Category Archives: Jon’s layout ramblings

Off my trolley – interurbans

Posted on January 18, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

WARNING – if you are from North America, please look away.  This is a confirmed UK resident writing about US railroads, so total accuracy is unlikely!  But I hope in this post to give some idea of the breadth of … Continue reading →

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How long to keep an old layout?

Posted on January 14, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

For the author, this would have been a academic question 15 years ago.  At that time I hadn’t actually ‘finished’ a layout.  This has only happened after joining ESNG and going ‘N’ gauge (after forays in OO, EM, OO9 and … Continue reading →

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Off my trolley – streetcars and trolley layouts

Posted on January 9, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Again we need a cultural translation here: trolley = streetcar = tram.  Streetcars tended to be smaller that the big interurbans running between towns.  But you could find an interurban winding its way through the city traffic on its way to … Continue reading →

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Layout design – different voices – simple layout, complex operation

Posted on January 7, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Another interesting voice in the layout design world is Lance Mindheim, who most originally posts at http://www.lancemindheim.com/. He has built a number of very interesting layouts.  The first was a 20×20 foot N gauge layout of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville … Continue reading →

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Jon’s modules – the thrill is gone…

Posted on January 2, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

According to B.B. King and numerous other bluesmen. You may have noted how my module posts have slowed up.  I seem to have been distracted from railway modelling over this Christmas.  Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve now laid all … Continue reading →

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Off my trolley – a new design series

Posted on December 29, 2013 by snitchthebudgie

As I continue to make good progress on my modules, the armchair modeller in me is already thinking about another layout.  I have this irrational urge to build an N-gauge US trolley or interurban layout – sometimes known as a … Continue reading →

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Jon’s modules – staging a fiddle

Posted on December 21, 2013 by snitchthebudgie

Or to put it another way, how am I going to add the fiddle yard (UK usage) or staging (USA) to the short line?  I thought I had this all worked out, but once again reasoning through the options came … Continue reading →

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Jon’s modules – board 3 track laid

Posted on December 14, 2013 by snitchthebudgie

And the track for the last board has gone down really quickly.  Now for a lot of wiring to get the whole thing working.  I’ve also got to decide how to exit the short line off the second board.  This will … Continue reading →

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Jon’s modules – board 2 track laid

Posted on December 8, 2013 by snitchthebudgie

All track (except the short line and siding) laid on the second board.  Wiring still to do, but I think I will get on and complete the third, 1200mm board, before wiring them both.  The short line and siding will … Continue reading →

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Jon’s modules – a little simplification

Posted on December 1, 2013 by snitchthebudgie

As I mentioned in the last post, the design ideas in the ‘Missing conversation’ got me thinking about my LV modules. As originally planned, the short line interchange had a loop and two more or less equal length sidings.  One … Continue reading →

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