A pair of boxcars sit in front of A-1 Farmers Choice on the switchback segment of my Downtown Spur layout. A successful model railroad design is one that provides a platform for several hours a week of relaxing hobby time…recreational time…..fun time. It doesn’t really matter how those minutes or hours are spent. If there […]
Category: Model Railroad Design
Another “One Turnout” Layout
Two boxcars sit at Family & Son, a foot products company in Miami, circa 2006. The two blue storage tanks in the foreground are for vegetable oil. This scene would be ideal for a small shelf layout and would provide a lot of operation fun as well. I’ve been doing more and more short “mini […]
No Time to Build A Layout?
Many modelers sit on the sidelines, feeling they simply don’t have the time to build a layout. I recently posted a blog on my business site discussing design strategies for dealing with the issue.
Removing Layout Design Blinders
Having reached the siding at the end of the branch on The Downtown Spur, the local has just performed a runaround move to prepare for the return trip in this June 2008 photo. This move is still required today to work the line. When it comes to layout design it’s so easy, as much as […]
Time
The timeless 80/20 rule, model railroad planning is not immune. All too often we have our 80/20 priorities backwards. We spend eighty per cent of our time wringing our hands over what I would consider more tactical issues and only twenty per cent on the much more important strategic questions. What curve radius to employ, […]