Model railroad layouts plans

Roger’s been in touch with his model railroad design and he’s looking for comments:

“Hi Alastair.

I have been following your website for a couple years now and gained much knowledge from all the contributions. I appreciate greatly what you are doing.

I received a Tyco train set for Christmas when I was about 12. Simple figure-eight but I loved playing with it. Not long after I dropped the (bakelite?) controller and it shattered.

Fast forward about twenty years when after college I started my first real job and ran into a hobby shop owner who was a model railroad enthusiast. He introduced me to the local club and I quickly became enamored of the hobby and a member of NMRA.

I purchased a Tyco starter set followed by numerous high quality building kits, engines and cars and made a start on a railroad. Just a simple loop with one siding on a 4×8 sheet of plywood supported by 1×2 framing. Then life got in the way and I set aside my railroading for another 45 years.

Now retired and widowed, I dug out my boxes of railroad equipment with the intent of starting again.

After going through your Beginner’s Guide and numerous other websites, I decided I needed to properly design before building using one of the popular computer design tools.

I have tried several and have settled on SCARM because I was able to do a complete room design, a capability I was not able to duplicate with any of the other tools.

Before describing the pictures I need to say a bit about the design requirements.

First, all of the equipment I have is HO-scale and I don’t want to go smaller – my eyes and fingers won’t let me.

One of the engines I purchased years ago is a Rivarossi Big Boy and I want to be able to run it. Hence, the minimum radius will be 21-inches. Specs say it will run on tighter curves, but my experience on 18-inch curves has not been good. I’m hoping 21-inches will be enough.

Next, the only room I have in which to put the railroad is a relatively small 10×14 feet, and it also must serve for general household storage. So, practically, I have only about 10×9 feet with one corner cut off to allow access to a closet. The design is based on Atlas code 100 trackage with #6 switches, but can be changed if I see a reason to do so.

Finally, I want to model the area around Peace River in Alberta, Canada. There is a railroad through the town and the oldest remaining train station in Alberta from the steam era which I hope to include at some point. For those interested there is much available online about the history of the area and the railroad.

Given these limitations for my model railroad design, I have developed a preliminary design open to any suggestions.

There are lots of opportunities for switching and storage, as well as some space for buildings and scenery, which I have yet to work on. As indicated above, it is done in SCARM, and I think your readers will appreciate the capabilities of that software.

Figure 1 shows the track layout and underlying benchwork – 1×3 framing with 2×2 posts.

Figure 2 shows the layout within the room walls and existing shelving. Note the window and doors are also identified.

Figure 3 is a 3-D SCARM presentation of all the components, including layers of solid-foam board for mountains and a river and bridge in front of the window.

I’m not entirely satisfied with the current design. I tried three other configurations which I felt did not work as well. I would appreciate any comments you or your readers may have about my starting attempt.

Roger”

A big thanks to Roger for sharing his model railroad design – please do leave a comment below if you have any thoughts on it.

I know lots of you start with Tyco trains – you can have a lot of fun with them, like Stephen: Tyco HO trains.

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.

Brian’s been in touch with pics of his HOn3 brass locomotives from 45 years ago:

“Hi Alastair,

I finally got my 45 year old photos converted from colour photos to JPEG’s to enable me to use them on a computer.

This HOn3 layout with the modified timesaver switching design on it was built by me 45 years ago when I lived in an apartment.

It was 6 foot 6 inches long by 20 inches wide. That was the only space that I had at the time. I used and modified John Allen’s switching puzzle (Timesaver) as a basis for my mini layout. I spread the tracks further apart, added structures and scenery with a painted sky backdrop and flat printed buildings onto it. It was all DC that stage.

I had a lot of scratch built rolling stock and structures on hand which I added to it.

Locomotives at that time, was a brass HOn3 K37 by PFM and an MDC/Roundhouse 2-8-0 with a North-west shortline gearbox and motor conversion which made it an excellent runner.

An HOn3 outside frame MDC 2-8-0 locomotive.

The same locomotive pulling a well weathered box car.

The start of the timesaver HOn3 layout.

The HOn3 K 37 locomotive pulling some weathered scratch built refrigerator cars along the waterfront.

The scrap metal yard with lengths of rail and a pile of ties (sleepers) next to them.

A stock train crossing the trestle and a cowboy on his horse leading cattle to the stock pens.

The entrance to the scrap yard surrounded by a scratch built fence.

A passenger train heading out to the next destination.

A small boat hire dock for the local fishermen to use. Note how the printed backdrop blends in with the foreground. A really busy little town.

Shops and industry in front of the backdrop.

A small passenger station – a Woodland Scenics kit.

This white building (a Campbell kit) is still in use on my current layout 45 years later.

All this much detail in such a small space. Guns & Tackle is now on my current layout.

Every town had to have a hotel. The billboard is a Woodland Scenics kit.

Another view of the town and railroad tracks.

This was my second layout that I built in HOn3 for the spare room that I had in my apartment 45 years ago. If I can find and convert the photos that I had of my first layout also HOn3 as a shelf layout, I will post them here if possible.

Every layout that I build has to have a waterfront on it no matter how small they are.

The quality of the photos are not the best because of their age and having had them scanned. They were taken with a 35 millimetre Olympus XA film camera stopped down to f22. The negatives were lost a long time ago unfortunately.

The 46 year old camera below.

All the best and as per usual – keep up the great work on this excellent site.

Brian – the HOn3 guy from Knysna RS”

A big thanks to Brian for sharing his HOn3 brass locomotives from all those years ago – his layouts really do have a style of his own.

You can see more of Brian in the Hall of Fame.

Now on to Richard, who is looking for some suggestions.

You’ll remember him from his previous layout which is one of my personal faves. You can see it here:

HO layout build.

And here’s a pic of it too:

Well, here’s what Richard is planning now:

“Hi Al,

Richard here, now from Arkansas formally from Oklahoma…

Well, after long deliberation, I’ve narrowed my choice of future layout builds down to 3…

1) Rebuild the R&K Logging RR with an expansion to a tree harvesting area…

2) The Thunder Mesa plan, upgrading it to the 50’s time line and incorporating the logging and mining theme…

3) Or the Inyo & White RR… a plan that I found online….

So, all that being said, any suggestions from your readers would help….

Thnxs again for all you do for the hobby

Rich”

If you have a suggestion for Rich, please do leave it below!

Lastly on to Dave, who has sent in this:

“Hi Al, just a short video with Deltics and class 37`s running, it will help to Brighten up a dull grey day… like today.

Regards

Dave”

A big thanks to Dave and Brian.

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.

Dan’s been in touch with a collection of pics on HO scale railroad workers.

I do love the scenes he creates on his layout – they really do bring it to life:

“I call this set ‘workers on the layout’.

Some may have been posted before. These should be a slightly different view, I think if they are.

Also, I have noticed, when reading the comments, there are new readers or others just looked in for the first time.

Let’s see who is working today around the layout. The loading dock looks busy.

The foreman looks to be giving orders.

Looks heavy.

Someone has to “clean up.”

Working at the wheel repair shop.

Workers at the wheel repair shop.

HO scale railroad workers:

Getting ready for the next locos to be serviced.

Here’s one now.

A worker at Burnt Lake.

The painters are sill at work.

Probably not a worker. He is just waiting around.

Service station attendant.

HO scale railroad workers:

At another service station on the layout.

The new sign at Sharon Springs getting the finishing touch.

A welder inside the wheel shop.

At the oil depot.

At Burnt Lake. Getting the luggage ready.

The all important crossing guard.

The town of Almost is having a boom. The local coal mine is producing low sulfur coal and the station is needing an expansion.

Another view about who has to pay for the mistake in the sign.

A lineman working at the turntable at Burnt lake.

Section workers at Ruth. That is a station that leads to Burnt Lake.

Worker at the Chromite mine.

Loading the cola.

A peek in the engine house.

Al, there are a few more folks around the layout. When I find them I will post if you want them. I am getting close to running out of interesting things on my layout. However, either good or bad, three other layouts I have done that might be of interest. Here is a sample.

Sample photo is from the Inland Pacific a fictional railroad from Indiana to points west and north west.

Dan*

A huge big thanks to Hall of Fame Dan – he really is the gift that keeps giving.

I really enjoyed his collection of HO scale railroad workers pics.

I do love the posts with captions for the pictures – these ones spring to mind:

Model train people.

HO scale people.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you press the fun button and get started, 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.