I'm Building a New HO Train Layout - Model Railroading 

The young person who receives this layout is a lucky person. Thanks

“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” Great choice!

Union Pacific Big Boy reminded me of something from my childhood. I saw and heard the Southern Pacific 4294 in a train station right before it was taken out of service in the early 1950’s. Yes I am old, I must have been 5 or 6 at the time. The noise and steam and the monumental size of the engine is something I’ve never forgotten. My uncle worked for Southern Pacific that’s why I got to be up close to the beast. The hiss and rumbling of those HUGE steam engines was unbelievable.

Nice harrison

Awesome! That's impressive that the bigboy navigates 18" radius! Nice track work harrison!

I see you like corned beef

Sir, your energy and enthusiasm translates immensely through your presentation. I want to thank you for keeping me motivated to get my layout out of the computer and into reality. Cheers. Lance 🇦🇺

Besides repairing Engines Building layouts My Advise Keep going in Either way you want to go . Don’t quit by any means Please! You are very good In What you are Doin Keep your Edge Harrison.🤘🤘🤘🤘👍

Am I ever glad that I found your channel on RU-vid! I am amazed at what you've built on an 8x4 sheet of plywood! Thank you for this educational video! You're amazing!

This makes me appreciate the real-life topography issues of building and working the Railroad lines. Excellent skill work.

Very nice Layout build nice job SMT

The wide boi can make it through the tiny gap…. Poggers

Another Great piece of work Smt Mainline

Great job Harrison, nice trouble shooting. Great information included by you explaining why and how you did what all you did. Self explanatory. For the beginners and old railroaders alike. Now the fun part begins. Doing the scenery and buildings , roads and making the layout come alive, to make it's own little world. You have made it have so much possibilities to explore. I give you 4 star's out of 5. I would of given you 5 star's, but I didn't want to give you the Bug Head, hahaha 😂😆🤪. But you did deserve the 5 star's anyway. Great Presentation my friend. Keep up the good work you always do in all your videos. Even when you have a snafoos, you take the time showing how to correct each one. In order to make things work. 👋👍👍👍🚂

Well done! Great learning opportunity. Thx.

Big boy + this type of cool layout it'll be a dream come true !!

That was really an enjoyable video Harrison. Thanks for posting it.

Excellent job! Many modellers have struggled with the engineering challenges of curving inclines which you have managed amazingly well. I was very pleasantly surprised, as were you, that the big boy ran flawlessly. Keep up the amazing work.

This is a great starter video to showcase how to make a model railroad I find it more simple and not as boring as other channels

We loved watching this & great music. Looking forward to seeing more.

Great starter layout, fab job! Hmmm, someone else who likes corned beef! 👌

Hi, I would remove that hump on the side of the bridge track you repaired. cut the risers back to where it is level straight across the bridge. Then shave the cut-out section of risers level and then replace. This would be the time to do it and save a lot of unwanted uncoupling issues in the future. Great job I'm a big fan of your videos.

First time I've seen road bed added AFTER the track 😮 looks like an easier and faster method. Nicely done 😊

I love that song, "What A fellowship, what a joy divine."

the way I build a layout is to build the main area of track and work around it so you have proper messurements

I think I’m gonna try to re-create this layout for my first table layout. Wish me luck everyone lol.

Way to go, Harrison. The Big Boy looks right at home on that layout. It was a great choice to test out the track -- just don't try running the Centennial. Are you planning on putting plexiglass along the edge? I'm sure the youngster you're creating this layout for will enjoy it. Hopefully he watches your videos, but doesn't figure out it's for him. Thanks for sharing. 👍🐾👍

Great Vid. A quality 1/2 hour presentation and tutorial. Fully on spot, the narration and photography were clear, and the canned music ties it all together. One note, nickel silver track has no silver. It is a nickel, copper, and zinc alloy. THREE THUMBS UP!

It is a nice basic starter layout. The hobby lives on!

OMG my dream its come true, a new layout series i hope

An inspiration to us all, now I know I can use my Big boy model, Tony from Ireland

It will be exciting to see the new layout when it's fully done!

WOW! I’m speechless! This is truly an amazing project. I was stunned how it spread over multiple rooms. What a formidable experience conceived in the mind of Klaus and so expertly laid-out. The film and footage are very well produced giving the viewer the actual feeling of riding these trains though this magical scenery. Well done Cam.

There’s just no getting around it…building a railroad is a messy business!😂😂😂 Great video, thanks for sharing.

Ah, but it appears you've forgotten something crucial about the Big Boy, SMT! It's elementary, my dear Harrison. This HO scale Big Boy, much like the prototype, was _designed_ with sharp curves in mind, hence why they are "articulated". Anyhow, great job on the layout! I'm sure that friend's son with love it.

I used to have an HO layout in my basement when I was a kid. Very cool video. Makes me miss playing with mine. And I swear that I had the same gray trestle bridge and the mechanical road crossing that you have sitting on the table at the end of the video. The train drives over it and a plastic pad on the track gets pushed down and moves the gates down to block the road.

Building HO scale train layout. Atlas code 100 tracks. Good job my friend.

I never clicked so fast. Then I realized it was for someone else and I came back later. :) Great job, they’ll love it.

When the cat started lurking around, i thought for sure he was gonna be up on the table trying to help you!!

Man I really want a model railroad.

Awesomeness Harrison. What a nice gesture. Thanks for sharing.

I like how you snuck in the background music. Recognized the song almost immediately.

Awesome layout. Thank you for showing us. I will use this video as my future layout blueprint. 👍👍👍

EXCELLENT. ❤. Such a big help for me as a new by at 75. 👍👏

Good video for the newbies. Interesting way of fixing the roadbed in place. I think you have become the rockstar model railroader to your younger fans. Well done

What a great layout, Harrison. I can hardly wait for your future videos on this layout. It was a lot of work but in the long run it all paid off. Thanks for sharing this wonderful video.

Thanks, Harrison. Since my move from Florida to Ohio to be closer to family because of my medical issues, the Chippewa Northern has to be rebuilt, starting with a 4 x 8 table given to me. Been looking at layout designs, and I really like this one. It has also given me some other possible add-ons, an L shape at one end for a large city since I have at least 50 city buildings from the old layout. Like a lot of cities the trackage will be on the outskirts. I have never used the cans as weights but I will now.

Nice job SMT. Ya the rivarossi big boys handle 18s they look funny on them but they work Enjoyed this video building a T1 shell from scratch send you some pictures when it's done

Nice it's looking good already

My favorite kind of videos! Can't wait to see it!

You're going to make some young man very happy! 👍👍

You should see if it's possible to add a second crossover so trains can return from the inner loop to the outer loop without reversing

Aww man. This made my day, I've been waiting for more layout building videos for a while. Thanks Harrison!!!

And thanks, really good video on track laying.

I learned a lot from watching this video. Thank you for sharing 😊

Great job I just purchased a big boy union pacific and have not built my layout yet thanks to you I know it will run on my 4×8 table with no problems 😊

Wow, Harrison. Great job showing how you built that layout. Very inspiring. I have had no room for a sheet of plywood in apartments I have lived in. When I lived at our old family home, I had space to build several model railway layouts, & I did. When I was about your age, 40+ years back I finished a great layout in room off Dad's car port. Had to dismantle layout when my Dad sold the house in fall of 1982. However, I still have a lot of my old locomotives & rolling stock from the 1970's & early 1980's, seeing what you do makes me think that I should try for a shelf layout in my cramped flat. If I can't get my old Athearn, Life-Like, Model Power & AHM locos to run, I will look to your past videos for advice on getting them to come to life. BTW, great hint with the artist's pins to centre the cork roadbed & track. So cool to see that AHM /Rivarossi U.P. 'Big Boy' steam locomotive charge around your layout. I almost bought one of those when I was in Seattle in 1979, but I didn't have enough U.S. cash left in my wallet. No debit machines or ATM's 44 years back. I had a C.I.B.C. 'Chargex' card then , but store in Seattle wouldn't except it. 'Chargex' card later became 'Visa'. Arrghh, I really wanted that 'Big Boy". Anyway, sorry to bore you with my old stories. Keep up the good work on your channel. Great stuff. Always cool content you post.

Who ever you made this for will love it .

Thank you. I will lay track first, then road bed, that makes sense.

love it harrison

Excellent Harrison. Must be something in the air. I started my shelf layout tonight. SMT manual chapter layout construction🚂🇨🇦🙋

Nice Harrison.

A big-boy in it's natural habitat. ❤

Best video I've ever seen

NGL: Not only is that a good layout plan but also a cool idea for a nascar track

Good work! Those old Rivarossi articulateds were designed to work on 18” radius curves. My layout in the 60s had an inner and outer loop like yours & my 2-8-8-2 had few issues. Thanks for showing us how it’s done.

Us corned beef lovers need to stick together 😋

Nothing says making a new layout without a few cans of Hunts tomato sauce!! 😂

Excellent really well planned

Wanted to get someone into railroading then that person should have been there with you from the start. Helped build the layout.

Love your more interesting videos the restoration’s are always great but videos like these is y I’m subscribed

HARRISON ! EWE DA MAN ! NOW RUN A DD40AX OR A DD35 A ! YOUR TRACK WORK IS SIMPLE BUT IT WORKS SO WELL ! CANADIEN AYE ! 😎

You played my favorite bluegrass gospel song,. Leaning on on Jesus.

This is precisely what I needed as I get my projects under way. As I've stated before, my goal is to have multiple layouts representing different themes, but with one underframe. Should I move to a bigger place, I could then spread out and have multiple themed layouts that I could connect together for "run-throughs". Thanks for the tips and inspo, Harrison.

I've been a model railroader for sixty five of my seventy four years and I watch and enjoy your channel. It's interesting and you have some things to teach this old dog. If I may, an observation on this track plan. A train moving clockwise on the outer loop can move through the cross over to the inner loop but cannot return to the outer loop. Similarly, a train moving counter clockwise on the inner loop can move to the outer, but can't return. Another set of switches and an opposing cross over on the ground level side of your layout would make this plan more flexible. Great layout, great series. I'm enjoying watching your build.

Well done. Big Boy on an 18". Amazing.

Very nice, well edited video! Watching your videos or working on my own layout is always time well spent!

Great job but I'ld give you a 7 out of 10 points. The order of construction is OK but, add 2 more steps. With the track on 'the board', use a sharpie, or other marker, to locate the center of the track. Take the track off, 'connect the dots', line up the roadbed to 'the dots', then put the track back down. Yes, it is more 'steps' but way much less mess to deal with. I would've added 2 left-hand turnouts so the train could go back to the main line, without backing into the main line. FYI - I'm 72 and started out with an A.C.Gilbert American Flyer train that I received on my 6th birthday, in 1957 🙂 (The train still runs today.)

Great to show all these new ideas put to work in a layout construction. Don't forget to test the track under the bridge with a couple of your longest wagons hooked together before you start to add the scenery. It is indeed a good start but to facilitate expansion, incorporate a point/switch on the outer mainline leading to a siding which the new owner could easily convert to an extension when ready.

This has inspired me to dig out my goodies from 10 years ago and actually start setting a layout up. I have an old lima Loco with some rolling stock, Absolutely love your videos and easy style of setting up.

Muy bonito quedó tu nuevo circuito para tus trenes me gustó mucho la forma que le diste. Saludos desde Tijuana baja California México.👍✌️

This video comes at a good time for me because Im going to help a friend build an N scale layout and I haven't built any layouts other than O gauge 3 rail in over 30 years. Materials and techniques have changed in that time and I love that straight pin trick. NICE.

Very good video on basic model railroad layout design and construction. I especially liked how you use side-by-side roadbed under the tracks.

Man I wish I had this ho scale trains and tracks they are awesome

What a great video! Excellent overview of the track planning and building phase. The shot at 8:30 demonstrates why I discourage running longer rolling stock on curves below 24" radius: yes, it works, but boy, does it look silly. Sticking with 40' long rolling stock will make this layout look larger.

Dude this is awesome!!!

Great Beginning. Thanks for sharing.

Sweet video

Great video Harrison thanks for sharing it😊

My god that was magnificent! My video would be much, much different. There would be a lot of “bleeping” and things being thrown against the wall. Probably finish with something like, flipping the table over and doing a “Hulk Smash” lol You’re very talented, you make it look easy!

Simple tutorial. Nice

This is a wonderful video. I’ll definitely place it in my favorite list. Wow.

I'm happy to discover your channel, as I plan my first HO Scale layout build. I'm creating a simple layout on an 18 foot by 5 foot base. It will represent an area along Route 66 in Oklahoma that has no mountains. I want to celebrate both the small town America sense of community and the larger idea of a united America that was the subject of the American Freedom Train that traveled all over America in 1976. I have the Lionel HO Scale American Freedom Train that was sold in 1976 and the Bachmann America Freedom Train steam locomotive made more recently. I really appreciate seeing how this layout came together!

great work harrison,nice one.jpj

SMT I am so excited to see a layout building series because I could learn so much more about layout building but I find most tutorials aren't really that good, but you do great restoration vids and I learn so much through them. Keep em coming!

Very cool video

You, sir are magic with these model trains. Im a truck driver so i dont think i have the time to have another layout like i did when i was younger, but if i ever do get the time to enjoy one, im most definitely going to ask your advice beforehand! Great job!

This video is very helpful considering that I’m building my first train table tomorrow

Good job in the HO scale new layout. Build a N scale layout. Flex tracks code 80 Atlas. Manual and remote switch #4 , #6 and #8 Atlas. Tracks nails Atlas.

Very clever layout. I agree with the comment of adding a duel cross over and two controls so the out side loop could keep running while you can do some yard switching or pick up passengers at the town