Category Archives: Jon’s layout ramblings

Jon’s modules – Mojo coming back!

Posted on January 27, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

The mojo returneth (at least in part).  After an interlude that included reading the first 400 pages of Bishop Tom Wright’s 1600 page magnum opus on Paul, lumberjacking a 40 foot pine tree in the garden, and clearing up after my … Continue reading →

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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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