I can run 9 n scale trains at a time. I built my layout in the upstairs bedroom that is not used for a bed.I’m just getting tired of it taking up the whole room.I need a plan to put it against the wall about the same lenght,{9ft. long[ and at the ends of it I want a gradual radius for the trains and I"ll run just a few trains at a time.In the middle I want to put a big freight yard with all the other locos with their cars.Can someone direct me to a plan that fits this description?I realize I have lot of tearing out to do. But that is the most fun doing it.I’ll be using alot of code 80 flex track and #8 peco switches.Please help me out.
Remember when you plan a large yard in the middle of an against-the-wall layout that you have to consider your reach length. You don’t want to exceed that if you wind up with derailments or uncooperative RRcars or locos in the middle of your yard.
A general reach length should be no more than about 18" form edge of layout. That is considered to be teh maximum reach length by many.
Also, if you make it an against-the-wall layout, consider putting it on wheels so you can roll it out away from the wall to reach the other side if need be, Trust me, you probably will need to.
Just my thoughts, ideas, experiences, others may vary
Hi!
I’ve been in HO for decades but did build a 5x7 N scale layout in the mid-80s, so I’m not totally unfamiliar with the attributes and challenges of the scale.
Your questions are truly open ended, and a lot more info is needed for anyone to offer a competent suggestion. But, I’ll do what I can…
My own layout is in an 11x15 room and literally fills it except for “the hole in the middle”. If you don’t mind a large “duck under”, this seems to work out quite well. Perhaps a double or triple main line around the perimeter with crossovers in a few spaces, which will allow you to run a few trains at a time. Then, within the perimeter you could have tracks branching off to an engine terminal, freight sidings, a yard, and maybe even a town. In this situation, you could be running trains around the mains and doing switching movements in the other areas.
Really though, I would urge you to pick up a couple of the Kalmbach track plan books (you can get used ones pretty cheap on Ebay) and spend time reviewing them to narrow down your interests.
Trust me, spending sufficient time on the front end of a layout project figuring out your wants and needs, available space, and finally a scaled down track plan, will save you a lot of grief in the long run and provide you with probably much more enjoyment.
I forgot to mention I have all DCC. The only reason for redoing this is This layout will never come out of the room unless I do a smaller version.
Hey froggy, there is an old saying that God helps those who help themselves. Get that brain of yours working and come up with some ideas for the new layout that you describe. Then we can help you critique it. You already began to describe what you want in your initial post. Go buy a pad a graph paper and draw it out in pencil using the dimensions that you want. Good luck !
Rich
Sorry, froggy, I forgot to answer your initial question. Sure, we have all started over. Never satisfied with the first layout.
Rich
Have ever started over? In the last 6 years I have had 4 different layouts [:)] . The first was an experiment that was a disaster at best. My BB SD40-2 could not make it around the layout once without derailing. So after 6 month of trying to fix things I started over. That layout lasted 1.5 years. A move required a tear down. The next layout was a walk under in the living room c/w a 2 % grade that was 8 feet long. After about 2 years it was torn down and the current 4 level layout in a 9 by 11 room was build. Trust me, the layouts get better the more often you start over. [Y]
Go for it.
Frank
Started over? Sort of, almost every move - and I made plenty of moves in Uncle Sam’s Frequent Relocation Club. I can’t remember a move where the space available in the next house suited the same layout as the space in the previous house. And moving to a new region exposed me to new interests and themes as far as prototype inspiration went. So any existing layout that moved with me got extensively modified. Now that I’m in Colorado, and away from the Coast, I see influences of Colorado narrow gauge and the D&RG creeping in - just because that’s what I see on my outings.
Reading between the lines, it seems your primary interests are display running and a large, visible, staging yard to store your roster and easily set up the next set of trains to run on the main.
Your preferences are almost opposite of mine, so any layout plan I like, you probably won’t and vice versa. Which is OK - our tastes and enjoyment of the hobby don’t need to be the same. When I was in 3 rail O, I aimed primarily at display running because the locomotives, couplers, and track systems I used were not well suited for switching operations. Based on your stated preferences, you may want to take a look at 101 Track Plans and the Atlas layout plans for inspiration. Not necessarily for a plan to use directly, but one that gives you ideas that you can use in creating your own plan. Don’t limit yourself to N plans for inspiration.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
…modeling foggy coastal Oregon, where it’s always 1900…
I do my best not to start over because IMHO it a waste of money and time and above all I learn from past mistakes I made on past ISLs over the years.
What was those mistakes?
Thanks for asking.
99% of those mistakes was failure to plan ahead and I cram to much in my limited space.
The lesson learn was less is best for switching layouts.
In 1979 I built a N Scale layout on a 36"x72" hollow core door…Thanks to studying, planning and thinking ahead I enjoyed operating that layout for several years…
I switched in 1980 from N-scale to H0. And I started my H0 layout several times. Failure with operation. I had to learn!
Now I have a H0-layout but I started with H0n3. But I keep my H0 layout.
Wolfgang