The roofs on your pre-made buildings are the best part of the building! It's authentic rusted out sheet metal roofing that I have seen in many places in the USA. Great job on that!
Oh thanks for that, funny thing is, I'm in the UK and I bought these off USA eBay and when they turned up, boy were they battered, they must've had a hard journey, so I had no choice but to repair the roofs, and I wasn't sure how they go down, I build my layout just out of my head with no research or from pictures, so I really appreciate your comments, all the best year
Excellent workmanship and design. Smaller closely thought out and built layouts enhance our hobby for sure. We have all seen many large layouts that were fine in concept yet never finished due to the reality of the true cost in terms of time and money. Mine is small and designed to to be turned vertical and go through a door when the inevitable comes. Thanks for posting.
Many thanks Barry,and i echo you words, many years ago i started a layout and thought big is best, from the start my ideas were bigger than my wallet, it was way beyond my capabilities , and the inevitable happened i lost interest and it gathered dust for many years, so when i came back to modelling SMALL works for me,All the best Carl
I'm i the process of getting ready to build 0n30 layout. Don't get "blinded" by a huge layout, some of the best I have seen on You Tube, are not particularly big. Great job, love it.
Thanks Garth im just putting together a base board measuring 35inc x 24inc for my next On30 layout , Happy modelling with yours i hope to see it on here soon
I do the same very small but as much detail as possible. I love yours it’s so cluttered with stuff and magical. Let’s the mind wander through the micro world..take care and thanks for sharing your work…
Just found your site. Love it!😊 I don’t have room to do anything like yours but, I do work on locomotives. I buy bad ones and repair what I can. Lots of fun. I’ll be watching yours now. Very pleasing. Thanks!
Hi Steven, thanks for the interest. You should do a before and after on your loco repairs, I'd be very interested, I'll keep and eye out. All the best.
Many thanks for your lovely words, I have not been modelling for a few months , but love keeping up with your amazing village, such beautiful work and totally unique , wishing you all the very best Carl
I know this is 4 years old, but I just got 2 of my engines converted to RC/ battery and its excellent. I was in the same boat re- not getting joy out of the hobby anymore because of track maintenance. I genuinely think RC/ battery is the future of model railways. (Some) people dont want to muck about with track and the like. They just want to run trains.
Totally agree with you, radio control is a game changer, and if you shop around you can pick up the bits needed at a reasonable cost, it's funny you should mention this as I'm just Building a Gn 15 Emett engine with RC, all the best and happy modelling
I can't believe the ambiance and the mood you created on this layout. I can smell the leaves on the ground and feel the damp air under the trees! Incredible work, especially for a self-proclaimed amateur...lol A big thumbs up!
Many thanks again, you have been incredibly kind, I am going to build another On30 or maybe 09 layout this winter, it will be around half the size of this one but hopefully still have a nice feel to it, also I will do a weekly catch up on how its progressing , all the best to you, Carl
Great job mate,love the no cleaning track idea,I also went back to dc from dcc as I just like the simplicity of the hobby.just busy checking out your channel as I love micro layouts.
Thanks Will, funny thing is ive just bought a kayak well a canoe, we live near the canal, nothing as fab as you get up to but its a start, I have really got into micro layouts over the last few years, although some have got a bit child like, all the best and I will be watching your clips , Carl
Nicely done, very quaint and backwoods looking. I model in a scale I developed being 1/18th, using G gauge works out to about 30 " gauge. I scratch build everything minus a few Ozark castings. Fun, relaxing and enjoyable.
Many thanks David. Your modelling sounds interesting, are there any pictures or videos of your work on TH-cam? Would be great to see it. All the best, Carl
@@carlroberts2539 hey Carl, actually I was thinking about putting some of my model work on You tube. I'll let you know if and when I do. Meanwhile check out some of my cover tunes I sang which are on you tube. Type in my name, then " Forever and ever amen" Look for the blue sky, mountains and RR tracks. That's me. Cheers.
@@daviddaniels2499 What a wonderful voice you are blessed with, if your modelling is as good as your singing I cant wait to see it. You have a new fan in me, I have subscribed.
@@carlroberts2539 Thanks Carl, I appreciate your comments. My modelling is considered good I guess due to the many awards I have received. I like to "envision" my projects, working without plans, photos, or drawings. Its more of a challenge that way. Cheers.
Hi - very impressed with your layout. I’m building my own On30 layout (my first ever model railway) and quite well on with the basics - small like yours 2m x 1m - suspended from my mancave ceiling by nylon cords and a winch system. I’m getting to the stage NOW where I want to start adding trees to my southwestern USA mining layout. I’ve probably overdone the amount of scatters (mostly browns and burnt yellow greens) but it is what it is - besides with On30 I guess I can get away with lots of inaccuracy 😅. I’m happy to hand make a number of trees (perhaps those closer to the front, but I’m tempted to buy a bulk lot of trees (especially the smaller trees I need) from one of the eBay sellers in China; to save me making so many. Is this a bad idea? I just need them to look “OK”, they don’t have to be masterpieces of fine craft work. It’s just the mood I need to create - to help “tell a story” of my “Black Dog Mine”. TIA
Hi and many thanks for your kind words, love the idea of your man cave and the suspended base board it must be so nice to work on, I once toyed with the same idea but never got started so well done you, we seem to have a fair bit in common , I thought I had over done the scatter material and the colours I chose did not go down well with folk, then it just came together one day, I found on ebay the dried fern type of twigs that modellers use to build the really large trees, and just used them out of the box, I did use the old hair spray and scatter material idea you see on TH-cam and it worked well for me, I am with you I was only after the feel or mood, and the more I added the better the result, I look forward to seeing your layout progress all the best and happy modelling
Tks Carl for your reply, advice and encouragement! I have another question if you don’t mind - where did you buy your golden aspen trees because I need some for my own On30 layout and cannot find a UK source. And although I may make a few trees from scratch, the bulk will be those cheaper trees from China improved a bit by adding some WS turf, etc. and I don’t fancy making golden aspens. I see you have mixed the Golden Aspens with Spruce(?) and some random trees made from seafoam? Looks very authentic - I assume it’s Southwestern US themed.
@@carlroberts2539 Very nice & enjoyable. I just recently discovered On30 and am eager to give it a try. Can i have the Track Plan please ??? Many thanks
@@michaelhorath6851 Hi Michael and thanks for the comments , unfortunately i never draw plans just go where it takes me but this is just a very straightforward figure of eight with three sidings, i did do an overhead clip which might help, I pinched the idea from an old 009 scale layout from years back, all the best Carl
@@tcepilot The radius is 9.1/2 inches and works well, I think the secret is to try to hide/ disguise tight curves as much as possible , certainly try to take the viewers eyes away from the track and more to the surroundings , all the best Carl, I will find the plan
Many thanks John, I will keep an eye on your channel and hopefully I will see your N scale build coming together , I have not done an N scale for many years, think I might have a go at a micro layout, thank you for the inspiration
What a beautiful layout. Is the radio control powered through rails or battery? I've always wanted to do a small narrow gauge wooden rail tram in O scale. As battery technology gets better and electronics smaller, it should be doable soon if not now.
Many thanks for liking this little layout,I do enjoy On30 and have another small layout in mind,Its RC battery i have two engines on this one and the 009 engine is also RC i use Micron in the UK they do some lovely bits,I look forward to seeing you progress with the Tram narrow gauge, Happy modelling
Many thanks,I was a little sad when it was finished it was so different from my normal stuff , I see you have a BIG layout build on the go , look forward to following your progress , all the best Carl
Hi Jose and thanks for liking this layout. I have done a video from above on here showing the track. It's just a basic figure of eight with two sidings I pinched the idea from an 009 layout from over 20 years ago if you can't find it let me know and I'll draw a sketch all the best Carl.
Hi, im not tecnical at all so I build by eye, with the bridge i started with the lower level track laid and made the bridge, I gave it as little clearance as possible then used hornby track elevation supports to get the grade working as smoothly as possible , sorry im not much help, all the best Carl
Hi David, this is On30 scale, the buildings are scratch and not really to scale, but the figures are O scale, hope this helps, the engines and wagons are manufactured by Bachman USA all the best
This layout has gone to a new owner sorry , but the good news is there is another one on the way...PROMISE... The question is should it be in the same style or should it be greener ?
Hi Tim, many thanks for your comments, I'll take them on board. I've enjoyed modelling this layout. I porbably should of also mentioed that it is radio controlled but hopefully will be selling it soon, as I've got other layouts that I want to make room for.
Hi, thank you for liking my little layout. The radius is 11 inches, that's the smallest I could get the Heisler to negotiate, of course the porter was no problem. Happy modelling, Carl
@@carlroberts2539 Very inspiring. I'm debating on doing a mini layout in a spot in my basement. It's a recess in the basement wall and I was thinking of using drawer slides to slide the layout in and out so I could work on it. Then it would live behind a glass door to keep the cats from eating it. That part is important. I have WAY too many scales that I work in but own a TON of industrial size On3, On30 stuff and also some On20 (Hon3 track in O scale). Seeing this is motivating me to do something with it. It could be a fun multi-gauge mess!
@@carlroberts2539 OK I broke out the tape measure you got me motivated, I have a 32" x 78" wall cubby on the right side and a 16" x 60" wall cubby next to it on the left. They actually straddle a pier that's hiding behind the finished basement wall. I could definitely create two related scenes connected behind the wall. The only question is going with HOn3, Hon30, Hon2 or On3, On30, On2, On20.... decisions, decisions.
Blimey, you've got some head scratching to do but it sounds like you've got plenty of space (lucky you). Some of those scales you mention I had to look up, as I'd not heard of them before. What ever you decide, I hope you put the build on You Tube. I've been asked a number of times to show from start to finish (well there never finished really). But always forget until it's too late. My wife bought a kitten a while back, he seemed to know I wasn't that keen on him at first, so he used to sit in my modelling room and now shows quite an interest, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Hope you decide on a plan and look forward to seeing your progress. Happy modelling.
The roofs on your pre-made buildings are the best part of the building! It's authentic rusted out sheet metal roofing that I have seen in many places in the USA. Great job on that!
Oh thanks for that, funny thing is, I'm in the UK and I bought these off USA eBay and when they turned up, boy were they battered, they must've had a hard journey, so I had no choice but to repair the roofs, and I wasn't sure how they go down, I build my layout just out of my head with no research or from pictures, so I really appreciate your comments, all the best year
This is great. I love how dense the scenery is. Great little pike!
An absolutely brilliant layout and just oozes charm. You've certainly captured the essence of a backwoods railway. Well done.
Many thanks for your kind words Chris
Excellent workmanship and design. Smaller closely thought out and built layouts enhance our hobby for sure. We have all seen many large layouts that were fine in concept yet never finished due to the reality of the true cost in terms of time and money. Mine is small and designed to to be turned vertical and go through a door when the inevitable comes. Thanks for posting.
Many thanks Barry,and i echo you words, many years ago i started a layout and thought big is best, from the start my ideas were bigger than my wallet, it was way beyond my capabilities , and the inevitable happened i lost interest and it gathered dust for many years, so when i came back to modelling SMALL works for me,All the best Carl
Excellent craftsmanship and imagination. Very interesting. Nice size. This is very inspiring. Good work. Thanks for the video
I'm i the process of getting ready to build 0n30 layout.
Don't get "blinded" by a huge layout, some of the best I have seen on You Tube, are not particularly big.
Great job, love it.
Thanks Garth im just putting together a base board measuring 35inc x 24inc for my next On30 layout , Happy modelling with yours i hope to see it on here soon
I do the same very small but as much detail as possible. I love yours it’s so cluttered with stuff and magical. Let’s the mind wander through the micro world..take care and thanks for sharing your work…
Just found your site. Love it!😊 I don’t have room to do anything like yours but, I do work on locomotives. I buy bad ones and repair what I can. Lots of fun. I’ll be watching yours now. Very pleasing. Thanks!
Hi Steven, thanks for the interest. You should do a before and after on your loco repairs, I'd be very interested, I'll keep and eye out. All the best.
Carl I love the comment “it makes him smile” that really sums up the feeling you get the wonderful atmosphere you created. Great job
Many thanks for your lovely words, I have not been modelling for a few months , but love keeping up with your amazing village, such beautiful work and totally unique , wishing you all the very best Carl
I know this is 4 years old, but I just got 2 of my engines converted to RC/ battery and its excellent. I was in the same boat re- not getting joy out of the hobby anymore because of track maintenance. I genuinely think RC/ battery is the future of model railways. (Some) people dont want to muck about with track and the like. They just want to run trains.
Totally agree with you, radio control is a game changer, and if you shop around you can pick up the bits needed at a reasonable cost, it's funny you should mention this as I'm just Building a Gn 15 Emett engine with RC, all the best and happy modelling
@@carlroberts2539 I dont think I could ever go back tbh. Good luck on the new build!
I can't believe the ambiance and the mood you created on this layout. I can smell the leaves on the ground and feel the damp air under the trees! Incredible work, especially for a self-proclaimed amateur...lol A big thumbs up!
Many thanks again, you have been incredibly kind, I am going to build another On30 or maybe 09 layout this winter, it will be around half the size of this one but hopefully still have a nice feel to it, also I will do a weekly catch up on how its progressing , all the best to you, Carl
Great job mate,love the no cleaning track idea,I also went back to dc from dcc as I just like the simplicity of the hobby.just busy checking out your channel as I love micro layouts.
Thanks Will, funny thing is ive just bought a kayak well a canoe, we live near the canal, nothing as fab as you get up to but its a start, I have really got into micro layouts over the last few years, although some have got a bit child like, all the best and I will be watching your clips , Carl
Great job. It really looks very interesting. I'm a fan of smoke love the factories and that smoking. Nice going Carl
That it’s something very beautiful, nice work! Just beautiful!!!!
enchanting. I didn't know ccorrugated iron could look that good. And you have given me a thought about radio control
Sehr gut durchdachte Szenerie. Danke fürs Zeigen.
Vielen Dank fur Ihre freundlichen Kommentare
Nicely done, very quaint and backwoods looking. I model in a scale I developed being 1/18th, using G gauge works out to about 30 " gauge. I scratch build everything minus a few Ozark castings. Fun, relaxing and enjoyable.
Many thanks David. Your modelling sounds interesting, are there any pictures or videos of your work on TH-cam? Would be great to see it. All the best, Carl
@@carlroberts2539 hey Carl, actually I was thinking about putting some of my model work on You tube. I'll let you know if and when I do. Meanwhile check out some of my cover tunes I sang which are on you tube. Type in my name, then " Forever and ever amen" Look for the blue sky, mountains and RR tracks. That's me. Cheers.
@@daviddaniels2499 What a wonderful voice you are blessed with, if your modelling is as good as your singing I cant wait to see it. You have a new fan in me, I have subscribed.
@@carlroberts2539 Thanks Carl, I appreciate your comments. My modelling is considered good I guess due to the many awards I have received. I like to "envision" my projects, working without plans, photos, or drawings. Its more of a challenge that way. Cheers.
Work of art
Very kind of you
I love it. Outstanding job.
Many thanks Robert, thats very kind of you to say, all the best Carl
Hi - very impressed with your layout. I’m building my own On30 layout (my first ever model railway) and quite well on with the basics - small like yours 2m x 1m - suspended from my mancave ceiling by nylon cords and a winch system. I’m getting to the stage NOW where I want to start adding trees to my southwestern USA mining layout. I’ve probably overdone the amount of scatters (mostly browns and burnt yellow greens) but it is what it is - besides with On30 I guess I can get away with lots of inaccuracy 😅. I’m happy to hand make a number of trees (perhaps those closer to the front, but I’m tempted to buy a bulk lot of trees (especially the smaller trees I need) from one of the eBay sellers in China; to save me making so many. Is this a bad idea? I just need them to look “OK”, they don’t have to be masterpieces of fine craft work. It’s just the mood I need to create - to help “tell a story” of my “Black Dog Mine”. TIA
Hi and many thanks for your kind words, love the idea of your man cave and the suspended base board it must be so nice to work on, I once toyed with the same idea but never got started so well done you, we seem to have a fair bit in common , I thought I had over done the scatter material and the colours I chose did not go down well with folk, then it just came together one day, I found on ebay the dried fern type of twigs that modellers use to build the really large trees, and just used them out of the box, I did use the old hair spray and scatter material idea you see on TH-cam and it worked well for me, I am with you I was only after the feel or mood, and the more I added the better the result, I look forward to seeing your layout progress all the best and happy modelling
Tks Carl for your reply, advice and encouragement! I have another question if you don’t mind - where did you buy your golden aspen trees because I need some for my own On30 layout and cannot find a UK source. And although I may make a few trees from scratch, the bulk will be those cheaper trees from China improved a bit by adding some WS turf, etc. and I don’t fancy making golden aspens. I see you have mixed the Golden Aspens with Spruce(?) and some random trees made from seafoam? Looks very authentic - I assume it’s Southwestern US themed.
I think someone likes the chewin' tabbaki . Nice job man .
😂Many thanks diceman
Stunning and inspiring!!!
Many thanks Stephen
@@carlroberts2539 Very nice & enjoyable. I just recently discovered On30 and am eager to give it a try. Can i have the Track Plan please ??? Many thanks
@@michaelhorath6851 Hi Michael and thanks for the comments , unfortunately i never draw plans just go where it takes me but this is just a very straightforward figure of eight with three sidings, i did do an overhead clip which might help, I pinched the idea from an old 009 scale layout from years back, all the best Carl
@@carlroberts2539 THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR , FOR YOUR FAST ANSWERE
@@michaelhorath6851 I hope you do some videos and put them on here i love to see layouts come together , all the best and Happy Modelling
Beautiful little layout!
Could you share the track plan for this? I love it
Thanks very much, I will draw one up and share it on here, or if I can find the original 009 plan I will photo that, all the best Carl
@@carlroberts2539 awesome thanks! What is the curve radius? was the other question I forgot to add here
@@tcepilot The radius is 9.1/2 inches and works well, I think the secret is to try to hide/ disguise tight curves as much as possible , certainly try to take the viewers eyes away from the track and more to the surroundings , all the best Carl, I will find the plan
Very beautiful and a good inspiration for my work in progress, a 2 ft by 3 ft N Scale.
Many thanks John, I will keep an eye on your channel and hopefully I will see your N scale build coming together , I have not done an N scale for many years, think I might have a go at a micro layout, thank you for the inspiration
What a beautiful layout. Is the radio control powered through rails or battery? I've always wanted to do a small narrow gauge wooden rail tram in O scale.
As battery technology gets better and electronics smaller, it should be doable soon if not now.
Many thanks for liking this little layout,I do enjoy On30 and have another small layout in mind,Its RC battery i have two engines on this one and the 009 engine is also RC i use Micron in the UK they do some lovely bits,I look forward to seeing you progress with the Tram narrow gauge, Happy modelling
Very nice & enjoyable. I just recently discovered On30 and am eager to give it a try.
Many thanks Thomas,I look forward to see what you come up with in On30 , Its one of the most fun layouts iv done
素晴らしい！
from japan
Nice work and beautiful layout !
Many thanks,I was a little sad when it was finished it was so different from my normal stuff , I see you have a BIG layout build on the go , look forward to following your progress , all the best Carl
Maybe I missed it, but could you show the actual layout plan, and how it looks from above as a whole. Looks great, by the way!
Hi Jose and thanks for liking this layout. I have done a video from above on here showing the track. It's just a basic figure of eight with two sidings I pinched the idea from an 009 layout from over 20 years ago if you can't find it let me know and I'll draw a sketch all the best Carl.
@@carlroberts2539 I will check that out. Thank you!
Awesome!
Impressive ! Imm-Friggin'- Pressive !
Inspiring layout
Thank you John, very kind of you to say
what grade do you have to make the Trains able to pass under
Hi, im not tecnical at all so I build by eye, with the bridge i started with the lower level track laid and made the bridge, I gave it as little clearance as possible then used hornby track elevation supports to get the grade working as smoothly as possible , sorry im not much help, all the best Carl
awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many thanks, it was a fun build, such a lovely scale to working with
Did you add the face you can see at 1:53 ?
No thats as he came, I take it you mean the chap with his legs crossed , does he remind you of anyone 🤔😃
What size are the buildings and figures..... N guage or HO?
Hi David, this is On30 scale, the buildings are scratch and not really to scale, but the figures are O scale, hope this helps, the engines and wagons are manufactured by Bachman USA all the best
RUN SOME TRAINS!!!
This layout has gone to a new owner sorry , but the good news is there is another one on the way...PROMISE... The question is should it be in the same style or should it be greener ?
You should rename this video so YT can find it better. Great work.
Hi Tim, many thanks for your comments, I'll take them on board. I've enjoyed modelling this layout. I porbably should of also mentioed that it is radio controlled but hopefully will be selling it soon, as I've got other layouts that I want to make room for.
@@carlroberts2539 let me know if you end up selling it I might be interested. Where are you (in the world).
This is really great, what minimum radius are you using? That looks extremely tight.
Hi, thank you for liking my little layout. The radius is 11 inches, that's the smallest I could get the Heisler to negotiate, of course the porter was no problem. Happy modelling, Carl
@@carlroberts2539 Very inspiring. I'm debating on doing a mini layout in a spot in my basement. It's a recess in the basement wall and I was thinking of using drawer slides to slide the layout in and out so I could work on it. Then it would live behind a glass door to keep the cats from eating it. That part is important.
I have WAY too many scales that I work in but own a TON of industrial size On3, On30 stuff and also some On20 (Hon3 track in O scale). Seeing this is motivating me to do something with it. It could be a fun multi-gauge mess!
@@carlroberts2539 OK I broke out the tape measure you got me motivated, I have a 32" x 78" wall cubby on the right side and a 16" x 60" wall cubby next to it on the left. They actually straddle a pier that's hiding behind the finished basement wall. I could definitely create two related scenes connected behind the wall. The only question is going with HOn3, Hon30, Hon2 or On3, On30, On2, On20.... decisions, decisions.
Blimey, you've got some head scratching to do but it sounds like you've got plenty of space (lucky you). Some of those scales you mention I had to look up, as I'd not heard of them before. What ever you decide, I hope you put the build on You Tube. I've been asked a number of times to show from start to finish (well there never finished really). But always forget until it's too late. My wife bought a kitten a while back, he seemed to know I wasn't that keen on him at first, so he used to sit in my modelling room and now shows quite an interest, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Hope you decide on a plan and look forward to seeing your progress. Happy modelling.
Honestly dude this is really fantastic work, would love to see what you could do with a 4x8 ft layout
Many thanks Nick, I keep thinking about a bigger layout, would love to have a go a some serious mountain ranges, all the best to you