Tom Danneman’s Montana Rail Link plan in the Aug. MR is close to being well suited and adaptable to my space, and my layout goals. As a person short on design skills, where/from whom could I get help in A) flipping the plan B)scaling it to a slightly larger space?
I also have a question about the ethics of using or adapting a plan published in MR. As a new forum participant, what is common practice and expected courtesy in these cases?
Thanks,
Glenn Wolfe
It’s most pleasant to see that there are still some people who care about ethics.In this case I don’t know if there are ethics but since Tom Danneman is Model Railroader’s art director,a simple e-mail to the magazine to his attention should take care of this issue.
As far as flipping and enlarging the plan to suit your needs,I’m sure someone you know can scan the plan and do whatever modifications you wish by % increments for example.Turn-outs obviously will not fit exactly to your plans but some readjustments during construction and the use of flextrack should enable you to create a great layout.
A few years ago I was thinking of building Malcolm Furlow’s San Juan Central.
I was buying a townhome with a small basement, but the layout didn’t fit right.
What I did was scan the trackplan into my computer, and then use the COMPUTER to flip it (mirror image). Then, I printed it out to see if it would fit in a scale drawing of the room I had made.
It would have fit, but other things (a girlfriend becoming a wife, and her and the kids moving in with me) got in the way 
This obviously doesn’t answer the questions about switches and such, but it’s a start.
Rob
Atlas has computer software that makes this easy.
I use Right Track 3.0 software.
Layout the turn-outs first then drop in the flex-track.
You can print it out AS LARGE AS YOU WANT!!
I like it.
I think you can get it Free at their web-site. Good luck!
Good ideas here, all within my reach. Thanks for the response.
Glenn
Glenn:
I flipped a track plan for my current layout by photocopying it onto a transparency and then turning the transparency over and photocopying it onto paper. It does make the printing hard to read…
Someplace in MR there is usually a note saying that you can copy the plans and resize them for non-commercial use. Since the whole purpose of MR is to help you create a model railroad, I think anything you suggested is legitimate.
If you were planning to market a line of pre-built layouts, the considerations would be different.
For scaling to a larger space, there are a number of techniques. The easiest is to add short straight sections to the bits of track that parallel to the straight edge of the layout. Another way is to place the plan at an angle in the larger space. This makes the angles more interesting. (I don’t have the plan in front of me to look at.)
I thought the purpose of MR publishing track plans was to encourage us to use them. Andy, am I wrong?
This is an interesting concept which i vaguely considered and quickly came to the conclusion that:
It would be an honor for someone to like a trackplan and use it as the basis for their own layout.
When i publish a trackplan or print it for sale, I would expect that no one would use the exact plan itself for commercial use; ie they should not photocopy my plan and sell the copies. An actual railroad is different - there are only so many basic track arrangements available; can you imagine the mayhem if makers of RR kits decided to lay claim to their trackplans or any trackplan that resembled it? Soon no one could build a layout! Most variations on the basic topologies are already in the public domain. A attempted design patent or copyright of a trackplan would not be worth the effort; by changing the length of a siding by 1mm the design has been changed.
Rob,
Generally there is “growth” in sophistication of track planning. That may sound a little snobbish, but over time you will discover that what you initially thought was terrific, in the end, turns out to be rejected.
Another fun thing you can do is to take that part of the track plan you really like, and use it in a suitable area, then find another area in another track plan (probably have to modify it a bit) and add it on to your plan. Continue this process until you have your own layout.
Then when while you are building your layout, don’t be surprised if you modify the plan yet again.
If you scan it into a computer and flip it you can also stretch it some in some programs to get a feel for what it would look like. However your best bet may be to then print it out and cut it up into a couple of pieces so you can add sections into it. That way your turnouts won’t become super elongated since strecthing is not area specific. You can also then draw one foot or 6" scale squares on the plan so youcan blow it up and trace it onto kraft paper or Plywood or foam to lay track and make sure it is in the right location.
I’ve gotten some excellent ideas of out responses to this post. Thank you.
Glenn Wolfe
Tom Danneman’s Montana Rail Link plan in the Aug. MR is close to being well suited and adaptable to my space, and my layout goals. As a person short on design skills, where/from whom could I get help in A) flipping the plan B)scaling it to a slightly larger space?
I also have a question about the ethics of using or adapting a plan published in MR. As a new forum participant, what is common practice and expected courtesy in these cases?
Thanks,
Glenn Wolfe
It’s most pleasant to see that there are still some people who care about ethics.In this case I don’t know if there are ethics but since Tom Danneman is Model Railroader’s art director,a simple e-mail to the magazine to his attention should take care of this issue.
As far as flipping and enlarging the plan to suit your needs,I’m sure someone you know can scan the plan and do whatever modifications you wish by % increments for example.Turn-outs obviously will not fit exactly to your plans but some readjustments during construction and the use of flextrack should enable you to create a great layout.
A few years ago I was thinking of building Malcolm Furlow’s San Juan Central.
I was buying a townhome with a small basement, but the layout didn’t fit right.
What I did was scan the trackplan into my computer, and then use the COMPUTER to flip it (mirror image). Then, I printed it out to see if it would fit in a scale drawing of the room I had made.
It would have fit, but other things (a girlfriend becoming a wife, and her and the kids moving in with me) got in the way
This obviously doesn’t answer the questions about switches and such, but it’s a start.
Rob
Atlas has computer software that makes this easy.
I use Right Track 3.0 software.
Layout the turn-outs first then drop in the flex-track.
You can print it out AS LARGE AS YOU WANT!!
I like it.
I think you can get it Free at their web-site. Good luck!
Good ideas here, all within my reach. Thanks for the response.
Glenn
Glenn:
I flipped a track plan for my current layout by photocopying it onto a transparency and then turning the transparency over and photocopying it onto paper. It does make the printing hard to read…
Someplace in MR there is usually a note saying that you can copy the plans and resize them for non-commercial use. Since the whole purpose of MR is to help you create a model railroad, I think anything you suggested is legitimate.
If you were planning to market a line of pre-built layouts, the considerations would be different.
For scaling to a larger space, there are a number of techniques. The easiest is to add short straight sections to the bits of track that parallel to the straight edge of the layout. Another way is to place the plan at an angle in the larger space. This makes the angles more interesting. (I don’t have the plan in front of me to look at.)
I thought the purpose of MR publishing track plans was to encourage us to use them. Andy, am I wrong?
This is an interesting concept which i vaguely considered and quickly came to the conclusion that:
It would be an honor for someone to like a trackplan and use it as the basis for their own layout.
When i publish a trackplan or print it for sale, I would expect that no one would use the exact plan itself for commercial use; ie they should not photocopy my plan and sell the copies. An actual railroad is different - there are only so many basic track arrangements available; can you imagine the mayhem if makers of RR kits decided to lay claim to their trackplans or any trackplan that resembled it? Soon no one could build a layout! Most variations on the basic topologies are already in the public domain. A attempted design patent or copyright of a trackplan would not be worth the effort; by changing the length of a siding by 1mm the design has been changed.
Rob,
Generally there is “growth” in sophistication of track planning. That may sound a little snobbish, but over time you will discover that what you initially thought was terrific, in the end, turns out to be rejected.
Another fun thing you can do is to take that part of the track plan you really like, and use it in a suitable area, then find another area in another track plan (probably have to modify it a bit) and add it on to your plan. Continue this process until you have your own layout.
Then when while you are building your layout, don’t be surprised if you modify the plan yet again.