The TG&E is a fantasy model railroad layout, now in its second version, built on a 3’x8’
table (the first version was more like 2’x12’). It features Kato Unitrack and switches, and
a variety of motive power and rolling stock, since the layout is designed to run American,
British and German steam trains (but not simultaneously!). The layout features a large
station with passenger access to trains at a lower level, a point-to-point automatically
reversing trolley line, a gravity-operated funicular serving a hilltop beer garden, an
interurban line, a switching and train maintenance yard, and a coal mine and sawmill,
both with rail spurs. There is a 2% grade leading through tunnels in the mountains, and
two trestles.
The various stages of the layout, beginning in November, 2013.
Creating the 2% grade through the mountains.
Re-built the mountain (it was in a box for 15 years).
Laying track in the train yard, December 2013. In February,
2014 I removed one line, took out the switch at the bottom of the photo,
replaced a Kato #4 switch with a #6, and raised the radius on curves in the
outer loop of the switching yard. Fewer problems with derailments now!
Put in a retaining wall.
Heather draped the layout – now all the junk underneath the benchwork is hidden.
Ground cover is going in near the mountain – February 2014.
Detail of the mine spur – raw coal on the left, processed
coal leaving on the right.
Detail of sawmill, with a scratch-built McGinty loading a
car with lumber.
It’s March 2014, but the hilltop beer garden is in full
summer mode – lots of activity! Looks like an old folks’ outing.
April 2014 – Rearranged the train yard track alignments to
facilitate an Atlas turntable (so far only manually powered, with the crank
hidden by the power plant building). Working on powering new sections of track.
More work on the train yard – cement built from grey
foamcore (ongoing cement repair) and ballasting of track completed.
May 2014 – added a switch-house and a pond. Who’s watching
those pigs in the garden?
Oh, the station master's wife is in the yard, hanging up the laundry.
Some fishermen have found the pond. The water is a piece of plexiglass, back-painted (salvaged from what was a river on the first version of the layout).
June, 2014 - finished the engine houses adjoining the turntable and the road behind them. Vehicles for N-scale have improved so much in quality and variety since I started in the hobby.
October, 2014 - A gas station and junk yard are located underneath the trestle.
Detail of the junkyard.
December, 2014 Work begins on the upper level, which will feature a park with bandstand, a playground and lots of trees and shrubbery.
January, 2015 - the park is in, with a playground and a bandstand. We need to get more people to the park!
Detail of the street side of the station on the upper level, with passengers, porters and vendors.
Detail of the trolley side of the station on the upper level, with passengers and baggage agents.
January 2015 - Finished a maintenance yard and work area. The shed is scratch built from a small cardboard gift box.
The trolley side of the station, with catenary poles and showing the park area adjoining.
February 2015 - A view from the front of the layout, showing the "green" spaces around the upper-level station.
March, 2015 - I spent most of February rebuilding the wall on the upper level. My first wall was a mis-application - the flexible rubber was easy to install, but the adhesive failed and the rubber curled, looking very unlike a wall. The new wall is resin, cut to fit.
September, 2015 - Lowered the benchwork about 4 inches and put casters on the legs, enabling me to work behind the layout. This is in preparation for the next phases; finishing detailing the rear of the layout, lighting the current layout and expanding along a wall into the far corner of the room. I plan to add a mainline track on a shelf that travels to a rail museum (with nostalgia trains) located on 3'x5' benchwork.
November 2015 - I extended the roadway from the service station/junkyard area through the mountains, using three new tunnel openings.
August 2016 - For the past couple of months, I have been adding lighting to the layout, including streetlights in the park and on the station platforms. I still need to add lights in the yard, and finish lighting the houses on the upper level. I am using the Woodlands Scenic lighting system - impressed by the detail of the N-scale streetlights, but those tiny wires are the devil to work with!
Motive Power
Interurban
American – Bachmann Spectrum Gas/Electric “Doodlebug”.
Purchased from the Union Pacific, this unit is awaiting its paintjob in
TG&E livery.
“Galloping Goose” Railbus in TG&E livery (kitbashed from
a Kato trolley and the front truck and cow-catcher from a Bachmann 4-4-0
American)
British –
German- Arnold "Kittel" steam rail car.
Tourist/Nostalgia
American – Atlas 2-6-0 Mogul, Bachmann open passenger car,
two Bachmann Central Pacific “old time” cars, one Bachmann Union Pacific “old
time” car. The Union Pacific car is fitted with one knuckle coupler and one
Rapido coupler, and so serves as a conversion car between the two Central
Pacific cars (Rapido couplers) and the open passenger car (knuckle couplers).
British –
German – Fleischmann #7881 0-10-0, in Royal Prussian livery.
4 Era I Prussian cars and one Bavarian.
Streetcar
American – “Swindon” Trolley (Modemo Enoshina Railway Type
100, with added destination boards and fenders).
American - "Ashford" Trolley kitbashed from a Bachmann combination car body on an Atlas/Kato Alco RS-3 chassis.
British – Bachmann Spectrum Peter Witt streetcar, purchased from Toronto, and still in its Canadian livery.
German – Pre-war Hannover trolley by Kato, in the form given to Hiroshima city by the German government after the war. I added some details and covered the Japanese lettering with German advertising boards.
Funicular
Gravity/manually operated. Kitbashed from a Bachmann
old-timer passenger car body and truck and attached to a fishing line.
Switching (Inner Loop)
American – Bachmann USRA 0-6-0 switcher. As of March, 2014,
in the paint bay receiving TG&E livery.
British – Graham Farish British Rail 94xx type pannier tank
engine. Recently cleaned and refurbished.
German – Fleischmann Deutsche Reichsbahn Bn2 class 700,
0-4-0.
Freight (Outer Loop and Main Line)
American - Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0. Undecorated, awaiting TG&E livery.
British – Graham Farish British Rail Castle class 4-6-0.
Recently cleaned and refurbished.
German - Fleischmann 7000 “Maffei” 0-4-0
Passenger (Main Line)
American – Bachmann Spectrum Consolidation 2-8-0, with 2 TG&E passenger coaches and
one TG&E baggage car.
British – Minitrix British Rail Brittania class 4-6-2. Five
passenger cars.
German – Minitrix Orient Express, Deutsche Reichsbahn 17
class 4-6-0, 5 passenger cars (wagons-lit).
Mining/Logging
American –
Mehano 0-6-0 tank adapted as a woodburner.
British –
German – Minitrix T3 0-6-0
in Deutsche Reichsbahn livery.
Possible acquisitions:
Kato 2-6-2 Prairie
Atlas 2-truck Shay
De-acquisitioned:
Bachmann Brill trolley (details transferred to the “Swindon
Trolley”)
Bachmann Docksider 0-4-0
Roco 0-6-0
Bachmann Great Northern 4-8-4
Bachmann Mikado 2-8-2
Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0 (this locomotive constantly derailed
and threw its traction tires…eventually I replaced it with a Spectrum 2-8-0)
