Model railroad layouts plans

Mark has been in touch with a really easy way for adding lights to model railroad buildings:

“Hi Al.

Here is my ‘Tip of the Day’… or perhaps I should say ‘Tip of the NIGHT’.

Lighting your layout, especially for “night running” of trains brings a whole new dimension of excitement and joy to your modeling.

Most people like the idea, but the comments I hear frequently are “I don’t know how”, or “it’s just too much trouble or work”, or “I don’t want to end up with a ‘rats nest’ of wiring to sort out”, or “I’m just too old and stiff to be crawling around under the layout”, etc…

Here is a simple way to solve ALL those concerns.

Using LED’s for lighting, you only have to drill ONE (1) small hole for approximately every 400 sq feet of layout space full of lighting opportunities.

Connect two wires from your power source through this hole to a simple “above board buss” line using 1/4 inch flat copper tape.

This tape is readily available at most craft stores that sell Stained Glass materials. It is self-adhesive – just peel and stick – it will stick securely to just about anything, even rough grained plywood. It is ABSOLUTLY flat and can be covered instantly with buildings, scenery, etc.

Now just solder your LED lighting to the bus, set the structure in place and you’re done!

The copper tape is designed to accept solder readily and a small low wattage iron is all that is needed.

Need to move a building somewhere else? A 10 second clip or un-solder and re-solder and you’re done.

Need to run branch lines down several different streets? Simple – the just lay another line of copper tape at a right angle and a quick drop of solder will connect the two pieces of copper tape electrically together.

Attached are photos of several LED lit structures on my layout using this system along with a short video of fun with “night running”

Cheers!

Mark”

Adding lights to model railroad buildings:

A huge thank you to Mark for showing us his way of adding lights to model railroad buildings – it’s an excellent ‘how to’ – it’s no wonder Mark is in the Hall of Fame. You get in there by sharing stuff like this…

And don’t forget all the Hall of Fame members have contributed to the Beginner’s Guide ebook too.

That’s all this time folks. Please do keep ’em coming.

Best

Al

PS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.

Chris has been in touch with his coffee table layout – quite a project! Just look at all the comments below!

“Hi Al,

One of your subscribers suggested that I send you the link to the YouTube video of my computerized N-scale coffee table model railroad.

I do not consider myself to be an expert model railroader, but I have a lot of fun applying my electrical engineering and computer systems experience to model trains.

The coffee table project was an experiment to see if I could build a programmable computer-controlled fully automated model railroad into a coffee table for my living room.

To make an already complex project even more challenging, the wood sculptor who designed and built the coffee table furniture suggested that I design the layout to rise up to the surface of the table as part of the automated operation.

He hated to look down into a box to see artwork, so he wanted the layout to be mounted on some sort of lift mechanism.

The design and construction of the layout, furniture, lift mechanism, and computer system hardware took almost six years to complete.

However, development of the controlling computer program is ongoing.

Presently, only one train (and the trolley) can run on the layout; however, it should be possible to run two trains in the same direction or opposite directions.

Programming the system so that the trains will avoid each other and the trolley should keep me busy for quite awhile.

Regards,

Chris”

Coffee table layout:

“Sorry I haven’t been in touch haven’t had much to ask show of my layout,but I’ve finished a couple of sections.

Raymond”

A big thanks to Ray and to Chris for sharing his coffee table layout.

There have been lots of coffee tables featured on the site over the years, and I’m happy to add Chris to the list – he’s done a fantastic job.

And Ray’s layout is coming along nicely – just goes to show they look like a mess before everything drops in to place – but that’s half the fun.

So if you feel like rolling your sleeves up and getting involved, don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here.

That’s all this time folks.

Please keep ’em coming.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here. It’s updated every single day…

Arnie’s been in touch again with his stunning N scale passenger layout.

A big thanks to everyone who left a comment on his last post with the video:

“Hi Al — Thank you for your support and posting of my video.

I want to thank all the readers/viewers for their positive feedback and support of the proposed video project.

I therefore will continue to brainstorm for the forthcoming video ‘episodes’.

However, an injury to my hand this past weekend required an emergency room visit and suturing of my thumb on my dominant hand. So the wheels of progress on the project will be turning a bit slowly for a few weeks or so.

I’ve attached a photo of my N scale passenger layout track plan (the Susquehanna Valley & Gulf Summit Ry.) as viewers of my videos seem to always want to see it.

If I may, I would like to address a few comments/concerns voiced by several viewers of the new video:

Several viewers felt that some of the popup text was visible for too short a time. I agree and I apologize.

The reason for the limited time was due to the limited duration of the pertinent scenes which the text was referencing.

I didn’t want the text to linger too long and detract from viewing the very brief scene(s) or have the text flow into the next scene

However, as a solution, I may be able to add a text only screen at the onset of the opening valley scene to give some detail about the 4 trains depicted in the N scale passenger layout vid. This same procedure can be used in subsequent videos.

Some viewers thought the music was too loud. I will therefore make further adjustments in forthcoming clips.

The variable music volume approach that I use is intended for effect and/or emphasis of different scenes as the story unfolds; and also dictated by the varying volume of the onboard DCC sound decoders (when present) on different locos and their real or implied distance from the observer/camera.

Lastly, a few of you noticed something on the N scale passenger layout.

I want to thank Norton who noticed that cars on the PRR passenger train were wobbling as the train approached the bridge at the river.

Norton, the problem is not with the track. Instead, the rocking was caused by defective trucks on the combine and first coach cars.

I got new replacement wheel sets but forgot to change them before videoing.

I hope it doesn’t impair the many other clips I’ve already taken of this train.

These pics give a better perspective on the bi-level layout that can be confusing from the track plan. (By the way, photos appearing on the walls of the train room were all taken on the layout and have been published in various model railroading magazines.)

There were also questions about the backgrounds I use. I have about eight photo backdrops that I use extensively for taking photos and videos. Some can be aligned consecutively to create a longer scene.

I use them as portable backdrops wherever needed to give greater depth and realism to the N scale passenger layout scenes. There is one that I put into the enclosed photos as a quick reference in the distance. The backdrops are by Realistic Backgrounds.com.

And I want to thank everyone for the well-wishes for a speedy recovery from my injury. I assure everyone that I am perfectly fine and I am “up and running” though a little awkwardly handling objects.

Again, thanks to you Al for this forum and to everyone for their enthusiastic and helpful commentary.

Arnie”

N scale passenger layout:

A big thanks to Arnie for sharing his N scale passenger layout.

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 N scale layouts here if that’s your thing.