N scale

3 Articles

Is This The World’s Smallest N-Scale Train Layout?

January 23, 2024 by 7 Comments

There’s just something about miniature worlds — they’re just so relaxing to look at and ponder. Think you don’t have ample room for a model train layout at your place? You may not be thinking small enough. [Peter Waldraff] knows a thing or two about hiding train layouts inside of furniture (that’s one solution), but this time, he’s built a track in plain sight that’s meant to sit on the bookshelf. The whole thing is just 5.5″ x 12″.

This N-scale layout was three years in the making, mostly because [Peter] was waiting for just the right little powered chassis to come along. For the layout, [Peter] started by creating custom flexible track by removing pieces with a sharp knife. He glued down the track to pink foam and used nails to hold it in place while the glue dried. He also built a wood frame around the base to stabilize it and hold some of the electronic components, including a switch made from an old ballpoint pen.

Then it was time to start decorating the thing, beginning with a couple of buildings made from more pink foam that are both lit up with LEDs. Eventually, [Peter] added a bunch of details like streetlights, animals, and garbage cans that really make the layout pop. As far as the engine goes, [Peter] picked up a Tomytec TM-TR02 on eBay and built a trolley out of two broken cars. [Peter]’s build is something you just have to see for yourself — fortunately for you, the build and demo video is after the break.

Like we said, [Peter]’s usual territory is hiding train layouts in end tables and coffee tables and the like, so it’s nice to see what he can do given different constraints.

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A model train car carrying a camera

2022 FPV Contest: Get The Train Driver’s View In Your N-Scale Railway

December 28, 2022 by 23 Comments

Model railroaders typically observe their project from high above. It would be neat to see what the world looks like to the residents of your little town, but getting down to their point of view is difficult, especially if you’re working in one of the smaller scales. For those working in the N scale, there’s now an easy way of observing your project as the train driver would see it: [Vassily98] managed to squeeze a wireless camera into an N-scale railcar.

The main challenge here was the extremely limited space available: the track in N-scale layouts is 9 mm wide, meaning that the whole system had to fit in just 23 x 20 mm2, the frontal area of a typical train car. One of the few cameras that fit within that profile was the RunCam Nano 4, which [Vassily98] connected to an ultra-tiny Team BlackSheep 5.8 GHz video transmitter.

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N-scale model railroad hidden in wall art

Hidden Model Railroading Taken To The Nth Scale

January 6, 2022 by 6 Comments

Most of us would be pretty happy with ourselves if we made one of those neat “epoxy river” types of art for our home. Not so with prolific maker [Peter Waldraff]. [Peter] is a skilled craftsman with a penchant for hiding model railroads in everyday furniture and fixtures. To this end, he’s created what he calls the Hidden Epoxy Railroad, which you can see in the video below the break.

The project starts with basic woodworking to build the frame, hinges, and the hinged epoxy river with its colored epoxy pour. Instead of stopping there, [Pete] continued by building a full N scale model railroad into the piece. The frame doubles as a backdrop complete with a beautifully painted scene with what we’re guessing is an N scale hot air balloon, too.

Of course, the skeptics among us might doubt whether the model railroad is fully hidden when closed. But one detail that Pete shared with us is that his wife never knew about the train portion of the build until their daughter pointed it out. She thought it was merely a piece of art for the dining room. Truly a great hack!

The entire build is documented on [Pete]’s YouTube channel, with its own 15 part build series. It’s definitely worth checking out. We’ve covered one of [Pete]’s hidden railroad builds before, so make sure you check that out, too!

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