Model railroad layouts plans

Eric’s been back in touch with part 2 of his HO scale town layout update:

(His last post is here if you missed it.)

“Hello Alastair

Here is part two of the new insert addition.

This begins with the insert with the finish edges which mainly is to cover the rough edges of the insert when put in place.

The next step was to check fit and adjust and put in place. Had to make a new road to the area also.

Then begin finding some DMP buildings to build, paint and weather to go with the new replacement insert.

With a few completed I messed around with placement and needed a few more. Has you can see something is coming to light with my HO scale town layout slowly.

This will complete part 2 insert addition, standby for part 3.

I will try to keep it interesting with a spin from gun shop and range to..

Thanks Al for sharing Its a great hobby that never stops, like you saw at Mark Twain Hobby shop

“Get A Life , Get A Hobby”

Eric the firefighter”

Now on to Heather, whose last post is here.

“At long last I have been able to upload these photos.

The top one just shows the lay out he has gone with since making changes.

The bottom photo is just of Terrence bull dozing the area for the end loader to pick up, as jason wants this as a goverment area for maintaining the ground of the track & park land.

Thee cut out is just one I had printed to try my hand at it.

The control box are just sitting there out the road for now & will go into place when he has the area ready that the only reason they are sitting there.

Also tried power unit I had but Thomas could not move so I have to get another power supply or find out if this is working or not. First I thought I might see Thomas & the girls go for a little run but nope, so I put them on the siding for now all the carrages run around the track with ease. Just need power to try engines then.

I’m going to search internet to see if I can find a wharf some where to get a Idea of how to build one for Jason.

Do you know if there is a cargo ship in 1.87 scale around as I have not seen any.

thanks

Heather.”

Now on to Peter, who has sent in this video after his last post.

“Hi Alastair,

After the very interesting comments to my previous post here is a short video which shows the whole layout as it stands so far.

Peter”

A big thanks to Eric for sharing his HO scale town layout, and too Heather and Peter.

I think all of them show this hobby is all about making that start.

And if you want to make yours, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

That’s all today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

Best

Al

PS Seen the latest ebay cheat sheet yet?

John’s been in touch with the latest on his minimum gauge railway.

“I have read often about the challenges of ballasting track.

While I have never found it too much of a pain in the bum myself, a recent experience has begun to change my mind on the subject.

Ballasting a set of points is fiddly work no matter what scale you are working in!

In the small scales, ballast is usually an accommodation to make your track look more like a real railway.

With the minimum gauge railway I am building, the ballast is essential for leveling and securing the track. My four wheel wagons are not forgiving when the track is the slightest bit wobbly or if it tilts the wrong way on curves.

Here is a set of points that I am trying to level and secure.

“Emma” is my work motor.

She does a good job helping me shunt my wagons.

One small problem with Emma is that she is not fond of less than perfect track.

This is a challenge with my four wheeled wagons as well. To the positive, their troublesome natures have helped me improve my trackwork!

Here Emma is in charge of my ballast wagon.

When full, the tubs on the wagon can weigh 100 pounds or a little more.

One of these tubs full of ballast is about the same as half a teaspoon of ballast when one is working in HO scale!

In the small scales one uses a paintbrush to spread the ballast. Here a broom does the job. Also I am using a small scrap of steel to clear the check rails (guard rails).

When it comes to ballast for my tramway, I am using “indigenous materials”.

I do screen the locally sourced ballast to remove the larger stones.

On my side of the pond, narrow gauge railways were not usually too fussy when it came to securing their track. Dirt was cheap, rock ballast is more dear… Much harder on the pocketbook!

Here are a couple of photographs of the quarry end of my line.

Where the quarry now is, that is where my equipment storage shed will soon be.

They do not call this scale of railway “Hernia Scale” for nothing. I believe my soil is about 50 percent rock and 50% dirt.

One more pictures of Emma at work.

“Emma” was named after John Allen’s “organic switcher”.

That “locomotive” for his classic “Gorre and Daphetid” railroad was introduced in April of 1952, HO Model Trains Monthly magazine.

Technically it was a stegosaurus but it later became known as the “work bronto”.

When “Emma” misbehaves I remind myself that honoring locomotive 13 of a railroad known as the Gorre and Dapheted (pronounced Gore and Defeated) may not have been my best idea — Even if I did change the number…

John”

A big thank to John for sharing the latest on his minimum gauge railway.

Now onto Henry:

“Hello Alastair

I have recently sent you a few pictures of the completed passenger station on the upper deck of my double deck layout.

In the few weeks since then I have been hard at work, wiring current sensors into the hidden staging yard tracks.

Once I was satisfied these were working reliably, I started the scenery to hide the staging yard.

I also completed the coal mine scene just before you enter the staging yard.

I am attaching a few photos of the latest development. I am using two mirrors against the ceiling to see fouling point markers, a white tie or sleeper in this case.

Regards

Henry”

If you want to see Henry’s track plan, his last post is at the bottom of this one.

That’s all for today.

A huge thanks to John for sharing his update. Couldn’t help thinking of Larry’s ride on train with track whenever I see a layout like this.

If you want to get up to speed, John’s last post is here.

I so enjoy looking through my inbox each morning, especially when there’s a missive like John’s.

It’s wonderful to see what you all are getting up to.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if you want to make a start on your own layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Seen the latest ebay cheat sheet yet?

Eric the firefighter has been busy on his layout with some HO scale scenery ideas:

“Hello Alastair

I would like to show updates that I have made in the past few months.

I will break this down in 4 emails.

PART 1

I needed to do something to the layout . So in my mind I heard, just don’t stand around do something – change something. What could I do to spend more money and take up some time that I didn’t have?

SO after studying the layout I came up with removing my access panel to the upper layout and far coner of this lower layout. This had the flat mound that had the shooting range atop with a gun shop.

1st pic is with the mound in place .

2nd will show the mound removed from lower layout. (24″ x 20″ access hole.)

The rest will show the progress that started after the removal. I cut out a new section of plywood and foam board to begin building the new addition which was unknown at that time.

Next I covered with Woodland Scenics grass mat and then added foam edging around the seams to match existing layout.

Part 2 will come soon.

Thank you Al for sharing

Eric The Firefighter St. Louis Area.”

Eric’s previous post is here if you want to get up to speed.

And here’s the one before that.

I do love seeing an update, especially on a layout we’ve all been following for a while.

I can’t wait to see the next one. I think Eric is doing an excellent job, and best of all he seems to be having fun along the way.

A big thanks to Eric for sharing his HO scale scenery ideas. Clever stuff.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you poke boredom in the eye, 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.