Model railroad layouts plans

Gary’s been in touch with a fab way of making model train grass.

“About 4 years ago I started making my own ground foam. Found that the process was very simple and inexpensive to to do.

I use it for making my trees, bushes and grass on my layout. Most of the tools needed I was able to buy used.

I picked up my food blender at a yard sale. Got my cookies sheets at Goodwill. I did purchase my Magic Bullet eBay new.

I found a local upholstery shop a bought a large garage bag of seat cushion foam for $20.00.

I have also used, used foam that I found from chairs and couches people had put out for trash. Although I recommend inspecting them before you use them for pet or food stains.

I mix up a batch of stain in a clean 5 gallon bucket. I have used latex paint, and Rit Dye. But I have found the best thing is a product called “Tints All” (which I purchased on EBay)

It’s available in a variety of colors. And I have found adding a little latex paint helpful for changing the color.

Then I take the ground foam and cut it into small pieces. Usually about 1” x 1” squares.

Then I put them into the blender. Filling it up about 1/2 full. I then add about 1 1/2 cups of water to start and turn the blender on high for about 10 minutes.

I sometimes remove the little cap on the lid to add more water if I notice that the water has soaked into the foam so much that it’s blending up well.

After the foam is blended good I drain the water off of it and then remove it from the blender by hand squeezing it in my hand to remove as much water as possible.

I then dump it into my 5 gallon bucket with the dye in it. I usually put 5 to 10 blender into the bucket before continuing on.

Once I have enough I then stir it really well and let set in the bucket for 2 to 3 hours. I have just left it in the bucket over night.

I then start removing it from the stained foam from the bucket with latex gloves. I wringing the excess dye out back into the bucket.

I then place the foam on cookie sheets that I had already prepared with layers of paper towels on them. And leave the out overnight to dry. I have also put them out side in the sun. But, you need to make sure it not going to be windy. Because as the foam drys out it becomes lite enough that it can blow of the cookie trays.

It’s not just for model train grass – this size will work great for using them for bushes and trees.

For bushes I set some to the side and put them in a smaller bucket and add some Elmers glue and mix throughly. When that drys, you end up with a product very similar to Clumped Foliage from Woodland Scenics. Which you can easily tear apart as needed.

For Fine Foliage I put some of the dried foam into the magic bullet. It grinds it up and makes great Fine Foliage

I then put it in old Parmesan cheese containers. Which work great for storage and applying it.

I also use ziplock bags to store the clumped and coarse in.

Trees in the cow pasture picture are from Menards and not ones I made.

Always enjoy your emails. This is such a fun Hobby. Just glad a can share a little knowledge with others. And hopefully some will enjoy it and find it useful.

Gary
Sellersburg Indiana”

A big thanks to Gary – what a wonderful ‘how to’ on making model train grass. Cheap and very effective.

John also has a very good techique to add grass to a layout.

There are these posts too which are helpful when it comes to grass:

Static grass.

Static grass applicator.

HO scale bushes.

Add grass to layout? John shows us how

Model train grass.

That’s all for today 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 Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

John’s been in touch with his small shelf layout:

“As you know, I normally build small layouts… Easily portable and inexpensive.

I also like little challenges as I love to build things.

Recently one of my little layouts took on a whole new meaning for me.

First, a bit of philosophy.

In life we often take many things for granted. We believe that the sun will rise tomorrow morning and we will be there to see it. We believe those we love will always be with us. We get caught up in life and we too often take both the mundane and the special for granted. We just believe it will always be there.

One day it all changes: It can change in a moment, in a twinkling of the eye. One minute what we always believed would be there is suddenly gone.

Labor Day, 2017. My wife, my daughter, and myself went to a beloved family vacation spot; Silver Lake, California. On that trip I took a little box with one of your print out kits. I wanted something to do when the family was resting… I like to keep busy.

I also wanted to show what is possible when one “does not have time” or “does not have room”. When I came back, I sent pictures and you posted the model.

When we took the trip where I built that little yellow shed, I had know Idea that would be our last family trip to that beloved location. Christy and I took one more trip for our anniversary in October but it was obvious that her lungs were failing and we would not return.

Around November, David Pye, a Facebook friend, made a “dare” on the Micro and Small model Railroads page he administrates. His “dare” was to grab some spare track (we all have some) and build a very simple, one switch, layout. This was a design the late Carl Arndt called a “Tuning Fork”. One set of points, two spurs, a shunting lead. 2/2/3.

I love to build things (it is my “drug of choice”. I build to relax and to take my mind off stressful things. I build to exercise my mind. I was looking for something to do and “Dave’s Dare” was just the thing. I grabbed some spare Bachmann EZ track and “Pye’s Point” was born… Yes, I like playing with words too. Most of my layouts have some little pun worked into them…

You also featured this… It is On30 — O scale narrow gauge running on HO gauge track.

How a little layout becomes something bigger, much bigger.

Of course my small shelf layout needed some scenery and the little shed I had built on that Labor Day trip was just the thing to fit in one corner by a road crossing.

Yes, this all has a point…

In January, I had surgery for an umbilical hernia…My mother’s heath was beginning to fail.

I know this story is depressing but it has a point, a very important point.

My son is in the Army reserves as a medic. He was also my mother’s primary caretaker for most of 2017 and all of 2018. In June he had to do his two weeks annual training. While he was to be gone, my sister and I would be in New Mexico to take care of my mother.

Again I brought my little modeling box with me… No kit but a lot of ideas and scratchbuilding materials. Again, to relieve stress, I build.

My mother was failing and she passed just a little over a week after I arrived to help take care of her. During that week I built several buildings for Pye’s Point.

When I returned from New Mexico, the structures were placed on Pye’s Point. Scenery was finished and it was made “Presentable”.

This is how it sat from June to the present.

Noting special, I took it for granted.

Christy (my wife) passed in January.

I purchased the home I will retire to in August and began a slow moving process.

This month I decided to build a simple “Roundy Round” to pass the time and again relieve stress.

My first plan was to duplicate a previous layout… But the track that I was going to use is already 400 miles away from my Southern California home.

I decided to build another On30 layout in a 3.5 foot by 6 foot space… — And use some structures I had already made.

At the time, I was also breaking up a couple of old small shelf layouts and salvaging them for their structures.. Less stuff to move that way. “Pye’s Point” was slated to be just one more layout to be junked and the buildings recycled to the new layout. Then in one moment, in a twinkling of time, everything changed.

As I got ready to pull down the layout I saw that little yellow shed… and then the other structures… Pye’s Point became a “Memory Box”, a repository of some very special memories.

I now intend to improve the presentation box to make it suitable for a special place in my new home. It will reside in my study with two other special layouts that hold different memories.

The Yellow Shed by the Crossing is a reminder of my list “happy” family trip…

The buildings on the right hand side (the “business end”) of the layout remind me of my last moments with my mother…

What fools we mortals can be. We can be foolish in the things we take for granted and equally foolish in how we choose to keep our sentimental tokens.

John”

After I read John’s post, it did make me think of just how many of your posts include fond memories from many years ago.

John’s right. This hobby absorbs memories without us knowing. And it’s beautiful when they return.

That’s all for today folks.

A big thanks to John for sharing his small shelf layout.

Please do keep ’em coming, and if you want to take the plunge and start your layout and memories, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Please do leave a comment below if you’ve got a memory you’d like to share.

Ken’s been back in touch with his O gauge train turntable:

If you want to get up to speed, his last post is at the bottom of this one.

“Following on from my scratch built 0 gauge turntable I sent you previously.

I had some additional space so put in a water tower with puddles and scratch built a gantry.

The support beam is coffee stirrers, my wife contributed a broken chain necklace which leaving the hook clasp on made a good lifting chain.

I dug into the fibre board base to make an inspection pit brick lined with plasticard and added a work shop.

I scratch built flood lights, added figures and some old sets of carriage wheels to finish the scene off.

Across the bridge and opposite is a goods yard where a wood delivery load is being lifted onto a waiting lorry.

Further along, the fish van is unloading, the two wagons there are the only ones I have seen with sliding doors and are manufactured by Faller.

I bought them very cheaply on eBay and only had to convert them to 3 link chain connectors and change their colour from a very garish yellow and brown to grey!

I am thinking about adding a canal in front of the goods shed but that will be another day!

Thanks for looking

Ken”

Now on to Gary:

“I model in HO. I recently moved and had to tear my layout down and have not started my new one yet. I have big plans for 15 by 19 foot layout.

But last year I helped a friend of mine who is one of my suppliers I buy glass from (I’m in the mirror business) build a O gauge shelf layout that goes around through his business.

He was able to make the tempered glass shelving to put a layout on himself, using GarGraves track because of the realistic wood ties.

The layout runs through three offices a conference room and across a 67 foot hallway where are used three older Lionel bridges.

I painted them with rust oleum rust be gone. Then spray painted them black and weathered them.

Although these probably are not Proto typically real. I made flat carloads with sheets of glass from styrene. Thought I would share some pictures.

When I start on my new layout I was try to share some pictures with you then of it as I build it.

Gary”

And lastly on to Dave:

“Hi Al, just a short one, latest challenge doing the rounds.

How many trucks or coaches you can pull round the layout then reverse round and see if they all keep on the track without derailing.

I managed 14 coaches, I could pull a lot more, but to reverse anything over 14 I had problems

Regards

Dave”

That’s all for today folks.

A big thanks to Ken for sharing his O gauge train turntable, and to Gary and Dave.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if this post – or any of the others – has made you think you’re missing out on a lot of fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al