You may find yourself eager to include an inclining hill with track for your model train to climb up, and if so you will need to understand the grade that your model train will be able to handle. This guide will explain some things that you need to consider before jumping in and throwing your track together with a slope.
If you want to add a nice variation, something you may have been considering lately is to add elevated places for your train to travel in your layout. But the question is how steep a slope can you get away with?
You don't want to stress out the workload of your little model train, so figuring out the grade scale that it will be able to travel up is important.
In the real world grades are calculated by percentage, but that's kind of tricky for smaller scale items. So instead we will think of our grade in terms of inches to make it easier.
The rule of thumb is that for every 100 inches, 2 inch grade is recommended. Think of this as being the 2% if it were real. In other words, if you had a track incline of about 100 inches, then the slope should not be elevated more than 2 inches at the top. It should rise by the two inches across the entire one hundred.
Some experts have explained to me that you might be able to get away with a 4%, or 4" grade depending on the speed and model type of the train set.
Another thing that you have to think about is a curved track, which is very common to include an elevation with curvature. Understand that when a train goes around a curved track it does require more work for the model and more weight is added to grip the rails, so when you throw a steep climb into the mix, this can add to the stress.
Model train layouts, tips, ideas, scenery how-tos and resources for the perfect looking track layout!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Guide to model train track curves
Although it may not be something that you would think you would have to give a lot of thought to, in all reality track curves are very important to understand, and many times end up becoming a problem area that beginners deal with.
So in this break down, I'm going to explain to you the different types of model train track curves, and why you need to consider their dimensions before piecing together your layout.
The truth is that track curves come in different sizes of radii, because many railroaders will need to run several tracks alongside each other to get the right layout. If you've got a bend coming up, the inside track will require curves that are of a smaller radii than the outside curves for the outside track.
At this point it's important to no confuse arc and radii. The arc is a portion of a complete circle, and the radii is the distance from the center of the circle to the inside edge of the curve.
In order to get a train to make a complete loop and travel in the opposite direction (to go around a curve), you must have a 180 degree turn, or half a circle.
Track radii come in the following sizes
15
22.5
30
45
Train scale does matter, but for larger trains such as the typical HO scale, you will need the largest radius that you can to make that train turn around.
This is why, if you plan on having two tracks run along side each other, you probably would want to focus on getting the outside track right, first.
What if your space is very small or narrow? well you can build a simple freight yard and do the whole point A to point B thing, or you can work with a smaller train scale and use the right radii with your curves for this scale.
The minimum radius that an HO scale model train can turn around on is 15".
The minimum radius for an N scale train is 8.5".
So even with a very narrow train table, you can a complete loop with an HO scale model train, it just might look awkward within the confined space, and the accompanying structures and vegetation may look "stuffed". However, creativity stands strong here, and you may find a unique way of getting this to look right. There are really no rules to model railroading.
So in this break down, I'm going to explain to you the different types of model train track curves, and why you need to consider their dimensions before piecing together your layout.
The truth is that track curves come in different sizes of radii, because many railroaders will need to run several tracks alongside each other to get the right layout. If you've got a bend coming up, the inside track will require curves that are of a smaller radii than the outside curves for the outside track.
At this point it's important to no confuse arc and radii. The arc is a portion of a complete circle, and the radii is the distance from the center of the circle to the inside edge of the curve.
In order to get a train to make a complete loop and travel in the opposite direction (to go around a curve), you must have a 180 degree turn, or half a circle.
Track radii come in the following sizes
15
22.5
30
45
Train scale does matter, but for larger trains such as the typical HO scale, you will need the largest radius that you can to make that train turn around.
This is why, if you plan on having two tracks run along side each other, you probably would want to focus on getting the outside track right, first.
What if your space is very small or narrow? well you can build a simple freight yard and do the whole point A to point B thing, or you can work with a smaller train scale and use the right radii with your curves for this scale.
The minimum radius that an HO scale model train can turn around on is 15".
The minimum radius for an N scale train is 8.5".
So even with a very narrow train table, you can a complete loop with an HO scale model train, it just might look awkward within the confined space, and the accompanying structures and vegetation may look "stuffed". However, creativity stands strong here, and you may find a unique way of getting this to look right. There are really no rules to model railroading.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Model Railroad Signs Construction
One way to spice up your model railroad is to include lots of "pop art" or signs that you would typically see in every day life. In fact, even if you are working within a specific era such as the 1950s or 60s this can work very well too!
But how do you get the images for your billboards, road signs, movie advertisement posters and in-store signs? Simple, you Google it!
Let's say that you want to include retro movie posters to a store front. There are many vintage movie sites that feature the original movie posters on their pages. Typically these images are high quality and quite large, which is really what you want to look for. You ideally want to find pictures that have great resolution and are very big when you click on them with your magnifier tool in your web browser.
You can save these images to your desktop, and then pull up your printing software. This program should allow you to re-scale them, or you can do so in Microsoft Paint and then save the picture with the new size.
If you need help with printing sizes and what types of photo paper to use, don't be afraid to take a CD-R with your images to a local photo print service. They really know their stuff, and if you explain to them what you are trying to achieve it will probably help them picture how to give you the best result, plus -- who knows? one of them might be a fellow railroad enthusiast too!
Now, I've known to do this for a while now, but I learned a trick to printing on window glazing from a Gateway NMRA article that you should check out!
But how do you get the images for your billboards, road signs, movie advertisement posters and in-store signs? Simple, you Google it!
Let's say that you want to include retro movie posters to a store front. There are many vintage movie sites that feature the original movie posters on their pages. Typically these images are high quality and quite large, which is really what you want to look for. You ideally want to find pictures that have great resolution and are very big when you click on them with your magnifier tool in your web browser.
You can save these images to your desktop, and then pull up your printing software. This program should allow you to re-scale them, or you can do so in Microsoft Paint and then save the picture with the new size.
If you need help with printing sizes and what types of photo paper to use, don't be afraid to take a CD-R with your images to a local photo print service. They really know their stuff, and if you explain to them what you are trying to achieve it will probably help them picture how to give you the best result, plus -- who knows? one of them might be a fellow railroad enthusiast too!
Now, I've known to do this for a while now, but I learned a trick to printing on window glazing from a Gateway NMRA article that you should check out!
Model Railroad Layouts To Consider
One of the first most important steps before assembling your tracks and putting together your vegetation and scenery is deciding on what kind of a layout you would like. There are of course no rules to this when getting involved in the hobby of model trains, but knowing ahead of time where you are going will save you time, money and energy.
Oval Layout
This is your typical style. A large table space will accommodate this type of model railroad layout, but you need to make sure that your model train table will justify the needs of your track layout. You have to think primarily about the turn tracks and making sure that the space you use can facilitate the turns so that you train isn't awkward when going around the loops or gets derailed easily.
This can be as big as you want. Typically it starts with a 4 x 8 table top, and usually that's enough, but if you want more, you can double up 2 sheets of plywood for a really monstrous sized model railroad layout.
Suit Case Model Railroad Layout
This is a popular option as well that you will see at a lot of model train shows. It's literally a suit case that you can open up that has a complete, little world in it. These are a lot of fun, but are most commonly used with Z scale trains, because they are so small. The beauty of this is that you can easily take them anywhere you like and store them in your closet. Plus you can also make lots of these!
Model Railroad Layout Using The 'Shelf' Concept
This is another great option if you don't have much space to work with or don't want a big, hulking train set in the middle of your room. These are very popular now, and the idea is to display a working "model" of your train set. This is done on a narrow space that travels along your wall, and usually they can wrap around an entire room!
Oval Layout
This is your typical style. A large table space will accommodate this type of model railroad layout, but you need to make sure that your model train table will justify the needs of your track layout. You have to think primarily about the turn tracks and making sure that the space you use can facilitate the turns so that you train isn't awkward when going around the loops or gets derailed easily.
This can be as big as you want. Typically it starts with a 4 x 8 table top, and usually that's enough, but if you want more, you can double up 2 sheets of plywood for a really monstrous sized model railroad layout.
Suit Case Model Railroad Layout
This is a popular option as well that you will see at a lot of model train shows. It's literally a suit case that you can open up that has a complete, little world in it. These are a lot of fun, but are most commonly used with Z scale trains, because they are so small. The beauty of this is that you can easily take them anywhere you like and store them in your closet. Plus you can also make lots of these!
Model Railroad Layout Using The 'Shelf' Concept
This is another great option if you don't have much space to work with or don't want a big, hulking train set in the middle of your room. These are very popular now, and the idea is to display a working "model" of your train set. This is done on a narrow space that travels along your wall, and usually they can wrap around an entire room!
Making Model Railroad Pine Trees
You rarely see a model railroad layout that doesn't have trees in the mix. Even an industrial type setting can have some plant life that fits in with the buildings. For a lot of beginner railroaders, the vision of an HO happily flowing through tunnels and interweaving between tall pines is an ideal picture, but just how exactly do you make trees if you don't want to buy all of them. This is how!
You can certainly buy model train trees and shrubs at many hobby stores or even online, and they aren't expensive, but many people who share this passion like to hand craft as many of the details as possible, so here are some ideas on how you can achieve this look.
1. Start with a base or "trunk" for your tree. There are many options for this, but a small wooden dowel cut to the length that you see fit is a good place to start. Additionally you could use a wire coat hanger stretched out and cut to the desired length if you wanted to create a tree that has a bending appearance.
2. Next, you will need a tall container of some sort. You can cut off the top of a milk jug, carton or use a coffee can.
3. You will need to fill this container with Elmer's glue that has been slightly diluted with water. An alternative is to use spray adhesive, which comes in a spray can and is pretty sticky.
4. Dip your dowel or trunk into your vat of glue, or spray with adhesive.
5. Using loose turf that you can buy at any hobby shop, sprinkle this onto your sticky dowel.
6. Shake off any excess
7. Voila! You now should have a sharp looking pine tree.
You can certainly buy model train trees and shrubs at many hobby stores or even online, and they aren't expensive, but many people who share this passion like to hand craft as many of the details as possible, so here are some ideas on how you can achieve this look.
1. Start with a base or "trunk" for your tree. There are many options for this, but a small wooden dowel cut to the length that you see fit is a good place to start. Additionally you could use a wire coat hanger stretched out and cut to the desired length if you wanted to create a tree that has a bending appearance.
2. Next, you will need a tall container of some sort. You can cut off the top of a milk jug, carton or use a coffee can.
3. You will need to fill this container with Elmer's glue that has been slightly diluted with water. An alternative is to use spray adhesive, which comes in a spray can and is pretty sticky.
4. Dip your dowel or trunk into your vat of glue, or spray with adhesive.
5. Using loose turf that you can buy at any hobby shop, sprinkle this onto your sticky dowel.
6. Shake off any excess
7. Voila! You now should have a sharp looking pine tree.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
DIY model train gravel
No train layout would be complete without the proper touches that we commonly see in the world around us, and when it comes to the most common elements, gravel is one of them. So if you are looking for a way to make your own model railroad gravel, here's how you do it.
DIY model train gravel options
1. The easiest method is to use real gravel. Pea gravel will work best, but you may find that this size is just slightly too large for gravel, so use it for actual "rocks" instead.
2. Hobby shops also carry many varieties of ballast that can be used in this way as well. There are many options for color too, in order to match specific areas of your terrain.
3. If you shop around on eBay or Amazon, you will also find actual model train gravel as well.
4. You can also use kitty litter as well, and if the color doesn't look quite like you want it to, mist it with a light gray paint from a spray paint can. Just make sure to hold the can several feet away so that you only "mist" it.
Caution: If you use the kitten litter approach, make sure that you anchor it to your layout with glue, and make sure that you dump off any loose excess so that it doesn't get into any important train components.
DIY model train gravel options
1. The easiest method is to use real gravel. Pea gravel will work best, but you may find that this size is just slightly too large for gravel, so use it for actual "rocks" instead.
2. Hobby shops also carry many varieties of ballast that can be used in this way as well. There are many options for color too, in order to match specific areas of your terrain.
3. If you shop around on eBay or Amazon, you will also find actual model train gravel as well.
4. You can also use kitty litter as well, and if the color doesn't look quite like you want it to, mist it with a light gray paint from a spray paint can. Just make sure to hold the can several feet away so that you only "mist" it.
Caution: If you use the kitten litter approach, make sure that you anchor it to your layout with glue, and make sure that you dump off any loose excess so that it doesn't get into any important train components.
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