Creative Toy Train Track Plans

Ready to move beyond a simple tabletop layout? Take the next step with help from Neil Besougloff, Classic Toy Trains magazine's own editor! This new book offers 16 realistic, themed layout plans suitable for larger spaces, including diagrams, equipment lists, and plenty of photos to help you get started.

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Author: Neil Besougloff
Softcover; 8 1/4 x 10 3/4; 80 pages; 16 black and white photos; 64 color photos; 48 illustrations; ISBN: 9780897785303

Neil is the editor of Model Railroader magazine. Previously, he was the editor of Classic Toy Trains for 10 years. Before that, he was a newspaper journalist for 15 years in FL. and in his native NJ. He is slowly but surely building a prewar-style O gauge layout after moving to a new home in Oconomowoc, WI. In addition to toy trains, Neil spends his free time reading history books and tinkering with this 1931 Ford Model A.

4 Introduction
Beyond sheets of plywood; toy train track lingo
9 Layout one: Bridge out!
There's a real challenge on this 12- by 12-foot plan
13 Layout two: Cold Mountain
A figure-eight track plan split in half by a mountain range
17 Layout three: Small Town
A 9- by 12-foot walk-in plan set in middle America
21 Layout four: Old King Coal
Four coal-handling accessories and three train routes
25 Layout five: Big City
Two trains on two loops in the New York metro area
29 Layout six: Round the Mountain
A winding reverse loop through rugged western terrain
33 Layout seven: Prairiewood
Grain elevators, farm fields, and three track loops
38 Layout eight: Breaking the Rule of One
A 12- by 12-foot plan with pairs of operating accessories
43 Layout nine: The Quiet One
Walk-in, single-level operation in 9 by 12 feet
47 Layout ten: Through the Woods
Less is more on this 12- by 12-foot walkaround plan
52 Layout eleven: The Works
Two intersecting loops and Lionel's biggest tinplate accessories
57 Layout twelve: Crossing the Ravine
An L-shaped 9- by 12-foot plan with a dominating central bridge
61 Layout thirteen: The Transcontinental
Up and down the O gauge mountains on the way to Promontory Point
66 Layout fourteen: A Day at the Races
Two intertwined ovals and six bridges mean big-time operation
71 Layout fifteen: A Twist and a Flame
A two-train plan with a twisted loop and fire-related accessories
75 Layout sixteen: A Tale of Two Cities
A continuous-run 12- by 12-foot track plan with two destinations
80 Conclusion
Closing thoughts; list of manufacturers