Sitting here on a lazy Sunday pondering some ideas regarding the layout…
Trying to get a grip on how to move between levels. Interested to see what the consensus is regarding the helix v. cassettes. The helix is a nice, hands-off approach, but with a 36" min radius, we’re looking at a 6’+ diameter loop in a room that’s only 10 x 21. Cassettes are a little more involved, but take up virtually no room. However, the though of dropping a loaded cassette is a bit scary.
I’ve also kicked around the idea of a nolix, but I’d rather not have to deal with a duckunder or removable bridge section of track. What’s more is that’s a lot of track to have to hide behind a backdrop. Seems like an access nightmare.
Think of a display rack with tracks spaced every 4"-5" up & down, but mounted on a vertical track & counterweighted.
Iain Rice illustrates on in his Shelf Layouts for Model Railroads. His has a single track come off of it as connection to the layout (so the slider acts only as vertical staging), but there’s no reason why you can’t have another track above it to connect to.
Given how much space you have above & below the two levels, not every track on the slider would act as an “elevator”, but those tracks would be the staging specific for the level it services.
The slider could have dedicated wall space & act as elevator, staging and display, or it could be 1/2 hidden behind a narrow section of layout and act a “magazine loader”, with access below & above the layout sections.
Elevators are too “Rube Goldberg” for my liking. I’m a big fan of keeping it simple.
Plus, I like the fact that with a cassette, you can flip it around to turn the train. So both a helix (nolix) and a cassette affords the benefit of the train being pointed in the right direction when it reaches the next level. With a “fixed” elevator you cannot do this.
An the Route of the Broadway LION we have three levels that line two walls of the room. There are two tables that stick out into the room, one is 5’ x 18’ and the other is 6’ x 22’
These are the three levels on the wall.
Clearly the middle level is meant to be the primary level, and the lower level was until a few weeks ago intended to be a staging level, while the top level was supposed to be a branch line. The top level is only 12" wide but is set back on top of the vertical members. 16" below that is the middle level which is 16" wide, but also is four inches from the wall to start with. You can see the bents that support the layout behind the levels. The Lower level is also 16" wide, but is only 12" below the middle level.
From level to level a helix (three actually) is used.
From the larger of the two island tables there is access to both the lower level and the upper level, one helix up and one helix down. BUT YOU CANNOT SEE THEM: they are hiding in plain sight, more or less.
With a 20’ long by 6’ wide table they run straight out and around and are mostly masked by the level in front of the helix. In the photo the transition level is just behind the featured level. You could reach into that space if you had to rescue a train. The level above the featured level (the 42nd Street Station) is on the helix to the upper level.
There is no way I can reach the center of this table. Who cares, there is nothing there and you cannot see in there anyway. I have two 2’ wide tables joined together by a 2’ void which happens to be part of the table structure. Here is a picture of the open end of that table giving a sugges
Another interesting idea that is too unusual for some, but can work well, is to leave the two (or more) tiers without a physical interconnection. Instead, the connection is suggested through staging and traffic patterns. Works great, offers complete freedom in choosing deck heights, doesn’t limit train lengths as can cassettes, requires no extra floor space for a helix, and no exotic engineering for an elevator.
I’ve done this on a couple of layouts for clients and it’s terrific in the right situation. There is more on the concept in my articles in Model Railroad Planning 2008 (Oahu Railway) and Layout Design Journal#28, Spring 2003.
I have been operating a detached module by `Cassette car ferry interchange’ for some time now, and I can describe the system with extreme brevity:
ROYAL PITA!
Of course, that’s because EVERY train movement at the module is either into or out of a cassette. Train arrives, terminates, switching may or may not be required. Some time later either a train departs or another arrives. Eventually, at least some of the locos and cars have to get out of Dodge, if for no better reason than to allow room for later arrivals.
Loaded cassettes can either get racked on the wall or be connected to the main layout so that particular consist can operate on a bit more extensive fragment of railroad.
Happily, there is a (dim, at the moment) light at the end of this tunnel. The module will eventually become the final addition to the `fixed’ layout, and the track out of town will lead to a long downgrade to the mainline interchange, not a cassette. On that day the temptation to convert at least one steel stud cassette into a galvanized steel pretzel may prove irresistible!
Can you devote one wall to a long continuous grade with a bulge at one end? In this case start the upgrade at the end of one of the 10 foot walls, turn onto the long wall, go all the way down to a turnback curve and then come all the way back ending on the second deck above where you started. 16 inch climb is just under 3% more or less.
For myself this is one reason I avoid a two level design in a small room, there’s not good way to get up and down that doesn’t require space.
I’m planning a car float operation. I was able to pick up one of the Walthers car float kits shortly after they went out of production. This is a large model, and it will hold more than enough cars for a full train (8-10 cars) on my layout. I’m planning to install it so that it could be used as a casette, although I’ve only got one terminal and one car float. It’s more for operational interest, as the entire 3-track unit becomes an “industry” to be switched. Unlike a visible industry, the “other side of the water” is virtual, so you can put any kind of car on board and not worry about whether it’s “appropriate” for its destination.
Depends on your train length. Once your cassette gets longer than about 5 or 6 feet turning it around will be unwieldy. At 6’ you need about 6 1/2 ft of swing room, plus you have to keep it fairly level even with sides and gates. If all your cars are 6" long (40 ft prototype), 6 feet will limit you to about 10 cars plus engine.
How locked in to a 36" radius are you? That’s pretty generous for HO. Can 30" or 27" work? at least for the helix?
This! No hidden track to worry about, no cassettes, no traditional helix.
You do have to compromise though with running through a scene multiple times, and transitioning from the grade to the second deck, and realize that much of your layout is going to be devoted to gaining just elevation, but it gets you where you wanted without all the head aches.
Mixing cassettes and 89’ flats sounds like mixing beer and wine. Be careful how you do it and expect less than optimal results. Now, I’m 6’2", but that sounds like a real stretch to me. If you’re talking about a 6’ cassette, I can see why you’re worried about dropping it.
My take is if you want to run long equipment on two levels in a relatively “small” space, you bite the bullet and let the helix eat your lunch. It’s a lot easier to keep such long rolling stock on the rails the whole way.
Yeah…I’m beginning to see that my original plan of a nolix behind a removable backdrop may be the most viable solution.
Cassettes sound like a good idea in theory, but when you calc out the actual required length, I can see the potential for things to get quite cumbersome.
