Model railroad layouts plans

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.

Jim’s been in touch with his 6×4 DCC layout:

“Hi Al,

I have always had an interest in local history and I like working with my hands. The result was the creation of the Holland Odessa Rail Road. A mythical short line set in September 1908. Half of the line is located in NW Ohio and the other half is west central Florida (where our two homes are located).

In 1908 NW Ohio was in the grip of the industrial revolution. The two canals in the state still operated (both destroyed in a massive flood during 1913) but trains were definitely the primary movers of goods, opening the country up from the east coast to the west.

Ohio at that time was amazingly the primary supplier of oil for the country. The glass industry became centered in Toledo because it was able to get low cost ‘waste’ natural gas from oil producers trying to get rid it to run the glass furnaces!

A train ‘flag’ stop called Holland located 8 miles west of Toledo was a center for canals built to drain a massive swamp called the Great Black Swamp. It had been over 1,000,000 acres at one time. By 1908 it was mostly drained. Holland, named due to the canals (now deep ditches) is where our summer home is located.

Florida was at least a century behind Ohio. Every disease you can think of existed. Malaria, yellow fever, small pox and on and on. Moreover between the swamps and man killing critters, humans had a hard time just existing yet alone developing. Then in 1880 the trains arrived in the Tampa – St. Petersburg area (St. Petersburg was named by the man who’s railroad first arrived in the area).

In 1900 Tampa had 800 people huddled around an army fort put there to protect against the Seminole Indians and a base for the Spanish American war. By 1910 it had over 15,000 people, by 1920, 34,000 and ever upward. Today the Tampa – St. Petersburg area has over 4 million and still growing.

However, in 1908 a little town called Odessa, (which is were our Florida home is) located12 miles northeast of Tampa was bigger with 2,000 people, being a center of logging for Cypress trees as well as Pine trees. One Cypress tree was reported to have produced a board 56 feet wide!

So that is the basis of the Holland Odessa Short Line and here is what it looked like at first, yep it is 6 feet by 4 feet. I added a second sheet of foam after this picture which you will see why below.

And here is the design (an Atlas plan I followed, buying their 83 code kit for track work). The control panel is hinged and folds down for ease of working on layout.

It is DCC operated by a NCE Pro Cab. Castors allow moving completely around the layout while working on it or showing the layout from the other side.

Below you see the reason for the double foam. I’ve modeled part of the Miami-Erie canal which went from Toledo to Cincinnati Ohio. The double foam sheets allow me to make canals, shape the land down from the tracks as well as putting additional foam on top in areas to create more dramatic hills given the size of the layout. The use of Atlas electric turnouts allows doing this without any control problems.

So here we are today:

Hope you like it. The advice and instruction help in your blog is really helpful. In addition there are great video’s on YouTube as well as the model kit suppliers web sites such as Bar Mills and Campbell. I am really enjoying put this project together.

To complete it I am including family and friends into the time period. I started a three ring binder that holds all the history notes, period pictures and layout design notes developed to make the various parts of the layout. It has a narrative I am writing as I go about the ‘The People of the Holland Odessa R.R.’

In it I transport my family members and friends back in time and write what they might have been if they lived in 1908 and worked either on or around the Holland Odessa Railroad.

So far several people have gone back in time. For example my son and daughter-in-law have been transported back as the caretakers of the Florida Station. There they meet Thomas Edison, get into the power generation business and in time move to another small town called Denver. Their daughter goes on to be a world class skier.

On the Holland Odessa R.R. everyone transported back has an great adventure, fun and enjoys being remembered for making a difference! What more can you ask?

Jim”

A huge big thanks to Jim for sharing his DCC layout.

I don’t know what I enjoyed more, his pics or his narrative – love that he’s having fun with the backstory and including his family.

It reminded me of Joe’s: HO scale DCC layout.

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 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 has been back in touch with some tips and how he makes his HO model railroad scenery looks so good:

“It is the tiniest of details that often make the scene.

The culverts that carry the water away from the track is very important. My layout depicts the “dry” season.

The most obvious reason was because I did not know how to do the water when I began.

I have 7 other layouts that I have built or done the scenery. I will show them at a later date. (If you don’t get tired of me posting.)

I often used PVC conduit cut in half for the culvert. (My layout uses darker ballast as the Santa Fe did.) The “rocks” around this and most of the other waterways is plan old kitty liter.

I squashed the PVC to flatten the look on this one.

Continuation of previous photo

A better view of the “rocks”

The dry water way.

Here I used a large plastic soda straw. It fit nicely between the main line tracks and carries the water away from the tunnel drainage.

This one took some time to work out. The roadbed an abandoned rail line that is part of an overall scene. I did the track work as normal then took up the track just like the prototype does.

This is the scene. The Santa Fe can be scene just to the left. They needed the space for a track that the older too up. They added the track to the butcher’s place and to the grain elevator seen before.

The trees and shrubs were painted with cheap craft paints using pieces of sponges.

A larger view of the scene. The back drop is the reversed side of a vinyl floor cover used by contractors on floors. The back side has a nap to it to make it smooth and flat for a finish of latex paint. Then painted with my choice of blue at the top and white low on the bottom and meeting in the middle. In photos before and to come the mix is more prominent. I coved the corners.

The distant hills/mountains were brushed on.

Photo 10 this is one of the two corners.

Santa Fe Dan”

A huge big thanks to Dan for sharing his HO model railroad scenery tips.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not tired of Dan’s posts at all, in fact, please do keep ’em coming Dan.

If you’d like to see Dan’s last post, it’s here: Santa Fe train layout.

Here’s a completely different one of Dan’s too: HO train scenery layouts.

That’s all for today folks.

Just email me if you’ve got something you’d like to share on the blog.

And if today is the day you get going 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.