Model railroad layouts plans

Edward’s been in touch with his Kato unitrack layout:

“Hi Al,

Attached are pictures of a Control Panel for my n scale Kato Unitrack layout shown in pic A.

It is a modification with Kato Unitrack layout from the 5th Edition of Hornby Railways Track Plans.

Hornby orginal:

The panel is mounted on a pull-out shelf under the layout.

pic 1 – Top of pullout shelf with switch yard diagram. Toggles inserted in cutouts in foam board under the turnout locations in the diagram.

Toggle leads threaded through the perforated board to the control circuits underneath.

pic 2 – Underside. Power supplies to rear, Track power leads with mini Tamiya sockets for Kato power leads on right.

Small green circuit board is the Digitrax AR1 automatic reverse Controller for DCC operation of the Kato turntable.

Berrett Toggle circuit boards mounted on aluminum strip in middle.

Plugin panel with mini Tamiya sockets for cables to Kato turnouts at rear.

pic 3 – Front view of plugin panel with mini Tamiya sockets for cables to Kato turnouts.

pic 4 – The finished panel.

Hope these ideas help others using Kato Unitrack.

Edward.”

Now on to Chuck who is in the middle of his layout:

“Hi Al,

I promised you that I would send you photos of what I am building with your downloads.

Sorry it took ne a while, but I am a slow worker!

The photos are of the engine house, which I modified, added interior wall framing, windows, and made it a little longer on one side.

The embankment wall has also been used as bridge supports and a stone platform for the station of my mining town.

I also have used the wooden tunnel portal to make several retaining walls.

And finally, I used the jetty wall as a base for one of the wharves at my waterfront area.

As can be seen in the photos there is a lot of work left to do in all areas of the layout, but I am having a blast using your print outs!

Thanks to John’s great videos, I have found several uses for the printouts and I will update you as work progresses.

Thanks for your site and the great inspiration!

Sincerely,

Chuck from California”

A big thanks to Edward and Chuck.

I do enjoy seeing what you’ve made with the printable buildings.

Here’s a collection of stuff from a while back too – you really are a creative lot. John’s videos always raise a smile too.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you wave goodbye to boredom and get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Richard has been in touch with his N scale scratch built models.

As you’ll read, he hasn’t laid an inch of track yet.

But he’s made a start, and more importantly, having fun – which was good enough for me.

And I also love what he’s done:

“Hello Alistair,

I’ve really been enjoying the emails, blogs, photos and “how to’s” from your site.

Thought I’d throw my 2 cents in with some photos of my first few scratch N scale builds.

All of these are made from balsa strips, popsicle sticks!, 0.03 inch thick styrene, a 0.06″ “For Sale” sign (purchased at my local hardware store for $2.00) , brick and stone paper printed on the back of wall paper, and styrene roofing sheets.

Most of the windows were purchased on ebay, but some were 3D printed (I’m still on a huge learning curve for this!).

I’m using the scale of 1/155 – 1/160 and therefore One foot = approx 2mm.

Some are complete but others have a few details to finish.

The first photo shows some of the materials that I use.

The funny thing is that I haven’t laid an inch of track yet! I wanted to have some buildings ready to go before I start my layout.

Thanks for letting me post!

Regards,

Rich”

Now on to Dave:

“Al, a nice short video showing my CMX track cleaner in progress on DMR layout.

Glad I bought this some 12 years ago for £80 think they are about £200 now and like hens teeth very hard to find.

Dave.”

Thanks to Dave, and a big thanks to Richard too for sharing his N scale scratch built buildings.

It just goes to show the most important part of any layout is to make a start and have fun.

I know most of you lay track then get busy on the scenery.

But as Richard shows, there are no hard and fast rules.

If you want to make that start with a few models, roll up your sleeves like Richard and make that start.

That’s all for 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.

Cary’s been back in touch with his G scale track layout:

“Hello Al and All!

I spent the winter updating my hobby room, but first, here’s a brief update on my outdoor G scale layout.

I never got my G scale trains running last summer (was rebuilding my deck) but looking forward to getting it going this summer and getting more plant life on the layout.

If you want to see the outdoor layout in action, here’s my last post.

This winter a tree came down across this section of track. Surprisingly enough the bridge held up, replacing this section of track will be my first task.

There’s very little track showing now, it’s covered with leaves and branches.

It will take me a few weekends to get it cleaned up, track checked out and trains running. I clean my track initially with a drywall sanding pad on a pole.

Once the trains are running, I have a bobber caboose converted to a track cleaning car to keep the track clean- also in my last post.

I use plastic to cover some of the buildings during the Winter months. I find snakes when I remove it. They like it on the shingled roofs under the plastic. I guess it’s a warm spot and they can watch for prey.

I use a long pole to remove the plastic and keep a machete handy for the ones who refuse to leave.

Once I start working in the area, they stay away. They are not poisonous; they just give me the creeps!

My Hobby Room:

When I first started making those large 1/24 scale buildings for my outdoor layout, I built a crude workbench in a 10×10 room in our basement.

The space had been a playroom for the kids but over time it had become a junk room. It slowly evolved into a nice little workshop.

I found that I really liked having an indoor workshop, not only for trains but for other little projects when the garage is too cold or too hot.

After a while there was paint and burn marks (soldering track) on the carpet and the room was filled with makeshift shelves, storage, and a crude board mounted to the wall I used for a G scale test track.

I decided this winter was the time for an upgrade. I pulled up the old carpet, tiled the floor, patched and painted the drywall and then repurposed the leftover wood to create a space where I can work on those large buildings, store my G scale collection and still have room for a 2 feet X 7 feet N scale layout. Pretty ambitious for a 10×10 room, but I think it turned out pretty well.

Here’s the main work area, just large enough to get a 1/24 scale building up where I can work on it.

I covered a portion with a sheet of aluminum for soldering track, I use a torch and don’t want any fires. The smoke detectors in the house may be a different story- we’ll find out.

Under this work bench is storage for my G scale collection which takes up a lot of space. I actually ended up with more spaces than trains which is great so now I can buy more G scale cars (when my budget allows😊).

I would love to have a loop of G scale track indoors but just don’t have the space. Therefore, I have this test track that runs about 20 feet on two adjacent walls.

If you notice the temporary table on the right, that’s where my N scale layout is going. I’m planning for a 2’x7′ layout and have started collecting trains and track. I can’t wait to get started on it, but this will be a fall and winter project when my outdoor layout is shut down.

I had this small corner niche and tried to use the space as effectively as possible. There is plenty of storage for materials and tools as well as a work area for small jobs. I found the Lionel artwork online and had it printed at Staples.

My dad and grandfather were both railroad guys working first for the Louisville & Nashville R.R., then the Seaboard System, by the time my dad retired it was CSX. He collected some nice R.R. artwork over the years, and it turned out to be the perfect touch!

Whether it’s trains, other craft work, or a household repair… piddling in my indoor hobby shop has become one of my favorite past times.

It took some thought to figure out how to cram all that I wanted into this small space, and many weekends of labor this past winter… but now my refuge of solace is complete.

Happy Modeling!

Cary in KY”

I do love Cary’s stuff – particularly the G scale models he makes, which you can see here.

That’s all for today folks. Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get properly bitten again by this fine hobby, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.