Layout Design News
The Layout Design News was published intermittently from 1987 to 1998. Today its content is all contained in the Layout Design Journal.
LDN-20 Summer 1998 (28 Pages, $4.00)
Prototype railroader builds and operates a brewery as a Layout Design Element. Directional consistency and map orientation in layout design. Prototype orientation issues. Saving time and money when creating layout space. A redesign for the Nicollete from MRP’98. More on lighting and valance design. Internet resources for layout design. Readers’ letters: “Domino” questions; Neville Island info source; Drop ceiling idea.
LDN-18 February 1998 (36 Pages, $2.00)
Prototype vs. freelanced layouts: a crisis of faith. Early op sessions for design verification. Temporary staging yard design. Ceiling treatment discussion; Lighting ideas. 1997 Madison Convention report; Design ideas from Madison. Design lessons from operating sessions on Lee Nicholas’ Utah Colorado Western . Vision for the future of the LDSIG; SIG reorganization and Steering Committee update.
LDN-16 August 1997 (20 Pages, $1.50)
On-line layout design “Primer” overview. Professional railroaders’ thoughts on model layout design. Using the ICC and HAER databases as modeling tools. Answers: layout design above a garage; portable layout rooms; dissipating lamp heat. Questions: WWII railroading; capturing the Pennsy; automated trains. John Armstrong on Doug Gurin. LDSIG at Long Beach 1996 report. LDSIG plans for Madison in 1997. SIG reorganization: Vision; Business meeting recap. Regional meeting highlights.
LDN-15 July 1996 (12 Pages, $1.50)
Long Beach Limited 1996 Convention Update about SIG activities. Discussions about multi-deck layouts, shallow scenes, elevated decks. Sources of decals, dry transfers, and right-of-way products. Prototype data sources. Lighting ideas from Ted Rose’s “Nighthawks Revisited” watercolor. Questions about above-garage and portable-building layouts; lamp heat beneath an upper deck. Making the LDN a uniquely helpful newsletter.
LDN-13 April 1995 (60 Pages, $6.00)
Planning and Building Dalberg’s New Jersey Northern. Theme layouts: Operating diorama to show off a roster; triple-deck layout with car-float connections. Plausibly naming a freelance model railroad; developing a herald. “Macro-Engineering” an effective layout design. Thoughts on the Layout Design process. Bigger aisles for operation. Fascia panel finishes. Scenery design: Modeling Winter – Seattle style; Urban and rural scenes; Right-of-way images. Stations: An Imagined Journey book review. Books about “world-class” small space design, scenery and weathering. Model Railroad Planning-from a personal perspective.
LDN-12 April 1994 (36 Pages, $4.00)
Multi-deck layout design: Two decks with a raised platform; Five ATSF decks in a garage. Follow-ups to Lodi, Neville Island, and diverging branch lines. Serial vs. parallel staging. N scale coffee table layouts. “Fun” vs. self- improvement. Getting research help from others. Regional fauna. Expectations for Kalmbach’s forthcoming Model Railroad.
LDN-11 December 1993 (40 Pages, $5.00)
Creating a “plausible” freelanced railroad. Around-the-room helix. Modeling Lodi, California on the SP. Neville Island, PA, a design for an industrial layout. Air photo research. Branch lines across aisles. Design ideas from the Valley Forge Convention.
LDN-10 March 1993 (32 Pages, $4.00)
Thinking small but effectively. Interesting small layouts. Central Camp on the Sugar Pine Lumber Company. Collaborative design for a lifetime New York, Susquehanna & Western multi-deck layout. The reality of reality. Be cautious of conventional wisdom. Too many rock castings. Parking lots, roads, etc. Operation and control: CTC and other options. Update on a 1944 CNJ-based industrial shelf layout.
LDN-9 October 1992 (32 Pages, $4.00)
Yosemite Valley RR Evaluation. New England Railroads: Connecticut & New England; Canadian VermontSystem. Research layout on model railfanning. Conrail’s Southern Tier. Learning ideas for the SIG at future conventions. Prototype info sources.
LDN-8a February 1992 (12 Pages, $1.50)
Prototype info sources. Roadbed and ballast products. Layout videos. Skin tones. Sunset Valley locates in California.
LDN-8 August 1991 (40 Pages, $4.00)
Maumee Route: Concepts; lessons; and operators’ jobs. Streetside industry and spot switching. The City Belt: small layout design and operation. Railroads of Bethlehem and Eastward. Conrail’s Southern Tier. Practical and beautiful curved track. Periodic “reality checks”.
LDN-7 March 1991 (76 Pages, $6.50)
Modeling the railroads of Bethlehem, Allentown, and eastward – a collaborative process. Layout visits to B&M, Pacific Northwestern, Southern Ry, and Montana Road. Small layoutideas. Second looks at the Allegheny Midland. The case for imitating a famous model railroad. Layout design and modeling principles. Superelevation approaches. Engine smoke. British layouts and exhibits. Regional barns. Layout sounds. Staging. Woodland scenery planning and information.
LDN-6 December 1990 (72 Pages, $6.50)
Lessons from Pittsburgh layouts. Prototype freight car handling and yard operations. Engine terminalplanning. Designing RR operating documents, including AGE trainsheet. Modeling hazardous cargoes, train inspections, and danger. Realistic track alignments. ATSF station evolution. Critical look at Allegheny Midland. G scale island layout. Montana & Flathead. Southern Ry “loops”. “Time, place, and manner”. Club layout design. Mechanical drafting techniques.
LDN-5 July 1990 (36 Pages, $4.00)
Staging yard compendium. Pittsburgh NMRA Convention layouts: VGN Ry, SP, Blue Ridge & Southern/C&O, Kanawah & Western Allegheny, and M&K Div. of B&O. Layout plan with steel industry theme. Stress reduction for operating crews. PRR’s Philly Terminal Division layout update.
LDN-4 January 1990 (39 Pages, $4.00)
Analysis of Steele’s D&H. 2d and 3d aisle planning. Overhead staging. V&O update. Peninsula split-level cross-section. European planning concepts on St. Johnsbury, Vt. layout. Exemplary industry reporting. Analysis of On3 modular layout.
LDN-3 March 1989 (52 Pages, $4.00)
ICC valuation material. Planning O scale layouts by Armstrong and others. Layout visits to B&M, BN, IC, NYO&W, and NYNH&H. Aisles. Industrial Parks. Staging. NWP and Conrail track plans for solo operator. Breakaway benchwork. Case for yard-theme layout. Recreating D&RGW in Bond, Colorado.
LDN-2 November 1988 (28 Pages, $2.00)
Aisleways, duckunders, and open spaces. Research services and sources. Small layout with helix and staging. Prototype car forwarding practices. High- and low-tech operation enhancements. Nehrich on operation.
LDN-1 November 1987 (52 Pages, $4.00)
Emerging concepts about layout design,
prototype modeling, railfan themes, yard themes. Design guidelines. Realistic right-of-way. Design and construction for operation and realism. Urban modeling. Bridge selection. Prototype information sources. Staging. Waterways, roadways, big scenes, and space-savers.