BUDGET MODEL RAILWAYS - CHALLENGE

BUDGET MODEL RAILWAYS

The Budget Model Railways 60cm x 23.5cm floating shelf layout challenge

Concept:
To produce a layout of any scale/gauge on a 60cm x 23.5 cm floating shelf. Thickness of the shelf does not matter but must not exceed the 60cm x 23.5cm dimensions.
It must have at least one point/ switch and have as much operating potential as possible, ie not a single track diorama.
Any type of track inc pre ballasted is acceptable. Ovals are acceptable if they can be fitted in, as long as there is at least one point/switch.
It must have two buildings/structures as a minimum, but this can include sheds, signal boxes etc.
Backscene can be any height.
The fiddle yard must not exceed 60cm in length or be more than two road, it must be separate from the scenic section, i.e. no 4ft boards with only the 60 x 23 section as a layout.
The layout should include as much second hand and recycled material and features as possible.
The objective of the challenge is to inspire people to have a go at making a micro shunting layout, especially those who have not built a layout or micro layout before, and to do so on a limited budget.
Whilst I will be interested to see any layouts outside of the criteria, only those that meet the criteria will be featured on the website.
There is no prize or reward, or ranking 1st 2nd 3rd etc, its just a fun challenge to inspire people to enjoy making a micro layout.

DUANE WINGETT - TONYS QUARRY

7/11/2025

Tony's Quarry is an industrial diorama depicting a small part of a fictitious quarry.
Set roughly between 1958 and 1967, locomotives will generally be British Railways "green and steam".
The diorama is built upon a 60cm long, 23.5cm wide floating shelf purchased in August 2025 from Home Bargains for £4. The track plan is a “tuning fork” design with a “fiddle-stick” head shunt, a single point and two sidings. It is an experiment to see what you can do in a very limited space and is part of the Budget Model Railways - 60cm Floating Shelf Challenge ( see next page for more details on the challenge )
The diorama features a wagon aggregate loader depositing live aggregate loads into open mineral wagons. These are then emptied “off stage” before the wagons return.
The back scene, the side scenes, and the jagged letter box viewing portal are designed to make it appear that the diorama is being transported in a packing crate that has become broken. This “crate” also doubles as the actual carry crate for the layout.
The track is all second hand, with the Peco live frog point purchased off a seller on Facebook Marketplace and the Peco flexi-track retrieved from a skip. Point control is wire-in-tube as is the uncoupler control. The power controller is a cheap Chinese PWM controller in a 3D printed enclosure. The buildings are a combination of laser cut materials and 3D printed parts, all designed, cut and printed, and built by the owner.

RICHARD FOSTER - BLUE CORP

7/11/2025

Blue Corp is a 60cm x 23.5cm N scale train layout with a 60cm long fiddle yard which runs the length of the layout behind the scenic backdrop. Blue Corp is set in a fictional world which I call the Blue Zone.
The Locomotives are home printed and powered by Kato 11-109 power units. The rolling stock chassis are home printed and mounted on Kato Pocketline trucks/wheels/couplers. The trains run on Kato N scale Unitrack.
The layout is controlled by a home built Arduino-based DCC-EX Command Station. I've installed LokPilot 5 Micro decoders in each of the 11-109 power units and Digitrax DS51k1 stationary decoders in each of the Kato turnouts. The locomotives, turnouts, and LED scenic lighting can be controlled remotely via an iPhone using the WiThrottle app. Six Infrared sensors embedded in the track allow trains to run automated routes programmed into the DCC-EX Command Station using EX-RAIL.
This is my first train layout and my first deep dive into electronics and the world of Arduino. I've learned a lot from this challenge and look forward to applying all that I've learned in future projects. Thank you, BMR, for presenting this challenge!

ANTHONY PARSLEY - BROWN TOWN

7/11/2025

Hello Mike,
I know this layout does not meet the requirements for the challenge, and I'm not asking you to display it on the website. My purpose for reaching out is to says thank you.
I'm 52 years old and this will be my first railroad.
My Grandfather and I started an overambitious project when I was a child. We didn't get far. I still have a couple building kits in boxes that I held on to as keepsakes. Building a railroad when I have the time and space has been a plan for decades.
Thanks to your channel, I have a running railroad that is only 11"x36". I can run trains quite happily on the kitchen table. This layout will finally give a home to 2 industrial buildings that have been in boxes since the 80s. Thanks again Mike. I love your channel. I'll send a picture when it is done.

PETER BAKER - BLACKGANG

7/11/2025

Welcome to Blackgang, an Isle of Wight inspired shelf layout which is still work in progress. It is amazing how long it takes to build such a small layout as I started the layout in May. So far I am pleased to say that I have not spent any money on the layout, having made use of items and materials that I already posses. The baseboard is a piece of wayrock salvaged from a built in wardrobe and cut down to the correct size of 60cm x 23.5cm. In order to provide space underneath for point control etc I mounted the board on a shallow frame of wood 2.5cm x 1.5cm wooden battons. The backscene is painted by me onto hardboard left over from that used for the backscene of my main layout "Sandown". All the track comprises off cuts of flexitrack and the 2 peco Y points are salvaged from a previous layout and are operated with coathanger wire attached via choc blocks to strong paper clip wire underneath the baseboard. The buildings are a mixture of kitbashed and scratchbuilt using existing supplies. Likewise all trees and other landscaping have been constructed with materials I already had in stock. I am intending to use rolling stock that I already own which includes a pair of IW 4 wheel coaches and an Adams O2 which determined the platform length and runround loop. Goods wise, I have unearthed a box van, cattle truck and a short brake van. The turntable, which will be manually operated with wire levers, is inspired by the one at Bembridge and one originally used at Ventnor Town to allow locos to access the runround loop due to a lack of room for a point and headshunt. Such turntables were not used for turning the train around, but merely to save on space. IW Locomotive always pointed their boilers south except in exceptional circumstances. So this layout, Blackgang, is inspired by Ventnor Town where the railway emerges through a tunnel portal in the chalk cliff face of the down and where the station space is limited high above the town and sea. Ofcourse there was never a station at Blackgang. Such a station would have been nonsensical partly due to the unstable nature of the terrain as well as it having been a ridiculous undertaking to have tunnelled through St. Catherine's Down when a much easier and flatter route could have followed the Medina valley from Newport via Merstone Junction down to Chale where a short walk, with albeit a steep ascent, would have led to the visitors to Blackgang Chine. But why let logistics get in the way? Why not pretend that such a major tourist attraction as Blackgang Chine would not merit a railway station. Looking ahead, I am yet to finish the turntable and I intend to construct a 2 lane traverser fiddleyard on a board of 60 cm in length. The question is, can I construct one without buying drawer runners? The layout is DC powered from a single input in the fiddle yard under the tunnel entrance and has a separate feed to the turntable. The switching of the points allows for isolated sections to hold a second loco. Currently I am using a mainland Adams 02 which is awaiting an IW body transplant and DCC decoder when it will join its sister locos on my main layout, so I shall need to find an alternative loco from somewhere

MARK PLATTS - SHELLFISH ISLAND

7/11/2025

Shellfish Island is my first attempt at a model railway that is functional, wired up and scenic completed. Previous attempts have resulted in some track on a baseboard with some buildings scattered around. This challenge has given me the inspiration to undertake this railway after nearly 50 years of collecting. The railway itself is based on a layout by Neil Rushby called Shell Island.but my version is set on the west coast of Scotland in the LMS period. I have enjoyed this challenge and look forward to doing another. A big thank you to Mike for setting this challenge and the great channel he has created

MAURICE GRIMES - ELISHAVEN

7/11/2025

This represents a couple of German railroad sidings near a yard, in the 1960's. Built on a 60 cm. by 20 cm. shelf. The backdrop is foam core spray painted a light blue. The track is Atlas code 80 set track (they call it snap-track), which I have used on two previous layouts. The two houses, the trees and the grass scatter were all bought used at my local hobby shop. The freight cars I have been collecting at local train shows over the years. They are usually low priced since few model German railroads in the U.S. The dirt is sand I had bought for covering icy sidewalks in winter. The loading dock and the white building are 3D prints I made some time ago to test my printer. The red brick building is made from leftovers in my parts box. I made several mistakes but that's how I learn.

ANDREW WILSON - STANDBY

7/11/2025

A generic HO Gauge (possibly Germany) on a Home Bargains shelf with lamented floor offcuts for the scenery. The station and signal box are second hand, the goods shed is built from other building models offcuts. The rolling stock is second hand. The railbus is a Marklin body on a Mehano tram chassis that cost around £12 for all the parts. The yard and track bed are roofing felt. The trees and grass mat second hand from a car boot. The BMR controller is from a previous lockdown project.

FOX RAIL - LITTLE FAWKESTON

7/11/2025

Little Fawkeston is a small fictional station of the late 1940s/early 1950s A main lifeline to the nearby village of its namesake. A small halt between two tunnels down an embankment which the locals commute to via the bus service down the country roads with local passenger trains being a common sight up and down the branch as well as freight traffic amongst other goods heading to and from the remote locations and towards the main cities. The rail connection is a main lifeline for not only its passengers but local businesses shipping their goods off to be sold.

sCOTT cARVER - tHUNDER RIVER

7/11/2025

N Gauge Wild Canyon with river shelf layout in development (Home Bargains shelves) inspired by your micro shelf layouts plus the ON30 layouts of Thunder Mesa Studios (based on the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida).
I’m a OO Gauge collector too but am also limited for space, so have turned to N to create some exciting and different layouts. This layout happily runs the Kato Pocket Line Locos and Trams, the long American Southern Pacific diesels and steam trains with endless box car and wagon rakes (despite being 1st radius PECO corners etc), as well as runs typical English diesels with long coal wagon and coach rakes.
Thank you for your fantastic and inspiring YouTube videos. I’m a huge fan!

Andrei Stoian - Moldovita

19/6/2025

A self contained N scale micro layout inspired from the now closed Moldovita line in Bukovina, Romania.
A village emerged around the monastery and the local industry is based on woodworking but other types of freight also arrive. Passenger service is suspended due to lack of rolling stock.
Since there is no runaround, in universe they use a system of cables and winches to move the cars from the siding to the main line.
The layout is 60 x 23.5cm, with no fiddle yard due to lack of space and track, but can be added at either end.
Used recycled Fleischmann track with bedding and a controller. The ballasting was done with decorative sand.
The buildings from right to left are a cheap souvenir from Moldovita Monastery, a small station (recycled) and a warehouse. The warehouse is a wood box with an added roof and prints glues on. It can be used to store the rolling stock.
The rolling stock is composed of mainly second hand pieces.
The scenery was made from scraps of grass mat, real dirt, and paper printed with different textures and some old trees and shrubbery material. The fence is made from a fly net.
The backscene is cardboard with printed paper glued to it.
This is my first micro layout and finished layout. Thank you for the challenge. I had a lot of fun.