Category Archives: Layout design

ESNG modular systems

Posted on February 16, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

The ESNG works to two N-gauge modular systems.  With our show coming up, perhaps a quick reminder of the standards is in order.  The first is N-mod.  This is an adaptation of the USA N-Track system, the main difference being … Continue reading →

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Off my trolley – branchlines 2 – North Hollywood

Posted on February 4, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

One of my many diversions away from railways is reading (almost anything).  This includes crime fiction.  One of my favourite authors is Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch police procedurals – set in Los Angeles, and especially in the Hollywood area.  … Continue reading →

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Off my trolley – interurban branchlines – 1

Posted on January 29, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

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, had twigs off the branches off the … 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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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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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 – 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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