5Compact Track Plans
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HO AND N SCALE PLANS • LISTS OF MATERIALS A SUPPLEMENT TO MODEL RAILROADER MAGAZINE MAGAZINE 5 COMPACT TRACK PLANS 618088 Scale: 1"=1'-0" The Chippewa Central An HO scale railroad built with sectional track By Jim Hediger You can pack a lot of model railroad- he Chippewa Central is a fictional The grade and upper level ing fun into a small space, and in this Minnesota short line connecting Building the grade and upper level is booklet we’ll show you five ways to do it. Ttwo small agricultural towns with the only tricky part of this railroad. The plans featured here have all appeared the outside world in the mid-1950s. Carefully mark the track locations and in MODEL RAILROADER Magazine. Minnesota Junction is the interchange then saw the entire Clara City loop out Each one has a unique theme, and all connection with the Great Northern. of the tabletop. Use 1 x 4 spacer blocks contain a key element of modern model Then the Chippewa Central (CHC) to raise it above the main layout level. railroad design – “fiddle” or “staging” heads northeast through Granite Falls Another cut makes it easy to start yards. Simply put, these simulate con- and up a long grade at Maynard to the grade just past the switches at May- nections with “the rest of the world” reach the end of the line at Clara City. nard siding. Gradually raise and sup- beyond our layouts. Track plans are Meat packing provides most of the port the track until it reaches the height jumping off points, so don’t feel you CHC’s traffic. The Andresen Farms stock- of a 1 x 4 spacer block near the bridge have to conform to every line and illus- yard is the major shipper at Clara City, abutment. Try to make the track level tration. We hope these plans inspire you but there’s also a grain elevator and a fuel for the last foot or so before the bridge. to start building a layout. And remem- dealer. Granite Falls is home to the Pio- Cut the remaining roadbed for the ber, this is a hobby, so have fun! neer Packing Co. and an icing plant. upper level from another piece of ply- wood and support it on wood blocks. Benchwork 1 CONTENTS A single 4 x 8-foot sheet of ⁄2" ply- Wiring wood is the basis for many beginners’ Insulated joints and feeder connec- Chippewa Central . .4 layouts, but in this case, a 2 x 4-foot tions are shown for operating the rail- Atlanta Central . .6 addition provides space for a lot more road from a conventional DC power Pike City Belt Line . .8 creativity. Wood screws will work well pack. Two reverse loops are involved. Northeastern Alberta Rys. .10 to attach the plywood to the framing. Maynard siding should be wired so a Kootenay Lake Navigation Co. .12 Bolt the sections together so they can second train can be held there until it’s be separated for moving or expansion. needed to switch cars at the junction. 4 GREATESTHOBBY.COM Bill of materials Atlas Model Railroad Co. Code 100 Snap-Track 821 9" straight (34) 822 6" straight (5) 823 3" straight (4) 1 825 1 ⁄2" straight (1) 833 18"-radius curve (18) 1 834 ⁄2 18"-radius curve (1) 1 835 ⁄3 18"-radius curve (3) 836 22"-radius curve (26) 843 bumper (2) Code 100 Snap-Switches 860 left-hand manual (2) 861 right-hand manual (1) Code 100 Custom-Line switches 283 no. 6 left-hand manual (2) 284 no. 6 right-hand manual (3) Midwest Products Co. 3013 cork roadbed (25 3-foot pieces) Rix Products 101 vintage highway bridge (2) ILLUSTRATIONS BY RICK JOHNSON Walthers 3036 rural grain elevator (1) 3048 packing plant (1) 3047 stockyard (2) 3049 icing plant (1) Lumber 1 4 x 8 sheet of ⁄2" plywood (1) 1 2 x 4 sheet of ⁄2" plywood (2) 8-foot pine 1 x 4s (10) 6-foot pine 2 x 4s (4) 8-foot pine 1 x 2s (6) Hardware 3 1 ⁄16"x2⁄2" bolts (14) 3 ⁄16" x 3" bolts (legs, 16) 3 ⁄16" nuts (30) 3 ⁄16" washers (30) 1 1 ⁄8" drywall screws (100-count box) Scenery thick so be careful to maintain a mini- color scheme and engine number, but Most of this layout’s scenery should mum clearance of 3" between the bot- paint over the name and add CHC ini- be gently rolling hills with some foliage tom of the bridge deck and the railheads tials on the cab with decals. and level town areas. The raised grade below it. should be built on a fill with occasional The remaining structures aren’t spec- It’s your railroad retaining walls near the bridges. ified as there are numerous possibilities Like most track plans, this one’s Minnesota doesn’t have a lot of tun- that will fit. Both towns should include intended to get your creative juices nels, so the portals under Clara City six or eight small businesses. flowing. While our layout follows a spe- should be camouflaged. Install a highway cific theme, there’s no reason why it bridge across the front of each portal and Equipment couldn’t be turned into a mining rail- add foliage on top of the tunnel behind it Short lines generally operate with road, a logging and lumber system, or so the train seems to disappear into a cut. locomotives acquired from a nearby even a tourist line. It all depends upon larger railroad. In this case, a single the character you provide through the Structures EMD GP7 or a yard switcher from the equipment and structures you put on A Central Valley truss bridge is used GN or any of the other nearby railroads the railroad. Be creative and try new 3 for the long span. This bridge’s deck is ⁄4" would be perfect. Retain the original ideas. After all, it’s your railroad! 1 FIVE COMPACT TRACK PLANS 5 The Atlanta Central An HO layout designed for operation By Keith Thompson hen most model railroaders start Operation in a small area cars will look and operate better on tight out they just want to watch trains The HO scale Atlanta Central is curves. Small steam locomotives such as Wrun around an oval of track on a designed to start out as an oval for run- 2-8-0 Consolidations and 2-8-2 Mikados 4 x 8-foot sheet of plywood. ning trains. But as your interests evolve, or early diesels such F3s or NW2s will Often this layout is rebuilt or the layout has a lot to offer opera- work best for the same reason. scrapped because watching trains going tionally with its interlocking crossing The premise behind the Atlanta Cen- around a basic oval of track gets . and interchange yard. tral is that it’s a terminal railroad well, boring! Model railroaders want Because of the tight curves on the wholly owned by the Southern Ry. operation to keep their interest up after Atlanta Central (18" minimum radius), Since the Southern really owned several the scenery, buildings, and details are we’ll set the era in the late 1940s when subsidiaries like this, the scheme is in place. freight cars were shorter. Those smaller quite plausible. Atlas Model Railroad Co. Code 83 nickel-silver track 500 36" flex (4) 520 9" straight (23) 532 18" radius (3) 535 22" radius (10) 540 left-hand remote Snap-Switch (6) 541 right-hand remote Snap-Switch (6) 553 terminal joiners (14) 577 90-degree crossing Unmarked sections are 9" straights or 18"-radius curves 3 Scale: ⁄4"=1'-0" ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROBERT WEGNER 6 GREATESTHOBBY.COM Freight cars are exchanged between river base. Make the river banks from be yards, staging tracks, or even more- the Southern and the Atlanta & West plaster-soaked gauze covered by a finish elaborate trackage running along the Point through the interchange yard coat of Sculptamold. High-gloss varnish walls of the room to other destinations. near the crossing. Locomotives from or two-part resins such as Enviro-Tex Let your imagination be your guide, both roads can be seen working in the will make convincing water. and the Atlanta Central can be as great yard, but the Atlanta Central is the only as the city it’s named after. 1 road that delivers cars from the yard to Trackwork the local industries. All of the track is Atlas code 83 Snap- Track and flextrack. I chose the code 83 Construction techniques track (the rail is .083" high) because it Structures Building the Atlanta Central is really looks more prototypical than code 100 straightforward, with a 4 x 8-foot sheet (.100" high). Besides, lighter rail is more 1. Atlas 704 signal tower (Howell of plywood resting on a frame of 1 x 4s appropriate for the 1940s. Tower) that is supported by sawhorses or book- The Atlas 90-degree crossing helps 2. Campbell 303 curved trestle cases. The detail drawing below shows increase the prototypical operations of 3. Wm. K. Walthers 933-3095 the basic benchwork. the layout. The crossing, located near Railway Express Agency The only tricky part of the bench- Howell Tower, is where the A&WP 4. Wm. K. Walthers 933-3029 work is making the river. Cut out the crosses the Southern Ry. Both of these Merchant’s Row II plywood where the river goes, remove railroads provide interchange traffic for 5. Design Preservation Models 119 1 1 ⁄2" of the exposed 1 x 4s, and refasten the Atlanta Central.