I was wondering something. On your layouts that you have currently, is there anything you wish you would have done differently? Any thing you wish you done or wish you would have thought about before starting or had known? Just curios. If so, what would it be?
Biggest change would have been to use open grid or L-girder for the rural shelf. Would have made it much easier to build the below grade work.
My layout is double main line other than single line on my climbing loop, wish I had gone double all the way around
Two Items:
- 22" radius is too small(should have gone to 30" radius). I figured that my 40’ freight cars and 4 axle engines would run just fine on 22" radius trackage. Then P2K came out with SD7’s, and BLI & Spectrum came out with ‘steam’ that actually ‘ran’…
- Not enough staging tracks - 4 on the mainline and 1 on the branch.
New layout(I am removing the 25 year old layout as I write). Both items will be ‘fixed’:
- Minimum 30" radius
- 13 staging tracks
- And code 83 trackage…
Jim
Installed different lighting fixtures before the benchwork was built.
Three things - More open grid benchwork, 30’ radius curves in two places, and larger yard space. Planning now to correct all three in the works.
Oh yeah, I think we all have wrangled with this question. Changes I would have made on my layout:
- Made it around the wall shelf type with a couple of islands.
- 30’ minimum turn radius.
- Made it modular in case I had to move it.
- Saved the money and started with DCC from the get go. That sure would have made wiring it a LOT easier.
- Drilled turnout switch machine holes AS I was installing the turnouts.
I built a 5x12 foot table layout in HO originally. I call that Phase 1, and the 19-foot shelt I’m working on now is Phase 2. Given the constraints on ownership of family room space, this was the right way to go, but I would have designed the overall plan more as a shelf layout from the beginning if that had been an option.
I, too, would have used all Code 83 track. As it stands now, Phase 1 of my layout is Code 100, while Phase 2 is Code 83. The Code 83 work looks much better.
I have a loop of subway tracks beneath the regular layout. I should have isolated the whole subway system, run a separate track bus for it, and put it on its own circuit breaker. At the time, I was too much taken with the “you don’t need to do that with DCC” concept. Again, it was a lesson I applied to my Phase 2 section.
Phase 1 has no staging. Phase 2 tries to fix that, with a 4-track yard. It’s sort-of OK, but it’s still on-layout and I end up using it for train storage more than staging right now. Phase 3 (on the computer screen only right now) will have true hidden staging.
I’d like to have a section of track with overhead wires, so I could run some of the great electric locomotives like the GG-1, the Milwaukee “Little Joe” or the New Haven EP-5. My trolleys don’t have any wires to support them, either, and in the ideal world I’d have a steeple-cab to handle switching in the carfloat terminal area.
Hi Guys;
Yep, a couple of things:
-
PLAN PLAN PLAN!!!
-
Build according to the plan.
-
Check the plan both before as well as during the construction.
-
Take notes on any changes, especially to wiring; make plenty of sketches, and take photos.
-
Lighting will be installed BEFORE any trackwork is done.
-
Trackwork MUST be done exactly according to Hoyle, with no substandard work done.
Rich
Hi!
I built my previous layout (11x15, 2 level, HO, DC) in the early '90s and it stayed up for 14 years. During the entire life of the layout, I kept a log as to: what I did right, wrong, what I would do different, etc. This log proved invaluable in the building of my current layout (11x15, 2 level, HO, DCC).
The new one is 3 years old, and so far the only thing I would do different is to add another track or two to the lower level staging area. So far, so good.
On my previous layout however, I had a few nagging “faults” that I regretted - but lived with - for years, and included:
-
A raised upper level reversing loop that took up too much layout space and hindered the design.
-
A raised outer level main that required a lot of rockwork (which was nice) that took up a lot of space.
-
Rockwork was painted too dark. It was realistic, but not “pretty”.
-
A few turnouts were located in the tunnels, which were often a “operator error” problem area. Note that the turnouts (Atlas 100, above table motors) were NEVER a problem - it was the operator.
-
I got “cute” with the wiring - way too many blocks, a third controller option, two reverse loops, etc. While the wiring was pretty solid, I had to relearn operations if I was away from the layout for over a few days.
While I managed to simplify the wiring a bit over the years, I lived with the other difficulties. In hindsight, this almost chased me away from the hobby. I should have addressed them much sooner than I did.
However, all that negative experience has led me to the making of a significantly better layout that I have today, and when I open that train room door I often find myself smiling!
ENJOY !!!
Generally I am satisfied with my Santa Fe in Oklahoma which was started in 1984 and exists today as a three deck (one helix, one hidden grade) layout 30ft by 33/36ft. The concept and operating plan have survived and improved. The scenery is done, the wiring is done, I have more than enough diesels and freight cars.
I guess I would (if I could) made some of the hidden track more accessible for those little accidents that happen, I would have made some of the Torti machines a little more accessible, I would have changed some of the structures, but otherwise I am happy with it, and at age 75, not planning on starting another layout.
Bob
My layout is only 18" radius in some places and no problem with any spectrum steam but one thing I have learned is the smaller the turnouts and radius you use, the better your trackwork has to be!!!
Given my current constraints…nothing.
Tom
My present layout is the product of forty years of distillation of a single master plan. As such, it eliminates most of the false starts and errors of a dozen predecessor layouts. I don’t think it’s perfect, but I can’t think of a single thing I’d change.
(I sure would like a few additional feet of length and width - but not at the expense of rebuilding the house!)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
My current layout is my 5th and was construction was started in 1983-84. Layout is now pretty much a complete item, and though there are some things I would change from the original plan, and in some cases I have made changes, it remains pretty much the layout I planned back in 1983. The major change was to add a helix from the bottom deck (now the middle deck) to a new bottom deck.
Lot’s of fun when the layout structure is already in place, but as Larry the Toolman would say, “I gotter done”.
Bob
better track work. for years i ran mostly 4 axle diesel power with 40 and 50 foot cars. i thought 36 inch curves and number 6 switches would do the job.
all was well for years and i almost never had a stall or derailment. i was proud of my track laying abilities.
recently, i started getting some brass steam locomotives out of their long term storage and putting them to work on the layout. i wanted to run them a bit and get them tuned up and weighted properly before i tackled the paint jobs.
8 and 10 driver brass engines found every low spot and dip in the track. i started having trouble with them in spots that had never been a cause for concern when i was running the diesels or Chinese plastic steam.
a flat steel plate and a straight edge showed up a lot of areas that need “retamping” in an HO scale sense. i am now in the process of fixing a bunch of “phantom” vertical curves. the 36 inch curves with easments and number 6 switches are not the problem. i just didn’t keep the track level when i laid it and made the vertical changes too abrupt.
i must admit that Shinohara number 8 curved switches can be a royal pain. long wheelbase brass tends to climb the frog and the flangeways are ofter in need of widening.
charlie
I am delighted with the way mine turned out (so far). Given the fact I had three doors, a large window, a fireplace and a large opening into the room, I think I got the most usable benchwork and longest mainline run I could squeeze out of the joint.
I have been patient in the construction process so far and the reward has been almost no trackwork or electrical issues.
An around the room situation would be preferable, but given the fact it is a very comfortable place to build and run trains and I can more than double my 15’ x 24’ space if I choose, I feel very lucky.
I don’t think I would change a thing.[:)]
Brent[C):-)]
For me there are two things that I don’t like about my current layout.
First, it is not set up very well for operations. It is a single-deck layout but the mainline loops back on itself here and there and there is way too much hidden trackage and tunnels for a Midwestern-themed layout.
Second, I could have done a better job soldering the feeders to the rails. Since I am in N scale, I chose to use 22 ga. wire for my feeders. Even these are large to a 1:160 scale person. Where I have my roundhouse, I tried someting different, I soldered the feeders to the bottom of the rails. Those feeders are practically invisible.
The good thing is that I will be able to correct my issues since I am in the process of desiging a new and improved layout. This one will be more prototyped-based, and more operations oriented. I was even granted permission to expand into the other half of the basement [:D] Now all I have to do is finish the drywall, hang the suspended ceiling, put in the flooring… Will there ever be any time or money for trains???[%-)]
Scott
For starters, I wish I hadn’t built it. [(-D]
If and when I start over again:
-
Instead of 36" tall legs on the basement floor, which is uneven, I would use a level in the initial construction to ensure that the layout is level.
-
The height of the layout would be 42" instead of 36" so I could sit under the layout to work on the wiring and the installation of Tortoises.
-
The track work would be much straighter than it is now. For every hour that I spent laying and testing track, I would spend 3 hours on the new layout.
-
I would drop more feeders and I would add feeders to every leg of every turnout.
-
I would paint every structure instead of relying on the shiny plastic finish provided by the manufacturer.
-
I would add weight to every car to meet NMRA standards.
-
I would install better lighting at more intervals.
-
I would build better backdrops.
-
I would avoid duckunders and pop up holes.
-
I would install more occupancy detectors.
Rich