Model Railroading on the Cheap

About using duplicate toggle switches for controlling some turnouts:    To save money, I throw most of these turnouts by hand. The town of Hillton on my layout is too wide to reach across for throwing all the turnouts by hand. Here at Hillton I used Peco turnouts exclusively, because they work well.  Still it…

This post helps to explain the track schematic and industries diagram of the Hillton industrial complex. The bracketed letters in the text correspond to those circled locations on the schematic diagram shown here. Track car capacities are shown in blue ink.    My hope for the town of Hillton was for it to be a…

Good ideas in control panels – Overhead block-throttle selection.      Here are some of my ideas and methods for conventional train controls. This is about how I dealt with the two train control system as advocated by Linn Westcott and others.       After building a model train layout so big that it was jammed against…

   The drawing at the top of this page shows a schematic representation of the tracks in town. Operation here is straight up, easily seen and accessed from inside the pit. The turnouts for the passing siding are powered from the overhead mainline block control panel. The turnouts for the industry spur tracks are manually…

   The lower end of Middleburg passing track is called Wallbridge due to its proximity to the steel truss bridge over the concrete walled entrance to the tunnel through the rock cliffs. This might be the most scenic area on the whole layout. It is a favorite spot for photographs as it is right out…

   The community of Middleburg is a passing siding and interchange connection on the mainline. Its primary purpose is a passing siding, but in a crowded train room, I hate to miss a chance to have an industrial spur. So I have one at each end of this passing track. Now this presents location-naming challenges.…

All the photos in this chapter were taken while standing in the 2×6 foot operation pit.     Holden Train Staging (located directly below Hillton) is hidden from spectator view and is only accessible from inside the operation pit at Yardley. It is a 4 track hidden storage / train staging yard.  It holds 4 trains…

About the drawing and photograph for Holden train staging yard. At first glance this drawing may appear quite busy. Perhaps the following explanation will help your understanding. The drawing helps to explain 5 different aspects of Holden Train Staging option: 1) trackage, 2) turnout control, 3) track power, 4) electrical planning, 5) construction.    The…

   How I arrived with this scenery turns into a long story. This area of the layout has been re-done at least three times, either because of method failure (pasting printed paper building flats onto cardboard that warped over time) or that a better idea has surfaced, I guess I continue to learn by doing. …

Controls and Operation:    The two best design features I like about operating my classification yard is it allows me to stand or sit right next to the action without having to reach over mainline running trains to tend the yard as with some other layouts.  Another thing I like is that my yard has…