me, in one sense, the first layout could also be the next one...

Edited March 1, 2020 by Keith Addenbrooke
Grammar

[Keith Addenbrooke]

On 21/02/2020 at 02:27, 4901 said:

"wheels from a tiny shop near New Street Station in Birmingham (decades before Ian Allen)."

Was that the shop down an alley way off New Street? More the size of a newspaper kiosk from memory? If so, it was still trading in the 1970s.

In those days you could also buy R-T-R from the Co-op department stores in the City Centre too.

Probably straying OT, sorry (there's a separate thread for memories of old shops elsewhere on RMWeb, I think).

Point of relevance is, at the start of the pre-internet "consumer era", I suggest a high street presence went hand in hand with developing first layouts.

[AngusDe]

I've posted this before, but this was my late 60s first layout on a 6x4 piece of chipboard.

 

The only buildings were the solid wooden station and goods shed, the only scenery was the solid plastic triang tunnel, everything else was painted on. sometimes there was a lego over bridge across the dock branch, the mainlne and the goods siding, which in my imagination was shields road, crossing the multiple lines in that corner of Govan in Glasgow at that time.

 

Angus

 

[fezza]

Mine was a loop on a 6x4 with a brown stone Hornby main station building and goods shed on one side and a Wills Halt on the other. Between were goods sidings shaded by toffee stick trees. There was also a platelayers hut from Airfix and a Peco? fogman with brazier. Locos included Nellie, a Mainline Royal Scot and a J72. Great days. I adored that layout and more than 30 years later I doubt I'll ever build anything that was as much fun. 

 

When I was about 14 I decided to be more 'professional' and build an end to end GWR BLT. It never really worked and I lost interest. Even now I prefer ovals... 

Edited March 2, 2020 by fezza

[4901]

On 01/03/2020 at 15:15, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Was that the shop down an alley way off New Street? More the size of a newspaper kiosk from memory? If so, it was still trading in the 1970s.

In those days you could also buy R-T-R from the Co-op department stores in the City Centre too.

Probably straying OT, sorry (there's a separate thread for memories of old shops elsewhere on RMWeb, I think).

Point of relevance is, at the start of the pre-internet "consumer era", I suggest a high street presence went hand in hand with developing first layouts.

 

[4901]

As I recall, it was tiny and the owner was very helpful.  He knew what he was talking about and that's very helpful and inspiring to a beginner.   

 

 

[Ben B]

My first layout was built for me, in conditions of great secrecy, as a Christmas present when I was three.  Plan 2/6 from the Sixth edition of the Hornby trackplan booklet (as used my my parents to plan the build, and which I still have!)

 

 

6x4 sheet of unframed, unsupported chipboard.  Lovely textured surface, road for driving toy cars, and a selection of buildings made and painted by my mum; all Airfix/Dapol kits, most of which I still have as well.

 

 

This is the only photograph I have of the layout, which is surprising considering how much I loved playing with it.  Stock was a selection of the early Hornby Thomas range, with my dads vintage Triang DMU (which made a passable, if faceless, Daisy) supplemented later by my first 'proper' loco, a Hornby spamcan ("Fighter Pilot").

 

The board rested against my bedroom wall, and was laid on the floor to be played with.  It saw less use when some new bedroom furniture meant it could only be laid-out in the dining room (and thus needed shifting downstairs), and it was gradually replaced with interests in N gauge from when I was about 11.  Considering it was unbraced, it survived all the lifting and moving around very well though, and two house moves, before it gave up the ghost.

 

When the board finally succumbed to warping, I stripped the track off it and put everything I could salvage into storage.  Felt a bit bad, but the majority of the trackwork has since been recycled onto my Foster Daughters first layout, so what comes around, goes around.

 

 

In a way it lives on though; I needed a test-track for reviving some N models, and had some set-track; once I'd planned to nail it down to a board anyway, I decided to use it as an opportunity to recreate as faithfully as possible that first layout, in N- even down to the foam underlay and an attempt at replicating the textured surface

 

[apollanaut]

Like many others in this thread, my first layout was on a 6’ x 4’ sheet of chipboard purchased from a local builders yard in the late 70’s. It was a simple double track circuit with two sidings and the track was pinned to the board on foam underlay. I would set it up on my bed with a variety of buildings and scenic accessories to bring it to life.
 

My uncle was a keen modeller too and  kindly built and customised a wonderful Superquick station set for my layout.

 

Our family home was a small terraced house in Addiscombe and the only place to store the layout when not in use was to lean it against the upstairs landing wall next to my tiny bedroom!

[Sotto]

I was very lucky. When I was about 8 or 9, my parents had their house extended to create a reasonable sized kitchen. This left the old kitchen spare- I suppose it was about 10 ft by 11 ft. This space was entirely filled with a baseboard with operating well in the middle, double track at main level, and a high level track all round about 5 inches higher.

The track was all Graham Farish Formoway flexi track-this was exciting in itself, as my friends all had set track layouts.

The ramp between the levels was too steep for anything to get up, except a dock shunter, but you can't complain if someone else builds for you!

From that era I still have a Triang Blue Pullman (with replacement motor bogie) and a Triang Hymek, which I am rather fond of- it proves the value of maintenance as it is still the slowest runner I have- it will go so slowly that you can hear the motor turning but not see the wheels move.

Those two locos survived because they were non runners when I sold everything of value in my teens. Although I did have a Triang Flying Scotsman that failed to survive as a result of taking a leap from the layout onto the quarry tile floor. Ouch!!

 

Until I started to write this post I don't think I have ever really appreciated the effort my Dad went to in woodworking and track laying. It's not even as if railways, model or real, were his hobby.

 

[ITG]

When I was around 12-13, my DIY-proficient dad succumbed to my requests for a layout in what was known as the playroom. This room had been constructed from what was a brick built coal shed and two outhouses.

 

anyway, the baseboard plan was agreed to be approx 10’x5’ with central operating well, hinged so it folded against the wall, leaving a 6” wide shelf on which rolling stock would be parked for storage. The board was constructed from pretty heavy duty block board with framing. Dad was very much from the “make it twice as strong as it needs to be” school of thought. I already had a load of Triang TT track, locos and rolling stock. Not a thought was given to the scenic treatment.

 

The lack of planning didn’t really matter, as no sooner was the above all in place, and track laid out in experimental layouts, that I decided it would be better if it went around the entire room, probably about  10’ x 16’, with a lift out section diagonally across the door access. Dad duly cut the original board up, and followed my bidding.

 

Time had evolved during all these developments, and it got to a stage where I discovered........ girls! Trains took a back seat, and I have no idea what happened to all the TT stock.

 

50 years went by, and I’m now modelling again. The penny dropped when I realised that what I thought was a 5 minute job for dad with a hammer and saw, turned out to require a little more finesse and skill, along with an array of tools. None of which I had, of course. But now I’m learning!

[rockershovel]

I inherited a sizeable collection of Hornby tinplate, bring the youngest of the Post-War generation of cousins ... all now long gone, nobody wanted it in those days (early 1960s). My late father had a layout in the basement, mostly using the black Triang track; this was broken up following his early death in 1963 and various elements of it accompanied the succession of moves which ensued. 

 

I always envied a schoolfriend of mine with a large collection of Hornby Dublo which we played with on his floor.

 

I eventually built a small layout using what remained of Dad’s stock, including a Nellie, a 3F and assorted goods stock but there wasn’t enough track, we were broke and Mum started hosting language students, so there was no room and I became involved in the Air Cadets, judo, rugby and motorcycles...

[Sturminster_Newton]

Probably the most popular move into a model railway was the conversion of  boxed train-set...into train-set on a board.

 

The board in question, built by my father,  was a sheet of gloss green painted 8'x4'  6mm 3ply, nailed onto a frame of 2"x1" built on the flat not edge which as most students of wood spoiling will point out is wrong.

 

Track was initially Hornby series 3 and eventually two loops of super 4 with a cross over and a three siding goods yard.

 

Control was via the original Tri-ang metal clad power transformer and black plastic resistance mat controller, plus a Tri-ang all-in-one controller with 12vDC uncontrolled and 16vAC in addition to the controlled DC output. Final control was via a H&M Duette.

 

MPD stock was headed up by the Tri-ang B12 with synchro smoke and magnahesion. The ubiquitous Nellie 0-4-0 and the Tri-ang 0-4-0 steeple cab overhead electric. There was also a clockwork Class08. Eventually these were joined by the Hornby Standard Class 3MT 2-6-2 also fitted with the synchro smoke and magnahesion.  Final arrival came as a BR Black Jinty with smoke and magnahesion and another Nellie both part of an 'Automatic' train set.

 

Rolling stock was a couple of C1 slam door coaches in green later joined by a crimson and cream version of the same coaches, frieght stock was twenty mixed items of stock which I was informed by my father was more prototypical than 20 x 16ton wagons and brake-van.

 

When not in use the railway lived a vertical life track to the wall in the hall. Scenic relief was via a selection of Tri-ang plastic kit houses a pub and manor house from the same source and constructed by father after Birthdays and Christmas.

 

So that's it and for many that was all it ever was; even if in our mind's eye the track was the ECML or the Paddington to Bristol race track.

 

[Zomboid]

I thought it was on a 6x4, but trying to do that in Anyrail it doesn't quite fit...  (It was built using Hornby track but I used peco for the diagram, but I think the geometry is the same). Either way, this was my first ever layout, built by my Dad, featuring foam underlay on varnished chipboard. There was an operating well in the middle where my brother and I would stand, I'd run trains on the outer circuit and he had the inner.

Scenery was rudimenary, mostly superquick kits, and a chicken wire and paper mache tunnel on the right hand side, only covering the outer circuit.

Hours of fun, I've often wondered about rebuilding something similar, but that would be daft now I'm a grown-up 

[rab]

Describe your first layout;

I will when I've built it

[Lacathedrale]

My first layout was like another posted, built in secret for me by my Dad - one birthday I awoke to an 8'x 4' sheet of chipboard supported on some cut down wardrobe bottoms, in the corner of my bedroom.

 

It was a double track loop of Hornby track. In the middle was a siding with a plastic double-track diesel engine shed (but with only one track in it!) and one siding on the outside which looped all the way around the layout and up onto a hill, which providied raison d'etre for tunnels for the loops in that corner. Motive power: Hornby Smokey Joe and a Lima Class 33 Burma Star - no coaches or wagons!

[Simon Moore]

My first layout was an interesting one. 

 

My dad took me out to watch trains so I was hooked from a very early age & it's in my blood as a result. 

 

Now the last thing a 6 year old Simon wanted to do on a saturday was to be dragged round Sheffield city centre I hated it. My parents came up with a a way to keep me quiet & go out. They used to take me to Sheffield midland so I could watch the hst trains. After these trips to the station I wanted my own hst at home & so pestered all year for santa to get me one.

 

My folks couldnt afford the train set & so christmas day came to find a jigsaw puzzle of a hst, I was livid! 

 

My mum told me to look in the dining room to see what my dad was doing & there was a 8 x 4 board with a double track loop, superquick buildings & a lima deltic & western going around.

 

The hst was out of my head I was in heaven. It turns out my folks had bought this from someone in the village which was a lot cheaper than the hst train set & better.

 

Trips to crewe soon after had my eyes on the class 86s & as a result a Hornby one soon graced my layout. 

 

Happy times.

[The Johnster]

My first layout, I suspect like many of my generation was a Triang/Rovex Black Princess oval. It was rubbish; all it did was chase it’s tail, though it was capable of running in reverse so the tail could chase it as well.  It was xmas 1956 and I was 4.  If you’d asked me what was wrong with it I’d have said that the curves were too sharp, the coaches were too short, that the couplings didn’t look like couplings, and that I wanted a siding.  I got the siding a few weeks later with some wagon; now this was more like it, I could shunt!  
 

So I became unhappy with the fact that Princess Elizabeth didn’t have a front coupling like the real locos I’d  seen, and after a while a neighbour who was good at that sort of thing rigged up a bar loop off the bogie for me.  This kept me quiet for a bit, but I still worried about the sharp curves, couplings, and short coaches. 
 

Next xmas saw a more concerted effort on the part of the parents.  Father spent a bit of time sawing, hammering, and swearing out in the garage building my present: I was not allowed to see what it was?  Xmas morning brought a Triang 6-coupled saddle tank, but the layout had disappeared.  I was taken out to see what had been built in the garage; 10’x4’ double track, proper transformer and 2 controllers, sidings for each circuit with the outer circuit’s crossing the inner main line by one of two diamond crossings, as the inner track was a figure 8 at the far end.   There was a trailing crossover (and I already knew the difference), and the long straights on the outer circuit were something new: yard lengths of what might have been Wrenn track with fibreglass sleepers on foam underlay. 
 

The neighbour who’d built Princess Elizabeth’s bogie coupling bar had designed it, and Father had only ‘helped’ to build it, so it was properly made with 2x2 and ply top.  The figure 8 meant that trains could overtake as well as pass.  It was a brilliant framework on which to cut my modelling teeth and I built Airfix buildings for it, then wagons, even a Kitmaster Restaurant Car.  It set me on my way and taught me many lessons, the most important of which was that if you had a layout outside the living area of the house it was too cold in winter and too hot in summer, later confirmed by an attic layout in an uninsulated attic that was too cold in winter and oven hot on any windless sunny day any time of year.  
 

I am still not happy with my curves, and have had to resort to tension locks because I can’t handle scale with my eyesight; I still think they look wrong.