Model railroad layouts plans

“Hi Al!

I had an old crusty locomotive and I didn’t know what to do with it. So I came up with an idea for a train diorama.

I weathered it a little although nature already did some of its own.

I bought the base at a hobby store. I printed out scenery for the background.

Thought I would share it with you and your subscribers. I call it “The End of the Line”. The title made sense since it’s an abandoned locomotive.

I really enjoy your emails!

Ben from Southern California”

“Hi Al,

Just posted my latest video showing the outcome from asking suggestions from members re putting new platform buildings on to my layout which fit and not causing obstruction to the trains, like to thank all for so many suggestions.

I think this is the best outcome as now there is room both sides of the buildings for passengers and the canopies do not obstruct the trains.

I also added a book /paper stall which also fits in well …Thanks again for all those suggestions that came in

Dangerous Dave”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

A huge thanks to Dave.

But an even bigger thanks to Ben – I absolutley love what he’s done. A fantastic idea, and I’m guessing he had a fun time making it too.

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 stop dreaming and start doing.

Best

Al

PS You can make an old man very happy by liking my facebook page, it’s here

kaustav has been back in touch with his ‘how to’ on N scale pine trees.

“I liked it when you mentioned that I am ‘kitbashing’ trees when I sent my methods of using Woodland Scenics armature and seafoam to build miniature trees.

However, as my experiment with making highly detailed trees is continuing, I thought I’d share a method to scratchbuild pine trees using very commonly available materials – a few dry twigs, some asparagus fern and a bit of static grass – that’s all that you need to make these awesome trees.

Coming to tools, you just need a cutter, some fine drill bits, a rotary tool (hand vice will also work, but it will just take awful amount of time), some paint and a static grass applicator.

Again, these are made in N Scale for Wrightsville Port, but the method can be used for anything from Z to G – all you need is to select right size of twigs and branches and appropriate length of static grass.

And just like my last set of trees, you don’t use these everywhere – foreground scenes or dioramas will do justice to all the effort that you put in. But yes, a few of these in a well choreographed scene will definitely make it look real. Hope you like it.

Cheers!

Kaustav”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

A big thanks to Kaustav for sharing his ‘how to’ on N scale pine trees.

His last post, which he refers to, is here.

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 N scale layouts here if that’s your thing.

Guy has been in touch with a vid and narrative of his European model trains:

“Hello Al,

My name is Guy de Valk, and I live in Brussels (Belgium).

I am 81 years old and I have recently started building a model railway based on the Belgian Railways (SNCB-NMBS). The location is completely fictitious.

Most of the Buildings are scratch built, some other from Superquick material.

I have made a short video and slideshow of a part of my attempt recreate the atmosphere of the Belgian Railways I knew in my youth…

Sorry my work is not perfect far from it, so please be indulgent.

My age and bad eyesight are probably the Reason for it … lol

The Station I tried to represent is a rural one, with a sawmill served by a private siding. The trackage is mainly Fleischmann and some Peco. The points are controlled by a wire in tube system by Mercontrol.

There is still an awful lot to do. The layout occupies a room of my house, entirely dedicated to my railway. It is 5 x 3 metres, so not very large… and it is located alongside 3 of the 4 Walls.

I am presently working on the left hand side. When that is finished I will start on the right hand side with a larger station and a “fiddle yard” underneath.

I join that video, just in case you’d like to publish it in oune of your messages .

Thank you for your interesting e-mail, they are so very welcome and enjoyable.

All the best to you and your loved ones.

Guy.

PS. Please find attached the video of Trignolles ! (my fictitious station)”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

“Hi Al,

although I’ve kept quiet since my contribution, I still enjoy seeing and reading all the posts that come my way.

I have noticed that a number of people are using track layout software before starting the actual building of the layout. And so have I with my latest version, that is, however, still only on the drawing board. Like Glyn, I also use Märklin (because of my Swiss background), and have used RailModeler Pro for designing it. I think it’s the only one that works for Märklin with MacOS.

Now that it is ready to go to stage two, I wonder whether any of your readers have suggestions how to transpose the design onto the table? is it hit-or-miss like my previous three layouts, or are there any tools available?

Grateful for any suggestion

Andreas”

PS: I’m attaching a pic of my latest layout version, which may give readers an idea the “challenge”. eventually, there will be ups and downs, tunnels, flat and mountainous scenery. The red arrows give the direction the trains are traveling in.

A big thanks to Guy – I really enjoyed the video of his European model trains.

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.