Pictures from some DSED member home railroads
Dave F A scenic masterpiece in HO scale.
Eric Carlson’s Black Hills & Eastern Railroad. An HO scale layout that focuses on Burlington Northern’s operations in the South Dakota Black Hills and in southeast South Dakota. Circa 1985. Eric is an experienced custom painter of locomotives and railcars.
Gary J – N scale focus on local favorites Chicago and Northwestern, Milwaukee Road with lots of action
Jim K An N scale Chicago & Northwestern themed layout featuring regular model railroad operations.
Mike K Vignettes on the north half of the BNSF Marshall Subdivision with a trip on the BNSF Corson Subdivison. Basement sized HO scale layout.
Phil R Another fine N scale layout.
My HO scale layout is a double mainline around-the-room modular build. The main scenes are/will be a roundhouse, mountain and tunnel, various industries for switching, and a 6-track end to end rail yard and passenger terminal. The layout is in the early stages with the most of the trackwork completed and scenery in the early stages. It is wired for DCC only. My world building for the railroad is it’s a heritage railroad that has a museum at the roundhouse and operates freight and passenger services for additional revenue streams. Big steam and transition era diesels are the primary motive power you’ll see on the layout.
My N scale layout was born out of convenience from a spare 4’x4′ board that I cut a 2’x2′ square out of and made an L-shaped baseboard. The layout scenery is mostly filled in with potential for some changes down the road. I wanted to avoid the simple loop I’d done on previous layouts, so the mainline has a winding route through the scenery. The layout itself is wired for DC and DCC operations, with two separate blocks: the mainline with access to the industries and the inner line with access to the yard and engine facilities. All spurs can toggle power on and off as needed. It is a freelance layout not based on any specific location.
My N scale layout is inspired by the dramatic mountain railroading of Donner Pass and the Sierra Nevada, with an emphasis on elevation changes, bridges, tunnels, mountain scenery, and trains working their way through the landscape. Rather than attempting to reproduce one specific location, the layout captures the character and challenges of mountain railroading while giving me the freedom to create my own scenes.
The layout is currently in the early stages of construction and is being built on a primarily flat base. To create the varied terrain I wanted, I designed and 3D printed many of my own track elevation supports, allowing the railroad to climb and descend naturally through the future scenery. As construction continues, these elevated sections will be blended into mountains, valleys, waterways, bridges, and other scenic features.
