How to Design a Model Railroad

Lance Mindheim is a frequent contributor to Model Railroader magazine as well as Kalmbach's Model Railroad Planning and Great Model Railroads annuals, and his work has appeared in numerous books from Kalmbach and other publishers. He's the owner of Shelf Layouts Co., Inc., a custom layout building and design firm. He lives in Silver Spring, Md.

Introduction
Young age, hard lesson

1 Defining a "good" layout design
Planning a model railroad is far more than developing a track plan

2 How the prototype does track planning
Follow full-size railroads to achieve realistic track arrangements

3 Basic design tools
How various types of track, grades, and negative space impact layout design

4 Combining track elements
Blending components to create sidings, spurs, yards, and other features

5 Benchwork footprints and route types
Designing your layout "canvas," then adding a mainline route along it

6 Finalizing your footprint and route
Focusing on the benchwork and basic track plan

7 Putting it all together: Part 1—the science
Arranging the elements on the canvas

8 Putting it all together: Part 2—the art
Balance, emphasis and other visual keys to designing a realistic layout

9 Case study: Frederick, Md., 1952
Making four strategic decisions led to an effective design