In 1956 my father and I built our first railroad together. It was a Lionel “O” guage. It had a figure eight with outside rails and an inside oval, we could run two trains. Part of it was trestled with moutains all hand made. I loved that railroad, then one day at Ft. Meyers, Va. I saw a Revell HO train set at the PX and I was hooked. I wish I had kept the Lionel but it went by the way side.
Since that time I have built several HO layouts, another O scale, as well as an N scale while in medical school. Each HO scale pike began to grow in size. The first was 10X15; they subsequintly got larger with the last four exceeding 15 X 30 feet. My latest, the WTRR is 28 X 32 feet and it runs from Jackson, Tennessee to Nashville. Allen Keller has the Bluff City that covers part of Mississippi and Arkansas into Memphis with trackage to Jackson. My railroad picks there and eventually joins Rick Rideout’s rail system, the L&N in Nashville.
My premise is keep it simple. I thought I would share some pictures and describe my techniques and how I built it. I am still learning the art of photography so have patience.
I like to run trains and detail layouts. I use many natural products just because I like doing it that way and maybe I save a little. The bench work is basic, 1X3’s, a frame at the top covered with 1/2 plywood then I liquid nail the blue foam.
I keep wiring simple too, mainline is wired with a trunk line and solder leads to about every 4-6 six feet of track, with a few leads to the sidings. I use the old block system. After the blue foam is in place I use topper tape as a sub road bed. I don’t have a local hobby shop, so the box store becomes my supplier. It’s cheap, $2.00-$3.00 for twenty-five feet. It is a double sided sticky grey tape, 1/4 inch thick. It adheres well t