Well here she is. There might a be a few things that need changing, I whipped it up pretty quickly last night in about an 90 minute session. It’s planned out with AnyRail demo model so there isn’t all the features, but so far the only real limiting factor is with the free “demo” version you can’t go over 50 pieces of track. It’s all laid out in Atlas code 55 flex and #5 turn outs. I oringinally planed to use a mix Micro-Engineering code 70, 55, and 40 flex and their #6 turn outs so a little finagalling might be needed. My latest thought is to use the ME C55 on the mains and C40 on the spurs/sidings, then just use the Atlas #5 turn outs. Will all those different components work together?
This is a two deck layout but I didn’t include the lower deck in the plans. The lower deck is just length of the back all (longer wall) and will only be about 12 inches deep. It is simply for staging and to connect to the helix on the right side wall. I will probably do some scenicing simply because it can be seen, but nothing more than a printed back drop, balasted track, and covered ground, most likely a mix of dirt spots and grass with a MOW road following the track.
Starting at the bottom left is an industry I’m not quite sure on yet. I just know it will deal with concrete. The idea is that the concrete place gets 7 cars, but that will change. The passing siding and spur track are long enough to hold seven 50’ cars. I planned all measurements on 50’ cars but in the end it works out best and I didn’t realize it. Starting out will be in early 60’s and they will get cement in PS2 2-bay covered hoppers, but there’s enough room to expand to use ACF 2 bay hoppers and eventually 3 bays like ACF 4650’s and PS2 4740’s and 4750’s that the concrete business b
I like how yr keeping it simple and leaving plenty of room for the industries (something I’m rarely able to do), as well as the scenery divider / tunnel on the backleft: it will add depth & time by separating the scenes into the “warm” colors of the cement plant and the “cool” earthiness of the logging.
I’m visualizing being in the room, and I dig the feeling: The log unloading / loading scene will look quite the centerpiece!
Just a couple thoughts: the logging area seems very linear / horizontal / flush with the front. Any way to even slightly angle the track from front to back, left to right? (or vice versa?) Unless there’s some reason they have to be straight across I’m not picking up.
And I know I have CTD (Compulsive Tracklaying Disorder), but it seems you could put a small industry or servicearea or even a small tt on the right upto and over the helix. The line could come off the siding / passing on the far side of the logging, or off the main right before the curve right towards the helix.
Quarry for cement plant on other side? Just a thought.
When I originally drew up this plan there was a conflict on how much of the room I could use with the “significant” other. Some time over the months she decided with out really telling me that her mind was changed and I could no longer use the entire room. It suddenly went down from a room sized HO layout to a small N scale layout taking up the long back wall and a short chunk of the right wall, which could only be 5 feet long before it would interfear with the bedroom door operation. So this was kind of designed to be a narrow around-the-walls shelf layout to prove that even though it goes around 3 of the 4 walls, it still would not take up much room. Appearently she didn’t want to clunk her head on the framing when she was using her desk even though my old computer desk is 2 foot deep and my layout was only about a foot deep on the left side where her desk would be. She also didn’t think that a shelf style layout set 4 feet above the floor would take up too much room for storage. Funny thing, a really good friend had a bad fight with his dad and was going to move in with us so him and me cleaned out the back room for him to use. Short story shorter, apartment owners decided to hassle a little bit, he lived with us for a week, and all of a sudden now since that 2nd bedroom is completely cleaned out and is once again a spare room she wants to move a bunch of stuff in it, like the computer desk. Something she doesn’t even use now, and is fine where it is. So it is becoming a battle. Wait till she finds out I have decided to switch to HO. When she argues about this I will kindly remind her of the time we both went to the LTS and I bought a few N scale freight cars and she basically implied I was kind of dumb for not buying the bigger, more detialed, neater looking HO cars. So even after the switch to HO it will be narrow, which is ok. The biggest industry will be a brewery, which will be made of all low relief buildings. I was hoping that my decision to move up the height to 55-58 inches would he