Model railroad layouts plans

The talented Dan has been back in touch with more pics of his HO model railroad mountain town:

Diamonds, even if in an industrial area, require a lot of maintenance.

Work gets interrupted, too.

Help is on the way.

There is a truck (bogie) repair place on the layout.

You need oil to make the place run.

On the oil dock.

Hard at work.

Break time at the Swift Meat works.

HO model railroad mountain town:

I have to explain to my urban friends what is going on here. Keeping the cow pens clean.

Section gang.

Bottling works.

Railway Express. The yellow part on the roof is a skylight so some light can enter the scene.

Getting the trunks ready for the train.

Moving the 300 pound blocks of ice for the reefers.

Gotta check the oil.

Another section gang’s work place.

Busy at the fueling racks.

HO model railroad mountain town:

In many Western American towns and universities put their names in high places. The town of Sharon Springs is getting a new sign. The sign is almost done. The letter “S” is being sent up. The pulley actually works!

Getting a new “speeder” for the railroad.

At the Goins Valley freight house.

I purposely do not weather much of mt layout. However, here is an example to show I know how to weather. These painters have been painting for over 25 years. Just a little slow.

Another guy taking a break at the stock pens.

The town of Almost is getting an addition to the station. The local coal mine has expanded and the station needed an expansion.

This is enough for now. I hope I haven’t overwhelmed you. I have a few more I can send.

Dan*”

A huge big thanks to Hall of Fame Dan for sharing more more pics of his HO model railroad mountain town.

I do love the scenes he creates with the people on his layout. He did a great post on adding people to your layout which is here:

Model train people.

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.

Rob’s been in touch with his take on LED lights for model railways.

I have to say, I think all his work has paid off, it looks fabulous:

“Hi Al,

When I was designing and building the dimmer controls in my previous video, Dimmers for LED lights for Model Railways, I was making it to light the windows in my flats building that I call Terrace Park Flats.

I went on from this to fabricate new windows for the building out of styrene strips as I demonstrated in the last video.

This newest video is the conclusion where I adjust the intensity of the LEDs in the windows and have a look at the completed building.

Making the hundred or so windows to replace all the windows in the building proved to be too monotonous for me so I only replaced them on one side but did put lighting on the ends of the building where I assume the stairwell would be,

I added drapes and curtains to the windows after I replaced the windows and added diffusing plastic over selected windows as well as a darker plastic film over some of them.

A few windows were just covered with black paper to simulate dark windows where there were no lights on inside at all.

This has proven to be a very rewarding project and I am beginning to plan and build a second lighted building which is much smaller than this one. I expect it will take 3-4 weeks to complete it.

Here are some photos and the current LED lights for model railways video:

LED lights for model railways:

Thank you for all that you do for the modeling community around the world.

cheers,

Rob”

A huge big thanks for Hall of Fame Rob for sharing his LED lights for model railways step-by-step.

One last thing. Mike has asked a question about track underlay on the forum. Can anyone help?

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.

Jack’s been in touch – he’s been Modeling a 60s railroad:

“Hi Al,

Thanks for your interest in posting the progress on my layout.

Chesterfield is a fictitious town in Vermont in the 50s/60s. It is a typical New England town comprised of turn of the century buildings.

There are a variety of businesses, the Regal Movie Theater, Joe’s gas station / garage, a firehouse and a small park with Tracy’s lunch wagon housed in a repurposed trolley. (That is a nod to my wife whose name is Tracy).

Down one level from Main Street is the rail yard with a passenger station that is accessible by a staircase at the trolley stop on Main Street.

North Street crosses Main and over the rail yard with a bridge. Pete Smith, a local boy, earns a living selling papers down at the train station.

Modeling a 60s railroad:

Above the firehouse is a fire tower that protects the valley.

Also up on the hill is Jeremiah’s dairy farm. The family farm has a number of dairy cows, a greenhouse, a small orchard and of course a farmhouse and barn. Unfortunately the elder Jeremiah recently passed away and the interment is happening at the First Congregational church as we speak.

Above the farm there is a small cabin belonging to Ed Johnson who just wants to be by himself and only takes his pickup truck to town when absolutely necessary.

Modeling a 60s railroad

Down in the valley is the rural part of town with Chesterfield Creek, which is crossed over by a typical New England covered bridge.

There is also a small foot bridge that allows folks from the farm to walk down into the valley. That foot path allows access to the Chesterfield Water Company water tower.

There is still a lot to do but so far we have Interstate oil and gas, the First Congregational church with cemetery, some housing, a Kentucky Fried Chicken (the first fast food to arrive in Chesterfield), and a freight depot.

Modeling a 60s railroad

Trains run on two loops, one of which is accessed from the rail yard. There is a crossover which allows trains to switch from one loop to the other. The trolley run on Main Street, loops through town, around the park and in and out of a tunnel.

It is a relatively small layout, tucked in the corner of our garage in Florida. Because of the size I decided not to invest in DCC and just run DC.

I used pink foam instead of plywood for the base layer. This allowed me to carve out the creek and just by punching holes I can install trees, lamp posts etc. The mountains were constructed of white Styrofoam packing sheets, layered up and covered in drywall compound, painted black and highlighted with grey.

Because it is in a corner, the whole layout is on casters so I can wheel it out into the garage to work on it and the foam base helped keep it light. The background is also 1” pink foam for rigidity and is attached to the garage wall with Velcro strips.

Jack”

A huge big thank you to Jack for sharing his layout. A stunner!

I always think the layouts with a theme turn out the best and modeling a 60s railroad is a lot of fun too.

I didn’t have time to make a ‘spot on’ track layout, but this one is close enough for you all I hope:

It’s kinda close but not spot on.

Lastly, Tom, has asked a good question on the forum. Can anyone help?

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.