Well long story short. My wife found out a shay needs a minimum of 15 inches to run. She asked if I could run it in the area she gave me. I said no, sooooo.
She asked that if I moved itto a different area would I be able to run one there?
Well I went from 30 x 72" to 48 x 72" and said a very happy YES.
So now I need some ideas. I like The idea of a switchback, a tiny mine, turntables, small yard etc.
Any ideas would be welcomed.
And thank God she told me today because tomorrow I was going to buy the wood, phew lol.
Also for those into it, would you pray for my back, seems it is very sore in a not so good way. Thanks.
Anyhow thanks ahead of time guys.
Slippery slope here! I am afraid you are envisioning an empire and your wife has visions of a loop around the Christmas tree. Now granted Jophn Allen did a great deal with an almost identical space for the original Gorre and Daphetid, however, a 48" reach is not going to do the back any good(prayers and sympathy on the aching back)…
Lets concider some options for the “new space”. A “U” shaped plan might be a possibility, but you need to allow operator space inside the “U”. The average door is 28"s wide lets say, which will give you 10" wide shelves along the 6 foot sides. That will be limiting but not impossible. The bottom of the “U” can be wide enough for a turntable if desired but not necessarilly esential for a shay in a logging or mining type of operation.
Now might be the best time to “PLAN” what you will be doing with the space and share it with “she who must be obeyed”, before you gather the supplies for construction to realize what the challenges are and what both of your expectations are.
Good luck with both the challenge of the new space, and hope the back is on the road to recovery.
If you’d like some ideas on track plans there are many sources. You can click on my photobucket account in my signature and go to the track plans page and maybe get some ideas there. Also, this is a great place to find small plans; http://carendt.com/microplans/intro.html .
Like said above, research and plan. The more you know going in, the better your layout will be. Several people who frequent this site have developed small mining/logging layouts. (Check the Logging and Mining section.)
Here is what I would do in your situation. If you move that layout to the center of the room or at least have an aisle behind it your maximum reach will be 24" which is good. I would doodle some plans with a backdrop that runs at a slight angle rather than down the center. i would have a yard, town and a connection to a major railroad on one side and an industry on the other. The obvious chocies are logging or mining of some ore like gold, uranium, lead, zinc, etc. but not coal. The processing plant would be in the town justfying the railroads existence. Now to get to the other side you have some choices. the easiest is a loop. Better is an ess curve leaving town going in a tunnel truning 180 degrees and emerging from the tunnel at the far end and far side of the back drop where it turns 180 degrees to reach the traffic generator. The most interesting way to operate this would be to make the view block a mountain and go over it with a series of switchbacks keeping the train in view at all times. You could probably operate a couple of trains and have a passing siding at the top of the mountain. Those are my thoughts.
I did a loop with a saw mill in a corner and a steep switch back up the middle with a logging camp and a saw area next to a wall that has a spur as well as part of the switch back. There are tunnels and bridges and a swamp. Get some sqaured paper and start fanticizing. Before I built anything, I laid it all out , full size, on the floor with masking tape. You will need access to three sides of such a layout.
You didn’t say what scale or whether standard or narrow gauge.
I drew up some plans for a small HO/HOn3 layout that would fit a 46" x 60" space. The standard gauge was an oval with 18" radius curves. On the back side was a passing track. On the front side was a single spur which ran in front of a narrow/standard gauge loading platform and transfer point.
The narrow gauge had a spur to the transfer platform and 2 other spurs to serve as an Inglenook yard. The narrow gauge then went up a steep grade on 15" radius curves around the left end. It climbed around the left end and the back side until ending in a switchback tail that extended on a bridge over the standard gauge in the right back corner. The switchback had several spurs attached (I had wanted a wye, but there just wasn’t room for the tail tracks). There was room for a short run-around along with the spurs at the summit. Both standard and narrow gauge train length was set at 20" - standard gauge by the length of the passing siding left after 18" radius curves on a 5ft long layout, and narrow gauge by the length of the switchback tail.
I have some Lionel, and On30 has been tempting me, so I did a feasibility study of mixing the two using the same track plan. Atlas O36 curves and turnouts nicely replace the 18" radius and Snap Switches of the HO version. I figured I needed 18" radius for the On30, however. Given the increased horizontal clearances needed in O/On30, I felt I needed at least 54 inch width, with 60 inches being preferred. The same layout nicely in a 5ft x 8ft space using 3 rail O and On30. It might be possible to reduce it to 4ft width by using 15" radius for the On30, but everything would be pretty tight. I don’t think any 2 rail O equipment has a small enough minimum radius to use in this layout size or configuration. Likewise, S and Sn3 generally uses too big a radii also.
Since I have been offered a chance to build shelf layouts by Commander-in-Chief, hom
Stephen, for your back’s sake, heed the well intentioned advice above. You have struck paydirt, but many are those who had it wrested from their ignorant hands before the week was out…historical metaphor, if you can stand it.
Better to take a deep breath, then another, and then get out a piece of large graph paper and start doodling. Review (if you have read it} John Armstrong’s “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” to get fixed in your mind the essential elements to get this one right. You will save on unneeded construction and deconstruction (helps twitchy back), and will design a more user friendly version of your Great Image (helps twitchy back).
Great advice guys thanks.
pcarrell I know about http://carendt.com/microplans/intro.html
I found that place a while ago and think it is great.
SpaceMouse thanks I hadn’t thought of that. Also the more I know the more I find myself redoing things too much LOL.
ndbprr it will be in the living room soooo.
ARTHILL any pics?
modelalaska thanks, and I agree.
fwright on my sig it says On30 [hint hint hint lol]
Ok well I didn’t make myself clear enough in a couple areas soooo.
I am in On30 [see sig] also this will be on wheels so I can get around it easily and do all sides. When operating I will be facing one long side of the rectangle.
I have put a layout on wheels before so this is no problem.
Also, as soon as I make it I will take pics of it for the noncarpenters out there. Also if possible maybe blueprints as well.
So my longest reach will be 24 inches, and being 6 foot this is not bad.
Well seeing as I have a wife and not a slave I value her opinion. She makes our house [condo] a home and because she won’t let me make it into a workshop it is comfortable for everyone who comes here.
And yes she GAVE me the space because it is in our living room. If my wife thinks that a layout can contribute to our home then fine. If she did not think so that would be fine as well.
I love my wife dearly and value her ideas, thoughts and opinions a lot.
I married a woman not a thing that is supposed to obey me. Her input is valuable to me because she is very smart.
Your comment shows a deep insecurity about yourself that maybe you should get help for before you decide to marry some poor woman and inflict her with your 'nads.
And yes my wife has my 'nads and always will. I don’t share them.
Sorry if I offended you in some way. It was meant as a JOKE. And I agree with most of what you said. But maybe YOU need to get help to find a sense of humor. Lighten up![:D]