You've done an outstanding job with the scenery to track ratio so the track doesn't overwhelm the scene and just passes through it and the "tree tunnel" is a great idea, especially on a small layout.
The train arriving/departing through the trees reinforces the idea that the imagined railway is so much bigger than what's visible on the layout. It's what is suggested between the ears that matters. This seems to be at the heart of your layouts.
Seasons greetings Mike, nice informative video again. I was looking for the pill box and the two lost soldiers on the first layout , hope they're not AWOL.
Hi mike, I never build a proper layout before and been tinkering with a ton of track plans just by building and seeing if I would like it or not, about on and off for around 9 months. I ended up building something similar to this layout because it has an asymetric track plan, and it just doesnt give the idea of your typical train set layout. I added a curved point in the middle to add a terminus station and added a little shunting yard for a small harbor. So overall the plan has everything I wanted in a 8x3.5 board! -terminus station -harbor and freight shunting yard -loop layout with asymetric track plan -water and coal tower -small town on the sea with seaside, trees and greenery Thank you for the inspiration, I have been following you guys for years and never really committed to making an actual layout, and now I finally am getting around to doing one :)
I think both the tree tunnel and the road bridge works really well. In all a great little layout. As for the types of trees you are using, I've found that a few quick bursts of spray paint from a brown and a green spray can, will greatly improve their looks through very little effort, as that makes the trees look a bit less plastic and gives the foliage of each tree a bit of a mix of colour shades, rather than having all the foliage of a tree in exactly the same colour.
Like it, very innovative....the tree entrance is a great idea....simple and inexpensive....Happy Christmas to you and family....I'm sweltering with 37c.....
the look awesome.... I would love to see what you could do in TT120, but i know you dont work or own any train in that scale... Merry Xmas to you and the family... shame there isnt a LIVE over xmas like you have done in the past!
ohhh thats great, something to look forward too :) @@BudgetModelRailways yyeah the prices are shocking, thats whats putting me off starting a small layout and collection!
@@LondonPredatorAngler Kato n gauge pocket line is the best budget price range, take a look on Traintrax website, plus you get 30% more room than TT lol. Happy Christmas
I like the mixed town/industrial/rural zones in this layout. But I also liked the effect of the loco emerging through the trees. Nice one! Have a good Christmas to you both. 👍🏼
What a great layout with so much to see in a small footprint. I really like the train appearing through the trees, very effective. Thank you for all the helpful and entertaining videos you have both made in 2023 and a Happy Christmas!
I'm loving the way you deal with various problems and the solutions are always inventive. Lovely looking layout, wish I was closer to be able to come and admire 'in the flesh'. Brilliant work as always
I really love your Metcalfe buildings, they are superb ! The camouflage of the train's entrance is one of your best idea. For metrics like me, your layout size is 457, 2mm x 1066,8 mm. Roughly 2 x A2 paper sheets joined by their smallest edge.
Great looking layout looks like it's got a lot of entertainment value for it's size. I'll be showing my grandson it on Saturday, speaking of my grandson. Have you seen his latest video Christmas in Dylington that he's posted on his Dylington Model Railway channel. Have a great Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.....cheers James 🙂👍
What a fantastic job you have done mate. I love how you have applied Rule 1 and created a completely feasible layout. There is so much you have managed to fit in to such a confined space yet it doesn’t look cluttered or cramped 😄 I am quite certain anyone that sees this will be quick to praise the simplicity, flexibility and overall aesthetics of it, and it really does show what you can do with a tight budget and little space. So I guess we should say ‘mission accomplished’ as all boxes seem to be emphatically ticked 🍾 Hope you had a great Christmas and I wish you a happy new year 👍🍀🥂😉
I am working on an n layout. It is larger than this and based on a single line country station. It will have a back scene as well with running loops and storage around back and hopefully a turntable. I was going to have it go thru the back scene under a road bridge, but watching this just now I want to do the tree thing you showed here. Thanks for the great idea and have a great Christmas!
Looking fantastic Mike merry Christmas from blenheim south island new Zealand and a big shout to everyone else have a great day catching with family members and friends all round the world cheers from Bruce.
Nicely done. I love when the trains come away from the trees; simple and effective. The Castle town layout is one of your best. I wasn't sure how you were going to intergrate the Castle into the layout but you did it; genius. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your!!
Love the layout, looks fantastic, where did the power station come from, keep the uploads coming, really enjoy them with loads of excellent ideas!!!! Happy Christmas
The little layout has turned out really amazing. Time to enjoy running the trains. Why not kick back and do something different over Christmas like a model tank or model ship? Then return in the new year when you have had time to formulate the next railway project?
Again its great to see a layout that isnt as big as the Titani c and at least in the UK can be done economically. Merry Christmas from Aust and look forward to next year
Excellent work as usual and very useful information. Regarding the Kato Pocket Line Steamer, there is another Japanese company, Tomytec, which makes the TM-TR02 chassis. that chassis has a 16mm wheel base and is only 50mm long an uses separately applied side frames. The price in the US, plus shipping, is very comparable to the Kato chassis. I mention the TM-TR02 because it seems a great chassis to base a 2-wheel tender on. Doing this and coupling it behind the Kato Steamer would allow you the option to haul any rakes you like without the need to include the powered passenger coach. I model US steam between 1875 and 1910, and picked up two of these little units for exactly the purpose mentioned above. It might be worth looking into!
Thanks for the video on this awesome layout, totally enjoyed you running the trains round. The entrance through the trees is another great idea. Merry Christmas Merry Yule or Christmas to you and all your family!!😎🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🇬🇧
I do like the idea of using a OO9 tack plan for an N gauge layout. Some of the simpler trackplans for OO are good for 0 gauge for space considerations.
What a fantastic little layout, so much going on , you’ve made this very interesting to watch…. One question, were did you buy the electric power distribution transformer from ( apologies if I’ve got the description wrong!)? …..thank you and well done you. Brian H.
Great work. That looks like a layout you could spend a lot of time using and get lost in. Merry Christmas to you and Doug and your family from Australia. Stay safe, happy modelling and we'll see you next year. Mon
This looks fantastic, and very timely for me, as I’m hoping to put together my first N gauge layout in the next month or so. Got all the track from Rails of Sheffield just today! Still a few bits and pieces to buy, but looking forward to it. Just debating whether to stick it all on top of some Celotex insulation foam, which would allow more interesting scenery, but make anything like point motors a pain in the backside! 😂
It all depends how big you want, if I can reach a point then I don't worry about the complication of point motors etc, I would rather have scenery. Best advice is keep the track plan as simple as possible, I find it actually improves operating potential. Have fun, and thanks for commenting
@@BudgetModelRailways Keep it simple is good advice I am going to try to follow. I'm going to go with manual points on the front and try using point motors around the backside. 30 inch by 8 feet.
@@BudgetModelRailwaysThanks, that’s good advice! I should be able to have access all around, so might skip the point motors, at least at first! The scenery isn’t my strong point though! 😂
@@edsutherland8266 we have lots of videos on scenery if that helps. It's much easier than the experts would have you believe, paper mache and grass scatter gives great results, no need for chicken wire, plaster bandage or static grass etc
This is brilliant. It's already making me rethink my layout plans for next year. What radius are the curves? Do you think you could run tender engines on them?
Thanks. Sadly no, it's only 12in diameter, I suspect most steam locos especially tender won't go round less than 1st radius 18in dia , or even 2nd, so you would need about 20in by 4ft, quite a bit bigger.
The reason being you've shown time and time again that you don't have to spend loads of money to enjoy model trains that why I watche your videos and I'll keep watching them and take notice
Another superb layout, utterly suffering from glaucoma n gauge is not for me.i still find great enjoyment and ideas from your back catalogue off 00 layouts keep up the good work
Re the river - Check out Alan Plumb on TH-cam, 8-9 years ago he had a crack at a folding railway layout, his video 'N Gauge model railway part 31 A quick Pond by shed Engineering' uses cling film over acetate to get a 'wet' pond with ripples. (think he did a river as well)
@@GaryJones-f3t I used flexi track which gives tighter curves. Best advice is keep it simple, this is basically a loop with some sidings, and some passing loops at the back. Keep the concept simple, a station, a goods area, some houses and trees. Give the impression it runs through the landscape not on it. Any questions please just ask. Happy Christmas
Thanks , Ive got a simple oval as just want to do something simple to start with with ballasting etc , I want to scratch build a platform, do you know what hight it should be for n gauge please ? Thanks
Platform height depends on taste, Metcalfe make platforms. You need to be very careful ballasting in N especially around points, I tend to use ballast mat
Catenary, a term in mathematics derived from the Latin ‘catenaria’ (chain), pronounced KUH TEE NUH REE. The one that always stumped me was clerestory (turned out to be just CLEAR STORY), but still doesn’t feel right. As for Bulleid… Anyhoo, another great layout, much food for planning thought.
Merry Christmas to you, Doug and the family, thank you for another year of entertainment. Who's brand is the American signal box, was it a kit? All the best Anthony
There's a lot going on in this small space. Very inspiring! I've just got 'Inglebook' working this week: an Inglenook in a book (have a 'short' uploaded). Can anyone go smaller?
You've done an outstanding job with the scenery to track ratio so the track doesn't overwhelm the scene and just passes through it and the "tree tunnel" is a great idea, especially on a small layout.
N does give you the space to let the trains breath
The train arriving/departing through the trees reinforces the idea that the imagined railway is so much bigger than what's visible on the layout. It's what is suggested between the ears that matters. This seems to be at the heart of your layouts.
Thanks that's the plan
Great looking layout,lm starting a new layout in the new year and will use the tree scenic break on it. Thanks for the inspiration 👍
Love both these layouts, the trains coming out of the trees works so well, and great to see the castle gatehouse on the layout!😊👍
Seasons greetings Mike, nice informative video again. I was looking for the pill box and the two lost soldiers on the first layout , hope they're not AWOL.
Happy Christmas, that's my OO layout, I have yet to replicate the lost officers in N lol
Hi mike, I never build a proper layout before and been tinkering with a ton of track plans just by building and seeing if I would like it or not, about on and off for around 9 months.
I ended up building something similar to this layout because it has an asymetric track plan, and it just doesnt give the idea of your typical train set layout.
I added a curved point in the middle to add a terminus station and added a little shunting yard for a small harbor. So overall the plan has everything I wanted in a 8x3.5 board!
-terminus station
-harbor and freight shunting yard
-loop layout with asymetric track plan
-water and coal tower
-small town on the sea with seaside, trees and greenery
Thank you for the inspiration, I have been following you guys for years and never really committed to making an actual layout, and now I finally am getting around to doing one :)
That sounds fantastic, would love to see some pics, glad we could you
@@BudgetModelRailways When I start adding scenary and ballast I can send you a few picks dor sure!
I think both the tree tunnel and the road bridge works really well. In all a great little layout. As for the types of trees you are using, I've found that a few quick bursts of spray paint from a brown and a green spray can, will greatly improve their looks through very little effort, as that makes the trees look a bit less plastic and gives the foliage of each tree a bit of a mix of colour shades, rather than having all the foliage of a tree in exactly the same colour.
Like it, very innovative....the tree entrance is a great idea....simple and inexpensive....Happy Christmas to you and family....I'm sweltering with 37c.....
Happy Christmas to you and yours, 3c here lol
I love you creativity Mike, thanks for all of your videos in 2023. I'm looking forward to 2024.
Very kind of you thanks. Happy Christmas
The village/town is really convincing with all the buildings being of the same construction, and it just all flows nicely.
Cheers
the look awesome.... I would love to see what you could do in TT120, but i know you dont work or own any train in that scale... Merry Xmas to you and the family... shame there isnt a LIVE over xmas like you have done in the past!
We have a live stream planned! I love the look/size of TT but not the price and currently limited range
ohhh thats great, something to look forward too :) @@BudgetModelRailways yyeah the prices are shocking, thats whats putting me off starting a small layout and collection!
@@LondonPredatorAngler Kato n gauge pocket line is the best budget price range, take a look on Traintrax website, plus you get 30% more room than TT lol. Happy Christmas
I like the mixed town/industrial/rural zones in this layout. But I also liked the effect of the loco emerging through the trees. Nice one! Have a good Christmas to you both. 👍🏼
Thanks happy Christmas
What a great layout with so much to see in a small footprint. I really like the train appearing through the trees, very effective. Thank you for all the helpful and entertaining videos you have both made in 2023 and a Happy Christmas!
Thanks happy Christmas
A nice layout. Inspirational.
Thanks happy Christmas
I'm loving the way you deal with various problems and the solutions are always inventive. Lovely looking layout, wish I was closer to be able to come and admire 'in the flesh'. Brilliant work as always
Thank you, happy Christmas
I really love your Metcalfe buildings, they are superb ! The camouflage of the train's entrance is one of your best idea.
For metrics like me, your layout size is 457, 2mm x 1066,8 mm. Roughly 2 x A2 paper sheets joined by their smallest edge.
Hello, two great layouts and both looking smart, Castle town is brilliant so far.Merry Christmas and New year.
Happy Christmas Mike & Doug and thank you for your videos of 2023.
Thanks for watching
Inspirational. Great work. Looks so good and no eye watering expense involved!
Thanks
Great looking layout looks like it's got a lot of entertainment value for it's size. I'll be showing my grandson it on Saturday, speaking of my grandson. Have you seen his latest video Christmas in Dylington that he's posted on his Dylington Model Railway channel. Have a great Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.....cheers James 🙂👍
What a fantastic job you have done mate. I love how you have applied Rule 1 and created a completely feasible layout. There is so much you have managed to fit in to such a confined space yet it doesn’t look cluttered or cramped 😄
I am quite certain anyone that sees this will be quick to praise the simplicity, flexibility and overall aesthetics of it, and it really does show what you can do with a tight budget and little space. So I guess we should say ‘mission accomplished’ as all boxes seem to be emphatically ticked 🍾
Hope you had a great Christmas and I wish you a happy new year 👍🍀🥂😉
Thanks as always for your very kind and supportive comments, happy new year
I am working on an n layout. It is larger than this and based on a single line country station. It will have a back scene as well with running loops and storage around back and hopefully a turntable. I was going to have it go thru the back scene under a road bridge, but watching this just now I want to do the tree thing you showed here. Thanks for the great idea and have a great Christmas!
Sounds great happy Christmas
That is a fantastic layout done well there love it
Thanks very kind of you
Very nice! Love the Village to rural ideas!! Gave me some ideas, thanks.
Looking fantastic Mike merry Christmas from blenheim south island new Zealand and a big shout to everyone else have a great day catching with family members and friends all round the world cheers from Bruce.
Thanks Bruce and a very happy Christmas to all our Kiwi friends
Fantastic layout! Absolutley love it! 🎄
Very kind of you thanks
Two great looking layouts. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Thank you for all the inspiration. Cheers!
Thanks happy Christmas
Really impressed with this layout. Great work.
Thanks
Nicely done. I love when the trains come away from the trees; simple and effective. The Castle town layout is one of your best. I wasn't sure how you were going to intergrate the Castle into the layout but you did it; genius. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your!!
Thanks and a happy Christmas to you and yours
It's a really beautiful layout with an interesting railplan!
Thanks, happy Christmas
Fabulous- Thank you for all your tips and inspiration that hooked me into this Brilliant Hobby, that is So much more than Just Trains.
Thank you, happy new year
Merry Christmas Mike and Doug and family - thanks for a great year of videos...
Happy Christmas and thanks for watching
Love the layout, looks fantastic, where did the power station come from, keep the uploads coming, really enjoy them with loads of excellent ideas!!!! Happy Christmas
A seller on ebay. Thanks for the comments
Great Layout & Video - Blessed Holiday to ALL
🚂🚃❄️🎄☃️🎄❄️🎉❄️🚃🚃
Thanks, happy Christmas to you both
The little layout has turned out really amazing. Time to enjoy running the trains. Why not kick back and do something different over Christmas like a model tank or model ship? Then return in the new year when you have had time to formulate the next railway project?
I spent 30 years building tanks and aircraft, but a ship is a nice idea. Happy Christmas
Again its great to see a layout that isnt as big as the Titani c and at least in the UK can be done economically. Merry Christmas from Aust and look forward to next year
Thanks happy Christmas to Australia
Excellent work as usual and very useful information. Regarding the Kato Pocket Line Steamer, there is another Japanese company, Tomytec, which makes the TM-TR02 chassis. that chassis has a 16mm wheel base and is only 50mm long an uses separately applied side frames. The price in the US, plus shipping, is very comparable to the Kato chassis. I mention the TM-TR02 because it seems a great chassis to base a 2-wheel tender on. Doing this and coupling it behind the Kato Steamer would allow you the option to haul any rakes you like without the need to include the powered passenger coach. I model US steam between 1875 and 1910, and picked up two of these little units for exactly the purpose mentioned above. It might be worth looking into!
Almost forgot, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year as well! I hope Father Christmas treats you well this year.
Thanks for the info I will take a look it's an interesting idea. Happy Christmas to you and yours
Absolutely fantastic layout once again - outstanding! Happy Christmas Mike & Doug from Mal & Jace at Jubilee Castle.
Very kind thanks, happy Christmas
Thanks for the video on this awesome layout, totally enjoyed you running the trains round. The entrance through the trees is another great idea. Merry Christmas Merry Yule or Christmas to you and all your family!!😎🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🇬🇧
Thanks happy Christmas
They both look great and in my head I picture them as a linked set.
In concept they would be part of the same Railway system
Merry Christmas and Happy/Prosperous New Year to you and Doug
Happy Christmas
Great little layouts, you could give us an update about the shed layout and the 00 stuff next :)
At the moment there is no progress so no update,but once the weather gets better we can crack on
This layout is amazing mate great ideas for the fiddle yard and the tunnel do you have the track numbers for this?
Thanks, sorry no and I've sold it now. It should be possible from the various videos to work it out hopefully
This is really nice and well thought out.
I like the little bridge over the river- looking for something similar (but two tracks) - any recommendations?
I do like the idea of using a OO9 tack plan for an N gauge layout. Some of the simpler trackplans for OO are good for 0 gauge for space considerations.
Good point
What a fantastic little layout, so much going on , you’ve made this very interesting to watch…. One question, were did you buy the electric power distribution transformer from ( apologies if I’ve got the description wrong!)? …..thank you and well done you. Brian H.
It's made from components from ebay and a 3d printed box. Full details on our website
A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Happy Christmas
Great work.
That looks like a layout you could spend a lot of time using and get lost in.
Merry Christmas to you and Doug and your family from Australia.
Stay safe, happy modelling and we'll see you next year.
Mon
Hi thanks, yes I'm looking forward to running it more. Happy Christmas to you and yours and all our friends in Australia
thank you for all your info and hard work on videos merry xmas
Happy Christmas
Truly impressive ! Well done.
Thanks
Fantastic little layout
This looks fantastic, and very timely for me, as I’m hoping to put together my first N gauge layout in the next month or so. Got all the track from Rails of Sheffield just today! Still a few bits and pieces to buy, but looking forward to it. Just debating whether to stick it all on top of some Celotex insulation foam, which would allow more interesting scenery, but make anything like point motors a pain in the backside! 😂
It all depends how big you want, if I can reach a point then I don't worry about the complication of point motors etc, I would rather have scenery. Best advice is keep the track plan as simple as possible, I find it actually improves operating potential. Have fun, and thanks for commenting
@@BudgetModelRailways Keep it simple is good advice I am going to try to follow. I'm going to go with manual points on the front and try using point motors around the backside. 30 inch by 8 feet.
@@BudgetModelRailwaysThanks, that’s good advice! I should be able to have access all around, so might skip the point motors, at least at first! The scenery isn’t my strong point though! 😂
@@edsutherland8266 we have lots of videos on scenery if that helps. It's much easier than the experts would have you believe, paper mache and grass scatter gives great results, no need for chicken wire, plaster bandage or static grass etc
1st class, sublime, Merry Christmas matey. ✌️
Very kind thanks, happy Christmas
Very nice compact layout 😀👍
Thanks
Superb. Thank you for posting. Merry Christmas
Thanks, happy Christmas
This is brilliant. It's already making me rethink my layout plans for next year. What radius are the curves? Do you think you could run tender engines on them?
Thanks. Sadly no, it's only 12in diameter, I suspect most steam locos especially tender won't go round less than 1st radius 18in dia , or even 2nd, so you would need about 20in by 4ft, quite a bit bigger.
Even then that would still be quite compact, certainly food for thought. Thank you, and have a great Christmas
The reason being you've shown time and time again that you don't have to spend loads of money to enjoy model trains that why I watche your videos and I'll keep watching them and take notice
Thanks
Another superb layout, utterly suffering from glaucoma n gauge is not for me.i still find great enjoyment and ideas from your back catalogue off 00 layouts keep up the good work
Hi thanks. I'm thinking of tinkering with O so that might be better lol. Happy Christmas
It's a good job. I have a question. Where did you get those N scale houses and walls. Thank you
The buildings are from the Metcalfe range, and the walls are made from the card sheets from Metcalfe
Re the river - Check out Alan Plumb on TH-cam, 8-9 years ago he had a crack at a folding railway layout, his video 'N Gauge model railway part 31 A quick Pond by shed Engineering' uses cling film over acetate to get a 'wet' pond with ripples. (think he did a river as well)
Thank-you! Very nice!
good vid of nice layout thanks lee
Thanks
Can i ask what size baseboard you maneged to fit this on please ? Thankyou
44 x 16 inches
Wow !! All that on such a small space , I'm just starting to try and do something in n gauge myself ,really struggling though
@@GaryJones-f3t I used flexi track which gives tighter curves. Best advice is keep it simple, this is basically a loop with some sidings, and some passing loops at the back. Keep the concept simple, a station, a goods area, some houses and trees. Give the impression it runs through the landscape not on it. Any questions please just ask. Happy Christmas
Thanks , Ive got a simple oval as just want to do something simple to start with with ballasting etc , I want to scratch build a platform, do you know what hight it should be for n gauge please ? Thanks
Platform height depends on taste, Metcalfe make platforms. You need to be very careful ballasting in N especially around points, I tend to use ballast mat
Came back to this again...after watching US N guage, they all say Kato is by far the best of any N guage.....gone off Bachmann.
@@davidsheriff8989 kato is superb locos, rolling stock and track are all good
Very Clever :)
Thanks
Catenary, a term in mathematics derived from the Latin ‘catenaria’ (chain), pronounced KUH TEE NUH REE. The one that always stumped me was clerestory (turned out to be just CLEAR STORY), but still doesn’t feel right.
As for Bulleid…
Anyhoo, another great layout, much food for planning thought.
Thanks I have the same problem with clear story lol
@@BudgetModelRailways Yup, I always want to say clerestory a bit like celery😄
Merry Christmas to you, Doug and the family, thank you for another year of entertainment. Who's brand is the American signal box, was it a kit? All the best Anthony
Hi, merry Christmas, not sure I think it was Walthers
Brilliant
Thanks
Looks very much like a south European village station
Thanks, that was the intent
🤠
There's a lot going on in this small space. Very inspiring! I've just got 'Inglebook' working this week: an Inglenook in a book (have a 'short' uploaded). Can anyone go smaller?