Building a layout in a spare closet: plans that fit
How to fit a model railroad in a spare closet: measuring reach-in and walk-in closets, switching plans that fit, benchwork tips, and checking it before you cut.
Blog
Notes from the workbench.
How-tos, track plans, operations, DCC and wiring, the prototype, and news from the simulator.
Team tracks: the industry with no building
A team track is a railroad-owned spur where any shipper can load or unload a car. What the prototype built, what went there, and how to model one in inches.
Who gets the throttle next? Running a club layout with a crew
One throttle and four people makes a queue. How club sessions in modelrailsim give each crew member a loco, a job and a switch list, and how to rehearse first.
Checking a DC layout's polarity, feeders and blocks before you build
Reverse loops, missing feeders and dead blocks are where DC layouts fail. See how the Layout Designer checks polarity, feeders and blocks before you lay track.
What your DCC throttle does in the simulator
How the simulator's NCE Power Cab style cab works, how your own DCC handset can drive the simulator, and how the simulator can run your real NCE layout.
Drive your track plan before you buy the track or the loco
Lay a plan in real track pieces, let the Layout Designer flag the problems, then drive it in the simulator with a throttle before you buy a single box of track.
Drive the simulator with the DCC throttle in your hand
Use your own DCC handset to drive modelrailsim: what follows your throttle, the sniffer that connects it, and a first run on the Inglenook to try tonight.