November - 2014

Track Plans Gallery

On this page you can view many of the layout designs I have created for other modelers in recent years. You can use the filter buttons and site search to locate plans by scale, prototype, state, size, and other characteristics.

I use a simple 2D CAD program called MacDraft to do my layout planning. It is not specialized for model railroading, but I've been using it a long time and it meets my needs.

Here are a couple of resources that you can freely download and distribute for non-commercial purposes:

Bob's Track Planning Questionnaire is the document I use to gather basic information for designing a plan. It might help you organize your own "Givens n' Druthers." It's a fillable Microsoft Word doc.

Bob's Curve and Grade Calculator is an Excel spreadsheet with multiple tabs. It can calculate the length of tracks at various curve radii and grades, along with train lengths and other functions for N, HO, S, and O scales. Have fun.

Ben Bruno's Eclectic and Undecided RR

Ben is a collector and train-runner, so the goal was to create a design that would allow display and continuous running while retaining the possibility of a later interest in realistic operation. Tehe railroad is being professionally built and trackwork is mostly complete.

Jim Fawcett's B&O Old Main Line

Jim's benchwork was already built (like fine cabinetry) so we had to fit this version of the B&O Old Main Line to it. We managed to include signature scenes of this, the oldest mainline in the U.S. Download PDF