Coloma Rails - N Scale Model Railroading

After watching plenty of videos on YouTube on ballasting N scale and specifically KATO Unitrack, it was now time to get it done on my C&NW layout. Growing up and attempting previous model railroads, ballasting was always an issue for me, but with the help of the internet, I think I finally got it right. There are plenty of YouTube videos on it now and I elected to go with the following approach. Items needed: Ballast White Glue Isopropyl Alcohol Scenic Cement Baby Spoon Craft Paint Brushs Eye Droppers Steps: I applied Elmer’s Glue-All full strength (white glue) on the edges of the Unitrack and a little on the trackboard. With a craft flat paint brush, I spread the glue evenly. I used a baby spoon to distribute the ballast over the edges of the track.  The baby spon allowed a bit more control to apply the ballast. With a fine paint brush, I cleaned up any ballast that was built up on the ties. With a wider flat paint brush, I brushed up at an angle any ballast on the track board...

I was hoping for my expansion track pieces to arrive on Saturday so I could finish the layout on Sunday, but due to Veteran’s Day Holiday, the USPS was delayed at least a day this weekend.  So yesterday my package from  Model Train Stuff  finally arrived and it was like an early Christmas present for me. Once work was finished for the day I had to open the box and dig out the track pieces needed to finally complete my layout.  Once I connected all the track pieces, I marked a quick outline of those new pieces and proceeded to drill some more holes under the track for the wiring of the new turnouts and an additional power feed.  Once that was done I was able to secure the track to my trackboard. Track pieces all secured. Track pieces all secured. Now it was time to take the board down (with the help of my wife) and set it on it’s side so I could complete the wiring underneath.  25 years ago I used to work in the car stereo business installing radios and spea...

After staring at the track layout for 2 days and then discussing it with the wife to get her opinion, I decided to already do an expansion to the existing “Manning Oaks” layout.  I was not very fond of the idea of a ‘dead end’ track, and seeing that I had 2 loops and half of a 3rd loop, I thought why not have the ability to have 3 loops.  Once all the wiring is completed I will be running DCC on this track (with also the ability to run DC) and one of the benefits of running DCC is to be able to control multiple trains at different speeds.  Also one of the reasons for building this layout is just to be able to watch the trains run.  So by adding a 3rd loop I can have the enjoyment of watching 3 trains go around the track without having to work any of the turnouts. I put my existing “Manning Oaks” track layout into a program called SCARM, and then I was able to remove the pieces that I no longer was going to use and add the pieces I needed to complete the 3rd loop, I c...

After waiting for my wife to arrive home from work last night (I wanted to show her a test run) it was time to start and hide some of the wiring.  The track was traced with pencil (good thing I went with the light brown paint, the pencil marks were very easy to see) and I commenced on drilling some holes under the track.  Below each of the turnouts needed a hole, and I needed 5 more holes for the power feeds.  I have 4 power feeds under the double crossing and 1 more across on the other side. Once I fed all the wiring through the holes, I also began to secure the track to the trackboard with screws.  My plan with this layout is to be able to move it off the bar if the need arises. As of right now, I am quite happy on how it is turning out.

This morning it was time to start laying out the track and hoping that everything fits together.  It was great to be able to follow the “Manning Oaks” layout that I got from the KATO USA website, having the product number of all the track pieces made it a breeze. Track pieces all organized.. Track pieces all organized . It took me about an hour to lay all the track pieces on the board, and then maybe about another 30 minutes to hook up the temporary wiring.  For now I just wanted to get the track quickly wired up so we can do a test run. Once it was wired up, it was time for the test.

Knowing that I wanted to use KATO Unitrack for my model railroad track I went and visted the website at  katousa.com  to see what kind of layouts they have.  I wanted to use as much space as possible on top of my bar, yet if need be, be able to move the layout and re-use the bar.  I brought my youngest son (now 12) down to take a look and get his opinion.  I was not into just doing a switching layout, I wanted to enjoy watching the train go around, but also play with some switches occasionally.  I came across a layout called “Manning Oaks” and thought it would be perfect.  The layout was designed to fit on a 36”x72” board and that would fit perfectly on my bar.  It provided 2 full loops where I can watch the trains go around and some turnouts to be me more involved with the layout.

Welcome to “Coloma Rails”, the plan for this blog will be to document my process of building a N Scale model railroad using KATO Unitrack. All my life I have always wanted a model railroad layout, and have tried on numerous occasions.  Majority of my issues have been space, or we ended up moving to a new location and I never finished a layout. As a child, I could not have a permanent layout in my parents house, so when I became an adult it was time to finally get a layout. I first started when I was 21 with N scale and like now, with KATO Unitrack.  I chose N scale at the time since my plan was to build the layout on a shelf system.  The shelves were built and the track was laid and then I moved. My second time at the hobby was a couple years later and I thought I may have a spare bedroom.  This time I was going to build in HO scale.  I purchased all the lumber to work on the benchwork and completed most of the assembly to find out my wife was pregnant w...