Free Plans of C&O Coaling Station

Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Coaling Station

Serving Coal-hungry Locomotives in Thurmond, West Virginia

Keep those Steam Locomotives Rolling on Your Model Railroad Layout with a Coaling Tower

Chesapeake & Ohio coaling station

 The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Thurmond Coaling Station sat astride the tracks at the west end of Thurmond yards in Fayette County West Virginia, servicing the railroad's coal-burning steam locomotives.

The reinforced concrete structure, designed by Fairbanks, Morse and Company of Chicago, was constructed starting in 1922.

The 500-ton capacity coaling station serviced all Loup Creek and C&O mainline engines operating through Fayette County. The mainline locomotives were coaled from a track on the north side of the tower while the Loup Creek locomotives were coaled on the south side.

Our free model railroad plans of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Thurmond Coaling Station include elevation, floor, and section plans, as well as photos of the building great for detailing your structure.

Free Plans of Steam Era Narrow Gauge Enclosed Water Tower

Plans of Enclosed Water Tower, East Broad Top Railroad

Cole’s Station Enclosed Water Tower

Kept the Water Flowing to Railroad Steam Locomotives During Harsh Pennsylvania Winters

Cole's Station Water Tower, East Broad Top Railroad

The Coles Station, Pennsylvania, water tank is the last surviving enclosed water station along the East Broad Top narrow gauge railroad. The tanks were enclosed so that the water could be kept from freezing during winter months by use of a small stove.

This tank was built in 1919 to replace an older tank that had deteriorated beyond use. The structure includes a tub-style wood tank of approximately 8,000 gallons capacity that is elevated on heavy wood framing set in a concrete foundation.

Our Coles Station Enclosed Water Tower Plans Page includes site plans, elevations, floor plans, and details as well as photos from all sides.

Free Plans of a Grain Elevator

A Grain Elevator for Your Model Railroad Layout

Perfect for Almost Any Layout Theme

Armour's Warehouse, circa 1913

A grain elevator is a perfect trackside industry for almost any model railroad, no matter what its theme. While many industries are specific to certain regions of the country, grain elevators can be found almost anywhere crops are grown, or grain is consumed.

The plans for Armour's Warehouse show a typical "county elevator" where farmers bring their grain for shipment by railroad or canal boat. Simple changes, such as wood or metal siding, can date the building anywhere from the steam to diesel railroad eras. And, since grain was shipped in closed rail cars (first in box cars, later in covered hoppers), model railroaders don't need to worry about simulating loads in cars leaving the elevator on their layout.

Free Plans of an A.T.S.F. Railroad Depot

Give Your Model Railroad a Destination

Depots handle both freight and passengers

A.T.S.F. depot at Hardeman Pass, Texas

Every model railroad needs a depot. If you are modeling the desert Southwest, you’d have a hard time finding a better depot to model than the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad depot at Hardeman Pass, Texas. These free plans of the depot are mostly in 1/8″ = 1 foot scale, which is half size for O gauge.

Creating plaster casts of the brick walls would be an interesting scratch-building project, or commercially available brick sheets would simplify construction of this depot for your model railroad layout

Plans of Monongahela Railroad's Erecting and Machine Shops

Keep the Trains Rolling on Your Model Railroad Layout

Modeling railroad maintenance facilities adds authenticity 

Monongahela Erecting and Machine Shops

Roundhouses for locomotive maintenance are common on steam-era model railroad layouts, but heavy rebuilding work was done in a separate erecting shop, which usually had a machine shop attached or very close nearby for fabricating the many replacement parts needed by a steam locomotive.

The Monongahela Railroad erecting shop at Brownsville, Pennsylvania is a great example of an erecting shop that could be built on a model railroad layout. Unlike many of the larger railroads, the Monon facilities are small enough that they don’t have to be “selectively compressed” to fit on a model railroad layout as would be required to fit facilities modeled on a major railroad’s shops.

Erecting shops outlived roundhouses, which were mostly demolished when railroads "dieselized." So where a roundhouse marks a model railroad as being set no later than the late 1950s, erecting shops are much less limiting to a model railroad "theme."

With the large window areas, the Monongahela Railroad erecting and machine shops would be a perfect model to create with detailed interiors. Placed close to the front of a model railroad layout and provided with interior lighting, the models would be an impressive focal point on any model pike.

Free Plans of A.T.S.F. Interlocking Tower

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Control Tower 19

Free Plans of an A.T.S.F. Interlocking Tower!


Ubiquitous during the steam era and into the modern diesel railroad era, Control towers were placed wherever railroads needed to control a number of switches, such as the entrance to a yard, or a junction. A Control tower is a great structure for your model railroad that will give lend authenticity without taking up too much real estate.

There are many kits available, but with these free building plans, the average model railroader can make a scratch-built structure that will far surpass the results of all but the most expensive craftsman kits.

These free plans are of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Control Tower 19, Santa Fe Railway Milepost 51, Dallas, TX.