Model railroad layouts plans

Starting an HO train layout is the same as starting any other layout really.

Find a space you can use – then you can have an idea of track plans that fit.

Build a bench or buy a table that fits in your space and start laying track.

Make sure you’re really happy with the track and the trains run smooth, with no derailments, then get busy with the scenery.

But do it step by step – enjoy each stage, just like Eric is doing. You should see his layout now, it’s amazing (you can see it in the later posts).

“Hello Alastair

Been reading your emails now for a couple years and love the info that you report on. A lot of great railroaders out there.

A little on me, I have been in the fire service for 39 years now and looking to retire at 41 years.

Me and the wife moved to a bigger home a few years ago where I had room for a shelf type layout.

I had finished my basement and had put a room in 16 x 12 for my fire collection and ran the layout 14″ down off the ceiling with 60′ of track that consist of two main lines. I have attached a few photos in its completed stage.

I did add pieces In the corners for a park, construction site and a small little farm house.

The theme of the layout is called my fulltime jobs. Buildings in each one of the corners are places I use to work up to my current job firefighter.

Everything on the layout has something to do with my life. Portal dates, billboards, cemetery and park ect. I am send some pics of each area.

I work part time at a hobby store in St. Charles, Missouri for the past 3 years. After visiting and buying material for the layout they handed me an application. And he I am.

Like all of us we can’t get enough, so I began a lower expansion, I have a few pics and more will follow in the next few days. I have time to move forward quickly due to my fire schedule.

Hope this has a intrest and I thank you and your readers for all that I been helped with from your emails.

Eric the firefighter”

“Hello Al,

As is my custom, I make a layout update video every year, and my layout has celebrated its 3rd birthday.

Thanks

Henry van Wyk in Pietermaritzburg, Sunny South Africa”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

A huge thanks to Eric – he shows what starting an HO train layout is all about: same as ever scale, just get going and enjoy. Thanks to Henry too.

It’s really early days with Hernry’s layout, but that’s why I liked it so much: it’s all about making a start, and he’s made it his own: his theme, his world.

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 take that first step towards your own model railroad.

Best

Al

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

Ken’s been in touch with his American Flyer layout:

“Hi Al,

Some time ago I wrote you about the American Flyer layout I was working on. It’s running now so I thought I’d send along a story and pictures.

In the mid-1950s, my Dad got a pre-war Lionel Standard Gauge freight train. He built a figure 8 with connecting tracks and mounted it all to a board he could raise up to the basement ceiling with ropes and pulleys.

It would come down regularly for my brother and I to play with. But the old Lionel proved to be a bit fragile and I remember my Dad soldering together broken pot metal parts. Eventually my Dad sold the set-up and we were without a train.

In the early 1960s, my Dad bought us boys an S gauge American Flyer set. It was a simple figure 8 with a trestle set. We were older now and spent most of our playing time seeing how fast we could do the figure 8 without coming off the tracks. We were getting ready for bigger toys – cars!

The train got packed up and I took it when my parents moved. In the early 1990s, I had a son and decided to set it up once again. Being pre-internet and eBay, we’d go to train shows in the Chicago area and buy equipment.

We built a fairly large set-up, but I made several mistakes. Altho I worked on several sheets of plywood built in a frame, the boards were only a couple of feet off the floor.

A couple of years were spent fixing old equipment, building and wiring, something I really enjoyed (being an engineer) but wasn’t all that much fun for my son. By the time it was running, the train was competing with video games and was once again packed away.

In the 2010s, I built a house in Wisconsin with a large basement. I had a grandson and decided to build a new layout (my enjoyment) for him and his eventual sibs (one more grandson now) to run. I wanted a train set that was big enough and strong so they could handle and enjoy it.

This time, I built a 12’ x 14’ board at the proper height and planned the layout. My brother has a company that manufactures high quality connectors so he built all the electrical connectors for me. With eBay, I bought various old operating equipment, engines, etc.

Some of the buildings are “Tramp Art” made out of old cigar boxes. You’ll see the station and power plant say “Wilson Park”, a nod to the northwest side of Chicago.

As you can see, the layout is very “old school”. In no way does it compare with the beautiful scenery and towns you show every day on your daily emails. Being an engineer, the joy for me was to repair the old equipment and have it run again. The AF equipment from the ‘50s and ‘60s is well designed, simple and well built. A few electric motors are used for everything. And unless it was played with extensively, almost everything can be rebuilt.

Ken
Ephraim, WI”

And here’s another American Flyer model railroad if you’re after more.

A huge thanks to Ken for sharing his layout.

I do love reading about them – especialy when I recurring theme pops us: recapturing that childhood fun and magic.

And there is a line in Ken’s narrative that really struck a chord with me:

“In no way does it compare with the beautiful scenery and towns you show every day on your daily emails. Being an engineer, the joy for me was to repair the old equipment and have it run again.”

I know exactly what he means and it got me thinking. I’m always banging on about this hobby is about making a start. But I’m going to add to that from now on:

Your layout can be whatever you want it to be – it’s your world. Have fun.

Let me expand on that a little bit. Here’s an email I got from Uwe, commenting on alayout from a while ago:

“Hi, its a common problem in model railroading but very apparent in this one, there is virtually no room above the tunnels so that trains are thundering through the basement of houses.

Regards, Uwe”

Uwe is right – technically. But I think the fun of creating your own world is logic and physics no longer apply if that’s your wish.

Yes, it’s a real joy to see a photo realisitc layout. But I also enjoy the other ones.

I’d love to hear your comments on this – just scroll down to the bottom to let me know your thoughts.

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 create your masterpiece without all the mistakes.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here

There are quite a few N-scale U-shaped layouts on the blog now – and here’s another from Gregory:

“Hi Al;

I’ve been reading your newsletter for a few years now, and I’ve decided to send in something of my own in case you’d find it useful to other members.

A little bit of background; I’ve had steam in my blood at least as far back as the age of 4. It runs through the family. My father introduced me to model trains at an early age, though I love any number of aspects of railroads, railroading and trains.

My earliest remembered experiences involve some HO trackage on a table my dad had built prior for his own collection of N-Scale, and then moving into G Scale sometime shortly thereafter. Most of my childhood revolved around G scale since it was easier for a child to work with, plus my father had some issues of arthritis creeping in with his own hands.

As I grew up, I also developed an interest in live steam, and of course, the real thing was the ultimate thrill for me. I left the hobby to the side during high school as other commitments didn’t really allow for much of anything else, but the spark was still inside, and after I turned 18 and had a license to drive, I started going to a local hobby shop to browse, and to a nearby station at night to watch the trains going through.

This kept up through college and a few years after I finished, the bug was back in full. While having an apartment of my own, I started working on a layout in N scale, using some leftover stock of my father’s, and building a new collection up.

I put that to the side when I got married and became a step-dad to two wonderful children, but I introduced them to the ideas, along with my step father, and my own dad, who’s layout was now the major occupant of a 20 x 20 room in his basement.

Finally, a year or so ago, we moved to a new duplex with room in the basement for me to restart building a layout in earnest.

It’s been slow progress, because budgets have to be watched at all times, but it’s been more meaningful as a result. My son and daughter aid me in regularly working our layout, a 11.5 x 12 N-scale U-shaped layouts, built in sections for the inevitable day when we have a home of our own.

We have a long way to go, but we have enough wiring on the mainline done to run our equipment most of the way around the layout (though not without some rough spots, since nothing is fastened down or smoothed out just yet. I’ll share some photos for you if you’d like, and I’m detailing my build more on my YouTube channel and personal website.

The layout is run using a DCC system, just because I was able to get a good price and it allowed for a bit more ease in some regards with the wiring. The kids have picked up some woodworking skills, the basics of wiring and even have started learning skills in soldering.

There is a long way to go before this layout will have a “finished” look, though as my dad always says, an empire like this is never truly finished.

I’m approaching 40 now and I try to use this layout as an inspiration to my generation (and younger ones) that this is such an amazing hobby, because there are so many things you can do and learn in the process of participating.

My kids (14 and 13 now) regularly show friends and teachers the work we do as well, and it seems to be piquing interests in others. Hopefully that will lead to this hobby having a bright future in this age of video games and electronic toys.

I hope, if you share, that your readers enjoy, and if you would like, I will continue to send updates as the layout grows.

Best wishes,

Gregory”

A big thanks to Gregory, it reminds me of Alan’s: U shaped N scale layout.

“Hi Al,

my new loco arrived yesterday (the xmas present to myself ) one of the buffers was missing so rang the retailer who instantly said send it back, so no video of my new train, its one of the new 67 class in the pullman livery, looked very good.

So just did a short video on my phone of the Deltics blasting away, quality not great due to been taken on phone.

Hope to have the new one by next weekend.

Regards

Dave”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here

A big thanks to Dave and to Greg for adding to the N-scale U-shaped layouts.

Loved what Greg has done – it’s easy to see how others want to get invloved when the see a layout spring to life. Can’t wait to see his updates!

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 get going on your layout.

Best

Al

PS More N scale layouts here if that’s your thing.