Step by Step Large Layout

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Hi! Tell us about yourself and how you got into model trains

Hey, my name is Rolf, I’m 46 Years old and I come from Siegen, Germany.

I got my first model locomotive when I was five years old. It was a locomotive, running on the layout of my father. And for the next few years, it was still running on the layout of my father.

When I was six years old, my grandpa bought a Märklin H0 starter kit for me. When I was 30, I changed the scale from H0 to Z. And now I have been building my layout since 2015. I share the results on my YouTube channel channel, where I also share videos of running trains.

When we bought the house, my wife made sure that there was a room big enough for the trains.

Please describe your layout

My layout has no real model. I will build a landscape somewhere in Germany. Because of that I work in Z scale, so I can build up a large main station. There is space enough for passenger trains with 14 wagons.

At the moment there is no scenery, only the wood plates are visible. I prefer to build the technique first. At the moment I change the normal drive of the turnouts. After this I will start with the landscape.

I use locomotives running on electricity and oil, I don’t have so much steamers. My era is starting in 3 up to now.

Because I have a lot of “Einheitslokomotiven” of the German Railrod Company (die Bahn) and of course a few of the modern locomotives, I’m not quite true to the era. I run locomotives side by side even if they didn’t exist together.

I started building the layout in 2015. I didn’t make a plan before I started. When I was laying down the tracks, I thought about how it should go. I started with the main station. Seven tracks for passenger trains and ten tracks for freight trains. Passenger trains can be 14 cars long, fright trains up to 30 cars.

On the right side of the main station there is a parade route. You can see the long trains running through the landscape (when finished).

When I start with the landscape I will build a town behind the main station, on the left side an industrial area and museum depot for my steamers. On the right side there will be a depot for the locos are running on oil and a short commercial enterprise and an agricultural trade.

Before I had a few layouts, but no landscape because I was moving to different places. My first Z scale layout was in my kitchen (2004/2005) and in 2006 I moved to a place where I didn’t build a layout. In 2009 I started with a short layout, but 2011 I moved again and then there was a short break and in 2015 I started with this layout.

The main line on my layout is 100 meters long. A train needs 15 minutes to go around.

I can run six trains at the same time. I used 90 signals and 93 turnouts. 4 digital central stations from Peter Stärz, 3 boosters, and 33 occupancy detectors.

How did you plan your layout?

I didn’t make a plan before I started building. I started with the wood work. And then I did the layout step by step.

Started with the main station and went around. Was looking in the real world and tried to copy this to my layout. Of course, with compromises. At the main station there is a one line, going thru the station, and on the right side, there are two lines. In Germany we say those are two lines. Both starts at the station, use the same track until the turnout.

I started in 2015 with the layout and 2020 I did an extension. On the extension I will build mountains with a lot of forest. There is a short quarry and the only bridge at the main line.

Describe your rolling stock

I have only Märklin rolling stock, because the other brands don’t have German rolling stock. At Z scale there are not so many brands. And in Z scale it only comes analog. I changed my rolling stock to digital by myself.

My favorite model is the German class 151, a big heavy fright train locomotive. It was the first model what I got when I was five years old. Saw them in my childhood at the station every day with long trains.

I have a few steamers with the right cars which belongs to them, but not so much. My rolling stock started at the end of era 3 and comes up to the present. I have a few modern locomotives, but the most of my locomotives are from the 1980/1990 (in the real world).

I modified my locomotives as I said before. I put the decoder inside and changed the light to LED. I swapped the original clutches for magnetic clutches. Not for all the cars, but for a lot of the cars. I installed LED light inside the passenger cars.

Advice for other people in the model train world

Take the time that is needed to become common with the stuff. In the beginning, you may not know how to connect a turnout etc. When you become common with this stuff, you know how to connect a turnout, a signal, a powerless section to stop trains, etc.

Do your own thing. You build your layout for you, not for someone else and not for the model railroad police.

We have to do compromises, and not everybody will like it, but that’s the way it is. And if somebody says I don’t like it for such and such reason, you can think about it, but you don’t have to change it.

If you need help, ask other model railroaders, we are many, and all of us have good ideas.