I have been looking on google and on here with no luck on anyone possibly building the DT&I track plan. I am wanting to build a larger sized layout in my garage. My garage is about 19X24. I am not very good at making track plans but i want a long main line run with plent of switching which this offers. Does anyone have any advice or tips? My biggest headache is going to try making the sectional because I am military and I maybe moving in 2.5 years. Here is the link for the track plan. Thank you in advance. I will get more info on my garage at a later time. I’m deployed in kadena japan right now so I have to get my wife to help me out with exact demensions.
http://mrr.trains.com/-/media/import/files/pdf/6/b/3/rd0103_afig1.pdf#page=1&zoom=110,-154,754
Here is more info on this track plan:
I am ex-military and I never did have a layout until I retired. Since then, I have actually figured out how to build one that could be moved easily without loosing too much in the take-down. The following I also posted on another thread here.
I believe that you could build a series of main modules that would be the basis for a layout. These modules would be the major switching and industrial areas of your layout. Modules that would be like the following: 1- a yard; 2- engine facilities; 3- city industrial district; 4- town 1; 5- town 2; etc. These modules could be self contained and built as switching modules, each with their own control panels and power. The modules would be placed around the room on some type of simple benchwork. Then you would run a mainline track from one module to the next. Scenery could be built between the modules. If you have to move, you would save all the modules & buildings and just loose the scenery and track between them. The placement of the modules could be close together or far apart, whatever the room will accommodate. In fact, you can start looking a plans for switching modules and start building one as soon as you like. The module size should be 2x8 at the largest.
The biggest problem with making it sectional - there are no guarantees the next place you will be will be able to fit it as built and you’ll end up modifying it anyway.
You are in good shape to make sure there are no module joints on turnouts or curves, because you have 4 extra feet of width and 2 extra feet of length. That extra 4 feet means that big curve at the end of the penninsula can get a straight section, say 2 feet long, and then add an extra foot on either side of the penninsula to make the aisle wider. The extra length can be used to add in some extra straight track to move any turnouts off the module gaps.
Now, I am not a linear layout builder - I do not first build all the benchwork, then go back and lay all the track, etc. I work on a little at a time. If you start with one of the yards, you will quickly have something up and running without first completing the whole framing. Depending on how long this takes you, you may find that you’ve had some fun running trains but it’s time to move and good thing you didn’t spend all that time first building 100% of the benchwork. That’s a fairly large layout, if you are doing this by yourself, it’s not going to be ‘completed’ in a short amount of time - using the linear approach of completing all one task before moving to the next, you may just get the benchwork all done and it’s time to move.
For someone subject to frequent moves, perhaps a linear switching layout would be more doable. say 2 feet wide by 16 feet long, designed to split into two 8 foot section with one flipping up on top of the other, track sides facing in - like its own shipping crate. Even smaller living quarters should have room for at least a 2x8, so either half would be usable no matter where you end up, with the best case being room to set up the whole 16 foot layout. You cna have a lot of railroad fun in a 16 foot long layout. It just won;t have continuous running.
For another exa
Thank you for the advice. i was thinking I could do 2x4 foot sections for the base and the turns separate. do you think that would be a plausible solution to releave most damage. What are a few things I may not have thought about with doing it this way. Because it is multi levels I would have to finish the base first. if I move I am going to be sure I find a place to fit it. If I can’t I will store it till I move back to my housE. there is a club local that build the modulars but I’m just not a very big fan of them. thanks for all the help.
I can’t imagine that anyone has built that exact layout besides the original owner, and you can read about the layout and see photos in the January 2003 Model Railroader (perhaps you have already seen this article).
There are a number of issues on this plan that make it likely not the best choice for you. The 30” radius in the original plan is probably significantly broader than is needed (layout design guru John Armstrong noted that too large a radius can be just as bad as one that is too small).
In this case, that overly large radius constricts the aisle at the bottom of the drawing to something like 14 inches – which is mighty tight for many folks.
The more concerning issue is the hidden staging tracks. At only 4” railhead-to-railhead, they are already too tight for most folks. There is just no way one could get in there to do maintenance on the hidden turnouts. Most folks what five inches at the very least, 6-8” if possible.
This is made worse if built in sections, because it might be especially difficult to get those tracks realigned in a new location without hand access and without being able to eyeball it from above.
As others have noted, the better approach would probably be sections built to be used around the walls. These are more adaptable to new locations.
Best of luck with your layout.
I’ve always thought of published plans as thought-provokers and nothing more. They show you how somebody else built his layout, and they explain how and why he designed it as he did; or they show proposed designs for a layout that nobody has built. Be suspicious of the latter. Published plans show innovative solutions to design problems, or they might show how to use space most efficiently, or how to hide trackage that shouldn’t be seen (staging, for example). Often, they give instruction about the particular issues involved in modeling certain geographic features or industries (how many layout drawings show a truly prototypical track arrangement for a coal mine? Not many in my experience).
I would look at the railroad and the locations you want to model, and use that as your starting point. Draw a plan that links your favorite or most important features. It’s not hard to research this stuff. Nowadays you can just pull up maps on your computer and see just what features exist, or existed, at the location you want. Build a couple small-to-moderate sized modules in the space you have available, link them together with a simple, temporary main line, and start operating. Then when you have the actual dimensions of the final space, just ditch those temporary mainline connecting sections and see how your modules, plus new ones you will build, fit into that space. Connect the modules and you have a new railroad!
Thanks for the advice you guys. I decided that I am going to make it all one peice and try really hard to get orders in the same location and which I have a very good chance with. What are some ways to improve this layout? I would cut out the staging yard on the southend of the layout ( I am using the top as north for reference). I want to make the isle a little wider. 18-24 inches wide should be good I think. I was thinking about droping the staging yard on the lower level two inches. I would start the grade after the first turn out down and round to bring it to 2" above base. same for the north entance to the staging. The upper layer would be 6" above the base. Do you think these grades will be to steep? What are some other possible improvements? I would really like to get rid of some of the switching on the top level and make a coal mine and logging camp. Thank you again for your help. I just want to do it right and I really want a large layout finally. I have done a 4x16 and a 8x8. Its time to go room sized!!!
Many folks would find those too tight. If you are slim (and all of your current and future friends, relatives, visitors, and operators are slim), you might allow a short choke point of 24", but most people find that they are happier with 30" or more for the majority of aisles.
From what you are describing, possibly.
Once you ponder making so many changes it becomes a question whether this is really the right plan for your needs. If you are going to make a significant commitment of time and money to build a large permanent layout, it might be easier to find one that fits your needs and interests more closely to begin.
Note that you can always expand a track plan designed for a smaller room to fit the space you have, so there is no need to limit yourself to designs that are exactly the size you have available.
Best of luck with your layout.