MRH $500 Contest - 5
This is one area where the budget really bit hard on the real-
istically-doable options. Even a starter DCC system from most
of the major manufacturers easily eats almost half the contest
budget. Analog DC is the option which best fit the budget cri-
teria. That said, at eBay prices, a Bachmann E-Z Command DCC
system potentially could be substituted, if needs and whims
really required one. Whichever system is chosen, the wiring is
easily accommodated by less than 6’ of DC power cable, and a
microswitch to handle the turnout frog switching.
Structures and scenery
Structures and scenery are another area where spending time
instead of money can pay dividends in improved modeling
skills and the wow-factor impression. While the three car-spot
Chicago Hoist and Fork warehouse shown was kitbashed from
a Walthers Buds Trucking Co kit, a sheet of styrene and some
foamcore could easily achieve a comparable result.
Another alternative is using some of the cost-effective
card structure kits available from KingMill Enterprises and
Scalescenes. Whatever the preferred option, a few lengths of
styrene I-beam, brass wire, and scale corrugated metal can
form an effective scratchbuilt awning. The chain-link fence
is simply brass wire soldered together to form a frame and
draped with $2 worth of decorative plastic mesh.
Bottom-line
So how did I do on the budget? The layout itself, (everything
including benchwork, lighting, track, structures and scenery,
throttle and wiring) ended up at around 50% of the budget.
The rest was taken up by the locomotive, freight cars, and a
small “miscellaneous expenses” fund to cover minor extras,
consumables, or budget overruns. Without the savings
Qty Description
Cost each Total
2 60”x40” x 3/16” Foamcore sheet (white)
$20.00 $40.00
1 30”x40” 2.5mm matte board (white)
$5.00 $5.00
3 (PECO) Code 83 flextrack
$5.57 $16.71
1 (PECO) Code 83 LH #5 turnout
$27.25 $27.25
1 PECO SL14 pins
$2.87 $2.87
1 Rail Joiners
$4.60 $4.60
1 Caboose Ind N scale 218S ground throw
$3.25 $3.25
1 Analog DC Controller (MRC Railpower 1300)
$40.00 $40.00
1 Walthers “Buds Trucking” bkgnd structure
$35.00 $35.00
1 Fine rock ballast
$10.00 $10.00
1 Woodland scenics mixed turf
$6.30 $6.30
1 Heki “pull-apart” foliage matting
$15.00 $15.00
2 DC Power cable
$1.00 $2.00
1 2-light 50W Halogen lighting kit
$15.00 $15.00
2 20W Phillips MR12 Halogen “brillantline” bulbs
$8.00 $16.00
2 “Fiddly Bits” spraypaint (1x Matte Black + 1x Lt Blue)
$6.95 $13.90
1 Atlas GP38 CB&Q (DCC ready)
$80.33 $80.33
1 Altas Wide-vision caboose
$24.00 $24.00
1 40' Red Caboose tankcar kit
$17.27 $17.27
1 40' Red Caboose flatcar kit
$13.57 $13.57
1 Athearn 40' HiCube Burlington boxcar
$13.56 $13.56
1 LBF MILW boxcar
$13.27 $13.27
Total Cost
$414.86
Minus Trains
$161.99
Layout Only
$252.87
The Parts list/Budget is as follows:
Table 1: The “Chicago Fork” levered eBay to come in under the tar-
get $500 limit. I purchased all layout benchwork, trackage, lighting,
paint, and wiring items new from local stores. However, the rolling
stock and locomotive came from eBay. This saved money and also
provided items not available locally. For the contest, I set prices by
summing the 3-highest and 3-lowest price auctions for each item,
and averaged the result. The $85 remaining from the budget actu-
ally forms a “Misc/consumables” fund to accommodate variances in
eBay auction prices, minor tool upgrades, extra X-acto blades, etc.
MRH-Sep 2013
