The manufacturers are good on doing freelance ones..but they are also currently ignoring various past PROTOTYPICAL railroads. Stop and think of how many models RTR that are of the Frisco, CB&Q,NORTHER PACIFIC, WESTERN PACIFIC and vast others completely lacking in availability in wide range of rolling stick that ACTUALLY EXISTED. so yes I appreciate and actually have a freelance RR of my own, but at same time the companies should be offering the fallen flags of past in just as much effort they do in the current COLLOSAL giants present today.

Find those boxes under tables at train shows or cheap buildings and freight cars to kit bash, weather, etc.

Thanks so much for making this video, as I've been stuck - in analysis paralysis - tying to figure out how to build my realistic dream HO scale layout in a small bedroom. So, instead of getting it all figured out, I need to start with one small section. Maybe even a tiny 4-6 foot long layout that has nothing to do with what I'll eventually end up with. Thank-you...

This video gave me much motivation to progress on my layout. Thank you.

Watching this video 3 years after posting- 3 years later, would you still recommend this over traditional wood benchwork?

No comparison of the lighting features, which is a big deal.

I’m inspired by your project. Love the light weight. Can I support with 6 legs ? I looking at height of 45 inches. Thank.

Hello Joe, Thank you for such a "REAL" approach to building a model railway. I have to agree with you 100% on the getting to your goal "dream layout" will and does take time. The sooner you start the better and easier it is to build. Simple builds are always the best way to start, simple to build, simple to learn from, working out what it is you really like. I'm 56 in August, thanks to my dad, I have from the age of 12 been into model train. It all started with a tyco Chattanooga small train set on a board in front of the Xmas tree. Since that day, I have expanded on the original layout, still being able to fit in my bedroom. Growing up, selling my layout and moving out. time past, my parents moved, I married, had a son, and as he grew I built another layout for him, ( and me ). This did prove to be a problem, my place of residents did not allow this to happen. Just so happen that my parents place of new residence had a small room to build a 2m by 4m. Perfect for my next build. Unfortunately, my son did not share the same interest as he grew older. No problem, this just meant that I would expand on this layout, as soon as I had the room. As life moves by and time goes by my marriage separated, moved into a place that had room to build, and so it began. This would be a turning point in the hobby, my interest was now European trains, modelling a loose expression of Germany. This gave a lot of experience in moving into DCC and sound. This lasted for a number of years when my career and life took another direction. I pulled apart my layout that had then become a single garage layout, I met a beautiful woman that gave me the support to follow my Goal. I bought a small house and over time was able to save money build a shed and thus became the new residence of my next layout. Building the starts of the next build took place in yet another home moment of my parents, in a single shed in the back yard. This was now to be built an a movable module layout. So currently, the shed is still needing work internally before becoming home for my Dream Layout. This has taken me time and a lot of life changes, but the knowledge on the way has been priceless. In short, I agree with everything you have said in this video. If you have the motivation, you can successfully keep moving to your goal and finally your compromising Dream layout. I now build small layouts for beginner to get interested into this hobby. Thank you for your video for others to digest and drive forward rather than becoming an armchair modeller. Anthony S.

Hey, guys! Just found your channel, or it just found me! You know what I mean! I couldn’t help but notice the TP&W box car on your layout! I’m a former employee of the original TP&W before the Santa Fe buyout. I remember those cars well! There were 100 of them in the 70,000 series. The agency I trained in had a feed mill named Honegger & Co. They loaded bagged A&P Feed in those cars. Those were plain Jane box cars. There were 50 more in the 70100 series with EOC cushioning. They also had some old 40’ box cars they used until those came along. These were XP type 40’ cars with an epoxy lining to keep from tearing the bags. They were put in m of w service when the new 50’ cars arrived.

<3

That does look really good . Nice job

Some good food for thought there Joe. Thanks

Really nice transformation. I'll certainly remember the salt technique for another time.

very nice Thanks

Very interesting!!!! Definitely gonna do this! Thanks for sharing!

How do you frost the glass???

Nice. It's certainly plausible that the chimney is not painted because it needed to be rebuilt some time after the building was painted, so no problem there.

Wow, that's a cool trick with the Kosher salt!

Great details and decisions on this kit’s modifications. Put this same kit together last summer and may want to go back and take a second look. I have always had good results with the Vallejo chipping medium, but I want to try the salt method for sure just to compare. Yours came out great!!!! Well done.

YEAH!!! A new video from The Pixel Depot! Awesome modification of the building!

very nice Joe

Keep your smaller Amazon shipping boxes, use them for mock-up buildings or the core of a building.

Without a fire escape, you could call it the 'Triangle Shirtwaist Company'....

👍👍👍

Well back. Awesome video as always. That's a great idea and it really does look like the paint is peeling.

We've missed you! Great to find a new video from you at the top of my recommendeds!

OUTSTANDING RESULTS

THANK YOU DETAIL VIDEO ON DETAIL PLAN VIDEO

make the graphic at 16:49 a t-shirt

One cool detail for a future build could be if you cut some of those double windows in half and put one half at an angle to make it look like the window is tilted open, and then hang the window blinds straight to emphasise on this effect =)

You are not procrastinating. You are doing side quests 😄

This video was shared in our railroaders (Maerklin India) WhatsApp group. I hope many of the group members get inspired by this video and start building a layout. I totally echo the points articulated here. E.g.: dream layout, space constraints, too busy to spend time on the hobby, let me buy first etc. I'm building a small H0 layout that is 3.5 ft by 6 ft :) Videos like these make us keep going and railroading! Cheers

I have Electrofrog Peco turnouts and they are capped from the factory. The older Electrofrogs were not gapped. I chose not to use the Peco insulfrog because they can short out just past the plastic frog if the metal wheel tread is wide enough. I'm using Tam Valley Frog juicers to energize the frog. I too have an odd shaped basement but I managed to do 32" minimum radius curve. I am running the Ford FAST which have the 2 doors per side but D&RGW did have a few 8 door that ran in trains too.

Atlas hands down . . . Atlas's drive train and motor IMO is just a cut above on the account of the creep speed that can be achieved for ultra slow speed maneuvering giving a very realistic observation . . . Just don't know why Athearn hasn't upgraded they're engine and drive train along with all the other upgrades they've accomplished though the changes and years.

Little tip for the sanding down to thickness... If you have something that already has the right height, put it besides the wooden strips and place the sanding block onto there so that those spacers move with the block while the subject of sanding is attached to the bench. Then you will take off of the wood until the spacers prevent you from going down any lower 😊 Much like you can use chopsticks if you don't want to cut all the way through some food.

Coming late from the Miniature Wargaming side of things, something I tell my wargaming friends who say they don’t have time to paint: whatever you work on now, no matter how small, is something you don’t have to do later; and once you look back from the future, you’ll be amazed at how much you actually did accomplish.

Hi

Speaking of internal battles... I am currently planning on building my own shelf layout. This would be the first time I build something somehow permanent. Up until now I was just room floor railroading. Now I have to decide... Do I buy the tracks for this layout to not use up my floor stock, and pay about 400 Euros just for the tracks, or do I use what I already have and use most of my switches to then not being able to build floating switch layouts on the room floor anymore? Decisions, decisions...

First "layout" I finished the benchwork and started the plan, then laid track, I nearly had all the track down when a roadblock came up.... "we're moving!" said my father. So, not wanting to cut up all my work if I continued, I halted. Waited....then the move fell through, I continued, amassing all the scenery supplies I needed. I built my first scene, a river scene, I was reinvigorated and excited!..... "We're Moving! For REAL this time" the house went on the market and another was purchased...I tore up all the track, boxed up my buildings, and cut up the layout, my father broke off all the legs to the benchwork with a hammer and saw and put it in the shed so the house could be shown....I went to the new house for a month and was heavily discriminated based on who I was and where I was from, I was worked to the bone, spat on in public and treated like scum of the earth. The final straw was a trucker waving me into an oncoming pickup truck and then fleeing the scene and then the responding officer ticketing me as I stared at my broken baby sitting on the side of the road that I just got done building... I had a mental breakdown... My mom called and said me and dad had to return to help her pack up the house and that it still wasnt selling. I went on LOA and returned home....I refused to leave again and my sister and father agreed this whole thing was a colossal mistake. The house was taken off the market, my broken car was shipped home to be fixed ($3k later) and we sold the other house for a profit.... Now I destroyed my 7x9 dream layout for nothing..... and the space is filled with new furniture. This year I cleared a space in the garage for a 4x8 and have just finished the benchwork, taking a furniture-like approach with stained wood and varnish with a sandbox style cavity for the layout to sit in. I just laid down foam and I am currently working in AnyRail yet again to figure out what to do now.... *sigh*....

Really nice and inspiring, especially since I am planning on building a small layout myself at the moment. How did you come up with this switch list?

Nice work with the labels, really adds to it. Just as a tipp: you could use something like a thin masking tape and apply it (softly!), touching one of the straight edges of the building, and then align the label you want to put there to the masking tape. After this, remove the masking tape again, boom, straight label with distance to straight corner. Just be gentle enough to not peel the color coating off the model. And as a question: wouldn't it be more realistic to apply the labels and signs before the weathering to include them into the aging?

I love the layout! How about naming the road, Short Street?

Also is important that the site is clean , free of oxidation. Every section of track you will put feed wires ?

I like the way you present the wire against the rail. I believe that if you "tin" the spot on the rail and "tin" the tip of the wire, then you with one hand, position the wire and with the other the soldering iron, brief moment, not melting the ties, and get the solder done.

When the time comes, I'll be in touch for a wooded backdrop. Thanks for the video!

Watch out swift just drove by !😂😂😂

Great job 👍👍

Great job 👍👍

The Athearn model sounds better to me, through my computer anyway.

Right off the top without watching, Athearn.