Model railroad layouts plans

Stuart’s been busy with his OO scale steam locomotives – have a look at his pics:

“Hi Alistair. More pics of the station area which is coming on now.

Still a lot of touching up to do, and always something else that needs doing; as you know it’s never really completed.

I have decided to make a small lake area in the middle of the model which can be lifted out and replaced whenever I need to get into the centre.

I have made some mistakes on this build, ie the climb for the train on the outside track is too steep for it to run without working the control, I have to speed it up on the incline and slow it down on the descend; however my next one will be bigger and better I hope, cos I have really got the bug now, this has certainly been a fantastic hobby.

A big thank you to everyone for sending in their tips, photo’s, videos and how to’s. There have been some fantastic ideas, will keep sending in new things.

Cheers

Stuart”

A big thanks to Stuart – looks like he’s having fun with those OO scale steam locomotives.

“Hi Alastair,

Here is a contribution for you.

I am an N scale modeller from Australia

I have several small layouts that I show at our local rail shows every year. Currently I have completed a Small Coffee Table layout that is modeled vaguely on Germany/Europe.

My other completed layout (as much as any layout is ever “completed”) is a two sided Japanese layout, with one side being urban the other rural. I found this a great way to have more detail in a small space.

Mountains – I have a tip and trick for your readers. How I do mountains.

When doing mountains I do some things slightly different.

As usual I create my frame work using polystyrene foam, bits of cardboard or whatever is lying around. I then cover this in plastic fly wire (mesh) that I get by the roll from my local hardware store, securing it with tacks or a staple gun. To create my realistic mountain shapes, I use the following tools

• Plaster of Paris
• Cement render Tints
• Tin Foil (usually one foot squares (30cm by 30cm) folded into quarters. (15cm x 15cm)
• Wet Water (water with a couple of drops of dish detergent)

Once I have a good idea of the sorts of formations I want, I create as much as possible with the under frame to avoid unnecessary weight. (my layouts travel a lot)

I then mix up my plaster in small batches, usually three or four large tablespoons of plaster and one large teaspoon of Tint. These tints are available from your local hardware store and are used to shade the cement renders used in housing and concreting.

I use a chocolate brown for earth tones, and a terracotta for my Australian red desert scenes. I used a grey tint on the Japanese layout.

These tints make undercoats more effective, but also, if the layout is chipped and damaged, then in stead of a white showing through, I get an earth tone, which looks less obvious and more realistic.

Also, varying the amount of tint you use changes the shade of your plaster, which can create an effect all its own.

Once I have the Plaster/Tint mix at the right consistency I then spray the tin foil with the Wet Water.

I then place the plaster on the foil and place that, foil up plaster down on my framework. I then shape the foil to the contours I want, or leave the natural crinkle in the foil to generate a random pattern. (usually a little of both).

A batch of that size will allow for 2 or three patches at a time, so have that much foil ready.

It is important to note to do these patches away from each other, so as to not foul the foil. I usually work from each end and in the middle.

I then wait about 5 minutes for the plaster to set (once it is warm) and then gently peel the foil off, revealing a contoured area.

I then repeat with another batch in more small patches next to the ones I have created.

The foil can be pushed to follow the shape of the last patch, so each section is seemed with the last.

Also, Start at the bottom and work up.

Painting – To paint my mountains. I use a dark base coat, much darker than I want to end up with. I also have three shades of the colour I want, including two lighter than I want.

For example on my Japanese layout I used:

• Burnt umber undercoat (almost black grey)
• Grey (rock colour)
• Nimbus Grey (highlights)
• White. (highlights)

I start with a dark undercoat, usually watering it down so it soaks in all the little cracks, holes and crevasses the foil has created.

Once that is dry i use a technique called Dry Brushing to add the primary rock colour.

Dry brushing is a technique by which you place a little amount of paint on the brush, rubbing the brush on the palate to remove most of the paint leaving you with an almost “Dry Brush” and then gently brushing across the surface in quick strokes.

This causes the paint to adhere to the raised areas, but skip over the lower ones.

For my colour coat I tend to still have a fairly “wet Brush” but I make sure it is not running into the cracks.

Then I switch to my first highlight colour and do that with a very dry brush. You may have to work over areas a few times to get the shading you need.

Then I use my second highlight to just add to the very tips of the areas. This is usually a very subtle highlight.

This technique is worth practicing as it creates real dimension in your mountain work.

From there I would decorate with flocking, trees etc.

I hope your readers enjoy.

Grant”

A big thanks to Stuart for sharing his OO scale steam locomotives, and to Grant too.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

Don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here. Is today going to be the day you make your start?

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Model railroad securing structures – here’s how Bob does it:

“Hello Al,

I have attached some shots of My Last Layout. About 1/3 of the layout is in final form and the rest I have just sitting on the base. I still move things around a bit.

On this layout I painted the top half of the walls flat black and then bought a cheap piece of cotton drop cloth, cut it in half, stapled it to the wall and painted it blue. It kind of draws your attention directly to the layout.

I laid this one out in vignettes that allow me to get a little creative, avoid everything being in the same period and style and provide me with places to put more stuff.

I am pleased with the mine operation. I wasn’t sure how it would look with the structure above and the actual mine below but I like the way it turned out.

I built the ore boat and ore tipple out of my usual bunch of sticks and wood scrap but no matter how I tried I could not build an acceptable tug boat from scratch.

I finally bought a boat kit and made a tug boat out of it. The tires on the hull are rubber washers, most of the superstructure are bits and pieces from my junk box. The main cabin is a cut-down toilet paper cardboard roll, the door is a piece of tongue depressor (my favorite) with a grommet for the porthole.

I wanted to try lighting my structures so I bought a string of LED Christmas lights and use them to light the building interiors.

They look good in the dark but it was kind of a pain to wire all the buildings.

After seeing what the talented Dave has done with his lighting I have decided to add some street lights to my town. Got the lights but haven’t put them in yet.

Speaking of buildings, can you see anything familiar about a couple of the houses in my town (hint-they are made from paper)?

I removed the gable on one of them and covered the roof to look like cedar shake and on the larger house I added wood trim to the doors & windows and added wood trim to the outside corners as well.

I have also added signs to my businesses named for my family members. Unfortunately, with 6 brothers and sisters and 10 grandchildren I have more names than buildings and some of these folks get a little testy if they don’t see their name on something.

I still have not added the water to my waterfront, just painted the base blue for now. Same with ballasting the track. I always do that last after I finally decide where all my structures will be placed.

You must be careful to not glue down your structures so that they block your track when it comes time to ballast. I learned this the hard way.

Just an idle thought, the more I see the track without ballast the more normal it looks …..hummm!

Most of the structures are now scratch built and I buy a few damaged ones on the internet and fix them up and/or use the parts to build other things.

The more I build the better I seem to get at it. For example, I got a building front, cut it in half and used the bottom to build a store and the top to build a fire station. Hands still shake a little at the most inopportune times. Seems mostly when I’m trying to glue something.

Bob”

A big thanks to Bob for sharing. Some good advice on model railroad securing structures – ballast sticks to anything…

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here if today is the day you start on your own layout.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Rob has recreated his vacation with his HO scale German trains and layout:

“I’ve been a fan of your blog for several years, and have learn so much from the contributors. I look forward to opening my email each day to see the wonders you send forth.

I’ve been working on my Murren and St. Goar Scenic Railway since I returned from a trip to German and Switzerland.

I wanted to recreate views and moments from that trip in HO scale German trains.

I’d not done any railroading since I was a teen back in the 1960s, so it’s been a real experience relearning everything.

t’s encouraging to read posts of others who have questions and made mistakes we can all learn from.

My submission shows a small addition to my city (based on Freiburg, Germany) three streets off the Main Avenue.

There was a block of empty space left over from other building installations. I’d debated what to do with it for some time, and finally decided to just tackle the space with basically what I had on hand.

Our recent stay in place orders here in Michigan have provided many extra hours of time to ponder and work on train projects.

I tend to work on my layout in an organic fashion, and have found that I greatly admire those modelers who can build a layout with all those yards, mainlines and switches.

I’ve also learned that I’m not very good at that part of the hobby.

What, it turns out, I really like is doing building kits and creating landscapes for the train to run through.

Your blog has reinforced that there is no “right” way to do model railroading, and that ideas can come from any source.

Attached are several pictures showing the progress of the city block addition from start to finish.

View from the main station looking back toward to area where the new block addition was added. All the city buildings are lighted for night effect.

The block as it looked before I started. The backs of the buildings on the facing block provide the background. I added a narrow road opposite, next to the tracks as a first step.

I first added some grass for a small park which is to set behind the building on the block corner. Then I added stone paver sections to create a courtyard as seen in many German cities behind buildings. I found, and assembled a building kit that allowed a drive through from the side street into the courtyard to anchor the other end of the block.

I built some simple planters, added benches and found a sculpture piece for the park. My youngest daughter teaches first grade so she has many craft and classroom items that can be adapted to the layout. In this case the sculpture is a throwaway piece from a lettering kit.

Next I added some people, a tree, a hedge and a fence next to the tracks. These were all left over parts from other scenes on the layout.

Then I added the two buildings, one at each end to enclose the block. One building I already had built, but did not use for a different scene, the other was purchased to allow the drive through into the court yard.

View of the completed block.

Wwith the recent article on how to finish the edge of the layout causing some discussion, I decided to try adding buildings across the street on the other side of the tracks. I purchased a set of kits for those half facade buildings that one puts up against walls. Only I don’t have any walls so I just placed them on the table edge and put a backing board behind them so they won’t fall off.

I colored this row of buildings based on those I saw in Innsbruck on my trip to Switzerland this past summer. The middle building on the block is make up from leftover parts from the other kits in the set, and allowed me to fill the space completely.

I hope your readers fine them interesting and even useful.

Rob, Murren and St. Goar Scenic Railway, USA”

Now on to Cassio.

We know he’s a man of few words – but that’s just the language barrier.

His pics and video does all the talking:

A big thanks to Cassio and Rob.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And don’t forget if you want to get going on your very own layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.