Category Archives: Layout design

Tonbridge MRC show 2017 #1

Posted on February 20, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

After a busy week, I decided a little model railway therapy was required, so I asked Derek whether he was going to the Tonbridge show.  He was, but was starting early to visit the Maidstone toy fair.  So 7am on … Continue reading →

Posted in Exhibitions, Inspiration, Layout design, Out and about | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dawson Station

Posted on January 5, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Another delightful minimum space layout….. Dawson Station is my portable 1′ x 4′ n-scale model railroad layout and is based on the Hull-Oakes lumber mill located in Dawson, Oregon. Hull-Oakes, one of the last steam-powered sawmills in North America, is … Continue reading →

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Book review – ‘The LBSCR Elevated Electrification’

Posted on December 30, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

A present to myself this Christmas was this little book…. Between 1909 and 1929 there was an overhead electric commuter service on parts of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway.  It didn’t get as far as Redhill – we … Continue reading →

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Minories #3 – alternative Minories…..

Posted on December 26, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

The last couple of posts on Minories have given enough ideas for any number of successful layouts.  But I’ve been playing around with the basic idea, and have a couple of ideas that could have some mileage. Firstly, Minories on … Continue reading →

Posted in Hints and tips, Inspiration, Layout design, Out and about | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Minories #2 – Out in the suburbs

Posted on December 20, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

If you leave London, and head to the other end of the commuter lines, a Minories like design, sort of ‘mini-Minories’ is another option.  Iain Rice published this excellent design, loosely based, I think, on the outer-London terminus at Caterham. … Continue reading →

Posted in Hints and tips, Inspiration, Layout design, Out and about | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Minories #1 – the original design

Posted on December 18, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

There are few model railway plans that can be deemed ‘classic’.  One surely must be the late Cyril Freezer’s ‘Minories’ plan.  The plan was the result a flash of inspiration whilst waiting for a train, then some doodling to try the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hints and tips, Inspiration, Layout design, Out and about | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Shelf layout design

Posted on December 14, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

An interesting clinic presented at the NMRA MCR “Thoroughbred Limited” Convention May 13-18, 2015 by Philip Gliebe.  It’s interesting as this is an American looking largely at UK branch line layouts for inspiration.  ‘Shelf layouts’ in the USA are often … Continue reading →

Posted in Hints and tips, Inspiration, Layout design, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

No New Ideas

Posted on December 10, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

Mike Cougill continues to post challenging – and dare I say it philosophical – articles on his OST blog.  It is not that common to read contributions from authors who can build models, but also to think and write.  Here … Continue reading →

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Layout design – redux – different voices – simple layout, complex operation

Posted on November 22, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

The third post, a long way behind the traction ones, is about small, switching layouts. 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Jon's layout ramblings, Layout design | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Off my trolley – redux – interurban branchlines – 1

Posted on November 20, 2016 by snitchthebudgie

This post has always been popular, too…. A good, if rather conventional, place to start with interurban layouts, is the conventional branch line.  Some electric railroads were no more than a branch line in total.  Others, like the Pacific Electric, … Continue reading →

Posted in Layout design, Traction | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments