For Medium-Sized Spaces

Layout plans for N, Nn3, HO, HOn2½, Sn3, and On2½ A SUPPLEMENT TO MODEL RAILROADER MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

INCLUDES EDITOR’S CHOICE Workshop tips TRACK PLANS 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces

• Layouts for 130 square-foot spaces and larger • Designs provide minimum radius and turnout information • All track plans include a scale grid for construction reference

• Plans for standard and narrow gauge layouts 618247

Medium layouts Got some space to stretch out? Find some ideas here

By Steven Otte

It’s always winter in the town of Phil’s Church on Bill Henderson’s Coal Belt RR (plan 1, below). A medium-sized layout space gives you room to experiment with techniques, such as a railroad that travels through all four seasons.

The modeler lucky enough to have There are as many approaches to Central’s single-track main allows for more than a bedroom for his railroad layout design as there are spaces in more scenery and realistic local- has some choices to make. Do you fill which to build. For example, compare freight operations. the space with enough main line to the Wisconsin Central, plan 3, with As you take a look through these enable long runs and trains of proto- plan 15, the Dakota Northern. Both plans, you may find one that’s right for typical length? Build a big yard or add are N scale, have a similar footprint, you. (As you’ll see by the Editor’s choice a bunch of industries for lots of and occupy rooms close to the same boxes, most of the Model Railroader switching action? Stretch out the size. But while the Dakota Northern’s staff has picked favorites.) But even if track between cities to make more plan emphasizes continuous running you don’t, you may still find something room for scenery? and yard switching, the Wisconsin that will inspire your next layout.

Hinged section folds upward for entry Coal Belt 57" 54" 56" Published: Great Model 53" Railroads 2002 57" Scale: HO (1:87.1) Walnut Gap Treskova 1 Plan size: 8 x 20 feet 53" Three staging tracks Port Carbon Minimum radius: 24" Pennsylvania RR 54" Autumn Park interchange Minimum turnout: no. 6 Water column Phil’s Church Stone arch bridge Girder bridge Maximum grade: 2.5 55" 56" percent 55" 57" 55"

Scale of plan: 7⁄32" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Rick Johnson As your train runs counter-clockwise but also through the four seasons of a summer or fall for their layouts around this layout, you will be moving year. Spring is always in full bloom in because it’s easy to landscape, but a not only through scenery depicting Port Carbon, while it’s always winter well-done winter scene can have a Northeastern coal-mining territory, in Phil’s Church. Many modelers pick beauty of its own.

2 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces Bay Point & Diablo Closet Diablo Oxidizer Water General Amulite Mill unloading tank store Diablo Entrance Published: May 2005 1 Water Scale: On2 ⁄2 (1:48) tank Plan size: 11 x 12 feet 58" 2 Minimum radius: 24" Minimum turnout: no. 4 563⁄4" (yard), no. 5 (main) Maximum grade: 5 percent Freight depot 52" Freight dock Clyde Minnetti Machinery Diablo Narrow gauge railroading appeals to Creek Hastings a lot of modelers for different reasons. Slough Some like the look of the intricate steam engines and rugged terrain that Bay Point Amulite plant characterize many such lines. Others Oxidizer loading like that the smaller rolling stock and tighter curves allow them to pack more railroad into a smaller space. Bay Point Modelers who want the size and detail Sierra Stoneworks of O scale, but don’t have an empire- 1 2 53 ⁄ " yard Water tank sized space for their layouts, often find 1 Enginehouse a compromise in narrow gauge. This 49 ⁄2" On21 ⁄2 plan models a short line linking Rock RIP track loader mine country to a port city. Oil tank 503⁄4" 48" 61" Cowell Junction Backdrop

Window Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Robert Wegner

Butterﬁeld Road Aptakisic To lower level staging loop Feed mill 0" 7" 6" Wisconsin Central Grayslake Medline Industries Oil tanks Published: October 2005 Seigle’s Home Cedar Lake Scale: N (1:160) & Building Center 6" Plan size: 11 x 13 feet Boarded-up Metra 3 7" interlocking station Minimum radius: 14" tower Minimum turnout: no. 5 8" Maximum grade: 4 percent 1" Leithton Wolohan Lumber 6" 8" Hicksgas Super Fuels Signal Evanston house Fuel & Material Just because your trains are small Lake doesn’t mean your scenery has to be. Villa This plan models the broad vistas of Water tower 5" Midwestern farm country in 1995. The modest space requirements of N scale Cedar Avenue State Route 83 means room for big industries, forested hills, farm fields, a working Parade Olympic North Shore Gas Packaging Mundelein Packaging interchange, and even a stretch of 2" suburban commuter line. Double- U.S. Route 45 3" 5" ended staging looped under the 4" central peninsula allows realistic point-to-point operations. Team track Alan Josephson Recyclers Metra/CP Rail sneakoff Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Kellie Jaeger

www.ModelRailroader.com 3 Station Mining Co. Stockyard Brewery

Onion Valley 61" Mining & Lumber 61" 61" Published: July 2005 Traverser Turntable Water tower Freight dock Scale: HO and HOn21 ⁄2 (1:87.1) Lone Pine 4 Plan size: 14 x 20 feet Manzanar Independence Minimum radius: 18" Mining Standard gauge Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Minimum turnout: no. 5 supply Narrow gauge building Maximum grade: 4 percent Tub Springs Mining supply Seven Pines Inyo Mine Freight house building stamp mill

Another Southwestern mining 54" railroad like plan 2, the Onion Valley 70" is two layouts in one: the standard gauge main line in the valley, and the narrow gauge mountain line that delivers ore to the stamp mill. The line is designed to fit around two walls of a 57" garage. If the layout is mounted high enough, a modeler could suspend the Oudama Howe Deck Water Trestle Atlas end of the peninsula from the ceiling, Mine truss bridge tower bridge leaving room for a sports car to park bridge underneath. Staging on a traversing Grays Meadow Great Balsa table represents connections to the gold mine 54" outside world. Lumber storage

Onion Valley

Onion Valley Sawmill

Freight and passenger station Water tower

Turntable Future extension Kearsarge Prokhorovsk Pass

Published: November 2005 Tower Scale: HO (1:87.1) Main line to St. Petersburg 5 Plan size: 11'-4" x 13'-8" (used as staging) Illustration by Jay Smith Minimum radius: 30" Window (partially Diesel shed Minimum turnout: Peco large covered by radius backdrop) Prokhorovsk Open Double-slip staging switch Building Rather than focusing on industry ﬂats switching or mainline operations, this Local arrivals layout models a passenger terminal at and departures the end of a branch line or division. Mainline arrivals Terminal operations involve receiving and departures incoming trains from various off- Baggage/mail layout locations, breaking them down platform in the coach yard, and making up new trains for other destinations. Though Prokhorovsk station this layout is based on Russia’s Soviet building ﬂat October Ry., it could easily represent Folding closet doors an American or European prototype.

Illustration by Jay Smith Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid

4 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces Staging tracks hidden behind hill Depot Town building ﬂats Western Maryland’s Thomas Sub. 11" radius Elkins Engine Car shop leads terminal Cutoff track Published: July 2008 hidden behind 6 Parsons Depot Scale: N (1:160) Shaver’s hills Plan size: 12 x 12 feet Fork, Minimum radius: 11" Cheat River Minimum turnout: Peco medium radius Elk River To Webster Junction Springs

To Durbin Gould Tannery Cheat Sometimes, the prototype scene that Junction inspires a layout isn’t a yard, an Sector plate Cumberland industry, or a city, but simply an and Webster serves all Greenbrier staging tracks Springs staging 60 degree interesting track formation. This Junction plan’s inspiration is the Western crossing Maryland’s river-spanning triple junction in the Shaver’s Fork Branch valley of West Virginia. Backdrops Scale of plan: 1⁄4 " = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Kellie Jaeger isolate scenes, lengthening the run.

Hevonkuusi Ry.

Published: November 2007 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Plan size: 9'-2" x 13'-9" 7 Industries Minimum radius: 23" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Scale of plan: 1⁄2" = 1'-0", 12" grid

Although this plan was designed to represent a prototype in Finland, it’s versatile enough to stand in for a line along America’s Eastern seaboard. The streetcar line circling the urban blocks adds interest. Hiding the back of the dogbone under elevated terrain makes the railroad look more realistic.

Double-slip switch Factory Footbridge

Loading dock Boat dock Hevonkuuski Station 0" Roundhouse Woodshed

Water tower Staging track under scenery Tramway Backdrop Illustration by Theo Cobb

www.ModelRailroader.com 5 Central New Mexico Ry. 55"

Mining 661⁄4" Mine Published: July-December supply 2006 company 583⁄4" 1 8 Scale: On3 and On2 ⁄2 (1:48) Coaling dock Transfer Plan size: 11'-3" x 17'-2" track Water tank Minimum radius: 28" 55" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 8 percent On3 On21⁄2

Tipple 63" Handcar shed Falls Creek What is it about the Southwestern Steel Falls United States that fascinates so many Team track viaduct Creek model railroaders? Maybe it’s the Rio Seco stark, rocky terrain, the interesting Boardwalk narrow gauge rolling stock, or the 55" Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid importance of the role the railroads played in the development of the West. This plan hits all the high points. Illustration by Theo Cobb Though not much On3 equipment is commercially available, manufactur- ers sell kits for converting On21 ⁄2 rolling stock to On3.

Ozark, Ouachita Kendel County & Red River Creosote Co. Published: April 2004 Gravel pit Oil Diana well Scale: HO (1:87.1) 9 Fisher’s Oil Junction Plan size: 10 x 14 feet Meats distributor Oil well Minimum radius: 24" Lumberyard Minimum turnout: no. 4 Feed mill Future industries Diana Cherokee Tilghman Paper Mill The designer of this layout drew Textiles inspiration from a track plan pub- Lafayette lished in Model Railroader in February 1980. Starting with executive editor Tilghman Andy Sperandeo’s San Jacinto District plan, the designer broadened the curves, extended the staging into the closet and added a lift-out bridge for Future continuous operation. He also moved industries the locale from California to Arkan- sas. However, this plan could be set Smith Lumber To OO&RR Co. Sawmill anyplace from Alaska to Virginia. main line To St. Louis Southwestern Closet interchange Staging

Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Jay Smith

6 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces Dead track Denver, Rio Grande & Southern Closet Snowshed Published: Great Model Ridgway depot 10 Railroads 2001 Scale: Sn3 (1:64) Ash pit Plan size: 11 x 14 feet Ofﬁce Minimum radius: 30" Bunkhouse Minimum turnout: no. 6 Tool shed Ridgeway Miracle Farm Machinery Co.

S scale, popularized in the United States by American Flyer toy trains, is Roundhouse gaining favor with modelers looking for more detail than HO scale without Jacks Cabin water tank the space requirements of O. Modeling Sheep Burnside narrow gauge further reduces the pens HOn3 track Stamp Mill Cattle pens space needed for curves and right-of- way, making a room-sized layout like this one practical.

Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Kellie Jaeger

Mt. Michael Rio Verde Nn3 layouts like this one use Z gauge (removable for track and mechanisms to represent access to helix) & Western three-foot-gauge railroading. Z gauge 4 percent up track actually works out to about 40" Published: Great Model between the rails in N, but the conve- Track Railroads 2001 nience of being able to use ready-made maintenance 11 Scale: N and Nn3 (1:160) motor mechanisms outweighs the shed Plan size: 10'-8" x 15'-4" four-scale-inch discrepancy. Unlike 0" Minimum radius: 7" many mixed-gauge layouts, on this Minimum turnout: no. 5 one the narrow gauge is the main line 9" 0" Maximum grade: 5 percent and the electrified standard gauge line plays the secondary role. Engine shed 5" Rio Verde 8"

Station Yardmaster’s ofﬁce Freight depot Electriﬁed standard gauge Freight house Narrow gauge Coal and lumber Big O Cereal Co. Staceyville Mesa Grande Tri-state Distributors Warehouse 5 percent up Depot Engine shed Freight depot Station Engine servicing 0" 2 percent up Furniture Rio Verde River 4" factory 0" 6" 6" 8"

Deadman’s Gulch trestle To staging loop under Mesa Grande Scale of plan: 7⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Jay Smith

www.ModelRailroader.com 7 Rudy Open mountain top for access Arkansas 4 & Missouri 5 6 0 0 Published: February 1999 Steel trestle no. 2 Arkansas Fort Smith Scale: N (1:160) River (Visible staging) 3 Steel 12 Plan size: 9 x 16 feet Union Paciﬁc interchange trestle Winslow Minimum radius: 10" 1 no. 1 Minimum turnout: no. 8 1 Depot Springdale Passenger Maximum grade: 6 percent depot Engine- Backdrop house

2 This railroad climbs a steep grade as 5 it ascends through the Ozarks. High 3 1 ridges and trees act as view blocks for Scale of plan: ⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid 4 most of the steepest grades. There are enough operating possibilities to keep two or more engineers busy at once. Illustration by Robert Wegner

North Hollywood Van Nuys Miller Beer distributor Los Angeles

Future & San Fernando extension Valley RR Tradewater Cyclone Strongheart Oil Co. Fence Co. Dog Food Citrus packinghouse Coast Published: Great Model Scrapyard Division Railroads 2006 13 Scale: HO (1:87.1) 48" radius Plan size: 9'-6" x 23'-0" Minimum radius: 48" Burbank Branch Minimum turnout: no. 6 Highway overpass

Burbank Junction Sunland Sun Valley Highway Burbank Boulevard Burbank Tower Boulevard San Joaquin Division overpass

Burbank Freight Depot General Water Heater Co. Los Angeles Division Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Theo Cobb This layout began as a 5-foot-long, another and another. Building a layout simplified, and pieces can be photo- 1-foot-wide shelf with a single stretch in sections has advantages: sections graphed outside in natural daylight. It of track. That shelf was followed by can be built on the workbench, also simplifies transporting the layout, another, this time with turnouts, then maintenance and cleaning are should moving become necessary.

Machine Coal Forge Head- Machine shop preparation Coal Open quarters Water Elevator 30" The Schuylkill shop annex building bin hearth ofﬁces tower Stoves Cast house radius Iron Works

Published: May 2008 14 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Plan size: 4 x 21 feet Minimum radius: 15" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maintenance Storage Oil Pump Power Forge Stripper Furnace Blower Furnace building building tanks house substation power building boiler house stock house house house 1 Scale of plan: ⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Theo Cobb If your industry is big enough, like an Pennsylvania RR main line on this laden with ore, coal, coke, hot metal, iron works, you might need a whole track plan, but the focus of this 1920s- slag, ingots, and finished product layout to depict it accurately. There’s a era layout is on the movement of cars from building to building.

8 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces MODEL RAILROADER EDITOR’S CHOICE Milwaukee transfer Cement track Pekin Dakota Northern RR

Published: April 2000 Northern Depot Mill Sand & Scale: N (1:160) Seed & Feed track Gravel Warwick 15 Plan size: 12'-0" x 13'-6" Cargill elevator Sheyenne Minimum radius: 15" Valley City Minimum turnout: no. 4 Red River Feeds Maximum grade: 1.5 Soo Line Farmer’s Depot Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid percent transfer Cooperative Freight house

Gamble Since I’m originally from the part of RIP track Robinson the country this layout is based on, it Devils Farmers Lake should be no surprise I selected the Union grain Dakota Northern as my Editor’s Depot Fairview Choice pick. This layout features grain Soo Line Fertilizer elevators, fertilizer plants, and feed transfer Texaco Oil mills, all common industries in Elevator Pillsbury elevator track 2 Caboose eastern North Dakota. There are also track Freight house Elevator passenger depots, interchange tracks, track 1 Lakota and a large classification yard to add operating interest. Though this model railroad is based on the Burlington Northern, it could be adapted to represent numerous granger railroads. – Cody Grivno, associate editor Soo Line staging Depot Grand Forks staging Minot staging Marvin Windows Power plant Illustration by Theo Cobb

CB&Q Doorway Wabash RR, A Decatur Division,

0" A Open 10th District access Mississippi River area To return loop Published: December 2000 East Hannibal 4" 16 Depot Scale: HO (1:87.1) Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Plan size: 12 x 13 feet Minimum radius: 24" Bluffs Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Hulls

Illinois Grain Co. This layout captures the last hurrah of the Wabash, just before its identity CB&Q Keokuk District CB&Q depot was swallowed in a merger with the 4" To Meredosia Norfolk & Western in October 1967. (11th District) Wayne Feeds It’s designed for out-and-back opera- Valley City Illinois River tion, with trains originating in the Purina yard at Bluffs, Ill., making their way Baylis Depot Signal across the Mississippi River into 2" Missouri, turning on the hidden loop there, and returning.

Illustration by Kellie Jaeger

www.ModelRailroader.com 9 MODEL RAILROADER Jim Robbins Seat Belt Co. EDITOR’S CHOICE

Ford Vinyl Grand Trunk & Paint Western, Romeo Ex-NYC interchange Subdivision Great Lakes Tractor Lumber Published: October 2003 17 Scale: O (1:48) Stoney Creek Plan size: 11 x 15 feet GTW shops Armada Minimum radius: 36" (main), Romeo 24" (staging) Purina Service Minimum turnout: no. 5 Romeo depot Maximum grade: 2 percent Armada Co-op Converted Yates Siding NYC depot

Growing up in the 1980s, I watched Grand Trunk Geeps haul locals behind my grandparents’ farm in Armada, Mich. Modeling a line that features four-axle diesels, short trains, and slow train speeds is a great way to get the most operation out of a limited amount of space. Richard Cooke’s clever track plan fits several industries, an interchange Pontiac track, a branch line, and a staging Staging yard yard with a turntable into a modest in closet space. – Dana Kawala, senior editor Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Robert Wegner

South Central Who says you have to settle on only ning the sidings on the two railroads one prototype? Many cities, even small so that the industries and yards they Minnesota RR ones like Owatonna, Minn., were serve overlap as little as possible keeps served by two or more railroads. This engineers from getting in each other’s Published: November 2005 HO scale layout depicts the Chicago & way during an operating session. And 18 Scale: HO (1:87.1) North Western and Milwaukee Road the continuous ovals allow one road to Plan size: 7'-6" x 22'-6" lines through that farm town. Plan- run unattended during solo operation. Minimum radius: 26" Minimum turnout: no. 4

Milwaukee Road Gandy Co. Sampson Owatonna Feed Hwy. Chicago & North Western 218 Substation Dairy Houses Metal shop Canning Co. store Drop-hinge Union Baggage Grain Feed Quonset County bridge Depot house elevator mill building Rd. 45 Straight River Gravel pits

House

Lumberyard Freight house Malt-O- Gas station Canning Farm Meal company plant Medford depot Cemetery

Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Theo Cobb 10 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces MODEL RAILROADER Phillips Furniture Scodras Grocers Wingate Wholesalers EDITOR’S CHOICE

Holy Spirits Meek Tunnel Distilleries Boston & Maine: Western Route, North Dover, N.H.

Freight Depot Marshall Outbound station Inbound Published: Great Model (from Boston) (to Boston) Creamery 19 Railroads 2004 North Dover New England Scale: HO (1:87.1) Haney Fuels River Plan size: 11 x 13 feet Boston & Maine Maine Central Minimum radius: 31" Conley Minimum turnout: no. 6 Lumber Mitchell F. B. Hamer and Coal Creek & Sons Salmon As long as you don’t mind the duck- River Tower under to enter the room, this model railroad provides some great operation. Mike Hamer designed it for a room in his home, and the layout B&M features two distinct scenes separated staging MEC by view blocks. Mike didn’t model a staging prototype town, but instead combined Door and Tower parts of some of his favorite New duckunder Hidden staging

England railroad places to make Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid North Dover. To gain staging space, Illustration by Theo Cobb Mike wrapped tracks around the perimeter of the layout, hiding them from view with hills and structures. The abundance of staging provides plenty of work for his operators. – David Popp, managing editor

N.A.S.A. Mining Co. J.F. Machine Shop Montreal & Northern Ry.

Published: January 2007 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Plan size: 10'-4" x 12'-6" 20 Minimum radius: 18" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 11 percent

Pont Saint Bob’s Bed & Kevin Hot Dogs Breakfast Control panel 39" level G.L. Bicycles The two loops of this urban plan 36" level Dan Corp. connect only with track concealed behind buildings. This allows a single J-P Printing Co. operator to let one train run unat- Furlow Center tended on the upper level while switching the local on the lower. Tall, Milwaukee Beer distributor densely packed structures combine with partial buildings, background Warehouse flats, and a photo backdrop to give one Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid end of the compact layout the look of a truly massive city. Photo backdrop Mirror

Illustration by Rick Johnson www.ModelRailroader.com 11 West stub View block Ash Grove Subdivision Depot Structures used as view block Springfield, Mo., on the Frisco

Passenger Published: December 2003 yard 21 Scale: N (1:160) Plan size: 12'-6" x 12'-6" Springﬁeld Nichols Memphis Subdivision Minimum radius: 10" Junction main line Springﬁeld Minimum turnout: no. 5 Yard Industry Commissary

Sleeper set West out track staging X marks the spot at Nichols Junction, Station where four subdivisions of the St. Freight Louis-San Francisco Ry. intersected. Depot house This track plan models Frisco opera- Oil tanks tions in and around Springfield, Mo., SPRINGFIELD Republic in the 1950s, when sleek passenger Dock trains shared the rails with through Printing and local freights. Business blocks and East belt line plant Industry wooded hills hide the fact that the Willow Springs East Structures used four legs of the X form a figure eight, Subdivision staging as view block as well as disguising the staging yards at both ends of the shelf.

Lebanon Subdivision

Illustration by Rick Johnson Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid

Joshua Fishman’s Valley Derby Carm Fabric Mill American Shoe Mattress Co. Tool Foundry Waterbury Branch of the New Haven

Published: January 1999 Brewery Scale: HO (1:87.1) Burke Plan size: 10 x 13 feet 22 Industries Lift bridge Minimum radius: 23" Elevated station Minimum turnout: no. 5 Yankee Short Brass City Maximum grade: 3 percent Manufacturing wall Diner (below) Hotel Waste Westﬁeld- Treatment Klein Co. Computer This railroad’s designer sought to table Collett’s Cannery make his small layout look like a big E. L. Woods Manufacturing city. Layers of tall structures, kit- Sprague bashed to fit between adjacent tracks, Gutter Co. create the look of a much larger urban area. He also doesn’t let track over- whelm the layout, keeping the main to a single track and hiding some tracks Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid under hills and behind buildings.

Illustration by Kellie Jaeger

12 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces Lift bridge Puyallup River Canning Co. Olympic & Puget 50" Sound Ry. Lighthouse 46"

Published: March 2007 46" American Scale: HO (1:87.1) Kent Coal Co. 23 Plan size: 15'-0" x 16'-4" Boathouse Minimum radius: 24" Duckunder Enginehouse Depot Minimum turnout: no. 4 Depot Maximum grade: 2.5 Wyman TACOMA Lumber Co. percent Puget Yakima Fruit Growers Mills Lake Quinault There’s a lot of main line in this track Sawmill Icing platform plan, but it doesn’t look crowded. 46" 50" Linking distant parts of the layout Access 46" hatch Foundry Coal tower with track hidden in tunnels maxi- mizes the mainline run while leaving lots of room for realistic scenery, from 46" urban blocks to rugged mountains. 50" 46" Keeping hard-to-reach track, includ- Duckunder ing most hidden tracks and those on Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid the far side of a shelf from the opera- Illustration by Rick Johnson and Roen Kelly tor, to single track without turnouts Georgetown reduces access problems and reduces the chance of derailments.

MODEL RAILROADER EDITOR’S CHOICE 48" Workbench

New Haven’s Union Freight RR Cape Cod Branch

Published: October 2006 Boston yard Scale: HO (1:87.1) Boston 24 Plan size: 12'-6" x 20'-0" Minimum radius: 26" Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 1.5 Province- Passenger town percent platform

Maybe it’s because I grew up around 105-foot turntable water, but I’ve always been fascinated by seaside railroads. The interchange 90-foot of cargo between ships and trains, the turntable visual interest of bridges and trestles, Hyannis and the many different ways to model 49" water also add to the appeal. This plan by John Pryke has all of Cranberry those elements, from Boston Harbor 49" bogs to the lift bridge over the Cape Cod Canal. That bridge’s 544-foot span was 48" a record-setter at the time it was built, Buzzards Orleans and is almost mandatory for a layout Bay Cape Cod like this. Canal When that bridge was built in 1933, bridge Yarmouth wye its weight limits prevented its use by heavier engines developed later. 48" Similar restrictions can be used to add to the operating challenges of any railroad. – Steven Otte, associate editor Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Roen Kelly

www.ModelRailroader.com 13 Black Rock &

Marmot 50" A 49" Published: December 1999 Able Pottery Oil City Marmot A Scale: N (1:160) Station Distributors Manufacturing 25 Center Plan size: 14 x 14 feet Stern Marmot Peak Minimum radius: 18" 47" Center Creek Minimum turnout: no. 8 Meek’s Supply Chad’s Chairs Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Pete’s Produce Black Rock Industries Summit This freelanced railroad is set in the mountains of northern California. 50" Judicious use of tunnels keeps the Black Rock track from crowding out the terrain, which stretches from the forest to the high desert. The tunnels also disguise the mainline loop, making the track seem like a more realistic point-to- 48" Summit Ridge Black Rock point operation. Stopping a train Lumber 48" briefly in a tunnel can also increase End of Westen Meg’s Mine the virtual distance between stations. scenery

Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid 47" Closet door removed Staging and Southern Paciﬁc interchange

Kabinett Engine tracks Santa Fe, 50" Needles District

Illustration by Rick Johnson Published: September 2002 Scale: N (1:160) 26 Plan size: 9'-8" x 20'-0" Minimum radius: 151 ⁄2" This railroad is designed for the adjacent room, means the ability to Minimum turnout: no. 6 modeler who has a lot of motive power run plenty of trains. Gentle curves on Maximum grade: 2 percent and wants to show it off. Big yards at the double-tracked main line show off both ends, backed up by staging in an long trains to their best advantage.

Shell Oil reﬁnery Komo’s NEEDLES Station Scrapyard Lee Way Fuel and sand Needles Desert U.S. Trucking roundhouse Garage Anne’s Transfer Diner Cement Rt. 66 Highway bridge door

3 UP staging tracks (elevated)

14 AT&SF staging tracks UP to Salt Dry wash UP 4-track staging under peninsula Lake City Santa Fe Service Diesel 40-foot trailer Highway Daggett diesel house shed fuel pads storage BARSTOW Station bridge

Duckunder

Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Kellie Jaeger

14 28 track plans for medium-sized spaces MODEL RAILROADER EDITOR’S CHOICE

This track plan depicts a layout built beyond-the-layout connections to other Maryland & Penn- by modeler Stan White. I had the railroads. Despite its short mainline sylvania, Pennsyl- pleasure of operating it a couple of run, the layout supported realistic vania Division times, so I can attest that it was operation. Stan’s layout design satisfies faithful to its prototype, a well-known many of my own criteria for a success- Eastern short line, and a lot of fun. ful model railroad, including walk-in Published: December 2005 The main line ran from the stub-end access, representation of an interesting 27 Scale: HO (1:87.1) terminal at York, Pa., to a reverse loop prototype, and a realistic operating Plan size: 8'-8" x 22'-0" with storage sidings hidden beneath scheme. The layout’s sharp curves, 18" Minimum radius: 18" York, representing the “Ma & Pa’s” radius in HO scale, were no hindrance Minimum turnout: no. 4 big-city terminal in Baltimore. to the Ma & Pa’s small locomotives Maximum grade: 2 percent Besides the off-stage loop, interchange and short passenger cars. – Andy tracks at York provided additional Sperandeo, executive editor

Peach Bottom Branch to Slate Hill Depot Red Lion, Pa.

Removable staging for Depot Pennsylvania RR and Western Delta, Maryland interchange Pa. York, Pa. Cardiff, Coal Slate To Baltimore Water (staging) Md. Ash pit Hill, Pa. 38" 45.5"

Relay, Pa. Depot Depot Scale of plan: 3⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Robert Wegner and Rick Johnson

Backdrop Farmhouse and barn Santa Fe depot Oak Grove, Ill. Hatch B Hatch C Hatch D on the Missouri, Abandoned Hatch A quarry Kansas & Quincy Field

MKQ/Atchison, Published: June 2005 Topeka & Santa Fe 28 Scale: HO (1:87.1) double track to Plan size: 6'-9" x 16'-0", plus Link, Colo. Field off-layout staging Minimum radius: 30" CSX Farm shed CSX (ex-B&O) depot Tractor CSX (B&O) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Babe’s Diner dealer Grain elevators CSX (B&O) To Sedalia, The interchange between two Class 1 Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 12" grid Colo., railroads at a Midwestern town is the MKQ/ATSF focus of this plan. Grain elevators and other agricultural-themed businesses help place this railroad in Illinois. Illustration by Robert Wegner This plan could be part of a larger layout, although it provides plenty of operating interest on its own.