hi all, im not new to HO railroading, but i have been out awhile for lack of space. now, winters here and i need something to do inside, so i am building yet another 4x8 in my workshop. i have tried for plans, but couldnt find anything good so far. i am looking for some kind of northern wisconsin feel, with some forestry and fields, maybe farms, with a slightly complex layout. it has to have some room for some larger locos, like a 4-8-0 and SD-9’s, but some areas good for the small switchers and whatnot. yes, the space is about 4x8, and the thing has to be less than a foot tall, as it will be on hinges and fold onto the wall. any ideas are appreciated.
Not being rude, and borrowing the idea from another poster, what you have given us is basically this:
I would like a house.
It should be big, but not to big.
It should have at least one bathroom.
It should have a blue wall.
Maybe it could have a den/man cave/ office
It could be on a hilly lot or flat and level and some of both is ok too, but not too tall.
I’ve looked at plans in books.
Can you please to help me design my house?[*-)]
You need to make up you list of “GIVENS” and “DRUTHERS”
Given are things you basically cannot change. Druthers are things you would like to have.
Click here and Take a look at the first post in this thread and see how the poster gave us givens and druthers and operations ideas of what he wants his layout to be and how he wants it to run:
Read this http://www.layoutvision.com/id28.html Consider cutting the sheet down the middle into two 2’ x 8’ pieces and butting them together. It will fit in the same space operationally but given you a better run and options for fitting everything in
Sounds to me like you ought to consider some other approaches too.
If you want continuous run on a table, consider N scale and a 30" x 7 foot table instead. It allows wider curves (about the equivalent of 24-26" radius curves in H0 scale), can still be reached across from one side (so it can stand with one long side along a wall), and gives room for scenery and track plans equivalent to a H0 scale 5 x 12 foot layout).
Or maybe N scale and some other shape of benchwork:
The curse of the 4x8 foot continuous run H0 scale layout is, as someone put it recently, that four feet “is both too narrow and too wide at the same time”.
It is too narrow to allow a good curve radius for turn back curves - which constrains how you can run tracks pretty severely. And it is too wide to reach across the entire layout from just one side - making it a space hog in a small room, since you need access from several sides.
People have come up with a number of schemes to deal with the space hogging qualities when the layout is not in use
Speaking as one who has been building and rebuilding roughly the same track plan in 4’x8’, I offer just abit of advice. Start with a general goal , but do not fear letting your concept and scenery evolve. When I started , as a fairly young person, with a loop of track and one spur the layout operated as the Great Atlantic and Pacific RR. Over time, what has evolved is a short line, bridge line, interchange railroad known very locally ( i.e. within 10 or 12 feet of the layout space) as the Cascade Valley Railroad. What I try to do is to incorporate just enough prototype modeling to give the impression of a very real place. With a standard 4’x8’ board, as others have already posted, you do need to make some choices as to what you enjoy most, if you are using HO scale. You will find that you have tighter curves than what can be built into larger track plans. Long locos, long cars will inevitably have problems. I was gifted with a scale 83’ passenger car the now is part of Joe’s Railroad Roadside diner simply because its lenghth created unsolvable problems.
I have some industry, an impression of a backwater town, and just enough mountains to create a homage to the cross Cascades tunnels that were built in Western Washington. If I was starting to plan the type of layout that you are describing, the recommendation would be to pick a track plan that has an intriguing configuration ( there are many, but feel free to improvise) and the build some Wisconsin signature elements around the rails. Remember that it is your layout and enjoyment that is important, because without that satisfaction your plans will most likely become a railroad that only exists on paper.
