Blog | Custom Model Railroad Builder

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May 17, 20162 min read

Three Common Construction Errors

Here are three common construction mistakes that will bite you in the rear if you aren’t careful. I’ve made all of them. Most of the...

Apr 26, 20163 min read

Planning For Success in N Scale

In the past several years I’ve noticed a trend in the scale my customers select for their layouts. N scale now accounts for almost half...

Apr 17, 20162 min read

Layout Planning, Covering All of the Bases

When the term “layout planning” is thrown out, the image that pops into most people’s mind is a track plan with a sidebar that delineates...

Mar 31, 20163 min read

Should You Double Deck?

When you look at a developing model railroad design it should be from the perspective of having the blinders off and being crystal clear...

Mar 17, 20162 min read

Preparing For the Day You Have A Layout

The customers I see in my business often have a common history leading up to the time they contact me. Due to time and/or space...

Feb 17, 20162 min read

Should A Layout Ever Be “Complete”?

One of the most important layout planning decisions comes early on. Specifically, you need to answer the question, how big should I...

Feb 5, 20163 min read

Let Time Drive Your Layout Design

Many years ago the stars aligned and space and resources became available to build my dream layout, an N scale version of the Monon...

Jan 13, 20161 min read

Add A “Drill Track” To Your Yards

When it comes to designing a yard for your model railroad, give some thought to how you’ll keep the activities of your yard switcher...

Dec 29, 20152 min read

Model Railroad Bench Work Height

How high should I make my bench work? As a model railroad designer, the question comes up frequently. It’s an important one as it will...

Dec 15, 20153 min read

Know Thyself

Just as idle doodling and sketching can be relaxing, so can casually roughing out model railroad design sketches. The initial stages of...

Dec 1, 20152 min read

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb you enthusiasm. Well….not so much curb it but at least keep it in check. The early stages of a model railroad project are...