Model railroad layouts plans

“Hi Alistair,

I really appreciate your emails.

I am an ex scale aeromodeller and just starting in model railroading and loving the learning curve. Please keep them coming as the tips are a great help.

I only have a small “L” shaped area for my layout. Approx. 3.5 mtrs X 2.4 mtrs and around 750mm deep.

It will be a coal mining theme with around two to three elevated tracks.

The scale is O (on30) so if you have any track plans for something like that I would really appreciate it if you could email them to me.

Attached is roughly of an area which gives you an idea of the theme.

Kind regards

Ian”

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“Gday from Aus! Have recently worked with a carpet & vinyl floor layer- lots of ideas!!

The thick large cardboard tubes in carpet & vinyl rolls would make excellent tunnels.

Off-cuts of sheet vinyl would make excellent underlay for track- nearly 3mm thick,sound proofing,cut easily with a stanley knife to any shape required, & come in grey & black “slate” patterns.

Vinyl tiles would make excellent pavers,/ platforms. The “blotchy” grey ones would only need white paint edges, & pavers drawn onto them with thin black pen/ink/texta. Again ,they score & snap easily.

But what caught my attention is the “feather finish” grout they smear over timber/concrete floors before tiling. It is a dark grey colour, so I thought of rock faces, or block walling.(scribe before dry) >tunnel mouths,retaining walls,concrete etc Bit of trial & error on scrap ,card, mdf,>steel finish, spounge, sanded,gouged etc . No prep, just add water!!

One more. Fibro sheeting is made up of layers. Snapped between fingers, it gives a pretty convincing sedimentary/shale rock effect,as the layers break in staggered random arrays. Chisel or knife would expose more or less to suit.

All of these items can be found in scrap/skip bins on site or in industrial areas.

Happy scavenging, deano (one man’s trash is another man’s treasure)

Deano”

“Hi Al,

I have been working on the layout and making good progress.

It is disappointing to me, but I do not have trains running yet.

In this video, I have built the raised platform for the tracks and station on Shell Hill.

I have also laid in the 2% inclines, cut the track to fit and I am ready to glue down and plaster the inclines.

I am hopeful that this expansion will improve greatly the performance of the trains.

It was difficult bringing my self to rip out the old scenery.

I paused for a few days until I was used to the idea and ready to do it. I had spent considerable time creating it once upon a time. I hope your readers enjoy this video.

All the best,

Rob”

And lastly, I’ve found out there were gremlins about the other week. You may have missed this post here.

Best

Al

Rod’s been in touch with his European model railroad:

“Dear Al,

A friend forwards your output to me which is always interesting, so I thought you might care to see a few shots of Diano Marina in HO.

It’s based on our favourite resort on the Italian Riviera dei Fiori, although we’ve had to take some liberties such as moving our hotel fifty yards nearer the railway so we can see the trains go by from the swimming pool.

The very spooky part was that I had to add a floor to the model of the hotel to fully cover the corner of the sky backscene, and when we rang to reserve our next summer’s holiday we were told, “we’re so sorry, we’re not going to be open then as we’re adding a new floor!”

The layout is 9′ x 11′ using Peco track, Sommerfeldt overhead and mostly Roco or Rivarossi stock.

The track plan is simple – just a platform loop and a goods loop off the single main line, but there are ten roads in the fiddle yard to offer some variety. Control is ordinary DC with control panels mountable outside for home use or inside for exhibiting.

I’ve put in over 500 sessions on the layout to date so probably a thousand hours, but then I take forever to get anything much done.

Rod”

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A big thanks to Rod, there’s quite a few European layouts on the blog now: European model train layouts.

“Hi Alastair

Progress on the new wharf:

This is the 2nd building of 9 in the Red Hook Wharf kit build. (FOS Scale product -limited issue) Complete with interior and exterior lighting, window shades, lifebelt and life ring on the wall, dirt bins, tool rack and odd tins. (extras from the good old “scrap” box – bits box)

Weathering – the building was painted white, stippled with 2 shades of blue and a tan color. A very thin black wash finished off the weathering.

The yellow sign on the side of the building was sanded on the back side to get it very thin and see through, glued it to the building using a very watered down white glue.

The sign was then distressed using a Fiberglass eraser after it had dried. The top sign was glued to a piece of card-stock and distressed in the same way.

The total size of this 9 building kit when built (the way I plan it) will be 36″ long x 14″ wide.

Brian”

A big thanks to Rod and Brian.

I thought Brian’s buildings look excellent – but if you’re not a talented as Brian (like me) have a look at the print out buildings here.

That’s all there is for today peeps.

But please do keep ’em coming. My inbox is ready and waiting.

And if today is the day you get going on your masterpiece, 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.

“It has taken the last year to complete the Erie Railroad Layout.

I first sent you pictures back in July of the bench work on casters. There are two main lines, two levels, sixteen commercial buildings, a coal mine, three cities, over two hundred people, 95 vehicles, 40 rail cars, 3 Erie engines and all the trains can service all the cities on both levels.

Some who remember the Erie will recognize Salamanca, Meadville, and Jamestown which this layout services. Enjoy the pictures.

Bill”

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A fantastic layout! Thanks to Bill for sharing.

That’s all for today my friends.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you say goodbye to boredom, 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.