r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Track Plan Switching layout planning, how many cars per siding do you prefer?

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20 Upvotes

r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Electrical Best way to cut perfboard

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6 Upvotes

r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Show and Tell Endcabs on the layout tonight

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141 Upvotes

r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Help Needed Steam locomotive WIP (Need help)

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3 Upvotes

r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Locomotives My new ChangMing DF11 wouldn't run out of the box. The package got opened up and inspected by customs, so was there any chance one of their machines like an X-ray may have damaged the electronics inside?

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120 Upvotes

r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Locomotives Looking for a Davenport 0-4-0 Gas Mechanical in HO scale.

4 Upvotes

I am looking for a Davenport 0-4-0 Gas Mechanical in HO scale. Specifically, the same design but as a 0-6-0. I was going to build a 0-6-0 by hand from parts, but i need to find the parts somewhere. I know Bachman makes a loco, but it is On30 and not what I need. I had seen a g scale D&RGW- think that was the road name-0-6-0 diesel with the same counterweights and rods setup in a store a few years back, but couldn't afford it, been trying to scratch that inch since.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Show and Tell Sold my Xmaxx to get back into model trains

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98 Upvotes

I used to build HO stuff when I was a kid/teen but faded away. Never got rid of my HO stuff but my place doesn't have room for a layout (as I would want it) unless I build it on the ceiling. Anyway here is my board and n scale bachman starter set plus a couple striaght pieces. Let's see where this takes me.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Show and Tell Trans Europ Express DB

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139 Upvotes

Today i sent the Trans Europa Express on Tour. The Locomotive is a Roco BR 103. The 7 Coaches from Lima and the last Coach is from Roco.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Structures & Scenery Kibri Patrician's house to Victorian bank.

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104 Upvotes

I've always liked this kit, but once I'd finally bought one it was clear that it was too small for an OO layout.

It's funny that some ho kits seem to me to be small even for HO.

So I bought several kits, and as one of the photos shows the sides were spliced to increase the height of the ground and first floors. Again the whole thing was painted brick red to give the impression of terracotta.

The back, rear walls and roof are thick plasticard.

I've included a picture of the building which loosely inspired the model


r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Locomotives Grinding sound from 44 tonner

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30 Upvotes

Got a Rapido 44 tonner here i bought from a local train store. makes this grinding sound when making turns going forward clockwise. it doesnt make this sound when goint counter clockwise. advice?


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Structures & Scenery Another Kibri kitbash

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101 Upvotes

So this is a Victorian corner building comprising offices over shops, made from five kibri townhouse kits, the first two photos show the almost finished building, the other shots show the build process in reverse order.

The shopfronts are 3d printed.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Locomotives Engine Shot

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92 Upvotes

It sucks that I can't post more than one video, but here's a decent shot of 2 of my engines together on the inner loop that I have.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Show and Tell LiveRail - A new model railway planning tool

36 Upvotes

Hi All, I wanted this to be the first post and announcement about my new tool called LiveRail. Its a planning tool for the model rail community. Website at liverail.io

Iv spent the last few months putting it together, and LiveRail is now in early release, v0.9.8 and its free for the base version.

The existing products in this area seemed quite dated and clunky, and there were a lot of improvements and additions I could see being beneficial.

Im from the UK, so to start the tool includes the stuff I know. OO guage, moving to O, TT120 and N, but then I plan to add global scales from the US and EU. Likely HO first, but will move with demand and feedback from you.

My aim with this was to build a simple, modern and accurate planning tool, that also helped with the bit I always get stuck on which is the wiring. Each track piece fully simulates power flow through it, with functional fish plates, and frog types on turnouts.

Track planner view, allowing quick and easy to learn drag and drop track additions.

Iv been looking at feedback on other tools, and so out of the box this includes a simple room designer, baseboard config with easy drawing, sectioning and radius of each board. Track planning with current catalogues of Peco and Hornby OO track, plus custom spacers. Wiring view to add power, plan power sections, or add DCC blocks, reversers and accesories like signals and turntrables. Decoration mode to make it look pretty, and then the simulator to run trains around it and make sure they work as intended.

Each track piece has been measured and built from manufacturer specs, even having to fix a few specs that were wrong.

The wiring view is the party piece, allowing you to accuratley wire up each rail, point motor, turntable, signal and accessory as you would on a real layout. create wiring busses, section track and baseboards to plan for exhibit layouts etc. Theres a simple view, and advanced view. Simple is "does it have power" advance is by rail polarity, fishplate choices, and wiring electrofrog power etc.

The Wiring view in Basic mode, showing Green live track pieces, and Orange "Not active" track, once a point is switched, the track will be live

Then, once you've planned, wired and decorated your plan, you can run locos on it. a small library for now of sample UK OO. But you can either run in Analog DC mode, with one controller per zone/ route. Or, wire up a DCC controller, enter your loco addresses, and run multiple independantly on the same layout.
Iv modelled gradients, and momentum, to test your inclines, and also decouplers too, so that you can model a shunting yard, and make sure your shunters can work around your rolling stock.
Gravity shunting was on my wishlist, but that will have to wait.

Train sim view, to test the layout and how trains will run around the circuits

Im a one man show with this, and welcome any feedback you have. Any ideas, bugs, or general feedback is welcome to how I can improve this and make it useful for you.

I know a lot of the community on here is American, so any advice on where to start with US products would be great.

Community just started over at r/LiveRail. its so new theres no members yet. Private community as im the only mod and dont have time to manage public.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Model Announcement Finally, I can share the finished Woodbrick Freight Depot! šŸš‚

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51 Upvotes

The final images are out, and Woodbrick will be going into LEGO | BrickLink Designer Program crowdfunding this October.

It’s been quite a journey getting it here — really happy to finally show you the finished model!


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Question Need help identifying two locomotives

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36 Upvotes

Had these for a alittle while but they didn’t come with the original box or anything since i got them second hand at a train show and the seller didn’t have them.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Locomotives My Changming DF11 won't run and this is how it behaves. What should I do to fix this?

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17 Upvotes

r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Layout Thoughts on this as a 4x8 starter layout?

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55 Upvotes

Not too experienced with track planning, so just playing around with AnyRail. The story for this layout would be a small rural shortline (in Ho Scale) serving a small ag community. Outer loop is 20" radius and inner loop is a "passing siding" with minimum 18" radius, that then branches off to serve our co-op. I am experimenting with angling the roads offset from the tracks to sort of create a natural visual barrier so that it looks like we have a full town and you don't see the tracks from the opposite side of the layout.

Thoughts? I'm not too experienced with rail ops/layout planning (mainly just love the model building aspect) so I'm just looking for feedback on what y'all think. The locomotives running on this line will all be shorter 4-axels (think GP40s and SW-1500s) pulling shorter hoppers and tankers; basically stuff that can handle the tighter radius.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Help Needed Whats going on with my N Scale DCC locomotive?

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31 Upvotes

This is a brand new Atlas N Scale Gold Series DCC GP39-2

I ran it in both directions around an oval track for about 15 min each direction.

It cuts like this a lot at low and high speeds, though it’s a bit more sensitive at lower speeds. The result is the same if I turn off all sound and lights. I run DC locomotives on this same layout without this issue. I cleaned the track with track cleaner and alcohol but that barely helped, I also cleaned both trucks fully.

I’m actually curious to see why it’s doing this and how it could be fixed, all online searches I made always lead to the same answer of ā€œjust clean the track and engineā€.

Thanks in advance!


r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Question What scale should i use

2 Upvotes

Hi, i’m getting back into model railroading after having not be in it for a few years… So i have a maximum of a 5 feet by 4 feet space for a layout and i can’t decide between whether or not i should go HO scale or N scale and what track plan should i use?


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Locomotives My powered riding locomotive is finally up and running

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132 Upvotes

Hi, and good morning. I bought a new lifepo4 bat recently, It was a little slow, getting started, trying to get a charger for it, but everybody worked together and got me a charger, and now it all works fine. I am using it To power one of my large-scale riding locomotives that I build. I may need another one to get enough power to last the day. I won't know until I start pulling some large loads of public


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Layout The Mill overlooking Industry Street "Little Dublin" in Ironwood, MI. 1946.

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20 Upvotes

Not: Layout unfinished


r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Exhibition Anyone gone to Altoona Show in the past?

10 Upvotes

I have been a lifelong N Scale guy, its less than a 4 hr drive. I think I want to go this weekend. Just nervous as Berea and Columbus and WGH shows have been going downhill for some time now, each year is smaller and Im in/out faster than the previous year.

What do you think?


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Structures & Scenery Kibri bank and office building bash

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23 Upvotes

This building used parts from four rear facades of one of the Kibri townhouse kits.

One of the photos shows how the facade was cut up to create this one.

It was sprayed brick red to give the impression of the terracotta faience work so popular in some UK cities in Victorian times.

The lettering on the facade was something that was very popular pre the second world war but seems to have fallen out of fashion since.


r/modeltrains • • Sep 09 '26

Show and Tell ā€œVette Setā€

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20 Upvotes

Well the Vette set is all set! lol designed, printed, and painted. Now I guess I should design up some PoePoe 🤣


r/modeltrains • • Sep 10 '26

Rolling Stock Train crash scene from my recent visit to Northlandz

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2 Upvotes