Model railroad layouts plans

Peter’s been in touch with a great post: How to make decals for model trains.

Just scroll down to if you want to jump straight to it because I’m going to start with something odd(ish).

Then some train stuff (obviously).

So let’s start with the odd.

I have no idea whether the following is a prank, or Bert is indeed flying around in space.

Not long ago Ben posted a wonderful video on his layout (it’s at the bottom of this post).

Now some of you would have missed it, but one of the comments left was from:

“BERT aka “BULLDAWG 1”
NASA ASTRONAUT
CURRENTLY ON ORBIT 261 MILES ABOVE PLANET EARTH TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF 17,500 MPH WHICH TRANSLATES TO TRAVELING AT 5 MILES PER SECOND.🇺🇸🚀🚀
ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION”

To be brutally honest, I didn’t take it too seriously.

But then Ben got in touch – he wanted to see know if Bert was indeed an astronaut, before he told his grandson.

So I mailed Bert.

Here’s his reply:

“Re: You really on the space station, Bert?

Yes, got pretty busy up here the last 18 hours.

We had a change of arriving Russian crew members that were changed at the last minute as the both of them had been in a different kind of quarantine for a later mission but worldwide situation it was decided to send them instead of the 2 scheduled cosmonauts who were in a shorter duration quarantine.

I have received further information yesterday on a possible extension of my time on the station due to the fact that I am a military M. D. & Having an M. D. On the station is a needed safety decision that was made in good judgement.

My military flight nickname is Bert aka BULLDAWG 1 Another nickname is DREW THAT my family and close friends call me most of the time.

One of the cosmonauts here is fasinated with the train video and in fact is viewing it at this very moment.

We are in one of our dark night cycles and will be back in daytime here in less than an hour, as we see a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes

Wishing you the best and stay healthy &,Safe.

Andrew (DREW ) Morgan

Bert aka BULLDAWG 1”

Well – the first thing that struck me was that it didn’t read like the reply of a prankster.

So then I asked for a pic and have not heard from Bert since. Then again, he’s probably got better things to do with his time.

What do you think folks?

I know Bert’s wiki page says he is in space right now – but whether that really is from Bert, we’ll never know.

Leave a comment below and let me know. Have I been had?

Now on to some train stuff – Peter and his step by step: How to make decals for model trains

You may remember Peter from his last post, which is here.

“Al

Further to the last article on transfers for locomotives etc..

When I used transparent A4 vinyl self adhesive paper…printed on the ink jet printer..

But this paper was too thick to follow the ribbed contours on the loco side…and just went across them.

There were a couple of people in Germany who were using proper decal paper..

And their results were exceptional…

I made contact with them and managed to get some information on how to do these transfers..–

I had to obtain the decal paper from a source in Germany who gave the thickness of the paper [12 microns] [7 micron paper is too thin and not easily manageable]..

No one I approached in the UK was able to give this information, out of dozens of companies I approached..

This decal paper follows the ribbed lines on the side of the loco..[Swiss re 460/465 loco’s]

The decal paper I purchased was for laser jet printing…hence the inks do not run when placed in water…

It takes a lot of practice and I am still on a learning curve..

The original logo’s on the loco’s have to be air brushed out, first with a grey primer and then white..

All the art work was done in Coral Draw..

Attached some pictures along with the real live loco’s

Regards

Peter”

A big thanks to Peter for sharing his model train decals.

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.

Kaustav has been back in touch with another excellent ‘how-to’ on HO scale railroad signs.

I do love how he does his detailing – looks fantastic.

“Hi Al,

Hope you and your family are doing well. All your updates are now extremely useful for everyone who subscribe to your blog. It definitely helps me maintain my sanity in this crazy time for sure!

Sorry, I couldn’t email in last few months – it was a wild start to the decade as I am sure it is for many people. I am glad to see that the blog is up and running and the hiccup at the end of last year is a thing of history for your website.

I kept myself busy doing little projects rather than big ones, for various factors, one of which is that I am trying to figure out how to build authentic models /dioramas /layouts of Indian Railways.

Here is my first attempt – a little 22 X 15 inch diorama for a friend who designs custom locos and rolling stock that can be 3D printed.

Most of the things are scratchbuilt, and I intend to share how I achieved some great results with very easy techniques.

Here is the first of the video series – making the unique HO scale railroad signs.

Will send more photos and videos soon.

Take care and stay safe everyone.

Cheers!

Kaustav”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

A huge thank you to Kaustav for sharing his HO scale railroad signs – I do love his stuff. Who can forget his barge weathering ‘how to’?

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get stop dreaming and start doing, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

Cary’s been in touch with another update – his G scale track cleaning car.

I have to say, it really made my day.

I justlove what he’s doing – his G scale is not only huge, it has bags of character:

“Hello Al and All!

My Garden Railroad (8 years in the making so far) shutsdown for the winter months.

If you want to see trains running, my post from last summer is here.

During the winter months I make buildings, vehicles, paint people etc… Here’s some of this winter’s projects, but first, here’s a problem I suspect not experienced by most model railroaders.

A recent wind storm took out the top of a tree and now I have a rather large tree limb hanging above my town with all those beautiful scratch made buildings.

It’s too high for me to get to. I guess I’ll have to wait for it to come down on its own and then repair whatever damage it does. (and stay out of the area on windy days!)

Now that the track and buildings are in place, this summer I’ll be putting in the roads.

I plan to dig a shallow trench the width of the road, mix about half soil and half of the small gravel I used for ballast and then pack the mix into the trench which will hopefully give the impression of a gravel road and withstand the effects of erosion.

BRIDGES

Last year I had to add several drainage ditches to help with wash outs. That created the need for three bridges. Yes they are narrow even for a single lane bridge, but I was able to make them from scraps leftover from other projects.

They are made from concrete board, treated lumber and a mix of leftover exterior house paint.

CROSSINGS

There are three locations where the road will cross the track. I had some scraps of composite decking lumber and decided to use that to make the crossings. Composite material is dimensionally stable, does not warp and tends to turn black over time due to mold. We’ll see how they hold up, hopefully I can leave them out year round.

TRACK CLEANING CAR

Of course the most worrisome thing about an outdoor model railroad is how in the world do you keep the track clean? So far I’ve been doing it with drywall sanding screens and a sanding pole.

It only takes 15 minutes to clean the 120 feet of track, but I have to clean every time I want to run trains. I think I’ll be experimenting with track cleaning for some time to come, but here is my first stab at it, my G scale track cleaning car.

I took a Bobber caboose, loaded it with weight and attached a spring loaded pad to the bottom with the idea that I can trial various materials on the pad. Of course the track must first be clean enough for a loco to pull the track cleaning car, but I hoping with frequent (labor free) cleaning maybe the labor part will be less.

WATER TOWERS

I had already built several water towers for my layout, but I like the way they look and again they were free projects built from scraps.

I look forward to this summer’s progress and hope to send out a new video end of the summer.

Stay Safe Everyone and Happy Modeling!

Cary in Kentucky”

Now on to Ben. He’s come up with a wonderful idea, so I thought I’d publish it.

“Hi Al,

I thought I would share how I’m using elements of the hobby to help my Grandson, Travis.

Maybe other “Grandpas” out there are willing to try the following with their Grand kids.

My 7 year old Grandson, Travis, has a form of Autism.

Travis is an exceptional little man, with a sharp mind, curious spirit and a love for arts and crafts. In an effort to help him (and my daughter) keep busy with constructive activities while at home, I went to my workshop and put together the elements of a train diorama, about 16″x 16″.

I packaged everything he will need to complete the project, from plaster cloth to ground cover, rocks, track, glue and even an old locomotive and caboose.

I also created a set of pictures of how-to instructions.

Then I made a video that gave him a quick tour of my workshop, with a focus on the scenes I’ve created and ending with a challenge to him to make a scene with the package I was sending him. And of course, I added several minutes of the the trains running through my layout for his enjoyment.

I was a bit nervous, not sure if he would find any of this fun or interesting, but I just got word from my Daughter; he viewed the video last night, and was “enthralled” and very excited to get the package to begin working on this project. (appropriately named “Travis Junction”)

I’m hoping other Grandpas out there may view this and get the bug to do something similar for their Grand kids.

As always, thanks Al for maintaining this site and sharing everyone’s pictures and videos.

Ben, Chicago, Illinois”

That’s all for today folks. A big thanks Ben and to Cary for sharing his G scale track cleaning car pics.

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.