Model railroad layouts plans

Dean’s been in touch with something we seeing more and more of: 3d print model train stuff…

Have a look at what he’s done:

“Al, from Dean in New Mexico.

It’s been a while. My layout has suffered since I’ve been working on developing new techniques for creating n-scale buildings using high-resolution resin printing.

In this post, I talk about two techniques for printing parts: FDM (fused deposition modeling) and SLA (stereolithography) to show how I made an improved engine house model.

With FDM, a plastic filament is passed through a heated nozzle while the nozzle is moved back and forth. Each layer is typically 0.5 mm, so the resolution is low.

Here’s a picture of the main building of the engine house being printed.

After each layer is produced, the build plate moves down. Note that the software puts in removable supports in openings and a “raft” to hold the part tightly to the build plate.

With SLA, a light-cured resin is exposed to an ultraviolet LCD screen. After each layer is developed, the build plate moves up, typically by 0.05mm.

Thus, it is much higher resolution than FDM printing. But after the model is created it must be washed with isopropyl alcohol to remove excess resin, then cured further in a UV light station. And the resin is somewhat toxic. Here’s a photo of the end-door assembly and the windows and doors for the engine house. The skinny rods are supports to hold up the parts

Here’s another photo of a small chimney part produced with SLA. It is just a series of cylinders and a cone cap.

And here’s a better photo of the door end-piece.

Paper parts are printed on a normal printer then cut with a high precision cutter machine.

I use a simple free program (3D Modeling, by Microsoft) to produce models for both the FDM and SLA techniques. The paper parts are made with another free program, Silouette Studio. Here’s an outline of the free software and equipment I use:

3D Builder (make FDM model) à Creality Slicer à Ender-5 Pro (print FDM model)

3D Builder (make SLA model) à Chitubox 64 à Elegoo Mars 2 (print SLA model)

Silhouette Studio (make paper model) à HP printer à Silhouette Cameo (cut paper model)

Here’s a photo of the final product.

A big thanks to Dean for sharing his 3d print model train stuff. Mindboggling really.

Course, I’m biased, but much prefer the good ‘ol fashioned Printable buildings.

Now on to John, who has sent his track cleaning solution – there’s quite a few of these on the blog now, but I still enjoy seeing how people attack the problem:

“Some time ago, Al featured a motorised track cleaning wagon that I built using an old toothbrush motor and various bits and pieces that I had in my spares box.

The following, shown in the diagram (not to scale) and photographs, is one that I have built from an old Hornby ‘Permanent Way Dept’ track cleaning wagon.

I removed the original metal part inside the wagon and then glued two pieces of 3mm plastic sheeting on the floor of the wagon, one on top of the other.

I lined up the upper piece of 3mm plastic sheet of the pad to where I wanted it to be and (using a drill press to ensure that the holes are perfectly vertical) drilled two 5mm holes through the three pieces and the floor.

Using super glue, the brass tubing was then carefully glued to the upper piece of the pad. Ensure that the brass tubing is free to slide up and down. (A little oil on the tubing did the trick for me.) I then glued 1mm plastic sheet below the 3mm sheet but this time there was a slot from one side to the other.

I then took some soft felt, laid it along the bottom of the pad, folded it over the ends and glued the ends. (It will be a simple task to remove the felt and glue a new piece on when required. Two nuts are attached to the tops of the tubes. The weight of the tubes with nuts plus the weight of the plastic sheeting results in the pad being free to move up and down and is always in contact with the rails.

The original wheels were very broad resulting in the wagon frequently derailing at points or crossovers. Each axel was cut through and the original wheels removed.

Using super glue, I glued a small brass bush into each axel hole in the bogeys. I bought two sets of Hornby 10mm wagon wheels and to insert these into the bushes, it was necessary to carefully bend the bogeys to enable the wheels to be inserted.

The metal is quite soft and I am not sure how much bending it will take before breaking, so care is necessary. Once in place the bogeys are bent straight again.

A spot of oil was inserted into each bush, the wheels spin freely and I experienced no further issues with derailing!

To clean the track, I use a syringe to insert some 70% rubbing alcohol into the brass tubes.

The small holes in the 1mm piece of plastic sheeting, with the slot from side to side, allow the rubbing alcohol to seep through into the felt and spread from one side to the other.

I am pleased with the result as it works very well.

Regards

John”

A big thanks to Dean and John.

I would love to know what your thoughts are on 3d printing – please do leave a comment below.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you say no to boredom and missing out on all the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Come and join us, it’s right good fun once you roll your sleeves up and start.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

Rob’s been back in touch with his model train water effects.

This time he shares how he made the waves on his harbor wall look so realistic:

“Hi Al,

This video is about painting and adding a little relief to my harbor water element. It was easy and fun to do. It is a method that is for anyone.

You do not need a high skill level to manage this method so it is for beginners and advanced hobbyists.

I used a product called matt medium. It is generally used for thinning acrylic paints. If used for that it does not thin the color as water does. It just adds liquidity to the solution so it applies and brushes more easily.

I used a graining brush to apply the white foam accents but any brush would work as long as you wiped the excess paint from it before you touched the waves.

The graining brush offers more delicate bristles at the end and that is why I used it.

I wanted to be sure the traces of white paint were very fine and my graining brush worked a treat.

I also use a graining brush for certain aspects of weathering rolling stock so it is a good tool to have in the toolbox.

Thank you so much for your daily email. I know sometimes it probably seems like a bit of a grind to get one out every day, but I and your other readers really look forward to seeing what other modelers are up to.

Thank you so very much,

Rob – Farland Howe”

A big thanks to Rob for sharing his model train water effects. Stunning stuff.

Now on to Andrew:

“Dear Alistair,

It is always a pleasure to open your blog every morning to see other peoples layouts and receive tips and guidance to improve our modelling skills.

I was puzzled when I first saw this post as a platform to me is the raised area beside the track at stations to allow passengers to embark/disembark from trains. Much higher in the UK when compared to many European mainland stations and some in USA.

Having said that I also use platform modelling as described by Gary. Building scenery on a workbench which allows easy viewing, sculpting, and painting from every angle without getting mess on the track or layout. Something advantageous when the layout is against a wall as is the case with my layout.

Please find attached a railway cutting built to fit into a corner of my layout.

A paper template is made of the area to be modelled and transferred to a thin ply or MDF base on which the scenery is constructed with sufficient rigidity for transport onto the layout.

Thought has to be given to hiding the joins between the baseboard and the platform and there are many creative ways to achieve this.

Thank you and best wishes to all you contributors.

Andrew”

A big thanks to Andrew, and to Hall of Fame member Rob for sharing how he created his water scene.

I’d like to think of a word besides stunning, but I’m struggling to do so. Leave a comment below if you can!

Rob’s post also reminded me of Brian’s tips on water effects.

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.

What makes a model train landscape? Detail!

And Rob has been back in touch to show us how he’s making his layout look even more realistic.

He’s really dialling in to the detail now – have a look at how he made his cobble stones.

And the waves on the harbor are just as impressive:

“Hi Al,

I have been spending quite a bit of time on my harbor scene lately.

I replaced the craft foam representing concrete with Wills embossed plastic sheets representing granite paving stones or setts.

When I completed that task, I painted the plastic to look like granite paving stones. The information about how it was done is in a pair of videos. I will provide links to both at the end of this description.

When I originally started this area 3 years ago, I tried putting some of the paving stone plasticard down but found it to be very tedious and slow.

At the time I was trying to get the whole layout pretty well landscaped so wanted to move on to other areas as soon as possible.

This craft foam was okay and it served well until I felt I wanted to replace it with something more interesting.

I am now going back over the entire layout spending whatever time is needed to improve it and get it up to the best standards possible.

I find this process rewarding, very satisfying, and fun.

As you and others have said, “A layout is never done.”

When you live with a layout for a while, you start to see where it could be improved. Some folks never get around to doing the things that would improve their layouts and that is okay.

Layouts are personal things and if you are enjoying what you have as is whether it is bare plywood or highly detailed it is okay.

It is yours and you can have it any way you want. I work on my layout for entertainment. I probably have more time to do that than most since I am retired and my wife is still working. It means I have 5 days per week to spend on the layout if I choose to do so and I usually do.

The photos are of the harbor area with craft foam being used to emulate concrete. It can be cut and painted to simulate cracks and relief joints as I tried to do in the photos.

It works quite well, but I always longed for something that would illustrate more the time period I was after on the layout. The last one I added because it is one of my favorites. It has nothing to do with concrete or granite paving stones.

Here are the two videos about installing and painting the granite setts.

Laying the embossed plastic sheets.

Painting:

I hope this material is helpful to someone who wants to do this on their layout and wondered how someone else may have done it.

Thank you Al for all you do for the modeling community worldwide. We all appreciate you and I personally look forward to your email links every morning before I read the newspaper.

Cheers,

Rob McCrain – Farland Howe”

A huge big thank you to Hall of Fame member, Rob, for sharing his model train landscape tips.

I’d love to hear what you have to say on this one – please do leave a comment below.

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.

And there’s the Silly Discount bundle too.