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.
Staging Options: Staging Yards
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, October 31, 2020 at 7:07:35 ADT.)
Saturday, October 31, 2020
HO SCALE: Soo Line Branch Line
Back in July of 2017, a member of a railway forum offered to send me something that I still needed for my On30 layout in exchange for my layout design services. At the time, I had pretty much all the motive power, rolling stock, and track that I needed, so I explain the situation, thanked him for the generous offer, and assumed that was the end of it. However, he...
Views: 1688 | Comments: 2
TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Branch Line Railway, American Railways: Soo Line
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, November 15, 2021 at 18:12:12 AST.)
Monday, November 15, 2021
HO SCALE: Canadian Pacific Branch Line
Many of my small layout designs focus on branch line operations that make it easier to portray in a small room. I also tend to make them as generic as possible so they are easily adapted to a variety of prototypes, and this design is a good example of that approach. This is an HO-scale design for a small end of a branch line operation that would easily...
Views: 2526 | Comments: 2
TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Branch Line Railway, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Passenger Service, Canadian Railways: Canadian Pacific Ry
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 8:16:28 ADT.)
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
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...
Views: 1652 | 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 Saturday, May 09, 2020 at 11:17:00 ADT.)
Saturday, May 09, 2020
HO SCALE: New England & Southern Railway
This is a rough draft (it still needs a lot of polish) of a design that I worked on for a client back in 2017. The client was interested in many aspects of the hobby including passenger train operations, mainline running, run thru and local traffic, online switching, and branch line operations. He also liked yard operations, but didn't want to...
Views: 939 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Design Feature: Freight Yard (Small), Design Feature: Helix, Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Branch Line Railway, Theme: Mainline Trains, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, USA (Regions): New England
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, February 03, 2021 at 7:33:24 AST.)
Wednesday, February 03, 2021
I was asked by a member of the Micro/Small Model RR Layouts to do a single town scene in N-scale on a hollow core door. However, by the time I had finally gotten around to designing the layout, the member had left the group, so I never made contact again. I decided to go ahead with the design anyway, but I didn't put as much detail or effort into...
Views: 3333 | Comments: 4
TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Layout Size: Mini Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Single Station / Town
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, May 09, 2020 at 12:22:00 ADT.)
Saturday, May 09, 2020
N SCALE: South Carolina Central RR (SCRF)
This N-scale design is based on the South Carolina Central RR, a class III railway that operates 42 miles of former CSX Transportation trackage in South Carolina, from the CSX interchange at Florence, to end of track at Bishopville. Primary commodities include agricultural products, chemicals, construction materials, fertilizers, minerals, plastics, pulp and paper, and steel and scrap. It handles about 30,000 carloads per year.
Views: 862 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Design Feature: Helix, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): South Carolina, American Railways: South Carolina Central RR
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...
Views: 1297 | 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 Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 22:40:45 ADT.)
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
HO SCALE: Soo Line (Branch Line & Interchange)
This concept design was done back in March of 2018 for an owner of a partially completed N-scale pike who has grown weary of the level of operations required on the layout. The N-scale layout occupied this space, but had been dormant for a few years. The owner was considering moving up to HO, and from modeling mainline operations to a more...
Views: 1885 | Comments: 8
TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Branch Line Railway, American Railways: Soo Line
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, May 09, 2020 at 20:04:00 ADT.)
Saturday, May 09, 2020
HO SCALE: Pennyrile & Western Coalfield
This HO-scale design was done for a member of the Micro/Small Model RR Layouts Facebook group and his proto-freelanced Pennyrile & Western Coalfield Railway. The layout owner wanted a 1940's era layout based on a small town in western Kentucky where the economy is dependent on tobacco, corn, and coal. He planned to use small L&N or NC&StL steam...
Views: 2342 | Comments: 0
TAGS: Design Feature: Continuous Run Option, Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town, USA (States): Kentucky
Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, August 22, 2020 at 8:53:02 ADT.)
Saturday, August 22, 2020
HO SCALE: Prairie Branch Line Railway
This design was just completed for a client that wanted to model a prairie branch line railway located somewhere in the province Saskatchewan. My client sees it as a former Canadian National line that was cast off during the 1990s, and its main customer is an ethanol plant at the end of the branch. The owner had a lot of structures already...
Views: 1546 | Comments: 2
TAGS: Layout Size: Medium Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Canadian Prairies, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Canada (Provinces): Saskatchewan, Types of Industries: Ethanol Plant