Name: Aksarben Road/ATSF Wishbone Division Layout designer: John Armstrong Scale: O (1:48) Size: 26 x 32 feet Theme: freelanced short line and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe branch line Locale: Colorado and New Mexico Era: Sunday, May 27, 1951 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 202 feet Minimum radius: 42″ (Aksarben), 48″ (Santa Fe) Minimum turnout: no. […]
Model Railroader readers first encountered a track plan designed by John Armstrong in 1952. John became popular, and dozens of his designs were published in magazines and books, earning him the title “dean of track planners.” He died in 2004. John’s style was fully “out of the box” for the time. You might wonder if […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page This Tracks Ahead segment visits a retired CSX engineer’s O gauge layout and extensive collection of prototype signaling equipment. More details about David Downton’s three-rail layout appear in the May 2014 issue of Classic Toy Trains magazine. […]
Name: Nickel Plate Road, St. Louis Division Layout designer: Tony Koester Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 24′-6″ x 60′-6″ Theme: high-speed flatlands railroading Locale: west-central Indiana, east-central Illinois Era: fall 1954 Style: multi-deck Mainline run: 500 feet Minimum radius: 42″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (yard), no. 8 (main) Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Originally appeared in the […]
Name: Bona Vista RR Layout designer: Gerry Leone Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 14′-6″ x 30′-0″ Prototype: freelance Locale: northern Wisconsin and Minnesota Period: 1953 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 1 percent Originally appeared in Great Model Railroads 2015. Click on the link to download […]
Name: Burnt Hills & Big Flats RR Layout designer: Steve Prevette Scale: N (1:160) Size: 20 x 30 feet Prototype: inspired by NYO&W Locale: northern Pennsylvania and central New York Period: June 5, 1970 Style: Around the walls with peninsulas Mainline run: 203 feet Minimum radius: 12″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 percent […]
Name: Southern Pacific Tehachapi Subdivision Layout designer: Jerry Davis Scale: O (1:48) Size: 28 x 45 feet Prototype: Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Locale: Bakersfield to Mojave, Calif. Era: 1952-1954 Style: multiple-deck walk-in Mainline run: 450 feet Minimum radius: 72″ (main), 66″ (staging) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Originally […]
Name: Terminal of Toledo RR Layout designer: Doug Tagsold Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 39 x 39 feet Prototype: Toledo Terminal RR, serving Amtrak, Ann Arbor, Chessie System, Conrail, Detroit & Toledo Shore Line, and Norfolk & Western Locale: Toledo, Ohio Period: summer 1979 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 250 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum […]
Name: Wheeling & Lake Erie Ry., Ohio River Division Layout designer: Jim Talbott Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 27 x 44 feet (in three rooms) Prototype: Wheeling & Lake Erie Ry. Locale: southeastern Ohio, West Virginia Period: 2007 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 115 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (main), 24″ (industrial) Minimum turnout: no. 6, no. 4 in […]
Name: Leadville & Red Cliff (LARC) Layout designer: Bill and Steve Brown Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 25 x 40 feet Prototype: Union Pacific (lower level), Rio Grande Southern and Denver & Rio Grande (upper) Locale: Central and Southern Colorado Era: Modern day (lower level), 1949 (upper) Style: walkaround Mainline run: 300 feet (standard gauge), 75 feet (narrow […]
Name: East Broad Top RR Layout designer: Ron Pearson Scale: HOn3 (1:87.1, 3-foot gauge) Size: 24 x 33 feet Prototype: East Broad Top RR Locale: South-central Pennsylvania Era: late 1940s Style: multiple deck walk-in Mainline run: 170 feet Minimum radius: 22″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 3.1 percent Originally appeared in the October 2014 […]
Name: Tennessee Midland Ry. Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 30 x 40 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: West Virginia and Tennessee Era: mid-1980s Style: Walk around Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 40 inches Minimum turnout: no. 6 mainline, no. 4 siding Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Originally appeared in the October 2014 Model Railroader. Click on the […]
