Model railroad layouts plans

Bob’s been back in touch with an update. He’s added a HO scale track platform to his layout:

“Alastair,

I am sending updates to my HO layout.

Some changes are forced on us. When my Son and Daughter-In-Law saw my layout they sent me a Walther’s Passenger Platform.

I told them Thanks now I’ll have to get passenger cars.

The only place I could see adding a station required me to rework my roads. Before the station there was sort of wye intersection. I changed that to a “Tee” intersection and added the station.

Picture 1 is before the station. Picture 2 shows the Station.

I decided to use the station to run an excursion, so I acquired two 1860 cars and 1860 steam engine.

Since it was going to be an excursion and not running all the time I needed a siding to store the excursion train.

Since it is a wood burning steam engine I built a water tower and a wood shed for the siding to service the engine. The first picture shows the eight inch addition to the layout with the siding and the water tower.

The second picture shows the wood shed with the split and stacked logs.

HO scale track platform:

The first picture shows the siding with the two coached and a pile of logs next to the wood shed. The second picture shows a head on view of the engine on the siding.

After completing the siding it looked like something was missing, so I expanded again. The first picture shows a passing siding connecting back to the main. Picture 2 shows the sidings and the switch controls.

Always looking for more I decided to extend the first siding and make a ladder. Picture one shows the platform extended and the ladder in place. The second picture shows the extension painted.

After extending the siding it still looked like something was missing, so I added a switch to the passing siding to give me three tracks on the ladder and a fourth track off the passing siding. The pictures show the result from two directions.

I can not expand or extend the layout any more and still be able to reach everything. After the recent discussions about kit bashing and scratch building I decided to try my hand at building a locomotive shed for one of the siding. I got out the balsa wood and framed up a shed based on a picture I had seen. The beginning is shown in picture one. Picture two shows the framework on one of the sidings.

The next stage of building the shed was to make the doors and paint the framework before putting on the roof. Picture one shows the shed with the doors. The second picture shows the shed with the roof on.

The final two pictures show the side of the shed and a front view with a locomotive in the shed.

That is all the updates for now. I planning on getting a 1940’s steam locomotive as my next acquisition but until then I will just be adding scenery to the layout and enjoying run trains.

Bob”

And now on to Dave:

“Hi Al, just uploaded Part 6 of my re build, in this one it shows how I add lights to buildings, a few more trees, and a few tips using old fencing, and card from kits that are left over…

Regards

Dave”

Wow! A huge thanks to Bob for taking the time to put his HO scale track platform update together.

Who would have thought a gift would have caused so much trouble? Well, that’s the fun of this hobby.

I do love reading the narratives, you really do get a feel of how much someone is enjoying their layout, just like Bob!

Great to see so much of the printable buildings on there too.

Thanks to Dave, too.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming, just hit reply to any of my mails if you’d like to share something.

Or perhaps you just want to comment on something you’ve seen? Commenting is easy, just scroll down, fill in the box and send.

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.

Mickael’s been in touch again, this time he’s added to the model railroad waterfalls on the blog.

(his last post is here.)

“Al,

Enclosed you will find 1 of my tunnels with a waterfall that I designed to be taken apart in case of a derailment inside the tunnel.

The top lifts off on both tunnels to allow access in case of derailment. My hands and arms are to big to fit all the way into the tunnels when I designed them so an alternative had to be designed.

Got bored with the layout design and wanted to add an additional underpass for the trains.

Put simulated ivy growing up the wall except underneath the rock overhang. Some pictures that I found in real life had nothing growing under the overhang (shadow of the rock) while others had some dead plants.

Went back and placed Ivy growing on the wall all the way down.

Again, thank you for all that you do to help all Railroad modelers from old to young.

Mickael”

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Now on to something completely different.

Not long ago I created my first backdrop.

I thought I’d have a go because they seem so expensive to me, and I wondered whether I could create a range that was much more affordable, just like the print-out-scenery.

Here’s a small pic of the first one (just click on it to enlarge it):

Anyhow, turns out there are a lot of helpful folk out there – the comment that came up most was a better size would be 18″ by 144″ (the first one was only 12″ inches high). So I have changed that now.

I never realised how easy they were to print. Just put the file on to a CD or memory stick, take it to any office stationers (Kinko / Office Max) and print it out on a smooth, self adhesive, vinyl with UV inks and a matte finish.

Anyhow, there you go, if you’d like to grab this back drop, you can grab it here for just $7.

If you’d like to comment on it, or give me ideas for the next one please do let me know.

That’s all for today folks. A big thanks to Mickael for adding to the model railroad waterfalls on the blog.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get bored with being bored, 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.

Danny has been in touch again with his HO scale wall shelf layout.

(his last post is here if you want to get up to speed.)

“Al,

I have made some real progress since my last post.

The first photo is my mine installed.

The next is the miner houses and company store.

Cows are in the field next to the stream. The kit bashed trestle is in the background.

An old barn is by the field.

This is the lower stream. The bridge is cut down tunnel portholes.

The river crossing in front of the falls.

Bridge and other kit bashed trestle above the falls.

HO scale wall shelf:

The town.

A culvert.

I have more walls and a peninsula to go. the peninsula is two levels.

Dan”

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“Al

I have been meaning to send this for awhile. So here goes.

In reading the web site with the people who respond to it, I would like to send these pictures out to them.

The pictures below are of a switching layout that is two feet wide by eight feet long and is mounted on only a sheet of HOMOSOTE(TM) board.((YES IT IS FLEXIBLE AND MOVES WHEN CARRYING IT. Support it when using it .

This is for ease of transporting it to Boy Scout Events ((Railroading Merit Badge Classes)) and train shows as a demonstration on how to have fun with Model Railroading.

The first photo I call it the West End of the switching layout. It has the DC power supply or power pack. There are no structures on here (on purpose) to show the track plan.

The track near the power pack is the track that the trains enter the layout on and leave at the opposite end.

This is a game layout. As you are looking at the photo, on the right side is nine train cars = one of each type to be used.

1.Box car;
2. Refrigerator car (Reefer);
3. Coal Hopper car;
4. Tank car;
5 Gondola car;
6. Flat car (with a truck trailer on board);
7. Stock car (Cattle car);
8. Cement Hopper car;
9. Grain Hopper car.

On the table is some cardboard with white tags. These are the temporary buildings.

Now there are seven buildings=(structures) ((NINE TRAIN CARS)).

Starting at the opposite.

East End is #1 Furniture Factory;
#2 General Produce;
#3 Shippers Coal Company ;
#4 Union Gas & Oil;
#5 Lumber and Mill work Company;
#6 & #7 (on the west end)
#6 Live Stock & Cattle Pens;
#7 Rail to Truck Transfer Company.
Train Car numbers # 8 & # 9 (the two covered hopper cars are extra cars)

No structure for them to go to.

This will keep people busy who say they have no room for a train layout. This also may be added to any HO SCALE train layout you already have.

The game here is to take a train car or two and place it anywhere you like and at any of the industries. The little switch engine has to do the work to spot it at the correct industry with the same number (type of car)

I.E = cattle car to Cattle Pens; I.E. coal car to Shippers Coal Co

Next time use different cars and maybe a few more cars and time yourself on doing the job.

The person with the least amount of time or moves of the engine, WINS that game. HURRAH!

When you are done “switching = Shunting the cars” take the engine and train cars off the board and stand it up against a wall or slide it under a bed or table somewhere. Out of the way place to be used again again to have fun.

Bring friends over to join you doing the switching. I bet they will want to try it for themselves.

Yours in Railroading

Don

South eastern U.S.A.”

“Hi Al,

I have just uploaded my part 7 of the re build on the layout, in this video I show how to wire up lights, different connectors, adding a bridge portal with background, and a few more tips.

It is getting very near to being completed now, so think that the next one will be the last in this series.

Hope that some of my tips have been useful to some of the members, and I have tried to show and answer a lot of the questions asked.

Regards

Dave”

That’s all for today folks.

A big thanks to Dave, Don and Dan – I loved Dan’s HO scale wall shelf update, particularly the old barn. Touches like that really make a layout.

And I can’t believe Dave is starting again!

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.