Model railroad layouts plans

It’s that time of year again – thought it’s time for a Christmas model railroad edition!

“Hi Al,

This is Judy from Wyoming and I enjoy making scenery for railroads of all sizes.

This is one of my latest after we got the Jingle Bell Express train for under the Christmas tree.

I made sections on foam board, then placed them in and around the track, under the tree.

Judy”

“Hello Alastair

Wishing you and all our fellow modelers a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Here is just a bit of photo fun I had on my layout, when a man in a red suit and long white beard suddenly appeared, took the train from one station to the next and then was seen going down a chimney…

Henry”

Christmas model railroad:

“Hi Al!

I know it’s not up to par compared to other layouts, but this one encourages me to do more with the layout you see in the background.

Eric”

Eric has done a great job because it’s all about making that start.

You can look in wonder at so many brilliant layouts, but do you know what? They all had to start – at some point, they made their first layout.

Now on to Dan:

“Dear Alastair:

Enclosed is a shot to two cars I did, one for me with the Delaware and Hudson livery, the other for my brother in law who models the Union Pacific. These answer the question,”How does Santa get his reindeer food?”

I created the decals with the same process as I describer earlier on the pumpkin cars. As to the reindeer food, it is a dry sifted proprietory pig food mix donated by my nephew colored with some diluted raw sienna pigment.

It has the look of distillers grains, which is the by-product of making ethanol (US gasoline has 10% ethanol) from corn. It is used as silage. Ground-up rabbit food or any other dry material would work as food, including sawdust, which may even be preferrable. I top coated the loads with a flat medium to seal them.

If you can’t post, no worries, but thought you might enjoy a look.

Thanks, Al, and best wishes for the continuation of your wonderful site.”

Over the years there have been lost of Christmas layouts – here’s another:

Model railroad Christmas layouts.

Dale’s is great too:

Christmas model train.

And Scott’s:

Christmas tree train.

Now on to Todd.

He’s not making a Christmas layout, but it looks like it’s going to be good:

“Good day to you al I have been wanting to send you some pics I just don’t know alot about hi tech devices. Let me know if you need want to know more about this layout ho scale 36×14 midwest theme.

I use duct sealer for my scenery very pliable just spread with a brush and paint there you go water clean up piece of cake.

Have a great one!

Todd”

A huge big thanks to Todd.

I always get mails asking why I post ‘half built’ layouts – it’s simple because that’s where the fun and the magic is.

What’s more, it shows that every layout is just a mess at first, so never be afraid to get going and make a start.

Hope you enjoyed the Christmas model railroad – should I post a few more? Please let me know in the comments below.

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.

Dan’s been in touch with his model train display at his local bank:

“Al,

Here is the model train display I have been doing for 32 years now. It is in the lobby of a local bank.

It is 20 by 12 HO. The bank lets me store it at the bank. My model railroad club and friends help set it up and take it down each year.

All scenery and buildings must be removed for storage. It gets bumped around some in the process.

It is not a MODEL railroad it is a DISPLAY railroad. I have no idea as to how many have visited. They begin asking if the trains will be back in early October. I sold advertising to cover the cost to keep it running.

I have worn out over 30 locomotives over the years. We redid the outside rails on the curves once.

The trains run during banking hours. I calculated that the trains have run 500,000 scale miles over 31 years. The track is 1 scale mile around.

I have learned a lot about the black stuff that gets on the rails. It is micro-arcing caused by the plating on the loco wheels wearing off. The very tiny sparks produce soot. This requires constant cleaning of the tracks and loco wheels. See the photos.

At the beginning parents were bringing their kids to the bank to see the trains. Then it was those kids bringing their kids. Now it is those kids bringing the GRAND kids!

The model train display track cleaning cars in use. I have had these for years. Walther’s has these I believe. The price is pretty high.

The tank cars have alcohol 70% that drips on to a pad. The odd looking cars have a roller that I employ to soak up the alcohol. Alcohol can be used with this car by it’s self. Either car can be used alone. I think this set up works best. There is NO abrasives used. Abrasives scratch the rail and gather more of the gunk shown in the next photos.

Here is what the cleaning looks like. I put alcohol on a paper towel. I run the locos front truck over the towel and press down lightly and run the loco back and forth by hand. I repeat with the other truck.

As I mentioned in the intro, there is micro-arcing causing the black gunk on the rails. The “good wheels” show a little of the black stuff that was picked up just while running. These wheels are rather new.

The worn model train display wheels show just how much the arcing has done. Both locomotives ran for just 1 hour.

Here is a wheel set taken out of service after about 3 years. Look closely and you can see the plating is gone and you can see a brassy look to the worn areas.

Model train display:

Metal wheel sets also get the worn look after a time. This tank car has been in service for 5 years. The advertising cars are worse. They run all the time. All of the other rolling stock is swapped out from time to time. Remember the trains run for 30 days during banking hours. That is 248 hours.

It is a long month. But it is worth it.

I have helped start many layouts. In fact, today December 6, 2023, I was helping a gentleman work out some problems with his track design.

Dan*”

A big thanks to Dan for sharing his model train display. It’s a wonderful narrative of how the attraction of trains stay with us all of lives.

Dan is our latest member of the Hall of Fame by the way.

You can see on his model train display above his signature ceiling tile technique for the mountains. If you missed that ‘how to’, here it is again:

Model railroad rocks

Here’s another good example of it as well, stunning stuff:

Dan’s post also reminded me of Cal’s track cleaning post:

Cleaning model train track.

And Brian’s, which is another display layout:

Display layout HO scale.

Now on to Julian:

“Hi Al,

Thanks for your great mail, and to your audience who make 85% of it happen!

I have had a model railway since I was 4 – first on the dining room table, then as we were banned, to the dining room floor, then a 6×4 ply sheet. I have to say the ubiquitous 6×4 is the worst possible size as when you are 6, you cannot reach the centre!

Then my parents moved around, so the rolling stock, layout, etc was sold as we moved with the Armed Services.

At University, a special offer on a narrow gauge set caught my eye, so I started to build again. I think I was the only student with a trainset!

Then more moving, marriage and moving conspired to see it sold.

My children and I built a large N-Gauge set in our loft – it was huge, but the loft was too hot in summer, and too cold in winter! A G-Scale garden railway was a better success. Again moves saw the set dismantled and sold.

Then since my wife decided to go on holiday with a bunch of ladies, what better time to start again, but with some firm outlines in place; it had to be modular, and the maximum width 1 Meter. Module 1 got built, then I suffered a heart attack at 62 – so to the disgust of my wife, and amusement of our friends, this built module sat in our lounge for a couple of years. A fire gutted our garage, and this was a perfect opportunity to turn it into a train room!

Instead of letting the set grow organically, I planned and sketched what I wanted to see. Its a mix of artistic creation, childhood memories, and manual skills I used to use as a surgeon!

Here are the sketches, and a couple of views of Module-1. As the layout comes together, I’ll write some more.

Regards,

Julian”

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.

Brian’s been in touch with his model railroad backdrop construction technique, which gives it a 3D element:

“Hi Alastair, here are a few photos of my “3D” backdrop.

Quite a few modellers within a 60 km raduis of where I live, have been to see my layout here at home and have asked me how I made my backdrop that looks so 3 dimensional.

I have helped out about 3 showing them how I made the backdrops.

It is a very quick, simple but effective process using 3mm thick Masonite (MDF) as a start point.

After measuring out the length and height needed, I proceeded to mark out the mountain shape in pencil, stepped back and checked to see if it was acceptable.

I made sure that there are at least 3 to 4 mountains or hills starting at the bottom and working up to the top.

From here, I paint on ordinary white pva glue in a thick layer on the bottom mountain, sprinkle Woodland Scenics ground foam over the glue and spray “wet” water (tap water with a few drops of liquid detergent in it) over the ground foam to get the glue to soak up through it.

This process then moves up to the next hill or mountain and so on until you get to the top.

One must observe real life mountains and take note that the bottom layer or closest will be a dark green and the next a lighter green until you get closer to the top where it could almost be a light green colour.

The last photo shows where I have laid the mountain backdrop over a pre painted sky backdrop (also 3mm Masonite) on the train room floor. I marked out the outline of the mountain on the blue background in order for me to paint the clouds as if they were coming from behind the mountain then glued the two together.

Below are a few photos along the top shelf showing the backdrop mounted in place.

There is a 2 X 1 board attached to the backdrop bottom allowing me a 2 inch flat area to mount trees and bushes on it which helps to give the 3D effect.

The whole process from cutting the Masonite to shape, marking out the pencil lines, painting the glue and sprinkling the different colours of ground foam to the finished product took me half a day.

By the next day, the glue had dried and it was ready to mount to the layout.

You will notice that the “valleys” are a lighter green to give the valley effect.

That’s how I create a “3D” backdrop for my layout.

Until next time, keep modelling.

Brian – the HOn3 guy in Knysna RSA”

A big thanks to Brian for sharing his take on model railroad backdrop construction.

Now on to Jack, who also has his own take on backdrops – and it’s another fine example of “My layout, my rules”.

“Al,

I take pics of trains throughout my travels. My faves I took to Kinko’s and had them put on hi rez foamboard.

You can measure exactly the length to fit them where you want. Mine are 16 inches tall and various lengths.

The idea is to create a train room with train pics. And trains trains trains 😁. Wiregrass RR,and Irondale Alabama. Lordsburg NM. Phoenix AZ. Etc. Are the one’s I have.

Thankyou,

Jack”

Next, some more of your snippets:

“My Dad always drew out his plans to Scale on paper first. Track, trestles, houses, mountains. Then after setting up the platform roughed the sketch on the platform. Fresh black paint first. He painted a 5’x15′ backdrop for the background which was rolled up after the holidays until the next year’s platform was done. Planning is a must!

Steve”

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“Hi Al, I use black flooring nonskid material for roadways. I comes in long rolls that are 6″ wide. The material has an adhesive back that sticks to nearly any surface. The result is a granular surface that looks exactly like a blacktop asphalt road surface.

Dave”

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A big thanks to Jack and to Brian for sharing their takes on model railroad backdrop construction.

Quite a few posts on the blog now about backdrops.

The one that always sticks out in my mind is Ken’s 3D backdrop ‘how to’. Have a look:

Model railroad urban backdrop

And there’s this one too:

HO scale background scenery.

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.