Got some more tips for building a model train layout for you today:
“Hi Alistair,
This might not qualify as the best modelling tip but it is my personal opinion anyhow:
Model railways are meant to be fun! Do your own thing and do not react to so-called “purists”. The shape of your layout and what you run on it is YOUR choice – for you to enjoy.
I have a layout of approx 5m X 2m and it does not resemble any particular place or time. I have American, German, British and South African locomotives and rolling stock sharing teh layout. Who cares if my South African GMAM Garrat is standing aside a British water tower while the Flying Scotsman with LNER and LMS passenger stock thunders through the station.
My layout is also named BRAMGERSA, an acronym for BRitish, AMerican, GERman and South African.
Enjoy your e mails and regards,
Ray”
“On HO Scale layouts, I’ve used fallen branches from trees. After the storms of the past few mornings, when you clean up the bigger branches, look at the ends…. Instant Trees…. The branches into smaller scaled small trees, usually 3-4” tall. Add Woodland Scenics. and cover foam and stretch em out and spray with your diluted white glue and detergent mix. I usually cut and make these trees 10-20 at a time and let them dry for a few days before poking the holes in plaster and white gluing them in place. Save A LOT of money and looks very realistic when you need trees n mass, and no two trees are exactly the same.
Bill”
“In N gauge the stalks from bunches of grapes make good foundations for trees, just need brown paint for bark & green flock for foliage
Arthur”
Thomas has more tips for building a model train layout:
“Hello Al,
I’m not sure if you know this but you can use a common wooden dowel, I purchased mine from walmart. But i’m sure some hardware store’s and art’s and crafts stores would have them. They come in different thicknesses and i think the most expensive was about 2 dollars US.
Once you have the dowel thickness you want, you cut one end of it at an angle with your cutting tool of choice and you can either hot glue or crazy glue a flat piece of wood on the angle end you just cut for stability, or just hot glue a pad on the end.
The whole purpouse of this idea is to be able to clean those really hard, far away, to reach rails. This isn’t my idea so i can’t take full credit for it and you may revise it how ever you see fit but i have seen this homemade tool around and in use before so i know it works.
I can however say i do have an idea for a track cleaning car but i haven’t built it, tested it, tried it, or am i even sure if i could patend it since i’ve never seen anything like it on the market. I run N scale and most of those track cleaners run for over 100.00 US dollars. It’s crazy how modern society know’s, that if you need it, we can charge you an arm and a legg and we pay for it. ex diapers. but that’s a whole different conversation lol.
Another little tid bit you may or may not already know is weather you run DCC or DC layout’s just to save a couple buck’s instead of useing an atlas 2/3 way switch to power your isolated rails you can just use a simple toggle switch of your choice and they range anywhere from 20 cents to a few dollars a piece. being it’s a train layout i don’t think you would need something as complex as a lighted toggle switch but to each their own. even if you paid 2 dollars a piece and you needed 50 of them that’s only a 100 dollars compared to atlas or other 2 way switches on the market that run 4 to 8 dollars a piece, that’s in the range of 200 or 400 dollars.
You could always use real rock’s instead of hydracal and painting.
That’s about all i can think of off the top of my head, so i have a question for you i have an over whelming dust problem i’ve even considered buying a box of lint roller’s for my next option to try. my layout whenever i don’t use it for say 3 day’s, it needs dusting and a rial cleaning, i use a hand vac on it but just keep loosing product and that’s all it seem’s to suck up. The 4 or 5 tree’s i do have on my layout need to be torn out and completely redone due to the dust i would call them bunnies but at this point i think there more like full blown rabbit’s. i’ve even put the hand vac right on it and it didn’t even seem to phase it at all…
Thomas”
“Take some pva and mix in a little follage, pour it into a beaker and leave to dry, when you remove it and turn it uside down
it looks like a round pond with weeds in.
Andrew”
And lastly, I cry for help from Joe – and this is what this blog is all about.
What tips for building a model train layout would you give to Joe? Please leave a comment beloe if you can help:
“Dear Mr. Lee: I am a 66 year old single grandfather of 3 beautiful teenage girls…I am a subscriber to your website and I enjoy it quite alot…But I have decided to start a new layout…I have built layouts in the past but never one hopefully of this scope…It has been 30 years since I worked on the last one…where should I start? Thanking you in advance, I am J.R. Gray in Tennessee, USA”
Please post a comment below to help Joe – it’s always daunting when you jump back in after a 30 year gap.
And I know the collective wisdom of you all will be a great starting point.
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.
The first thing you need to decide is where to put your layout and how much space you have available, everything else is determined by that.
After you know what your space looks like then you start looking at track plans, or if you have a great imagination, sketch your own track plan.
I myself fell in love with the PRR horseshoe curve, which limited the track plans I was looking at. I finally found a John Armstrong plan that included the curve and came pretty close to fitting in the space that I had available, some mods and I started on benchwork.
Next settle on how you are going to build bechwork, I settled on L girder construction and used 2 inch foam 4×8 sheets for all of the bench top. It remains to be seen how well this is going to work out. So far so good but I have not yet laid any track or installed switch machines. Installing switch machines may be a challenge although I have seen methods for doing this in 2 inch foam.
My 2 cents.
Joe, follow your heart and do whatever you want with a layout!! Just be sure you don’t over stretch the budget. As Ray says above don’t worry about the purists-just do what YOU want and have fun.
This is for Joe who wants to start a new layout after many years. “Find a club in your area. You’ll find people ther with different talents of what it takes to build a layout. A lot of clubs do ’round robin’ meetings where they go to differnet homes for meetings and work on the layouts”.
Dave
Great tip ideas! I have enjoyed them!
My son and I finally have the space to get back into our HO layout. We want to do an elevated track. What is the best to the roadbed? Not being the best with precision sawing (thanks to tendonitis in the elbow!), is there another option besides plywood for the upper level?
THANKS!
JR– ive done several in my 55 years — 1st examine the space available: you MUST be able to reach every area -(do you want to climb under or reach over or both?)so keep it 2-3 feet reach maximum do you want N, HO, or bigger (1a) keep your track radius as large as possible- No less than 24″ for HO etc. (2) do you want round & round or point to point or combination- (2a) how many operators do you want? (3)what finances are available? (4) how much time is available – laying track well takes time!! (5) what period of time? steam or diesel or both – which puts you around 1950’s (6) what features do you want – include a trolley in a city – or just country?go to a library and read (7) Design then design again then design again (8) build platform – incorporate 4 x 8 for flat (yard type)& truss system for single/ multi tracks- lastly do it a little a time with maximum thought for getting the trains running ASAP – lastly do it a little a time with maximum thought for getting the trains running ASAP (want round and round- then build a dogbone or circle, then build on that) imho
JR,
I came back to the hobby after a long spell. I first started by looking at mag and shops ,settled on a gauge then subscribed to a mag in that scale “O”. picked up old copies of the different mag in that and other scales. as the modeling is the same only on a different scale. educate yourself a lot then jump in. i made a small 4 x 7 simple outer loop for std gauge with a looped figure 8 in the center to show off the trains i had. had fun with that i am now expanding on that in the basement now. moved out of the dining room. (great wife). its still simple. but i have plans in my head. you can see wher it is now at youtube trainmanron. thanks ron
Go for it Ray! Those purists (rivet counters) have a knack of making one feel guilty. I have always enjoyed railways since my first Hornby wind-up one about 65 years ago. The hobby is there to enjoy and it is your own to build as you wish. After all the privately owned railways did their own thing, didn’t they? Sure they were influenced by each other and got ideas from each other but they built their own locos and rolling stock in their own part of the country – so why shouldn’t we modelers?
thanks for the many ideas. I have started again after about 20 years.
I agree with Ray. They’re your toys and you have to please yourself. If others don’t like them, they can go play somewhere else. JMB
Try to involve you grandchildren. My teenage daughter help me making buildings, landscaping etc. That involves her, and she often come to the basement to see, how things are going. Sometime she also bring friends and tell them, which parts she did.
I also started late in putting my N scale layout together. I highly suggest to everyone starting out that they really do their homework. After I got started the problems began to mount. Access, wiring, space, design, etc. I was ready to throw in the towel. However, I hit the books at the library, got into the magazine articles and sat for hours sketching and anticipating all of the possible problems.
To everyone out there, take the time to plan, you won’t be sorry.
Joe, all the previous advice is great. I am currectly building a new layout. It is shelf with an extended peninsula with a 4×4 ft area at the end on open benchwork covered with 1/4 plywood and 1 inch of foamular faom insulation (Peel off the plastic coating on both sides if you use the pink or purple Foamular). I have found that having a small inexpensive train running on a 36″ diameter track helps to keep me motivated and soothes my jangled nerves when construction is not going as I planned. Have fun! That is the main thing.
Ray
Check out my website for lots of ideas. You are in for a lot of fun.
I am completing my first layout. My only two comments from experience to date are; build it no wider than what you can easily reach and high enough to easily get under it.
Gidday Alistair & all You other Blokes,….Was on Medical waiting list for 3 years.got fixed up! New Life so I started trying to drive loco,s again …models this time round!! 18 month,s later…I,m still laying track and learning what I thought I knew!!! But I,ve had a ball doing it all and avidly reading and looking at all the modeling photo,s and tip,s. Some I,ve incorperated in my layout and some I,ve filed away for future use. Some of my layout I,ve bought but most of it I,ve got from E-Bay, and the rest I,ve scratchbuilt…several times before I was satistfied with it!! And as several of you have said ,it,s my layout to be enjoyed by me…but sometimes I think I,m going overboard with it… but if it comes out half as good as I imagined it,it will be somthing to be proud of. I imagine that it,s the same as many of you have faced. Started out as something simple and small and grew into fulltime job!!!What a way to spend some enjoyable moments with family(especially the young one,s) and friends. Well people enjoy and good health….Regardes huckhaden. P.S. Incase you have,nt worked it out…. I,m a Queenslander..Australia Cheers.
Start off with trainset first either Hornby or Bachmann Branchline or Bachmann USa.
Then build a small 4X8 layout to start off, then slowly add on.
To Thomas: I wrap the end of my vacum hose with a piece of screen wire
Held on with a rubber band to keep from sucking up any wanted parts from the layout while cleaning. It is then possible to shut off the vac and pick off the parts I want to re-glue to layout. Good Luck, Larry
Joe,
a table height of 28 inches works fine. It leaves enough space below to get under it to put in wires for lighting and signals. It allows little people to reach in and right any rolling stock that might get knocked off the track. I’ve built 2 this year. One is 80 by 70 inches with a open “square” for my friend’s grand-kids to get inside so they can play with the cars, trucks (lorries) and the log unloader.
A track without electricity along one edge has a coal loading/unloading site for the very young to play with without worrying about pushing any buttons. The 2 tracks are joined with a manual turnout switch.We use a dummy engine and 11 hopper cars for them.
My personal layout has a “manhole” with cover in the middle so I can get inside where everything is within arm’s reach. I keep adding LEDs for the buildings inside and out.
Each plan allows us to use 22-inch radius track in HO gauge to allow the use of the TTX and container well cars. In any case HAVE FUN!
–Ben Z
Make sure you can reach all parts without straining, leave enough room to walk round the layout.
Make maintenance easy, without having to bend too much. I am going to hinge my boards so that I won’t have to crawl underneath.
Don’t run before you can walk – choose a layout you can complete in a reasonable time. That way you’ll learn without becoming bored before you’ve finished it. At 70 I can take that line !
Dennis
Hello, I make trees for my HO using twings same as Bill but I cover the tops with Reindeer moss from Norway. You can cut or rip into the size you need and use white glue to fasten to twig.I purchased my reindeer moss at the Hobby Lobby. They have several colors one green for trees and bushes and one a brown and green for “mountain” bushes. The price is $5.99 US for 4 oz which is enough for a forest.
Thomas has a problem with his hand vac, and I’m sure others have had the same problem, the vac picks up the good stuf and leaves the dirt behind. I used to repair photo copiers and had to suck out the spilled toner with a hand vac. I found that using a soft brush to get the dirt up off the serface let the vac pick it right up. Just place the nozel next to your dust problem area, nothing will happen untel you start with the brush, just tuch the dust and it’s gone. You have control over what is picked up as you are knocking it off with the brush.
aLex………..
Hi joe.deside the size you can afford.Then go DCC.Build much of your own scenery.Save that cach and buy updated extras engines track that sort of stuff.will submite my photo of telephone poles and a fast instuctions.Good luck
AWESOME SIMPLY AWESOME!! How ALL of us seem to think alike and really ENJOY each others inputs. I can’t wait to see our “train room” in the Great Beyond!!!
And always remember THE LITTLE TRAIN THAT COULDN”T——DID!
Exactly Ray.
I am a model engineer and the times I have seen “The Rivet Counters” stood looking at a very well made and painted locomotive saying there are only 92 rivets round that smoke box, there should be 93. Pathetic and who cares.
Roger. France.
At 71 I built a room in the basement for a game room. I bought a slot machine, table and chairs from eBay, and a SnapBack Shuffle board. Then I decided to put up a train set that I used around a Christmas tree in the past. Unbeknown to me my girl friend had three sets of trains in her basement. Now at 72 after reading on line, many u tube videos for the past eighteen months, I’m going to incorporate all of them. Being older sets of the DC type, I’ll stay with those, but add one line DCC for all those new sounds to complete the system. Three set o scale, three sets HO will be a challenge but after reading this email I’m ready to go.
PapaDave72 Rochester, NY
JR,
I have been out of the hobby for thirty years also. Ha we must have been doing
The same thing ( raising a Family). Been buying some stuff, I still have my bench work 4X8 ,so that’s good, and still have my HO equipment so it’s not too bad, but I did join a club, and probably over the Winter I will get going. I just turned 72, so I
Don’t get around as good,but I am getting going so keep plugging, so much has changed.keep in touch and happy railroading.
Danny Marso,Warwick , RI
Danville & Western RR
Ray
I agree. Send a picture. Sounds interesting.
To Thomas There was an article in Model RR a couple of years back on how to build a cover for layouts. If I remeber corrctly he used small PVC pipe as horizontals and for some of the supports. The article said to lay transparent corrugated plasic pieces often used to build out door covered patios, on top to keep the dust and dirt of the layout.
Perry in New Orleans
Joe:
I will be 82 in a month and was out of the hobby for almost 50 years. I had visited a number of modeler’s open houses and decided to get back in. I needed a room so I put on an 18′ by 20 addition. I am in O gauge. About the time I put on the addition I also joined an O gauge club. They are 2 rail, I am 3. After 3 plus years, I’m still finishing it as I have other things to do. I do try to get in the room for 2-3 hours aa day and sometimes it works and sometimes I do and other times I do not. I am operational and can run 4 trains on interconnected loops. Someone tell me how to attach a photo.
I too was out of the hobby for almost 50 years. I started a basement layout in modules. That was the best Idea I made purely by luck. Then it happened. The wife said we need to move into a condo. I stopped in the middle of construction, just like some contractors we have had over the years. We found a three bedroom. One is on the second floor and is 15 by 15 with an 8 by 6 walk in closet and bath.. I made a scale plan of the area and scale cutouts of each module. Then as with a jigsaw puzzle I started piecing things together. I have been able to save about 80% of my previous work. Fitting things together made a track plan different but similar to my original design. i plan now to expand into the closet, it will require a 2 track hole. So it will have to do it while my wife is sleeping. I would like to make the bath a work room, but divorce is costly, and I might not find a place that fits my modules.
Nylon stocking materiel and a rubber band works well with a vacuum during construction. I am surprised how much reusable materiel is collected. Rivet counting should only be for club layouts at most.
I don’t belong to a R.R. club now but did a long time ago and I got tired of the
squabbles and the mess that came after so now I build for my grandsons and
my self – . there are a lot fewer worries over the lay out and the equipment now .
I have always believed in having fun is the best idea involved in building and running model rail roads so I build and let them run most of the time !
George
Some really great ideas here Al, thanks and keep them coming.
Cary B
Hi Joe. First select HO or N, I prefer N with more track In less space. Then buy Some Code 80 flex track, a few custom switches, one engine with Dcc, and one Dcc controller package. Now play with these on your desk and get the feel of operation. Then decide how much and where. First goes the mounting structure, then the track, then some wiring, and then the scenery. It takes a while to finally run the whole thing. Plan the scenery along with the track as you go. I sprayed “stone cast” under the track for a realistic ballast. Now youre into it enough to make your own decisions. Lots of Luck in a great hobby.
To all my fellow model railroaders. The fun of building a layout is doing what pleases you. It doesn’t matter if your layout fills a whole basement or is on a 4′ x 8′ sheet of plywood. As long as you have fun doing it, that’s all that matters! Websites like this one and U-tube have a vast amount of information that can have a ton of information and ideas for the builder no matter what skill level they are on. The important thing is, JUST DO IT YOUR WAY AND HAVE FUN!!!!
Conductor Dave. Dayton, Ohio
I’ve started building an N scale layout after some thirty years away from the hobby. The railroad is called the Defiance and Peculiar Railroad, named after two towns in Missouri. For me it is more about the setting for the trains to run through, rather than strictly accurate (factual) modeling. The pleasure for me comes in feeling good about the industry and towns I build, not they the are exactly like the prototype. Some people just get too wrapped up in their research, and it becomes a chore rather than a fun hobby. Just roll with it, and if you don’t like what you’ve built, fix it to suit yourself. My 2 cents.
To J. R. Gray in Tennessee: Congratulations on getting back into the hobby. I am 73 and in a similar situation as my youngest daughter just left the nest and left me with a spare bedroom. Since I rent this house now, I didn’t want the layout to be of the permanent variety, so I searched the internet and found several you tube videos on building modular, light weight tables that bolt or clamp together. I opted for an around the room layout that can easily be taken apart if I should move again without destroying it. That was my first decision to make. The track plan kind of unfolded on its own. Have fun, whatever you do.
Hi, just starting out for 3rd time in my life, 8-12, 55-57 and now at 71 and by now I know what I want, lots of trains rolling at the same time without ceasing into each other.
On my layout at 55 I had 8 trains running at same time, no signals and rarely a crash, It was about 7′, wide X 10′ long with log hole in middle to get access to everything and 2 levels
After spending last 12 years looking at potential layouts, I have decided to do what i did at 55 only this time 9′ wide X 15′ long and have lots signals
I have been concentrating on collecting american trains, and have at least 10 now outfitted with full MFX sounds that Marklin has and I think I have finally come to understand how to use the K83, and k84’s Its only been the last 8 years or so that Marklin put their books in english but hell if I understand how every year they can have training sessions in Germany and they are still only in GERMAN………these people hate americans………..anyway I don’t mind being hated as long as my HO trains mimic the real ones……
I am building an extensive “O” gauge layout using Lionel FastTrackhere in North Carolina, USA. The layout allows me currently to run four separate trains at one time. I purchased a bottle of rail cleaner, which is expensive and I went through it quickly. There has to be a less expensive product to use to keep my tracks clean. Any suggestions?
Iso propyl alcohol (IPA) is relatively cheap if you shop around and buy a large bottle.. Use a soft cloth with some IPA on it and rub the rail tops. Also great for cleaning mechanisms and loco wheels.
Certainly not for consumption, as opposed to the other IPA (India Pale Ale) 🙂
Steve
Lincs, UK
Enjoy reading all he news and comments.teaching my 2 year old great grand
Son how to tun on and off the power packs (4) delicate engines come later. H’s so proud turning trains on and watch them go. When he comes to visit, he wants to go directly to the train layout.
@Thomas,
My layout is in a shed out the back of my house in the middle of New South Wales, Australia. You would describe this country as semi-arid so there’s plenty of dust and I mean plenty.
It was a case of totally cleaning and vacuuming every single day so I tried covering it with old sheets and that was OK but, being porous, it let some dust through and it was so heavey it was inclined to damage the scenery if you didn’t get it off correctly.
Then I discovered ‘Bubble Wrap’ about a metre wide and in 50 metre rolls. You know the stuff with the little bubbles all over it.
Buying it that way is really cheap and it is fantastic for solving this problem.
My layout is 9 X 5 metres and is ‘N’ gauge so there is plenty to cover but, using this stuff, it is really easy.
At the end of each session I cover the layout with the bubble wrap which is so light it doesn’t hurt the scenery and now I just need to give it a normal clean and wipe over when it needs it, which is not too often. About the same as when I had my layout indoors.
I have been using this for two years now, replacing the bubble wrap if it gets damaged, and I still haven’t used all of the original roll.
Give it a try.
@Ray,
I agree with you totally, if you want to run a BigBoy and the Flying Scotsman and a modern Electric train on the same layout, go for it. I buy engines simply because I like the look of them so my layout has American, English, Australian and German stock as well as Thomas the Tank Engine for my grandson however, we each do this hobby for our own enjoyment and some people get very involved with creating a scene that has as much authenticity as they can muster and that is what pops their bubbles and I am happy for them but, like you, it get’s my dander up when they knock me for not agreeing with them.
Don’t let it get you down. Do your own thing and enjoy yourself.
Gary O’Connor
This web site is GREAT!!! I’ve been following it for some time now and have been saving all of it in different files on the computer. There is real truth in ” you don’t know what you don’t know”. Always be in collector mode.
I am lucky enough to have a 1100 sqf basement and have laid claim to it. However it wasn’t finished off. Half the area will be for my railroad and the other half is my work shop. I’m currently working on finishing off the basement. I’m doing all the work myself ( carpentry, electrical, plumbing, rocking, flooring etc.) and I’m having fun. At the same time I’m collecting trains and track, building models ( HAVING A SMASHING TIME PUTTING TOGETHER AL’S PAPER STRUCTURES) and gathering materials ( this helps keep me focused). Dreaming of what is to come and watching things unfold is exciting.
I plan on starting my bench work within the next 60 days and figure layout completion somewhere around 20 years form now. If I need more time I will add it. By the way I’m a vintage 67 and just getting better.
Reed – Southern Maryland USA
I have an all metal hopper car in HO with sprung trucks and inter mountain metal wheels and I’m getting a short circuit any suggestions. Jerry
For Thomas about cleaning: I have found that electronic component spray cleaner works great and you don’t have to clean the track after you use it. It allows conductivity.
To Ray: You’re absolutely right that it’s your layout and it should reflect your tastes regardless of what anyone says. BUT long-time hobbyists have tips that, if you ignore, can mean ripping everything up and starting over. For example, turn radii. Certain turn radii can limit the size and type of rolling stock that you can use. Secondly certain types of track need more skill to assemble so trains run more reliably. And that’s not to mention incline percentages and power block strategy.
Joe I have experience with my first Lionel o27 train in about 1940 then expanded it As I Grew Older that is now gone. I enjoyed building ho kits but never built a layout. I am now 83 years old and purchased a Lionel O gauge set that fits on a 42 in by 6 foot table that my wife has allowed in a living / dining area. I plan to enlarge from this in the near future as long as my interest remains of course by now I have two engines added a few cars but spend most a lot of time on building the village which appeals to wife. I find this even more interesting because of the new technology or new to me technology that is available.
For Grandpa Joe from Grandpa Les: I started my present HO layout 4 years ago at 79. Didn’t worry about prototype, just like trains. My goal at that time was a long mainline run so I wouldn’t see a train going around in a circle. I made a triple loop and reached my goal as my main is almost 200 feet in a 13′ x 25′ space. Working on scenery now and having a ball. The best part is that all the aches and pains that come with age go away when I’m working on my layout.
Some thoughts on my first N-scale project, starting it at age 84, but the fire really started in 1948. I’m doing an L-girder 4 x 8 layout on folding legs, the main level plywood sheet at 50″. I’m thinking of shortening the legs a bit; my 5′ 7″ has trouble reaching past the middle of the layout, but eased by having caster wheels on the legs so I really only need three-sided access to reach everywhere. My inspiration was in a (US) Model Railroad Magazine project, originally 2010, but a detailed construction article was published 16 June, 2017. That project was a 3 x 9 basic form titled “The Salt Lake Route.” Research showed that AtlasRR .com had a similar form, on their website – L11017; named “N-17 Scenic and Relaxed,” at 36″ x 72″. I fiddled with it to fit on 4′ x 8′ for broader curves, and am still working on my variations on the yards and an elevated loop section. It’s probably too advanced for a first project, but I am determined to get the cars collected over the last 40+ years running on it.
The switches for isolated turn-outs you suggest are great as I use them all the time and they’re called “Double pole-double throw” or acronym “DPDT” switches when you go to buy them. I found buying smaller size ones on ebay from China are great quality for much less money and a very fast shipping turn around.
tip for Thomas with dust problem,
check furnace filters, if necessary get old pillow cases and place over vents to catch most of the dust created.
Like many of your readers I am 80 and am slowly removing my layout of nearly 50 years. We’ve bought a
Large house with a double garage. It is decked so after I get a set of stairs built I am going to try a flat lagout with minimal scenery. I will let you know how things work out. My old layout consisted of 8 loops on 4 levels. Top two runs were a problem as I had to maneuver a ladder to handle derailments. Have pics I can send if I can find your address.
Hopefully more soon.
Jack from Arkansas
At 85, I have been interested in model railroads all my life. I have not had a layout for 60 of those year. I blame poor eyesight for the lack of railroad progress, so I have switched to large scale model railroading. After cataract surgery in 1992, my vision is now great. I have always wanted to get back into model railroading, but other interests have taken first place. I have a small machine shop, a complete woodworking shop and 8 acres of land. My current interest is in 1:16 scale modeling. My goal is to build an outdoor layout and run the large scale models I build. I’m a little different from most outdoor modelers. Whereas the interest is in live steam, I build my models from all kinds of materials and concentrate on diesel electric and electric prototypes that are battery powered with radio control. My interest is in creating the most realistic models using many different materials. I want to get back into HO scale, but the cost has risen greatly over the years, from double digit to triple digit locomotives. I watch a lot of you tube model railroads. I find the Brits and Europeans are very much into model railroading, maybe more so than we Americans.That I believe is because they still rely on railroads as their main transportation; that keeps interests in model railroading high. In this country, model railroading is centered around large railroad hubs, mainly on the north east coast, mid west and west coast. Back when I was in HO, there was a shop a few blocks away from my house. I could run down there in a few minutes on my bike to pick up a piece of track or whatever. There were model railroad shops everywhere. Today, the closest shop to me is 100 miles away in a different state.
Ronald you can order railroad stuff (on eBay) on line at 85 i say great keep going. It’s wonderful your thinking of building layout.
Agree with Ray, do what you want! But being somewhat OCD in life, I want to make sure things are to a common scale, but apart from that, the little world is my own.
I’m a child of the 60s, but never had a set of my own, just ‘allowed’ to help my brother with his occasionally, I have been building up my own collection for the last few years and although I have no base setup or scenery laid down yet, I’ve been planning many a model world to fit within a number of spaces. Which for me, being an IT, OCD Techy, who is close to retirement, is about as far as I get to build a full layout, until we move house in a year or two. However, I am planning a couple of small sections to do until then, 1×2 feet, just for fun… oh and a Christmas loop scene, 1m x 1m, for the tree to sit in the middle.
One day my little world will be build , but it will be mine, with the stuff on it I would like to see 🙂
Glad to see I’m not the oldest one here (73). I am converting unfinished attic space into a train room. So far, I have added floor joists (space is over two rooms with different ceiling height), added flooring (rough and finished) boxed in ducts, added walls, ceiling, insulation, wiring, etc. Now I am making pre-fab benchwork (like Sievers) out of found lumber and moving it around to help visualize where ducts can be hidden, tracks can be reached, etc. I am working in S scale, late-steam-early-diesel era. I like passenger traffic and am leaning toward a St. Louis type of operation where many railroads can be represented.
Hey Joe, I’m with ya on this. I’m 65 and my dad and I model railroaded years ago when I was very young and into my teens. He worked at the Western Maryland until he died. I’m gathering layout ideas for smaller spaces: 4×2, 3×2, etc. 4×6 is probably my max. I’m actually thinking of either a desktop, coffee table, or even a dinner table layout that will go under tempered glass? That would be a major undertaking since I don’t have access to a woodshop. So I’ll probably just use 2″ foam. I’m N gauge too. I’ll be interested to follow along your journey and will be happy to share ideas! Keep in touch. Best of luck, my friend. Thanks, also to Al, for making all this possible!
Hi Folks! This is just another little tip. I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, and I was looking for a small layout to fit under the bed. I was at a used bookstore here in the States (I live in SW Ohio) and got a BRITISH book on railway modeling. It not only covered HO and 7MM railway modeling, but narrow gauge complete with 2 layout plans: one 4′ x6′ and one 2′ x3′! My suggestion is to hunt old books for track plans especially if they are from England as more folks hgave the very small layouts there. Thanks for Your time and I hope this helps you with the ” I don’t have room” syndrome.
Hey JR, the tip that I keep hearing is one that I wished I would’ve heard when I built my layout, and that is make sure your layout has access to the entire thing in case you need to reach the other side. My layout is 5’6” wide which wasn’t a problem when I was building it because it was in the center of the room. I built it on casters so I could move it into its final resting place up against a back wall in my train room. At 40” high (the ideal height for viewing) I could only reach about 2/3rds of the way across. I had to buy a topside creeper like what diesel mechanics use to work on big trucks. But even still, it’s a challenge to get to the other side. I have three streetlights that are burnt out on the back end and I can barely reach them. But I think the most important thing to do is spend a lot of time in the planning stage. For example: if you want to run Amtrak passenger cars then you MUST have space for a 22”-24” minimum curve radius. Also, if you’re going to have grades both up and down for a trestle, you need enough length so that your cars don’t uncouple at the high and low points. I can’t tell you how discouraging it is to think you’re all set up just to deal with a train that goes under a trestle pulling 10 cars and comes out all by itself! Or to have the same train go over a trestle pulling a full load and loses it at the high point. Remember the 5 P’s. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!
Hi Joe, what you could do is to look at buying a train set to your liking and take it from there by adding more track that is comparable to each other, get some points/switches, to make sidings, etc. Or you could get a track play booklet and select a layout from out of it. Remember to take your time Joe and don’t fix track down until you are happy with it! Have fun 😉
To give the impression of distance on a HO scale layout, place a N scale building, fencing, etc, up towards the back of the scenery. The smaller scale building, fencing, etc, will give the impression of distance. This same idea can be used for any scale.