Category: Layout Construction

Way back when, in my “‘Scuse Me While I Paint the Sky“ post, I talked about trying to do things in order. By keeping notes and such, I’m made some progress, but I still slip from time to time. In my last post, when talking about upcoming work, I said: …

I present you with the next project area on the layout. Apologies for the weird effect from the panoramic photo. The photos below give you better views of the actual dimensions. It may not look like much and, at the moment, it’s not. But there will be a reasonable amount …

I recently got a chance to return to the Amherst Railway Society’s Hobby Show as a spectator rather than a vendor. I’ve talked about the inspiration a really good train show can provide, especially the modules. But I also find that viewing the layouts does a good job of: Reinforcing …

I recently talked about my crew of friends who are helping me build my layout. If you’ll recall, I also mentioned having a task list so that when attendees arrive they can pick what they want to work on. But I thought it would be cumbersome to actually have a …

If you do any reading in the modeling press, you’re probably aware that many, if not most, larger layouts are not built by a single person. Let’s face it, building even a medium-sized layout is not something the a working individual is likely to complete on their own. At least …

You may think, based on the number of recent “philosophy”- and “background”-type entries I’ve posted lately, that not much has been happening on the layout. But, with the exception of the last couple of weeks where I’ve alternately been very busy or not feeling so great, that’s not the case. …

In a previous post I talked about construction in stages, building and mostly finishing only the Penn Mary area before moving on. I lied a little about that. But I have a good reason. Really. The problem with limiting construction to just Penn Mary means that track wouldn’t yet be …

I know I’m repeating myself, but in my view any track plan is only the latest draft; it’s never finished. Changes happen, and they should be welcomed. As we talked about last time, I’d already laid and wired the track for the GM plant when I discovered I wasn’t happy …

Once upon a time, in the city of Baltimore, there was an auto plant… Joe wanted to model it, so he drew a track plan for it, built it, nailed it, and lived happily ever after. If only it were so simple.

I’m a little behind on my model railroad magazine reading. This could be because I’ve been wasting time building a layout, or that I spend too much time blogging, or that I subscribe to too many model-oriented publications, but I doubt it. It’s probably just because I’m lazy. Either way, …