Model railroad layouts plans

Andrew’s been back in touch with an update on his Hornby Dublo layout:

“Dear Alistaire,

My latest has taken 20 months to complete and is the 5th Hornby Dublo 3 Rail layout, constructed in my garden shed 3.6 meters X 2.4 meters (12 feet X 8 feet).

You have been kindly posted my earlier versions on your Blog.

I enjoy building a layout, and once it is complete, working satisfactorily, and I have running sessions operating well, I like to make improvements. This takes the form of a complete rebuild of the layout.

The original Hornby Dublo train set was a present from my father 70 years ago.

It still runs with oiling, maintenance and TLC.

Over the years the set grew with birthday/Christmas presents from relatives and when I first started work full time in 1969 I built my first model railway – as opposed to a toy train – in the attic of may parents home.

Work took me away with the track and locomotives stored in a trunk. This travelled with me as my work took me around the UK and when I finally retired in 2014 to Queensland Australia it came out and has given me a wonderful creative hobby ever since.

The layout is created from my imagination and does not try to reflect any place. Photo web sites have provided ideas for scenes with buildings from or personalised from your site and other on-line sources.

Andrew”

A big thanks to Andrew for sharing his Hornby Dublo layout.

That’s all for this time folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you blow the dust of your old locos and find some track too, 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 store.

They are great fun to make and great value too.

Dave’s been in touch with some more pics of his HO scale scene:

“Some of the comments received from my previous layout pictures which you were so kind to post indicated that some viewers prefer more landscapes than city or industrial scenes.

Being originally from Chicago, my layout is full of city and industrial buildings. You know the old modelers saying… “my layout, my theme”.

I encourage all modelers to do their thing and have fun. My layout features my town of Greenfield and the nearby city of Indianapolis and surrounding towns of Fortville and Cumberland.

I have also modeled another Indiana town of Cambria featuring mining and agriculture. My layout pays tribute to the small local businesses in our county.

I do, however, have some scenic areas on the layout, as shown in these pictures. My mountains, tunnels, rivers and canyons are made of foam board sculpted using hot wire tools.

I so enjoy making scenery and modeling buildings and structures, whether they be a kit or kit-bashed.

All my best,

Dave”

(You can see the city pics of Dave’s layout here: HO scale train yard layout.

Now on to Andrew:

” Dear Alistair,

I have many of your buildings on my layout having purchased one of your great value bundle deals a while ago.

I also found the official Illinois Department of Natural Resources provides free, downloadable HO scale templates of mid-19th to early 20th-century.

I have built a street in my UK based layout that might be of interest to your followers in the USA.

A short video of the buildings:

Yours sincerely,

Andrew”

A big thanks to Andrew and to Dave for sharing his HO scale scene.

Andrew’s post got me thinking – what famous building would you like to put on your layout?

If there’s a building that gets a few comments, I’ll add to the printable buildings range.

Please do suggest something, I think it would be rather fun.

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 store.

They are great fun to make and great value too.

Rob’s been back in touch with a very good missive on model railroad track codes:

“Hi Al,

About a year or so ago, I built a model of a steel bridge for my layout. At the time, I used the same track as when I built the layout. Years after I built Farland, I learned about rail sizes and scale.

With that understanding, I felt the track on Farland was too big, and I wanted to use smaller code track. The code refers to the rail size. Code 100 rail is fairly chunky and out of scale.

I wanted to change out the track on my steel bridge to something more appropriate, rather than the ordinary flex track that was on it from the beginning.

The new track has code 83 rail, which is smaller than the code 100 on the rest of the layout. This new track also models standard North American bridge track with sleepers laid closer together.

Another issue I wanted to address through this project was the straightness and flatness of the incline along that side.

When I cut the gap for the bridge, I had to cut through some timbers that ran the length of the benchwork front to back, keeping the track straight and flat.

At first it seemed fine, but eventually the track sagged, and it was not good for my less-strong pulling locomotives, like steam engines.

It did not look good either, with the trains bobbing up and down as they traversed the incline/decline along that side.

The first video is about restructuring the benchwork, replacing the track, and straightening the run.

The second video is about installing and painting the guard timbers that are part of the bridge track’s structure.

Rob”

Rob’s post reminded me of a recent one from Brian (another Hall of Fame member): HO scale double track brige.

Next, on to John, who has sent in this ballast tip:

“Alastair:

Here’s a tip to improve the look of your ballast. Purchase a bag of Polymetric sand used to sweep between newly laid paving stones.

This sand (at least in North America) has multiple colours of crushed granite providing a mild contrast to the very even colored store bought ballast.

Start by sifting using progressively finer screens. I sifted mine three times and found a perfect size for my HO scale layout. If you’re looking for a different natural and complimentary ballast, this could be for you!

John”

A big thanks John and to Rob for sharing his thoughts on model railroad track codes – and what an eye for detail he has. I always look forward to seeing his stuff in my inbox.

You can see more of Rob in the Hall of Fame.

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 store.

They are great fun to make and great value too.