Hornby R8156 Track Plans Book

Just getting started building the kids a model railway and this was invaluable. Lots of useful track plans with dimensions and plenty of useful introductory information on parts etc. Saved me plenty of money as it helped with the design/planning

As I'm in the process of building a layout for the first time, I found I needed some guidance on how best to achieve a good rail system, and I find this book to be full of amazing ideas that are so easy to follow. It clearly outlays what is required to achieve whichever blueprint I decide to adopt. So simple and easy to follow. An idiots guide.

This is a very useful guide if you intend to build a layout entirely from Hornby products. All the track sections are listed with each plan and dimensions are given. I rather suspect the majority of these track plans will have appeared in earlier editions. There is little coverage of DCC and the part it might play in layouts. Some of the layouts are massive and probably well beyond the reach of most modellers and really a waste of time. I think the book does have some interesting ideas which can be adapted to other track systems. Unfortunately a lot of space is taken up by showcasing Hornby products which again is rather a waste of space, given that Hornby issue a new catalogue each year.

Gives good insight when building a new layout

Very interesting full of good ideas. Good plans and helpful

Some excellent ideas. Ideal for scaling a new layout and planning the requirements.

On the face of it a quite informative book. It goes into great detail about how to build a base board and how to set up analogue and digital layout control. It's also very helpful for those whose first language is not English as several other languages are covered in this edition. However, it is entitled "Hornby Track Plans" and that is the reason for my purchase. I found the track plans on offer were quite limited both in scope and number. Whilst offering a basic layout with stage by stage developments of the same layout, this assumes one wishes to develop that specific layout. In addition there are only 14 other track plans of which 7 are high and low level plans. I do not question the quality of information but confess to being more than a little disappointed in the track plans on offer.

Good for reference during layout development.