Model railroad layouts plans

Robert’s been in touch with his model railroad track cleaning tips:

“Hi Al

Robert here just made this track cleaner and works better then any store bought Simple to make track cleaning car.

Look for a gondola you won’t mind drilling a hole through the middle, drill through the weight. Get yourself a floor scrubbing pad and cut to size.

Your Home Depot / Lowes has 16” size or the paint isle has smaller hand held scrubbers.

You can buy a flat head bolt. Mine is from a toilet seat kit that i didn’t use.

For the cleaning liquid is your call. I use rubbing alcohol because it cleans and evaporates quickly. Buy any size cut to fit.

Enjoy Robert”

When it comes to model railroad track cleaning tips, there’s quite a few on the blog now.

These spring to mind:

Model railroad track cleaning car.

Cleaning model train track.

Clean your track.

Track cleaner

“As an “Old School Modeler” I learned from my Dad a long Time ago that if you don’t have “good track work” as in “Your Track/Layout and connections are PERFECT… It won’t be fun to run the trains!”

This is exactly what my dad instilled in me over forty two years ago when I was in my pre/early teens.

Back then we had switched from American Flyer ‘S’ gage to HO, because back then we didn’t have “E-Bay” or the internet or “after markets” and “Re-Pops”. Sooo getting parts and stuff for those old American Flyer trains was alot more difficult!

So when we switched to HO… first off we could build alot bigger layouts with the tables we already had… and do alot more detailing! And it was pretty affordable too.

And I’ve always loves seeing what I could do with Smaller Trains and slot cars too! 🙂 so this was a win-win for us!

but… it also meant taking much more time to get things right!

In Smaller Scale… things like tight curves, gaps etc. get alot worse and made for attention to what we were doing much more critical!

If your track work does not work flawlessly, no amount of electronics. scenery, realism, operations, etc. will ever make you want to head for the train room. Take your time on the track work, make if bullet proof, and everything else will be a delight!”

However It wasn’t easy for me (as a Kid!) because my Dad and I had spent a good chunk of money getting all New Stuff! And of course being a kid I couldn’t wait to run it all! (Hell I’m still that way now! LOL 😀 )

So “patience” and “time taking” was something I really had to learn! But it did all pay off! Once we got ALL of the “bugs” worked out on the main layout… which also taught us a lot in just how “tight” we could make turns and how steeo we could make grades and such… and when we later added on the back “Train Yards” on the other side of our wreck room wall (And into the laundry/utility room!) it went down without a hitch including the “Round House” and “Repair Yards”!

What also Helped was using what we dubbed “The “Bitch” because it was a Steam Locomotive that would de-rail from a shadow it was so Sensitive!

So once “The Bitch” ran the entire Layout five times without a hitch or stopping or de-railing, then we knew it was all ready to nail down permanently!

I will also add to this… If you don’t have enough ‘power’ for your layout… especially if it’s a gin one like we ended up with… that too will add to frustrations!

So Power the tracks / trains with multiple power sources, add “bypass” wires from the Power Sources to multiple areas of the tracks to ensure continues power flow so you won’t get “dead Spots” and Power the “extras” (i.e. Lights. Switches, Etc.) with seperate power sources!

This will make for a much nicer time running things and if you have a “Snafu” in anything… you only have to mess with that circuit setup and not the entire layout.

Joe
Jefferson Wisconsin”

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“I have an HO two level, (not inter-connected), layout which fills a room of about 25 by 25 feet. I built it myself and made every mistake in the book and then some.

Some thoughts:

I find it a problem when the track is further away than my arm’s reach.
I find it a problem when there are no “emergency hand access” holes in totally covered mountain scenery.
I find it a problem where there are no “people access holes” on large table tops.
I find it a problem when a layout is densely complex with turn-outs, switch backs, short sidings, etc.

Another point:

It was a BIG Problem when I added a second main line next to and basically following the already installed, original main line:

Clearance problems, (particularly for tunnel entrances, and for long freight/passenger cars), radius problems, wiring problems, turn-out interferences, track side structures, etc. Disappointed

Another problem: if you are going to install a Round House and turntable, make sure you have sufficient, (yes, more than you think necessary), “lead in track” so that your longest locomotive can line up properly and enter the turntable and exit the turntable and smoothly enter the Round House.

Also watch out for track alignment and track elevation problems on the entrance and exit of the turntable.Weary

Another issue: I used flex track around the long curves. Watch out. Flex track is great. However when you bend it around to make a curve you are inducing “locked in stresses”, (yes I know, I am an engineer).

These “locked in stresses”, over time, may cause track misalignments and may even cause the track to warp in a vertical plane, popping off the road bed. If the involved section of track is beyond your arm’s reach, you may have an “Advil” headache problem.

Frank in San Diego”

“Hi Al…

just downloaded this video showing a problem I have, maybe someone can sort for me, also a tip on cleaning the tracks, and a bit of a running session.

Just sit back and enjoy…

Regards

Dave”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

And finally for today, cast your mind back to the scratch building competition.

I said the winning building will be put on the site for a free download. Well, here it is:

Click here to download John’s winning freight shed.

And here’s a pic of it:

That’s all for today folks. Who can help Dave? Leave a comment below if you can.

Thanks to Robert for his model railroad track cleaning tips.

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.

And there’s the Silly Discount bundle too.

John’s been in touch – he’s shared pics of his N Scale Northern Pacific Freight cars:

“Al,

Like many things in life, my interest in model railroading started at a very young age. I built 14 different layouts over the years; this is number 14.

As I got further in life after college and getting settled in a career (Industrial Arts teacher) with a steady income, I began building more.

Problem was that after I got a layout built, I’d get transferred or changed jobs, it was a curse. It happened 13 time from my very first HO layout while in middle school.

The current layout was built with my planned retirement in mind. We had a hot tub on our back deck that quit working and it was not worth replacing so we took it out. That left a large open space to the side of the extended deck I built when the hot tub was there.

AS I looked at all the open space now, the extended deck had a three sided five-foot-high privacy fence. I saw if I extended the fence up another 3 feet, close off the front, put a roof on it, instant railroad room!

That’s what I did, closed it in, wired it, insulated it and added air-conditioning (a must have in Florida).

The inspiration came when my wife and I were in Colorado chasing trains and we found ourselves at the west portal of the Moffat Tunnel. We heard a roar in the valley and soon a 110-car coal drag with 3 Denver and Rio Grade SD50s on the front three in the middle, and two at the rear.

Soon the doors to the tunnel opened and the train roared by us at about 8 MPH. It was inspiring, so years later I decided to model the D&RG.

The layout is N-scale and free lanced, with an interchange with the Northern Pacific, no specific years modeled.

I have added a card system (Not in the pictures) for planned scheduled operation and car forwarding.

I use Digitrax DCC. It cost more in the beginning but it is the only way to go. Most of the engines have sound. I have been modeling N-scale since 1970, and some very early Micro-Trains cars are still in service.

I have 6 staging tracks behind the backdrops. I use mirrors in the corners to view the hidden tracks.

Scenery is carved foam with plaster cloth over the forms with rock castings.

I made many of the castings by pouring plaster into crumpled aluminum foil.

The mass of trees was done by taking fiber-fill material, rolling small balls, soaking in diluted white glue, then rolling in different shades of ground foam. A very fast way to cover large areas.

Edges of the forest was accomplished by taking strips of lichen and soaking and applying ground foam.

Still lots to do, but one step at a time.

I tried not to make the layout a bowl of spaghetti tracks and separate the scenes so you focus on one part at a time. The concept of less is more.

As it turns out, I retired but came back as a contractor with the school district to direct an Aerospace/Aviation program. I am a pilot and started a high school program 20 years ago.

The school district wanted to expand the program and wanted me to head it up. So, my railroading time is limited.

What is nice is that the room is tight and sealed, so I can close the door, run the dehumidifier and not worry about anything. It stays dry and clean.

Build sequence:

I have enjoyed monitoring your e-mail ideas.

Enjoy,

John
Sebring, Florida, USA”

A huge thanks to John for sharing his N Scale Northern Pacific Freight cars, they are fabulous pics.

It really reminded me of Bill’s stunning layout:

HO scale speed.

There is something very satisfying about seeing a layout right from the very start – and what a train room too.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And please don’t forget the The Beginner’s Guide if you are tired of dreaming and want to start doing.

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.

Gary’s Pennsylvania railroad HO scale is the gift that keeps giving.

His last post is here. This time though, he talks us through how he ‘sourced’ a loco he couldn’t find:

“Hi Alastair: This is my 4th time writing to you and your model railroad members about my Sunnyside Yard project in HO scale.

My project is a layout capturing the basic look of Sunnyside Yards in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

At that time, the most famous locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad was and probably still is the GG-1.

But there was another lesser known yard engine used in Sunnyside Yards to make up the passenger trains. That engine was a PRR Class B1 electric yard engine (see picture 1).

There were 42 built and mostly used in Sunnyside but also used in Philadelphia 30th Street Station and Harrisburg Station.

After the B1s were retired sometime in the 1970’s, all B1s were scrapped except for a single example preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

It wasn’t a very big engine and had the nickname “The RAT” as it was called by the yard crews because of the way it shuffled around yard.

When I started my project back in January, I knew that besides the GG1s and S2 diesel locomotives, I wanted to have a Class B1 engine on my layout.

They were made in O scale, but none were ever made in HO scale except for a brass model made by ALCo Models (see picture 2). The cheapest price I have seen was $250.00 BUT I did not want to use a brass model in my layout.

For me, the Class B1 was an important piece for my layout; I had worked many midnight shifts at Sunnyside Yards with that engine.

I did not know what I would do because I could not find one in HO scale. So I decided to start with my layout which I have been working on for the past two and a half years and still working on and every chance I had, I would always do a search for the engine when I used my computer but never found one.

Not UNTIL early March of this year when I came across a company called Shapeways. Shapeways does 3D printing for your product and also will advertise it and sell it; that’s how I found it.

There was a person who had the brass model of the Class B1 and Shapeways produced a HO scale version for $50.00 and an N scale version of the engine for $20.00.

BUT, as you can see in picture 3, all they provide is the cab, roof, chassis sides and bumpers and it only comes in white plastic. You have to build the model yourself, see picture 3.

So in order for me to get a Class B1 for my layout I would have find the parts I would need to complete the building of the engine.

I needed an engine, running boards, grab irons, lights, couplers, a Pantograph and decals.

I had always thought that a caboose had a very similar cab as the B1 except for the windows and roof and as it turned out the chassis of an HO scale Pennsylvania caboose was the perfect size. So I bought 2 used Pennsy cabooses on ebay and started to cannibalize them for parts.

I also had part of a Bachmann GG1 engine that needs parts to run BUT what was important was that it already had the electrical pickups for the lights. I decided to use it even though it would not run and later on I could order the parts from Bachmann and see if I could get the engine to run. (See picture 4).

So I started putting all this together. I first had to hollow out the chassis of the caboose so that the engine could fit in.

I then had to add some plastic strips to the chassis so that I could support and attach the engine. I attached the front and rear bumpers. I then attached the sides of the chassis that contained the journal boxes (see picture 5).

My next step was to paint the chassis and the cab and the roof. (See pictures 6).

Once the painting was done I had to apply the decays to the cab, wire the LEDs on the roof, install the couplers and scratch build and install the running boards. I also had to measure, cut and paint pieces of wire that I was going to use as grab irons (see picture 7).

When that was complete what was left was testing the LEDs and assembling the B1. Picture 8 is the finished model.

The Class B1 then was ready to put in my Pennsylvania railroad HO scale; see pictures 9, 10 & 11.

I hope you enjoyed this. I am very surprised and pleased with the way it turned out.

Now it is back to finishing up the Commissary Yard and fixing some tracks that are causing derailments.

I want to thank Al and all the modelers that have sent in their pictures, videos, ideas and scratch built projects that have helped me with my project.

I also hope that all of you are safe through the pandemic that we are going through. For now stay apart and stay safe.

Gary M from Long Island”

A huge thanks to Gary for sharing his Pennsylvania railroad HO scale – he has done a wonderful job of documenting his layout right from the very start. And I loved this post – clever stuff indeed.

It’s quite a popular theme, have a look at Andy’s: Pennsylvania model railroad.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you poke boredom in the eye, 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.