I am hoping someone on the forum can help me. I found this layout schematic a few years ago and made the dreadful mistake of not noting where it came from or any background. I have searched the internet and model railroading boots to no avail. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks. Walter
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I tried a couple of Internet techniques without success. Do you have any recollection of the source? Magazine? Book? Internet?
Rich
Looks like a picture taken of a printout. Is there a date on your file? Maybe that can help you remember.
Simon
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No, I wish I did. When I look at the date stamp of the original file, it would be on the internet either Pinterest or a train blog like Alister Lee, Jim’s trains or something like that. I have searched them all and continue to watch various forums with no luck. I saw it once, liked it and never have seen it again. The design looks interesting, has a theme for the geography I would like to model and it fits perfectly into the space I have. I model HO and I think this might be N scale. I am considering going to the drawing board and design it myself using one of the track planning tools for MAC OS.
So, you can eliminate books and magazines as the source?
You saw it somewhere “online”?
Rich
It was clearly a hand drawn plan. Why try to find it? There is likely little additional information to be gained.
Just draw your own version, on paper (my choice) on with software.
Sheldon
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Even if it were a hand drawn diagram, if he saw it on the Internet, there is always the possibility that it could be found. Presumably, he is looking for something more than just the track plan which, as you say, could simply be redrawn.
Rich
As a professional residential designer in the US, who also has a mechanical engineering drafting background as well, working in English units or Metric units is more a matter of what you are use to as opposed to one being “easier” than the other.
I have also designed a number of layouts for myself and others, and even did it as a commercial enterprise for a short while years ago.
Construction in the US is still using English units and will continue to. It has two distinct advantages in that trade - it is divisible by both 2 and 3, and it is fundamentally proportioned to the human body.
As for designing layouts, track radius in the US is still measured in inches, and the rooms we put our layouts in were built in feet and inches.
Metric may be more convenient to you because it is the primary measure where you are, but people who have used English measure for their whole lives cannot generally relate distances in Metric.
Here in my track plan now under construction with lumber that comes 2"x4", and plywood that comes 4’x8’.
Sheldon
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To my eye, the layout appears to be drawn from a generic computer program. Looking at the turnouts, I doubt that the track will “fit” as drawn, but I could be wrong. By the way, you have return loops in there, that will require some special wiring.
You can redraw by hand using good ol’ pen and paper, keeping in mind the minimum radius you are seeking, and the space required for a turnout. These days, a minimum radius of 22 inches would be OK for 4 and 6 axle diesels and 4 driver steamers. Sheldon will probably argue for a wider radius 
. What kind of equipment do you plan on using? Modern rolling stock? 50’s steam and diesel? That should be your main consideration when designing your layout. Modern equipment generally requires wider curves (e.g., 28 inch radius). Slope is another consideration. Steamers and longer trains generally require a lower slope. Most trains will struggle beyond a 3% climb.
A 2-inch gap (5 cm?) between tracks should be OK. That should give you enough wiggle-room. Of course, it’s a lot easier to draw out with specialized software. The Atlas track planning software is pretty basic easy to use, but there are others.
Simon
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I tried enlarging the image to read the text, but doing this made the words illegible. Can you please send us some of the industry names? Having them might help find the schematic’s origins.
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