Labor time really depends on the complexity and details of the railroad. A simple oval on a sheet of plywood wired to a power pack with no scenery could be up and running in about one day, while a multi-train operation, with freight yards, a turntable, animation, custom structures, signals, lights and other details for a building as large as 30'x65', could take several months, even years to complete.

The time spent on benchwork and laying trackwork will not be as much as the C.A.D. planning, electrical/electronics, catenary, custom structures or realistic scenery would be. But don't be fooled, great railroads take thousands of hours to complete.

Here are a few examples of railroads built for our customers. Below each picture is a description including the amount of time it took to complete that particular railroad.

Lionel O scale Size 2.5x6 Labor time: 26 hours.

HO-2 Size 8x8 Railroad Labor time: 146 hours

HO-3 Size 8x8 w/signals Labor time: 386 hours

G Scale Size 12x14 Labor time: 882 hours

Z Scale Size 9x17 w/automatic block signals Labor time: 1,482 hours

HO Size 14x18 w/custom buildings and 3 control panels Labor time: 2,232 hours