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HO scale 8×4 layout

Brian’s been in touch with a blast from the past – his old HO scale 8×4 layout:

“Hi Alastair.

As mentioned in my previous post, I said I would find the photos of the 8 X 4 display that I made for the Hobbies fair after the previous one.

This layout below in the second photo loosely resembles the late John Allen’s Gorre & Daphetid 6 X 4 layout shown below. (Courtesy of Benchmark publications). it was modified to fit on an 8ft X 4ft board.

The photo below shows where I needed help to get the board Into my friends workshop to continue with the build of my version of it.

Below is a view from the opposite side of it showing the cork roadbed.

Here I was testing building positions to what would be a good solution for them.

Foam and plaster work started and the wooden trestle in place. All the tunnel portals we set in place.

Cork roadbed was used under the track to raise it and partially deaden the sound.

Woodland Scenics ground was used to give me the look of greenery where needed.

Continuing with the foam and covering it with plaster.

Adding plaster to the opposite side.

More green woodland scenic ground foam added as well as the base of the lake bed.

The cast in place plaster arch viaduct has been painted.

Here the water (resin) has been added to the lake. Trees have been added around the layout. I stopped using resin after this as there is heat involved during the curing process and when it cools down, it shrinks. I then had to repair the edges to hide where the resin had shrunk. Woodland Scenics realistic water was not available at that time,

An overall view showing a train crossing over the wood trestle bridge.

A station and water tank was added at the top section and more industry added on the right hand side below the hill. Bushes and shrubbery was added here also on the left hand side of the layout

Final placement of the town and the roads. Everything was glued down including the vehicles in preparation for the move to the hobbies fair.

This stand was double the size of the previous one and was 20ft 10ft in size. Because of its size, a young friend of mine who also had an interest in model trains asked me if he could display his small finished HO scale layout on the stand

His HO scale well detailed layout can be seen below and also received a lot of comments especially when told that a 15 year old kid built it. He was on the stand with me for the duration of the show to answer any questions about his layout.

The main 8ft X 4ft layout was also sold at the hobbies fair which was a week long from Monday to Sunday during school holidays. The small layout was returned home again.

This was my last foray into HO scale standard gauge (1:87 and 16mm track gauge).

From here on it was all HO three foot narrow gauge – HOn3.

A big thank you to Alastair for all the hard work that he does in keeping this site going. A great round of applause for Al.

Brian – the HOn3 guy in Knysna RSA.”

A big thanks to Brian for sharing his HO scale 8×4 layout.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

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

Best

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

HO scale Kato model layouts – Peter’s

Peter’s been in touch and added to the HO scale Kato model layouts on the blog:

“Hi Alastair,

My name is Peter and I retired about two years ago and decided to get back in to model railroading a year ago.

I really want to share with you and your followers what can be done with some limitations.

Firstly, I rent and I know I will have to pack up my whole layout and move within the year. My entire model layout sits on folding tables and can be packed up into a few boxes.

Secondly, I have a limited budget and have not purchased one new engine nor rolling stock. I picked up a lot of items for near free, such as a $10 HO scale box with a bridge, 3 engines, buildings and some rolling stock.

I repainted, stenciled, and repaired many items. I made all my mountains out of insulation and used dollar store paint.

The single largest purchase, and probably the best for me was a huge lot of HO scale kato unitrack for $200, and some used switches at the local hobby shop.

My next most expensive item is my one HO scale Kato engine: $105 CN. I stick to my limit for items, stay patient, and buy combined lots of items when I can, and average about $10 a car / building etc.

I decided to focus my layout on Castlegar, British Columbia circa 1974. I spend a year there when I was fourteen.

Castlegar’s unique railway station was till within the wye at that time. The other locations on my layout are the Nelson, B.C. rail yard and the Taghum bridge.

It’s not completely prototypical, but it’s close. What I love about this transition era is the variety of rolling stock and paint themes that were actually on the rails together.

I was a school teacher and I often reflect on the interdisciplinary learning that goes on: in the research: history and geography, in the modelling: art, all the math: scale, the electronics and the mechanical understanding rebuilding thirty year old locomotives and getting them running. All that without even touching the DCC side of things.

Anyways, here are a few pictures of my HO scale. I hope someone can enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed seeing others’.

Peter”

HO scale Kato model layouts:

A big thanks to Peter for adding to the Kato HO scale model layouts.

Here’s a few more of them if that’s your thing:

Kato HO scale unitrack

Kato track plans.

Now on to Dave:

“Hi Al,

Just a short video well 7 minutes… Running a few trains, it’s so cold up here in the North and grey with rain on and off… so what better than run a few trains.

It’s all action with various ones all with there own sound… Soon be warmer weather then can get back to gardening??

Regards

Dave”

A big thanks to Dave and Peter.

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

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

Model railroad lift out bridge

Tom’s been in touch with his model railroad lift out bridge.

It’s always the simple ideas that work best:

“I thought your readers might be interested in my lift-out bridges!

My layout requires two lift out bridges just inside the room’s door, in order to walk into the human areas within the layout.

In researching how others have done lift-out bridges I saw a lot of complexity. One hobbyist even built his bridges to move up ingeniously above head height like an elevator. I decided I did not want my bridges to be using a very complex method of moving out of the way and back into place.

The method I am using is fairly simple, easy to setup, easy to use.

I placed the approach tracks in place so they define the bridge placement, I then placed thin strips of metal glued to the OSB which is the platform for the layout that the two 1 inch layers of foam rest on. I then cut wood blocks for the bridge to sit on at each end with the bottom of the blocks having a strip of magnetic sheet glued to them.

This magnetic sheet enables the wood blocks to stick to the metal plates to hold bridges in place.

The blocks were fabricated to an exacting height that ensures the bridge track matches perfectly to the approach tracks.

The bridges lift out with little effort and when put back into place are easy to line up the tracks.

They stay in place and do not move with repeated passing of trains over the bridges. The magnetic attraction between the magnetic sheets and the metal is just right to keep bridges in place while also making it easy to lift out the bridges. I built two shelves to place the bridges on when removed.

The electrical connections are made with short wires that plug into a terminal block from KATO with quick release modular plugs.

I had to modify the internal connections inside the terminal block to have two separate circuits since each bridge is on main line loops that are powered separately on the DCC system as power districts.

Since the bridge tracks do not actually touch the mainline tracks at one end, they provide the perfect break that ensures there is not a continuous loop in the DCC circuitry, which is required with DCC, in the information I have.

I finished things off at each end of where the bridges sit, by using flexible concrete walls from Walther’s (Chooch brand), and painting these walls, and wood blocks that are glued to the bridges, a concrete color.

A friend suggested that I should consider a removable flat piece of sheathing to span the area under the bridges. This would be finished off to look like a river that the bridges are passing over.

Tom H.

Colorado, USA”