45 Original Track Plans (Model Railroader)

I always enjoy Bernie's books. This is the 2nd one of these I bought since my first got something spilled on it and it was ruined. I like looking at Bernie's plans because of their prototype inspiration as well as how he puts together those elements into an operations oriented model railroad.

A good book to get ideas from for a new layout of adding to an existing one, which I'm doing. You can use it for any scale to get ideas from.

Has some great ideas

Kinda dull. Something about the computer assisted renderings takes a lot away from the track plans. Maybe I've just been spoiled by fifty years of the previous track plans from Model Railroader.

very healfull

Whether you need inspiration for a small layout or a building filling layout, this book will definitely whet your appetite!

ok

In track planning books, it's rare that the plans can be built as presented because it's highly unlikely that the reader's space for a model railway will correspond exactly to the spaces used by the plans the layout designer presents. So, these books should really be judged on their value as inspiration for a modeler to design a layout for their own space.At the same time, the plans presented should be grounded in reality - they should have realistic curve radii and turnout sizes for the types of equipment to be run, adequate space for structures and scenes, excellent access to all track, aisles that are wide enough to make building and operating the layout comfortable, and so on.From any measure, Bernard Kempinski has hit the target. These 45 plans - never before published - present many great ideas, from small shelf layouts to empires that will fill a large basement or special purpose building. There are also some plans designed to take advantage of popular modular standards, or to be exhibited as self-contained layouts. Truly, there's something for everyone between the covers.Each plan is accompanied by a photo or two of the prototype (or prototype inspiration) and a description - about a page worth - that provides some background and highlights the key features of the plan. The plans are nicely rendered and the text is very readable - and provides just enough information to start the reader on a Google-powered adventure to find out more about the plans that most inspire him or her.I particularly like the author's introduction - and recommend that every buyer read it. In about a page, the author details his criteria for drawing plans, and they're good concepts for anyone to adopt when designing their own model railway. Those who do will find their layout gives them maximum pleasure and minimum frustration.I also appreciate that the author has presented a set of plans that cover a wide spectrum of interests.- As one would expect, there are many examples of traditional steam/diesel transition era railroading, as well as modern railroading. But there are a number of plans based around less-modelled eras, dating back almost to the beginning of railroading.- What's more, while most of the plans are of North American themes, there are plans based on prototypes in the UK, Iran, France, Peru - and even on Mars. (This last, while futuristic, is not fanciful: as the author notes, it's based on the ideas presented by Robert Zubrin in "The Case For Mars" - available through Amazon. And the author's timing could not be better, with the book's publication taking place just ahead of Hollywood's release of "The Martian").- And finally, the author has explored a range of scales - including N, HO, S and O, in standard and narrow gauge formats. (I did note some reviewers sniffing that their chosen scale has been under-represented. Beyond accepting the realities of the hobby, I think it's worth mentioning that the plans as presented are all well thought out and should present few problems if built in the scale in which they're presented. But almost all of them could also be built by bumping down a scale - so, for example, by building a plan listed as O scale, but building it in S, in the same space as the O scale plan. This would require only minor adjustments to tighten up track spacing, reduce turntable sizes appropriately, and so on. The result would be even larger curves, longer mainline runs, and more room for scenery - for a truly spectacular layout.)There are many track plan collections that feature layouts that would frustrate anyone who attempts to build them, or result in an unrealistic layout that's not very far from "toy train under the tree" status. Some designers are notorious for this. Readers of this book will not have that problem. All designs have been created with construction in mind. If I have any criticism, it's of the phrase "track plans" in the title. These are "layout designs" - because they consider everything from the placement of structures and key scenic elements, to the availability of the key locomotives and rolling stock required to bring the finished layout to life.Highly recommended!(Purchased through Amazon.ca)