I revised the layout and ready to put it on the foam. I have a few questions before starting:
How do I replicate the curves, turnouts, etc.? Should I print out templates of the different turnouts and use them? For curves, do I use a yardstick thumb-tacked on one end and a pencil on the other?
Should I use markers, highlighters, or something else on the foam?
TIA!
Lee
All those methods work.
Most layout software allows you to print a 1:1 track plan that you can use as a template.
What I’ve found that works pretty good is taking a photo copy your turnouts and specialty pieces of track. That way you have lots of pieces to test without having to go and buy them all before you know what you need. Then you could either lay the track right on the paper copies, or maybe lay a piece of string along inside radii of track, tacking it as you go. Then you would have an outline to follow.
Mike
Lee, experiment to see what works best for you. I am using all of them, the templates, yard stick and markers. But replicating your track plan is a daunting task to say the least. You may want to draw a grid on your benchwork to help you keep things in alignment with your plans.
I was told in the forums once that when your track plan hit the benchwork that it would change and change it did. But it was to make my plan fit and flow better. In short your plan is a great starting point as I feel mine was but as you lay track you must adjust it ever so slightly. Use everything you can to help yourself replicate your track plan but do not get in a rush, take your time. The people here are very helpful. I am working on my second layout and come to the forums everyday.
Good luck and keep us updated.
I laid out my track work full scale on the layout. For curves I drilled a pair of 1/4" holes to take a pair of ordinary wooden pencils at the end of a light wooden board (yardstick will work too), and then drilled pivot holes for 18", 20", 22" and so on radius. This way I marked both edges of the roadbed in one swing of the trammel bar. If you are using cork roadbed you only need to mark the curve center line. I’m using flex track, which means I have to have something to guide my tracklaying. Even when using snap track, marking the guiding curve helps avoid kinks in the curve.
I covered the layout with poster board and marked it with pencil. That way I could cut the track shapes out of the poster board with sissors and use the cutouts as templates to cut wood roadbed pieces out of thin pine. If you are using cork roadbed, which bends to shape, you won’t need the templates. In the case you want to mark right on the bare foamboard. you probably want to use magic markers or felt tips, or those marks-anything-indelibly Sharpie markers.
For easements and those broad broad curves I used a flexible wooden batten bent to shape to guide my pencil.
Once the curves are located, I can lay track by eye from one curve to another and have it come out nicely.
Well, I usually have enough track and turnouts on hand to lay it out with the actual pieces. Although I use and like flex-track, I have 15", 18" and 22" curved snap track to use to lay it out with so I don’t kink the curves. On the sharp curves, I use a 22" curve section for the easements. When I have the final track layout done on the sub roadbed, (whatever it may be) I mark the centerline through the ties with a marker and then make it a line to use for putting down the split roadbed pieces. (I use WS foam roadbed) Then the flextrack goes on that.
Sometimes, if the track layout looks more complicated or curves don’t look quite right in specific areas, I may run a car or two on the track layout before I make the centerline marks, just to make sure there won’t be any problems.
Generally after the roadbed is down, I lay the turnouts down before I fill in with the track.
While this is a very useful technique, there can be issues as I discovered when building my layout recently. Small errors in joining the 8.5x11 paper can add up when you have a big area to cover and can cause the track alignment to suffer significantly.
The approach I took was to print out only selected parts of my layout 1:1 - in those parts of the layout with complex trackwork. For the rest of the layout, I used a lot of careful measurement and conventional techniques to translate the design to plywood.
Here is an example of printout in 1:1 scale. You see the effect rxanand points out at the turnout nearest the viewer - it is a little off. But it is still close enough that you can test clearance with cars on neighbouring tracks, placement of buildings etc.
Smile,
Stein
Everyoen has good advice here so my comment is only ment as a gentle suggestion.
If you decide to use a marker to path out your track, be careful. Some heavy duty markers will “Bleed” up through the paint. I actually had it happen to me where I had written some notes off to the sides. A month later I came through and painted it and the stupid thing bled through. Doh!
A trick I did as I went backl and forth with mine as to use yarn to map out my trackage. I bought a box of sewing pins and use them as markers then strung the yarn and the pins hold the curves. Worked well enough so that I could get a feel for the “flow” of my track through a section that I wanted to lay curvey.