Model railroad layouts plans

There are lots of O scale trains posts on the blog – but Tom’s really does stand out:

“Alastair about 99% of the layout was scratch built mainly because I just got tired of going thru magazines and visiting layouts and see this and that built by the big manufactures just wanted to have something my own.

Many of the structures were built from old photos from the 20’s some were just built to fill in spaces, all are wood most of the front buildings and some of the rears have complete interiors and lighted of course.

I found that O and On3 are just to big to have nothing but blacked out windows or windows that had no interiors, some of the back walls in the buildings are photo shrunk to 1/4″ scale then details from there to the front, I really like doing forced perspective it really tricks the eye.

All the track and turnouts were had laid with spikes. This helps with O scale trains. The ties are roughed up and stained with various browns and lots of gray.

Trees on the layout are something I just stumbled across, my only neighbor about 1/2 mile away (we both line in log cabins on a dirt road in the woods) owns a tree service, I was helping him one day and saw the roots of this tree an ash tree. Then WOW here folks go around cutting branch’s off trees then gluing on bits a pieces….. so here right in front of me is a perfect tree for my O scale trains.

Tree Roots Gods gift to the model RR’er. Next step spray some adhesive hole it upside down sprinkle on your favorite color green (I like to use more then one shade of green) keep in mind the if you look a tree in the daylight the sun give the green different colors.

Small roots make great bushes. Then just square off the bottom (should have been done before you start) drill a small hole in the bottom to accept a stiff wire or nail and place in on the layout.

As far as ground over goes I use floor sweepings! Sounds a little crazy but as most modelers are a little sloppy and when you on occasion clean off you bench onto the floor just sweep it up and save it. the mixture of colors makes great ground cover just remember to remove and pink or blue foam that you might have used.

For the base nothing looks better the real dirt really fine dirt….so where would you get some super fine dirt….find a construction site where the heavy equipment has been driving over for a few days grab a 5 gallon bucket and shovel it in. IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO ASK FIRST most of those construction guys age pretty big. LOL

Lay down some white glue on you base take a strainer shake it over the glue fairly thick (don’t make it flat) the ground just is not that way unless you building a golf course.

Then mix some white glue and water and a little dish washing soap set it aside. Before you pour this on the dirt you will want to spray some denatured alcohol on the dirt soak it right in the pour on the glue mixture. The denatured alcohol and it must be denatured will help the glue soak in.

Your can then put on your floor sweeping while the mixture is still wet.

Painting structures is one of my favorite things to do. Keep in mind again that nothing is one solid color, after all you have done a lot of work to make it look real so dull down the color you don’t want your work to look like a store purchased plastic toy. If you are using plastic a spray coat of dull coat will help it also will give the plastic a rough surface that can be painted over.

Well that’s about it for now I’ll write more when the mood hits. Right now I’m in the middle of changing scale from On3 to indoor G scale…Wow talk about having to get a lot of detail in….lots of fun for me on the way, with or without my O scale trains.

Tom,
CEO and mostly Janitor …. Narragansett RR On3”

(Images are clickable so you can zoom in on the detail)

Now on to Brian.

He has sent in this superb video of his engine house. Amazing detail:

“Hi Al

Another short video of a chap welding inside Woodland Scenics Tucker Brothers machine shop which is also on my layout.

Cheers

Brian”

Wow! A huge thanks to Tom for his wonderful pics and narrative on his O scale trains. I’m green with envy. Have a look at the comments below.

Tom’s post reminded me of Rob’s O scale trains too.

Big thanks to Brian too.

That’s all for this time 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 store.

They are great fun to make and great value too.

Ken’s been in touch again – this time he shows us how to make a model train turntable.

And Chris has also sent in a video of his rather fun layout too.

“Hi Al,

Here is the turntable at the mine. Because of the small size I decided to make it myself.

So here you see the rough cut out and temporary turntable with track, to get proper dimensions and proof of design. The turntable is not powered at this time.

I have also started on the road, made out of drywall compound, and painted with basic grey house paint.

The tunnel portals are hand made, cut from ¾ inch plywood, coated with drywall compound, painted with the same grey house paint. Here you also see the beginning of the ballasting, following all the tried and true methods of gluing, except mine is real sand, sifted for size, cost 20 cents for a bucket. Again, I live in Mexico and here you need to be very creative.

This next picture shows the 2 crossings where the road and track cross. I had 2 bags of ties that were for the original layout years ago that never got used, so I dipped them in black paint, common house, dried and now used to fill in blank spots made at rail joints and here for wooden crossings.

Ok, progress, the turntable pit done. Took many ideas, each discarded as impractical, till I finally hit on the method I finally used. Again because of its size I figured I needed several separate components, the circular track, for show only, the bottom of the pit, the walls of the pit, the turntable, and a way to electrify it. Turning for now is manual, may or may not change, we’ll see.

The base needed to be as round as possible, so center hole and compass with blade, sanded to finish. The walls were cut from cardboard, glued and pinned in place, and layered for rigidity, not easy but far easier than the rail. The rail was cut from a piece of flex track, curved, fitted, glued and pinned to dry. Everything is coated with my favorite item, drywall compound. Here it is finally mounted in place. Also there is a notch in the wall height to allow for the rails to pass and rest on as the locomotive enters and leaves.

The turntable was far easier. Material is 3/16 inch thick, cut to shape and glued together. Power comes through the center.

Here is the underside of the turntable, the rod is the center pivot point and one side of the electrical connection, the washer is the bearing surface and the other side of the electrical connection. I found that I needed weight to insure a good connection as well as electrical conductive lube. The base of the table has a brass tube and corresponding washer.

The weights are old auto wheel weights, needed to insure good electrical contact. Also here you see the mine area is now ballasted, the road is in and scenery done. Colors are combinations of common house paint.

This picture shows how small this turntable is, it is now fully functional.

Here are the 2 loco’s that work the mine and deliver the loaded and empty cars.

You also see the “ finished” scenery, tunnel portal, road, and pad for the 2 stall engine house, and the car repair track. Both loco’s were purchased in the early 70’s, still running smooth as silk. The electrical switches are for the 2 engine tracks, and the turntable, also the approach track is likewise controlled, as is the car repair track.

Hope you enjoyed this and someone out there finds it helpful.

Ken, from Mexico”

A big thanks to Ken for sharing how to make a model train turntable.

It reminds me of Brian’s: HO turntable conversions.

“Hi Al here is the latest layout i have done:

The fun bit about it, it has a mini scalextric set in the middle.

This layout just made me think of Tony’s: HO scale race track crossing train track.

That’s all folks! As always, please do keep ’em coming – and a big thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if you feel like you’re missing out on the fun, 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.

And there’s the Silly Discount bundle too.

Ken’s been back in touch with his 13×14 HO scale layout.

Well, it’s a fair few months ago now, and Ken has been kind enough to post the below update on his layout.

He’s been busy – if you want to get up to speed, his first is here.

“Hi Al,

My 13×14 HO scale layout part 2.

When I last wrote I left off at this point and was preparing to move. The move happened.

First the house hold items, then locating and renting a place for the layout.

Took 2 months and then another 2 weeks of dismantling, moving and reassembling.

So from here till now I have been hard at work.

Here you see the beginning of the road at the mine, tunnel portals, and the beginning of the turntable.

The red push buttons are for controlling the turnouts.

Also learned another lesson, paint the interior of the tunnels before you finish the out side, or in my case put them together.

Also here is the plastering technique I came up with, drywall compound and clothes dryer sheets, first step.

In the next picture you see the upper level that runs completely around the layout, and the ascending and descending tracks, to and from the main lower level and the upper main line level.

The layout measures 13 feet by 14 feet , the upper tack is 8 inches above the bench, so a good climb both ways. Here still working out the rest of the layout track plan.

This is the view looking at the other corner, also showing the main 3 levels of track, the uppermost level, 8 inches above the deck, at this point double track, the next level down , 4 inches above the deck, is the track coming from the mine, through a tunnel at the mine then over a trestle and then through another tunnel, then the lower level can be seen, on the deck.

Here you see the mine track as it will cross the main line and enter the yard where the cars will be left for delivery by other crews from the interchange. Also the beginning of laying out the main yard track. The diamond crossing was tricky, especially since it is located directly over a separation line and the layout has yet to be moved to new location.

Another lesson learned, got the mine train here and then thought, how do I turn the loco around for the return trip, I thought I have all this area under the upper tracks why not do a reversing loop, sure why not. A 13×14 HO scale layout gives you the room you need.

It took many try’s to get this far, including laying it out full size on the floor.

Finally, end result, and works as planned, or thought or something.

Would have been much easier to have done the loop first, but at least I thought of it before the scenery went in.

Ken”

A big thanks to Ken! A 13×14 HO scale is quite a size – and it made me think just how long good layouts really take…

Ken’s post reminded me of Lou’s HO scale – another post which highlights the most important part of this hobby: making a start.

Here’s one of Lou’s HO layout pics – which also links to it:

You can see Lou’s post here.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

Don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here, if you want to start your own railway adventure.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.