Hello,
My name is Sean, a secondary (high school) teacher from New Zealand and a software developer in my spare time. I have loved trains from a young age, when I was little I was obsessed with them and I had a large OO layout. In the intervening years I didn't do much with the hobby but I still maintained an interest.
I bought my house over 2 years ago and there is a parcel of land at the back of my section which is technically railway land but I can lease it from the railway company and beautify it. When I bought the house the parcel was severely overgrown, fenced off and was treated as a rubbish tip by the previous owners. One night half the fence was blown down in strong wind so I decided to tear the other half down. I also reclaimed the land from the mass of vines but it is still a mess back there and the weeds are taking over again. Recently I have been wondering what to do with it and then I watched the series from Curtis at the HSBA railway about how he built his layout and has open days. This inspired me and I was then resolved to build something similar for myself. People may call me crazy for wanting to build such a large layout and let the public wander around but I want to do something for the community and there is nothing like it where I live so it will add something unique. I reckon it will be quite a few people will want to come have a look.
As you can see from the photos it is still quite overgrown but it is not as bad as it used to be, I used to not be able to walk around at all. The plan is to clear and dig out the land over the summer and build the layout and engine shed over the next year with a view to having my first open day in January 2027.
The layout is going to be 16m x 8m (52ft x 26ft) and the visitors will be able to step down and walk around the middle of the layout. So yes it is ambitious, it will be big, expensive, frustrating and stressful but, when I think of the end result, it brings me peace and puts a smile on my face.
I am currently designing the layout and I will post the track plan when it is finished. Many thanks for reading and happy railroading
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My name is Sean, a secondary (high school) teacher from New Zealand and a software developer in my spare time. I have loved trains from a young age, when I was little I was obsessed with them and I had a large OO layout. In the intervening years I didn't do much with the hobby but I still maintained an interest.
I bought my house over 2 years ago and there is a parcel of land at the back of my section which is technically railway land but I can lease it from the railway company and beautify it. When I bought the house the parcel was severely overgrown, fenced off and was treated as a rubbish tip by the previous owners. One night half the fence was blown down in strong wind so I decided to tear the other half down. I also reclaimed the land from the mass of vines but it is still a mess back there and the weeds are taking over again. Recently I have been wondering what to do with it and then I watched the series from Curtis at the HSBA railway about how he built his layout and has open days. This inspired me and I was then resolved to build something similar for myself. People may call me crazy for wanting to build such a large layout and let the public wander around but I want to do something for the community and there is nothing like it where I live so it will add something unique. I reckon it will be quite a few people will want to come have a look.
As you can see from the photos it is still quite overgrown but it is not as bad as it used to be, I used to not be able to walk around at all. The plan is to clear and dig out the land over the summer and build the layout and engine shed over the next year with a view to having my first open day in January 2027.
The layout is going to be 16m x 8m (52ft x 26ft) and the visitors will be able to step down and walk around the middle of the layout. So yes it is ambitious, it will be big, expensive, frustrating and stressful but, when I think of the end result, it brings me peace and puts a smile on my face.
I am currently designing the layout and I will post the track plan when it is finished. Many thanks for reading and happy railroading
