May 63 minLayout Construction SequenceWhen I started building my Downtown Spur layout, I temporarily laid Atlas flex track and placed some cardboard mock ups in place to see...
Apr 103 minTake Me to MalabarBNSF's Malabar Yard in LA. The basic act of drawing a track plan is relatively simple. Coming up with a theme, scope, and strategic plan...
Feb 243 minArtwork or Game Plan? Evaluating Published Track Plans.Just because a track plan illustration is pleasing to look at from an artistic standpoint doesn't mean that it's a viable design. Read...
Feb 112 minDesign For A WaterfrontWashington D.C.'s Georgetown waterfront, shown above, makes for a compelling modeling theme if there ever was one. Library of Congress...
Nov 5, 20213 minNo Time To Build A Layout?At almost thirty feet in length, the above design isn't small. Even so, it's an example of managing scope and complexity so a modeler,...
Jun 23, 20213 minHow Long Should A Layout Last?I only had my East Rail switching layout for about five years before selling it. Even though I didn't keep it, it provided me with a...
Dec 16, 20202 minOne Room, Several RailroadsRather than filling this spare room in my house with one medium sized layout, I built several smaller ones creating a "layout gallery"....
Mar 25, 20205 minPerspective The above image was taken on my N scale switching layout using an iPhone and the room’s overhead Halogen track lighting. The depth of...
Oct 18, 20192 minLarge Space, Small Skills Modeler’s typically enter the hobby at two points in their lives, either during the teen years or at retirement. Those coming into model...
Jun 13, 20193 minThe “Thirty Minute/Three Hour” RuleWhen it comes to model railroad operations, I’ve noticed what I call the “thirty minute/three hour rule” or, as Captain Jack Sparrow...
Mar 24, 20192 minACCEPTANCEAcceptance. Acceptance of the reality of our situation. Acceptance of constraints. Acceptance of the fact that the subject we are...
Jan 22, 20192 minDIAGONALSThe man made world we model tends to be built on engineering order. In other words, ninety degree angles, perpendicular orientations, and...
Jul 21, 20181 minTURNOUT OPTIMISMModel railroaders are an optimistic bunch, particularly when it comes to layout design! To be more specific, overly optimistic when it...
Apr 12, 20184 min“TIME”The timeless 80/20 rule, model railroad planning is not immune. All too often we have our 80/20 priorities backwards. We spend eighty...
Feb 24, 20184 minPICKING A THEME, SETTING YOUR SCOPEBefore we draw the first line of a layout design, before we lay the first stick of bench work, the most important decisions present...