How to get the Golden Key

Fancy ferreting through years and years of posts?

Like to find the pages relevant to your layout plans so you can get going?

Then I suspect you’ll like this: a search box! I’ve called it the Golden Key.

In a nutshell, it lets you search through every post I’ve ever done (and believe me, there’s a lot of them).

But it comes at a cost. Sorry. Don’t worry though, it won’t break the bank – just $19.97. And that’s for life too. So one payment gets you a life time of searching. You can search until the cows come home, it’s yours for good.

Truth be told, without the Golden Key, the Beginner’s Guide and the printable buildings, there wouldn’t be a site at all.

Anyhow, here’s what ‘the golden key’ will do for you. Press play and have a look:


Click here to buy the Golden Key Search Page.


Narrow gauge model trains – Jeff’s

Jeff’s been back in touch. He’s added to the narrow gauge model trains on the blog.

His last post is here. I do love seeing how they progress!

But before we get to Jeff, thanks to eveyone who has posted a question or answer in the new forum – what a clever lot you all are.

“Dear Al,

I started about 10 years ago scratch building the buildings, water tanks, windmills, etc.

I handmade all the trees using balsa wood for the tree trunks and caspia for the branches. That part was very time consuming. I used Scenic Express foam to complete the fir trees.

I started the layout in February. I used the “cookie cutter” bench work idea.

The layout is 14′ X 22″ with 325 feet of hand layed track. I think to date that I have installed 24,000 spikes by hand.

I just started with the scenery on the back wall along the backdrop (which I hand painted) and will move to the aisles.

The rock work was all done by hand. I think I am about 1/4 complete. I will send pictures and updates as I complete more.

My goal is a logging narrow gauge to resembles the landscape of western washington. So I am modeling in the on30 scale and will be running Dcc Bachmann steam locomotives. Trying to model the late 1890s to the early 1900s.

Thanks for you interest.

Jeff”

model railroad logging

narrow gauge model trains mountain

narrow gauge model trains backdrop

model train plaster mountain



narrow gauge model trains steam locomotive

model train track plan

A big thanks to Jeff for adding to the narrow gauge model trains on the blog.

An amazing layout. And again, it just goes to show how important a theme is to bring your layout to life.

Just can’t wait to see the updates.

It reminds me of this stunner:

Narrow gauge 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 HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.





model train answers

N gauge layout – Barry’s

Barry’s been in touch with his N gauge layout:

“My entry into railway modeling started in 1978 or so, and I built a large N gauge layout in a shed along side my house.

I began with stock from Graham Farish, items that were then made in Poole, Dorset, but after a while found the locos were very noisy unreliable and not very well detailed.

So my allegiance changed to Fleischmann, Arnold and Roco.

My layout covered the whole shed 8 x 5, and was quite involved with relays electric points a turntable and lots of scenic details and could be left to run itself with a large double loop and a shuttle end to end station.

After marrying in 1980, we began to raise a family and the shed along side to house had to be pulled down to make way for an extension. And so ended my involvement with model railways, until years later when because English outline was becoming more detailed with better motors, I once again got the urge to build a new layout and try out the latest offerings by Bachmann.

Meadow Falls

I started building this layout after reading a book on model railway layouts by C J Freezer and although not quite the same is roughly modeled on one of his designs.

The size is 6’ x 2’6” and is built in the usual way with 2 x 1 battens and Sundeala board screwed in place on top.

It consist of a small terminus station (by Metcalf) and has an engine shed, turntable, signal cabin (Ratio) three sidings, one for coal and one with a cattle dock (Ratio) a line that heads out towards a fiddle yard (as yet unbuilt). And it is roughly based on a small West Country town.

The track is by Kato with electric points, and the turntable works via a small-motorized unit run via a Graham Farish controller.

The landscape is made up from polystyrene covered in grass matting in places and various Woodland scenic products. It is not based on any particular place.

I called my N gauge layout Meadow Falls because it has a small waterfall emerging from a meadow at the top of a hill at the rear of the layout and cascades down to ground level in a small pond, near the engine shed.

The town meanwhile is situated around the station with a few shops, a Bank and a Square with a Tearoom (all by Metcalf) and is illuminated throughout.

At present it operated by DC but my hope is that I can one day convert it to DCC.

As yet I haven’t built a Fiddle yard as I don’t seem to have the room to accommodate it hence that is another reason I would like it to be DCC so that I would be able to operate more than one engine at a time without all the extra wiring.

Most of my railway stock is either Graham Farish, Dapol and I have one Union Mills loco, and over the years have collected a vast amount of rolling stock together with all the 30 year old Fleischmann/Arnold stock some of which still runs very well to this day, not to mention the fact that most of the German locos have front and rear lights as well as most of the carriages with interior lighting. A fact that I can’t quite get to grips with, as Farish even now does not make lighting for carriages and their Locos are only now getting the detail that the German models had all that time ago.

Vehicles are Oxford and R Parkers together with some Shire Scenes brass etched ones.

Barry”

model railway steam train

n gauge layout

model railway church


N gauge layout:

n gauge layout

n gauge layout

n gauge layout

model railway

n gauge layout

model railway

n scale model railway


N gauge layout:

n gauge layout engine house

model railway signal box

model railway town scene

n scale building

n gauge layout

n scale building

n gauge layout

n gauge layout


Thanks to Barry for sharing his N gauge layout, some stunning pics there!

I enjoyed every one of them – and you do know they are clickable too? If you want to enlarge any of the pics, just click on them.

For me, the layouts that have a strong theme always look the best – I think it’s so important. Barry’s done an excellent job.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you decide you’re not just going to sit on the sidelines, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al





Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the store.

They are great fun to make and great value too.