# Indoor, Micro Layout, in G



## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

Well, soon i will be off to college, and if there is one thing that has been plaguing me more than anything, it is the problem of how to bring my hobby with me. I found Cral Arendt's site about small layouts, and it proved to be good inspiration. But I was wondering, "How small can a true operable layout be in g scale?







Not Gn15, but standard or large (30"+) G gauge." what I had in mind was something similar to "the Box Street Yard" or "Carl's imports". but just how small can one truly get a G scale train layout to be if small equipment is running such as porters or my LGB Stainz [email protected] url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

I would have to say an Inglenook Siding layout. A Timesave based layout may be a tad larger. 

I've laid out an Inglenook in my living room, in Fn3, with Bachmann K-27's and AMS 30' freight cars, using AMS track and #6 switches. It was a tad over 20 feet. I'm thinking using short curves and short cars, you could compress that down... 

Robert


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Have you seen this site? http://www.carendt.com/microplans/p...index.html 
Whoops, I should have read your post more carefully.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

This was my first try, a "mini-Inglenook". I was shooting for 3-2-2 on the tracks, but ended up with 2-2-2. 

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/4/aft/119272/afv/topic/Default.aspx 

Robert


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

I built a version of Carls Imports in G in 4'x1' it was in the 2004 scrapbook and made it into Carls last book #3. 

http://www.carendt.us/scrapbook/page22/index.html 

The Borracho Brewery near the bottom, unfortunatly I never finished it completely due to space problems, G eats up a ton of space even in micro format, but it did work, I eventually fixed the transverser in place in the forward position as it proved un-necessary, and fixed a loading dock into the space behind it, leaving just the sector plate. I might rebuild it one day. we'll see. 

I miss Carl and hope the site will live on.


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## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

Well, that is not the end even if it does disappear. The only thing that was better than Carl's site would be 100's of sites featuring individual layouts. instead of touching on each one, a whole site dedicated to each would be much more interesting. Well I am off to do something amazing, give G scale the ability to go to college. 
--JJWtrainman


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Why not get a loop of the aristo pizza tracks they have a 21" and a 30" diameter I believe they are. You could set up a continous run and then have some switching action inside the loop. You could build the whole thing to store under your bed.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By jjwtrainman on 31 Mar 2011 04:36 PM 
Well, that is not the end even if it does disappear. The only thing that was better than Carl's site would be 100's of sites featuring individual layouts. instead of touching on each one, a whole site dedicated to each would be much more interesting. Well I am off to do something amazing, give G scale the ability to go to college. 
--JJWtrainman


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

A Train, its a terrible thing to waste. Please give to the Gauge 1 College Fund today.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

A Train, its a terrible thing to waste. Please give to the Gauge 1 College Fund today.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

A Train, its a terrible thing to waste. Please give to the Gauge 1 College Fund today.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

A Train, its a terrible thing to waste. Please give to the Gauge 1 College Fund today.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Really, four posts?


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Kent, are you feeling alright??


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Vibrator strapped to mouse button? 

Greg


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## Doug C (Jan 14, 2008)

"Indoor, Micro Layout, in G ?" 

How about a G-scale ride-on layout (n-scale ?) ! open gondolas with a cushioned seat at either end appropriate engine with seat for operator 

Here is a roster list with pics; http://www.swedenfreezer.com/avr/assiniboine_valley_railway_Roster.htm 
As we know they're not always configured for 'real' passengers; 
http://www.swedenfreezer.com/avr/images/AVR-CPR 5303 WITH CARS.jpgAVR is back in my home province of Manitoba (aka central Canada !) doug c 

p.s. and a 'live' propane tanker http://www.swedenfreezer.com/avr/AVR_PROPANE_CAT_CALX 3108.htm 


{yeeech hit return too often and lines still going astray !}


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

How about a G-scale ride-on layout (n-scale ?) 
There's a T-scale option already available, with a ride-on train. *Large scale large scale*


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

you know you might consider some of my thoughts for you 


1 while we have a great hobby, im not sure i would suggest making this your identity your first year at college-like it or not, many think of the hobby as childish or wierd-its not even as accepted as being a computer geek or robot engineer/ competitor 
theres an entirely new world awaiting you at school-and i would be judicious in what pastimes you decide to take along-not ony for use of your time, but also dorm room space, and consideration for a roomate 

i dont know if you will be away from home-more than a few hours drive-but id strongly suggest testing the waters for the first semester and then determine if this is what you want at school 

2 its not the most social of hobbies-it can be-but its also a bit of a one person operation-especially a small one 
3 where in the world will you put this and what will your roomate/dormies think 
4 where in the world will you put any girls you meet-under the train table in your room?
perhaps sexist of me-but i have met a tiny percentage of females that like trains- 
girls like to party, dance, do sports, etc etc-i think youll find few that are interested in trains and fewer that really go for 'train guys"-
hope youre getting the picture

5 i might suggest that your first year or so at college should focus on campus life, friends and social integration, not to mention study and other campus activities and organizations-those will do a great deal more to enhance your resume than your train set

-to me-trains are not likely to foster your full appreciation of campus -unless you create a train club or something 
and 
at least for myself when i was at college, 
and my son whos at an east coast school presently, 
theres sufficient time for personal activity-but i dont think youll want to spend it with your trains, in your room, versus hanging with others.......


im not syaing you shouldnt have things that you like at school-i took my guitar and mountaineering gear, and a bike-(things that might help me soicalize as well youll note)
but if you must have a train fix-

it would seem to me that, as a very compact alternative, one which you could closet or or give time to, a z scale set, fitted in a breifcase might be a thought-or n scale, for more affordability-both will offer you a great deal of operation in a tiny area, execellent running and ease of finding kits etc at even the most remote hobby shop -and
i might suggest Kato n scale and sectional track for convenience of set up and take down and changing things around-as it was designed for this

good luck in your decision


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

A while back on You-Tube I found a video by a college kid who managed to cram a good sized layout into a dorm room - layout was about two or three times the size of Vic's if memory serves, running on shelves around the walls.


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## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By stevedenver on 13 Apr 2011 09:13 AM 
you know you might consider some of my thoughts for you 


1 while we have a great hobby, im not sure i would suggest making this your identity your first year at college-like it or not, many think of the hobby as childish or wierd-its not even as accepted as being a computer geek or robot engineer/ competitor 
theres an entirely new world awaiting you at school-and i would be judicious in what pastimes you decide to take along-not ony for use of your time, but also dorm room space, and consideration for a roomate 

i dont know if you will be away from home-more than a few hours drive-but id strongly suggest testing the waters for the first semester and then determine if this is what you want at school 

2 its not the most social of hobbies-it can be-but its also a bit of a one person operation-especially a small one 
3 where in the world will you put this and what will your roomate/dormies think 
4 where in the world will you put any girls you meet-under the train table in your room?
perhaps sexist of me-but i have met a tiny percentage of females that like trains- 
girls like to party, dance, do sports, etc etc-i think youll find few that are interested in trains and fewer that really go for 'train guys"-
hope youre getting the picture

5 i might suggest that your first year or so at college should focus on campus life, friends and social integration, not to mention study and other campus activities and organizations-those will do a great deal more to enhance your resume than your train set

-to me-trains are not likely to foster your full appreciation of campus -unless you create a train club or something 
and 
at least for myself when i was at college, 
and my son whos at an east coast school presently, 
theres sufficient time for personal activity-but i dont think youll want to spend it with your trains, in your room, versus hanging with others.......


im not syaing you shouldnt have things that you like at school-i took my guitar and mountaineering gear, and a bike-(things that might help me soicalize as well youll note)
but if you must have a train fix-

it would seem to me that, as a very compact alternative, one which you could closet or or give time to, a z scale set, fitted in a breifcase might be a thought-or n scale, for more affordability-both will offer you a great deal of operation in a tiny area, execellent running and ease of finding kits etc at even the most remote hobby shop -and
i might suggest Kato n scale and sectional track for convenience of set up and take down and changing things around-as it was designed for this

good luck in your decision

1. I'm not going to college to pick up chicks!
Besides, if one wanted to be my girl friend, she would find out sooner or later, and then look where we'd both be!








2. If someone has a problem with me and my hobby, so be it, he/she doesn't have to be with me. Being truthful is the best way to get friends that last, no matter how few. My hobby is no secret to my peers at other high schools, and I still have friends, good ones too. 
3. I am not nearly as adventurous as most people are, so even if there is a lot to do, most of it i don't care to take on. 
4. i am going to get a small layout, so that the times that i would be in my dorm, no matter how few, i would have something to occupy me. One last thing is that it would probably take me a year to build and finish a model railroad, so there already is one year of college where nobody really knows what I am constructing. 

Though i appreciate your suggestion, I will never consider leaving the hobby, as well as all the others I am involved with: biking, golf, R/C stuff, and airsoft/ paintball, No matter how temporary. As stated earlier in this post, I couldn't care less what people think of me. I am not there for them, and there are not there for me.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

I too believe that most people who are not involved with our hobby believe that those of us who are, are a bit different, shall we say. I've gotten past that years ago. Now as far as playing with your trains in your dorm room, I would hope that you would leave some time to play with other things, like GIRLS







, and beer can/fire sprinkler target practice.







Oh, and whether you want to or not, you'll be partaking in the ever popular Beer Pong games







, and anything else that involves alcohol







. No matter what, remember the first rule of thumb when attending an institution of higher learning, HAVE FUN. Second rule, LEARN SOMETHING. I hope you will get everything you can out of your college, you're paying $$$$$$$$$$$$$ enough for it.


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

no one suggested that you leave the hobby or lie about yourself-just a judicious look before you leap 

no man is an island.....


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

As a fellow college student (abit a grad student in the fall instead of a undergrad) I can feel your pain of having something to work on. While I was working on my undergrad degree I was living in my own house were I had room for a quite large outdoor layout, which I recently had to dismantle in preparation for renters.  But back to the subject at hand; I'm planning on bringing modeling stuff to work on, but the projects will be much smaller. I'm planning on building a couple of cars (something I've never done) and super detailing some turnouts (again something I've never done) but each project will be a success towards my next layout. So my suggestion is to think about what you want when your done with school, and build something small that will seem like a part of your future projects instead of investing time and energy into something temporary that you won't use after school. If you really want a micro layout think about how you might incorporate in into a future layout. 
Craig


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

But we *are* a bit different. 

For how small you can go, just look at any of Vic Smith's threads. You might not need to go to that extreme.


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## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

When I was in the Army, I built an N-scale layout that slid under my bed. You can do the same in G. Use 1 by 2's for the frame, and 3/8 inch ply for the top. Don't try for elevation, unless you have one of those new-fangled bunk beds. And make it small enough that you can store you trains under the bed as well. 

With a twin bed, you can probably get 2 foot radius curve. Tight, but use small locos.


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## PSLIMO (Jan 4, 2011)

Hi All,

I came across this thread while doing a search for landscaping ideas for the tiny layout I'm working on. I fooled around with a track simulator to find the smallest double loop using standard tracks. Below is what I came up with in a 3'x3' footprint for my daughter Christmas layout. Hope it gives you some ideas going tiny.

Phil


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