Model railroad layouts plans

Peter’s been in touch with his HO scale farmhouse:

“Hi Al,

Some revisions here and how to’s.

There was a gentleman that commented on the last post that I needed a fence so the animals wouldn’t trample through the garden…lol

Well, as I stated in that post, I wasn’t finished yet. I made the fence from northeastern strip wood products, then aged with a greying solution. India ink and alcohol. It’s getting real close now.

After the benchwork of a particular scene is complete, I grid it with 1 x 3’s to accommodate buildings, the rest is sectioned off with cardboard strips or metal light screen for the plaster cloth to adhere to.

After all plaster has been put on (1st the gauze then fill in with pre made plaster (mud) in tubs) It is all painted with a latex earth tone. When dry, texturing begins. I use a combination of a lot of things as you see.

Lot’s of ‘Wood scenic products, etc. grass tufts, many different shades of texture, rocks, sand for roads, and so on.

I scratch built the HO farm house and barn, though the barn was a spinoff from an old Campbell HO kit, I just built it up from scratch to 1/48 O scale that I model in.

Trees are mostly commercial, I just grab whatever, whenever it suits my aesthetic needs.

The water for the garden hose is woodland scenic products for water falls and still water combination.

The rest by viewing is self explanatory, sooo, if you could kindly post these pics of both the standard gauge & narrow gauge, it would be most appreciated.

Thank you,

Peter”

And if you want to fast forward to Peter’s update, here it is: HO scale farm.

Tom’s farm layout is also good: HO scale farm layout.

Now on to Ray:

“Hello Al,

Yesterday I received this Walthers Dairy Queen model from my grandsons.

I woke up this morning and planned on putting it together. As I do first thing every morning , I checked your email, and I see Jon’s post on how he detailed a roof on his model.

What a coincidence, the model he was working on was the very model I received yesterday, Dairy Queen.

So I followed his directions and loved the results.

Thanks Jon and, of course, thank you for all that you share.

I’ve attached a picture of the final project.

Best,

Ray”

(The post Ray mentions is at the bottom of this one: model railroad harbor.)

A big thanks to Peter for sharing his HO scale farmhouse pics (his last post is here).

His layout just gets better and better.

Ray really did put a smile on my face. I do love it when someone sends in a pic after they have seen how to do something on the site.

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 layouts here if that’s your thing.

Brian’s been back in touch with is model railroad harbor scene.

(Or should that be harbour? That’s the thing with a global platform…)

“Hi Al,

lots of people on your site asked if the water in the harbor was photoshopped as they only saw it in the night shots.

Firstly, I don’t have photoshop nor would I know how to use it (no time to mess with it) and takes away good modeling time.

Secondly, the photos below show both night time shots as well as daytime shots of the harbor water in place.

Preparation of the base before pouring is very important be it a harbor, river or lake.

There was a lot of negativity about the Woodland Scenics Realistic water where they had problems with it.

If one follows the instructions properly and stick to the depth that they suggest or less (3mm max), then you will achieve a good result as seen below.

If deeper water is needed (as in my case below) then pour as many layers as required to get the depth needed. I have poured 3 layers so far and I still need to pour 2 more layers to achieve the result that I am looking for.

The most important thing to remember is, do not shake the bottle before pouring as this creates air bubbles which are difficult to remove.

Remember that there is no heat involved in this product therefore no shrinkage. Although it is hard to the touch, do not place anything on it that has to be moved as it will sink slightly and will be very difficult to remove. (I am talking from experience) on this.

As said in previous blogs, I have been using this product since it came out many years ago and swear by it.

I hope this helps all those asked about the water.

Cheers

Brian – Knysna RSA”

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“Hello Al.

I’ve been building a new restaurant for my layout, and I thought I would share how I detailed the roof. Gravel topped roofs are very common on commercial and industrial buildings, and I wanted to mimic that look.

I started by painting the top of the roof on a charcoal colour to represent the underlying asphalt. Once this dried, I taped the edges and painted the red trim.

Next I brushed full strength white glue over the top of the roof and poured fine ballast onto that. I then sprayed on rubbing alcohol and diluted white glue to fix the ballast in place.

Once the glue dried, I used weathering powders to make the roof look more natural. An overall dusting of earthy brown, with grimy black to show where water may pool in low lying areas. A few dabs of rust under where the sign would sit, and then the whole thing was ready to be sealed with Dull-cote.

The final step was just to add the rooftop details.

Jon”

“Hi Al…

Just uploaded this video showing some new Hunt Magnetic Couplings.

They come with standard and short, stepped and normal, and fit in to NEM pockets which we have on the majority of rolling stock these days.

Think these will be a great addition to our Hobby, making coupling up, and uncoupling far easier, they tell me that hopefully end of this month there will also be N gauge version of these, and will also be able to post off shore.

I think that this is what we have needed for a long time, and would recommend to try the standard length fit and the stepped, to see what you need for different height Loco`s and rolling stock.

Regards

Dave”

A huge thank to Brian for his model railroad harbor update. And to Jo and Dave. (Brian and Dave are both in the Hall of Fame.)

That’s all for this time.

Please do keep ’em coming.

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

Best

Al

Joe lives in Florida – but he’s made a very British model railway:

“Hi Alastair,

My Story Part 3

I have appreciated your website over the years and its ability to share this wonderful hobby with all modelers worldwide.

I started this hobby, at the age of 12 or 13. It was an off and on project. I finally got it all together when I lived in England.

I then began again moving to Minnesota, then again, moving to Tampa, Florida. I finally finished it, but as a model railroader, you are really never finished.

I hope you enjoy my photos and video of my lifelong hobby that is provided me with an outlet for my creativity and relaxation.

I finally completed my total rewiring for DCC. I should have done this a long time ago.

I purchased a back scene from you (Alastair) and installed it by wallpapering it on a 6’ x 16“ Masonite board. Below is the before and after…

What a difference!

Added a 2’ x 16” back scene Masonite board on the side…

High Street buildings and street lights powered by Just Plug

Just Plug Light Hubs and connections

The British model railwway High Street at night, with town’s people shopping and enjoying fish and chips, pints at The Swan Pub.

I think the same people are there in the daytime? Great Pub

The Alley way to the Cinema

Waiting anxiously for the “Sound of Music” performance

You are able to eat at “Joe’s” day or night.

As spring came, so did the ducks and a black swan

Enjoy the video and put the sound up.

My best,

Joe
Tampa, FL”

A huge thanks to Joe for sharing his British model railway – I absolutely loved it.

If you want to see part 2 of his layout, it’s here. It’s worth revisiting because you really get a sense of how Joe put this layout together.

(The backdrops he mentions are on the bottom of this post.)

That’s all for this time.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if you want to make a start, just like Joe did in his previous post, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS More layouts like this here: British model train layouts