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CATEGORY: Layout Designs

Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 8:46:03 ADT.)

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

HO SCALE (6'0" Broad Gauge): Happy Valley RR in Proto87

Back in July of 2018, I had a request from a member of the Micro/Small Model RR Layouts group to do a 2'x8' layout based on John Allen's timesaver track plan. The layout was to be done in broad gauge (6-foot wide) using Proto:87 standards with all track hand laid. It is proto-freelanced based on the Middleburgh & Schoharie RR during its 6-foot gauge...

2020.03.08J-001.gif (27082 bytes)

Views: 2191 | Comments: 1

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Single Station / Town, Type: Time Saver Design, USA (States): New York



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, May 29, 2022 at 9:05:02 ADT.)

Sunday, May 29, 2022

HO SCALE: Kendallville Terminal RR

Back in August of 2018, I was asked to do a small layout based on the 1.1 mile long Kendallville Terminal RR in Indiana. After reading up on the line, I thought it would make an excellent choice for a small layout. I wanted to include all major features of the line if I could, and decided as a minimum that I had to include the Rush Street Yard; the salt...

2020.03.01B-001.gif (23216 bytes)

Views: 6755 | Comments: 7

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Sector Plate, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), Type: Inglenook, Type: No Run-Around Track, USA (States): Indiana, American Railways: Kendallville Terminal RR



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 8:16:28 ADT.)

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

HO SCALE: Soo Line

In exchange for my layout design services back in July of 2007, a client offer to send me something that I still needed for my On30 layout. But since I had all the motive power, rolling stock, and track that I required, I thanked him for the generous offer, and thought that was the end of it. However, he insisted that he compensate me from my time, and the...

2020.03.08O-001.gif (64643 bytes)

Views: 1657 | Comments: 1

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: End of Line Station, USA (Regions): Mid-West, American Railways: Soo Line



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, April 18, 2022 at 11:48:48 ADT.)

Monday, April 18, 2022

On30 SCALE: Lazy Town (Single Station Design)

Judging from the date on this design (2001), I think it is probably one of my very first designs done in On30 scale (On30 was still in its infancy back then). The original track plan was done using PECO HO turnouts, but I converted them to Fast Track #5s. The client I designed this layout for wanted a very simple track plan...

2019.10.21D-001.gif (25065 bytes)

Views: 1924 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 14:45:00 ADT.)

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

HO SCALE: Penn Central

The owner of this layout had a dormant model railroad in his basement that he started in the early to mid-1990's. He felt the space could be better used, and decided to start over from scratch if he could find a track plan that he liked. The space was quite long at 22½-feet with a 12½-foot height at the widest end, but it also had to...

2021.02.24A-001.gif (63370 bytes)

Views: 1627 | Comments: 3

TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Theme: Mainline Trains, USA (States): New York, USA (States): Pennsylvania, American Railways: Penn Central



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at 15:50:56 ADT.)

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

HO SCALE: Redwood Lumber & Timber Co

This layout was originally designed for a client a few years ago. His space was more limited than what I show here, so I reworked the plan to relax the design a bit. For a small layout, it packs a lot of scenic punch. Operations consist of Shays hauling logs from the loading point at Camp #1 down to the sawmill. Non-geared locos then handle the finished lumber from the mill to the wharf for export.

2020.01.04N.gif (65666 bytes)

Views: 2376 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Logging Railway, Types of Industries: Logging Camps, Types of Industries: Sawmills



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Friday, April 01, 2022 at 7:29:11 ADT.)

Friday, April 01, 2022

HO SCALE: Lobo Creek & Western RR

Now this design has quite a backstory that started in February of 2014. The first version of this design was done to fit on a 4x8 sheet of plywood, and it was based on a track plan that I had found on the Internet. After I posted my adaptation online, I was contacted in March (of 2014) by another modeler who wondered if I could fit the plan ...

2021.06.24B-001.gif (48143 bytes)

Views: 1622 | Comments: 10

TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, March 28, 2022 at 15:45:23 ADT.)

Monday, March 28, 2022

HO SCALE: Langsport & Southern Ry

This design from February 2021 turned out much differently than my client initially wanted. When originally contacted, my client was only looking for a 1-turnout layout based on one of Lance Mindheim's track plans with a modern bakery as the single industry. During the discussion, I showed him my Sweet Tooth Bakery & Milling Co done in a 14x72-inch...

2021.06.24A-001.gif (45654 bytes)

Views: 1540 | Comments: 1

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Theme: Switching Operations, Types of Industries: Bakeries, Types of Industries: Pulp and Paper Mills



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 5:46:08 ADT.)

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

HO SCALE: Iota (Extended)

This was done on a special request from the late Jack Shortliner who wanted to see what I could do on an "extended" Iota design. Iota was originally built in HO scale on a 17" x 56" board, and was meant to represent an end-of-the-line station on a short line railway. I lengthened the board another 16"...

2019.10.14C-001.gif (28013 bytes)

Views: 8297 | Comments: 6

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Single Station / Town, USA (Regions): Mid-West



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Friday, March 04, 2022 at 6:23:29 AST.)

Friday, March 04, 2022

HO SCALE: Brownville & Ashland Railway

This design was done back in November of 2021 for a client who had plenty of high-end custom locos and freight cars that he wanted to showcase on a layout. The layout was to showcase a modern day paper mill setting in a remote part of Northern Maine. The owner wanted a design that depicted his fictional modern-era Brownville & Ashland Railway...

2022.01.31C-001.gif (62713 bytes)

Views: 920 | Comments: 2



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Thursday, March 03, 2022 at 22:18:11 AST.)

Thursday, March 03, 2022

N SCALE: West Coast Pulp Company

The modern-day N-scale layout depicting the West Coast Pulp Company was designed for a client to fit on two 2-foot by 4½-foot modules. The layout is proto-freelance and based on western Canada coastal pulp mills with incoming traffic being introduced by a rail barge. My client wanted a pulp and paper mill, a general office building...

2020.02.29E-001.gif (26568 bytes)

Views: 2002 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Staging Options: Car Float, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Single Industry, Canada (Provinces): British Columbia, Types of Industries: Pulp and Paper Mills



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Thursday, March 03, 2022 at 22:13:42 AST.)

Thursday, March 03, 2022

HO SCALE: Sterling Warehouse District

This was an interesting small HO scale layout to design, and offered a bit of a challenge. My client wanted to depict a warehouse district in his 18x72-inch space, and wanted to include a few warehouses with as many car spots as possible. Although he didn't know what types of warehouses that would be included, he was only looking to use box cars...

2021.02.14D-001.gif (19182 bytes)

Views: 2372 | Comments: 4

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



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, February 28, 2022 at 8:48:13 AST.)

Monday, February 28, 2022

HO SCALE: Falls Creek Siding (Prairie Branchline)

This freelance HO-scale switching layout was done for a client who was a bit vague when he filled out his G&Ds, so I had to fill in some of the blanks myself. The client wanted a layout that included grain, sand, oil, and a warehouse, but he didn't specify a location. In such a small space it would be hard to include...

2019.10.13I-001.gif (41125 bytes)

Views: 12621 | Comments: 20

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Fiddle Track, Theme: Single Station / Town, Theme: Switching Operations, USA (Regions): Mid-West



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, February 06, 2022 at 1:36:55 AST.)

Sunday, February 06, 2022

Sn3 SCALE: Sissiboo Lumber Company

It had been quite some time since I did a track plan for a logging railway, so when a member of the Micro/Small Model RR Layouts group requested an logging themed layout done in Sn3 and set in the Pacific-Northwest, I knew that I would not be able to resist. The only problem was that doing the 3D vertical scenery required for such a layout takes a lot...

2021.06.27B-001.gif (42866 bytes)

Views: 2292 | Comments: 6

TAGS: Design Feature: Switch-Back, Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Logging Railway, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, USA (Regions): Northwest, Types of Industries: Logging Camps



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Friday, February 04, 2022 at 21:27:00 AST.)

Friday, February 04, 2022

HO SCALE: New York Central (Eastbrooke Branch)

The is the freelanced Eastbrooke Branch owned and operated by the New York Central. My client want an HO-scale layout with 28-inch minimum radius on the mainline, to fit his 116"x118" space. The theme of the layout was to be an end of the line town with an small coal mine, set in either northern Pennsylvania, or southern New York...

2022.02.04C-001.gif (88437 bytes)

Views: 669 | Comments: 0

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