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The Reading Central


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I've decided to come out from cover with my latest project in N scale, a layout that fits in several categories. It's a micro, it's a cameo, it's portable. The concept came from the mind of David K. Smith who came up with the idea that two railroads decided not to be part of the consolidation of the 6 bankrupts that became Conrail, The Reading and the Central of New Jersey. It's not that much of a stretch because the lines that went into Conrail were literally all over each other, passing through the same regions and sustainable until the demise of the US manufacturing sector. I thought it was a neat idea so I asked if I could run with the concept. I plan on relocating within the next 12 months plus I'm not a fan of big fixed layouts and even more so after seeing 3 friends tear out years of work on basement sized ones due to a move or finding out what a chore it is just to get ready for an operating session. I was watching a YouTube video by a user called DJ's Trains (he's a professional railroader) and he showed how a simple interchange could provide a lot of enjoyment in a small space. Bingo. Now I have it sorted out. An interchange in a town called Smithsboro, NJ between the RC and Conrail to serve the towns up the line of the James Creek Branch. I'm a big fan of reuse, especially when it keeps the cost of the hobby down. I found a baseboard that's 27" x 15-3/4" I'd used twice before made from Gatorfoam (which I got as a freebie when they threw out a big sign at a friend's job) and why it's that size is long lost to memory.  A little clean-up and we're ready to get this train rolling...

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I'm going to be using Kato Unitrak mainly because of reliability and the fact I already have enough on hand. Using the newer range small radius track and one #4 point. Here's the first plop-down...meh...

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What I've found the problem to be with small layouts is not the layout itself, it's the other distractions that pull the eyes from the focal point. That said, I decided to box the scene in with a hood made from foamcore board from the dollar store so for a whopping outlay of 3 bucks we have the necessary resources to make it a cameo scene. They had a string of LED lights powered by 2 1.5 volt batteries...now we're up to $4. On the right track but the string of LED's just doesn't cut it...back to the drawing board and the town planning board is none too pleased with that linear building arrangement and all that vacant real estate...

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I had planned on 3 fiddle sticks to represent the "rest of the world" but then thought I might enjoy seeing a train running laps as a relaxing diversion. The extension is born; made from leftover bits and some 11" radius Unitrak. Both sections fit nicely across a folding table. 

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Hi Jeff, this is great - it can be hard fitting a continuous run into a micro-layout but this looks really effective.  One suggestion for the town planning dispute could be to call a town meeting and ask everyone to realign their buildings onto a diagonal - (I’d suggest front left to back right), you’d still have a convincing street scene, it would fill more of the space and may even make the layout seem bigger? Just a thought, Keith.

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3 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Hi Jeff, this is great - it can be hard fitting a continuous run into a micro-layout but this looks really effective.  One suggestion for the town planning dispute could be to call a town meeting and ask everyone to realign their buildings onto a diagonal - (I’d suggest front left to back right), you’d still have a convincing street scene, it would fill more of the space and may even make the layout seem bigger? Just a thought, Keith.


Oops, can I change that to front right (by the Depot) to back left, so the road doesn’t end in the ravine.

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Whilst the town fathers mull over the arrangement of the town, here are a few buildings that will occupy its real estate.

First is an unknown Downtown Deco plaster building I picked up from a scrap pile at a show for a fiver, mind you it looked like it survived the Blitz but some paint, window and door castings, weathering and a few assorted detail parts it came back to life.

Second is another Downtown Deco kit, supposed to be a funeral home but with some decals and details became a grocery shop.

Third, another Downtown kit, Randy's Burgers with some alterations and added details, that I renamed Cliff's in honor of my late friend who was married to a vegetarian but when on our outings would enjoy a hamburger and other forbidden fruits.

Last, we have Tony's, which is an acrylic laser cut kit from a local firm called Custom Model Railroads that was a giveaway to attendees at a modelers meet. All of his kits are exquisite and when opening the box, one gets a bit of a shock at the number of parts, especially with his high-rise and large buildings but he's done an outstanding job with crafting the kits and the instructions that with a little care and patience a most excellent building is the result. 20200525_155553.jpg.928c5e1b56c7f7596d0f33b317f88af0.jpg 

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  • 1 month later...

Yikes...been a bit since I've updated. Here's what I've done lately:

Completed the cover, added LED lighting and made a photo backdrop from an image a friend took.

Rearranged the town like 27 times...still not permanent. Waiting on a building to arrive in the post. To fill a vacant space. 

Added a loop of Tomix Wide Tram track to run through a photo of a building which will have a foamcore structure added to pop it out into the scene. I was inspired by watching a video of a brewery which gets a single car dropped off via street trackage into tight quarters. 

 

Roughed in some foamcore to raise the buildings up a touch. It'll receive a trimming, some paint and blended in.

 

Will post as I make progress. 

 

Everyone please stay safe...

 

Best,

Jeff

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Edited by Jeff P
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