N Gauge Forum

This thought just occurred to me... If I won the Euromillions tonight (£157 million ! :goggleeyes:), what sort of layout would I build ?

Now this is assuming that all the fuss has died down, the DB9 is on order, your mansion has been decorated by some triple barrel named art student and your Caribbean cruise is a distant memory...

Would you be happy playing with your current layout ? Maybe you would build a scale model of Clapham Junction ? Or perhaps you might ditch N gauge altogether now you have loads of space ?  :o

I personally would have a purpose built building in my grounds, split into two sections - US and UK and then have two layouts in each section... US N & HO and UK OO & N. I can never make my mind up so now i'll have 4 layouts to keep me busy ! (in between classic car rallying and sightseeing in my massive US camper...)

What would you do ?

Not tell anyone to start with.
Pay off those little debts we all seem to have and then modest house with seperate 4 car garage with the floor above as a train room /office/den for my hobbies.
Would stick with N and Nn3

A big Z gauge one, always liked it despite its detractors.

Also get a new pair of chinos and a Leica Monochrom.

Then think about the rest of the dosh. Maybe hire Lord Sugar
as a butler.

I would have to have free standing building with a massive orbital layout and in the middle workbench and workstation, just remember to buy your tickets, you have to be in it to win it,,,,,

A big n gauge layout from one end of the large house to the other (i always have the right numbers the machine does not pick them?)
Kevin 141

With that money I'd buy some of the real things! :laugh3:

Quote from: Tank on June 25, 2013, 06:26:50 PM
With that money I'd buy some of the real things! :laugh3:

The 9F 'Black Prince' will be up for sale after it's boiler rebuild... That's pretty high on my shopping list !

To start with I'd pay for the construction of the bridge in Loughborough linking the north and south parts of the preserved GCR ( http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/2013/06/bridge-to-the-future-fundraising-appeal/ (http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/2013/06/bridge-to-the-future-fundraising-appeal/) ) and the completion of the Mountsorrel line ( http://www.mountsorrelrailway.org.uk (http://www.mountsorrelrailway.org.uk) ) then I'd buy myself a couple of real first generation diesels. I'd also chuck the day job and become a full time modeller. Ah, if only...

The only difference between men and boys is the size (& price) of their toys  :-[

- some 7 1/4" stuff (including layout)
- NS 3737
- a nice BR standard (overhauled by mr Riley) for the NYMR

So I'm likely to be a few pounds short already  :'(

until then I'll stick with my N-scale and my self build track  :laugh:

Quote from: 4x2 on June 25, 2013, 04:02:57 PM
What would you do ?

Have the butler do the track cleaning  :beers:

Alan

i have just added £157,000,000 woth to my shopping cart on hatton's website...  so it would be easy to spend...

Firstly no DB9 or any other modern "supercar", they're all rubbish! I do however have a list of about 20 or so classic supercars already waiting for the cash ;)

No mansion either, who needs all those rooms? Big spacious three-bed in its own grounds with the biggest detached garage you've ever seen (for all those supercars remember? ;) ) with a second storey - in there would be an N gauge layout that would make Pete Waterman's O gauge layout look like a Hornby Trackmat  :D

Caribbean cruise? Nah, too hot and nowt to do, I'd be bored after two days! ;D I do agree with you on the massive camper though, just spend as long as I cared driving round Europe seeing, well, everything really! ;)

As for trains, apart from the layout mentioned above, Money would be set aside for a full HST set when they get retired from service which would promptly be converted back to Valenta power and painted in Intercity Swallow livery, plus I'd need my own siding and trainshed to store it in  8)

Hope my numbers come up, can't wait to start ballasting a couple of thousand feet of Peco's finest! :laugh:


Paul

PS: Forgot to mention, we'd need a hangar at an airport somewhere for Clare to store her own personal Boeing 707 in :D

Quote from: bluedepot on June 25, 2013, 08:54:53 PM
i have just added £157,000,000 woth to my shopping cart on hatton's website...  so it would be easy to spend...

I think you're their second biggest order then behind Newportnobby  :smiley-laughing:


Paul

Quote from: Sprintex on June 25, 2013, 09:00:25 PM

Quote from: bluedepot on June 25, 2013, 08:54:53 PM
i have just added £157,000,000 woth to my shopping cart on hatton's website...  so it would be easy to spend...

I think you're their second biggest order then behind Newportnobby  :smiley-laughing:


Paul

:laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:

dave  :thumbsup:

Quote from: Sprintex on June 25, 2013, 08:59:31 PM
Firstly no DB9 or any other modern "supercar", they're all rubbish! I do however have a list of about 20 or so classic supercars already waiting for the cash ;)

No mansion either, who needs all those rooms? Big spacious three-bed in its own grounds with the biggest detached garage you've ever seen (for all those supercars remember? ;) ) with a second storey - in there would be an N gauge layout that would make Pete Waterman's O gauge layout look like a Hornby Trackmat  :D

Caribbean cruise? Nah, too hot and nowt to do, I'd be bored after two days! ;D I do agree with you on the massive camper though, just spend as long as I cared driving round Europe seeing, well, everything really! ;)

As for trains, apart from the layout mentioned above, Money would be set aside for a full HST set when they get retired from service which would promptly be converted back to Valenta power and painted in Intercity Swallow livery, plus I'd need my own siding and trainshed to store it in  8)

Hope my numbers come up, can't wait to start ballasting a couple of thousand feet of Peco's finest! :laugh:


Paul

PS: Forgot to mention, we'd need a hangar at an airport somewhere for Clare to store her own personal Boeing 707 in :D

The DB9, Mansion and the cruise were just to set the scene.... Not my kind of choices ! I'm a big Ford fan as you may remember - i'd be looking for the following....

Mk1 Lotus Cortina
RS500
RS200
Escort Cossie (big wing)
Mk 1 Escort RS1800
Supervan 3
That amazing cossie powered, anti-lag, 4wd Mk6 Fiesta
F750 pick up....

oh and a Large air conditioned warehouse to house my collection !  8)

Apart from my Ford list, which contains most of what you already listed :D

RS200
RS500 in Moonstone Blue
Escort Cossie (early big turbo model)
MKII RS1800

there are plenty other makes that I'd be hunting for:-

DeTomaso Pantera GTS (Ford powered anyway!)
Porsche 930 Flatnose Cabriolet
Lamborghini Countach QV5000
Lamborghini Miura S
MG Metro 6R4 (roadgoing version)
MG Metro 6R4 (rally-prepped and used as such)


I've tried designing my dream layout on Anyrail funnily enough, but it keeps saying I've exceeded the 50 pieces of track limit for the free version. I only needed to add another 6,452 pieces to that 50 as well  :(


Paul

There is a rather nice big house not too far from where I live with a helicopter landing pad and tennis courts as well as horse stables and large garage.

The stables would be converted to a fully insulated and heated railway building(we're not talking railway room here) or possibly just build one on the tennis court(don't do tennis),filled with n gauge layout and a hi tech work space complete with lathes and stuff like that,garages to house my Jaaags,XJ,XFR and new coupe thats just come out plus my series 1 Escort RS Turbo,Audi R8 and perhaps a Porsche Panamera(I do like ugly cars) and also a new,large purpose built building to rehouse our model railway club whereby the members subs would be reinvested in actual club layouts instead of rent.I would also need somewhere to put my sportsbikes as well but seeing as they are only smallish,I think a place inside the house would be appropriate,kinda like Carl Fogarty's championship winning bikes that he keeps in his entrance hall.

I might need a top if the range VW Transporter van for the exhibition layout as well,no motorhome for me,don't do camping.

Ooh,and before I forget,I'd probably make the bloke who owns Mercig Studios quite wealthy with my commisions as well as Legomanbiffo and Paul Chetter.Those sound decoders will need to be bought from somewhere now,won't they?

Its all but a dream but its a nice thought all the same.

Pete
:Class31: :Class37: :NGaugersRule:

I'd like to copy a US N scale layout called Moffat Road - it's just epic !

Video Rio Grande in the Rockies - Model Railroader Magazine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7xgLqTr7K8#)

mmmmmmmm

firstly a nice BIG cheque for Help for Heroes,

then another for XH558 to keep her flying,

then a nice big railway room built, and the joy of not having to worry if I can afford that new rolling stock from Hattons, and maybe some custom runs from Bachmann.

and I suppose I could even manage a few bob to make sure this forum can continue.

cruises - nahh
super cars - nahh
mansions - nahh

just my few pennyworth

Well, I've never bought a lottery ticket - I don't gamble.  But let's suppose that, say, a mega-rich uncle I didn't know I had popped his clogs, or a Nigerian oil minister turned out to have been real, so it wasn't a 419 scam after all...

What would I do with £157,000,000?  Well, to start with, I think that much money would scare the pants off me.  And I couldn't in all conscience, keep much of it.  Keep/invest (ethically!) enough to 'see me out', and to live fairly comfortably, but then...  Well, my dear friend Dr Christine Orton is organising HPV vaccines for girls in Kenya:

http://www.educationforlife.net/archives/1248 (http://www.educationforlife.net/archives/1248)

Something like that - or several somethings like that - would seem like the best thing to do.  Oh, and sort out the church spire, and get the place renovated, redeveloped, redecorated, and generally fit to enable the next generation or three of the congregation to serve the city (whilst remaining strictly anonymous).

Yes, I probably would like a house with a railway room, and enough space to build a better N gauge railway - or railways - something Japanese, something Canadian, and something 'post-privatisation' British.  Not necessarily all that big, but big enough to be interesting operationally, without being overwhelming when it came to building or maintaining it.

But seriously, I'd feel terribly guilty about spending that sort of money on luxuries for me, when there's so much preventable misery in the world.

Build a layout ?

No - just buy MINIATUR WUNDERLAND.   :bounce: :bounce:

Quote from: Tank on June 25, 2013, 06:26:50 PM
With that money I'd buy some of the real things! :laugh3:

Me too. Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway would be a super layout to own!  :D

In reality few if any of us would actually be able to spend that amount of money even if giving sizeable chuinks away to friends and family, so I think it goes without saying that a fair amount would be donated to whatever charitable causes were closest to us ;)

I think once I had the modest house, extensively stocked garage and all the fripperies I'd want, plus made sure those dearest to me were suitably catered for, I'd struggle to know what to do with the rest! Extravagant lifestyle doesn't interest me in the least :no:


Paul

Hmm? What would I buy/build?

Various cars - Mustangs, Corvettes, Plymouth Prowler

A modest sized house with a glass wall into the garage so the cars can be seen

A tourist attraction like Pecorama to showcase model railways in all scales.

A production facility in the UK so model manufacturers don't have to rely on Chinese factories and batch production.

Michael

Forgot to mention, a trip in Branson's space ship
and a flight in a MiG 21 in Russia. With that sort
of dosh you could bribe the pilot to defect
and keep the MiG... :D

That would beat some old yank muscle car...

Quote from: davieb on June 25, 2013, 09:10:46 PM

Quote from: Sprintex on June 25, 2013, 09:00:25 PM

Quote from: bluedepot on June 25, 2013, 08:54:53 PM
i have just added £157,000,000 woth to my shopping cart on hatton's website...  so it would be easy to spend...

I think you're their second biggest order then behind Newportnobby  :smiley-laughing:

Paul

:laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:  :laughabovepost:

dave  :thumbsup:

So even a small win would come in handy :help:
Anyway, I reckon I'm the only one who has fessed up to my total orders :angel:

For me I would have several rooms turned into railways, HS1, GWR, Swiss and American. Plus a nice garden railway.

Quote from: GWR-Kris on July 01, 2013, 12:47:25 PM
For me I would have several rooms turned into railways, HS1, GWR, Swiss and American. Plus a nice garden railway.

Ah scrap that I will just get a full size loco, maybe a new build of the Silver Link.

Quote from: GWR-Kris on July 01, 2013, 12:49:16 PM
Ah scrap that I will just get a full size loco, maybe a new build of the Silver Link.

Fair enough ... but there are 6 A4s left in existence... why not resurrect an extinct LNER class (preferably a Gresley  :D) instead ?

Quote from: MikeDunn on July 01, 2013, 01:12:23 PM

Quote from: GWR-Kris on July 01, 2013, 12:49:16 PM
Ah scrap that I will just get a full size loco, maybe a new build of the Silver Link.

Fair enough ... but there are 6 A4s left in existence... why not resurrect an extinct LNER class (preferably a Gresley  :D) instead ?

I can do both lol, but think a new A4 would be my preference.

We in this house have had this conversation quite a lot over the last weeks...what with all the big roll-overs and that special £80M one and the £1M every month....

We sometimes get quite into the debate and then....realise we ain't won  :-[  :(

Anyway, in the spirit of this thread....

Ferrari 458 (in blue, to match my Fiesta which would be restored to better than factory finish ;))
Nissan GTR
Arial Atom V8

And for the lady, to keep her red original Mini ("Poppy") company...

1967 ford mustang GT500 "Eleanor". Yep, that is her choice, will have to ask one of the two owners in the country to part with theirs)

When I have done that, I will need to track down "Yasmin", her old red 2001 reg Ford KA with a full-length sunroof. Not just any example. THAT example....

So in comparison to the car hunt, my dream layouts should be easy.....

N gauge representations of the lines out of Waterloo...including Waterloo, Vauxhall, a version of Clapham Junction, Wimbledon and Raynes Park (that one would be as exact as possible  :D)

and

Paddington to Temple Meads, with representations of Paddington, Old Oak Common, North Pole (complete with link to the old Waterloo terminal), Reading, Didcot (yep, rail center too) and Temple Meads.

On second thoughts, that little lot might need some assistance to design (DCC and computers, help!), build, run and maintain.

Think you guys would be gainfully employed if you wanted  :worried:  :D  ;D

Skyline2uk

This is a game Mrs mereman and me play often.

I would have a large collection of Motorbikes (about 10 at the last count) a real traction engine also a field marshal tractor  and large layout.

Not to mention Whiskey on tap :D

Edit: almost forgot I would buy the rights to a MMO called City of Heroes and start that running again.

Mike

I like cars but generally the Ferraris, Porsches Mercs dont do it for me. Give me a few decent layout transporters and a few American cars.

To house these and the layouts I would have a large rectangular building added onto the living accommodation with access off an Atrium / main entrance.

This building would then have a row of garage doors to house all these vehicles with plenty of space inside around each vehicle. Beyond the garage area would be an umber of double doors into the railway room so that layouts could easily be loaded into the vehicles in the warm and dry.

The railway room would be a large room partially divided with demount-able partitions separating the various layouts. Somewhere near the Atrium hallway there would be a proper English style pub like bar and pool table.

Living accommodation needs a little more thought!!

Oh well time to stop dreaming and get back to work!!!

Oh dear , still no imagination on this thread. How about a Bauhaus
minimalist dwelling with Linn Audio. Buy trainsets and chuck them
out when your're fed up with them. Get a humvee with 50 cal mg
mounted to keep the riff raff in order and Dannii Minogue as a
sort of housemaid.  :D

I love spending imaginary millions, I ought to buy a ticket sometime so that I have a chance of spending them for real.

A property like this http://www.wowhaus.co.uk/2013/05/27/holiday-let-two-bedroom-apartment-in-the-1930s-art-deco-manor-road-garage-in-east-preston-west-sussex/#more-5225 (http://www.wowhaus.co.uk/2013/05/27/holiday-let-two-bedroom-apartment-in-the-1930s-art-deco-manor-road-garage-in-east-preston-west-sussex/#more-5225) would suit me.  Not a flat, but the whole thing, ideally complete with a workshop (including four-post car lift, lathe, pillar drill and other machinery) and space to keep several cars plus accommodation including a large railway room.

You would probably find all of these parked either outside or inside:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C396005 (http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C396005)
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C401879 (http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C401879)
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C365019 (http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C365019)
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C394555 (http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C394555)

And a selection of other cars and bikes both old and new, including something like this:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C389429 (http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C389429)

I'd also head over to Savile Row for some nice suits as I'm a sucker for a good suit (yes, I'm sure you can get suits that are just as good elsewhere but it would be nice to be able to do it at least once).

There is also a bridge I'd buy for the GCR (or some other large contribution towards bridging the gap) and I'm sure the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway would appreciate some financial help to extend to the north.

As for layouts, the one I'd like to build is Birmingham Moor Street in the 1950s and '60s.  I've seen a P4 version of Moor St which was glorious.  My version would include the through lines to Snow Hill so I could have the Blue Pullman, GWR Kings, Westerns and other large express locos/trains plus local steam and DMU services.

There's much more I'd like to do, including join a gun club and buy some muzzle loading pistols.  Whilst I like the idea of rifles I've discovered that I can't shoot with one.  But muzzle loading pistols are great fun; lots of noise, smoke and mess.  While I have no interest in shooting anything living you can bet that if the country is ever invaded by sheets of cheap A3 paper with circles on them you just hand me a pistol and they won't stand a chance  :no:

I just had this crazy idea for a 'Thunderbird 2' style underground garage...

Imagine you decided that today you want car No4, so in your grand hallway you open your secret panel and push No4, the under ground the conveyor belt starts and picks up your choice and brings it to the lift. As it approaches the surface your 17th century fountain slides to one side and your car rises to the level ready for launch !

I'm not sure £157,000,000 would be enough if you include the mansion and the pink Rolls... :D   

I would just employ a full-time assistant to tidy my tools, keep my growing mountain of unmade kits, electronic components, brass wire and half-used pieces of plasticard in order.   And brew up frequently!

Maybe like a nurse in an operating theatre........razor saw..........soldering iron...........scalpel.....!
Cheers

Jon   ;)