December - 2017

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.

Morgan Allen's CSX St. Louis Sub

Morgan wanted a relatively simple, one-level railroad where he could mostly watch trains roll. This provides staging for up to six trains behind low barriers; trains can leave one staging yard, traverse the main, and end up in the other staging yard, then back behind the scenes back to their original location -- a fairly flexible system requiring no grades. The prototype is a scenic stretch of the CSX through Indiana; the tunnel is prototypical. Download PDF

Steven Ward, Jr.'s Great Northwestern Pacific and Southwestern Pacific Railroad System

A special building will be built to house this monster, a grand tour of some of the iconic locations of North American railroading. It was a trick to represent Horseshoe Curve, Cascade Tunnel, Keddie Wye, Tehachapi Loop, and the spiral tunnels of Kicking Horse Pass on one layout – but I think we gave it a pretty good shot. Download pdf

Bob's Track Plans

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.

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