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.

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.

HO scale

Room-sized

Single deck

Tom Orlando's Eastern Pacific RR

May 20, 2018

Tom had no particular prototype in mind for his "retirement railroad," (thus the tongue-in-cheek name) but wanted a double track-main and the ability to see trains "cross over one another" along with logging and coal industries. I designed a SP-flavored pike with a do...

HO scale

Room-sized

Single deck

Matt Savage's Concord & Walnut Creek

July 22, 2017

A square 10'3" on a side is not a lot of room for HO, even when a closet can be de-doored and added to the available space. We squeezed a lot of switching and operational possibilities in by creating "around the walls" staging on a disguised twice-around scheme. An e...

HO scale

Large

Single deck

Robin Barrows' Southern Pacific and Mare Island

May 17, 2015

Robin's huge railroad fills two rooms and surrounds a uniquely-shaped utility area with staging tracks. It includes a representation of the naval shipyard on Mare Island north of Oakland, CA.

Craig Snyder's UP in the Cascades

October 26, 2014

The former Southern Pacific crossing of the Cascade mountains is one of the most famous stretches of mountain railroad in the world. This is one of two versions I designed; the other was an HO version for John Caffarelli.

HO scale

Room-sized

Multi-deck

John Caffarelli's UP in the Cascades

September 24, 2014

This elaborate design fits a version of the Southern Pacific Cascades crossing into a relatively small room by using up to three levels. See also the N scale version done for Craig Snyder.

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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.

Tom Orlando's Eastern Pacific RR

Matt Savage's Concord & Walnut Creek

Robin Barrows' Southern Pacific and Mare Island

Craig Snyder's UP in the Cascades

John Caffarelli's UP in the Cascades

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