TURTLE FIELD RAILROAD : US Nscale layout by a french

 Hi all !

Some people in the forum ask to me to create a blog about my layout in construction so go on :  

The TURTLE FIELD RAILROAD   

But before a litle presentation of the modelrailroader :

My name is Jean-François PERRISSOUD and like all the frenchee , i love eating snail and frog .  Humm! delicious. I live in AUVERGNE rigth in the midle of france.There is some vulcans around the place i live.It's in this place that french farmers made some of the more violant smelling sheese that make our wellnone in all the world ! 

I'm 26 years old. My friend call me Jef.

 I began model railroading about 13 year ago by bilding some fench theme HO layouts. A the end of my school time i went in a little town called AMBERT where i found an automative technician job in a chemestry plant. I was far away from family house and whorst of my layout !!!

 So i began the construction of an N scale layout in US inspiration (in lack of place).I came to US modelrailroading by reading some MR (the only easy to find magazine in france).

I'm a real fan of the D&RGW railroad (normal and narrow) a i like a lot SP to.

But stop the dicertation and place to modelrailroad  (please excuse my poor english):

First some caracteristics:  

1. Size : 6 ' long 3.3' large
2. Main line run : 33 '
3. Minimum radius : 15''
4. Maximum grade : 2.5 %
5. Track type : PECO code 55
6. Turnout : Curved (915/478mm radius)
7. Switch motor : Tortoise

 The trackplan is an ameliorated 8 style layout.The goal was to design the more linear like layout with the maximun of main line track length (in a minimum of space)  to run long train without seeing the oval shape. The layout can run alone but i will use it as a reversing loop in the future. (big project put smal start)

Benchwork : It's an open grid type and it is realised in 10mm thick plywood, with scheet of 28*28mm samba in corners. I made some holes to have a light weight structure.The wood structure have been covered with thin aluminum grid and the all was covered by plaster bands.

Some hard to made shape whith plaster have been made with extruded isolation styrene :

The hiden track have been protected by plexiglass sheet to prevent rolling stock fall. This band are fixed  by aluminium corners : 

That's all fo today ... to be continued