Model railroad layouts plans

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

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

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”

Model railroad lift out bridge:

A huge big thanks to Tom for sharing his model railroad lift out bridge – simple but clever at the same time.

There’s quite a few of these on the blog now, here’s some others:

Model train lift bridge

O scale lift bridge

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.

Dan’s been back in touch again with his HO switching layout plans:

“This installment of the Santa Fe layout has the switchers (shunters) at work. The layout has to earn its keep.

Photo 1 The grain elevator has its own loco.

Photo 2 New farm equipment arriving.

Photo 3 Picking up a TOFC load. (Trailer on flat car)

Photo 4 Moving machinery to the trans load facility. This is one of my very lightly weathered locos on my switching layout. I can do it. I just prefer not to do much weathering.

Photo 5 It looks as there will be ham at a market soon. Also notice the trainman at the call box. He will be asking for permission for track and time to the yard.

Photo 6 Moving a HO caboose.

Photo 7 Loads on the way to a farm show. I used the date of the show to set the time period of the layout.

HO switching layout plans:

Photo 8 Tale of two HO switchers. Both are Athaern locos. 2685 was 56 years old in 2015 when the other loco was purchased. The older loco was a kit. You had to build up the gear drive. The loco is still in service and is a little noisy.

Photo 9 Switching in the industrial area of the layout.

Photo 10 Scrap loads. I did removable scrap loads for a friend. His cars were “colorful” to say the least. His layout was featured in the post about the scenery on the helix.

Photo 11 A road HO switcher on a work train doing repair work. (Road switchers had higher horse power, different trucks and geared for higher speed.)

Photo 12 A special move. The load is on one flat car and an idler car on either side to allow space for the load to be moved.

Photo 13 A close up look. I use #8 button thread to lash down the load. The thread goes through the stake pockets on the flat car and kept in place with super glue.

That is all for now. I have a few night scenes to post next before I move on to other layouts I have done. If Al lets me 8+)

Dan”

A huge big thank you to Dan for sharing his HO switching layout plans and pics. And yes, please do keep ’em coming Dan.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do just mail me if you have anything you’d like to share.

And if today is the day you stop dreaming and start doing, 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.