Model railroad layouts plans

Brian’s been in touch with some impressive HO scale roundhouse details:

“Hi Al

I thought that I would keep you up to date on the construction of my new double deck layout.

Remember the engine house (HOn3 scale) from my previous layout and the article that you published, it was stripped off its original placement (top photo) and will be relocated to the upper deck just above where it is shown in the last photo.

It took a lot of courage to remove it without any damage being done in the process and about three hours of painstaking work. Pardon all the visible wiring at the moment as it will all be hidden “underground” once in place.

Brian”

And lastly Dangerous Dave has been in touch again with his latest installment too:

“Hi Al,

got the Pannier tank Loco back, now with sound and lights, very impressive sound, not often you get good sounds from /Steam Loco`s this size ….

I also show that dave also does things wrong, got the loco on the track with one axle wheels off the track… but a good demo of sound that can be added to these small Loco`s.

Still got to figure out altering the CV for the chuffs , am told should be 4 chuffs per wheel revolution.

All part of the Hobby.

Regards

Dave”

A big thanks to Dave and Brian for sharing his HO scale roundhouse details – both of them Hall of Fame members. I’m very interested to see how someone as talented as Brian puts his layouts together from day 1. Looking forward to the next update.

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.

“Hi Al,

I have now completed the main part of my N gauge layout of Newdale and produced a video of the scenery and running session which I hope you enjoy. Approx 4 months to this point from bare boards but delighted with the results so far.

With keeping sidings to a minimum all within reach at the front of the layout I have just plain track running all under the scenery meaning smooth running right round the layout. I run it all on DC.

The lighting is on two unused controllers so the lights can be dimmed or brightened to suit. After spending 33 years in electrical retailing I enjoy wiring all the lighting up, I realise a lot find the lighting side horrifying but I group the various voltage lights together into a 12 volt string and I’m sure many others would find this method simplifies the wiring chore, of course you must make sure the polarity is correct for each group before connecting. If grouped by a total of 12 voltage lights it saves having loads of various voltage adaptors cluttering your sockets. This also means that house and street lights can be linked into 12 volt segments.

This layout is my favourite to date as I managed to get all the elements I wanted, multi level running with station, three bridge sections and many tunnel mouths, believe me even after building it I have trouble working out which tunnel the train will emerge from this makes it fun.

This layout uses the most track I have ever used even though simplified.

I have said in the past I love building the tracks but disliked doing the scenery. Well in the past I always used plaster and plaster cloth for hills and cliffs, now using 1/4 and 1/2 inch furniture foam it has made the job a lot less messy, I admit the cliffs may be a bit amatuerish but it is my first attempt using it. The good point is it is easy to add more foam with contact glue to continue the flow.

As with all my layouts the boards can be lifted for easy access, especially the one under the centre hatch and with just a wiring plug/ socket connector linking the boards means pull it apart and then lift the board.

There are still a lot of bits to do but it’s getting there, I hope you enjoy.

Regards

Eric”

“Hi Alastair

A quick tip for you. Save the cedar liner that comes in cigar tubes. It is beautifully thin and is excellent for siding over card stock or plastic and very terrific for cedar shingles. A chopper works well with this stuff.

Fred”

A big thanks to Eric. Hope you enjoyed his vid as much as I did – hard to believe that layout is inside a wardrobe!

And even after 4 years of blogging I still love to read your tips and techniques. Please do keep ’em coming.

That’s all this time. Don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide if you’ve got the itch to get of the side lines and get busy.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here. Still going strong.

Well, I’m hopelessly behind again.

I’ve still not got all the buildings in the new store.

Just so you know, the old store is here, and the new store is here. Soon to be all in one place!

That’s all this time folks. Don’t forget if your getting bored of the armchair, the Beginner’s Guide is here, lovingly edited by the Hall of Fame members.

Keep ’em coming.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.