Dan’s been in touch with his HO scale mainline layout which has everything: a coal mine, a town for the miners and an industrial area:

“This is layout number 8. My layout was number 1 and the other 7 were for others. In all cases I did the scenery and for most either designed the layout or corroborated with the owner. All ways keeping their wants foremost.

The layout is mostly contemporary and no specific railroad. He did the bench work, track, and wiring. It was a good thing because I had back surgery during part of the time. He had experience working on our club layout. I designed the basic layout and did all of the scenery and buildings.

The basic track plan. HO scale DCC power.

The room is a second floor of a manufactured home. The part in this photo is 40 by 25 feet and on the right side is where we added another 20 by 4 foot extension. The add on was to correct a flaw in the original track plan. The track plan shows the add on in yellow. Once we began to set up the operation of the trains, it became obvious the yard was too small. I will explain the solution later in this post.

Looking the other way.

Viewing from near the photo in number 2. A view block will run the length dividing the layout where the gap is.

Progress. The view block shows nicely here.

Here is the alcove area. In the diagram it is to the top of the photo. There is a coal mine that is reached from the yard seen at the bottom of the diagram photo. The lower track in the photo is the return loop on the HO scale mainline.

This shows the ramp to the coal mine coming from right to left. The track with the train is the HO scale mainline where the return loop begins. Part of this will be in a tunnel to protect the trains from the operation of the coal mine. Other wise you would be reaching over active track while switching (shunting) the mine. The track just to the right of the caboose is where the HO scale mainline loop comes back.

This shows the mine and mainline tracks. From the white box on the right to far left the mainline is in the protective tunnel.

The next sequence will be the construction of the hill that the “company houses” miners lived in. Company houses were owned by the mine. On this version of the layout the times have changed and now they have been gentrified and no longer owned by the mine.

The road is made from the backing on tack board. I described this in one of my layout posts. I used cardboard strips, plaster cloth, Sculpta mold pre-colored with craft paint, and Woodland scenics ground foam.

This area represents a change in the progress of the railroad. The track to the left is the “old” HO scale mainline and goes to an industrial area. The two tracks to the right is the realigned mainline and is double tracked. I first thought I would put them in a tunnel. Then I thought it would be more interesting seeing a cut. This is the result.

Here is the industrial area and the path of the old mainline. The schematic of the area.

Two bridges on the road to the homes near the mine.

This is addition I had to add to make the operations scheme work. We also needed a town. The tracks are part of a turning loop and become an arrival and departure track. In the ops sessions a train first arrives at the yard (not shone here) and drops of the caboose. It then proceeds to the addition and makes the loop and backs in to an arrival track. The locos go the servicing area and a switcher comes and pick up the string of cars and rearranges them into another train. The new train is moved to the departure track and a new set of locos picks them up.

The main yard and the new under construction “town” addition.

The finished look.

Dan”

A huge big thanks to Hall of Fame Dan for sharing another layout!

That’s all for this time 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.