View by Category

NOTE: I'm in the process of updating the scripts that run the blog, so there will be changes made in the next few months. Comments no longer need approval, but you must be logged-in to view posts. If you want to become a member of this website, just click on the 'Sign-In' link on the menu bar for more information. Cheers, Rob.


CATEGORY: Layout Designs

Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, January 01, 2020 at 15:30:00 AST.)

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

HO SCALE: Canadian National Ry (Kensington Sub)

This HO-scale layout was done for a friend of mine back in 2016. The design was to occupy an L-shape space of 8'0" by 12'6", with 16" wide shelves and using a minimum radius of 24". The layout is based on Canadian National's Kinsington Subdivision on Prince Edward Island in the 1980s. Power is provided by a single...

2020.01.01L-001.gif (37113 bytes)

Views: 2889 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Single Station / Town, Canada (Provinces): Prince Edward Island, Canadian Railways: Canadian National Ry



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, January 01, 2020 at 14:30:00 AST.)

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

On30 SCALE: East Tennessee & Western North Carolina

Back in November of 2018, I was asked by a client to design a proto-freelanced single station layout based on the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina or Linville River Railway set in the 1920s. It was to be done in On30 scale with a footprint of 12"x96", and would also include a 30" long staging cassette...

2020.01.01J-001.gif (16192 bytes)

Views: 1209 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, January 01, 2020 at 12:52:00 AST.)

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

HO SCALE: Sydport Industrial Park

Back in March of 2018, I offered another member of Facebook group that I belong to some ideas for his modest shelf space. He was very interested to see what I could come up with for his 15" x 9' space, and the result was this design for a standalone industrial park layout. I liked track plan so much that I decided to mock it up...

2020.01.01I-001.gif (17992 bytes)

Views: 2766 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: Industrial Park / District, Theme: Single Station / Town, Theme: Switching Operations



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, January 01, 2020 at 11:32:00 AST.)

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

HO SCALE: NYC Kanawha Branch

This transition era HO scale layout was designed for a client that wanted a proto-freelanced layout based on NYC's Kanawha Branch in West Virginia. My client requested that I include Walther's Diamond Coal mine, and other mining related support industries in the design...

2020.01.01G-001.gif (20879 bytes)

Views: 3998 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Mining, Theme: Single Industry, USA (States): West Virginia, American Railways: New York Central RR, Types of Industries: Coal Mines



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, January 01, 2020 at 10:37:00 AST.)

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

HO SCALE: Hastings Industrial District (with Cassette Staging)

This design was original done for a client back in February 2014. He only had limited space for a layout, but wanted something that could keep him busy for an hour or so. I introduced him to switching using way-bills and switch lists, and he was quite happy with the layout for the few months it was in operation. The layout didn't progress...

2020.01.01D-001.gif (23498 bytes)

Views: 8549 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: Industrial Park / District, Theme: Switching Operations



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, January 01, 2020 at 9:13:00 AST.)

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

HO SCALE: Canadian Atlantic RR

This design for the Canadian Atlantic Railroad System (since renamed the Canadian Atlantic Railway) was started back in early February of 2019, for a friend of mine. The layout was to be done in HO-scale and would depict a prototype-freelanced line set in the present day. Although the layout owner had a list of G&Ds that he wanted to...

2020.01.01B-001.gif (50455 bytes)

Views: 1119 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Canada (Provinces): New Brunswick, Canada (Provinces): Nova Scotia, Canada (Provinces): Prince Edward Island



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, December 03, 2019 at 6:53:01 AST.)

Tuesday, December 03, 2019

HO SCALE: Pembroke & Western RR

This is based on a design that I did for a friend back in 2009. I had to reconfigure the plan to fit a 10'-6" x 12'-6" room, but it is very close to the original. The owner wanted a point-to-point mainline with some staging, a good variety of online industries, and space for a large coal mine. He wanted to use Atlas...

2019.10.12E-002.gif (59279 bytes)

Views: 1104 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 21, 2019 at 12:42:00 ADT.)

Monday, October 21, 2019

HO SCALE: Dominion Steel & Coal Corporation (DOSCO) at Sydney, Nova Scotia

Back in 2005, I fooled myself into believing that I knew enough about making steel that I could actually build a layout to represent the industry. I did a bit of a research and knew I wanted to include as many steps in the process as I could. I not only wanted the blast furnace, but also the import system for the raw materials...

Views: 1077 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Design Feature: Loads In / Out, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Single Industry, Canada (Provinces): Nova Scotia, Canadian Railways: Dominion Steel & Coal Corporation (DOSCO), Types of Industries: Coke Plant, Types of Industries: Steel Plant



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 21, 2019 at 11:59:00 ADT.)

Monday, October 21, 2019

HO SCALE: Morgan Falls & Little Trinty RR

This layout has quite the story behind it, and it was also the start of my long distance friendship with Bob McCord of California. This plan was a collaboration between Bob and I that required several months of intense emailing to make any progress. Bob's premise for the fictional railroad was a logging line set in the...

2019.10.21E-001.gif (98626 bytes)

Views: 1084 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Switch-Back, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Logging Railway, USA (States): Wisconsin, Types of Industries: Logging Camps, Types of Industries: Sawmills, Types of Industries: Wharves



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 21, 2019 at 9:13:00 ADT.)

Monday, October 21, 2019

HO SCALE: Hillcrest Industrial District (ISL)

This HO-scale design was done for a client back in January 2000. The owner wanted a modern switching layout with the potential to be incorporated it in a bigger layout someday. Like me, he preferred a minimum of track with a few big industries, and lots of room for scenery. He was also looking for a modern industrial park...

2019.10.21B-001.gif (31927 bytes)

Views: 4297 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Industrial Park / District, Theme: Single Station / Town, Theme: Switching Operations



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 14, 2019 at 21:21:33 ADT.)

Monday, October 14, 2019

HO SCALE: Engine Terminal, Small Yard, Coal Mine and Steel Trestle

As a rule I dislike island style layouts because I believe the space can be better utilized when also taking the access requirements into consideration. So, I usually try to convince my clients that they should consider other options for the room, which usually is an around the walls type layout. However, my persuasion...

2019.10.13D-001.gif (49210 bytes)

Views: 1548 | Comments: 4

TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Design Feature: Freight Yard (Small), Design Feature: Round House, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Type: Beginner Layout



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 14, 2019 at 18:33:00 ADT.)

Monday, October 14, 2019

HO SCALE: Aberystwith & Welsh Coast Railway

I have always had great admiration for British modelers, and I am continuously impressed with how much they seem to do with a space, no matter how limited. Some of the scenes depicted on these small layouts are many of my favourite modeled scenes. Back in November of 2016, I decided to design a UK inspired layout, and...

2019.10.14G-001.gif (71372 bytes)

Views: 1094 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: Branch Line Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town, Theme: Waterfront, Other: United Kingdom, British Railways: Aberystwith & Welsh Coast Ry, Types of Industries: Wharves



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 14, 2019 at 17:58:00 ADT.)

Monday, October 14, 2019

HO SCALE: High Park Industrial Lead (ISL)

This is a very simple modern industrial switching layout (ISL) that I designed back in 2007 to fit a 15-inch by 10-foot space. I can't remember if I designed this for someone, or if I was trying to adapting a track plan to fit space that I had available. I was living in a small apartment then, and I was designing a lot of small...

2019.10.14F-001.gif (12896 bytes)

Views: 3543 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: Industrial Park / District, Theme: Switching Operations



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 14, 2019 at 11:53:52 ADT.)

Monday, October 14, 2019

HO SCALE: Pennsylvania Shortline Terminal

This design request came from a member of a Facebook group that I belong to, that wanted to expand his current 15" x 48" micro by another 48". This all ready built micro, depicted the terminus of a tiny Pennsylvania shortline. The railroad connects this currently unnamed small agricultural town with a Reading or Pennsy...

2019.10.14A-001.gif (21605 bytes)

Views: 3072 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Single Station / Town, USA (States): Pennsylvania



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 14, 2019 at 10:59:07 ADT.)

Monday, October 14, 2019

HO SCALE: Almanor Railroad (Collins Pine Company)

For the last few years, I have taken a keen interest in finding small railway lines that would make a great subject for an "achievable layout" which is a term coined by Trevor Marshall. I honestly believe that these practical and doable layouts are the future direction of layout planning and building, and I am always interested in learning about...

2019.10.12M-001.gif (50245 bytes)

Views: 1035 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): California, American Railways: Almanor Railroad (Collins Pine Company)

BACK12345678910111213NEXT