Model railroad layouts plans

John’s been in touch with HO scale tram:

“I decided to renew my interest in model railroading, but take a new approach.

As a youngster, I had a HO layout which -if not necessarily very prototypical- kept me entertained and satisfied my MRR bug.

As an adult with young children, I and they became involved with G gauge, and had fun traveling to local shows with a portable display.

With the children gone and downsizing our home, the G layout went to a younger cousin and his family as our new home had little space for anything that large.

Time got me thinking hard about how I could make a layout using my beloved 1/24 or G scale, but with a much smaller footprint.

What I decided upon was a 1/24 scale miniature train set-up using HO track.

My layout would be a sort of amusement park ride, with 1/24 folks enjoying a ride-upon On-30 train.

At the same time, I decided to automate the trains, turnouts, and eventual special effects with DCC.

To make this vision happen, I purchased a small On-30 Spectrum DCC 0-4-2 Steam locomotive, three Spectrum open observation cars, and a pair of Spectrum short wooden gondola cars. All except the engine would require extensive modification.

First though, I had to prepare a layout table. What I decided upon may be a bit unusual, but so will the whole layout be!

I chose to frame the 4′ x 8′ layout with 1″ X 9” PVC lumber. The table surface itself is 3 layers glued up of rigid foam, presently covered in felt. The felt gives it a “finished look” while I build and will be removed as the work progresses.

For support, I purchased a set of folding “card table” legs, to which I added a set of easy-rolling casters for mobility.

You will note in the photo that the layout is in a covered, screened area. Here in Florida most have this, called a lanai.

Ours happens to be large enough for both my layout and my wife’s elevated gardens, with room left over for some chairs and small tables for entertaining.

Since the climate is humid, I keep a light plastic tarp over the entire table when I’m not using it.

The 4′ x 8′ table with felt tucked in over the rigid foam

I decided to use Bachmann EZ Track for convenience since it was readily available and requires no tedious tracklaying. Not my interest at this point as my immediate goal is to be up and running with my HO scale tram.

I knew rolling stock would be a challenge for this rusty craftsman, but I had a pretty good idea what I wanted and how to achieve it. The Spectrum On-30 open observation cars were “more or less” in scale for O but needed heavy mods for 1/24 or G scale. The first thing was to remove the far too low roof from the observation cars. A razor saw made quick work of this.

Original spectrum on-30 open observation car

Obs car wih roof sawn off and interior benches removed.

To remove the O scale interior benches, I removed one truck so I could access the tabs holding the coach body to the chassis. Once the body was removed, I removed 4 screws which held the benches in.

This left the body roofless and empty, so time to add some 1/24 seats!

I found some candidates for the job with 1/24 park benches. These just happened to fit across the width of the car perfectly! I sawed off most of the base a glued 3 benches in place on each car.

Benches glued in and new roof supports going in:

The new roof supports were next. Each was cut from wooden medical applicator sticks, 2.5″ long for each. Once 8 were in place, the roof went on and the chassis reconnected.

Two done, one to go.

After completing the observation cars, I had to make a trailer for the driver. On the Howling Wolf RR, the engine is operated by a remote control on the driver’s lap, but where should he ride? A modified wood gondola served the purpose nicely. I’ll spare you the obvious steps, here it is… but lacking a roof!

I gave some thought of how I would match up a built roof with the roofs of the obs. cars. Then an inspiration! We use a fiber product called Benefiber, and just maybe… Stay Tuned for the next instalment!

John”

A huge thanks to John for sharing his HO Scale tram – some very creative scratch building going on there. Can’t wait to see the next update.

It reminded me of Brian’s tram layout: Kato tram layouts.

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 stop dreaming, and start doing.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Bruce has been in touch with his N scale L shaped layout:

“It was in 1971 while living in Toronto Canada that I bought my first N Gauge train set.

It was a small boxed set by Aurora, Postage Stamp Trains, which cost me $25.

It consisted of a small 0-6-0 steam engine, 4 freight cars, and some rails. I was hooked on the detail and size, and this started me on collecting N Gauge.

Over the next couple of years I bought through the mail from the USA several Rapido, Atlas, and other makes.

I then moved to England for a couple of years, and bought a Hornby Minitrix Britannia for £10.

I then moved to Cape Town for several years, and found a small hobby shop close by, and continued my collection, mainly Atlas items.

After that I moved back to England for a while, and then in 1981 moved permanently to the USA, where I have lived at the same address for almost 40 years.

I bought a country house that did not have a decent garage, so I built a large 2-car garage with an upstairs, and two rooms at the back.

One room, my future Train Room is 16 ft by 12 ft, and next to it is the Tack Room (for saddles and bridles) for use by my wife for her horses.

However, it was not until 2013 that I started building my layout, as my main interest was collecting different trains. I did not specialize, as I bought anything that I liked the look of – steam, diesel, electric trains from USA, England, Germany, France, Japan. Most of my purchasing was done on ebay between 2000 and 2010.

I “finished” my layout in 2018, since I did a little bit each year, as there is no heating or A/C in my train room, so I worked just a couple hours at a time over a couple of months each year.

Attached are some progress photos – I apologize for the bad quality.

The layout is “L” shaped, with 4 train tracks, and 4 DC controllers.

There are 2 outside long distance tracks for my longer trains, and 2 figure-8 shorter tracks on the inside. Nothing too fancy, as I want to see my trains run.

The houses I used are a real mix – some might not be truly N Scale. I got Spanish Villas bought in Cadaques Spain, Bermuda Cottages, English Cottages, American Farm houses, and a Lighthouse I bought at a Dollar General.

Bruce”

A huge thanks to Bruce for sharing his N scale L shaped layout.

Whenever I see a farm on a layout, for some reason, I’m always reminded of Pete’s HO farm.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you start your layout and joining in on the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Remember, it’s the start that stops most people… don’t let that be you.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

Jeff’s been back in touch with his on30 narrow gauge.

If you want to get up to speed, his last update is here.

“Al,

Hi, little update after a year off I am back at it a little at a time.

I have started with the track ballast and the land scape. Last winter I had a mouse get into the garage and the little bugger did some damage to some shrubs. So I had to make more, no big deal because I need a lot more.

The pictures I sent show some of the landscape installed, my next project is installing the waterfalls and the streams. I then can install the trestles. Still working on adding more hard scape from the back forward.

Getting slower as I get older, I will send updates as I progress.

The scale I am modeling is on30 narrow gauge, all track was hand layer with over 25000 spikes installed.

When I make more trees I will take step by step pictures on how to.

As the the backdrop painting it was why I took a senior bob Ross painting class at the local craft store, that was a experience because I was the only male among 15 or more lady’s.

After a few practice paintings I started the backdrop, it took about three week’s to complete.

Like I said all buildings, trestles, bridges, water tanks etc, were all scratch built. Lumber was all cut on my table saw to the correct dimensions for my scale.

Some information I got from the university y Washington and some from the library of congress.

Again thanks for your great sit and the work you do for the model railroad community.

Thanks

Jeff”

Now on to Ben, who has made that all important start:

“Hi Al! I have slowly, and I mean slowly, been working on my small layout. Work and my kids take up most of my time.

I finally placed the last building and will start landscaping soon. Thanks for sharing!

Ben”

A big thanks to Jeff for sharing his on30 narrow gauge- what a layout that’s going to be.

And well done to Ben. The ‘start’ is what stops most people, which is a great shame. Once you get going it’s a lot of fun.

Now on to a quick bit of housekeeping. Some of you are mailing me saying you’re not getting my mails anymore. Sometimes this does happen.

If you want to make sure you stay on the list, please whitelist my email address. Just google how to do it (every mail provider is different), and then you won’t drop off the list.

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

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the Silly Discount bundle.