Building a new city/rail layout with bridges and elevated track

[kc2dc]

Hi all.

We have moved and are rebuilding our city from scratch. I thought I would post some pics as we progress and get ideas and feedback in the process.

You can view our old layout here:

http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=523253

It was busy and crowded and really not planned very well, so we are going to try to make this new city much better. We are using the same amount of sq footage, but the set up is different to fit into the room.

Below are a few pics. Everything below is temporary. We just laid out a basic idea of what we think will use the space we have the most efficiently.

There will eventually be a downtown area, a suburban area, an industrial area, the airport and the harbor. The layout will have two rail lines running along the perimeter a couple of sidings and a single loop in the city area plus two mono rail lines.

There will be a truss bridge (about three times as long as the temp one in the photos) that will carry two tracks over the gap and a harbor area. We tested the incline for the bridge as you can see in the photos and the trains do fine on the inclines, but that will all be redone now with the new bridge and new pier structures.

We plan to hang some of the airplanes from the ceiling in a depart/approach patter to free up space at the airport.

There will be a tunnel/hillside in the back corner behind the suburban houses that will have windmills on top the hillside.

Any ideas or thoughts? Thanks!

I'll try to get some better pics soon.

Too Large picture 1

Too Large picture 2

Too Large picture 3

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Too Large picture 6

Too Large picture 7

Edited September 19, 2013 by JopieK

[Hey Joe]

Hey, looks great! I really like the gradient and elevated portion.

Have you tried using Blue Brick to plan your layout? I like that program a lot.

Joe

[JopieK]

Very nice work kc2dc!!! Nice space for your layout too! The pictures are just a bit too large, but I'm sure you will fix that soon :)

[kieran]

Does look good already, you have a very nice space for it all

[The Player Nº1]

What a huge space! I'll wait for updates! Good luck.

[kc2dc]

Thanks for the comments, even to say the photos are too big! haha.

Below is a photo update

Been working hard on a basic road/rail layout. Managed to get the two outside tracks in place with their inclines for the bridges. Used one plate per track. Both the horizon express and masersk (both with dual engines) run fine on the inclines.

Once I get the train yard done, I will push those tables against the wall and widen the gap where the bridge will go. There will eventially be a canal there where large ships pass under the bridges. I will also expand the water beyond the tables in a couple of other places.

I hope to get to the airport soon and finalize the monorail lines.

[JopieK]

looks great kc2dc, I also like your solution to paint the tables in appropriate colors! nice mix of newer and older buildings!

[kc2dc]

looks great kc2dc, I also like your solution to paint the tables in appropriate colors! nice mix of newer and older buildings!

IKEA tables!

[kc2dc]

Here is a video of the first time the trains were run on the new bridges. It was a success!

Edited October 20, 2013 by kc2dc

[timmyc1983]

Wow really impressively busy with the trains and the monorails running! Looks fantastic!! And I love what you've done with the 7937 station, looks fantastic on the second level like that! The city looks so good all in all tho

I look forward to more updates, happy building

[kc2dc]

Thanks timmy. I guess this display is pretty lame compared to most (based on the little response it gets), I wish it had more custom stuff, but we really enjoy it!

[KringlesBricks]

It came together nicely! Those bridges turned out great. It's a very clean and cool looking layout you have. Do you plan to add more to the layout??

[mapimi]

Hey Kc2Dc, this display is far from lame, I really enjoy what you've done to build this city and I find it looks awesome. Granted I don't have a display yet so I'm far from an authority on lego displays, but not having custom stuff is not a crime, and I think the bridge is actually quite clever and like what you did for the pillar system, which looks great. Just curious what did you use for the runway? Is it wood you painted? Anyway, don't get discouraged by lack of comments :) And if you do feel you want more custom stuff, feel free to release your imagination :) The beauty of lego is that anyone can do what they like

[tedbeard]

Great layout. The video is really fun. All you need know is a POV video from one of the trains.

[kc2dc]

Thanks guys. This is all the space I have, so from here out, I'm going to have to get pretty creative just to make room for new stuff. Thinking about building a hill/tunnel on the back side to create more real estate. I also plan to make some videos with POV cameras and from a quad chopper, so that will be interesting.

[Xris]

Hi kc2dc,

I think your new layout is much better than the old one. The bridges and 2-storied stations and the railroad / monorail work nice.

However, I think instead of showing all the mentioned themes (downtown area, suburban area, industrial area, airport and harbor)

it would be better to concentrate on 2 of them - maybe harbour and downtown area in order to allow for more convincing scenery.

Using two levels should allow you to separate the chosen themes.

Regards

Christian

Edited November 1, 2013 by Xris