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Posted in Railroad Terminology by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, February 04, 2020 at 12:17:00 AST.)
Tuesday, February 04, 2020
GLOSSARY: Spur Track (Commonly called a Spur)
Although the use and definition of the term "spur track" varies from railway to railway, and from era to era, I think there is some commonality that allows for a general explanation of what a spur track is, and more importantly, what is it not. The diagram included below offers some insight into my interpretation. As you can see in the diagram...
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Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, February 03, 2020 at 20:11:24 AST.)
Monday, February 03, 2020
HO SCALE: Sweeney Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
Along with posting my track plans to this blog, I am also going thru my old structure files and trying to upgrade them to my current standards. This morning I found an old file that contained some rough measurement for a brick building that would make a good 1950's era factory or manufacturing company. The 2-story building measures 24-feet by 72-feet and...
Views: 1567 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Drop Down, Theme: Single Industry, Type: 1 Turnout Layout, Type: Beginner Layout, Type: No Run-Around Track, Type: Tuning Fork, Types of Industries: Factories
Posted in Railroad Terminology by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, February 03, 2020 at 13:12:00 AST.)
Monday, February 03, 2020
The total horsepower of a locomotive less the amount of horsepower that it takes to move the locomotive itself. The balance is called the drawbar horsepower which is the power available to pull a train, and takes into account all parasitic losses in the gear train, tire slip, friction in wheel bearings, accessory loads, etc.
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Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, February 03, 2020 at 12:04:00 AST.)
Monday, February 03, 2020
On30 SCALE: Sissiboo Lumber & Railway Company
Here is another design for an On30 logging line. This layout was designed for a client back in May of 2017 that was only interested in building dioramas and mini-scenes, so he considered the it to be a non-operating layout. The owner already had a collection of structures to use and wanted a minimum amount of track, but the design had to include...
Views: 1000 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Logging Railway, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Types of Industries: Logging Camps, Types of Industries: Sawmills
Posted in Articles by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, February 03, 2020 at 9:23:29 AST.)
Monday, February 03, 2020
I have been asked a few times what is the most important element of good layout design, and the very simple answer to that question is knowing what you're most passionate about when it comes to model railroading and use that as the basis of your next modeling project. I'm sure that most of you can look back on at least one "defining moment" when...
Views: 959 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Articles: Layout Design
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 18:24:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
N SCALE: Automotive Assembly Plant
I was asked to design an auto assembly plant in N-scale on two L-shaped hollow core doors. Since modeling the auto industry was something totally new to me, I really enjoyed the research needed to make this design work. At the time, I spent a few days researching the topic, and also received some help from the Micro/Small Model RR Layouts group. An...
Views: 1751 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Single Industry, Types of Industries: Automotive Assembly Plants
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 16:36:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
HO SCALE: Morrow County Railway
This modern era HO scale switching layout was designed for a member of the Micro/Small Model RR Layouts and his freelanced Morrow County Railway set in north central Ohio. The owner wanted the plan to include a grain elevator, a corn syrup facility, and lumber yard. He planned to hand lay his track using Micro Engineering code...
Views: 2935 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: Single Station / Town, USA (States): Ohio
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 16:01:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
N SCALE: Single Station Free-MoN Module
Views: 8129 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Design Feature: Modular Benchwork, Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Single Station / Town, Theme: Switching Operations
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 13:06:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
HO SCALE: Lawrence North on the Boston & Maine
This proto-freelance B&M HO-scale switching layout was done for a member of the Micro/Small Model RR Layouts group to fit on two 14-inch by 77-inch doors. Set in the north east during the late 1970's early 80's, the owner wanted to include a lumber dealer, a cold storage company, and plastics manufacturer. I also was able to throw...
Views: 4397 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Single Station / Town, USA (Regions): New England, American Railways: Boston & Maine RR
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 12:42:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
On30 SCALE: Lingan Colliery Railway
Back in September of 2017, I was asked to design an On30 layout with a mining theme that would fit in a 30" x 12' space. The owner wanted a complete layout without any additional staging, and also desired to have as much operation included as possible within the space. I went with a design that included a coal mine at one end of...
Views: 1388 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Mining, Theme: Single Station / Town, Types of Industries: Coal Mines
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 11:36:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
HO SCALE: Central Pacific/Southern Pacific
This design was done back in May of 2017 for a member the Railroad Line Forums. At the time, the owner was trying to come up with a layout to fit in his 30" x 60" space, and he was looking for some suggestions. He wanted to model the Central Pacific/Southern Pacific, and hope to have a design that would be accurate for his late-1800s era.
Views: 1023 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Single Station / Town, USA (Regions): Southwest , American Railways: Central Pacific RR, American Railways: Southern Pacific RR
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 10:53:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
HO SCALE: North Berwick (End of Branch Line Mill Town)
Back in March of 2018, I was asked by a member of small layout design group to design a layout to fit on a 16" x 80" hollow core door with the setting for the layout being an end of a branch line mill town. The layout would be set in the transition era from the late 40's to early 60's with 40-foot freight cars and small steam...
Views: 3634 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Single Station / Town
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 9:05:00 AST.)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
HOn30 SCALE: Marble Mountain Quarry Company
I was asked by Marshall Stull to come up with an entry for a challenge he has opened on his Small Model Railroads website. The challenge was to design a micro layout to fit in 13" x 9" x 9" helmet display case that he had just purchased. Since I have never designed a layout for such a small space, I was intrigued by the idea...
Views: 1295 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Micro Layouts, Staging Options: Turn Table (Train Length), Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Single Industry, Theme: Waterfront, Type: 3 Turnout Layout, Type: No Run-Around Track, Types of Industries: Quarries
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 11:22:00 AST.)
Sunday, January 19, 2020
G-SCALE (1:22.5): Riverside Brick & Clay Company
This design was done for a member of a Facebook small layout group, who was trying to decide between a small switching layout in G-scale, or a traction layout done in O-scale. Of course, I like a good challenge, so offer to mock something up in G-scale for him. This was actually my first attempt at designing something in G-scale for...
Views: 1269 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Single Industry, Type: 2 Turnout Layout, Type: No Run-Around Track, Types of Industries: Brick Works
Posted in Railroad Terminology by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, January 05, 2020 at 13:54:00 AST.)
Sunday, January 05, 2020
GLOSSARY: Snowsheds / Snow Sheds
A snowshed is a long structure built over railway tracks to protect the line from snow-slides and avalanches. They are most common in mountainous regions in areas prone to considerable amounts of sliding snow. Showsheds are also used to prevent accumulations of drifting snow from blocking the line in areas where snow removal is...
Views: 647 | Comments: 0