World's Best Rio Grande
Wall Mount Train Track
.jpg)
Below are notes on how I built my Rio Grande HO wall mount train track
Click on the picture to run the video
Three more videos are towards the bottom of this page
As you look at the photos you will notice my adventure began with repainting the bedroom and placing stickers from the Cars movie on the wall. I struggled with the choice of scale to use. I grew up with Lionel O-gauge trains and I wanted to stay with the O-gauge. But having a vaulted ceiling and the limited O-gauge items available, I decided to use the more readily available and smaller HO-gauge trains. Another driving consideration is my grandfather was a retired D&RGW machinist. This led me to a desire to try to find train cars with the D&RGW labels.
​​
​​
​
In the photo on the right, you will see my highly technical method of drawing the curves on the plywood; I used a nail, a piece of string, and a mechanical pencil. Oh yes, I also used a tape measure and square to mark the location for the nail.
​
The picture on the left shows one of the two L shaped cuts I made in the first sheet of plywood. This L shaped board is sitting on a second sheet of plywood so that I could trace the pattern onto the second sheet. My goal was to minimize the number of seams between boards, which probably increased my cost. And yes, I did need to cut a few short sections from the remaining plywood to account for the extra distance needed along the walls. Over time I found uses for the rest of the plywood. In my case I used 3/4" plywood for the shelf the HO train track is mounted on, and I used ½” pine for the vertical wallboard. I also used a ½” curved router bit to round off the outer edges on the bottom of the boards mounted to the wall.
​The picture on the right shows the partially assembled pieces with the shelf brackets mounted to the wall boards. It also shows the shelf pieces for the train track.
​
In the picture you will notice one short piece of shelf board. The shelf boards were cut so that both ends of this board laid on half of the shelf brackets.
​
The picture on the left shows my test case to determine how much work it would be to mount the boards to the wall. I talked my daughter into holding one side of the shelf while I started on the other side. On the right side of the picture, you can see the level string line I ran around the room to mark the placement of the wall board with a gap for the track's shelf. Above the board is the painter’s tape on which I marked the location of all of the studs in the wall.
​
I put two coats of paint on every piece before I permanently attached the shelf to the wall.
​
The picture on the right shows the wall power and the NCE Power CAB DCC controller running up to the track. On the shelf above the power outlet is also a DC transformer and a three position on-off-on double pull double throw switch. This enables me to switch between running DC and DCC locomotives. The DC transformer also provides power to the lights behind the track.
​
Note: NCE does not recommend toggle switches, but Tony's Trains shows how to use a DPDT switch. (see picture at the bottom of this web page. My DCC/DC toggle switch (not shown in picture) is rated for more power than will ever be required by the trains. The switch connections are inside an electronic chassis box.
​
The above picture shows how I had to modify the store-bought shelf brackets to go over the bedroom door and closet doors. The open shelf above the closet and the ceiling limited the height of the train shelf.
My passenger train's first time on the track - Click on the picture to run the video
Click on the picture to run the video
Click on the picture to run the video
Lessons Learned:
​
1. As the track approached five years old (in 2025) it was no surprise that dust had collected on the shelf. I now keep a small ladder in the bedroom closet so that I can easily clean the track and the top of the shelf. I have also purchased a railroad car with a track cleaner mounted on the bottom of the car. Running the train every couple of days keeps the track clean.
​
2. I love the Kadee knuckle couplers, but I have been very frustrated with needing to adjust the coupler height on some of my cars to keep the cars from coming apart while the train runs around the track. Why is this a need? I would think every, and I mean every, truck/wheel set and coupler should be designed with the couplers at the same height, eliminating the need to have a supply of three different couplers with the shafts at different heights. I use the Kadee 206 coupler height gauge to help me select the correct coupler. - see new note with the coupler pictures about three different heights of wheels.
​
3. In internet searches I have found at least four different manufacturers of knuckle couplers, some couplers are metal, some plastic. Over the years I have replaced all plastic couplers with the Kadee metal coupler.
​
4. Some manufacturers use a Horn Hook Tyco type of coupler. The Tyco coupler is a one-piece plastic coupler. These couplers do not connect very well with the knuckle coupler. I gave away my train cars with the Tyco coupler after having constant trouble with my Tyco coupler train cars coming apart from the knuckle coupler. The other option is to try to disassemble the train car and replace the Tyco coupler with the knuckle coupler.
​
5. DCC instructions want you to use a programming track to program the locomotive. If you only run one DCC locomotive on a single track then you don't need a programming track, all you need to do is make sure only one DCC locomotive is on the track while the locomotive is being programmed. DCC locomotives are expensive, I did not expect to ever own a second one. The basic NCE PowerCAB uses the mainline as the programming track. Additional hardware is needed if you want a separate programming track.
6. If I knew then what I know now. My new DCC locomotive and my DC locomotive ran around the track all day. Unfortunately, I eventually purchased three older locomotives converted to DCC, one doesn't run on the track, and the other two stumble every now and then as they run around the track. For DCC it is recommended to run a 14 or 12 AWG power buss around the track with feeders every 36" (or less). In the photo you can see how I used two alligator clips to hold
an 18 AWG feeder wire against the rail so that I could solder the feeder line to the rail. I then had to make sure the feeder line was even, or lower than the rail. Behind the track you can see my two 12 AWG wires I am stapling down to the shelf for my power buss. Note: 18 AWG feeder wires were very difficult to solder to the rails. I think 20 AWG would have been easier to solder.
​
The picture on the left shows three knuckle couplers with the shafts at different heights (low, medium, and high). The shafts also come in different lengths, so far the medium length shafts have worked good for me. - I have since learned I can purchase three different heights of wheels. Now it makes sense why there are three sizes of couplers to go with three sizes of wheels.
The picture on right shows the use of a three position on-off-on DPDT switch, as I mentioned earlier, I have not had any problem using my main track as the programming track. Note: The wiring from the NCE Program Auto Switch through the toggle switch to the power buss for the track is recommended to be 14AWG.
​
The picture only shows one wire running to each rail of the track. For DCC it is recommended to run a 12AWG power buss along (under) the track with power feeders (18-20AWG) soldered to the track every 36".
