Model railroad layouts plans

Boyd’s been in touch. His retirement is going to consist of his model train hobby in the winter months, and my word, what a start:

“Hello Alastair,

Let me start by saying I enjoy your daily emails, and have drawn inspiration from the various layouts presented.

I have debated for a few months now whether to send in something from my own layout. There are 3 reasons really for my hesitation.

First, nothing I am doing is new, in fact some of it was picked up from your readers, some from reading anything could get my hands on, and much from watching countless YouTube videos.

Second, nothing I have done comes close to matching the many beautiful layouts I see in your daily mails.

And third, and this was the biggest stumbling block, despite how stunning many of the above mentioned layouts are, someone always has to find a reason to criticize them, and this really pisses me off.

The folks who submit their work are justifiably proud of it, I guess some people just aren’t happy unless they are miserable.

In the end though, I did decide to send you a note, because simply put, it is my railroad, I will do it as I like, and I really don’t care if someone finds it not to their liking.

More importantly, I know how you like to encourage folks to get a start, so if I, someone with no previous experience, can spur on even one person to give it a go, then it is worth it. Please see fit to use any, all or none of this correspondence.

The back story is pretty simple. Unlike many of your readers I did not have a model railroad as a kid, but I always had an interest.

As I approached retirement, I decided I needed a hobby for the Winter months, so decided it was a good time to get a start on a layout.

Since these questions always come up, I should have mentioned……HO scale, layout occupies a space 12X15 feet.

My layout is not prototypical, it is not meant to be, and never will be. It is a hobby that I can share with my grandkids, and can get enjoyment from as I progress and learn new things.

For now, they are of an age where they just enjoy watching the trains run, but there will be plenty of opportunities for operations as well for their and my enjoyment.

With the exception of a few kits and figures to get started, everything will be home made, trees, flock, buildings, etc.

Going into it I envisioned it to be an 8–10-year project to get the basics in, and as we all know, it will never be completely finished.

Because I wanted to fit in as much as I could in my designated space, and really had no idea how to best do this, I did get assistance with the track plan.

After several configurations, I settled on what is surely an ambitious plan for a novice, but full speed ahead. There will be a gravel company and logging industry on the upper layer, a port area, yard, industrial area and small town on the lower level.

I am 14 months into it now, working mostly in the winter months a few hours at a time.

Here are a few pics showing how I progressed.

Boyd”

Blank slate, track plan on the wall:

Mapping the track plan:

First piece of benchwork:

Getting there:

Starting scenery:

Gravel Company scene nearly complete.

Future logging area:

A huge big thanks to Boyd for sharing this.

I love what he has done, but I loved his narrative even more.

I totally subscribe to his point of view. As the saying goes, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t saying anything at all”…

I do concede there is a place for constructive criticism, and I’m all for that.

Unfortunately though, every so often a comment that shouldn’t slip through, does.

For this I can only apologise, I do my best.

I manually approve the comments so the site doesn’t get overun with bots and other bad stuff.

I remember once a very ill worded comment got published one bleary eyed Sunday morning.

Fortunately one of you lovely lot mailed me and I was able to remove it.

Anyhow, back to Boyd.

I know what he means about the comments, and I hate to think it stops people sending their layouts in.

He words it perfectly:

“Simply put, it is my railroad, I will do it as I like, and I really don’t care if someone finds it not to their liking.”

Amen to that. Your layout. Your rules.

That’s all this time 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.

Henry has put a big smile on my face by adding to the model railroad dioramas on the blog:

“Hello Alastair

Today I had the privilege to bring some joy to someone. I delivered the diorama I built, but I asked the lady for whom I built it, if I could photograph it with the locomotive her late husband had wanted to put on display on the diorama.

I’ve had some requests to show my model railroad dioramas with the locos in place, so here are a few pictures of the diorama with a class GMAM garret of the South African railways and its permanently coupled water tanker.

(The water tankers were used so that the onboard tanks could remain full and increase the tractive effort).

Henry”

If you missed Henry’s first model railway diorama post, it’s here.

Also, when it comes to model railroad dioramas, Ben’s springs to mind:

Model train Diorama.

And these:

N scale diorama

railway diorama

Train diorama ideas

Model railway dioramas

Model train diorama

Now on to Dallas.

He has been in touch with his N scale in a shed:

“I have for several years now read your daily missives with great interest and gained a lot of ideas and information from the submissions of all contributors.

If my eventual layout ends up anywhere near some of those I have seen I will be very pleased.

Like a lot of people, I received a Triang windup train set as a present, not sure if for Christmas or a birthday. I have no idea whatever happened to it.

In the 1970’s I worked out a design for a model train layout which I carried around for the next 30 years, still have it, in fact.

I located it some 15 years ago and on examination found that I needed a room about 6 metres (20 feet) by 4 metres ( 13.5 feet) which I didn’t have or was ever likely to have. I went looking for a plan that I could use or adapt.

At some point I acquired a book of model railway plans. One of the plans in the book was the Granite Gorge and Northern plan, a HO plan. I liked it because it looked interesting, looked challenging and I like challenges, even if it is my first actual build, and had elements in it that I wanted. I decided to adjust it for an N scale layout.

Through some calculations I determined how to reproduce the plan in my desired scale.

Using my multifinction centre I photocopied the plan to A3 and then progressively enlarged the plan section by section until I had the whole plan at the required size. I then matched up the individual sheets and taped them together so that I had a complete plan at N scale that I could transfer directly to the base.

About 10 years ago I commenced construction of the table. The table is approximately 2 metres by 1 metre.

The frame is made of 100 x 19 (4 x 1) and took several weeks to construct with having to adjust the sizes of the individual pieces to suit my requirements.

The based was a sheet of 2400 x 1200 MDF 6mm thick. The plan was transferred to the base sheet and cuts made for adjustments in levels wherever appropriate. The cuts were made and the base attached to the frame.

This then stood for a year or two in its basic state and then I started to develop it further. I laid down foam road bed and started placing items around the layout to see what looked best. The layout has slowly progress from there to where it is today. I have not done much on it, for one reason or another, for nearly a year now.

I retired about 10 years ago but that did not assist much in the construction. Much of my time has been devoted to illustrating children’s books. I use construction of the railway as a relief and distraction from the books and my other artwork. It is progressing extremely slowly.

For much of the past fifteen years I have been slowly buying up rolling stock, engines and building/structures when I saw something that took my interest and I could afford. As a result the final product may be a hodgepodge of styles. Time will tell.

The main theme is of the 1950-60s with an abandoned coal mine. Some of the buildings have been placed to give me some ideas

I am constructing my layout in a large shed,12m x 7m, that I have divided in half. The layout is in the studio side of the shed.

The other side is supposed to be a workshop for airbrushing vehicles. My property is a rural holding of a little under 4 acres.

Opposite me is a beef farm and bordering the forest to the south is a dairy farm. This all bodes well for visits from friendly wildlife from the forest.

We have regular visits from carpet pythons and from time to time they try to assist me with my construction as can be seen from the red circled area in one of the photos

The following photos show my current situation.

Dallas”

Well, I stared at the pic Dallas had circled in red, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t see a python.

So I asked Dallas – the circle is just the damage the python left.

Suddenly spiders and mice aren’t so bad.

Now on to Dangerous Dave, who has shared his latest youtube:

“Hi Al…

No doubt like a good few many members and most model railway modellers I get track problems.

I have had to re lay a few parts of my layout with new bits of track, and put new joiners in to try and get all running smoothly again, something that most of us have to do from time to time.

I have also shown ballasting the track with one of those small plastic ballasting gadgets which do help to make the job a bit easier, then to finish off I have added some rust paint to the tracks to make them look more realistic, all easy to do, and could be of some help to those starting out in the hobby…

Regards

Dave”

A big thanks to Henry for adding to the model railroad dioramas, and to Dallas and Dave.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you decide to battle with pythons, lay track and build dioramas, 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.

Malcolm has been in touch with his Z scale model train.

And his layout really does highlight how different life is for folk with different model scales.

Now that may sound dramatic, but here’s a pic from yesterday’s post, Bill’s stunning O / On30 layout:

Bill hired a truck to get his layout to his model railroad show.

(And if you watch his vid, you can see the whole operation.)

But Malcolm?

He models in Z scale, and only has to pick up his display up:

“Al,

I’ve attached 8 photos of the Z scale (1:220) layout that I take to train shows.

The layout is about 46″ x 26” (~ 117cm x 66cm) and can be carried by one person, although it’s easier with two.

I like the Santa Fe so I model the mid-1990s and I prioritize SantaFe, Burlington Northern and BNSF, which gives me maximum flexibility.

The track and turnouts are some old Marklin materiel I had lying around.

The scenery is obviously nothing special, but the kids love watching the trains go through the tunnel. The plexiglas enclosure prevents little fingers from clutching at little trains.

What you see in these pictures is mainly, though, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National locomotives and rolling stock.

The CP and CN rolling stock includes a covered hopper, 53′ well car, gondola, flatcar, bulkhead flats and boxcars.

Why the emphasis on CP and CN in these photos when I model the ATSF and BN merger period and have mostly American rolling stock and locomotives?

That’s because some time ago somebody told you that they considered Z scale but couldn’t find any Canadian models. I think that this demonstrates that they may not have looked very hard.

In N. America it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference because shipping mixes up the rail cars, so you can see BNSF, Norfolk Southern, UP, CSX, etc. up in Canada and CN and CP down south on the Gulf Coast.

We also have “run-through” where locomotives are handed off to other carriers, just switching crews, to save time in forwarding a train.

I’ve seen pictures of Ferromex (Mexican rail line) locomotives up in the Canadian snow and BNSF locos on the East Coast. How the RRs handle all this is a mystery to me but it is done every day and apparently the locomotives find their way back eventually.

By the way, the containers in the well car are made for me by the Chinese (incredibly precise pad printing) and I make the Walmart (and other) 53′ trailers. I have a small (joke) business making and selling Z scale accesories.

Best regards,

Malcolm”

A big thanks to Malcolm.

For me, Mal’s layout and Bill’s layout demonstrate admirably how it’s worth thinking long and hard over what scale to choose.

Over the years the blog has been littered with posts from folk starting in O scale, running out of space and then trying again with HO scale.

The same goes for HO scale, it’s still just as easy to run out of room – Mike’s HO scale post springs to mind.

But in the same light, there are just as many folk who have tried N scale, found it was way too fiddly and also tried again with HO scale.

Personally, if I even tried Z scale, my eyes would go squiffy within days.

That said, HO scale isn’t the answer to ‘what scale to start with’, but I think it’s a very safe bet.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on scale – please do leave a comment below if you’d like to chip in.

In fact, as I write this, I’m reminded of a post from a bit ago that went mad in the comments – you all had lots to say:

How to start a model train layout.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you decide to build a layout to take to a show, 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.