Model railroad layouts plans

John’s been in touch again, this time with his printable building barn:

He never fails to make me smile. And this time I’ve let him loose on the latest print out scenery – there’s now a wooden barn and a stone cottage in the store.

But guess what? Because they are brand new, there is always a launch price – you can grab them both for just $14.97, so right now you can save $5 if you think they’ll look good on your layout.

If you you are new to the print out scenery, you just download it and stick it together. And you can make as many as you want from one purchase. It’s that simple.

All the print out scenery is done to HO scale. For N scale, just print out at 50%. For O scale, increase by 48% (here’s one of the houses in O scale).

Here are some pics of the wooden barn:

And here’s some pics of the stone cottage:

If you like the look of the wooden barn and stone cottage, you can grab them both here for just $9.

That’s all today folks.

Looking forward to seeing the pics of the barn on your layout soon!

Best

Al

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Farm barn and stone cottage$9.00Subtotal$9.00Discount$0.00Tax 0.00%$1.80Total$10.80Submit Payment

A trip down memory lane today, with some model train scenery tips.

The first ever post of this blog was just a collection of tips – just like the ones below.

So today, I thought I’d publish some more, and ask you to scratch your head a put your single biggest tip in the comments below.

I think it’ll be fun to see what we come up with. Fingers crossed!

(As usual, the comments section is full of more good tips.)

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“My Best Model Train Tip? That’s an easy one:

TAKE YOUR TIME.

Plan well…. Execute slowly. Check and double-check. Let the paint dry, then let it dry AGAIN (no pun or joke intended).

My best work always seems to happen when I get interrupted and cannot continue at the speed I wish…. Slows me down and everything turns out better.

Thanks!

Mark”

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“Old cell phone chargers can be used in place of batteries to run DC accessories like street lights, neon signs, etc. Most of these run on either 3 or 4.5vdc. There are 3.7 volt and 5 volt chargers. You can pick them up for $1 or so at Salvation Army and Goodwill stores or garage sales. I have 2 buss bars and several terminal strips. I wire the chargers in parallel until I have enough to handle the current load.

Gerry”

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“My tip: Be sure to label your storage boxes from last year so you’ll know which ones to pull out for this year’s Christmas display!!!

I really find it disheartening to open a mislabeled box to find Last years Christmas ornaments, which should have gone to Salvation Army, and HOPE TO GOD, I didn’t take the trains over to them instead!!!

Bill”

“Al,

You are no doubt already aware of this but, in case you are not, I printed one of your buildings directly to card stock. By doing this the step of gluing to an empty cereal box or whatever is being used is eliminated and greatly speeds up the process. Further, the card stock accepts the glue far better than cereal boxes and appears to be quite sturdy.

I strive for convenience whenever possible. As the Pennsylvania Dutch say….” Ve grow to soont ald und to laid smardt.

Russ”

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And here’s a video that keeps getting sent in, again and again.

So I’ve relented, here it is. Just goes to show you how unforgiving model trains are…

Have you seen the latest ebay cheat sheet? It’s here.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming and don’t forget to share your model train scenery tips in the comments below.

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.

Dave has been in touch with his model train vacuum tip:

“Hi Alastair

Just thought I would share a little trick I found while trying to clean up the layout after some major track modifications.

I find it rather hard to get a vacuum into the small spaces on my layout, especially as I model in n gauge.

So cobbled together an extension using the old outflow hose off of a disused washing machine. This allows me to have the machine on the floor while having a small pipe to get into the nooks and crannies around the trackwork.

And inadvertently suck up something important, its simple a matter of taking the bag out and finding said piece.

Hope this is helpful for other modellers and thanks for all the great hints and tips in your informative newsletter.

Regards

Dave”

Now on to Chuck:

“Hi Alastair,

I have never written you but have been receiving your emails for several years now and have really enjoyed them. And I have your books you created and have downloaded them and are in my collection of ideas box.

I got my first train back in Christmas 1961 when I was 8 years old. I have had it all these years with dreams of one day building a complete layout. I have all the original train cars from that set and have acquired many more since then.

I have always loved trains from the first day I met my grandfather at age 7. My grandfather was a conductor on the railroad and did the run between Montreal, Canada and New York City and Boston. We lived in Essex Junction, Vermont and yes it was known as “The Junction” – the rail station was located there.

The town has 5 main roads that all come together there known affectionately as the 5 corners. No traffic light back then, but when my grandfather was coming through town my dad would take us down to the station to see him come through. I have his original conductors watch and a photo of him in his conductor’s uniform (yes, black and white). Anyway enough nostalgia and the reason for my writing.

It struck me the other day, after viewing some tips from one of your posts on how different people have been creating their own models and repairing or changing out things, that your viewers might be a good source for what I have been in need of for a lot of years.

As a kid I ran my trains a lot and when my first son came along we would run them in the basement of my home, but as time would have it the motor eventually gave out. At the time I was working at IBM and had an acquaintance at work that was involved with trains and I had given him the armature to see if he could find someone to repair it. The long story short however is that we both left IBM completely forgetting about the armature so I no longer have it. I have been looking for a replacement motor, either parts or something that would fit within the motor housing and engine.

The engine was made by the Lionel Corporation. I have attached some photos of the engine along with the motor box with some dimensions. If this is something you would consider sharing with your viewers that would be good, but if it is not something you would normally do, that is fine too. I someday hope to get a new layout going before my 9 year old grandson gets too big to have an interest. He has loved trains too from an early age.

The motor housing inside dimensions are 5/8” round and 5/8” long. It was a three lobe armature with brushes and commutator at the front of the motor. The total shaft length was 1 – 5/8” – I still have the original gear that goes on the end. Since I don’t have the original shaft I am not sure of the exact diameter of it, but judging from the holes in the motor casing and the gear, it was somewhere around a 1/16” in diameter.

Anyway, thanks Alastair for your emails and keeping my dream alive. When I get the upstairs playroom cleaned out from all my kids things left behind by them, I hope to get building little by little and I will share photos as I get started.

Thanks,

Chuck”

“Hi Al, just got my Deltic back with the EM2 speaker fitted, sounds fantastic, I have added a clip with a real Deltic to compare the sound, which to me is near as possible to get, also shown that I am now starting to remove some track ready for changes, hope to have completed before Xmas

you have to excuse the sound on the low track side clips as I was using the go pro camera, and its not very good on sound reproduction.

All The Best

Regards

Dave”

The very lates ebay cheat sheet is here.

A big thanks to Dave for his model train vacuum tip, and to Chuck (I did wonder about posting – but maybe someone can help?).

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.