Mineral Range & Lake Michigan RR

Name: Mineral Range & Lake Michigan RR Layout designer: John Armstrong Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 24′-0″ x 43′-6″ Theme: ore, pulpwood, and lumber traffic Locale: Upper Peninsula, Michigan Era: late steam/early diesel Style: walkaround Mainline run: 164 feet Minimum radius: 36″ (main), 30″ (staging loops) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 5 (yard) Maximum grade: […]

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A newly discovered John Armstrong model railroad track plan

Armstrong plan scan

John Armstong had produced hundreds of model railroad track plans published in magazines and books, and in fact, earned the nickname “Dean of Model Railroad Track Planning.” He drew this never-published Mineral Range & Lake Michigan RR for a paying client, but it was apparently forgotten for many years in a home in a Chicago […]

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N scale Moffat Road

Rio Grande Moffat Road-01

Name: Moffat Road Layout designer: Mike Danneman Scale: N (1:160) Size: 18′-6″ x 24′-9″ Prototype: Rio Grande Locale: Colorado Style: walkaround Era: early 1960s and early 1980s Mainline run: 258 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no 8 (main), no. 6 (yard) Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Model […]

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HO scale Santa Fe, 1951

Santa Fe 1951

Name: Santa Fe, 1951 Layout designer: Gary Hoover Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 24 x 49 feet plus 13 x 19 feet Prototype: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. Locale: Chicago to California Era: 1951 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 8 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Originally appeared in the […]

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O scale Grosser’s Nostalgia Trip

Grossers Nostalgia Trip

Name: Grosser’s Nostalgia Trip Layout designer: Ray Grosser Scale: O scale (1:48) Size: 22 x 38 feet Prototype: Soo Line Locale: western Minnesota Era: 1956 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 250 feet Minimum radius: 50″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 1 percent Originally appeared Great Model Railroads 2012. Click on the link to download the […]

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Large scale Miami Rail Service Co

Miami Rail Service Co

Name: Miami Rail Service Co. Layout designer: Bob Springs Scale: 1:29 Size: 20 x 36 feet, plus outdoor staging Prototype: CSX industrial spurs Locale: Miami Era: present day Style: around-the-walls shelf Mainline run: 200 feet (loop) Minimum radius: 66 inches Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (one spur) Grade: none Originally appeared Great Model […]

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HO scale Rocky Mountain Line

Rocky Mountain Line

Name: Rocky Mountain LineLayout designer: Don MeekerScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 53′-9″ x 69′-6″Prototype: FreelancedLocale: ColoradoEra: 1950sStyle: Multi-level walkaroundMainline run: 679 feet (1,179 feet including branch lines)Minimum radius: 36″Minimum turnout: no. 8 (main), no. 6 (branches and yards)Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared Great Model Railroads 2012. Click on the link to download the PDF of this […]

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West Side Lumber Co. in On3

West Side Lumber Co

Name: West Side Lumber Co. Layout designer: Ken Larson Scale: O (1:48), three-foot gauge Size: 35 x 38 feet Prototype: West Side Lumber Co., Tuolumne, Calif. Locale: Sierra Nevada foothills, Stanislaus National Forest Era: July 4, 1950 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 180 feet Minimum radius: 28″ (main), 26″ (wyes) Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum […]

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Utah Belt 2006

Utah Belt

Track plan at a glance Name: Utah Belt Layout designer: Eric Brooman Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 22′-8″ x 39′-6″ Prototype: freelanced Period: the present Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 173 feet Minimum radius: 39″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Originally appeared in the 2006 issue of Great Model Railroads. Click here to […]

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HO scale Brandywine Valley RR

Brandywine Valley RR_A

Name: Brandywine Valley RR Layout designer:  Dil Huey Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 26 x 42 feet Prototype: Octoraro RR Locale: Southeastern Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware and Maryland Era: transition era to 1980s Style: multilevel walk-in Mainline run: 365 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: Peco large radius Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in […]

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HO scale Canada Central Ry.

Name: Canada Central Ry. Layout group: Montreal Railroad Modelers Association Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 37 x 123 feet Prototype: freelance Locale: Quebec and Ontario, some western landscapes Era: 1959 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 1,200 feet Minimum radius: 42″ (main), 36″ (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2.2 percent Originally appeared in the October 2011 […]

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Bona Vista RR

Bona Vista RR

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 Era: 1953 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (mainline), no. 5 (spurs) Maximum grade: 1 percent Originally appeared in the Great Model Railroads 2008. Click on […]

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