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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.


Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway

Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Friday, February 03, 2023 at 22:13:29 AST.)

Friday, February 03, 2023

On30 SCALE: Palmetto Brick Company Railway

Back in 2017 I found a thread on another railway related forum that highlighted the Palmetto Brick Company's railway located in Wallace, South Carolina. The 3-foot gauge line used small 8-ton Plymouth locomotive to haul steel side-dump clay cars from its quarry to the brick kilns, which were still in service at that time...

2019.10.12F-001.gif (16248 bytes)

Views: 1896 | Comments: 7

TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Type: 3 Turnout Layout, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): North Carolina, American Railways: Palmetto Brick Company Ry, Types of Industries: Clay Processing Plants, Types of Industries: Quarries



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 25, 2021 at 6:42:21 ADT.)

Monday, October 25, 2021

On2 SCALE: Gilpin Tramway (Plus the Colorado & Southern Ry in On3)

This is quite a different design for me. As you may know, I prefer layouts built around the walls on narrow shelves, and generally stay away from shelves over 30-inches wide. However, I felt to do this design justice I had to go another route. The layout called for wider bench work to accommodate both the scenery...

2019.10.12G-001.gif (151381 bytes)

Views: 1223 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Layout Size: Large Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): Colorado, American Railways: Gilpin Tramway



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: 1891 | Comments: 2

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



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, June 27, 2022 at 9:45:09 ADT.)

Monday, June 27, 2022

On30 SCALE: Black Sand Mining & Timber Railroad

For me, one of the most enjoyable side effects of designing layouts is learning new things. And while designing this layout, I learned a lot over the last month and a half. For starters, I never knew that Platinum could be recovered from beach sand. And since I had to build the equipment required to do that in 3D, I also had to learn how...

2020.01.01A-001.gif (57559 bytes)

Views: 1845 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Mining, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Theme: Single Industry, Theme: Waterfront, USA (States): Oregon



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Friday, August 27, 2021 at 8:46:56 ADT.)

Friday, August 27, 2021

On30 SCALE: Sydney & Louisburg Coal & Railway Company (Havenside)

As you probably know, I have a very avid interest in the two-footers of Maine. In fact, I have plans to base my On30-scale layout on look and feeling of those lines. One of the most appealing prototype scenes to me is the waterfront in Wiscasset (ME) on the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington RR (WW&F). Through the year, photos...

2020.01.01F-001.gif (27661 bytes)

Views: 1740 | Comments: 4

TAGS: Layout Size: Compact Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town, Theme: Waterfront, Canada (Provinces): Nova Scotia, My Projects: Sydney & Louisburg Coal & Railway Co, Types of Industries: Wharves



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: 1185 | 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 Articles by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, February 04, 2020 at 14:10:41 AST.)

Tuesday, February 04, 2020

ARTICLE: Duplicating prototypical track work as a small end-of-line station

This design was just completed for a member of a the Railroad Line Forums, who was looking for some inspiration for a small layout project he was considering. The design depicts the small rural station of Werley (WI) on the Chicago & North Western RR's "Dinky Line". Although the diagram below is not entirely accurate, it is a simple rendition of the...

2020.01.18A-001.gif (31403 bytes)

Views: 2578 | Comments: 4

TAGS: Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town, Type: 3 Turnout Layout, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): Wisconsin, American Railways: Chicago & North Western RR, Articles: Operating Small Layouts



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...

2020.02.03A-001.gif (67950 bytes)

Views: 967 | 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 My Projects by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 10:53:35 ADT.)

Sunday, September 24, 2023

PROJECT: Sydney & Louisburg Coal & Railway Company

I had a few inquires about the status of my Sydney & Louisburg Coal & Railway Company retirement layout, and a few other people asked for an update on the project. I currently have about 75% of all the materials needed to build the triple-deck design. I had to import almost everything from the US, and with the weak exchange rate, I already...

2020.02.03D-101.gif (56028 bytes)

Views: 2089 | Comments: 13

TAGS: Design Feature: Train Elevator, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Mining, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Canada (Provinces): Nova Scotia, Canadian Railways: Sydney & Louisburg Coal & Railway Co, My Projects: Sydney & Louisburg Coal & Railway Co



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, May 07, 2023 at 11:14:07 ADT.)

Sunday, May 07, 2023

On30 / On2 / Sn2 SCALE: Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad

Anyone that is familiar with my interests will know that I have a fondness for Maine 2-footers. While the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway is my favourite (and I also have another unfinished design based on that line as well) this design is of the longest 2-footer: the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad (SR&RL). This is another design that...

2020.03.08C-001.gif (206054 bytes)

Views: 1015 | Comments: 3

TAGS: Design Feature: Helix, Layout Size: Large Layouts, Theme: Maine 2-Footers, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): Maine, American Railways: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes RR



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, March 08, 2020 at 15:43:00 ADT.)

Sunday, March 08, 2020

On30 SCALE: Crooked Mountain Railway

This design was done back in February of 2018 for a member of the Railroad Line Forums who was looking for ideas for an On30 layout to fit on a 36"x6'8" hollow-core door in his office. The layout owner wanted a continuous run with a few sidings, however, he was more interested in watching trains run during the workday, than operating the layout. I adapted...

2020.03.08L-001.gif (44886 bytes)

Views: 1465 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, USA (Regions): Southwest



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, May 09, 2020 at 13:36:00 ADT.)

Saturday, May 09, 2020

HOn3 SCALE: Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad

This is a design I did back in May of 2017 based on the 36"-gauge Nevada County Narrow Gauge RR running about 23 miles north from Colfax to Nevada City. I found an insurance evaluation map of Nevada City online, and first wanted to do only a "one station" layout based on just that location. With the help of another member of the...

2020.05.09I-001.gif (87220 bytes)

Views: 1269 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): Nevada, American Railways: Nevada County Narrow Gauge RR



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, May 09, 2020 at 14:05:00 ADT.)

Saturday, May 09, 2020

On30: Pubnico & Southside RR

This design was done back in February of 2018 for a member of the Railroad Line Forum. He was looking for a continuous run layout (with a few sidings) to fit on a 36" x 6'8" hallow core door in On30. Although the layout owner just wanted to watch the trains run around the loop, I also decided to allow for plenty of opportunity for some...

2020.05.09J-001.gif (44859 bytes)

Views: 1104 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Sunday, February 14, 2021 at 3:04:00 AST.)

Sunday, February 14, 2021

On30 SCALE: Gowrie Colliery Tramway (No Turnout Layout)

I'm in the process of writing an article for my blog that highlights and explains some different types of micro and small layouts and how they are operated. I plan to start with a very simple layout, and then increase the complexity as the article progresses. I will try to go into detail on how I see each one being operated, and the options that can be...

2021.02.14B-001.gif (24965 bytes)

Views: 1010 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Micro Layouts, Theme: Industrial Railway, Theme: Mining, Theme: Narrow Gauge Railway, Theme: Waterfront, Type: No Run-Around Track, Type: No Turnout Layout, Types of Industries: Coal Mines, Types of Industries: Wharves



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: 2232 | 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

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