Model railroad layouts plans

Mark’s been in touch with his HO scale storage tanks:

“Hello Al,

I’ve been reading your emails for some time now, and I decided it was time I posted something myself.

Well, I was saving these plastic containers for storage of balast and ground cover; but never got around to use them. Suddenly, an idea hit me when I was looking for something else. The idea was to use them for a structure.

So I set out to research a little on different types of storage tanks. I found some interesting photos, and there they were, almost the exact type that my containers could represent!

I got excited, and started putting pieces aside for my project. The storage tanks were white, so I painted my containers and set aside to dry.

Although, I looked at photos of these storage tanks in groups of as few as one, and as many as six, I decided three was the magic number. I also decided one would be shorter to add more variety.

Next, I cut out a piece of cardboard for the base, and arranged the containers in various positions. Something was still missing. I needed a storage shed for tools and what not.

I fashioned a building out of a small cardboard box, and added siding I made from corregated paper I had purchased from a local craft store. I found a door and window combination online and printed them out in a suitable size. The door and windows were simply glued into place and set aside to dry.

I also found a logo for a liquid fertilizer company, which I printed out on decal paper. Of course, sizing it to fit, and making three of them for my tanks.

I made a security light out of a coffee stir stick and an led. I saw this done in a YouTube video, and I really liked the simplicity. So, check out the pictures, and I hope it makes your column.

Thanks

Mark”

“When I first started my layout, before I had made my design decisions, I saw this combination passenger/baggage car at a train show. For the exorbitant price of $5.00US I thought it might be useful.

When I got it home and put it on my layout, a few problems came evident.

First off, it had a tendency to derail on anything that wasn’t straight track.

Second, it had a light inside that was so bright it made the top and sides of the car glow. The pickups for the light were putting enough drag on the wheelsets that the car barely rolled if I pushed it down the track.

Fixing it wasn’t hard. First, I took out the light and the pickup wipers entirely. T

Then I removed, disassembled and cleaned the trucks.

Finally, I readjusted the wheelsets so they were in scale. Now the car rolled properly and I was left to decide what to do with it. Since by this time I had determined that I wasn’t going to be running passenger service, the car sat on my bookshelf.

Now skip ahead about 4 months and I needed a restaurant for the town.

None of the kits I saw were quite right for what I wanted for the locale I was modeling.

Then my eye caught the combine on the shelf and I thought it might make a fine diner.

So, I pulled it apart again, painted it, installed a couple of low power LEDs in the roof (with enough resistance in the line to make them pretty dim), and reassembled it leaving off the trucks and couplers.

---

Addition of steps and a handicap ramp, some ground cover, bushes, trees, a picnic bench, a sign on top (it’s named for a very special lady in my life) and we have a diner in town.

There are other pieces of rolling stock that can easily be repurposed: cabooses make good yard boss offices, old box cars make industrial storage sheds, a flat car makes a stage for performances in a park.

The only limit is your imagination. Go wild and have fun.

Dale”

A huge thanks to Mark – I think his tanks look spot on.

And a big thanks to Dale too.

And it just goes to show what scenery can be made from, with a little imagination.

That’s all for today folks – don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide if it’s your time to start your layout.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

In this missive, Dave’s been busy on his track work, and Paul has a novel idea to find some space for his layout:

“Hi Alistair,

A common theme of the emails is finding space, and there’s been a huge amount of ingenuity in finding it from the community.

In apartments, the options for a decent sized layout are limited. I have a spare bedroom which doesn’t get used a huge amount, but I don’t want to lose it completely. I’m thinking of solving the issue with a “Loft Bed”. Various places sell them, but this one from IKEA (other vendors are available) has a double sized upper bunk, and a lot of space underneath.

It strikes me I could have quite a decent sized layout by boarding over the supporting battens (and possibly extending beyond), and conceal all the assorted paraphernalia that accompanies model railways under the board.

I’ve taken the plunge and ordered one. I’ll let you know how I get on.

CAVEAT: Although it’s a double sized bunk, the internet informs me that weight limitations mean it’s only suitable for one person, so anyone thinking of replacing the marital bed should proceed with caution…

Paul”

---

“Hi Al, just uploaded this update on the track work, after things went wrong with that incline, and a few other problems, I decided to scrap the idea, and now re designed all that area, the track is now laid.

I have shown adding the droppers and soldering them, then did a test run with the Loco that gave me the most problems with the incline, and low and behold… fingers kept crossed, it’s all running good… all the ballasting and scenics next to be added…

Regards

Dave”

Very latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

That’s all for today because I’m in a screaming hurry.

And don’t forget, if you want to join in with the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

Brian’s been in touch with the latest update to his shelf model railroad.

“Hi Al,

I thought that I was finished with everything and ready to landscape the rest of the layout, looked back to admire my workmanship when something came to my attention.

I was doing a bit of running trains (shunting) and delivering cars to their respective industries when a thought suddenly came to mind, how do I deliver a tank car to the oil refueling tank in the yard. I have one inbound/outbound track from the turntable and in this case, cannot deliver from the turntable.

Never mind he thinks, simple solution by adding a point and curving the track away from the turntable, called in the track gang and low and behold, a siding where I can make deliveries of Oil, Sand and other locomotive facility stuff.

Never to late to make a few small changes.

I will send a few photos later of the completed new section as soon as the backdrop dries and the strip lights added.

As they say, learn from your mistakes.

Photo below is the old track layout from the turntable.

This photo below shows the mistake of not being able to supply the facilities. Engine House tracks are not aligned with the turntable yet in these early photos.

The two photos below show the added point and adding a new section of track enabling deliveries to the facilities.

---

The two tracks now serve as inbound and outbound to and from the Engine house and service track on the side.

Problem solved and completed in two hours including mounting the point motor underneath and the control knob on the facia board.

Note to self, remove unwanted red wire before continuing.

(Photos are always very good at pointing out these problems – thats why I take a lot of them to make sure that I have not missed something, like adding sleepers in the gaps under the rail). Remembering that my layout is just below eye level and not easy to see this.

That’s all for now and all the best.

Brian”

For a shelf model railroad, Brian really is packing everything in to it.

Can’t wait to see the next update (his last post is here by the way).

“Alastair,

No one I’ve talked to on this side of the pond seems to know the answer to this question: Why do many European locomotives have long steel panels on either side of the boiler? What is/was their purpose?

Thanks,

Bob
Okeechobee, Florida

p,s.

Really enjoy your site.”

---

That’s all for today folks, please do keep ’em coming.

And if you think everyone else is having all the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al