Yeah it's held up well can't complain about it durability.  Here's a more recent update. 

I'll probably ballast the track at some point.  I don't mind the code 100 rails since I've got a few older engines with larger flanges I don't want to turn down. I think I only have two gripes with ez track.  One is the road bed height and needing to elevate all the structures higher than standard HO road bed.  The other is feeling like you need to limit your elevations to being flat.

Yeah I'd been reluctant to add scenery for awhile but figured it would be fun to get it going and share with my teenagers before they move out.  Once they move out I'll probably build a new table for it in the house and move the track, buildings etc inside so I've avoided gluing anything down track or structure wise at this point.

Some of my daughters handiwork paint wise She took care of the buoys and the boat painting.

Yeah the layout is in the loft of a detached garage/barn.  The track, engines, MRC transformer, and the majority of the buildings have been up there for 7 or so years waiting for me to get the hankering to get the layout going again.  I'm not sure how the scenery will fare but the rest of it has been ok.  I'd say I have to clean the track more often than if it was in my house.  Also I'm running dc blocks so I'm not sure if DCC would be as happy with the temp swings etc.  My biggest fight has been trying to keep the rodents off the layout and out of the barn in general.  As such the engines tend to stay sealed up if I'm not running them but until I'm an empty nester that's where the layout will be.

Take it easy
Jay

In the middle of building a 4x8 ez track layout that's got a side for rail fanning and a side for switching. You cannot view this attachment.You cannot view this attachment.
The engine is a mantua 4-4-2 kitbash with a 2-8-0 Bachman boiler.  It like the rest the layout is a work in progress. I need to figure out how to get the steps for the pilot or craft something up.

Take it easy
Jay

I bought a Mantua 4-4-2 a couple of years ago that ran fairly nice but the boiler was in rough shape.  I've recently come across a couple of autions for 2-8-0 spectrum boilers on Ebay and was debating using the 2-8-0 boiler on the 4-4-2 chassis.  Anyone see too many problems wit hthe idea?  One snag I was wondering about is the driver size on the 2-8-0 vs the 4-6-0.

I have a couple of 2-8-0's that I don't want to take apart but comparing the boiler off the 4-4-2 eyeball wise it looks like a fairly close fit length wise.   I saw in an older thread some with ideas about the 4-6-0 boiler being used but I'm hoping to avoid taking a newer locomotive apart for the "kitbash"

Thanks
Par

The layouts were made using the right track software pdlethbridge suggested.

"http://www.atlasrr.com/righttrack.htm"

Because EZ track isn't in the right track software the layouts are designed with true track which is similar size wise for the purpose of planning.  In a few places I've cut some pieces of code 100 track as fitters while trying the layout out.

The software is addictive I was tinkering with the figure eight plan while watching tonights debate.

Take it easy
Par

Here are a couple of examples of 4x8 layouts I'm debating between currently.

Time period wise I'm thinking 1920's to 1930's so smaller steam engines with 40' and possibly 50' cars are what I'd be running on the layout.  I mention the time period because it has an impact on layout design considerations...  If you're wanting to model more modern equipment or larger steam engines you'll find that a shelf layout is a better option for the larger radius curves

The first 4x8 is what I'm currently trying out. The starting point for inspiration was the Atlas plywood summit layout... It's basically an up and over figure eight.



The station and DPM modular building are intended to be fairly tall to help divide the layout into a couple of scenes. 

The drawback I've found is the 3% grades with 18" radius curves.  My 2-8-0 will pull 6 to 7 cars up the grade.  Any more cars and I see wheel slip.  My proto 0-6-0 is borderline pulling 2 to 3 cars up that grade.

Another layout  that's using buzzard's cove/maggie's cove as inspiration that I might try is ths one...



The left side would have cuts in the scenery to help hide the curve where as the right side would have a pier and structures to help hide or breakup the curve. In the middle a hill  could help divide the layout's coastal side from the passing siding on the opposite side.

Operations wise I don't get as large a "yard" as I do with the figure eight but I also don't have to worry about grades so it's a bit of a trade off.

Both layouts give me the opertunity to extend the layout if I have more space in the next house.

Take it easy
Par