Hi guys
I’ve recently decided to put my 16’x9’ switching layout on standby and want to build a temporary 4x8 in my bedroom that I share with my brother who will be leaving for college Thursday. I would like a lot of switching, and in the bottom left corner, need a track to nowhere because I have room for a 4" wide mainline for 8’ across my room too.
So does anyone have any plans or suggestions on where to look? Thanks for your help!
Do you plan to use that mainline extension for staging, or something else? Your situation sounds like a good candidate for what John Armstrong calls “Pointed end boat shaped plan”. The idea was to make better use of the wasted space around the curves of a 4x8. Since scenery isn’t your top priority, and space seems to have some abundance, you may want to try it. It turns a 4x8 into a 4x10. _________________________________________ | / | |___________________/ | | \ | |_| <-----------4ft----------------> Imagine that is a 4x8, with a 45 degree angle cut instead of the 15 degree or so cut. Now rearrange it into a “Pointed end boat shaped plan” _____ <___>
Argh, the diagram didn’t come out right. If you have JA’s Track Planning for Realistic Operation, it is on page 87 of the third edition.
If you want a 4x8 with lots of switching take a look see at these layouts.
http://www.gatewaynmra.org/project.htm
There are far better layout designs then John Armstrongs…You may want to look around.
Here are a couple of layouts which I have enjoyed (building and playing-on).
Just a thought…