Jim’s been in touch with his 8×4 HO scale track plan.
You can see pics of how he’s getting on with his layout here.
Jim’s modeling the late transition era of his childhood in the 1950s and 1960s, for the Southern Railway in the southeast corner of my state, and a non-prototypical branch line called the Runharde and Tyre Short Line.
I’ve always found the layouts that start with a theme end up a lot better than those without one. Having something to aim for, a look, an era, really helps to pull it all together. That may sound too simple, but it’s what I’ve noticed over the years.
Here’s the track plan with the part numbers if it helps:
If you look at Jim’s pics, I don’t think the plans an exact match, but it’s near enough.
I really like how Jim’s planned and made a start.
I’m always banging on about making a start. There’s a saying a really like:
“It’s the start that stops most people.”
This is so true in life, and especially in this hobby. If you want a model railroad you have to stop dreaming and start doing: make that start!
There’s a page I often link to because it has some great advice if you do want to make a start:
How to start a model train layout
If you read the above post (and the comments) you’ll see it stuffed with good advice from folk that have been playing with trains for decades, which brings us back to Jim.
HO scale is a really popular scale (the most popular?) and 4×8 is a good size to start with. Anything larger can be intimidating when it come to wiring and certainly when it comes to the scenery. Having acres of it to do can be soul destroying – it’s always why some people take a modular approach to their layouts.
Best
Al