As of right now all the ROW I can secure equals to about a 4’ x 12’ layout with maybe an additional 4’ to 6’ x 4’section added (L-shaped)
Anyway have any of you use any of the atlas designed layouts or other and have any opinions that you can share.
Specifically, I am looking at using one of the following(from king sized and 7 step by step); HO-27 Transbay Interwoven, HO-29, Central Midland, HO-34 Rancocas Harbor Belt, HO-35 Berkshire Valley Route, or HO-36 Oregon Pass Lines. Given the amount of space I doubt I could really do better then these.
I guess it depends on what you are looking for - running trains, switching, something else?
That said, altho I am more into switching and building structures instead of running trains and making scenery, I’ve always liked the Berkshire Valley. And, if you can add a wing coming off the yard lead, you could get a few industries in there. That way, you could have some continuous running while you are switching. The best of both worlds.
I’m not big on the RHB, because so much of it is with trestles/pier sets. If you could do some cookie-cutter benchwork, or something else, to eliminate the piers it may be OK.
The OPL is just a little too complex for me at this stage of my ability. I think it would take me too long to get enough completed to be operating soon enough.
If you are into operations and switching, maybe you could expand on the Plywood Summit, making good use of your additional 4’ length to smooth out the grades. Adding an El from the summit could be interesting.
My best advice: think long and hard; keep it as simple as your ability; remember that you can always change your mind.
I really like the bershire valley and the oregon pass lines since they have a little bit of every thing; yard, turntable, switching, and just running the trains. The interesting thing about the harbor belt is definitely the waterway, it gives me a chance to use the walthers movable bridge kits, barges and some harbor industy. Expanding the harbor belt to the same dimensions as oregon pass to add a turntable and a yard and some additional industrial spurs and modifying the bench work to eliminate the trestles may tip the scales for the harbor belt and is something that I will definitely look into.
central midland nice but the additional 2’ looks to be the deal breaker and I would have to add a turntable
I had The plywood summit lines when I was a kid a long time ago. It was small and you are right the grades were tough but with the additional 4 feet, I think the berkshire is still better and it also has room for some additional industrial spurs.
I had the Berkshire Valley layout a long time ago. There’s one factor that you can take as a + or a -. It lends itself too well to just watching the trains go. I found I got very lazy with it. I’d place a couple of trains on it and just watch them go. Another thing to think about with this one is operation. The industry leads are on one side of the layout and the yard is on the other. I found that one either has to do a long reach, or run around the layout . If you have room to get around it, that’s probably not a big issue. One that I really liked was the Plywood Summit layout. I left out the turn table and ran diesel, and I turned the Y into a V. On the left side of the layout I added the wharf section from the Jerome and Southwestern layout.
I never owned the Oregon Pass Lines, but a friend did. I found it confusing. I only operated on it a couple of times, so I don’t feel qualified to give an oppinion on it. It scenics out beautifully, and he could operate some pleasantly long trains. One other that I helped a friend build was from the Atlas book; HO Layouts For Every Space. It was Narrow Switching Railroad For Tight Spaces. What was cool, is that he did it with a Christmas theme. He not only had snow, but all of the buildings were lit, and on the short end he added a section with a small town, and lots of Christmas light and decorations. That was my first introduction to a switching layout.
Two other books that you might consider are; Mat Chibbaro’s Model Railroading in Small Spaces, and Model Railroader’s 6 HO Railroads You Can Model. I have these books, and have used them extensively for reference, but I’ve not actually built layouts from them. I can say that they are very detailed, and are not only operation oriented, but also scenically oriented. The Carbondale Central from Model Railroader’s book is what is influencing my curre
I chose the R Harbor Belt line a few years ago as I live in a city with a large harbour. I modified the plan several times. This is a great track plan as you get to model water and boats along with everything else.You have the opportunity to bring more natural elements into your layout with water. Another plus is when you are a little bored with land operations…you can turn your interest to boats and the water or vice versa…Good luck and above all …Have fun!