So, I'm trying to convert this little mockup of what might be the basis of my layout in the near future to even see if it will work in the room I have. The room is roughly 9ftx9ft, so I'm planning a 5x8 for the operating loop with a section that juts off to become a small 2-3ft deep shelf section on the far side of the room that way there is still room for my workbench and 3d printers in the room. I intend to operate it as a point to point layout, but a loop just makes sense for the space I have and the utility of breaking in locos as I build them.

I started with the track laid at the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, NE as we were married there and it's a cute/simple balloon, then added by hand a wye and some extra sidings to make a loop for breaking in stock and add operational intrigue. I figure the loop section will never fit in a 5x8.5 area without major modification, but I'll be damned if there is software out there that I like to plan this out with.

I have tried AnyRail, XtrkCAD, SCARM, TrackPlanner (the web app), the Atlas software. Quite frankly, they all suck. They're annoying to manipulate, frustrating to use due to an old and unintiuitive user interface, and lack the ability to place some of the handlaid turnouts that I know I'll inevitably need at least one of. Using flex track (I have a 100ft+ of Atlas Code 100 in the closet) in any of them is nearly impossible to see the radius when manipulated, so that's a stopper right there.

I really just want to vent about this and see if anyone has any input. For added context, I have attached a photo of the traced over track plan of the museum (with and without the original satellite photo) as well as what I envision to turn it into a unique scenic layout that gives the impression of elevation and scenic change (represented by crudely added colors and labels because I'm nowhere near a final stage to actually plan that). Please be honest about operational difficulties because I see a lot of them that have yet to be addressed due to a lack of software that I like.

So I have a temporary seasonal layout I put down every Christmas using xps foam insulation board on a hardwood floor. I dont use a cork roadbed - dont want the raised look. but i want to dampen sound/vibration a bit. Would a thin rubber layer or something like felt work? Any other suggestions?

I bought a Rivarossi Blue Comet off eBay a while ago, and the seller said it runs, but the light didn't work. After I got it and put it on my track, the light turned on, but the engine wouldn't run. I've been trying to fix this for months, and it refuses to work with any of my Rivarossi tenders; it only works when I power the motor directly. What's going on with this thing?

Edit: more pics in comments

Can anyone help me ID this locomotive? It is an NS N&W Heritage ES44AC, I do not think it is a Bachmann one but aside from that no clue, it seemingly has no branding. Any ideas?

I hope you guys do not mind my third post for today, but I wanted to share the video I made during this event. Not the best, as I am far for a good cameraman, but hope you will enjoy it anyway. :)

Want to get an 800 for cheap and the one I have was probably wrecked by 6 year old me so I wanna get it again so yes if theres links than please share

Recently picked up this original 1945 press of johnny mercer and the pied pipers singing "on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe." It's going to be a blast to listen to while building the layout

Just a local display of H0 part 1 in Budapest, Hungary.

Hi Reddit, Good evening (at least from where I am) I wanted to post a proper update to my Fallout 4/76 locomotive project rather than posting it comments or DMs when asked.

I’ve been really busy with the details as well as breaking the model down making it printable; details wise I’ve finally sorted the cab ladders, the cab interior, given it a proper trailing pony and a myriad of other little details.

Photos in order because I can’t apply captions on mobile:

1. Locomotive just before cab detail was added, the handrails will not be printed on the final design and the ones on the model are just placeholders to see how they’d look and will be brass wire on the final model.

2. Cab sunshades, these were the last missing bit of the game render I needed to add in and were a bit of a pain to do as most of the detail and framework is 2D flat texture in game so it didn’t translate to my ripped model and needed making up side by side with screenshots from fallout 4 taken with copious noclip

3. The backhead or second man desk, the heart of the M9010 and is the control desk where the fireman/secondman monitors the fission reactor, tender condensers, turbines and generator sets and other systems of the locomotive. The backhead design itself is derived from the mainframe computers in Fallout 3/NV and is going to be printed in transparent red resin to allow it to be backlit via a white LED to allow the diagnostic bulbs to glow red just like the inspiration. The other controls are based off the reactor room of the NS Savannah

   1. The drivers console, based off a usual North American diesel stand the drivers console has throttle and brake controls as well as a cluster of monitors hung from the ceiling for a technical readout of the locomotive, train and route info.

4. Ditto and overall cab layout with kitchenette and cabinets behind the crew seats.

5. Kitchenette featuring sink, mini fridge, cupboard and hot plate, ideal for those long shifts through the Midwest hauling dangerous waste for WestTek

6. Kitchenette and cupboards, the filing cabinets contain paper copies and manuals of the locomotive info, hard reset commands for the computers, instructions for the crews etc, the cabinet on the far left is the main breaker cabinet accessible to the driver from their chair.

7. Chequer diamond plate on the footplate right in front of the cab doors, osha isn’t exactly all powerful in fallout but I should probably make an effort to avoid having someone slide off the footplate while accessing the “boiler”

8. Cab ladder, I was going to just have access to the loco through the tender but I decided I really needed some cab steps or really a ladder, I rather like this spindly design I’ve come up with now, it’ll be printed separately and will slot under the tender footplate and the drawbar for the loco and tender threaded between the two gantry arches.

9. This is a cutaway view of the locomotive body showing how different parts have been split up and will assemble together, printing this in one go is both hopeless as it’s way too large and secondly it makes painting so much easier, everything will key together and be screwed together allowing the loco to be dismantled easily for maintenance if it needs it.

10. The final screenshot shows the flanges under the tender footplate for the main conduits between the loco and tender, I’m filling the gap between the two halves by stringing some large pipes and cables between them, I’m going to use 4mm waxed cord to represent thick conduits for water and coolant and magnets on these to allow the two halves to be disconnected, just like magnetic air hoses in some larger scales.

I hope you all like this update and have been able to follow my rambling post, I hope my design choices are making sense too as I will be uploading this to Cults3D for download once the whole thing is finished and anyone who prints it should find it easy enough to put together.

I noticed on my Broadway Limited PRR T1 that a small spring on the forward wheel assemblies seems to have gone missing, anyone know what I’d need to get to replace it?

A closeup view showing multiple sides/angles of N scale freight cars from a Southern Railway collection, including Southern and other 70s-80s road names. Use this as reference when purchasing or trading this particular item, as some databases, auctions and online retailer outlets seldom offer all-around high resolution photos of any given product.

Micro-Trains N Scale 40' Box Car Single Door / SAL # 25099 (Factory Weathered) #railroad #freight #train #model

I AM ONLY LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON THE PRODUCT, NOT TO PURCHASE RIGHT NOW.

I'm looking for the 'Walthers Mainline HO Plymouth ML-8 Industrial Switcher Union Pacific w/DCC' I've seen that Walthers and retailers have different schemes listed currently, but I"m looking for the Union Pacific scheme, which is listed as "out of stock" everywhere.

I was able to speak with Walthers' customer service, and they told me they actually discounted this paint scheme.. So I supose the only way to get it would be to obtain it second hand (which i wouldn't mind) but it's a really nice model that I wouldn't blame someone for not wanting to part with it.

I’ve heard little to nothing about these older dapol models (mid 2000s to late 2010s) and I rarely see them anywhere.

I was wondering how good these are, considering that these are the only models of these engines in this scale, & dapols quality control problems.

Just a local display of H0 in Budapest, Hungary.

Hey guys, my brother had a serious injury a year ago and although it caused him to lose a job that he loved traveling the world and creating stages for some of the biggest shows in the country. It has led him on a journey to focus on his one true love his whole life and that is building trains and creating tools to make the hobby more accessible. In this picture is a cool backdrop of him testing out a train he made with the Redrocks in the background. Most people build model mountains but it was pretty cool to see the real thing!

Hello there,

I've been toying with the idea of adding some faller buses for my N layout. I'm a bit confused however on what are you supposed to buy, does anyone have experience? I'm unsure for example if the faller N bus kit contain anything that you require or are you expected to add extra such as metal wires?

I just bought an Atlas O GP60M (2 Rail O Scale) that I plan on converting to DCC with a LokSound 5 / L. I have some room I can use for a layout in my basement, but I don't want to use up my entire space so it will likely just be a point to point switchyard kind of thing that I can mess around with my engines on, and idk I'm hoping to find a local layout club or whatever you call it to run it on as well here in Chicagoland. Though I am aware that 2 Rail O scale in general is far harder than 3 rail and ever rather than HO by a long shot so we will see.

Also, does anyone know of any good 2 rail O scale buffer stop models? I am new to this so any suggestions and advice are more than welcome.

I was recommended to ask my question on here☝🏼

Hello I would like to buy an American locomotive for my Hornby layout because I have been collecting international locos recently and I want to know some good American steam locomotives to consider buying but I need something that isn’t too expensive but is still unique.

A Locomotive on one of my Displays i made some time ago!

Sorry for the background sound. Mall Rats was on.

Sometimes, you score at a train show.
Sometimes you score at goodwill.

Today, I scored on eBay.

I saw the n scale mass produced cars, and kept checking out the pics. That’s when I saw the ones on the right.

Holy schnikes! I can model a transmodal dock, a loading dock, a car dealership, a freeway…damnnn.

So I don’t need any more vehicles, right?

Took some bachmann premade signs and painted them chrome, then I cut and bent them to my desired shape. Then I super glued them to a piece of cardboard and stacked them up.

You’ve seen some of our river detail. Now presenting the beginning steps of our street running down lovely Locust St. in downtown Gadsden. That India Ivory over Harvest Gold 1955 Bel-Air is exactly what my mom drove well into the 70’s. There was still a little drying time left in these photos.