Another new guy...

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I “Retired” in September. Got most of my “Honey Do’s” done (I know they won’t EVER end).

I’m now ready to start on my HO scale RR. I have a dedicated room and have built the benchwork around 3.75% of the room, 42" from the floor, 3.5’ wide/deep, and covered it with 1/2" plywood. I’v bought and am going to use the Woodland Scenics, Subterrain for the layout. DCC and Flex track wherever possible.

My problem is… I JUST can’t come up with a Track plan !!!

40s, 50s & early 60s era with a Short line feeding a Main line is my intent.

Any ideas on how to break my Brain Block ??? ANY guidence and/or direction would be appreciated.

JOE

2

[#welcome]

Track planning is the hardest part of the whole thing to me, there are some good books on track planning out there. look at Kalmbach books back on the main site.

3

Look below in my signature and link to my beginner’s guide. It will give you a place to start.

Once you have your givens and druthers in place, you’ll start to see what’s possible. From there you’ll make compromises.

4

Thanks for the welcome guyz. Spacemouse… I read yer artical and will take it to heart. Lots of info here. I think I’ll just do alot of Surfing thru the Forums for awhile.

I built am N guage layout several years ago, so I’m not Brand New to the hobby but with DCC and soo many “New and Improved” ways of doing things… it makes the Git’n Started a bit harder.

I look forward to being a member here.

Thanks

JOE

5

Joe:

If you are trying to learn about track planning and what makes a satisfying layout, here’s some great online resources for you:

  1. Layout Design Special Interest Group web site. Lots of track plan examples, hints and tips, and insightful articles. See: http://ldsig.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

  2. My own web site has an article about how to analyze a layout design to see if it will operate like you want before you ever cut a stick of lumber or lay a piece of track.
    See: http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.32

  3. I’ve also done a forum clinic on here about designing for satisfying operations. You can find it at: http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/346467/ShowPost.aspx

Hope you find this information helpful!

6

Joe Fugates site is definitely worth a visit especially if you might be interested in operation now or in the future. The Kalmbach planning John armstrong or Iain Rice are worth a look as you may find bits you like from different plans you could incorporate. Photocopy or scan the bits you like and try them out on a scale plan.
Make sure you make it future proof so you can add or change things easily, what’s the biggest train you’ll run, might it have to move at some point? adapting your frame to sectional benchwork would be easy before you start laying track. See if you can find the current or old issues of MR’s Model railroad planning annuals, there’s lots of useful info in there.
Paul