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| Last updated on January 21, 2021
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Hi David,
I enjoyed the video about the Naugatuck New Haven.
The RDC’s you are running are they DCC?
I have been looking for RDC1 for my n scale layout.
As kid I rode in the cab once going from Boston to Sharon.
Thanks in advance for a response.
Nice job David, lived in Waterbury for a number of years, have taken the train from Waterbury to Bridgeport and back, worked in the “Valley” [what this area is called] for years too. Your Waterbury station is believable.Grand-pa lived across from the New Haven line,in Branford, rode trains from New London to New Haven many times, thanks again for modeling my favorite RR !
Excellent Layout, good job David, thanks
Nice layout enjoyed the tour
As an N scaler myself, this is perhaps my all-time favorite N Scale layout. And I must admit… I miss it. Thanks for the memories, David.
Thanks David, always enjoy your inspirations for building layouts.
Hi David, are you still using the Lenz DCC system that is what I have and have wondered if I should change or not.
I keep coming back to this video. I really love this layout, I like how it has progressed over the years, piece by piece. Got the book about it as well. Good job! Inspiring.
I don’t know Mr. Popp. This layout looks cool enough to reproduce for myself. Gonna think about this for awhile. Could you recommend a good NH book for further inspiration?
Thanks, Mike
My comment should say ” HO Scale” – not HOUSTON
David,
I am working on a Naugatuck-esq layout in HOUSTON, and was wanted to read all the articles and books you had written about yours. I know you list the issues during this video, but would it be possible to get a written list?
I watched this video when it was first published. It was nice to visit again. I wonder David, since the Naugatuck has been removed to make way for your next layout, was any of it salvaged and relocated to a lucky modeler?
Sam,
I saw a post over in the forms of modelrailroader.com awhile back that had a link to the sale site of the Naugatuck. I do not know who ended up with it thou. I was tempted but I own to many trains modules to make it work. If I was just starting out I might have bid on it.
Is it just me, or is the music different than it originally was?
David;
Thanks for the visit and the well organized video sequences. I love the chapters and labels for each. The layout is lovely and done with much care and artistry. I feel privileged to have visited your home and shared the story of your RR creation. Recreating memories on the layout and naming them too gives the experience a deeper meaning. Nice. This enriches the meaning of the hobby for me and entices me to get more involved in it. Good job! Tom
Yup, Tim, new music.
We freshened things up for the DVD and decided to post the revised version here too.
Enjoy the new tunes!
David
You're quite the craftsman David. The varied kit bashed industries, railroad structures and buildings are excellent. Like that little suburbia extension too (the bungalows really add charm). Thanks for sharing.
Al
hey david, I saw your video and it was great, when you told the folks that you started a small layout in a apartment, I have my in my own apartment and my is base on rt 66, but the name of my layout is called thisoldhwy, I keep my in my front room and thanking about building a 2nd layout with kato track, heres what I ask, what is the diffent between bachmann e-z track and kato n scale track, I'm thanking of building one out of inner oval track set v5, any thought what I can put it on, can card table work or cardboard works.
still my favorite video!!
Don't tell me your destroying your New Haven Railroad layout.
Hello all,
Thank you for the kind comments. I've not looked at this page for a long time, and I discovered that I have some long over-due Q&A to handle. I'll try to cover what I can:
Painting trees: Dark paint on light colored foam takes the best. I've tried painting dark-colored foam, but it doesn't work like you think it should. The dark foam, particularly green, shows through more than you would think. Still, yellows on dark trees create some nice sun highlights.
Upper deck: An upper deck would double the railroad space, but this layout wasn't designed for one, which would make it difficult to install without damaging the finished railroad. Best to do that type of work from the very beginning. I've built two layouts with multiple decks, and I probably won't do another one. No matter what you do, one deck or the other turns out to be difficult to work on.
Op session numbers: The railroad works the best with 6 operators. I've run with as many as 10 using 2 man crews on the switching jobs, but those small aisles get crowded pretty quickly. When I've had 5, I usually will dispatch the railroad, and then I also run the commuter trains.
Ops videos: We've done two of these. One was the final installment of the 4-weeks to a bigger layout series, and it featured running a train on the Bank Street switching job. It is probably still someplace in MR's collection of videos. We did a more recent video about running the River Job for MR Video Plus. Check out the Operations menu item under the How To tab on the tool bar above. Also, years ago, I did a full ops session video for the Dream Plan Build DVD series, but that was before the layout was complete.
Foam scenery starting point: I've built a lot of layouts this way, with the roadbed and track laid on a foam sub roadbed layer, and they all have held-up well. As long as you don't intend to install switch motors, starting with a foam layer to count as your base allows flexibility for easily putting in small valleys, rivers, and other scenic features below the track grade. Obviously deeper scenery features will require more planning.
Naugatuck 2.0: I wrote an article about what I would do with the layout now that I had more research. It was called something like "My New Haven Layout Rebooted" and it appeared in Model Railroad Planning 2011 on page 44.
Time to go: I've enjoyed the Naugatuck and getting to know the New Haven immensely. For more than a decade, It's been a great experience. However, when you're hobby is building model railroads, and you have finished the one living in your basement, you eventually get the itch to start over. The layout will live on for many years in articles, books, and videos, but for me, it's come time to begin a new undertaking – and I, for one, can't wait for the new adventure to begin.
Best wishes.
David
Nicely done, David. I particularly like the way you enhanced the fall-colored trees.
very nice layout enjoyed the video a lot would like to see a ops video on your layout as well
good work David the Old Naugatuk will come in handy I also model N Scale I am thinking about doing Ogden Utah looks like I need to do some research.
Great Job, David! I'm impressed! I never thought it was possible to put such detail and realism into an N scale set, but you sure did! I built a 3' x 5' suitcase layout for my father (he laid all the track and wired it) but I could barely put the cars on the track. Now he's gone and I've got it back. You've inspired me to get it running again and finish it.
Sometimes when I lose my inspiration during the building of my layout, I sit down and watch your video of the Naugatuck and start to build again. Thank you. Just a thought on painting the trees for fall colors…..wouldn't touching up the green trees with red, orange and yellow leaves at the tips work as well?