r/3dPrintingInModelRail

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You know the drill. I'm absolutly obsessed with creating a whole roster of cheaper and better G scale stock, especially of prototypes that have never been produced by a big company so far. This class has seen everything from prestige TEE services to local commuter work.

G scale will truly allow her to shine!

I have been slowly updating my 3d printed coaches, the new bogies and coupling are working perfectly and even work with ready to run locos.

I'm finally writing down what this project is and where it's going, because it's larger (and more useful) than the scattered photos might suggest. This is a modular cityscape and transit system designed as a foundation of standards and designs, so anyone, not just me, can create parts that slot in.

Once you've looked at the photos, please check out the new About the Project page which discusses the whole philosophy, construction sizes/modes, key measurement standards, and specification plans. This is where the system goes beyond "a few 3D printed bits" and starts being a real, shareable framework.

Whether it's a compact desktop display or a sprawling room layout, here are four main ways the system can take shape:

1. The Diorama: a compact, contained cityscape fitting on a desktop or bookshelf. Station boxes, buildings, and guideways all fit in a small footprint.
2. The Oval Loop: a compact loop layout for a coffee table or nightstand. Tiny buildings on an oval track ring with surface deck.
3. The Elevated: an elevated guideway spanning a longer area, like a windowsill or bookshelf top. Independent stations connected by floating track.
4. The Terraformed: the biggest build, with a full grid-based ground layout using surface tiles, retaining walls, and baseboards for a sprawling cityscape.

I am also working on creating interactive documentation to better illustrate how the components in these growing collections can be used together. The basic modular terrain set is available now, and I'll be releasing more pieces (buildings, parks, etc.) in the coming months. Your feedback on what works and what doesn't will directly shape what gets designed next, so please share your thoughts!

Got an empty flatcar sitting around? Or maybe an intermodal yard or industrial siding that could use a little more activity?My latest O-gauge project is a 3D printable ISO tank container.

The model features a cylindrical tank, separate end frames, side bracing, support cradles, and a top walkway. It's designed as a multi-part assembly, so you can print the components separately and put everything together.

These should look right at home on a suitable intermodal flatcar, in a container yard, or sitting around an industrial facility waiting for their next trip.

I've finished printing and assembling mine, and the model is now available on MakerWorld along with an illustrated assembly guide.

If you're following me on Makerworld you already know where to find the files, but if you're not just ask for the link.

As always, I'd love to see what you do with it, especially if you put one to work on your railroad!

I'm building an N-scale layout with my 4-year-old son.

I started by laying and soldering Atlas flex track by hand, and had a ton of trouble getting the curves right. The track wants to spring straight, and keeping it in position while lining up joints and soldering was a pain. I kept getting derailments.

Kato Unitrack is good, but the cost adds up. Its fixed-radius sections also don't give me the smoothly changing curves I wanted, and raised sections mean adding risers or pier kits too.

So I started making printed roadbed that follows a track path defined in software. The sections join together, then ordinary flex track goes into the guide and is held by retaining strips. Everything is press fit. The idea is to settle the geometry before I start laying and soldering the rails.

The generator can make curves whose radius changes continously along the track. With grades up / down and with banked curves all in the same curve section. Bridge and tunnel models are in-progress.

There's a browser viewer for looking at the parts, assembled sections and it generates print plates for my Bambulab printer.

The photos show real prototypes; the full-layout and elevated-section images are CAD. I'm hoping this becomes something we can rebuild into different layouts together as he gets older.

Would this be useful to anyone else? Would you want printable files, a configurable generator, or parts generated for your own layout?

I also included the 3D render from the model before printing as the last image.

The billboard feature of the original "Curved Building" model took a bit longer than expected. Part of the problem was selecting the image. I started with Diet Rite because for some reason that is associated with the 70s in my mind. I just couldn't find a good period image. My spouse suggested the "You've Come A Long Way Baby" cigarette ads from the 1970s where Women's Liberation was equated with smoking (Virginia Slims I think). I played with a car ad just to emphasize how amazingly crappy American cars were in the late 70s. Frankly, every product the USA produced in the late 70s was crap.

Reply and let me know if you think of some uSA product that isn't better now and wasn't better before the 70s... What peaked in the 70s other than pollution and municipal bankruptcies?

It's been a busy couple of weeks. My Monon Cedar Lake depot model got put on my Makerworld page today, my parametric scrap load and log load got uploaded Monday after testing. All cool stuff but I kinda like the freight car loads the most but 3D printing my own freight cars is pretty awesome too.