Ryan asked me to post this.
Ryan,
Are there any walls to be concerned with–that block access to the layout?
What are your givens and drughers? What are you trying to acheive? If you have not done so please read my beginner’s guide in the signature line.
As an operator, four things jumped out and bit me:
- No drill track for the yard.
- No runarounds.
- No interchange with ‘the rest of the world.’
- No staging.
The lack of a drill track can be compensated for by allowing a train to orbit the inner loop while yard switching fouls the outer loop main. The lack of runarounds, with industry tracks facing both directions all along the line, is a more serious problem. It isn’t prototypical (or really convenient) to run all the way around the loop to get to the other end of a train.
Interchange tracks and staging are essential to get across the idea that this railroad connects with the rest of the North American rail grid. Without them, how did those foreign-roadname cars get on the line?
On the plus side:
- Tracks don’t parallel the edges of the layout except where it is logical to do so - good opportunity for interesting scenic effects.
- Lots of on-line industries for peddler freights to switch.
This would be a good layout if the prototype inspiration is a local short line, perhaps interchanging with a class one at the yard, bottom right. It wouldn’t work as a representation of part of a heavy through route.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I agree with the other comments. I was wondering if the tail off the yard could be extended, you could make a useful wye, and be able to turn trains.
Definitely need to know about walls, and givens and druthers are helpful to see if the layout gives what you want. A layout can be perfect for you, but useless to someone else, and vice-versa!
If you’re using DC watch out for the hidden Y which will need some special wiring.
For a first (and probably experimental) layout, I wouldn’t worry too much about staging. The yard will allow you to make and break trains, along with a little storage. That way, you can rotate cars in and out of the yard and have a few “fresh” cars in the consist.
Tom
A positive aspect of the layout plan that struck me immediately is that most of the trackage is not perfectly parallel to all of the table edges, but has sweeping curves like John Armstrong’s work would suggest to shoot for.
From Ryan
[quote]
I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to post to the forums or not, I read the posts though, I did take the time to read your beginners guide to layouts and found it very interesting, there were a few things that I didn’t not think of when I started planning the train set. As for Givens, I am building this layout in a spare bedroom, I decided that an 8’ L shape would be easiest to build and transport when I do move, right now I am living in an apartment. The table is already build, I built it in 3 4’x4’ squares that bolt together, this way it is light and portable. This is really the only given that I can think of for the layout, as for the druthers as you call them there are a few things that I want out of the layout, the layout that I designed is probably not going to be the final draft by no means, I would love to be able to run a passenger train as well as a freight engine, I was wanting to model the modern era, and as for road names I am partial to the Boston and Maine line, I remember seeing these trains when I was growing up, as well as Maine Central and Bangor and Aroostock. I grew up in Bar Harbor but now I’m living in Illinois. I would like to have a decent amount of industry traffic, I played around on a store layout at my local train store and really like the idea of switching tracks, as well as picking up and dropping off cars. But I also like the way a lot of the passenger trains look, I think that if I could I would like to have both, now I understand that druthers are basically a wish list and I would need to compromise on somethings. I would also like to have a decent sized yard to switch cars and line up trains for the freight engines to pick up. As for scenery I wanted two mountains, one in each corner I like the tunnels as well as some sort of water front. Money is no issue when building this I have been saving for quite a few years and finally figured out what I was saving for,
Horray, I got it to work, I can finally post! I reviewed your descriptions of those three things, I understand what you are talking about now, but how could I incorporate those into the layout effectively?
Sweeping curves are desirable, but there appear to be some relatively tight S-curves - not desirable, at least for main line running.
I think you pretty much need to start over. I get the impression that you have started by laying track and put in industries and since you can get to them it is good to go. Instead of looking at it as a layout look at it as a railroad. A railroad moves from point a to a point b, not round and round. That is not to say that continuous running is not bad, I like it myself.
Rather break your layout down into scenes. You probably have room for 6 scenes. Then move your railroad from scene to scene. Try not to have the track pass through the scene more than once–unless there is a specific reason that a railroad would do so.
Each scene should follow your theme.
Alright, back to the drawing board, I’ll try and get a new layout done and repost it for comments, thanks for all the help.