Model railroad layouts plans

Ralph’s been in touch with his HO scale The General layout:

“Hi Al,

Following up on my email yesterday, here are three photos of my 68″X68” HO layout.

These pictures give an over view of the layout which include a country fair, a small airport, an auto racetrack and grandstand, and a tunnel with a station on the top.

I’m thinking that a monorail running over the layout would be a fun addition… but have not been able to find such a product.

I have three trains running…..

#1. A Marklin vintage model with a 3020 locomotive & passenger cars from 1947-1954

#2. A Marklin intermodal train which circles the airport.

$3. A Bachmann “The General” which runs on an elevated figure 8 track.

Ralph”

“Hi Alastair,

I just placed my order. I hope I can get some inspiration to take this to great places.

Phil”

A big thanks Ralph for sharing his HO scale The General layout.

Thanks to Phile too. I know some of you are often puzzled when I post pics of a layout that hasn’t taken shape yet.

But for me, it’s the whole point of this hobby: creating something from nothing.

Looking at one hell of a mess and then scratching your head over wiring is all part of the process.

Every layout you have ever seen, at one point, was a rat’s nest of wires, tools, track and profanities.

All you have to do is make a start because no layout happens overnight.

So thanks to Phil – who can help with his monorail idea?

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

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the Silly Discount bundle.

Dave’s been in touch with a DCC reverse loop wiring problem.

As usual, there are lot of helpful comments at the bottom of the post already.

“Al,

Here are 5 pics of the layout and a diagram.

Sorry for the mess but I’m trying to ballast the outside loop.

The problem is the reverse loops and how I should wire them.

I have NCE as my DCC control although I have it running on the outside loop via DC right now.

I understand I need to insulate blocks or districts, but do I continue to wire the track the same within the district ( Blue wire on the north rail, white wire on the south rail) and use a module for seamless transition? I do not want to use a DPDT switch if at all possible.

Thanks Al”

Now on to Bob:

“Hi Al,

I’m in the process of building my dream model railroad similar to dangerous Dave’s.

The room is 20ft x 32ft feet with a triple track main.

Two of which run around twice and one that runs around once. All the rail is in and the wiring half done.

I have a long long way to go and other things keep getting in the way. But I will keep at it.

I will send a few pictures that I have under separate cover.

Best Regards

Bob”

A big thanks to Bob.

And who can help Dave with his DCC reverse loop wiring? Please leave a comment below if you can.

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.

James has been in touch with his Model train New York – like many of you his theme is from memories of his youth:

“Alastair,

It’s been a while since I’ve written you.

Thanks for keeping this going, it’s great inspiration to see everyone’s work.

Last time I sent you my layout I explained that my layout is an homage to my youth, it’s filled with family tie ins, friends, and reminders of trains as a youth.

The layout is 14’ x 26’ with one side housing the mythical towns of Buffalo Creek, Walden, and Brighton.

The other side has Lackawanna and Little Italy. The two yards are Bison and Frontier. All of these features are reminiscent of Buffalo and Western New York.

There is a long “story” that I wrote before building this, and if you are interested I’d love to send it to you. Here are some pictures of my layout.

I’m an architect by education and practice. These pictures are more focused on the layout work, not the trains.

James”

A huge thanks to James – model trains New York! Over the years, there have been many, many layouts modeled on fond memories.

It’s also another great example of your layout can be whatever you want it to be.

I may be mistaken, but I think this is James’s first post.

Now on to a blast from the past with Dangerous Dave:

“Hi Al,

well back home after a holiday and back to the layout, glad to hear you have decided to continue with your site.

I have just loaded this video showing how I have added new track, ballasted, adding rust to rails, and adding scenics, all done within a week, so easily done by most modellers without having to crash the bank balance and not a lot of elbow grease…

A couple of pictures here to show the difference when scenics added to the track work ..showing before and after.

Dave”

Before pic:

After pic:

How I did it:

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here (It goes mad this time of year – have a look.)

That’s all for today folks.

A huge thanks to James and Dave. Some great pics today.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And please don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here if you want to start your model railway fun today.

Best

Al

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