Model railroad layouts plans

John’s been back in touch with an update – have a look at his HO scale liftbridge:

“Good morning Alistair,

Moving my layout is progressing and it’s time for an update.

Since I had to cut up the entire layout, I decided to use the same method I used when building the layout in the basement area of the house, which is to do one section at a time and “connect” the dots as each in completed.

This move required going up 3 stories, taking it to the attic (as I said to friends, might as well moved it to the moon, given how hard the job was).

Nothing I did below is fitting in the room upstairs as was originally done, so lots of module modifications are being done, and a complete re-arrangement of where everything was is required.

One casualty is the rather soring mountains that I liked when I had the headroom to include them in the basement (sigh) they had to get cut down. On top of that, I’m adding a few new modules, an example shown is the old wooden ore mine in the foreground. 

I’m taking an extraordinary amount of time laying the track, and this time using code 100 rail.

The last version of this layout was plagued with derailments which I traced to my not paying enough attention to good workmanship when installing the track.

I’m running a precision level, and NMRA gauge over every inch of track and solder joint, and frankly have found several turnouts (points) that were way out of gauge, no wonder they were a source of derailments!

Anyway, one wall is on the way to completion, probably 2/3 done, some modules are still not secured as I have to lay track behind them.

The schematic diagram has been modified, the lower left track coming off the bridge module is now exposed, and is where the wooden mine structure is located. 

The picture showing the right end of the bridge valley is my work area. Trains will go by but other than simple painting there will be little or no scenery there. 

Another feature is the lift bridge. I had to work out a way to get to the Airconditioning unit behind the wall, so made the bridge.

It actually works and allows access to the closet/AC room behind the doors. That bridge was constructed (OK, I admit out of scale) with some old Gilbert Erector Set stuff I had from 50 years ago.

The actual train track portion is a couple of HO Central Valley Pratt Truss single track bridges kit-bashed into a longer span 2 track bridge.

Hope all our modeler friends across the world will have, or had a great holiday season. I’ll be sending in more updates as time permits.

John from Baltimore”

A huge big thanks to John.

It looks like he’s had lots of fun – especially with his lift bridge.

If you want to see John’s last post, it’s here.

You can see his complete journey in the Hall of Fame.

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

Mike’s been back in touch with more of his fantastic scratch builds:

“Good morning Al:

Here are more of my scratch builds.

The church and Merchantile are for my cousin in the Midwest. The others are on my small layout.

Everything except windows and doors are materials I have in my wife’s art room art room. Until I can figure out a jig to make the windows, I’ll buy them.

The Union hotel is a building that is in Union Nebraska. It was a place that train crews stayed half way between Chicago and the west coast.

The Post Office is a small town in Nebraska. Both buildings use the same technique you employ in your structures.

The Mercantile is actually a mill in Nebraska, but the layout needed a small town merchants shop…so it became a Mercantile.

The best part of modeling is the flexibility and diversity in building structures that fit a layout’s theme and era. It was through your site the first time I followed you that a modeler right her in Central Florida reached out to me to get involved in his potentially new club.

One of his friends has a Lionel 3-rail scale layout. I am helping him get his buildings and landscaping up to a finish. He likes what I do and wants the same detail, just on a larger scale. It took me a while to get use to building on big boy’s scale…😬.

It is always good to see what others are doing as they share on your site.

I only wish that I had started many years ago while my father was still alive. He had 40 years with the CB&Q railroad, a wealth of knowledge. Because of his extensive knowledge, he road with the Flying Scotsman when it toured here many years ago.

Recent comments/criticism of my layout after your last post missed what my layout is intended to accomplish.

My study model was just that, a study of space availability. The space was used to showcase my builds and run my trains.

I sent you an overhead of the layout and the wall display cases built to store my trains. The small covered case holds most of my engines. I have always contended that a small space can contain plenty of detail and interest.

A couple of the comments on the last post wanted to know/see how the raised rib roofing is made.

Here are three pics of the jig I made and what it looks like and the materials I used to make the roofing.

The jig is a piece of MDF with two piano wires drilled in at both ends, parallel to one another at a 12” O Scale spacing.

I use the same one for HO…. All of the buildings I sent photos of had the roofing made on this same jig.

I use Coke can aluminium and copper sheeting to make the roofing panels… each panel will be what ever I want to make it, but usually six ribs or about 48” in scale.

I would estimate that I have spent 40 hours per week working to always improve what is there. I have built 20 structures for my cousins 8 by 20 layout in the Midwest.

I have plans to build a dozen more for him. Each building are models of actual structures I find traveling the small towns of America…. No plastic RTR that can be bought in a store. That is not meant to be critical, but to say… they are all one-offs… no other layout has them. Again, my passion for preservation of the past.

Cheers mate and a Very Happy and Blessed Christmas to you and family.

Mike
Clermont, FL”

A huge big thanks to Mike.

There’s one particular line in his narrative that jumped out at me:

“My study model was just that, a study of space availability. The space was used to showcase my builds and run my trains.”

Amen to that!

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you stop dreaming and start doing, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

Daniel’s been in touch with his Model Christmas train layout.

(and don’t miss Gordy’s Grinch pic below too – loved it).

“1955 was to be a tipping point in our family railroading experience.

As I was only 8 years old, I had no idea about this, but Doug, my 14 year old brother, was wiser in these things, especially since he knew that the deep well of our parent’s art deco wardrobe could hold wonderful Christmas treasures.

For decades I only knew part of this story, but my brother told me the rest of the story a few years ago at the last time we were together, but I had no idea about that, and maybe he was wiser on that as well.

In the late fall of 1955 Doug started scoping out the favorite parental Christmas hiding places, and in the wardrobe he made a marvelous find. A Lionel O gauge F-3 double A unit Santa Fe locomotive, one A unit powered, the other A unit a dummy.

As there was only 1 set, he assumed it was for him, the older son. He said nothing about his find this due to my focus on Santa.

On Christmas morning, at first light, we awoke our parents (I doubt that they had actually fallen asleep) to see what Santa had brought.

My dad was a minister in Salem, N.J., and the Christmas season was very full of church activities, so Christmas Eve preparation left very little time for sleep.

Tradition held that we could not go down the stairs until dad had checked it out and that the tree lights were turned on.

When we came down the stairs, our usual temporary train platform was set up, the gifts were assembled and staged, perhaps as magically as if Santa had done it himself.

My folks anticipated a special Christmas, so they set up the church’s Wollensak reel to reel tape recorder. I did not pay much attention to that as there were gifts to open!

During his tale of that Christmas my brother told me he was anxiously awaiting opening his gift, but as it happened, I was told to open a long square ended box that was quite heavy.

When the gleaming red and silver Santa Fe slid out of the box, a seismometer could have registered my brother’s heart dropping. “I was totally disappointed,” he told me. The folk’s must have realized this so they quickly directed him to the box that held his Santa Fe.

That was to be the last year for the temporary Christmas layout, as we were now into it big time. A permanent layout was set up on the 3rd floor of the Victorian parsonage, only to be moved and enhanced 9 months later in a move to Haddon Heights, N.J.

As we made our way to our new home, the very last item attached to the back doors of the moving van was our train platform.

Many Christmases have since come and gone, with my own sons and grandchildren, but my recorded yell of delight, “Look Doug, a Santa Fe!” still rings in my ears.

Daniel”

Now on to Gordy for his Model Christmas train layout:

“Good Morning Al… Gordy here and I had an HO layout in my basement, which was fine, but I also had a collection of the Dickens Village houses & figurines which we put up each Christmas.

So I decided to combine them and I made a Dickens Christmas HO Railroad layout….

I am now RVing and have a fifth wheel and I am now putting it up in my RV basement. The layout is 4′ x 8′ so it just fits.

By the way the Grinch’s sled was made from scratch by wood & paper etc. Hope you get this OK, Looking to hearing from you….

Gordy, Naples, FL”

A big thanks to Gordy for sharing his model Christmas train pics – loved the Grinch, and to Daniel for sharing his Christmas tale. Loved that he’s stil got the loco.

If you have a Christmas story that you want to share, please mail me or leave a comment below.

Here are some more for you:

N scale Christmas train.

Christmas model railroad layout.

Dept 56 model train.

More Christmas layouts here.

Model train Christmas village.

Mor Christmas thoughs and pics.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if you want to stop dreaming and start doing, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Remember, it’s the start that stops most people.

Best

Al

PS Don’t forget the latest ebay cheat sheet is here. Still updated daily.