The Model Home of Beverly Hills: A definitive history

I was blessed with this cozy little first generation Beverly Hills home in late June 2010.
Of the handful of original model home floor plans this was the base model, The Beverly.
When built in 1972 it cost around twelve grand. I'm paying...slightly more than that.

The under roof area just beyond the carport would have been the garage. They enclosed it
at time of construction, turning this 1BR into a 2BR. It's also got a Florida Room in the rear
which looks out onto a county right-of-way (below) which I keep mowed so it's nice to look out at.

My plan from the start was to use as much contiguous space in the house as possible for the layout.
As d'Arcy and I went around looking at houses (we saw over 40 in all; this one being the first)
it was always foremost in our minds how the layout would fit.

Some months after moving in (3 days before Thanksgiving 2010 to be exact)
the design process began. The entire layout was planned 'live' on the floor,
using actual switches and oak tag cut to size for the track.

I set up a jig for the curves, keeping them at a 24" radius. It's not optimal
but the space is so small it's the largest radius curve I could get away with.

I began with the yard (in the Florida Room) by laying out switches to get a configuration going,
then filling in trackage with the cardstock cutout straights and curves.

Dad built the 10 stall roundhouse in the 70's. The roof sections come off and it's all lighted.

I've left 18" on the perimeter for an aisle.

There's also an aisle down the center, with a duck-under to enter.
The front tracks start dividing here into two levels.

From there I just kept working my way around the house, keeping trackage to a minimum
for an optimal scenery-to-trackage ratio, and keeping operation in mind as well.
I've planned it so up to five operators and a dispatcher can stay busy running it.

The layout will be DC operated, as I have way too many engines to convert to DCC.
They're also from the 70s and I've been told that conversion is a nightmare.
I've no regrets. I love DC operation. It's so hands-on.

An interesting feature will be how I span from island to island and provide walk-through access. There'll be two foot-high sections that pulley up to the ceiling.

This is the main terminal at East Willis. There's an escape track built into it and that empty area will house a second turntable, so engines can pull a train in and out without having to back up all the way to the yard.

The towns of Dover (left) and Rye (right), each with their own station.
Passenger operation incorporates three stations (including the main terminal)
and the design also allows for repeated looping between the above two towns,
without having to end at the point at East Willis.

I spent several days on all this and kept it this way for months as I lived
with it and checked all the routes. Several adjustments were made,
including the addition of a double mainline in a couple of areas.

Also added after this were two full yards (for storage & staging) on a
lower level at Rye (above right) and one under the main terminal at
East Willis (down the hall to the left).

The black duck tape in the image above indicates a wall.
This was in the design from the start, affording privacy for the layout
by constructing a hallway at the main entrance. (Everyone loves my hall.)

The upper level will be at 58" (a nice eye-level view) and the lower at 44".
It'll all be floating (shelf style) and have a nice open feel to it. Custom
step stools of various heights will be fashioned for children to use.


Here's the final layout design...

And here's an overall view of the benchwork in 3rd PlanIt, a 3D track planning software package.
I haven't gone any further with this, but the software allows you to lay track and actually run
around the layout, seeing it from the cab's view perspective. Pretty neat.

Next I turned my attention to the renovation of the home.
But first I carefully disassembled and marked all my trackwork and templates.

First to be done was the bathroom. I took my time and spent three months slowly working on it.
Here's the before. A typical 70's era bath: tiled floors, mirrored medicine cabinet and pink formica vanity.

Yuck!

I love a red door. And yes, it's absolutely true.

      

I went Victorian/Deco with it, and probably have one of the nicest bathrooms in all of old Beverly Hills.

Next came the kitchen. Again I took my time with it. I spent a couple months on this room.

Here's a before shot...

Ian and his best friend Frankie helped me remove the linoleum.
What a grueling job scraping was!

Then...I did my first-ever tile job on it. I used 6" tiles, which work well in the small space.

And here's how it turned out.

The finishing touch on the kitchen was adding dad's Hellgate Bridge to it.
Above it is a piece he did when he was young (his initials, of course).
It's wood on a leather background. It's so dad; I love it.

Then I turned my attention to the rest of the house.
First came the removal of all the old 70's carpet and the tack strips...another grueling job.

Once again, Frankie and Ian were on the job!

Then painting began. I made all the walls charcoal. From the layout up won't be seen,
only underneath. I chose this color cause it works well with the laminate flooring.

Next came construction of the front hallway and curved wall at the entryway.
The other end of the hall also has a curved wall (hinged to create a large door) that
essentially closes off the entire house when you walk in. It's a real conversation piece.

Then I drywalled over all that ugly paneling down the front hall (and eventually all the rest
throughout the Florida Room), painted the hall and started on the laminate flooring.

This phase of construction went very quickly. I had the rest of the house done in a couple of weeks.

I've got the hallway lit with a string of rope lights. It lights the hallway beautifully.
The cutout (above left) was a window between the living room and garage.
Eventually this will become a 60 gallon salt water aquarium, which will be
a real centerpiece when installed.

Here, I'm figuring what the grade will be from the yard room across the huge 5' span over to the main
terminal at East Willis. This will be a bridge, possibly a steel girder bridge similar to the Williamsburg.

Next I closed in my kitchen with a pocket door. As the focal point of this 'model' home
is the model I wanted to hide this otherwise residential space. But it didn't take much
to realize that since pocket doors come prehung in their own frame it could easily
be hinged, allowing me to open the kitchen up at will for entertaining.

I've no other images of the 'yard' room drywalled and painted but it was also fully paneled.
Now it's fully nice. Side note: there's a step-down into what was the Florida room. I'm going
to be building a wicked curved ramp from the lip to the back door. Kids will love running
up and down that! (Me too.) ;) That's actually the next item up for me with this project,
which has unfortunately been stalled for a couple of years due to finances. But God's
working on that one real quick right now. (Thank you Lord.)

On the wall to the right (below) the vertical 2x3 is the start of [what is] my third
curved wall in the house. The first is upon entrance, the second is the large
Dwall (coming up next) and then this one which serves as a view block.

And here's the somewhat completed kitchen dwall and curved wall. See that light out?
Yeah, me too. It happened between removing the fixture to put the curved wall in and
replacing it. Darned if I know what happened, but one day I'll take it back down and
test it fully. That one socket is now dead.

And now for the Master Dwall. Here's the simple way I roughed out the curve.

Train tracks...why not?

And here's the wall installed from inside the front hall. It's not complete yet but it
certainly is function. My plan is to construct a tunnel portal at the very end of the hall.
The face of the wall on this side will have a mural on it. And I'm considering having
a train approaching type soundtrack activated upon opening the front door.
(The red velvet is where the aquarium will be.)

I've not yet decided on the image but I do have a composite started to choose from.

Here's a shot of the Master Dwall on the inside. Again, there will be two pullied
sections crossing the span. That open area up top is the one foot of space that they'll
occupy. One of those sections will be a massive bridge, similar in nature to the
Williamsburgh. And there's that busted socket again! "Argh!"

Here's another view of all the walls and dwalls. This was from Christmas 2012.

And speaking of Christmas, I actually had my tree up for two full years.
It was my living room light. Below is a holiday shot from the next year, when I couldn't
take it anymore. I had to play with some trains. So I created a makeshift shelf to
play around with. Ultimately this will be the feel of it, with trains at eye level and
others below.

You might noticed the dashed lines on the floor in the above shot. That's actually the
last thing I'd done on this project, two New Years Eves ago. (Or was it three? I don't
know anymore.) I transferred all the benchwork edges to the floor as a guide.
I spent hours on it.

Here's a shot of the East Willis hall, which is the main terminus. It'll fit several whole
trains above and have a sizeable staging yard below. I don't have the numbers at hand
but I believe between both staging yard I'll have room enough for up to a hundred cars.
(And I've got more than double that.)

Right before I left for New York in June I finally got back and did something more to
the house itself (non-layout related). The gutted closet at the end of the hall is now nearly
complete (no pics yet). It's a built-in, lighted bookcase with a small bar in the center.
It's looking real pretty.

A dear friend (one of my clients' wives) gave me all the old halogen track
lights they'd taken out of their office space years ago. Four ten foot strips (not shown
is another full set that will go down the hall at East Willis) and two three-light units.
These will be in addition to the flourescent lighting over the whole layout,
to highlight certain scenes.

And just my luck, they cover every bit of the layout! It's easily a thousand dollars worth
of lighting. I'll be hanging a brass plate somewhere in Sue's honor. I am so blessed.

Alright, now these aren't mine, of course. They're of George Sellios's layout up in New Hampshire.
He's been my idol since I was a teen. But this is the calibre I'm going for with my layout; true
museum quality. Heck, I already own most all of his structures, so I'm off to a good start.

(Thanks Dad...)

And with about a hundred engines, a couple hundred freight cars,
and dozens of passenger cars, I've also got a helluva fleet to run.

And that, as they say, is all folks. For now.

Hope you've enjoyed the tour.