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Layout Size: Small Layouts

Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Monday, October 10, 2022 at 15:01:34 ADT.)

Monday, October 10, 2022

HO SCALE: Canadian National (Sydney Subdivision)

Back in 2014 I was considering a HO-scale layout based on Canadian National's Sydney Subdivision in the 1980s. I had been a rail fan of the trains running on the east end of the subdivision, and came to know the area first hand. At the time I was having a very hard time squeezing everything into my 10'10" by 12'6" dining...

2019.10.12B-001.gif (66103 bytes)

Views: 1901 | Comments: 4

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: Switching Operations, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), Canada (Provinces): Nova Scotia, Canadian Railways: Canadian National Ry



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 11:46:00 ADT.)

Saturday, October 12, 2019

HO SCALE: Santa Fe (San Jacinto District)

This design is based on AT&SF's San Jacinto District, but by no means it is meant to be a match for the line. I have been aware of this branch line since reading "The San Jacinto District: An HO switching railroad for a 9 x 12-foot room," by Andy Sperandeo in Model Railroader [February 1980, page 107]. There have also been many...

2019.10.12C-001.gif (150598 bytes)

Views: 1319 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Design Feature: Train Elevator, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Branch Line Railway, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): California, American Railways: Santa Fe



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...

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Views: 1075 | 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 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: 1517 | 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 Saturday, October 31, 2020 at 21:12:01 ADT.)

Saturday, October 31, 2020

N SCALE: Railserve (Murfreesboro, TN)

This is a bit different from my usually designs: it is a track-for-track copy of an actual industry served by Railserve, Inc. (Railserve is a contract railroad services company that that provides in-plant railcar switching for over 70 companies in North America.) This layout is based on the General Mills' Pillsbury Plant in...

2019.10.13H-001.gif (11359 bytes)

Views: 1675 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Single Industry, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), USA (States): Tennessee, American Railways: Railserve



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...

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Views: 1069 | 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 Wednesday, November 04, 2020 at 9:41:50 AST.)

Wednesday, November 04, 2020

HO SCALE: Terminal & Tidewater Switching

I started this more or less for fun back in February of 2018, just to see what I could do. It was inspired by an article in the September 1947 issue of The Model Railroader. ["Terminal and Tidewater Switching Facilities Give This Layout an Interesting Touch" by Charles Small. MR, Sept., 1947, page 725.] While the article...

2020.01.01H-001.gif (31801 bytes)

Views: 8936 | Comments: 3

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Cassette Staging, Theme: Industrial Park / District, Theme: Switching Operations, Theme: Terminal Railway, Theme: Waterfront



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: 2856 | 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 Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 12:55:17 ADT.)

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

HO SCALE: 4' x 8' Branchline with Intetchange

This layout was designed back in February of 2014 for a client who wanted a layout done on a standard sheet of 4x8 plywood. I was surprised when he said that he wanted to focus more on operations than running a train around a loop. He was also quite adamant that he didn't want any grades, water or bridges. My first step was to look online for some other...

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Views: 1477 | Comments: 3

TAGS: Design Feature: Interchange, Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Branch Line Railway, Type: Beginner Layout



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Saturday, January 04, 2020 at 10:18:00 AST.)

Saturday, January 04, 2020

HO SCALE: Guysborough & Eastern Shore Railway

This design was done for a client back in August of 2017. The client wanted a single station sea port layout with schooners and steamers. He was mostly interested in passenger traffic, but also wanted a few industries to switch. The design had to fit in a 10'6" x 12'6" room that also had a work bench and he needed lots of room for storage under...

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Views: 878 | Comments: 0

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Passenger Service, Theme: Single Station / Town, Theme: Waterfront, Types of Industries: Wharves



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.

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Views: 2315 | 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 Articles by Rob Chant. (Updated Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 15:17:25 AST.)

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

ARTICLE: A case study in the minimalist approach

There was some talk on a Facebook group where I am a member about taking a minimalist approach to layout design. I welcomed the debate because it is a trend that I do believe should be followed when designing a layout. As others had mentioned during the discussions, taking a minimalist approach can be very rewarding, if you also take the time...

2020.01.04S-001.gif (37259 bytes)

Views: 4255 | Comments: 18

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Staging Options: Staging Yards, Theme: End of Line Station, Theme: Regional / Short Line Railway, Theme: Single Station / Town, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), Type: No Run-Around Track, USA (States): Wisconsin, American Railways: Escanaba & Lake Superior RR, Articles: Minimalist Approach to Layout Design



Posted in Layout Designs by Rob Chant. (Updated Thursday, September 08, 2022 at 20:23:44 ADT.)

Thursday, September 08, 2022

HO SCALE: Canadian National (Sydney Sub)

This is a small proto-based switching layout designed for a friend of mine back in November of 2014, to fit his 12'6" x 6'0" room. The layout was based on Jefferson which was is located on the Sydney Subdivision of the Canadian National. The time frame was set in the 1980s before the secondary mainline was sold to the Cape Breton...

2020.01.05E.gif (38001 bytes)

Views: 1731 | Comments: 2

TAGS: Layout Size: Small Layouts, Theme: Switching Operations, Type: Based on Actual Location(s), Canada (Provinces): Nova Scotia, Canadian Railways: Canadian National Ry



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: 968 | 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

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