Now I have more space to plan my dream layout in. Please give me some ideas how to use this space.
See this post where everything starts:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=51211
That is a wonderful shape, but being an American, I have no idea how large it is. It certainly seems to call for two locations connected by a main line. I put a mountain on each end, one with logging and one with mining and a desert main between. I am excited about your opportunities and look forward to all the ideas you get and what you finally decide upon.
I just updated the picture with a 1 x 10 feet rectangle so it’s easier for the US people to see the size.
Well, Merry Christmas to you, too, EL! Or was that the tooth fairy that brought you this extra space? [:D]
Sorry, but it is not clear to me which of those two gray blobs is the new addition.
Congratulations!
i hope that small strech is bigger than 3 inchs.
Thats a great space! Congrats!
I think I’d have to look at one end being an interchange with another RR, and maybe a couple of whistle stops thrown in for good measure, and then the other end maybe being a port or something. Maybe out in the country on one end and in the city on the other. You know, farmers ship cows to the nearby meat packing plant. The meat packing plant ships to the refridgerated warehouse in the city, and a local delivers it all over the city. trains originating in the city haul all kinds of goods out to the country folk. Throw in some other businesses to augment it and you’re good to go. I’d go with two things that had some differences so you get to experience more out of the project. Just my two cents…
Crandell, it’s the one on the right. I’ve been following the “Electrolove saga”.[;)]
Electro, I would stick with what you had in the original space, and come off that with a triple connection to the new space, one for each level, thus making the length of each level’s mainline huge. This would give you some serious distance between Denver and Salt Lake!!!
Would a helix fit in that new closet? That opens up even more possibilities.
Congrats on your new “land grant”.[8D]
Looks good to me.
ICMR
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
Yes you are right, the new space is the one to the right. You have a good idea to make a very long mainline but… It’s always a but… Where the space is just 17 cm there is a room with a door. If I build 3 levels I get some serious problems to access the room.
So one idea is to build as much as I can in the left room like you said (3 levels), then one level over to the right room, a high narrow benchwork, only 8 inch wide with a duck under. Maybe 67" from the floor. Something like Rice Hill On Joe Fugate’s layout.
Then over to the right room and continue there with 3 levels. The litte room at the right is perfect for a helix. So I have some things I can try to get a good plan.
Keep the good ideas comming.
Yeah, I was afraid there would be some kind of obstacle in that hallway. Nothing is easy. My guess is that the door opens into the room and not into the hall. That would be the easier situation to deal with.
Since the section is so narrow there, it wouldn’t be that bad to have removable “bridges” that went in front of the door. You would just put them out of the way except when you wanted to operate, so most of the time the door would be wide open for normal use.
The goal should be to have the total run between Denver and Salt Lake be about 60% of your mainline, with Denver to Pueblo at about 20%, and the Royal Gorge the remaining 20%. The trick is forming the right connections and and spacing the towns properly. The closet helix could replace the original one, or suppliment it depending on what you want to do in the hallway.
Thanks, Elliot. Got it.
Electro, don’t you just hate having all these new decisions to make? [:D] It would certainly ruin my week…heh-heh.
I like the idea of removable bridges/inserts. If done right, they just drop in, hook up six connectors for your three levels, a whopping two minutes of work, and you are back at your controller operating the layout. If you had the stomach for it, you could build a lower helix at another location just for flexibility, or even one down to hidden staging, freeing up even more space (I have lost track of your plan, so I may be fishing here), but I could see it if you emphatically say “NO!”
No matter what, I am happy for you. This has the potential to keep you around until you’re 104!
-Crandell
You never told us which other LDEs you had chosen. That will make a big difference.
And seeing some of the other posts people didn’t understand your concept. Perhaps you should have tacked this onto that thread or at least referred to it.
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=51211
Hi ,
well you never can have enough space, I assume your train lenghts are about 5 m long ( 17 ft ) as my n scale train lenghts are 4-5 m long I know the problem .
Im looking for a new place to move my layout to ,with heating and some comfort , I wish I could have it in my livingroom : ) ,but then I would have to kick out my girlfriend ,but my son thinks its a good idea . )
BNSF N scale
MIDLAND ROAD 4 MM SCALE BRITISH YEAR 1910 A SMALL LAYOUT IN BUILDING
I disagree with Elliot. I would totally skip the joint line (Denver to Pueblo), that is non-parallel double track and is only there on your layout to get to the hanging bridge in Canon City. It is a tricky section to do even if that is the entire layout, not to mention needing its own staging.
I think Denver and Salt Lake City Union Stations will/should take about 15% of the space each. After all they are the true focus of your stated operational goals. Both are fairly compex. Denver has separate loco facilities for the D&RGW (braner) and CB&Q (rice - now Six Flags Amusement Park) - both of which have turntables. Salt Lake City Union Station has those strange curved leads for the WP. At least in Salt Lake both the WP and D&RGW used the Roper yard for motive power layovers and it was a diesel oriented yard so it had no roundhouse.
The reason I have not told anyone about the LDE’s is that I don’t know yet.
Yes the start of this story was lost. I have a link to that thread now at the beginning, thanks for telling me.
It’s 6-7" in the picture, but it can be 8" without any problems. A nice place for a siding.
Yes, it opens into the room, thank you god for that. Removable bridges sounds like a good idea.
I think I need help with a trackplan to make this dream a reality.
Yes all this planning is very boring, heheheheh
Here is my trackplan:
I really love you all for your fantastic support!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!
If someone wants to do it, please draw a trackplan for this space. I think I need some help.
There is lot of possibilites. A hallway with 1 or 3 levels, a helix in the small room at the right.