Model railroad layouts plans

David’s been in touch with his advice on a starting a train layout:

“Good morning Alastair and all blog members!!!

I have held off sending my pics in for awhile now. I’ve been a quiet member of this blog for awhile and every now and then, I may make a comment.

I actually start my day off every morning at 5am with my coffee and Al’s blog. It’s quite enjoyable to see everyone’s “Masterpiece”, no matter what scale or even what level of “Craftmanship”.

When I open up Al’s blog every morning, it’s like being 10 years old again on Christmas morning, every time!!!

The anticipation of what’s to come my way when I see one’s Masterpiece, is always a delight.

Many of yalls ideas have been incorporated into my layout. ( HO scale in my case) I am really greatfull of the tutorials that many of our members include in this blog. Without them, I wouldn’t gotten as far as I have, with my layout, as yall will see in a moment.

A special “Thanks” goes out to Al for providing such a great wealth of information, with a blog like his.

With all that said, I am a huge fan of both the G scale and HO scale model trains.

This post, I will be referring to my HO layout only. At least once a day and sometimes all day on Sundays, I am a 10 yr old kid trapped in a 57 yr old body, located here in Hickman County Tennessee.

The Mrs and I purchased this house 2 years ago, with the sole purpose of having a room for a mid-sized HO scale layout….yes, we had to have a room solely for trains. We call this room, ” The Iron Horse” room. This is not my first layout however, it is my first layout of my own, inside a building.

As AL states, “it’s all about The Start”!!! For some, it’s about “money”, for some it could be the “space”, and for others, it could be the lack of “imagination”, and lastly, for some, it could be all about the “when do I have the time”.

Well, for those that are new to Al’s blog, I’m here to tell you, every member of this blog has talked about how easy it is to overcome all these “objections”.

I’ve read how many members have built things, for free, with odds and ends, just laying around the house.

I’ve seen layouts that hang from ceilings, fold down from walls and even doors.

And if you don’t have an imagination, that’s okay, just open Al’s blog every morning and the ideas flow in.

As far as “Time”…well, building a model train layout is not something one does to complete in a day, a week, or even a month. Sometimes it takes years to complete.

Fact is, a “Layout” is never complete. The fun and excitement comes from building “it”.

My uncle, in Pittsburgh, had an HO layout, in his huge basement, for over 40 yrs. He was always adding something. It was a sight to see for anyone to see, especially a 10 yr old kid.

We spent many hours in that basement, when we got to go visit. It was my inspiration to build one of my own, one day. Well, November of 2022 was my day to finally get started.

Yes, after a solid year and a half of being in this house, I finally got started!!! As many of us here have once said, “we always tend to over think things and make things complicated “, when in fact, it’s pretty darn easy to get started.

Maybe it’s the “fear” of “messing up”, or maybe, “I’m gonna do it wrong”, who knows?!?! Well, trust me and others here in this blog, it’s YOUR layout…build it how you want to do it!!!! Build it for your reasons and build it for your enjoyment!!! If you enjoy it when it’s complete, then thats all that counts.

Back to my layout… I take many o’ pictures of everything I do, and with the Mrs being so big into Scrapbooking and her new Cricut machine, she will one day have a nice novelty to leave behind for the family to enjoy.

I could not even begin to choose what pictures I wanted to send AL. Please keep in mind, this is just a “Start”. I hope everyone will enjoy!!! And for those of you that are still thinking about “getting started”…well, TODAY is the best time, not tomorrow!!! Why wait for tomorrow, when you can start having all the fun and excitement, TODAY?!?!

I didn’t want to spend much time with a narrative of my layout, as much as I did about how important it is to “actually get started”!!! As you will see, there are so many pics and videos, that the progress speaks for itself.

David, from Tennessee”

Starting a train layout – the bridge:

A big thanks to David – his narrative is a tidal wave of enthusiasm, and of course, he’s right because it helps when starting a train layout.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the Silly Discount bundle.

Ben’s been back in touch – he’s been having fun with his N scale switching layout:

“Hi Alastair,

Thanks again for earlier featuring my 6×12 N Scale layout set in Wyoming with locales based on the best-selling series of novels by author C.J. Box.

We retired to life on Lake Lanier GA in 2019 and was fascinated by the dense foliage in the state. I also began to see more and more articles about switching layouts.

When a family member was remodeling a home office I was offered a 2×4 table, which became the foundation of my switching layout.

My main goals and objects were:

1. Use as much spare track, buildings etc that I had lying around.

2. Experiment using photos incorporated in backdrops. Lots of photos!

3. Locale inspired by the real-life Jaemor Farms north of Gainesville GA.

4. Despite the 2×4 size, there are several scenes that give you an “Infinity and beyond” view including the farm itself, a “tunnel to nowhere” , a highway overpass and the Chattahoochee River.

Work began with experimenting track sections I had on hand. Ditto for the buildings which include the Jaemor Store, a local newspaper, finer and gas station along with an engine house. I “opened” the doors of the barn as one example then adding a picture of a barn interior from behind the doors.

Time setting is the fall, which makes for colorful scenery including the above referenced dense foliage so common to this part of the world.

The one departure from cost-saving was for the first time using DCC, starting with a Digitrax Power Supply and my first DCC engine. More will be added to the fleet. These early pics are DC engines used to test track and operating potential.

So far it’s been a lot of fun, a new learning experience and overall a model railroad “Science experiment”

We sure have a fun hobby and hope you can share my latest effort with your readers.

Brian
Gainesville GA”

A big thanks to Ben for sharing his N scale switching layout – a great way to have some fun and use up spare track.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming though. It’s so quiet I may even put feet up for a few days.

And if today is the day you get started on your layout just like Ben, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Remember, it’s the start that stops most people. Don’t let that be you.

Best

Al

PS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the Silly Discount bundle.

Jon’s been in touch with a theme that keeps on popping up for good reason: Where do i start when making a model train layout?

“Al,

You can over-plan, over-think, and over-engineer a layout. I tried one of the layout programs and did not like it. I tried a similar program years ago for a garden shed and found it to be overly complex and cumbersome.

My solution: I had two nice folding plastic 6’ tables and bought a third one ($40).

I took all the track I had from two sets and just started laying the track out, jigsaw-puzzle style.

My first complete layout is the “tri-oval” shown here. Not dramatic but it’s a start. Just getting the turnouts wired today.

I have room for another table (to make a 6 x 12 overall) and leftover track. I’ll continue to experiment until I find a layout I like and get it operating properly. Then move on to the landscape, the scenery, and the accessories.

Yours is a wonderful resource for this hobby. Keep up the good work.

Jon”

Now on to Barry:

“Hi Al,

Thought you might be interested in my modelling skills, I started on my latest layout after my Daughter left us to go and live in Australia.

I already had layout 6’x2’ in a small room upstairs so I moved into her room which was some 18’ longer and decided to add to it.

So I bought two 6’x3’ boards and started to build.

The layout of old was called Meadow Falls and is a small end of line station and surrounding countryside.

I decide to join it to the larger layout I was building so that it would run to a small station at the other end of the layout with a small station and turntable, the gauge for both being N Gauge.

Then I when on to my main board which I am still working on but have at present got Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my Right hand so it is making the job very difficult

The Mill is based on the one in Battlesbridge, Essex but the remainder of the layout is form my imagination and with the help of input from my Daughters, hence the riding stables.

I still have a lot of work to do as the far end at the left has scenery and a stone etc to build. But until I have had and operation on my wrist it will all have to wait a while.

I run mainly Graham Farish and Dapol on a DCC unit by GaugeMaster on the extension , but Meadow Falls is DC. The track and points are all Kato.

Hope you have enjoyed my pics if the want to see more please contact me.

Keep up the good work it really helps us to get so enthusiasm to continue with our work.

Yours Sincerely

Barry”

A big thanks to Barry and Jon.

I did like Jon’s approach – making a start doesn’t have to be fancy.

David’s post is also a good example if this:

Starting a train layout.

In fact, thinking about it, if you ever find yourself wondering ‘Where do I start when making a model train layout’ the answer is usually with the track plan.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

PPS HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.