Model railroad layouts plans

Philip has been in touch – he uses fiber board for his OO scale track bed:

“Hi Al, I’m living in east Liverpool Ohio but I’m from Tipton West Midlands.

I have been reading your blog for a couple of years now and it amazes me of the ingenuity of the members. I like dangerous David’s approach to modeling.

Mine started like most with a 0 gauge Hornby tin plate clockwork set.

Then it progressed to triang rovex layout built by my dad. I’m 72 years old.

The layout pictures shown has been 40 years in the making.

A 8’x4’ sheet of homasote fiberboard originally under the Christmas tree.

Then I made the 1×4 frame that that interlocked every foot on centre. Then I used pre shaped laminated card railbed the I ordered from the walthers catalogue. I had to add 6” to the back and right hand side.

All the track is OO scale British Peco brand. The fiber board and laminate rail bed cuts noise on the track bed to a minimum.

It’s just a tail chaser but I don’t have the room for anything bigger. I model British Railways from 1900 to current time.

I have models, mainly from Hornby and Bachmann from all the great 4 railways with emphasis on the Great Western Railway and BR up to modern times.

Most of the rolling stock is also used and some date back to the birth of Airfix and mainline as do some of the Manor and Mogul locos. And they still run good.

Most of the models, about 70-80% of them were purchased used as non-runners.

I have been taking model locos apart since I was 8 years old. I buy these types as I have a hard time justifying today’s cost of new ones.

I have added two photos one as I was modifying the layout and the other from last year. All the locos in the second photo are all GWR.

The buildings are OO scale Metcalfe and are very good. The two plate girder bridges are scratch built from various thickness of plastic card, track and plastruct shapes and sprayed with grey primer.

The embankment is made from Elmer’s foam core project board and the sides covered with 6 layers of paper towels with each layer coated with Elmer’s white glue. It is strong as my cats have proven time and again.

Electrics are provided by Bachmann spectrum controllers. Each circuit, 4, is wired the same way and no shorts occur.

The points are not powered, as yet but provision as been made for the time they will be, maybe.

The first pic is from 2005 when I was recovering from triple bypass surgery.

The second as it looks today in the process of being modified again.

Thanks for all your hard work.

Philip”

OO scale track bed:

A huge big thanks to Philip for sharing his OO scale track bed 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 More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.

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

Dan’s been in touch again with more pics of his stunning HO train layout:

Followers of my posts: I have just about run out of things of interest on my layout.

I took hundreds of construction photos as well as a very large number of finished works.

I am often rephotographing the HO layout in different lighting conditions as well as angles.

I like slogans and word play for signs.

Close up of the coal sign

The poor guy with a spelling problem

What more can you say?

Once again the painters at the mill. I did this model in the early 70’s. You can see the obvious reference to a certain plant.

HO train layout:

The HO station at Almost is almost to the summit

Sunset

Long after sunset at the train tunnel

HO train layout

Before radios, train orders were picked upon the fly. (When orders were to be signed the train had to stop.) The train man is about to grab the orders. Some time the orders were handed up via a “Y” or similar shaped frame. The station operator would stand near the moving train and “Hoop” them up.

Here he is about to grab the layout orders. This stand has 3 arms. The head end would get one and a helper loco would get one if needed.

The trestle often needs repair. One of the safety boards has gone missing. The work train has arrived to do the work.

It takes a brave person to step out to the HO platform.

Looks like some Ho Bo’s have made camp below the trestle.

The phone box. Often the train had to get permission to enter a junction

A large group has gathered to celebrate the 20 anniversary of the layout.

A banner has been stretched across the track. (Today it would say 32 years!)

That is enough for now.

I think I can do two or three more of my HO train layout. I have done the scenery on 5 other layouts and designed and done the scenery 3 of them. In the comments let me and Al
know if you want to see them.

Santafedan”

A huge big thanks to Dan for sharing his HO train layout again – there is so much happening in all the little scenes, it really does bring the layout to life. Stunning stuff.

You can see more of Dan’s HO layout in the Hall of Fame.

Next, on to Ron, who put a smile on my face:

“Dear Al;

I just read your recent post where you said ‘I have been having a tough time of it at the moment. When you get to my age, the technical side of running, a blog can be a bit mind numbing.’

Alastair, I totally, completely understand where you’re coming from! I’ve been in your shoes.

I need you to know something friend: from this end, from the readers end, I have learned more from you and your blog than I’ve ever learned from any magazines or books!

Your blogs are full of illustrative pictures, descriptions, and better than that, even how to’s!

Alastair, do not forget, do not ever forget the lasting impact you’re having on those of us who are just beginning; those of us who don’t have a clue and are looking to you for guidance.

Keep up the good work, my friend! Believe me when I tell you there are multitudes of us who so appreciate all that you have done, all that you ARE doing and all that you hopefully will continue to do!

Godspeed, my friend!

Ron”

Ron really put a smile on my face, because I genuinely want the blog, the Beginner’s Guide, the printable buildings, to do one very important thing: getting folk to make a start!

It’s all about that start. One of my fave sayings is “It’s the start that stops most people”. So true.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a HO train layout, N scale, or any scale – just start! Enjoy yourself.

Anyhow, I’m rambling now.

You can grab the Beginner’s Guide here. I know many of you buy it every year just to support the blog, so thank you so much.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

Brian’s been in touch with pics from his very first layout. Have a look at his HOn3 brass K-37 on his narrow shelf:

“Hi Alastair.

Photos below are of my first HOn3 layout built when I lived in an apartment many years ago.

I mentioned in my last post that I would find the old photos of my first narrow gauge layout, and here they are, attached. They were scanned and saved as jpegs for use on computers.

At that time I only had space for a narrow shelf layout (15 inches wide). That included the front drop down scenery.

I built an ‘L’ shaped layout around two walls.

The quality of the photos are not the best as stated in my previous post and were taken in the late 19 seventies.

Below, the track was laid in place. The backdrop backing is 3 mm Masonite and the cloud sky is a commercial one fixed to the wall. The base under the track is ceiling board to deaden the sound.

Some of the intended buildings placed temporarily to visualise what the end result would be and where to mount the foam scenery.

Below is the ‘L’ section with a trestle bridge over the valley with foam forming the mountains.

HOn3 brass K-37:

Here polystyrene foam is used to form the mountains on the main section.

Below, create stone (plaster) was used to cover the foam and Woodland Scenics rock molds were used to cast the rock faces and then applied to the front face of the mountains.

Crete stone gave the right earth colour as a base coat before adding the greenery. A cast stone arch bridge was cast to span another hollow in the front.

More of Woodland Scenics grass was added using white cold glue before putting on the greenery to the face of the mountains.

A closer view of the cast stone arch bridge.

Here you can see how the control panel was incorporated into the scenery in front.

A PFM HOn3 brass K-37 locomotive crossing the trestle in the corner. Unfinished scenery in the foreground.

A lot of action here on this section as well as at the engine terminal facilities. The water tank still needed to be completed.

Below is a card stock mock-up of the intended coaling tower. (I assembled a Campbell scale kit). The Rico station is a plastic kit assembled, repainted and weathered. In front is a brass C-16 painted and weathered. I painted all my brass locomotives and weathered them as well as the rolling stock.

Passenger cars at the station, picking up passengers and the locomotive will collect the cars for their intended journey.

A view of the scratch built HOn3 turntable. Powered by hand.

A brass Westside model C-16 crossing the trestle with a string of scratch built refrigerator cars.

HOn3 brass K-37 trestle bridge

The HOn3 brass K-37 returning with stock cars to the town.

A view of the storage track in the foreground next to the turntable.

Storage track on the right with the caboose on it and showing the unfinished water tank kit.(Durango press kit) as well as the finished coaling tower kit.

Top view of the HOn3 layout. Roundhouse roof skylights still had to be cut out.

A view from inside the newly (at that time) scratch built three stall roundhouse before all the interior details were added.

A stock car train being readied for dispatching in the yard.

This view shows the installation of the DC control panel with a home built DC controller resting on the face of it.

Unfortunately this is as far as I got with the building of it.

I had to build an HO scale display layout for a hobbies fair. I used to get involved every second year with the Round Table and YMCA to provide model train displays at them.

The above layout was sold to a friend minus all the buildings, locomotives and rolling stock. He added it to his home layout in another city.

All the above was built in the late 19 seventies.

It was a great learning curve from here. (And boy, have I learnt a lot since then ).

From the very early 2000 thousands I switched to DCC, putting decoders with all the bells and whistles in all the locomotives and have never looked back.

All the best and please big Al, keep up the excellent work on the blog.

Brian – the HOn3 guy from Knysna RSA”

A huge big thank you to Brian for sharing his HOn3 brass K-37 loco pics. His very first layout!

You can see his second ever layout here too:

HOn3 brass locomotives

And there’s loads of Brian’s stuff in the Hall of Fame.

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.