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The Budget Model Railways 60cm x 23.5cm floating shelf layout challenge

Concept:
To produce a layout of any scale/gauge on a 60cm x 23.5 cm floating shelf. Thickness of the shelf does not matter but must not exceed the 60cm x 23.5cm dimensions. 
It must have at least one point/ switch and have as much operating potential as possible, ie not a single track diorama.
​Any type of track inc pre ballasted is acceptable. Ovals are acceptable if they can be fitted in, as long as there is at least one point/switch.
It must have two buildings/structures as a minimum, but this can include sheds, signal boxes etc.
Backscene can be any height. 
The fiddle yard must not exceed 60cm in length or be more than two road, it must be separate  from the scenic section, i.e. no 4ft boards with only the 60 x 23 section as a layout.
The layout should include as much second hand and recycled material and features as possible.
The objective of the challenge is to inspire people to have a go at making a micro shunting layout, especially those who have not built a layout or micro layout before, and to do so on a limited budget. 
Whilst I will be interested to see any layouts outside of the criteria, only those that meet the criteria will be featured on the website.
There is no prize or reward, or ranking 1st 2nd 3rd etc, its just a fun challenge to inspire people to enjoy making a micro layout.
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Doug Simpson - Orange Belt Railway 2.0

19/6/2025

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Picture
I had this piece of foam that is 7” x 24”, so I decided to build this HOn30 layout for the challenge. This will eventually be a module for a larger switching layout that is basically a continuation of my 16” x 24” Orange Belt Railway layout. That layout models a Florida orange grove with similar scenery and feel. This will act as the destination, (Florida’s Natural Growers) a citrus processing facility. Citrus arrives via wooden reefers and gets processed into juice. The citrus peels, oils, and rinds, that are left over from the juice processing, are distilled and made into various solvents. These solvents are then shipped via old wooden tank cars.
The structures are kitbashed/scratch built, the track I had on hand, rolling stock and locomotive are from my other layout, backdrop is made from cardboard boxes I had and a photo I created using chatGPT, the hardboard for the fascia was shipping material that came with our treadmill and I had more than enough scenery leftover from other projects to complete this. Very simple and inexpensive little layout.
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