43 Track Plans From the Experts Fall 2011

Grow Your Railroad with Walthers Code 83 Track HO Gauge Walthers Walthers Shinohara Shinohara Code 83 Nickel-Silver Track

HO Gauge DCC-Friendly DCC-Friendly Turnout Turnouts s • Fully Assembled • Pre-Wired Jumper • Isolated Frog w/Built-in Connection (Easily converted to live frog if desired ) • Powered Points w/Correct Polarity • Improved Point Clearance to Prevent Short Circuits • Insulated Tie Bar • Tab Reinforcement to Hold Points More Securely • Option to Power Frog Through Switch Machines

Made Exclusively in Japan by Shinohara for Walthers ® • • • • • • • •

Wide Variety — In Stock, Ready to Ship! Fully Assembled, Easy to Use Realism of Hand-Laid Track Without the Work Simulates 132-Pound Rail Used on Most lines Nickel Silver Rail For Best Electrical Performance Thin, Dark Brown Ties w/Woodgrain Spike Holes Next to Rail Spike Head & Fishplate Details 948-815

948-8890 #2-1/2 Wye $26.98 948-8893 #3 Wye $26.98 Flex Track 948-815 39"/1m $10.00 3' Bulk Rail Walthers ® Shinohara 948-870 150' 45m pkg(50) $153.98

948-8894 #7 Curved Left Hand $45.98 948-8895 #7 Curved Right Hand $45.98

948-8801 #4 Left Hand $26.98 948-8802 #4 Right Hand $26.98 948-8888 #7-1/2 Left Hand Curved $45.98 948-8889 #7-1/2 Right Hand Curved $45.98 948-8807 #4 Wye $26.98

Bridge Track 948-886 w/Guard Rails & Separate “V” Approach Ends 18" Long $29.98 948-899 w/Inside Guard Rails 19-11/16" Long $28.98

Transition Track 948-897 Code 100 to Code 83 6" Long $9.98 948-898 Code 83 to Code 70 6" Long $8.98

Crossings $24.98 Each 948-831 45° 948-832 60° 948-833 90°

Rail Joiners 948-841 pkg(50) $11.98

948-8891 #5 Left Hand $26.98 948-8892 #5 Right Hand $26.98



948-8828 #8 Left Hand Curved $45.98 948-8829 #8 Right Hand Curved $45.98

948-8808 #6 Three-Way $59.98 948-8812 #6 Double Crossover $87.98 948-8896 #8 Double Slip $92.98

948-8814 #6 Double Slip $81.98

948-8836 #6 Single-Slip Turnout $81.98 948-8826 #6-1/2 Left Hand Curved $45.98 948-8827 #6-1/2 Right Hand Curved $45.98


Find a hobby shop near you now — visit walthers.com or call 1-800-487-2467! Prices and availability as shown were accurate at press time, for updates visit walthers.com. ©2010 Wm. K. Walthers, Inc.

TRACK TRAC K PLA PLANS NS 43 FROM THE EXPERTS

OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD “WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD . . .” Tat memorable rerain rom the 1939 �lm version o L. Frank Baum’s Te Wizard of Oz could could be used to accurately capture the thoughts behind this t his compiRailroad ad lation o track plans rom Mode rom Modell Railro Planning magazine. magazine. Year afer year, ony Koester, MRP’s editor, has pulled together what some o the brightest and best minds have to offer at the oreront o layout design. And even i you have no interest in modeling a narrow gauge Gold Rush railroad in the Yukon erritory or a standard gauge mountain railroad through ennessee Pass, you’d be hard pressed not to agree that the kinds o stories ound in MRP are a re what one could consider “a good read.”

CONTENTS 4 SMALL: TRACK PLANS FOR COMPACT SPACES

Model Railroad Railroad Planning has always been a “think tank” o track planning ideas. Te concepts presented in the publication are ofen considered to be cutting edge stu ff when it comes to layout layout design and a nd construction, and there’s a good reason or that. Each plan represents countless hours (sometimes a lietime’s worth) o research and planning. Chances are good that the author o an MRP story is an authority on that particular railroad or region. Or, the author is one o the elite track planners, those like John Armstrong and Iain Rice, who possess a knack or understanding prototype prototype railroads ra ilroads and working that knowledge into their designs. And, there’s also usually a dose o “ layout layout Editor Art Director Editorial Staff

Plans 1 through 9

16 ROOM: RAILROADS FOR BEDROOMS AND STUDIES Plans 10 through 21

38 MEDIUM: DESIGNS THAT FIT GARAGES AND REC ROOMS Plans 22 through 28

LAYOUTS FOR 52 LARGE: LAYOUTS BASEMENT-SIZED PLACES Plans 29 through 36

68 DREAM: PLANS FOR WHEN SPACE ISN’T A CONCERN Plans 37 through 43

82 AND ONE MORE, A 3-PHASE PLAN Plan 44 and a little more

Editorial Associate Graphic Designers Illustrators

A. David Popp Thomas G. Danneman Neil Besougloff Andy Sperandeo Jim Hediger Cody Grivno Dana Kawala Steven Otte Kent Johnson Eric Stelpflug Drew Halverson Scott Krall Rick Johnson Jay Smith Roen Kelly Kellie Jaeger

wrestling” too, the wisdom that comes rom good ol’ ashioned trial a nd error. Te plans presented here were selected rom the past 11 years o MRP (those in our electronic archive). Although we’ve written brie overviews overviews o each plan and a nd have given you our opinions o some o the useul design concepts they contain, I strongly encourage you to go back to the source, the original MRP articles themselves, or the complete story. (Call 1-800-533-6644 or back issues.) Seek out the wizards behind the curtain and be amazed by what you’ll learn!

Editorial offices

Phone: 262-796-8776 262-796-8776 Fax: 262-796-1142 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.ModelRailroader.com Advertising and Trade Sales

Advertising inquiries: 888-558-1544, 888-558-1544, extension 533 Retail trade orders: 800-558-1544, extension 818 Fax: 262-796-0126 Advertising e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Dealer e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] om Customer Service

Kalmbach Publishing Co. President Gerald B. Boettcher Executive Vice President Charles R. Croft Vice President, Editorial Kevin P. Keefe Publisher Terry D. Thompson Vice President, Advertising Scott S. Stollberg Vice President, Marketing Daniel R. Lance Corporate Art Director Maureen Schimmel Managing Art Director Michael Soliday Advertising Director Scott Bong Advertising Sales Manager Scott Redmond Ad Sales Representative Martha Stanczak Ad Services Manager Sara Everts Ad Services Representative Jodi Jeranek Production Manager Helene Tsigistras Production Coordinator Cindy Barder Corporate Circulation Director Michael Barbee Group Circulation Manager Catherine Daniels Circulation Specialist Valerie Lane Circulation Coordinator Coordinator Brian Qualman Single Copy Sales Director Jerry Burstein

Customer sales and service: 800-533-664 800-533-6644 4 (Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT) Outside U.S. and Canada: 262-796-8776 Fax: 262-796-1615 E-mail: [email protected] 43 TRACK PLANS FROM THE EXPERTS (ISBN 978-0-89024-83 978-0-89024-833-1) 3-1) is published by Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Single copy price: $7.95 U.S., $9.95 95 Canadian and international, payable in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. (Canadian price includes GST.) BN 12271 3209 RT. Expedited delivery available for additional $2.50 domestic and Canadian, $6 foreign. ©2011, Kalmbach Publishing Co. Title registered as trademark. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

www.ModelRailroader.com

3

1 Small

RURAL RAILROADING

ON A SHELF Usable desk space under layout

Iain Rice designed this layout to fit on bookcases in a college dorm room.

DESIGNED BY IAIN RICE MRP 2007

COMBINE STEAM AND DIESEL locomotives with a gas-electric, mix in a junction and depot in a rural setting, and you have the recipe or this 5 x 7-oot track plan by Iain Rice. Tough the i nspiration or or this model railroad came rom a section o the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Quinc y Ry. (CB&Q) in Nebraska, it could easily be modeled as any grain-hauling railroad in the Midwest. Te layout’s ocus is a junction and depot where a CB&Q branch line meets the main, although the actual junction is on the outskirts o town. Since this model railroad is set in the 1950s, diesels would be primarily used on the main, while steam and the gas-electric gas-electr ic would be relegated to branchline service. Tis layout was designed to �t on bookshelves in a college dorm room, but don’t let its small size ool you. Te lay-

4

43 TRACK PLANS FROM PLANS FROM THE EXPERTS

out offers switching, continuous running, places or opposing trains to meet, a secondary whistle stop (Union), and a pair o staging tracks h idden inside or behind removable removable structures along the back o the yard. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Transition-era CB&Q Scale: N (1:160) Size: 5 x 7 feet Prototype: Chicago, Burlington &

Quincy

Now on ModelRailroader.com Looking for more track planning ideas? Visit the track plan database at www.ModelRailroader.com at www.ModelRailroader.com to view more than 580 plans for other great layouts in a variety of scales.

Locale: Nebraska Period: 1950s Style: donut Mainline run: 24 feet 12" Minimum radius: 12" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Train length: 9 cars

Structures at rear are removable Wood grain elevators

Industry

Feed mill

Freight house

Meat-packing plant Coal silo

Coal storage bins Oil depot

Concrete grain elevator

Storage tracks

Low-relief structures add depth to shallow scenes and hide storage tracks

Doodlebug spur

Section house

Branch

Main

Depot

Team track

Amersford

Curved trackwork gives layout a natural look

Desk

Transition-era CB&Q

Silo Barn Tower

Junction

Diner-gas station

N scale (1:160) Layout size: 5x7 feet Scale of plan: 3 ⁄ 4" = 1'-0", 12" grid Turnouts no. 6 unless marked Curves 15" unless marked Peco curved turnout Red arrowheads show layout joints Creek Cottage

Store

Depot

Union

Spacious area for one or two operators

Old ice house Coal dock Sand Water tank

If possible, leave at least 6" of elbow margin at edge of layout

Roundhouse

Farm

Duckunder entrance Section joint

Section joint

Ceiling-mounted light source

Single-deck layout lighting Upper shelf wider than layout

Double-deck layout lighting

Source located far enough out to light front edge of layout Normal-width upper shelf

Strip light Valance

Standing close can create shadows

Forward mounting of light source avoids unlit foreground objects

Strip lights

About 10" centers

Layout can be viewed close-up without casting shadows

Lower shelf narrower to ensure good illumination


5

2 Small

A HOLLOW-CORE DOOR FOR A

BIG-CITY SCENE

The Missouri-Kansas-Texas RR enginehouse in Dallas is one of the signature structures on Byron Henderson’s N scale plan. C.W. McDonald photo, Kalmbach Publishing Co. collection

DESIGNED BY BYRON HENDERSON MRP 2010

DESIGNING AN OPERATIONALLY interesting yet compact track plan o the MissouriKansas-exas RR in downtown Dallas or a hollow-core door is no easy task. But by ocusing on signature elements, such as the engine terminal, Burris Mills grain elevator, and Dallas Power & Light plant, custom layout designer Byron Henderson was able to re-create the Katy in Big D on a 2'-6" x 6'-8" door. Tough the oval main line is great or watching trains run, it also plays a key role in operations. A reight rom the staging yard would pass through the visible scene, setting out and picking up cars on the double-ended siding. Ten a local switcher would use the yard tracks to classiy (sort) the cars by destination.

6

43 TRACK PLANS FROM THE EXPERTS

Te switch crew could line up the outbound cars or pickup by different through reights. Another approach would be to have a local reight come rom staging and terminate. Ten another crew would pick up an engine to switch the industries and make up an outbound train. No matter how you operate the layout, the Katy in Dallas is sure to provide hours o enjoyment. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: The Katy in downtown Dallas Scale: N (1:160) Size: 2'-6" x 6'-8" (hollow-core door) Prototype: Missouri-Kansas-

Texas RR Locale: Dallas Period: 1970s Style: island Mainline run: 15 feet 1 2" (main), Minimum radius: 12 ⁄ 1 2" (spurs) 10 ⁄

Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Train length: 12 cars

The Katy in downtown Dallas N scale (1:160), Layout size: 2'-6" x 6'-8" 1 2" = 1'-0", 6" grid Scale of plan: 1 ⁄

Optional staging extension

Warehouse

American Paper Stock

Setting structures and streets at angles helps break up rectangular benchwork

Hiding staging tracks makes small layouts seem much larger

“Fascia flats” suggest the structure extends into the aisle

Burris Mills grain elevator

Backdrop

Staging

Dallas Power & Light

Signature structures help communicate the atmosphere of the real locale

Fascia flats

Water tower Enginehouse

Diesel fuel and sand Optional staging extension


7

3 Small

A PACIFIC NORTHWEST

LUMBER PORT

Start of 4 percent grade Salmon cannery

Waterfront structures are often close together

Top of 4 percent grade Wood truss bridge

Ore bins and chutes

Grades and curves add interest to small layouts

Firehouse

0"

1" Net store and chandler

Fishing harbor

17" R

3.5"

3"

Main harbor

Lighthouse

2"

Harbor entrance channel Office

Rock fill Mine spur

Loleta & Mad River HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 4x8 feet Scale of plan: 3 ⁄ 4" = 1'-0", 12" grid

Mad River Logging


RAIL-MARINE OPERATION is a popular theme with model railroaders, and Iain Rice designed this plan or a West Coast harbor town. Te rocky coast o northern Caliornia provides the setting or the Loleta & Mad River. Te switching railroad primarily earns its keep moving ore and lumber, but the L&MR also serves a �sh cannery a nd a general merchandise pier. Tough the plan is a 4 x 8, the slight curve along the ront edge sofens the

8


Port Loleta

The Loleta & Mad River can be a standalone model railroad or serve as the nucleus for a larger layout.

look o the layout and makes it easier to reach the area to the right o the ca nnery. rains going off the railroad end up in a staging cassette, cleverly concealed behind structures and a rock outcropping at the right end o the layout. Te cassette is designed to slip in and out like a drawer. Te Loleta & Mad River is a great stand-alone model railroad, but it could also be the nucleus o a larger layout, as shown in the small illustration. 43

Pole derrick

Short spurs are typical in older harbor areas

Enginehouse

Staging cassette makes it easy to turn equipment

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Loleta & Mad River Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: northern California coast Era: pre-Depression Style: island Mainline run: 27'-6" Minimum radius: 17" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 4 percent Train length: 6 to 8 cars

4

TWO HOBBIES FOR THE

Small

PRICE OF ONE

Chesapeake Harbor Belt HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 4x8 feet Scale of plan: 3 ⁄ 4" = 1'-0", 12" grid

Warehouse Tug berth

Bunker fuel depot

Brownhoist “Little Hook”

Office

Fabrication shed

Heavy overhead crane

Shipyard Swing bridge U. S. Customs office

Engine facility

Diner Gantry crane

Mobile crane

Modeling a harbor scene gives you two hobbies for the price of one


RUN-DOWN WHARVES and a small repair yard that maintains tugs, barges, and other harbor craf provides the backdrop or the HO scale Chesapeake Harbor Belt (CHB). Tis 4 x 8-oot track plan, designed by Iain Rice, depicts a gritty Eastern waterront in the 1950s. Te ocal point o this plan is the central waterway, crossed by the rail road on low timber trestles patterned afer those used by the Norolk & Western and Virginian Ry. At the opposite end, a swing

Switchman’s shanty

Concave curve in center breaks up the rectangular layout shape

Dockside crane

Waterway divides layout into two scenes

span allows small ships, tugs, and barges to enter this side creek o the Elizabeth River. Operations on the CHB are switching and transer runs. For the modeler, the main challenge is routing cars to their individual destinations around the harbor. Te variety o industries also requires an interesting mix o cars, including �atcars, gondolas, tank cars, and boxcars. By modeling a rail-served harbor, you get two hobbies or the price o one. Not only do you get to enjoy model railroading, but you can try your hand at building a ew ship models, too. 43

Yard office

A layout height close to eye level adds to the illusion of depth

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Chesapeake Harbor Belt Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: Virginia waterfront Period: 1950s Style: island Mainline run: 20'-6" Minimum radius: 20" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Train length: 4 to 6 cars


9

5

C&O RAIL-MARINE LAYOUTS

Small

IN N AND HO

C&O Brooke Avenue Yard, Norfolk, Va., ca. 1950 N scale (1:160) Layout size: 6x8 feet 1 2" = 1'-0", 12" grid Scale of plan: ⁄ Botetourt St.

Opening lets you reach trains in any location

Backdrop

Modeling in N requires less selective compression

Construction Not to scale

F. G. Ennis Paper Co.

Thomas St.

1 4" lauan plywood top ⁄

Colonial Meats Warehouse Southgate Terminal Corp.

Elizabeth River

12" R Tramp steamer

C&O steam tug and car float Coal trestle

Coal dock Crew shanty C&O freight house

Shed no. 3

DESIGNED BY BERNARD KEMPINSKI MRP 2002

SINCE URBAN WATERFRONT PROPERTY is so valuable, every square oot is put to use. Closely spaced buildings served by twisty tracks offered the ideal prototype or layout designer Bernard Kempinski. He based the accompanying N a nd HO scale plans on the Chesapeake & Ohio’s Brooke Avenue Yard in Norolk, Va. Te N scale plan is designed to �t in a 6 x 8-oot area on a creatively cut piece o 4 x 8 plywood. Te lef side o the layout would make an impressive scene with the river, ships, and waterront structures. Tere’s also room or a model o a car �oat as well as tramp steamers, barges, and passenger erries. Te HO plan is a 4 x 16-oot shel layout. It’s compressed 15 percent in length and even more in width. Te passenger

10

Glasgow Brewing Co.

Boush Cold Storage

Ocean pier


1" foam board glued to plywood

Curved crossing

Shed no. 2

C&O and NYP&N (PRR) passenger Freight station platform Molasses tank

Special trackwork adds visual interest

1 x 4s around perimeter 1 x 3 cross members Notch Water surfaces glued directly to frame Plywood cutting diagram 1 4" = 1'-0" Scale: ⁄

Wood frame Notch 1 x 4 to lower water level

Entire layout uses one 4x8 sheet of plywood station was omitted to allow better access to the yard ladders. A two-thirds prototype size car �oat is at the lef end o the layout. o compensate or its lack o capacity, you can “sail” the �oat and swap it or another �oat with different cars. Operations on both layouts would start with a loaded �oat arriving with cars or the local crew to switch to their destinations. Outbound cars would be spotted on the �oat. Te �oat can then be removed and replaced with another carrying a resh block o inbound cars. I handling car �oats ull o cars seems too difficult, a session could consist o the time needed to unload one �oat, spot those cars, and put outbound cars back on the �oat. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: C&O Brooke Avenue Yard Scale: N (1:160) Size: 6 x 8 feet Prototype: Chesapeake & Ohio Locale: Norfolk, Va. Period: 1950s Style: island Mainline run: not applicable Minimum radius: 12" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Train length: 5 to 7 cars

6 Small

Tramp steamer

Ocean pier

Transfer bridge

Coaling tower

Shed no. 3

Molasses tank

Southgate Terminal Corp.

Colonial Stores meat plant

Slip switch

C&O freight house Car float and tugboat

Crew shanty and toilet

Car float provides a fresh source of inbound freight cars

Freight platform

Angled layout shape gets away from traditional rectangle

Sawtooth profile of low-relief buildings adds visual interest

F. G. Ennis Paper Co.

Backdrop

Brooke Avenue

Boush Cold Storage

Glasgow Brewing Co.

A small layout gives you more time to build detailed structures

C&O Brooke Avenue Yard, Norfolk, Va., ca. 1920 HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 4x16 feet 1 2" = 1'-0", 12" grid Scale of plan: ⁄

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: C&O Brooke Avenue Yard Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 16 feet Prototype: Chesapeake & Ohio Locale: Norfolk, Va. Period: 1920 Style: shelf Mainline run: not applicable Minimum radius: 20" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Train length: 6 to 8 cars This 1956 view looks west toward the Elizabeth River from the Boush Cold Storage Building. Buildings along the right side provide an ideal prototype for a backdrop made up of building flats. C&O Historical Society collection


11

7 Small

A WESTERN BRANCH LINE

FIT FOR A SHELF

A pair of Union Pacific chopped-nose Geeps sets out a string of covered hoppers at the Consolidated Elevator in Providence, Utah. Photo by John Flann

DESIGNED BY JOHN FLANN MRP 2009

THOUGH MANY PEOPLE ARE DRAWN to busy mainline railroading, the relaxed pace o branch lines has a charm o its own. Creating a plausible setting and realistic method o operation is what John Flann wanted to achieve with the HO scale Providence River Branch. Tough this plan is reelanced, it was heavily in�uenced by the Union Paci�c’s Cache Valley Branch in northeast Utah. Most o the industries on the branch are agriculture-based. However, distribution centers, high-tech industries, engineering, manuacturing, and mining also take place along the line. Te branch line is

12


designed to have one train on the railroad at a time. At 6 x 15 eet, the layout won’t �ll most basements. It’s the perect plan or someone who wants a layout that’s aordable to build, easy to maintain, and un to operate. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Providence River Branch Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 6 x 15 feet Prototype: Union Pacific Locale: Utah Period: 1980s Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 34 feet Minimum radius: 18" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Train length: up to 8 cars

8 Small

ONE BRANCHLINE TOWN IN

TWO SCALES

GAR hall

Grove St. Barns

Nubanusit Builders Lumber River supply piles Feed Store

Mill race

Joint

Backdrop

Depot “That corrugated shed”

To fiddle yard (built as space permits)

Joint

Depot St. Retail coal yard

Old grade Church to Henniker

Creamery

Peterboro, N. H., circa 1952 HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 11'-3"x16'-6" Scale of plan: 3 ⁄ 8" = 1'-0", 12" grid

Dams and other special water effects draw visitors into scene

Abandoned track suggests railroad has history

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Fiddle yard allows for real-time equipment exchange

Name: Boston & Maine Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11'-3" x 16'-6" Prototype: B&M Locale: Peterboro, N.H. Period: 1952 Style: shelf Mainline run: 17 feet Minimum radius: 30" main, 24" spurs Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Train length: 11 cars


THOUGH IAIN RICE BASED THESE two track plans on the Boston & Maine branchline terminal in Peterboro, N.H., he designed the HO and O scale plans using lessons he’d learned in the United Kingdom, where he lives. So what does a British-style terminal layout consist o? First, it has a �ddle yard at the outward end where locomotives and cars can be transerred off the layout, turned, or rearranged by hand. Examples include a ladder or stub-end yards with turnouts, swiveling sector tables, or vertical stacking systems.

14

Brick mill

Weir Main St.

Joint

Covered bridge helps convey the locale of the model railroad

Houses and sheds

Oil depot

Hillside Field

School St.


British layouts are typically 12 to 18 eet long and ofen in an L shape to �t around the walls o a bedroom. Tey’re also built in sections that can be easily transported in automobiles or display at model railroad exhibitions. Te section joints are marked on each plan. Tough the operation o a branch terminal may sound limited, it can be interesting. Operations can be made realistic and challenging by introducing a timetable or passenger service a nd some orm o waybill system to determine reight traffic destinations

both on and off the modeled portion o the railroad. Tere’s also the need to service locomotives beore they return to their home terminal, and they may need to be turned as well. Both plans show where �ddle yards are incorporated into these layouts. Te sector plate shown with the O scale plan could be used in place o the �ddle yard on the HO scale plan. Whether you model in HO or O scale, these plans will work or both home and road. 43

9 Small

Building to hide Creamery Water Shanty end of track column Turntable

Not all buildings are at right angles to backdrop

Y

Backdrop

Coal dealer

Curved turnout

Y

Y Y

Joint

Metal shed

Paved highway

Building supply Mill

Stores

Joint

Depot Main St.

Y = wye turnouts

Wye turnouts save space

End of covered bridge hides entrance to sector plate Joint

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Boston & Maine Scale: O (1:48) Size: 6'-9" x 14'-0" Prototype: B&M Locale: Peterboro, N.H. Period: 1952 Style: shelf Mainline run: 12 feet Minimum radius: 36" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Train length: 7 cars

Peterboro, N.H. In O Scale

HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 6'-9"x14'-0" (13'-0"x 16'-5" with sector plate and fiddle yard) 3 8" = 1'-0", 12" grid Scale of plan: ⁄

Pivoting sector plate with two fiddle tracks

View block screen

Sector plates and fiddle yards expand the scope of small layouts

Pivot

The illustration at left shows how a shadow box would look on the HO scale layout (Plan 8). The shadow box frames the model railroad, focusing attention on the layout and making a clear delineation between the modeled scene and the fiddle yard. This same technique could be used with many of the plans in this book.


15

10 Room

A SHELF LAYOUT WITH AN

INTERCHANGE

A CSX freight passes through Doswell, Va. (left), as just to the south, Amtrak crosses the C&O’s former Piedmont Sub (above). Doswell is a key feature of this N scale plan. B. Kempinski photos


SPARE BEDROOMS ARE popular venues or model railroads. But what i t he bedroom isn’t spare and has to do double duty? In this plan, designer Bernard Kempinski uses a working junction and a large-scale industry to pack as much operation as possible into an around-thewalls plan that leaves most o the �oor space open. Te prototype or this N sca le plan is the interchange o the ormer Chesapeake & Ohio and Richmond, Fredricksburg & Potomac at Doswell, Va., in the mid-1980s. A single tight curve leads the RF&P into two concealed staging tracks, providing a source or off-line reight traffic. Te operator will be kept busy switching interchange traffic, but there are also a ew sizeable industries, includ-

16


ing a paper mill and a wood-chip plant, to provide more operating interest. Bear Island Paper, which occupies most o one wall, is the biggest industry on the layout. Te prototype mill opened in 1983, and the Westvaco Doswell Pulp Yard shut down in the late 1980s, so this layout is set in between. I you set your version later, keep in mind that the C&O joined CSX in August 1987. Te versatility o the plan is the removable sections. One such piece provides a connection or continuous running. Another lifs out to provide window access. But the most interest comes rom the two oNetrak modules, which can be lifed off their shel brackets and placed on legs or operation at a club or train show. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Piedmont Subdivision Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12 x 12 feet Prototype: C&O or CSX Locale: Doswell, Va. Era: mid-1980s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 37 feet Minimum radius: 9" (RF&P staging),

16" (main) Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Train length: 10 to 15 cars

11 Room

ONE BEDROOM,

TWO RAILROADS

DESIGNED BY TOM HOKENSON MRP 2000

EVEN IF YOUR LAYOUT must share a room with a twin bed, desk, and other urniture, careul planning might let you �t in not just one, but two railroads. Te Y Street, York & Kettle Creek – “Y2K” or short – shares this point-to-point layout with the City Central RR, a connecting line that provides interchange traffic. In keeping with its tongue-in-cheek abbreviation, the HO sca le Y2K is set in the year 2000. Tis means long reight cars, so the plan has curves 24" or wider. Unlike plan no. 10 on the previous page, which has a lif-out section in ront o the window, this plan maintains window access by being mounted just 40" high. Structures in ront o the window are also kept to a minimum. Te Y2K is the primary ocus o operations, with several industries to serve at both ends o its line. What elevates this design above many switching plans,

18


though, is the inclusion o the second railroad. Te City Central provides the Y2K with its link to the outside world, giving cars working off-line origins and destinations. Te CCRR’s main line has a three-track staging yard at each end, meaning �ve CCRR trains per session can pick up and drop off cars or the Y2K at the Y Street Yard. Tough there are no industries on the CCRR, a commuter station allows passenger traffic. A push-pull operation would let the same consist represent multiple trains in both directions, complicating switching maneuvers that use the Y Street crossing. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Y Street, York & Kettle Creek Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12 x 12 feet Theme: modern urban switching Locale: freelanced city Era: 2000 Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 32 feet Minimum radius: 24" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 percent Train length: 4 to 6 cars

13 Room

USE A CLOSET TO

HIDE STAGING

Train No. 2 prepares to leave Freeport, Calif., for the new Oakland staging yard on Don Ball’s HO scale Moraga Springs Northern. Don Ball photo

DESIGNED BY DON BALL MRP 2000

THERE’S A RULE OF THUMB among model railroaders that you should always build twice as much staging as you thi nk your railroad needs. But when the time comes that you realize your estimate is off, creative solutions may be needed. Tat’s what happened to Don Ball and his room-sized HO scale Moraga Springs Northern, a turn-o-the-last-century steam road serving the Sierra Nevada’s mining towns. Originally, Don envisioned Freeport as the railroad’s western terminal. But when he considered expanding service to the San Francisco Bay area, he knew he’d have to represent that part o the railroad somehow. But where?

22


Don ound the answer in the room’s closet. Since it was already used to store model train kits and supplies, Don ound it simple to add a three-track staging yard with a lif-out access bridge so the door could be closed. He also installed inrared occupancy detectors. With the staging in place, the Moraga Springs Northern became a realistic, point-to-point model railroad. Te road was busy with passenger and mail express trains, scheduled through and local reights, and mine extras. I that seems like a heavy schedule or an 1890s short line, remember the 21-mile Virginia & ruckee ran 40 trains a day. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Moraga Springs Northern Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11 x 12 feet Theme: turn-of-the-century steam Locale: California’s Sierra foothills Era: 1899 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 44 feet Minimum radius: 18" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 3 percent Train length: 5 to 6 cars

14 Room

THE ROMANCE OF

THE PRAIRIES

Though it was photographed at West Point, Ky., Illinois Central no. 911 and its short train would be right at home on Iain’s HO scale Riceville, Iowa, IC branch. H.N. Proctor photo


PRAIRIE RAILROADS don’t usually have the bene�t o dramatic scenery to create visual interest. Endless �at plains and backdrops made up o mostly sky don’t hold the same allure as the vertical scenery o the Rockies, Appalachians, or even the Ozarks. But granger lines have a pull all their own. Roads like the Illinois Central, Chicago & North Western, Minneapolis & St. Louis, and Wabash decked out their early hood units in some o the most attractive paint schemes on the rails. Te grain, oil, arm equipment, and meat packing industries provide lots o  reight traffic. And it’s hard to beat the charm o a well-modeled arm town.

24


Te HO scale Illinois Central depicts the Midwest with broad, gentle curves. A double-ended staging ya rd provides a source and destination or off-layout traffic. An engine terminal stands ready to serve the last generation o steam. And just because a model railroad lacks grades doesn’t mean the terrain has to be table-�at. Te Plains have their rocky riverbeds and gentle, rolling undulations, both o which are modeled on this plan. Cuts, �lls, wooded ridges, and low trestles guarantee that “�at” isn’t necessarily a synonym or “boring.” 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Illinois Central, Riceville

Branch Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 10 x 15 feet Prototype: Illinois Central Locale: Iowa Era: early 1950s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 74 feet Minimum radius: 24" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Train length: 8 to 10 cars

Track to staging also serves as interchange Elevator Meat packing plant County road

Illinois Central branch to Riceville

Staging behind buildings and wooded ridge

Enginehouse

HO scale Scale: 5 ⁄ 8" = 1'-0" 12" grid

CGW connection

RICEVILLE, IOWA Staging (CGW/M&StL, hidden behind buildings)

Coal dealer Elevator Depot

Depot

Backdrops separate towns into discrete scenes

Access

Team track View block

Elevators

Ramp Low trestle

Farm Supply Co. Oil depot

River

Fuel dealer Feed and seed dealer Elevator

North Iowa Junction

Freight house

River provides below-grade scenic interest

View block

IC team track Door

IC depot IC freight house View block Curved backdrop Liftout or fold-down section

Liftout bridge for continuous running


25

15 Room

TWO RAILROADS IN

FOUR SCENES

A Minneapolis & St. Louis passenger train pulled by a gas-electric motor car stops at Oskaloosa, Iowa. A variety of equipment is one lure of transition-era railroads. Robert H. Milner photo


ONE OF THE ATTRACTIONS o Midwestern modeling is that, or many towns, the railroads were the main link to the outside world. In the heart o practically every town was a tra in station, uel depot, arm supply, and one or more “prairie skyscrapers” – grain elevators. Tough that makes the prairies interesting rom a ra ilroad operations standpoint, the vast, empty plains in between those towns leave a lot to be desired when it comes to scenery. Iain Rice’s N scale Iowa Central track plan addresses that issue by simply cutting them out, modeling only the towns. Curved backdrops divide the layout into our distinct scenes, each with its own

26


industries and character. Setting the layout height at least 60" above the �oor lets low eatures like buildings, trees, a nd shallow cuts disguise where tracks penetrate the backdrops. Strategically placed view blocks do the rest. Tis track plan also capitalizes on a common eature o Midwestern roads, the junction town. wo railroads, the Minneapolis & St. Louis and the Rock Island, connect at Grinnell, Iowa. Both lines use a common staging yard that is connected to a track that runs a round the perimeter o the room. Tis track is set behind a low backdrop, and allows both railroads access to their appropriate layout scenes. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Iowa Central Scale: N (1:160) Size: 10 x 15 feet Prototype: Minneapolis & St. Louis

and Rock Island Locale: Iowa Era: early 1950s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 89 feet Minimum radius: 18" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Train length: 12 to 15 cars

16

SMALLER SPACE,

Room

BIGGER TRAINS

Fiddle-yard cassette Fixed angles connected to track power

Extra cassettes to suit train length

Spring clips connect cassettes and power

Lead track

Aluminum angle screwed to wood base

Track gauge


ONE WAY TO FIT bigger trains in smaller spaces is to model narrow gauge. Just as on the prototype, narrow gauge models can negotiate tighter curves and turnouts. Narrow gauge locomotives and cars tend to be shorter than their standard gauge counterparts, also, meaning more cars can be run in a given length. Te smaller length o locomotives also keeps engine terminals to a size that will �t even in a compact layout. Tis plan, in act, has room or two o them. Te Sheepscot RR represents one o designer Iain Rice’s avorite prototypes, Maine’s two-oot-gauge railroads o the early 20th centur y. Te around-the-walls plan puts one town on each o the long walls, linking them with an unscenicked, removable section. rains on this section can pause during their runs to lengthen the time between the two towns, enabling realistic timetable operations despite the short run.

28


Te plan also saves space by providing essentially in�nite staging using removable �ddle cassettes. Tese ouroot-long sections o aluminum angle, screwed to plywood bases, hold staged trains. Te angles, precisely spaced to track gauge, not only give the casset tes rigidity, they act as the rails, carrying current to the locomotives. Once a train enters the layout, the cassette can be removed and “�ddled,” or reloaded with another train. At the end o its ru n, a train can enter an empty cassette and be removed rom the layout. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Sheepscot RR 1 2 (1:48, 30" gauge) Scale: On2 ⁄ Size: 10 x 15 feet Theme: Maine two-foot-gauge

railroads Locale: Maine Era: 1920s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 33 feet Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Train length: 5 to 6 cars

17 Room

A LAYOUT SURROUNDED

BY STAGING

A low backdrop, representing a wooded ridge, hides the staging tracks from the operators’ view on Mike Hamer’s HO scale Boston & Maine Western Route layout. Peter Nesbitt photo

DESIGNED BY MIKE HAMER MRP 2001

FINDING SPACE FOR STAGING can be challenging or a layout built in a small room. You can hide it along one wall, and sacri�ce the extra space needed or an aisle to reach the yard. Building it in the open sacri�ces realism. And putting staging under the layout requires either steep grades or a space-eating helix to reach the lower level. Another option, used in this HO scale Boston & Maine track plan by Mike Hamer, is surround staging. Tis technique wraps long, double-ended staging yards around the outside o the room, concealing them behind a low, scenicked divider representing a wooded ridge or city skyline. Since the staging tracks take

30


the widest circumerence around the room, there’s plenty o length to stage trains without giving up a lot o depth. racks can enter the backdrop and connect to staging wherever needed, representing multiple off-layout connections. And staging can be reached easily over the scenic divider. Te biggest drawback with such a scheme is that entry to the layout must be via a duckunder. Tis problem can be minimized by building the layout as high as possible, and keeping the duckunder section narrow. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Boston & Maine, Western

Route Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11 x 13 feet Prototype: Boston & Maine Locale: North Dover, New Hampshire Era: late 1950s to early 1960s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 27 feet Minimum radius: 31" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Train length: 6 to 8 cars

Mary’s garden

Pop-up access to distant staging

All buildings removable over only section of hidden staging track

Martin Guitar Co.

Pasch Printing

Scodras Grocers

Wingate Wholesalers

Phillips Furniture

Access

Meek Tunnel 60-degree crossing

Holy Spirits Distilleries

Outbound (from Boston)

Freight station

NORTH DOVER

Depot

Inbound (to Boston)

Boston & Maine Western Route

Haney Fuels

Reach-over access to staging tracks

North Dover, New Hampshire HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 11x13 feet 1 2" = 1'-0", 12" grid Scale of plan: ⁄ Numbered arrows indicate prototype photo locations Boston & Maine Maine Central Mainland Elementary School MEC abandoned

Marshall Binkley Creamery & Assoc.

Baxter’s Gas

F. B. Hamer & Sons Salmon River

Dummy crossing track North Tower

Haney Gorge New England River

Track 6 Conley Lumber and Coal

Mitchell Creek

Track 7

Howard Street overpass

MEC staging

Access

Access

B&M staging Track 1 Track 2 Track 3

Hidden entrance to staging

Door and duckunder Track 4

Track 5

Duckunder entrance

Sky painted on wall Backdrop

Staging

Scenic portion

A Maine Central train emerges from staging, the entrance to which is concealed by the overpass and interlocking tower. The MEC line crossing the Boston & Maine in the foreground is a dummy track. Peter Nesbitt photo

Benchwork cross-section

48"

Section at New England River Not to scale Vertical pilaster Floor

Wall


31

18 Room

A SPARE ROOM-SIZED

FRISCO BRANCH

Frisco train No. 58 runs north through a traditional small-town setting at Belton, Mo., behind a Baldwin VO-1000 in May 1964. Paul Dolkos photo

DESIGNED BY PAUL DOLKOS MRP 2008

WHEN MODELING A LARGE PROTOTYPE in a small space, one approach is to model a branch line. Picking a small par t o a big railroad lets you model that prototype aithully, without compromising track arrangements or operations too much. Tat’s the approach o this track plan by Paul Dolkos, which represents part o the St. Louis-San Francisco’s Clinton Subdivision. Since the line models a lightly trafficked branch line and includes only one main switching area, the layout is within the building and operating scope o a single modeler. And though there’s a lot o space to capture the line’s rural character, multiple interchanges and staging at both ends keeps

32


things interesting. Te engineer on the Frisco’s Clinton local will never lack work to do. Tough Dolkos didn’t have room to model the prototype’s track arrangements in their entirety, his HO scale plan includes industries and other interesting eatures gleaned rom prototype track charts and aerial photos. Paul discovered the Peabody Coal Co. tipple, or example, rom Frisco track charts. Rail road historical societies can be great sources o such inormation. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Frisco’s Clinton Subdivision Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 9 x 11 feet Prototype: St. Louis-San

Francisco Ry. Locale: Western Missouri Era: early 1960s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 48 feet Minimum radius: 20" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 3 percent Train length: 8 to 10 cars

19 Room

SERVING MORGANTOWN’S

GLASS INDUSTRY

This aerial view of Morgantown, W.Va., in the late 1950s shows the Seneca Glass factory, a thriving industry served by the B&O. West Virginia and Regional History Collection, WVU Libraries

DESIGNED BY ERIC HANSMANN MRP 2001

MENTIONING THE BALTIMORE & OHIO in West Virginia conjures a mental image o long hopper drags bringing coal rom the mountains. But the B&O also played a key role in another important industry in the state, glass. Tis industry can be the ocus o a ascinating and un to operate model railroad. Te Morgantown & Kingwood was built by local businessmen in the late 1800s. By the time it was bought by the B&O in 1922, the line served six glass actories in Morgantown proper and our more along the 9-mile line rom Morgantown to the Pennsylvania state line. Te glass industry was dependent on railroads to bring in sand, l ime, packaging, and uel or the urnaces, as well as to ship out the �nished product. In-

34


cluding South Morgantown’s Warehouse Row, with its assortment o industries, adds to the operating interest. Te branch also saw plenty o bridge traffic between the B&O’s main line at Fairmont, W.Va., and the new main at Connellsville, Pa. o liven up the operating scheme, you could add coal drags, time reights, empty hopper extras, or in an earlier era, passenger trains. On this HO scale plan, a helix below Seneca links both ends o the main loop to a three-track, double-ended staging yard below South Morgantown. A ourtrack stub yard provides more staging space under Sabraton. A duckunder is required to reach the main operating area, but the benchwork at this point is narrow, limiting the inconvenience. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Baltimore & Ohio, Morgan-

town & Kingwood Branch Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12 x 14 feet Prototype: Baltimore & Ohio RR Locale: West Virginia Era: 1952 Style: walk-in with duckunder Mainline run: 32 feet (visible) Minimum radius: 24" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 percent Train length: 12 to 14 cars

20 Room

A SEASIDE LAYOUT

THAT GROWS

Joints between baseboard sections

Warehouse

Hoist house

Oil depot

Swing-span bridge

Boatyard

Bulk discharge leg High-boom crane

Inset track

Navigation beacon

Gulfport HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 15x20 feet 1 2" = 1'-0", 12" grid Scale of plan: ⁄

Sample center expansion section Optional center section

Staging yard for operation as stand-alone switching layout Staging


THERE’S A DIFFERENCE between sectional and modular layout construction. Modules are designed to link together in any order, thanks to standardized size and track arrangements. In contrast, a sectional model railroad is built like a standard layout, but the benchwork is designed to come apart between sections i necessary. Tis makes it easier to move or expand upon when more space becomes available. Tat’s the rationale behind the Gulport, Yarde & Industry. Te model railroad starts out as a waterront town in two six-oot sections. With the addition o a staging shel to represent outside connections, Gulport is a satisying switching layout all by itsel. I a litt le more space is available, it can be expanded with the addition o one or more sec-

36


tions in the middle, as shown in the smaller track plan above. But sectional design has another bene�t: mobility. When the opportunity comes to move to a home with more space or railroading, the layout can come apart or transport. Once in the new location, Gulport can be the beginning o a larger model railroad. With the addition o a couple o connecting sections, Gulport and Yarde could be opposite sides o a 7 x 16-oot continuousoperation oval. I even more room is available, the sections can be rearranged again, as part o the larger system at right. And i you get the idea to change its locale or prototype, simply remove and replace the necessary sections. With sectional design, you’re never locked in to a single con�guration or theme. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Gulfport, Yarde & Industry Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: Gulfport: 2 x 12 plus staging;

GY&I: 15 x 20 feet Theme: Louisville & Nashville branch Locale: Gulf Coast Era: mid-1960s through 1970s Style: shelf (Gulfport); walkaround (GY&I) Mainline run: Gulfport: 13 feet; GY&I: 93 feet Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: Gulfport: none; GY&I: 2 percent Train length: 6 to 8 cars

21 Medium

Original sections become start of larger layout

Add center sections to expand layout

Swing bridge

Joints between baseboard sections

Off-stage track

Sugar and corn syrup storage

3" Boatyard Yard YARDE office

Car-repair shop

Old coal tower

Enginehouse

Pier View block Oil storage

Down 2 percent

View block

2 percent at top of grade

GULFPORT 3"

The Gulfport, Yarde & Industry

0"

High boom crane

Melon field

Support column Kaolin works

HO scale (1:87.1) Room size: 15x 20 feet Scale of plan: 5 ⁄ 16" = 1'-0", 12" grid

Warehouse

2" (foot of grade)

Kaolin

Bulk discharge leg

View block

View block

Up 2 percent 1 2" 1 ⁄

View block Liftout section

INDUSTRY

Stairs Up

Staging tracks 2" Laundry room

Start of downgrade on continuous run (2 percent)

Old depot

Liftout bridge at doorway www.ModelRailroader.com

37

22 Medium

MODEL A TOWN WITH

3 RAILROADS

With three railroads, Moscow, Idaho, was a busy place in the mid-1960s. The massive Moscow Idaho Seed Co. was a key industry. Harry Bilger photos

DESIGNED BY HARRY BILGER MRP 2008

A WEALTH OF INDUSTRIES to switch, three major railroads that interchange with each other, and space or a workshop are all part o this plan eaturing Moscow, Idaho, in the mid-1960s. Harry Bilger designed the layout to �t a 250-squareoot room that also houses his model railroad workshop. By careully arranging the layout in the space, he kept the windows and shop entrance clear. A drop gate makes it easy to get in and out o the middle o the railroad. Harry attended graduate school in Moscow in the mid-1960s and documented and photographed a lot o the railroads’ activities during that time. Years later, when planning his layout,

38


Harry used Sanborn �re insurance maps as a starting point or his design. Te Union Paci�c and Northern Paci�c �gure heavily in the layout presented here, since both entered Moscow rom the west parallel to each other. Te Great Northern came into town rom the north, so it’s only represented on the plan as a three-track interchange yard, similar to the real yard along Tird Street shared by all three railroads. A typical weekday in Moscow in 1965 saw a UP local, three NP reights, and one GN local. Te NP still ran passenger service to Moscow (trains 311 and 314), which were typically handled by Rail Diesel Cars. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Moscow, Idaho Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 9'-6" x 22'-0" Prototype: Northern Pacific, Union

Pacific, and Great Northern Locale: northern Idaho Era: fall 1965 Style: donut with entry gate Mainline run: 36 feet (NP), 32 feet (UP) Minimum radius: 31" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Train length: 7 to 8 cars

23 Medium

A PLAN FOR MODERN URBAN

SWITCHING

For car storage on Lance Mindheim’s HO switching layout, he built drawers that hang under the benchwork (inset). Lance Mindheim photos

DESIGNED BY LANCE MINDHEIM MRP 2009

A HULKING LOCOMOTIVE creeping through gritty side streets and back alleys with a short string o reight cars sporting graffiti is a common sight in modern railroading. Lance Mindheim o Silver Spring, Md., used this urban image, played out daily on the CSX’s Miami (Fla.) Downtown Spur, as inspiration or this mid-sized layout. Te main purpose o this model railroad is switching, and many o the industries along the Miami Downtown Spur receive and ship goods rom cars spotted directly on the running tracks. Te layout eatures a sampling o the

40


industries ound on the prototype, including a variety o produce warehouses, a oundry, a scrap metal dealer, a bottling company, and a paper recycler. A trip down the branch is not a simple 20-minute outing. For operators on this layout, the design makes switching the railroad a mental workout. Tey need to get the correct cars spotted at the right locations in the proper sequence. Spot a car at the wrong time, and they’ll end up having to move it again, since their engine ofen ca n’t work around it! All in all, this railroad should provide hours o switching enjoyment. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Miami Downtown Spur Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 17'-0" x 21'-0" Prototype: CSX Locale: Miami, Fla. Era: present day Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 70 feet Minimum radius: 24" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Train length: 12 to 16 cars

24 Medium

A REALISTIC MOUNTAIN

MAIN LINE IN N

Long trains fight their way through Tennessee Pass on this realistic plan from Bernard Kempinski, set in 1993. B. Kempinski photo


ONE OF THE GREAT ADVANTAGES o N scale is that you can model impressive scenes in airly compact spaces. Modeler Bernie Kempinski used the stunning scenery o ennessee Pass in the Colorado Rockies as the basis or this mountain rai lroad, all in a basement room that measures 10 x 30 eet. At 10,212 eet above sea level, ennessee Pass was home to the highest main line in the United States, and it was the D&RGW’s original route across the Continental Divide. (See the map on the opposite page.) Te layout eatures the ormer Denver & Rio Grande Western as

42


part o the Southern Paci�c in 1993. When the two railroads merged in 1988, traffic surged through the pass because it provided access to SP’s connections in Pueblo, Colo. During the early ’90s you could see coal trains and all sorts o transcontinental reights, including vehicle racks and intermodal traffic, running through the pass. Te design or the layout takes advantage o a airly long and narrow space, allowing or a winding mountain main line. Te plan also makes good use o a closet under the basement stairs or the location o the east-end staging yard.

Although the plan indicates uture westend staging will be located in another room, it could easily be wrapped under the benchwork at Red Cliff. One other neat eature on this layout is a one-turn loop, hidden in the tunnel at Rock Creek. Te loop not only aids in elevation change, it increases the mainline run o the layout by 15 eet. 43

26 Medium

1990s RAILROADING

ON THE CP

Three SD40-2s cross a bridge on Patrick Lawson’s HO layout depicting British Columbia’s Fraser River Canyon (inset). Patrick Lawson photos

DESIGNED BY PARTRICK LAWSON MRP 2002

THE SPLENDOR OF FRASER RIVER CANYON, British Columbia, Canada, and a great railanning town are the settings or this double-deck HO scale design by Patrick Lawson. His plan represents the Canadian Paci�c in this region in 1990. One o Patrick’s reasons or modeling that year was that VIA Rail still operated passenger trains on the line. Another was that the Canadian Paci�c still used cabooses (called “vans” by the ra ilroad) on all o its trains. Te inclusion o both eatures adds a lot o interest to the layout. Te design includes two decks. On the lower level is Mission City, B.C., complete with a double-track main line, a small yard, several industries, and a

46


branch line running south. Tis level also includes a three-track staging yard that’s tucked under the canyon on the upper deck. On the upper level is a representation o scenic Fraser Canyon, as well as a several more industries and a passing siding. Patrick used the space in an adjacent room to house two helixes and several running tracks that connect to the layout’s three distinct scenes. Tis effectively provides hidden running room between the modeled portions o the layout, making or a longer run. It also allows Patrick to operate longer trains o grain hoppers or container cars pulled by multiple locomotives. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: CP Rail’s Cascade Subdivision Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 16'-4" x 18'-0" Prototype: Canadian Pacific Locale: British Columbia Era: 1990 Style: two-deck, around the wall Mainline run: 90 feet Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Train length: 12 to 14 cars

27 Medium

A RURAL BRANCH

ON SHELVES

A Missouri Pacific 4-6-0 pulls a onecar train along the Bagnell Branch on Charlie Duckworth’s two-deck layout. Pat Student and Charlie Duckworth photo

DESIGNED BY CHARLIE DUCKWORTH MRP 2010

FAMILY FAMILY TIES TO A RAILROAD can offer a rewarding oundation or a layout. Charlie Duckworth’s ather worked or the Missouri Paci�c, and eventually eventual ly,, Charlie did too. Years later, afer his ather retired, Charlie and his dad would spend spend time together exploring ormer MP branch lines in Missouri, and that’s how the HO scale Bagnell Branch layout was born. Te MP’s Bagnell Branch was located roughly in the center o Missouri and ran rom Jefferson City, the state’s capital, southwest or 45 miles to the little town o Bagnell. Te line was started in 1871, and the MP bought it and �nished it in 1884. By 1954, the year Charlie models, the branch had been cut back to the

48


town o Eldon, Mo., where the Rock Island crossed the MP. Charlie designed the layout to �t around the walls wal ls o a room on shelves. Te plan has two decks, connected by a helix with a 1.5 percent grade. Shel brackets support the benchwork. Te Bagnell Branch eatures small towns with numerous rural industries, including grain elevators, eed mills, livestock pens, and oil distributors. Te prototype’s prototype’s track arrangements a rrangements are wellsuited to building a railroad on narrow shelves. Te MP’s trains were short (6 to 12 cars), and included a lot o 40-oot rolling stock. All o these eatures offer interesting operating possibilities. possibilities. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Bagnell Branch Scale: HO (1:87) 24'-0" Size: 21'-6" x 24'-0" Prototype: Missouri Pacific Locale: central Missouri’s Ozarks Era: 1954 Style: shelf, double deck Mainline run: 155 feet 30" Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 1.5 percent (helix) Train length: 12 cars

28 Medium

BUILDING A LAYOUT WITH A

FULL FULL-SI -SIZE ZEDD TOWN TOWN

John King built these HO mock-up structures to test track arrangements for the town of Winchester, Va., on his layout. Paul Dolkos photo

DESIGNED BY JOHN KING MRP 2005

RAILROADS ARE BIG THINGS, even when you shrink them down to model size. In designing a new layout eaturing the Ba ltimore & Ohio’s Shenandoah Subdivision, John King selected the small city o Winchester, Va., as his �rst planning project. John’s idea or his new layout was to model ewer scenes on the railroad, leaving ample space to better capture the prototype. As a result, John’s design or Winchester runs more than 35 eet. Even though John still had to use some selective compression, the space allowed him to include all o the track o the prototype in a scale hal-mile, ha l-mile, makmaking or an accurate model railroad that includes a variety o industries.

50


Winchester was known or its apple growers, so there were several coldstorage warehouses and a ruitru it-packing packing house. Other businesses supported the region’s region’s agricultural industry, and there are also distributors or uel, lumber, groceries, and urniture, providing hours o model building and switching work. John designed and built his layout one town at a time, so we’ve included Winchester here, as well as a sketch o how the rest o John’s layout would look when he started the project. I you’re interested in modeling a single-town single-town railroad, you could build Winchester as shown and loop both ends o the track to make a staging yard. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Winchester, Va. Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 8 x 35 feet Prototype: Baltimore & Ohio

Shenandoah Subdivision Locale: Virginia Era: 1953 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 44 feet 30" Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 8 Maximum grade: none Train length: 30 to 40 cars

29 Large

MODELING JUNCTIONS IN

COAL COUNTRY

A model of the Western Maryland’s Cheat Junction is the centerpiece of Roy Ward’s Appalachian coal countrythemed track plan. Roy Ward photos

DESIGNED BY ROY WARD MRP 2006

A UNIQUE TRACK ARRANGEMENT at Cheat Junction on the ormer Western Maryland Ry. inspired Roy Ward’s reelanced West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Ry. track plan. Although collectively called Cheat Junction, this location actually contains three junctions: Cheat Junction, Greenbrier Junction, and Elk River Junction. Tey’re the centerpiece o Roy’s track plan and strongly resemble the way the prototype railroad looked and operated. Te WVC&P is set in 1958. Te main line o the railroad is a bridge route that connects the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, Pennsylvania RR, and Pittsburgh & West Virginia at Connellsville, Pa., with the Chesapeake & Ohio at Durbin, W.Va.

52


Te main line is a loop-to-loop con�guration with staging tracks in both loops. Te staging tracks are hidden on two levels under the scenicked part o the layout at Durbin. A stub-ended branch line splits off the main at Cheat Junction, then heads up to serve Slaty Fork. On the main line and the branch, coal trains with long strings o hoppers wind their way through the mountains. Te steep grades mean there’s the opportunity to run helper locomotives. Roy’s track plan has a lot o the eatures that make modeling Appalachian coal railroads so appealing. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: West Virginia Central &

Pittsburg Ry. Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 19 x 24 feet Theme: freelanced W. Va. route Locale: West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland Era: 1958 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 154 feet Minimum radius: 24" (main) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main) Maximum grade: 3.5 percent Train length: 12 to 25 cars

31 Large

FAITHFULLY MODELING

FOUR CN TOWNS B-A Oil Co. Bryan Mfg. Co. Ltd. Planing mill

Lumber shed

Lumber sheds

Collingwood (May 1955) 0

D. G. Cooper Coal & Lumber

500 feet

Lumber shed Huron Street

Regent Oil Co.

Coal shed Turntable

Coal sheds Carpenter shop

Boiler house

Shear leg

Punch shop

Georgian Bay

No. 1 dry dock Collingwood Boiler Shipyards shop No. 2 dry dock

Depot Office

To Allandale

Ramp track Freight shed

Agent’s house

Collingwood Co-op Cold Storage fruit warehouse

Machine shop

To Meaford

Breakwater Georgian Bay

DESIGNED BY IAN WILSON WITH IAIN RICE

Collingwood Terminal elevators

Freight shed

Timber crib

MRP 2002

AS THE AUTHOR o the book Steam at Allandale (Canadian Branchline Miniatures), Ian Wilson drew rom his knowledge o the prototype Canadian National Ry. when he star ted sketching the HO scale Allandale Division. He set his model railroad on that secondary CN line in southern Ontario during t he 1952 produce rush. In that pastoral setting, six- and eight-drivered steam locomotives led mixed reight/passenger trains a nd strings o 40-oot woodsheathed reight cars. Te goal o the layout is to model a ew signature scenes on the prototype as realistically as possible on a single-level model railroad. Te main concept or the track plan came rom Ian’s riend and noted layout designer Iain Rice. 56


o save space, there aren’t long stretches o main line between towns. Instead, view blocks separate three o the our towns on the main line into a series o linked dioramas. Te Holland River separates Allandale rom Bradord. Tis design concept provided enough space to model scenes rom our towns as prototypically as possible. Each town on the layout is based on CN track diagrams rom the 1950s. Some selective compression was required, and Ian reduced the space between some o the structures, but the �nished track plan still strongly resembles its prototype. Te hidden staging yard and Newmarket Subdivision also give the trains someplace to go once they’re done working the towns. 43

Ian Wilson used prototype track diagrams to model the towns on his steam-era Canadian National Ry. track plan. Ian Wilson photos

33 Large

A GARAGE-SIZED

COAL HAULER

N scale railroading means you can have impressive scenes like this yard and engine terminal without using a lot of space. Phil Brooks photo

DESIGNED BY PHIL BROOKS MRP 2007

THE N SCALE CLINCH RIVER RR is a reelanced model railroad that was built or realistic operation. Layout designer Phil Brooks chose to model in N sca le because he could run long trains t hat look like they’re going somewhere. He didn’t want to have the engine in one town while the caboose was still in the previous one. Phil was inspired by prototype coalcountry railroads, such as the Interstate RR, as well as prominent Appalachianthemed model railroads, such as ony Koester’s old Allegheny Midland (AM). Similar to the AM, the main line o the Clinch River runs rom one hidden stubended staging yard to another. Te layout has broad curves and a long main

60


line to handle large coal trains led by steam and diesel locomotives. Tere’s also a branch line and interchange tracks to add variety to the types o cars run on the railroad. Te yard at Big Creek is located at the end o the layout to maximize the mainline run. Tis location is actually two yards connected by a crossover. Te rear yard serves as arrival and departure tracks, while the ront yard is or car classi�cation. Phil’s plan or the Clinch River layout does a good job o modeling the setting and operation o a transition-era Appalachian railroad. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Clinch River RR Scale: N (1:160) Size: 19'-6" x 23'-6" Theme: Appalachian coal road Locale: east Tennessee and south-

west Virginia Era: 1957 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 173 feet Minimum radius: 16" (main), 15" (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Train length: 25 cars

34

AROUND THE WALLS,

Large

NO HELIX REQUIRED DESIGNED BY STEVEN ORTH

duties with �rst-generation road diesels. Steve Orth’s UP track plan lengthens the main line by climbing along the walls. His plan steadily gains altitude rom 38" at Pocatello staging to 60" at the upper level staging yard, all without resorting to a space-eating helix. Te upper level o the layout is the Tird Subdivision o the UP Wyoming

MRP 2004

A LONG RUN IS REQUIRED i your modeling ocus is Union Paci�c mainline tra�c in 1958. At this time massive 4-8-8-4 Big Boys, 4-6-6-4 Challengers, and gasturbine-electrics shared reight-hauling

Division and the bottom level is the UP subsidiary Oregon Short Line. Staging or the Wyoming Division is two stacked stub-ended yards. One o the leads to staging marked “o Rawlins” on the track plan allows continuous running on the upper level. Te other track, marked “o Montpelier,” goes down to the lower level.

A To upper level 48" Monsanto phosphate loader

Window

Main line climbs along walls and eliminates the need for a helix

Freezer

36" Lakely Elevator

44" Up 47" Bear River

S. F. Chemical

Up

B To Green River

44"

Pillsbury Elevator

To Rock Springs

UP’s Wyoming Division Third Sub and Oregon Short Line

Walton Elevator

Winton Junction

HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 24x 24 feet 1 4" = 1'-0", 24" grid Scale of plan: ⁄

Pocatello staging yard includes reverse loop

Farmers Elevator P&L Elevator Freight house

44"

LOWER LEVEL

Montpelier

Depot

Depot Soda Springs Elevator

Soda Springs Horsley Elevator

36"

62


Window

Stockyards

36"

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Wyoming Division Third

raffic on the layout includes reight, passenger, coal, and phosphate ore trains. All the towns on the line are based on prototype track arra ngements modi�ed as needed or smooth model railroad operations. For example, Steve modeled only two legs o the wye at Tayer Junction. Instead o a third leg, his “wye” enters a hidden staging loop

representing the branch to Superior, Wyo., to serve a coal mine. Green River includes a large classi�cation yard and engine terminal. Tis location could keep a yardmaster busy putting together trains or waiting crews, and also employ a hostler to pull locomotives rom the roundhouse and service them. 43

Subdivision & Oregon Short Line Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 24 x 24 feet Prototype: Union Pacific Locale: Wyoming and Idaho Era: 1958 Style: multilevel linear walkaround Mainline run: 240 feet Minimum radius: 36" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2.7 percent Train length: 18 cars with a caboose and large locomotive

A To lower level 60" Staging yard

Washer

Stacked staging yards save space

Rock Springs

UP Mine no. 8

Water tower

Quealy Mine

60" Water heater

Furnace

Rawlins

To Rawlins To Montpelier

54"

Coal chute

Power plant

Staging for Superior, Wyo. branch

500,000-gal. water tank and softener

Roundhouse is only partially modeled to save space

48"

Ash pits and gantry crane Coal chute with sand and oil

Bitter Creek

60"

UPPER LEVEL

Green River

Peninsula removable for utility room access

East Green River

Ready tracks Caboose track

Removable section

Water columns

Locomotive shop

Thayer 52" Junction

Freight platform Workbench

Roundhouse

Depot

To Winton Junction

Track to Rawlins allows continuous running

B

52" Drier

Window

Storehouse

Diesel service

48"

Sliding door


63

35 Large

GET MORE WITH A

MUSHROOM

A mushroom is a multi-deck layout design that does a good job separating scenes and isolating train crews during operating sessions. Paul Dolkos photo

DESIGNED BY JERRY BELLINA MRP 2003

JERRY BELLINA’S WEST VIRGINIA WESTERN packs a lot o railroad into a 25 x 28-oot space. Te plan has a 240-oot main line, 10 towns, two large yards, a 100-ootlong helper grade, a 150-oot-long branch line, and three 25-car passing sidings. In addition, the WVW is a linear layout, where trains pass through scenes only once between Huntington and Elkins. Tere’s plenty o action to keep up to six operators and a dispatcher busy or hours. o maximize space, Jerry designed a mushroom track plan. On a typical multilevel layout, the decks a re stacked shel-over-shel. On a mushroom layout, scenes overlap horizontally so only one level can be seen rom either side. Tis design concept, �rst presented by track-

64


planning genius John Armstrong in “Meet the mushroom” in the October 1987 Model Railroader , does a better job o organizing a multi-deck layout, keeping scenes and train crews isolated rom one another during an operating session. A raised �oor is required or this type o design. As an operator ollows the train around the WVW main line, the relative height o the track to the operator remains nearly the same. One o the biggest advantages o this plan is that the decks o the layout are connected without sacri�cing any o the main line to a helix. (Tere is a helix to the lower staging level.) Te mushroom does require more carpentry and ceiling height than other layouts, but is a great way to model a long main line. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: West Virginia Western Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 25 x 28 feet Prototype: inspired by the Western

Maryland Ry. Locale: West Virginia between Elkins and Huntington Era: mid-1950s Style: mushroom multilevel linear walkaround Mainline run: 240 feet Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 2.3 percent Train length: 25 cars

Cross section

Cross section

Upper level

Mushroom design can double available layout space

Sutton Lake

Western Maryland trackage rights Elkins -Cumberland

Charleston

Ashford

Cumberland (staging)

Mill Creek

Lower level

Webster Springs Branch

Clendennan

Nitro To lower-level staging

“Bellina-drop”

Double track helix

Elkins

Chelyan

Huntington Clay

Deepwater Subdivision

Cross section

Cross section

Scene built on top of helix

West Virginia Western HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 25x28 feet 1 8" = 1'-0", 24" grid Scale of plan: ⁄

Top view

Hidden return curves on lower level make towns seem farther apart

Backdrop Scenery Scenery

Valances and fluorescent lighting

Main line up to Elkins Deepwater Sub

Aisle

Mushroom designs requires taller ceilings

9-foot ceiling

Mill Creek

Backdrop

Fascia

Not to scale

Mushroom cross-section

Staging

Valance

Track

Aisle

Valances and fluorescent lighting

Side view Ceiling

Nitro

Operators do not see both levels at the same time

Towns can be stacked without interferance between train crews

Valances and fluorescent lighting To Cumberland staging

Elkins Main line up to Elkins Deepwater Sub

Huntington

Floor raised 22"

Not to scale


65

36 Large

USING SHELVES TO BUILD A

MAIN LINE

The twin tunnels of West Riverside Junction (far left) on Bill Pistello’s layout run through a closet where trains are held. Rich Weyland photo

DESIGNED BY BILL PISTELLO MRP 2004

A PROFESSIONAL RAILROADER on the Canadian Paci�c, Bill Pistello designed a track plan that models the high-density traffic o a modern main line. Without a dedicated train room, Bill designed the layout to �t into a space that also had to serve as a dining room or amily events. Bill’s around-the walls shel plan pro vides a long run or N scale trains, while keeping the center o the room open. raffic on the layout includes through reight and passenger trains as well as local reights. Bill also added a Southern Paci�c main and branch line to interchange with the UP. He designed all the industry spurs and sidings to hold three to six modern reight cars. Te main line runs through a small storage closet that separates the two

66


main scenes o the layout. Bill uses the track inside the closet to hold trai ns or 71 ⁄ 2 minutes (30 minutes on a 4:1 ast clock) to simulate the time it would take or a train to travel through Pomona, Cali. Holding tracks are an effective way to slow down operations and make a train crew’s run last longer. A large off-layout staging yard serves both ends o the railroad. A hidden staging lead runs along the backdrop o the layout and emerges at Riverside. Te Southern Paci�c main and branch lines have their own dedicated staging tracks under the layout. Te N scale Los Angeles Subdivision is a clever shel track plan that operates well with Bill’s prototype-based Centralized raffic Control operating system. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Union Pacific Los Angeles

Subdivision Scale: N (1:160) Size: 26 x 34 feet Prototype: Union Pacific Locale: Southern California Era: 2004 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 62 feet Minimum radius: 16" Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (spurs) Maximum grade: 2 percent Train length: 16 cars

37 Dream

REVISITING A PLAN BY

ARMSTRONG

DESIGNED BY JOHN ARMSTRONG AND JARED HARPER MRP 2009

LOOKING FOR A MODELING subject, Jared Harper began investigating branch lines along the Atchison, opeka & Santa Fe. He eventually ound the Alma District, a branch line running between Alma and Burlingame, Kan., where it connected with the A&SF line between opeka and Emporia. Tis line had started lie in the 1870s as a much bigger joint venture between the Union Paci�c and the Santa Fe, but eventually the two partners had a alling out, and the Santa Fe wound up with this piece o the operation. Te A&SF’s Alma District was very much an agricultural railroad. Spring and all cattle movements, as well as wheat shipments, were its steady business. Te line also had a six-day-a-week mixed train that moved passengers and goods through the line’s small towns. Afer doing some research, Jared liked

68


the idea o using the Alma District a s a subject or a model railroad, and he hired John Armstrong to design a layout or him. John’s original plan appeared in the August 2006 Model Railroader . Although Jared was happy with John’s plan, he later acquired a bigger space or his layout, so he had John make some re visions. Once Jared prepared to build the layout, he also made his own a lterations to the plan to better suit his needs, and Jared’s revised plan is shown here. Operating the branch would provide plenty o enjoyment, though the drawback o this design is that the a isles are tight in most places. Since Jared runs the railroad by himsel, he doesn’t mind. However, i you can add 2 eet in length and 3 eet in width or a bit more, you could have larger aisles, maki ng the layout more comortable to use. 43

Jared Harper used employee timetables, station plats, and other documents to help him place the tracks and buildings for Eskridge, Kan., on his HO layout. Jared Harper photo

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Alma District of the Atchison,

Topeka & Santa Fe Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 22'-6" x 30'-0" Prototype: ATSF’s Alma District Locale: Kansas Flint Hills region Era: May 1943 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 154 feet Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 1.33 percent Train length: 22 cars

38 Dream

AN O SCALE PLAN FOR

APPALACHIA

A Chessie System SD35 and a Chesapeake & Ohio Geep roll through Eagle Rock, Va., on John Roberts’ O scale layout. John E. Roberts photo

DESIGNED BY JOHN E. ROBERTS MRP 2004

WHEN MOST PEOPLE LOOK FOR a way to rekindle �agging interest in model railroading, they may revamp a section o their layout or switch prototypes. But instead o doing that, John Roberts jumped rom modeling in HO to O scale. Although John switched scales, he stuck with the theme he’d used or his HO scale layout, the Chessie System in west-central Virginia. Because O scale models are large, John opted or a design with a lot o switching work. John anchored the layout at Smith Creek Yard. On the prototype, this yard is a small part o the large terminal at Clifon Forge, Va., and it has enough room to let crews block east- and westbound cars and make up local reights.

70


John set the layout in the late 1970s and early ’80s. During that period, coal marshalling at Clifon Forge dropped in importance, and the yard went rom a sea o coal hoppers to mixed traffic, including cars or Westvaco’s paper mill in Covington, Va. In addition to the Chessie System, John included in the design his own reelanced Blue Ridge & Southern RR, which runs out o Eagle Rock to New Castle, Va. His plan also has a piece o the C&O’s Hot Springs (Va.) Subdivision, which ran a regular mixed train. Even though O scale takes up a lot more room than HO, John got the most out o his plan by including a lif-out entrance and double-sided backdrops. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Chessie System (C&O) and

Blue Ridge & Southern Scale: O (1:48) Size: 24 x 29 feet Prototype: Chessie System and Appalachian short lines Locale: west-central Virginia Era: late 1970s-early 1980s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 100 feet Minimum radius: 50" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Train length: 18 cars

39 Dream

USING DOMINOES TO BUILD AN

INDUSTRIAL RR

David Barrows’ HO scale Lubbock Industrial District resides in a clean, studio-like setting. Mesa Yard is at right and the staging yard is to the left behind a dividing wall. Tommy Holt photo

DESIGNED BY DAVID BARROW MRP 2004

LONGTIME READERS o Model Railroader know David Barrow as the ather o domino benchwork. Te 4-oot-long sections, or dominoes, vary in width rom 12" to 30" and can be used to create anything rom a portion o a yard to a complete town or industrial complex. Te advantage o domino-based plans is that it’s easy to draw up several towns or industrial complexes and then move them around in the room to increase aisle width and resolve access concerns. Beore settling on the plan shown here, David has rearranged the dominoes in several different ways to �t his 30 x 36 layout room. Domino benchwork also allows a model railroad to develop rom small beginnings into a layout o almost any size as time, knowledge, interests, and other resources change over the years.

72


Te domino method really amounts to planning a model railroad by �rst seeing what benchwork arrangements will �t in a given area instead o beginn ing with a ocus on the trackwork itsel. Once the dominoes are positioned, then it’s a matter o applying track a rrangements. I you �nd you need more room or need to adapt the benchwork to �t a particular section o trackwork, rearrange a ew o the dominoes (or even all o them) or enlarge a ew, such as the wider dominoes used or the Goodpasture Grain section, and try again. Te plan has been labeled with Santa Fe zone designations. Tese zones correspond to actual switching districts in Lubbock, exas, and are a key part to operating this layout prototypically. For more inormation, see the origina l story in Model Railroad Planning 2004. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Lubbock Industrial District of

the Cat Mountain & Santa Fe Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 30 x 36 feet Prototype: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Locale: Lubbock, Texas Era: 1978 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 234 feet (Zone 05 through staging to Burlington Northern branch, but not operated as a main line) Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Train length: 20 cars

40 Dream

AN OHIO INTERURBAN

EMPIRE

This HO scale Dayton & Troy freight motor, scratchbuilt by plan designer Ray Persing, is typical motive power for the D&T. Ray Persing photo

DESIGNED BY RAY PERSING MRP 2004

INTERURBAN RAILROADS ENJOYED a boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tese lighter lines were a lower cost alternative to the heavy inrastructure required by mainline railroading, and between 1893 and 1917, more than 18,000 miles o interurban railways were constructed in the United States. Automobiles, competition, and the Great Depression spelled the end o many interurban lines by the late 1930s. Interurbans can be an interesting modeling subject, especially when you take into consideration that traction equipment ofen operated on sharp curves and tight turnouts. It means that you can pack a lot o railroad into a small space. Tis track plan isn’t one o those.

74


With a spacious 24 x 36-oot room to work in, Ray Persing designed this plan or a complete interurban system. It eatures the street running and complicated unions beloved by streetcar ans, as well as industrial switching, rural scenery, and interchanges with both steam and electric railroads. Te plan is based upon the prototype Dayton & roy Electric Ry. Tis line made most o its money hauling reight, including coal, grain, automobiles, auto parts, gravel, and stone. More than 50 daily trains were scheduled over the D&. Keeping trains moving on a timetable like that could easily keep a dozen or more model engineers busy in a D& operating session. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Dayton & Troy Electric Ry. Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 24 x 36 feet Prototype: D&T Locale: southwest Ohio Era: early 1900s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 213 feet Minimum radius: 8" Minimum turnout: 8" radius Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Train length: 8 to 10 cars

41 Dream

A PENNSY MAIN LINE

IN O SCALE

A set of Pennsylvania RR E8s leads a freight over a stone arch viaduct at Duncannon, Pa. Neal Schorr built his O scale layout to represent an iconic Pennsy main line. Neal Schorr photo

DESIGNED BY NEAL SCHORR MRP 2007

THREE-RAIL O SCALE MODELS are no longer synonymous with “toy trains.” Many manuacturers’ three-rail offerings differ rom two-rail O scale only in their wheel contours, couplers, and power pickups. It’s possible to use today’s components to build a three-rail model railroad that, apart rom the track, looks as realistic as any two-rail layout. Neal Schorr designed and built his O scale Pennsylvania RR Middle Division rom a railan’s point o view. Featuring the Pennsy’s characteristic our-track main, gentle curves through wooded mountains, and several picturesque stone bridges, the layout is designed or ollowing trains through realistic vistas.

76


Although the plan is designed as a continuous loop, Neal operates it as a point-to-point layout. One end o its massive joint yard represents Altoona and the opposite end Enola, the two ends o the Pennsy’s Middle Division. Another interesting eature o this layout is its entry through a stairway pit that eliminates duckunders. Te pit, protected with railings salvaged rom an actual Pennsylvania RR ence, leads to an adjacent crew lounge and workshop. As shown on the plan, the room also has a conventional access door that is now blocked by scenery. Te door allowed Neal to carry construction materials into the layout room. 43

THE TRACK PLAN AT A GLANCE Name: Pennsylvania RR Middle

Division Scale: O (1:48) Size: 38 x 45 feet Prototype: PRR Locale: central Pennsylvania Era: 1950s-1960s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 300 feet Minimum radius: 52" Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Train length: 20 to 24 cars

H ow t o m o de l a F O RE S T a nd R IV E R H O

C hal l e ng er r e D re am J ul y 2 vi ew e i 0t1 . 0 P d • w lw wn. M oi td . el RB a i lu a r o i ald er . c i d ot m .

L ea r n w hi l e b ui l d i n g

T he o wn a n d s c e er o f t hi s l ay o u t m a ne r y c h a d e t r ac n g k e H O t ra s f o r c k p t h e b e t t er la n w it h d ra w g s f o b en c hw in r or k

T O

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43 Track Plans From the Experts Fall 2011

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