Tracks-010, Issue #10 -- Model Railroading Newsletter

July, 2020

Building Your Model Railroad

Newsletter - July, 2020

Nighttime in the Train Room (Photo from the Blue Ridge and Southern Model Railroad)

WELCOME to the July, 2020 issue of Tracks - a monthly newsletter published by Building Your Model Railroad, devoted to providing breaking news and tips to model railroaders of all ages and all scales in a quick and easy-to-read format. Resources are always credited where appropriate.

Whitelisting the email address of this newsletter is important. It assures that it doesn't end up in your Junk or Trash box every month. Please right click on the email address of the sender, copy the link and then go to your contacts program and paste it there as a new contact. You only have to do it once.

Note: √= sponsored link - See disclosure page for details. If you see a √ next to a link on this page or on the BYMRR.com site, that signals that the link is an ad. So if you click on it and purchase something, I might get a small (very small, I might add) commission on it. Just so you know.

Requests: If there are any particular subjects that you would like to see in the newsletter, please let us know at [email protected]. Even better, if you have a tip or something you would like to add to the newsletter, please send it in!  Use the form in the Comments section of the BYMRR website.

Back Issues: And don't forget, there is a huge amount of information in the 33 issues of the old newsletter called BYMR-Zine as well as previous issues of Tracks.  Back Issues are available here.

Thank you for subscribing. We have lots of new tips and tricks in this issue to add to your model railroading pleasure. And please tell your friends about us. The more we can spread the word about model railroading, the better.

Photos: We're always looking for new photos for our Gallery pages. If you have photos of your layout that you would like to share with other model railroaders, I'd love to post them on the site. Send them in to [email protected].

Contributions Encouraged:  If you have a tip, picture, video or an article about model railroading that you would like to share in this newsletter, please let me know.  I'm always looking for more information.

Breakneck Pass on the BR&S RR. This helps in visually separating the East and West sides of the peninsula but also allows them to be connected rail-wise. Could have used a tunnel here as well, but I chose the pass instead.

Horseback Riders in Breakneck Pass: The pass allows more scenery details to be added as opposed to a tunnel.

Hobo Camp Inside Breakneck Pass: Great Place to catch a ride on the local freight train while it's slowing down to go through the Pass!

New Layout Series:

Follow Along as This Remarkable New Tri-level Layout is Built

Philip Skow (Ret. Army Nat'l Guard Police Dept.) and Andrew Filmore (Topeka Model Railroad Club Member) in Topeka, Kansas are undertaking a new multilevel HO scale layout, which they started from scratch this past month, although it's been in the planning stages for several months now - since March, 2020.  It will be built in a 20' x 12' room, previously a home library room donated for this project by Philip.  An adjacent room will serve as a Dispatch area and contains a workbench, electrical equipment, storage area, computer monitor and even a ham radio. (See photos below.)

Their layout will feature 200 ft of HO rail with trains that run through and around Topeka and West to Las Vegas serving coal and lumber industries.  The locomotives will be powered by NCE SB-5 DCC. 

When I heard about their project, I thought it would be great to monitor their progress as time goes on and write about it in the newsletter, so readers could actually follow the process of building a model railroad layout of this type - from the beginning.  They seemed excited about the idea and graciously have granted me the permission to do so.

Planning

After considerable research, Phil and Andrew have settled on a layout plan designed by Jack Burgess, NMRA Master Model Railroader. Jack is a well-known model railroader who designed and built the Yosemite Valley Railroad, featured in Model Railroader and other magazines, and has published over 200 articles on model railroading.

Layout Plan by Jack Burgess - reprinted here with his permission.

They plan on building the entire benchwork first, and then continue by completing 6ft modular sections, one at a time, as follows:

~ Modular pieces (6ft long x 30” wide)  at 40” high for main platform; L.A, S.F. Etc... 

~ 2nd tier at 54” long, 24” wide,  for Main 10ft Yard & Vegas Strip on opposite side.

~ 3rd tier at 66” long, 12” wide (coal industry & timber work w/ mill up there & a scout camp. (Andrew is an Eagle Scout.)

Their helix will be 3 1/2 turns.

They estimate that it will take about 2 years of diligent work to finish the basics. 

Benchwork: The First Obstacle - Solved

When this room in the house was finished off by the previous owners, there were no vertical studs put in the walls.  There are only horizontal 2x4's that were used to nail on the "sheetrock".  So the current team decided to put 1x4s vertically every 16"  drilled into the cinderblock, which lies behind the horizontal 2x4 rails, to provide better vertical support where they could attach their brackets for the bechwork.

Here are some pictures of what they have done so far...

New Train Room: Mapping out the floor plan and finding supports for the benchwork.

Dispatcher's Office and Workbench in an Adjacent Room

Dispatcher's Office and Workbench with Storage Area

Creation of New "Studs" for Support - Drilled into Cinder-block 3" Behind the Drywall. Starting Benchwork

Installation of Ceiling Light

Creation of Benchwork Surface - 6ft module

More Benchwork.

Benchwork and Legs

Current Model Railroad Benchwork Status

To be Continued...

Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley Railroad

Since we are starting a new series monitoring the building of a new model railroad based on the Yosemite Valley layout plan designed by Jack Burgess, I thought it might be nice to show a tour of Jack's layout so we can see what he did with it that made it famous among other model railroaders.

Modelers' Tips

Lots of details are packed into this one small area on Chuck Davis' Lehigh Valley Railroad: The billboard and cars help to establish the era. The soapbox derby adds fun and interest. Row houses were commonly used for employees who worked in the coal mines. Note the layered backdrop. The children, the man on the porch and the lady on the upper balcony of the house all add a human element to the scene. Street lights, telephone poles, sidewalks, rocks, trees, bushes, grass, varying vegetation all add to the realism.

Lehigh Valley Model Railroad by Chuck Davis: A slightly different adjacent view of the scene shown above. Note the illusion of the road going into the backdrop. This is actually just a picture of a road pasted to the backdrop to make it look like the road continues on. A small mirror could be used for a similar effect.

Keith Stillman's Easton & Potomac Railroad

This video of Keith's layout was put together by Rod Vance after Keith passed away. It serves as a great tribute to one our great model railroaders who devoted over 30 years of his life to the hobby. His main focus was on his friends and family who participated in over 1000 operating sessions.  The scenery that he created was beautiful, but there are some areas that he hadn't been able to finish, although the trains ran through every section flawlessly, with the exception of operator errors. Fortunately, he had a good sense of humor and when mishaps occurred, he loved to take photos of them and paste them on his website. 

More Great Videos:

Building a Laser Cut Wooden Model Structure

Build a Trestle Bridge and the Scenery Surrounding It

Tons of scenery tips in this one video...

Big Boy 4014 Restored

Hope you enjoyed this issue of Tracks. Feel free to pass it on to your friends, family and other model railroaders. If you have a great tip or article that you would like to publish on the website, please let me know - The more, the better. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. You can either go to the Comments/Contact Page and enter your suggestions there or contact me directly at [email protected]

Thank you for your support and for subscribing to the free newsletter for Building Your Model Railroad.

And, as always, thank you for visiting the BYMRR website at
https://www.bymrr.com. We are committed to providing all the newest techniques, tips and articles to help YOU build your own great model railroad!

-Greg Warth

Contact Me | Blog | Photos | References | Supplies | GiftShop | Sitemap | Search | Comment  | Privacy Statement  | Disclosures

Tracks Newsletter: Sign Up Here!

(Disclosures)

√ = ad or sponsored link

What's New on BYMRR.com?

Recent Articles

• 
• 
• 

1. 15 piece train set

   Nov 24, 24 07:47 AM

   
   I was given this train set from a uncle that passed away im not sure what it is worth but i no its a N scale model and the hobbie is quite expensive so

   Read More

2. Lionel Miscellaneous

   Nov 24, 24 07:42 AM

   
   I have miscellaneous Lionel trains and accessories that I would like to sell. You can view more photos at www.EastHarbor.net/trains.pdf Please call or

   Read More

3. 15 piece train set

   Nov 24, 24 07:40 AM

   
   I was given this train set from a uncle that passed away im not sure what it is worth but i no its a N scale model and the hobbie is quite expensive so

   Read More