If you’re tight on space for your model railway layout or want a efficient way of moving trains over a large vertical distance you’ll love this idea.
I stumbled across this inventive, clever, model railway layout idea from Professional Layout Services in Nottingham who design and manufacture baseboards.
“Spirals are the most efficient space saving way of forming gradients where a large climb or fall in the track level is required. Often used to access hidden storage sidings beneath the normal layout level, or as a way of making a train disappear and then emerge in a different place, on a different level and usually going in the opposite direction. A spiral can accommodate several tracks and in the case of the image shown, this twin track spiral has both an up and a down track to access hidden siding loops.”
Got a similar space saving idea for compact model railway layouts? Tweet me at @modelraileng. And if like this, you’ll probably also like my articles on building model railway baseboards and guides to railway modelling.
> A final, personal, note: I spend a huge amount of time testing, photographing, writing and researching techniques for these articles and pay for all the running costs of MRE out of my own pocket. If you found this article useful you can support me by making a donation on my fund-raising page. Thanks and happy modelling, Andy.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.