Frist time builder, long time modeler
Long Time Modeler
I started getting into model railroading back in 2011. After stopping by a local club in the spring of that year, I was hooked. For the next several years I participated in a few clubs mostly running trains and making plans for future club layouts. Unfortunately in my many years of being in clubs, we never got to do a lot of layout building. I was part of one club that had been established for 30+ years and had pretty much filled their club space to the brim (and was an hour's drive one-way). The other club was facing an uncertain future with the club space they were in, which made most projects hard to commit to. As a result, I did learn a lot about running trains, programming decoders, and doing general layout maintenance. However, I never got the chance to do benchwork, layout wiring, and very little scenery. Space in my tiny 650sq foot apartment was tight and doing any real layout building there was not very practical. However, I did my best to stay engaged with the hobby, knowing that one day, I would not be limited by the club restraints or by apartment spaces.
First Time Builder
Flash forward to the year 2020...yeah...that year. A couple of months before the world shut down we began the process of buying a home. Two days before every city in the state went into lockdown, we got the key to our very first home. Suddenly I found myself with a two-car garage and a lot of time in which I was unable to leave. It was not long before I started itching to get a workbench set up and start a modeling project.
After years of finally working to get a place I could build a layout, it suddenly became apparent just how unprepared I was to actually build anything, let alone a layout. I didn't own a saw or have a proper tool set. I owned a 20-dollar drill that was marginally better than using a screwdriver. Then there were all the other issues any Model Railroader faces. What kind of layout should I build? How big will it be? The list goes on. Of course, I had several ideas of what I would like to build, but the real question that needed to be asked was, are any of those ideals obtainable?
Uh, wait so you decided on a 4x8?
As the title of this blog states, I ended up starting a 4x8. This was not my first choice, and I debated on this for some time. Over the years the 4x8 was kind of like the entry point for getting into layout building. However, I feel like more and more we are seeing a departure from this. There has definitely been a lot of great articles in the model railroading press in recent years showing how starting with a shelf layout is actually a really good entry point and maybe better than a 4x8. A drawback with 4x8s for me was that I really like prototype-based layouts, and 4x8s designs are just not very good for that kind of approach...in my humble opinion.
Originally, I thought I would start with a shelf layout. However, I didn't want to start attaching things to the wall just yet. We still needed to store household items. holiday decorations, lawn equipment, etc, most of which were previously located in a storage unit. We were planning on eventually get some storage racks to run along the walls. So with this in mind, I felt it would be best to construct something in the center of the garage so as to not obstruct the walls for future use. One other thing about this project was the desire to follow along with something that I could use as a guide. After all, I never built benchwork, laid track, or wired up a layout. I really wanted something that could hold my hand and guide me when I was in over my head. I was really sinking into analysis paralysis and was starting to maybe just shelve the whole thing altogether.
Then one day, I finally said to myself...this is your first layout. The first one. It's not going to be some big basement empire. It's not going to be your last layout. You are going to make mistakes and have to do things over. Don't complicate this. This project is all about learning, and experimenting for the next project, and maybe eventually even that basement empire someday. Buy a saw and get out in the garage and start doing something...anything.
With this in mind, I finally dug out an older series of Model Railroader articles from 2012. Way back when I first read these articles, I thought to myself...if you were ever going to do a 4x8, this was about one of the best plans to go with. For a 4x8, I felt it was well thought out and made good use of the limitations presented by the 4x8 design. This was the guide I need as it showed exactly how to construct the benchwork and laid out all of the exact materials used. This was also something I could build in the center of the garage and not obstruct any walls. Furthermore, it was on wheels so I could eventually maybe roll out in the driveway and take pictures in natural light. I printed out the entire series of articles and created a binder. It was finally time to get to work and stop wasting time. After all, this was really just a dress rehearsal for that next bigger and better design. A stepping stone to that super-detailed basement, attic, and warehouse empire right. There was so much to learn and no time waste!
Over the next several posts, I'll walk through my trials, tribulations, and the dumb mistakes I made along the way. It's been two and a half years and work continues on this project. I have learned so much along the way, and I still continue to learn.
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