Model railroad layouts plans

Dominic’s been in touch with his 12×24 HO scale layout:

“I started this project 4 1/2 years ago when I relocated to Michigan and bought a home with a basement and much more room than I originally had.

So I had a 12×24 HO scale area in the basement to do something with, as long as I didn’t take away from my wife’s storage area. A much larger area than my original 4×6 layout.

So with some planning, but with no particular track plans in mind, and wanting a little bit of everything, it was a plan as you go project in the making.

And this is what I’ve come up with so far.

It was suppose to be my winter project, but with the winters being so long in Michigan, it turned out to be my project 8 months out of the year.

The trestle bridges were all scratch built which was a challenge but the mission was accomplished.

Dominic”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here. Still updated every day.

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“Al,

I’m not what you would call an out and out cheapskate but I do look for value and I always look for another way to do things and usually come up with an acceptable solution.

Can’t say as I am doing so well with my waterfall and stream.

Nothing against Woodland Scenics as they do have some great things. However, I am committed to doing water scenes without their help. Should I surrender or are there some really great ideas out there?

Russ
Maine, USA”

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A huge thanks to Dominic. An absolute monster of a layout – I loved it. It really looks like 4 1/2 years of work too. And who can help Russ?

That’s all for today, folks. If Dominic’s got you champing at the bit to get started, the Beginner’s Guide is here

Best

Al

Joe’s been in touch again with his 27×10 HO scale layout. (If I’m not mistake, his last post is here).

“Hello,

I have been looking at all the layouts you’ve been sending, and they all feature something that is interesting.

I am sending a video of my layout which I have been building for about 3 1/2 years. It is about 90% complete. It is a 27×10 HO scale.

It features a single track main line that doubles back on itself several times to simulate a double track main line.

The passenger line features a commuter service that shares a single track in both directions.

All the landscaping was done from scratch. Much of the track is under the bench work and is accessed through three tunnel portals, giving the illusion that the trains enter the tunnels and go off to some distant point.

The below-bench track work also hides two passing sidings each for both the freight and passenger lines. These are used to alternate trains at random so that the sequence of trains differs. There is also a passing siding that is exposed to allow faster passenger trains or priority freight trains to overtake slower or non-priority freights.

There are several sections of the DCC layout that are operated manually, such as engine services, industrial sidings, and freight and passenger car yards.

But the main feature of the layout is that the freight and passenger main lines are computer controlled. I use a software application from CTI known as Train Control Language (TCL). For you programmers, it is based upon the C language.

All engine movements, sounds, signals, lighting, auto traffic lights, etc. are controlled by TCL. At any given time, up to 7 trains can run in automatic mode, and with the addition of engines being operated manually in the other sections I mentioned, the layout offers a lot of action when four operators and the yardmaster are present.

The layout was designed and built so that it could be disassembled into 13 sections. All wiring at section boundaries has Hitachi type connectors. Photos demonstrate a portion of the circuitry associated with the CTI system, which is essentially a local area network. It shows how I dealt with the varying voltage requirements of my accessories, which draw 3 volts, 4.5 volts, and 12-14 volts. Instead of installing a huge number of resistors, I simply stepped the voltage down from 12 volts for each application. This saved huge amounts of time when wiring accessories.

You will notice an open rectangle in the center of the layout. This is where the town, with automated streetcar service, is planned to be. I have not yet decided if I am going to complete this section.

Joe”

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here. Had a look yet?

A big thanks to Joe – a huge layout!

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if Joe’s inspired you, don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here

Best

Al

Perry’s been in touch with his S gauge model trains:

“Hi Al,

My name is Perry I live in Metairie (a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana). I belong to an S gauge club. The Crescent City S Gauge (CCSG) for short. We took our portable layout to a show recently at which I took pictures.

The first picture is of our yard. The coal drag is mine.

The next picture is of Art’s module and the corner next to it. The corners and the yard belong to the club. The next module is an oil rig and a gas station

This is Norman’s turn table module.

Larry’s bridge module.

This corner is made by Larry.

This is Jay’s refinery module.

This is Art’s transfer table where we make up and break up trains or store car we are not running. The blue engine is mine.

The mules in the distance are club modules with Jay’s buildings on it.

This is my duck under bridge.

These are some switch tracks that are next to the yard.

This is the 4th corner with Larry’s station on it.

Perry”

A bif thanks to Perry for sharin his S gauge model trains.

And now on to a subject I’m always banging on about – making a start.

And it just goes to show, lack of space should never stop you:

“Hi Al,

I’m sure you’ll be forgiven for a bit of housekeeping. I can only begin to imagine how many emails you receive, and with video clips attached they probably take up a huge amount of storage.

Anyhow, a few weeks back you kindly published my idea of using a “Loft Bed” (aka bunk bed without a lower deck) to house the layout. I’ve taken the plunge and it’s now assembled, and I’ve started preliminary construction of the baseboard. When it comes to carpentry I’m not Thomas Chippendale – and no David Bailey when it comes to photography – but I think you’ll get the idea. A very welcome side effect is the huge area underneath where I can store things.

The next step is to cut the boards so they fit round the uprights, and then I can slot the final one in to make a 6’ x 8’ area on which to build things in N Scale using Tomix. They’re relatively unknown here in the UK (Kato has much better availability), but years ago on a trip to Hong Kong I caught the train bug and bought a Tomix starter set. By the end of the trip I almost had to jettison half of my clothes to be able to shut the case again. In the end common sense prevailed and I bought another one, but I’ve been hooked on Tomix ever since.

Best regards,

Paul”

A big thanks to Perry for sharing his S gauge model trains and to Paul too.

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.