I responded to the post about the M&PS thread and started thinking about my old layout when I was in school. Back in the early 60’s, Kalmbach had a ‘sister’ magazine for beginners named ‘Model Trains’. It was published every other month, and was for beginners. I guess the idea was to start them on this magazine and them move them over to the ‘heavy duty’ monthly Model Railroader magazine after a year or so. Anyway, they did a layout series that started in ‘Model Trains’ and finished up in ‘Model Railroader’ due the cancelling of ‘Model Trains’. This was in the 1962-1963 time frame.
The layout was called the Portage Hill & Communipaw, was in HO scale and started out with a hacked up sheet of plywood. Eventually the layout had a small terminal off of a wye, and a small branchline terminal on another leg. The layout used basic Atlas Snap-Track with 18" radius curves.
My layout started on a 5’x9’ table(old ping-pong table). I had a 2’x8’ branch line extension and a similar extension off of the wye for my terminal. I used 22" radius track(N/S Snap-Track) and later N/S flex and Custom-Line turnouts. The layout was started in 1966 and lasted until about 1972(Tore it down after returning from Vietnam). I never took a picture of it, and never really though about it until I saw a similar layout in one of the yearly Kalmbach annuals.
I am sure there were many copies of the ‘HO Railroad that Grows’ series and later in the soft cover book. Any other published track plans that have been built by the group?
I too attempted to build the Portage Hill and Communipaw. That era was the best one in Model Railroader. Paul Larsen, Don Reschenburg and Gordon Odegard put out great magazines.
Just a thought
Harold
My first layout was built following a 4x8 plan in the back of John Armstrong’s book “Track Planning for Realistic Operation”. It was all on one level, twice around with grade crossing. I laid the mainline and sidings along with the small yard. I never did put in the turntable, because the birth of my first son meant I had to give up the 2nd bedroom.
My second layout started immediately after I dismantled my first layout was a 6x6.5 ft layout that used John Allen’s timesaver for the main town. The rest of the layout was an oval of track, and a long branch line up a grade to a small town on a hill. The layout was designed in four modules that disassembled with the three smaller modules storing under the Timesaver module. This was a condition of my wife’s for building it in the master bedroom.
All my layouts since then have been my own design based on the space I had available at the time and what my interests were at the time.
Enjoy
Paul
One of my present layout sections is the “Morgan Valley Railropad” Presently found in 7 Step By Step HO Layouts by Atlas. Plan was also published in Model Railroader.
The section of my layout I am building currently is based off plan 56, the Dayton and Northern, in 101 Track Plans. Widened to 8 feet, and I rearranged some of the sidings.
Probably, [:D]but unfortunately the Pacific Coast Air Line Railway is located in Dover, Delaware[:(]. We are always open to visitors[#welcome]. Just E-mail me from the website and we can set up a time.
Always open in Delaware
Harold
