Model railroad layouts plans

Peter’s been in touch with his OO gauge layout

“Hi Alastair, Hope this one makes it to you!

I thought this might be of interest to railway modelers frustrated by lack of space.

Firstly, a big thanks to you!! For sending all the tips, Videos, and photos over the past few years!

They have been a great help and inspiration to many im sure!! and someone like me who at the age of 76 is just starting out again after a break of some 6 years, and especially dangerous Dave with his wonderful layout videos and tips are so wonderful to watch and the change looks interesting!

I have been a scale rail modeller now on & off for over 60 years since a child of 10, through a happy marriage still going after 55years and two children which both had train sets!

I have restarted now with a vengeance!

I have included some shots of my layouts so far! With still much more work/fun to do. More pics to follow next mail!

I have two layouts, one is a OO gauge layout and the other a N gauge they are both in the 1960-70s era with various scenes of interest namely a church wedding, a market, a play park and farms so far, with various steam and diesel locos pulling coaches and various trucks etc around separate tracks.

One of which I made a big change too at the start of my resurgence, as when I last put it away I decided it was a bit boring, with having the a trains going round in circles on three separate tracks on my 8×4 00 gauge layout.

So, the first thing I decided getting it back down was to change the 00 gauge to a figure eight track around two tracks and keeping the other one still going round the outside! Which took some time to do, with various incline try-outs until it worked efficiently! Well am I so pleased!!

It makes so much difference and would suggest it to anyone to look at it, as a possibility? As it makes it, so much more interesting and far from boring!

So, as I said I have two layouts one a 00 gauge on 8x4ft board and one a N gauge on a 7×3.6ft board, which are both in my Dining room of 9x13ft. Which we only use when we have guests for dinner or tea as we mainly eat our meals in the kitchen!

One on each side, both hinged to the wall on right side wall, and the windowsill on the left side! this enables me to lift them up out of the way when room is required for dining etc. But it requires a good solid bases to support and keep their shape when lifting them up & down!

The 00 gauge one hinges have removable pins, so I can detach when I need too! The N gauge is set off the wall by six inches to allow for the scenery, the 00 gage is set on the windowsill which gives good space for scenery

The other reason I got bored was that I purchased a DCC system 6 years ago which I attempted to install on my 00 gauge without success, I set up a programming track as advised, wired up the chip as instructed to no avail! Not a sign of movement from the loco!

My main frustration was not knowing if it was a faulty chip or my bad connections!! After trying different connections etc I gave up and put the layout away in frustration!

The other main frustration is how to keep couplings from coming apart???

I go to various exhibitions & shows and see how these various layouts work with mainly no problems with couplings, how do they do it, what is the big secret?? I was wondering if any of your followers might have some advice and ideas on these two frustrations??

Best Regards

Peter”

A big thanks to Peter for sharing his OO gauge layout. And who can help him with his frustrations? Please leave a comment below if you can.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if you want to stop dreaming and start doing, just like Peter did, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Remember, it’s the start that stops most people.

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.

Paul’s been in touch with a DC to DCC conversion:

“Hi Al another project completed so I thought I would send some photos and a short video.

I bought the Doodlebug on Ebay and thought I would convert it from DC to DCC.

The accompanying photos show what the Bug’s electricals looked like before the conversion and during the process.

I also converted the headlight over to an LED which also required the addition of a 1000 ohm resistor. I added a stick-on strip of 6 LED lights on the ceiling of the interior cabin to allow the passengers to read at night.

So far no one has complained that the light is too bright. I guess the ones that want to sleep might, but so far I haven’t heard a peep from them.

The decoder I used allows you to choose different horns and bells so I picked the bell that sounds like a trolley since the Bug looks like one.

The speaker is the sugarcube type 11X15 mm.

Hope you enjoy the photos and video.

The colors in the video didn’t come out as vivid as I had hoped using my phone.

Paul”

I know Paul’s camera is a bit shaky, but thought it worth showing the video too:

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

You can see Paul’s last post here.

And now on to Gary. You’ll remember him from this post. He sent this in, and I rather liked it, so here it is:

“Hi Al……. I came across this and would like to share it with you and the other model railroaders.

Gary”

That’s all for today folks. A big thanks to Paul fo sharing his DC to DCC conversion, and to Gary too.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here, if you want to stop dreaming, and start doing.

Best

Al

Frank’s been in touch with an excellent idea for where to donate model trains:

“Hi Al,

I am retired from the heavy highway construction business and we performed asphalt and concrete work for states and the government.

The layout was modeled after small but upscale village in Plainville Connecticut where the concrete plant was located, and the quarry was also there.

We have since moved to Florida full time.

I since have elected to build small layouts and donate same to children’s hospitals. They will illustrate the North Pole , winter, and Christmas.

Before we moved, most of the layout was dismantled and donated to the Torrington Connecticut Model Railroad club youth program.

Can’t wait to see what these creative young modelers come up with.

Love your emails and tips of the trade.

I guess at 78 year’s old ,i am just a guy with a schoolboy heart.

Be well,

Regards,

Frank.”

A big thanks to Frank – and what a wonderful thing to do with his layouts – I’m sure they are very much appreciated by the kids in hospital.

So if you ever find yourself wondering where you should donate model trains, now you know!

Also, don’t lose site of the fact that for most of us, it’s memories of playing with trains as kids that keep us all interested.

We may not think about them for a few decades or so, but the magic never leaves.

So who knows, a layout donation could be planting the seed for the next generation of model train enthusiasts.

What’s more, I’m sure it’ll make you feel good about yourself for quite a while.

That’s all for today folks, please do keep ’em coming.

And don’t forget, the Beginner’s Guide is here if you want to take your first step towards your own layout.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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