Model railroad layouts plans

John’s been back in touch with an upate on his small space HO train layout.

And as usual, he’s having fun:

“Hello Al

I have now completed the street scene portion of my latest modeling adventure.

I still need to get some figures from Hattons and maybe an auto or two.

I mentioned that I would provide a narrative about this project so I will give it a go.

For years I have been space and budget limited. To compensate I began building small layouts appropriate to the space I had available.

While I live “across the pond” in America, I found that certain British publications were far more helpful when it came to model railroading in small spaces than our native Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman.

Model Trains International was most inspirational and I wish I could collect every issue.

About seven or eight years ago I discovered Model Rail and when they came out with their bespoke USA tank engine I had to get one. Of course a Gronk followed and then an Ivatt 2-6-0. 

The addiction is getting worse. I just acquired an Austerity 0-6-0 tank and I am waiting on the arrival of a J-70 and a Sentinel.

Wagons and vans have also been collected and I am now trying to focus on the 1950’s to late 1960’s time frame. English English is slowly becoming my third language.

With the acquisition of British railway equipment, a layout is now in order. While I have a couple of projects under consideration, a small Inglenook with a dock for a canal narrow boat is where I have decided to start.

I was especially inspired by a photo of a locomotive threading it’s way between a pub and another structure. This looked like a unique way to exit the layout to reach the fiddle track.

While I very much enjoy what I have accomplished so far, this I a learning experience and I am already finding things that I will do differently on my next effort.

All the best,

John
Nevada, USA”

A big thanks to John.

Whenever he gets in touch I always think of his narrow gauge layout that looks like an absolute blast.

Here’s a pic of it with a link: Small gauge railroad

And here’s the youtube of it in action. Looks great fun:

And now on to Carol.

Although Christmas either feels like a distant memory or speeding towards you at an alarming rate, I thought this okay to post because it’s another good example of a small space HO train layout:

“Hi Al,

Over the years, I’ve truly enjoyed and learned a lot from your daily posts. I thought I would send you a couple of photos from my annual Christmas HO layout.

I put it up every year, starting at the end of November and it stays up though February. Each year I try to add or do something a little different.

This year I built my mountain & tunnel from a block of hard foam,using a hot wire/knife to carve out the center and mold the mountain.

I used the helpful tips from past postings from you and the other subscribers. Thanks!!  

There are over 250 people, which really make the town look alive and my board is lit up at night.

One of my favorite items, of which I’m very proud of, is my working band stand. I’ve used small speakers hooked up to a mixer and a iPod to provide sound.  

I call my layout Hansenville (named by a good friend of ours).

Thanks and keep the posts coming!!!!

Carol”

It’s always good to read when the blog helps others make a start on their layout, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the year brings.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you join in the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Don’s been in touch with his Christmas model railroad layout…

“Al,

I have been a model railroader for a very long time. (since the late 50’s or early 60’s).

Like most boys, my folks gave me a Marx O-Gauge train set and things have progressed from there for the past 60 years.

As I sit at the kitchen table this Christmas morning, drinking my coffee and waiting for family to wake up, I decided to share some pictures of my model railroad.

The change over from bare benchwork to Christmas, started just before Halloween.

Thats when I start getting Christmas decorations out for the house and checking things over before I begin decorating a week before Thanksgiving.

It was then that my wife informed me, that the Christmas Village Tree would not be set up this year. Well, that was a good enough reason for me to focus on my layout. The only theme for the whole layout was/is Christmas.

I am not a professional by any means, I just enjoy Model Railroading and Christmas. So here are a few pictures of my layout. Hope you and your readers enjoy.

Merry Christmas,
Don,
Louisiana”

And if you are after more Christmas layouts:

Christmas model railroads

Now an update from Hall of Fame member, John:

“Hi Al.

Thought you might like another update.

I have completed structure #3 and did a quick mock up of how the exit to the fiddle yard will look.

Two more structures will finish this end, a pub and a residence.

Best,

John Reynolds”

A big thanks to John – his prevous pics on this are at the bottom of this post.

“Al, greetings from Dean from New Mexico.

I recently had to tackle the water features on my Scenic Ridge Railroad (the last big project for this layout).

I experimented with techniques and used a product called Mod Podge that is redily available from Amazon, hobby stores, or art stores.

Mod Podge is a PVA material that looks and behaves like white glue (Elmer’s).

As you can see, when wet it is thick enough to hold its position even on very steep slopes. It drys to a translucent reflective film that looks like water.

My procedure is:

1. Pour a soupy batch of plaster or hydrocal to give a flat surface on the bed where you want the water to be.

2. Tint it with dilute colors of brown and gray.

3. Use thin cottom pads (available in the ladies makeup section at stores) to increade the depth of water on waterfalls. Saturate the pads with Mod Podge or white glue. Dry.

4. Add 1 or more layers of Mod Podge, then let them dry.

5. With white paint and a dry brush, paint on simulated ripples on the water.

6. Seal the final product with Mod Podge sealer after complete drying.

Here are some final shots showing the results:

Cheers and thanks for everything you do for this hobby.

Dean.”

Dean’s last post is here, which touches on 3D printing, which brings us nicely to Joe.

Joe has only sent in one pic – but it made me think just how much 3D printing has come along:

“Christmas present from a retired US Army Command Master Sergeant.

3D printed Loc, tender, & .027 track.

Controlled by smartphone with forward camera, steam & light.

Joe”

If anyone else has been playing with these 3D trains I’d love to hear from you.

And seeing as we are still talkling about Christmas, is it too late to post festive layouts?

I know Christmas has been and gone, but it’s before the New Year, so I thought I’d squash a few more in.

I don’t know what it is about Christmas layouts, but they all seem to capture so much of what this hobby is about:

A big thanks to Dean, John, Joe and to Don for sharing his Christmas Model railroad layout.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you join in on the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Jeff’s been in touch with how to build model railroad incline:

“Al.

First off, I would like to thank you for your hard work to keep this site going. I’m quite sure it’s a tedious (but rewarding) job.

This is not my first submission and thought this may inspire others to get some of their creative juices flowing.

Like many of the readers of your blog, I am now retired and on a fixed income. So, when I decided to put together a new HO layout, construction cost was very important.

I went to work designing the new layout, using the AnyRail program to aid my design.

It will consist of a twice-around mainline surrounding a switching yard and spurs for a rock quarry, a fueling facility and engine shed, and small warehouse loading/unloading docks. (My grandkids love to watch the “choo-choos” go roundy-round and I like to play in the switch yard.)

In design, the mainline will cross over parts of the switch yard and a lake area. In doing so, the tracks will need to rise and drop about 3 inches from the main level of the yard.

To make this incline/decline I considered purchasing the Woodland Scenic kit they provide. As stated earlier, the costs of such a produce is a bit overwhelming so I thought I might try making my own.

A local stone mason working in the area was kind enough to supply me with some 2 inch pink rigid insulation which they used to separate their stones on the pallets delivered to the jobsite. Therefore, I have a surplus of larger pieces to work with.

After much experimentation I finally came up with a design which was not too hard to make after initial setup. This is how I went about the process…

First, using my table saw, I cut the insulation sheets into workable sizes.

In my case, I’m working in HO scale, so the pieces I cut would be 24” long and 2 ½” wide.

Anything greater than 2” I laminated two pieces together with construction adhesive, allowing them to cure for about 24 hours.

You’ll also notice in the photo I marked one of the 2 ½” sides with an “X” as this would serve as the bottom edge of the incline piece.

I made sure when cutting, the “X” edge was always against the fence.

Next, I went about making a taper jig for cutting the angle of rise/fall in each piece. I wanted a 2% grade, so my taper jig was 24” long and ½” larger on one end than the other.

Placing the “X” side against the taper jig, I cut the taper into the foam. (PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS PROCESS SINCE THE SAW BLADE NEEDS TO BE SO HIGH.)

I might also suggest devising some way to hold the piece against the jig to eliminate the possibility of an accident. Kinda hard to work on your railroad with fewer fingers!

You can also use some of the cut off pieces for the thinner taper strips. Some of my pieces would be used as “riser” pieces so no taper was cut.

How to build model railroad incline:

In order to get the rigid foam to conform to the curves of the track, I needed to devise a way to make this happen. With my woodworking capabilities, I made a jig for the saw which would create “kerfs” in the foam board to allow it to bend without breaking.

Again, after much trial and error I finally decided on the right pattern I needed. In my case, the kerfs are ¼” wide, 1 ¼” deep and 2” on center.

This pattern will allow the foam to follow a minimum radius of at least 18”.

Using my newly created jig, I went about cutting the kerfs in each piece of foam board, cutting one side first, then flipping the piece end for end and cutting the other side, making sure the “X” side was still against the jig. I needed to make sure the kerfs on the opposite side were halfway between the first side, so proper the measurements were taken.

All said and done, I now had multiple pieces which would become my incline/decline ramps and risers. The last step before installing would be marking a center line on what would be the top edge for ease of installation of roadbed and track.

Aside from the time spent (of which I have plenty, being retired), I figured I saved about $100 u.s. which can now go toward different aspects of my model railroading project.
I have yet to install any of these pieces because my layout base is not yet ready.

I hope this has been somewhat informative to others. I tried to explain as best I could without confusing everyone.

Thanks again for all you do for our railroading community.

Jeff (Pops) Somerfield

Chicago, USA”

A big thanks to Jeff for his take on how to build model railroad incline. What a clever lot you are.

It reminded me of Paul’s post: HO scale track risers

And if today is the day you poke boredom in the eye and join in the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

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.