Model railroad layouts plans

Wayne’s been in touch with his elevated model train track.

I really do like what he’s done – his layout, his rules: a red and yellow background, dinosaurs, a volcano, lions, a constuction site, airport, battle scenes…

I’ll bet the grandsons enjoy the layout almost as much as Wayne:

“Hey Al,

Been following you off and on for several years now.

Really enjoy all the ideas and content submitted by all the RR enthusiasts out there!

Over the last 6 years I’ve built 4 layouts starting at 4’x8′ and up to this 18’x11′ lay-out.

I didn’t build a theme on this as well as my previous layouts. They were made to impress my 2 grandsons…and me too 😉. Basically, I just let my imagination go as I was creating this layout.

In this layout there is close to 400 feet of track. 3 tracks on the base and 2 elevated tracks.

The 5 train tracks are all separate and controlled by an NCE Power Cab.

I put together all the plastic model buildings. There are quite a few handmade wooden buildings that were all created from scratch. They were all made by my Dad when he built me a train set when I was 8 years old (I’m now 65).

I built all the red/yellow/blue risers for the 2 elevated levels. I had fun creating the airport. It is in honor of a close friend who is a mechanic for American Airlines.

Instead of painting mountains, etc. for the background, I decided to paint the red and blue background. I think it makes the entire layout stand out.

Thanks so much for what you do! Take care!!

Wayne”

A big thanks to Wayne for sharing his elevated model train track – it looks like he’s having great fun with his layout and grandsons, and that’ what it’s all about.

It reminded me of David’s: HO scale elevated train track.

And Wayne’s: HO scale elevated train.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get stop dreaming and start doing, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Mike’s been back in touch with another missive of what’s really involved when it comes to building a train layout:

“Hello Al:

Hope this email finds you well. It’s been a while since I last checked in, and I wanted to share a story that other model train enthusiasts may or may not have experienced.

As you may recall, I last was working on a large n scale layout featuring an old western town and the town of Hill Valley from the “Back to the Future” movies.

Life circumstances brought it to a temporary halt as the family urged me to give up the basement in favor of a more desirable gathering and movie viewing room.

I decided to accept their concept and relocate the trains to a 10ft x 12ft office room off the garage. What might sound like a total capitulation on my part actually turned into a blessing in disguise.

If I may digress for a moment, I must say throughout this period since my interest in model trains was rekindled some years ago, discovering your web site has been an inspiration.

As I subscribe to the philosophy of Walt Disney that everything we endeavor to achieve in life is a work in progress and often never actually completed, I find much satisfaction in building and rebuilding my model train layouts.

That said, many thanks for your almost daily posts, I never miss enjoying those words and pictures of encouragement.

Also, my original building constructions were built around solid blocks of wood, making lighting difficult at best. I recently took advantage of one of your special offers on printable buildings and I am looking forward to creating buildings and landscape that can be effectively lit with LEDs. But that’s for later.

Now, right to the point, I am happy to report that I have abandoned the Bachmann track system entirely. When I made the decision to invest in DCC, I discovered the superior quality of Kato trains.

Even on Bachmann EZ Track, the Kato locos and rolling stock ran much smoother than my starter sets from Bachmann. So I took the decision to recreate my layout exclusively using Kato track products.

The math, geometry, and wiring of Kato tracks and accessories made creating a new layout to my satisfaction a dream.

I plan to send progress reports as I make decisions on how to address the landscaping needs of the new layout, but here are a few photos of progress so far.

I can’t thank you enough for all the help. Keep up the great work.

Mike
Michigan,
U.S.A.”

A big thanks to Mike for sharing what goes into building a model train layout.

(I remembered his ‘back to the future’ layout – it’s here if you want to have a look.

I do admire the way Mike has just carried on despite a number of set backs (HO or N scale?) and just enjoyed the journey.

I do think a little planning can go a long way – but most of the time it’s not until you’re in the thick of things, you discover what’s right for you, and what’s not.

Here are some planning gems from the Hall of famers (as always, there is just as much wisdom in the comments):

How to start a model train layout.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you poke boredom in the eye and join in the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Laurence has been in touch with his model railroad helix construction:

“Al

I started a new section of my layout. Been watching on UTUBE at the Helix videos. I decided I wanted one. I decided on a layered double track double helix layout input and output at the same level.

I wanted the helix to be separate from the rest of the layout but connected to it. And because I am not building a second layer over the first on the regular part of the original. The helix table had to be the same height as the rest and only go up about 26 inches. I started the research with the calculators on line.

Am using steam engines so the inner most track had to be about 20-inch radius. Using the calculators, I got six rings with an average of 2-degree rise. The Inner ring inner track is 23-inch radius.

The inner ring outer track is 25-inch radius. Needed room for the uprights to hold the rings and about 1 ½ inches for scenery. Now the outer ring inner track is 29-inch radius and the outer ring outer track is 31-inch radius. Now I know what size table I need – 63-inch diameter (left to right and front to back.

The first picture is the table to the right diameters for the outside and inside dimensions. Hole in the middle for working on the inner row. Notice the mechanics slide with backrest for under table work.

The second picture shows the cutout of cardstock of the two rings laid on the table to see if it will work. The inner ring has to be 3 inches wide for two tracks and base material. The inner ring hangs over space at the corners but fits correct at the sides. The outer ring has to be the 3 inches plus room for scenery so it is five inches. And of course, three quarters of an inch between them for the uprights.

The next two pictures show the eight uprights in place and design verification in progress. All the helix I saw on line is a plywood helix next to a fantastic looking layout. I wanted more than that. In the next picture I painted it green and installed the wiring. Two wires to the right of each upright for the track power and two wires to the left of each upright for lighting. Later decided power only on four not all eight.

The entrance/exit of the helix is from either side of the farm layout. The right side comes in to the outer ring at table top level. The left side comes in to the inner right at table top lever but under the outer ring. Each ring rises one half inch at each upright for a total of 4 inches on the diameter.

The next two pictures show the first row (inner and outer) installed to test if all the calculations worked out and start laying track. At each upright I used one eight-inch aluminum bars from Lowe’s and bend at 90-degree angle attached to the upright and under the plywood row base (each side of the upright). Keeps the look clean and easy to work.

The next three pictures show the switches and crossovers needed so the two previous installed tracks can properly attach to the Helix.

The following two pictures show the track needed to connect to the helix layout. Able to install these as now I knew where and how the connection can be made. I left about 18 inches between the helix and the rest of the layout for work space. At this point the track crossing over the 18 inches on each side has a distinct curve. I could not find a curved bridge so I build one out of balsa wood.

The next two pictures show the construction and finished bridge for the track on the right side. The left side got another one just like it.

The last picture shows a segment of the outer ring mostly finished. Trees, train stops, out houses and people in the future. Also notice the connector for the train power, it is located directly above where the second ring will be located. Power for inner and outer first and second ring.

Trains are now running from the mail layout to the top of each ring row one. Videos to come in the future.

Lawrence”

A huge big thank you to Laurence for sharing his Model railroad helix construction – that’s some helix! Very much looking forward to seeing more of it.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

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

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.