Model railroad layouts plans

Gus has been in touch with his HO scale storage tank step by step:

“Alastair,

Gus again with some easy build storage tanks and water tanks.

The tanks are made from metal and cardboard cookie containers sprayed with red or white satin spray paint.

The bell end of the tank is made from a Styrofoam ball found at many craft stores, cut to fit the diameter of the container and shaped with a rasp to for the bell end of the tank.

To give it the smooth bell shape the Styrofoam was coated with a thin coat of drywall mud and sanded smooth.

The man way, pipe, valves and fittings are from Plastruct. Plastruct manufactures architectural details in various scales such as structural shapes, pipe, valves , fittings, pumps and motors.

The tanks also sit in a rupture basin built from square wood stock with a foam board, then filled with ballast. The Oil Company logos are from a computer search, scaled and printed the glued to the tanks.

The Nitro Gro anhydrous ammonia fertilizer and propane tanks are made similarly to the large tanks. The tank bodies are from thick cardboard tubes from a printing machine.

The bell ends are made from smaller Styrofoam balls cut in half and glued to the end of the tubes. The cradle is made from a 1” x 2” x 9” cut with a hole saw to cradle the four tanks. The fill and relief vents are made from small diameter dowel rods drilled and glued into the tanks. The signage are purchased decals from my local hobby store.

Last but not least is the water tank. Every time guests come over to look at the layout, they ask about the water tank. I always ask them what they think it is made from. I get a lot of different answers. It is nothing more than a toilet tank float ball glued to a 8” piece of ¾ PVC.

The base is made from a small kitchen funnel turned upside down and glued inside the PVC pipe. I added a red LED light from Evan’s Design to the top of the tank. The water tank is always a topic of conversation.

Have fun folks. Just look around the house and find endless items that you can use to build just about anything. Thanks for a great site. Ideas are endless.

Gus”

You can see Gus’s last post here.

Now on to Cassio.

He’s a man of very words, but I think that’s becasuse of a language barrier. His pics usually speak for him – and now he’s sent in a vid that does the same:

Thanks to Gus and Cassio.

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.

Terry’s been in touch with his N scale barn:

“Hi Alastair,

I have been following your blog for some time now and using tips from your Beginners Guide.

I am a newbie working on an N scale barn layout based on my memories growing up in Florida.

Yep it’s completely flat! There are not any railroad tunnels in the Sunshine State.

It is modeled on the Florida East Coast Railroad. I am doing it in diorama modules that can be taken out to change a scene if the spirit moves.

The only things that are ‘store bought’ are the two trucks, car, animals (Outland Models, Japan), and the people (unpainted from Preiser, Germany).

Everything else is scratch built using tips and tricks from Al’s Beginners Guide and other pointers found here on the blog.

Thanks to all who give insight on how I can develop my railroad empire!

My wife thinks I am probably off my nut making narratives on all this, but I have Calhoun’s Moonshine till, Happy Gator Campgrounds, and Paul’s Pure Oil gas station in progress. This I can share at another time if you like. For today allow me to introduce you to the Goode Family Farm.

Welcome to the Goode Family Farm.

Nestled at the end of a dirt lane is the Goode Family Farm. Well, its more of a farmette. In this world of ‘N scale’, it is just under 5 acres. Although its small, there is a lot going on.

In the barnyard you will find Mr. Hank Goode standing next to the hay truck watching Bossy sneaking some hay before it is unloaded. Then there is Mrs. Franny Goode feeding the chickens at the chicken
coop. Mister the horse, and Berta the cow, are taking drinks at the stock tank. Maude and Grace are feeding on a hay bale while Paint stands alone in the pasture.

Bucky and Bonny go to the fence to have their noses rubbed by family friend Tom and his daughter Gail.

In the pig pen are the four pigs that will soon be ready for market. While it’s a quiet place, in the background you can hear the sound of the squeaking old wind wheel pump as the breeze blows the Spanish moss in the trees.

In the yard, the oldest daughter Anna is in the back yard hanging the laundry out to dry. Becky, the ten- year-old, can be seen swinging little brother B.J. on the tire swing. In the garden the oldest son Dicky is weeding the vegetable patch.

The farmhouse is a typical old Florida farmhouse with large windows for ventilation and a brick fireplace to add warmth on the occasional cool evening. The porch invites you to sit on the rocking chair or the porch swing while you enjoy the aroma of the potted flowers.

When the evening rain falls on the tin roof it lulls the Goode family to sleep. A well-deserved rest after a hard day’s work.

Hey, thanks for stopping in. Y’all come see us again now hear?

Terry”

A big thanks to Terry for sharing his N scale barn.

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.

Andrew’s rebuilding his Horny Dublo 3 rail layout – his last post is here.

“Dear Alistair,

Thank you for featuring my second layout. It was complete and in full working order so time for a change. In January I planned a dog bone track layout.

I stared to rebuild my layout lifting all track and salvaging wires connectors where possible

Using past experiences and helpful ideas published on your blog by other subscribers I have tried several ways to create the visual image in my mind.

The first section to construct was the Eastern tunnel and wood yard

Then I moved to the Northern tunnel, this time using discarded expanded polystyrene from packaging with the turntable, engine sidings and coaling tower, featured in your scratch building competition in April.

For the Western corner I chose a cutting and using a technique harvested from one of your contributors building the scene on a board in my garage, not on the layout. This time using a wood frame and crushed newspaper covered with material from an old pair of my wife’s pyjamas then coated with plaster of Paris and painted

Using the same technique, I made a template with newspaper to build the farm and grain store.

Progress has been good and much more to do.

Thank you and all your subscribers for providing inspiration, ideas and motivation to build a layout.

Best wishes and stay safe.

Andrew in Oz

Andrew
Cooroy Queensland Australia”

A big thanks to Andrew for sharing his Hornby Dublo 3 rail layout.

I remember his coaling tower from the scratch building competition – it looked great and very nearly won.

There were not many entries to my little competition, but it was fun seeing what you got up to.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here if today is the day you take that very first step on your own layout.

Best

Al