Model railroad layouts plans

Hugh has been in touch with his pre war american flyer trains:

“Hi Al

I think some of the American Flyer die cast Locos are nearly as detailed as mid 1930s Lionel.

So for Kid Proof Christmas displays I have used a couple AF 420 shells with Marx motors.

Some shells are broken and cheap but if they have all the trim the bodies can be fixed with products like JB Weld epoxy.

This red one is a mixture of many spare bits.

The tender is a Marx wedge with post war Lionel trucks.

The flat car is prewar Lionel with post war trucks and the PRR caboose is the last tin plate one that Lionel made in the late 1930s and continued into 1946.

The next to the last image is a modern era Lionel powered AF loco set up to pull a 1934 Lionel North Shore set.

Hugh”

Hugh’s last post is at the bottom of this one.

And now on to Rob:

“Hi Al,

You have published a number of videos from me, but rarely a running session.

I thought it would be interesting for people to see a little more of my layout.

In this video, I was still suffering from a broken foot bone so I was not as agile as I wanted to be. My layout has three 180 degree curves on it and racing the locomotive with my foot in a cast was a bit challenging.

Sometimes it is good just to run a few trains.

Rob – Farland Howe”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

A big thanks to Hugh for sharing his pre war american flyer trains.

Thanks to Rob too – I loved some of the camera angles in Rob’s video – they really show off the detail of the layout. Impressive stuff.

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.

Jim’s been in touch with his Multi level O scale layout:

“Hi Al,

I have enjoyed seeing others layouts from your emails for years. I have just complete my two level O-scale layout taking about 3 years on and off.

My layout is not a single place and time but more so a collection of memories or places/buildings I really liked.

Over the past three 3 years I have acquired road names engines and rolling stock the ran through Saint Louis, Missouri USA.

Thanks,

Jim”

“HI Al,

not got round to finishing my platforms area yet, but been out and about filming some real steam, looking for ideas as well, but this was up on NYMR yesterday with there Steam Gala ..though some of the members would enjoy it.

Regards

Dave”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

I know what Dave means – sometime it’s a nice change to look at some real steam. I get sent all sorts. Here’s one from Desmond:

“Hello Alastair,

I’m a long time subscriber first time poster, I was recently in British Columbia and had the pleasure of taking a short trip on board the spirit of Kamloops whilst there.

I’m attaching a few pics that I took it was a beautifully restored engine and the last 2141 in her class.

It had been converted from a coal fired boiler to an oil fired during her working life. I think this was to help reduce the amount of forest fires that the area was prone to.

Desmond”

A big thanks to Dave, Desmond and to Jim for sharing his Multi level O scale layout.

Please do leave a comment below on whether you’d like to see more of what lands in my inbox.

TThat’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.

Kaustav’s been back in touch with his N scale small switching layout.

Have a look at the vid to see how he operates his train in his working port – nothing happens too fast, and for good reason too.

(His last post is here if you want to catch up).

“Hi Al,

I just want to thank all the viewers and subscribers for the overwhelming response on the last post about Wrightsville Port.

As much as people liked the photos, I think the next obvious question is how well does it run?

I started Wrightsville Port as a 2 year project; 9 years on and it’s still not done yet!

The layout definitely has become a part of my life, so much so that it has been with me through 6 relocations across 2 cities over a 1000 miles apart.

I also started the hobby with a very limited income; earning in Indian Rupee and spending in US Dollar. One way, that forced me to be creative and bring out the best of my model making abilities, but on the other hand, technologically I had to stay simple; therefore, no DCC, block detection or even a fancy DC controller with momentum.

And to make things even more complicated, 80% of my track is modeled to be embedded in concrete including several turnouts – in N scale!

So how well does a layout that had its track laid 9 years ago, modeled to be embedded in concrete, relocated 6 times across 2 cities whilst running on conventional DC with two very basic controllers operate?

Take a look!

Kaustav”

“Hi Al,

Thank you to all your readers and to you for sharing good ideas.

I saw your recent post from Roberto with recycled tracks rails as a cargo for his wagons. Attached are some photos of my use for the spare sleepers. I made coal bunkers with the redundant sleepers and coal from the foam that protected my last computer. Coal in the trucks is random lumps off the sole of old flip-flops (thongs in Australia)

Best wishes to you and all your readers

Andrew

Andrew”

“Hi need some help with wiring the attached plan.

It’s been about 25 years since I last modeled. I dug this plan up from my old files, but can’t find wiring.

Can you or one of your subscribers help? All turnouts are manual, and at this time only power to the tracks.

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to further our love for this wonderful medium.

Many thanks.

Bob”

Who can help Bob? And a big thanks to Kaustav and Andrew.

It’s wonderful to see more of Kaustav’s N scale small switching layout, and Andrew’s coal bunker shows how effective a little imagination can be.

That’s all for today, folks.

Please do keep ’em coming, and if today is the day you start 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.