Customer Reviews

Small, Smart, & Practical Track Plans (Model Railroader)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book presents some basic thoughts at the beginning discussing the advantages and disadvantages of small layouts, then offers several layouts which vary from simple "L"'s to whole bedroom layouts. The focus is primarily on shelf and waterwing layouts. The plans are well thought out, and the author does a nice job of drawing out his vision of how the structures should be sited, how to treat the backdrop for different scenes, etc. The only thing about this book that bothers me is that on at least two layouts, the binding of the book blocks part of the track plan - a definite negative if you should decide to build one of these plans.

"Small, Smart & Practical Track Plans" was my first introduction to Iain Rice's excellent illustrations and his explanations of compact layout techniques.

I recognized seeing many of the ideas -- such as sector plates, fiddle yards, and train cassettes -- in some UK model railway magazines. Soon enough, I found some of Mr. Rice's books published in the UK. (Some of which can be readily found on the Amazon.com's British site at www.amazon.co.uk if they can't be found ion the Amazon.com site.)

This book does a decent job of translating those British small layout ideas into USA railroad settings. For many model railroaders, this is be an eye-opener, making us think of creative ways to work in small spaces. For anybody who wanted to build a model railroad layout but has been discouraged by lack of space, this book may be the catalyst to pursue the dream.

One caution, not to deteract from the book's value, the illustrations are wonderfully captivating but they are suggestions for the scenic possibilities. They are not scale blueprints. So for some of the plans, not everything shown in the drawings will easily fit into the space, especially if one doesn't custom hand-lay the track. Not a major flaw; there are ways to adjust the plans or make compromises.

Even if one can and will build a larger space railroad layout, the book is a wonderful inspiration. Some of the train handling concepts, such as train cassettes, can be used in any size layout.

Nice track plans and concepts, but there only a couple of SMALL track plans in this book. If you really want SMALL track plans, check out the other track plan books such as the Atlas #6 and #7 books if you want N scale or the HO versions. Much less expensive and small, although nowhere near the nice concepts in this book.
101 Track Plans is also good.

I really liked the way the author gets inside the whole concept for each layout, explaining his vision of the important elements of each plan and then illustrating it very nicely. Think of this as a starting point for your own ideas and you won't go far wrong. Like the previous reviewer I'm slightly dissapointed by the way the book is bound, with plans being printed across a very tight spine.
If, like me, you've always had trouble designing a lot layout to fit into a tight space, then this is the book for you.

Please examine Mr. Rice's Layout designs, as EVERY Detail is fully thought out as depicted in his renderings. Magical!

Iain Rice hand-paints his track plans, and while they may not 100% match what you are doing (he tends to favor using Peco track and curved turnouts in his plans, which are over twice the price of their non-curved Atlas counterparts), the book is a good jumping off point for an imaginary project of your own. I've never built a model railroad that piece-for-piece copied someone else's work - for me, a lot of the fun of the hobby is producing something unique. Still, Rice is so vivid in his plans and descriptions that his work can serve as the inspiration for something you creat yourself. This book was originally priced at 19.95, U.S., and while it has been out of print for a little under a decade, paying over twice that (especially for a used book) is obscene, and I would urge you to watch for the price to drop.

Iain Rice is a wonderful designer and there are some great ideas in this book, but it lacks small railroads and blue prints. Even so I think it would be a good purchase.