Canadian Pacific (red) SD90Mac N Scale on a girder bridge

Model Railroad Projects

I have an N scale model railroad that I’ve expanded from the original 2.5 x 5 foot layout I started in my apartment bedroom.

It has sat more or less untouched for a few years due to some other priorities and projects, but I’m getting back into planning some projects.

Canadian Pacific (grey/maroon) N scale passenger train passing by rocky outcrop

Here are the projects I have planned:

  • Convert all turnouts to servo control through an Arduino Uno that I can also control through JMRI
  • VIA Rail RDC (Rail Diesel Car) build – trying to replicate as closely as I can the RDCs that used to run on Vancouver Island from Victoria to Courtney, BC
  • Johnston St. “Blue Bridge” – the iconic bascule railroad/street bridge that joined downtown Victoria to Esquimalt, BC that was demolished a few years ago and replaced with a modern bridge. The above mentioned RDCs travelled on this bridge everyday to reach their downtown train station.
  • Y-hut – a small building situated on the campus of the University of Victoria (where I work) that used to be used by the military decades ago. A very unique building with its rounded corners and curved windows.
  • Furniture factory – a building on the edge of the aisle that will be fully outfitted as a woodworking shop producing custom furniture
  • City block – a street on the edge of a city that will contain a couple of condominium blocks and the iconic Munro’s book store which is here in Victoria, BC. The street itself will have metered parking with EV charging stations, a street divider with rose bushes and bus stops with shelters.
  • Canyon – a deep canyon with a rail line on one side spanned by a double-tracked wood tres