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John builds a new layout

“Alastair…

Thank you again for your wonderful site…

I have started on a new layout (another micro)…

Lately I have been averaging about one per year…

This one I call my “No-Excuses layout” — I have tentatively named it “Terrapin Sidings”

The scale will be On30 and the baseboard is 12″ by 41″

It should fit on an Ironing Board… One of the inspirations is a popular British layout called “Ingleton Sidings”

Why is it “No-Excuses”? So far I have less than $10.00 in the baseboard… I expect the total to be less than $20.00 when all is said and done. The track is all brand new Peco and Atlas… So far less than $55.00
The baseboard is Foamcore board… a thin foam sheet that is backed on both sides with heavy paper.

It is easily cut with a straight-edge and a single edge razor blade. The whole thing is clued together with PVA (White Glue). This pretty much wipes out all potential excuses about why one cannot build a layout to run their trains on….

A little more progress..

The “Sleeper Thief” has been in action… The goal being to offer a kind of industrial tramway look to it.

I thought of sending the picture with this caption “The Notorious Sleeper Thief, Sir Charles Bullhead, has struck at Terrapin Yard”.

Also, here are a couple of photos concerning the wiring… Simplicity plus with the power soldered to the rail joiners and running through a pair of holes poked in the baseboard with a coat hanger.

Here are a few more photos on how I operate my turnouts (switches).

I use piano wire with a small hook at each end. I run the wire through a small channel cut in the baseboard and I cover the channel with tape.

Most of the track has now been pinned to the baseboard now.

Sincerely,

John”

“Here are some things that I use:

1) Grape Myrtle ends after the blossoms die make great trees. I then add lichen painted different shades of green.

2) Get dried blocks of clay and crumble for use as real dirt.

3) I collect different sizes of saw dust and can use food coloring to make grass or other items

4) From Home Depot I got returned cans of Venetian Plaster to use to make and cover hills and stone walls make from chicken wire and newspapers with wall paper paste.

5) Go to the fabric store and look at felt to use for grass, gray for around track and brown for dirt.

6) I save any wire I get my hands on (telco, low voltage, old lamp cord, etc.)

7) I look for moss and when dried paint different color green or brown as needed.

Larry”

Thanks to John and Larry! Please do keep ’em coming.

Here’s some more train layout builds if that’s your thing: Model train layout builds.

That’s all for today folks – please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the big day when you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Ken’s American West layout

“Welcome everyone. After following Alastair Lee for about two years now I am at the point where I thought that I wanted to add some pictures of my own as I can always benefit from comments and feedback.

Having always had an interest in the American west I wanted to convey a time when steam was starting to replace the old wagons heading west. I entitle the layout Westward Ho! simply because I have not really thought of a more creative name.

Although much of the history comes before, our story begins in the town of hole in the wall noted in the rough cut tunnels that blasted through the rocks in order to allow for the train to come into the town founded around a watering hole that protrudes from a rock. It was at this very hole where the Native Apache Indians used to stop and drink. It is near this watering hole where our settlers first came out of the parched desert to the rock from whence the water flows, or the watering rock as the Indians and the early pioneers referred to the land until the coming of the steam engine.

Just as the Native Americans were pushed west, so too do we find the early pioneers wanting to escape the industrialization era. And so we see them loading up their wagons and moving to . . . where we do not know just where they are moving to but is is anyplace better than hole in the wall where cattle barrens and outlaws have come brought there by the water and the greed of gold believed to be found in the nearby hills and barren wasteland.

Ken”

I thought Ken’s layout had bags of character – and a nice narrative too.

Please do keep ’em coming. And if you haven’t had a look at the ebay cheat sheet for a while, now’s the time to too. Have a look at what’s there.

And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

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

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the Silly Discount bundle.

Sundaram’s layout

“Dear Al.

I am attaching a few pictures of my HO layout which is still WIP You may like to share this with your subscribers/members.

The main layout is 12 feet x 4 feet. The marshaling yard is a separate 2.5 feet x 10 feet layout but with a railway line connecting into the main layout.

Most items are hand crafted by me. In each picture, I have described some key items that have been hand crafted and are cost effective and quite innovative (I think!). Therefore, I thought it would be of interest to railway modelers like me.

Picture 1 &2: Is the marshalling yard hump with the Kadee magnet for decoupling the wagons. The bund of the lake is of thermocole and painted to give the effect of the lake. The silver color posts are yard lights – the barrel of which is made of ball point pen body and the lamps are 3 V LEDs. The hood of the lamps are made of plastic (made from conduits used for concealing wiring in houses). It cost me ten rupees (Rs.) – ie. (one-sixth of a dollar) to make one.

The white small boxes by the rail side are solenoids built be me using a soft core and copper wire (cost Rs. 15). This replaces the Atlas turnout switches which cost USD 12 a switch not accounting for the SPDT switches to operate them.

Picture 3: The red structure at the bottom left is the water tank which sits on a building. This is made of scrap pieces of plywood and hand painted. The protrusions on the sides of the tank depict the welded flanges of the water tank. A better view can been seen in picture 6.

Buildings: kits downloaded from internet and made using cardboard

Picture 4: The signal cabin on the left is made from plastic sheet. The station and platforms are hand made from scrap pieces of plywood.

The station and platforms have been made from plywood and the main platform is lit with LED lamps ( located under the roof of the station building.

Working hand-made signals: The body (stem) is made from ball point pen body. The top head is made of plastic conduits used for wiring in houses. The LEDs bulbs are 3 volts. The shade for the lamps are made from ball point pen body (sliced to a third). The ladder is made from broom stick (India specific I suppose), but can be done from tooth picks. Cost to make is about Rs. 5 each.

Working station lamp posts : made of bent used refills of ball point pen. The hood is of the ball point pen body.
Foot Over Bridge: made from scrap material and wire mesh. The individual steps are a single ply cut to size. The silver high-mast lamps are again made from ball point pen body that serves as the post and the canopy on top is a plastic cap made from scrap piece of plastic.

Picture 5: The Tunnel is made from thermocole. To prevent the solvent in the paint from burning holes in the thermocole, the tunnel was painted with diluted PVA and then when dry, was painted with oil paint.
Street lamp posts – again made from ball point pen refills.

Picture 6: Engine shed made from plywood and hand painted. The bridge in the background was hand-made and hand painted. Again made of scrap plastic and wood.

Picture 7: girder bridges – made from plywood resting on 1” thick wood painted in grey to make it appear like piers.

Picture 8: Station and platforms – hand-made with plastic roof. The Lights underneath the roof are wired though the tubular support pillars.

Water crane for steam engines. This is made of tubes of different sizes bonded together with Mseal – a two pack solvent. The rims on the body denote the flanges and are made from paper tape cut thin and wound several layers to the desired rim protrusion level. The water spout is made of plastic sheath.

If anyone is interested in knowing more about any of the handmade stuff, I will be more than willing to share how I did them.

Thanks for viewing the photos and I hope you enjoyed them.

Kind regards

Sundaram”