Attached please find the layout outline. I have an area of 10X10, but with 12’ on the far wall. I have N Scale. Please show me your possibilities. Thank you.
How can we show you all possibilities you may have in the given space without knowing what you want?
A 10 by 10 ft. room offers a lot of possibilities in N scale, from a small shelf-type layout along the wall to a more complex, peninsula type multi-deck layout.
There are a few questions you need to answer for yourself, which will help you to find “your” track plan:
- What type of operation do I want!
- What road would I like to model
- Which era would I like to model
- What type of scenery do I want to have
- How many operators shall my layout accommodate - just to name of few of these questions.
Take a look at this page by Byron Henderson, which will guide you through your decision making process (Thanks Byron)
Well, there will be a lift out bridge by the bottom left of the layout. The wall is on the top, right and bottom of drawing. I am doing 2, or 3 mainlines I think. 2 at least. I am debating on mountains out west, or maybe praire du chien in some parts…I’m still debating. I also might do a multi-level with Helix.
Thanks
What is your modeling (specifically bench work and track laying) skill level?
I would say I’m pretty good at all. I have all the tools (Shopsmith :), and talent. I build many things. See, the real problem is I already have a layout benchwork and some track laid in my garage right now. The garage is 13X17. I would have to rip up all that and bring down to the basement. The only draw back to the garage is, I do not have it heated & in Wisconsin it’s pretty bad with weather changes. Also, the room has a slope on the ceiling about 4’ up from the sides, so I cannot build the layout at the height I really want to. In the basement, I can build high & have the temp. controlled. So, I have all the means to do a very nice layout, and I have a friend who works for Walthers & does all the scenery there.
My self, I would stick with the garage. In my case, the kitchen was on the other side of the wall so there was a gas line. I had a wall mounted gas heater installed in the garage. I all so have a window A/C unit. I am warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
One thing that comes in handy is a track program. I use the Atlas RTS 8.0 and it is a free down load from the Atlas site. While it is a pain to learn, and it is not the end all (other words it will let you plan mistakes like S Curves) for building a layout. The advantage is you can draw your room, and post layout ideas here at the site. Here is a sample of what I am playing with. Each square is 1 foot.
Atlas all so has RTS 10.0 and I have down loaded it, but have not used it yet.
I am far from being a master of the RTS program, but if you go that root I will help as much as I can.
Cuda Ken
Well, I had a great plan for the garage and it was pretty far, but I just got done with a lot of demo. I have decided to go with the basement, that is why I started the thread. I am looking for good Ideas for the above post. Thank.
mj
What you wish to model is going to determine what your trackage looks like.
The mountains? The rural towns? The suburbs? The city? The waterfront pier?
Then you have choice of the type of train you’ll run: Freight (raw and/or finished goods), passenger, excursion, historic?
For example a logging train in the mountains will have lots of twisty tight curves and lots of trees. A rural or suburban town passenger train however will have broad sweeping curves to support the long passenger cars.
MJ, what did think about trying the Atlas Program? Details would help on room layout (I will reread your original post) and what are you looking for?
Are you looking for?
1 Rail Fanning (just running the trains and watching)?
2 Switching?
3 Point to point?
4 Sizes turns you need?
I am HO, so to me I need 22 or larger. To me 18 inch is tight, while 32 inch is medium large. Give me a idea on turns sizes and what you are hopping to do.
Ken
I really want to build this layout at 58" or somewhere around there. What would you guys recommend? I want the new height standard. Also, attached you will find a little update to the idea of the layout. I would not say this is final at all, I would still like your thoughts. I really want this to be a fall scene, so maybe the mountains are out of the question. I want to have 2 to 3 mainlines with a staging area in the middle. I might go multi-level with the helix, but this might not be the right thing to do.
Thanks
Layout height is a perennial topic in these forums. Some like it high, some like it low, and some like it just right (for them). There are two ways to resolve the problem:
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mock up adjustable shelves with track and trains on them at different heights until you establish what height you prefer.
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Build the layout higher than you think you want, and cut off an inch of the legs at a time until you are happy.
What is interesting is the inherent contradictions in your wants:
- I want the new height standard (doesn’t exist)…I really want to build this layout at 58"…I might go muti-level (at least one level won’t be at 58" or the new non-existant height standard).
- I really want this to be a fall scene, so maybe the mountains are out of the question…Last I looked Fall comes to the mountains just as much as most othe regions of the country. From my obsevations, the mountain forests have more color, even in the West with the aspens, than do cities and towns.
Looks to me like you are not sure of what you want, and are throwing out ideas for our approval. Our approval of your ideas hardly matters to your enjoyment of your layout. There’s nothing wrong with a generic layout if you are unsure of what your real desires are. The downside is a higher likelihood of rework and rebuilding than if your layout had a focus in advance. OTOH, there are plenty of examples of focused layouts whose owners changed their minds about focus at a later date. And the rework/rebuild still happens to most of us.
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I understand and agree with all your comments, what I’m really looking for are some layout ideas (track wise) for the area I have. I only added the extra information because people kept commenting on the region and what now. I have some specific Idea’s but am reluctant to post them.
I would really just like some general ideas.
mj
One of the major issues you will face will be designing a layout or track plan. The first thing to do is define the space that you have. How much of the room can you use? Do you need to have a workbench in the same room? You will get more running track if your layout is along the walls with a peninsula or two sticking out toward the center. The longest that you can reach things is about 24 inches. Thus quite a few folks make their benchwork 24 inches wide. The peninsulas can be wider because you will have access from both sides and the end.
What I do for layout design (have done so far) is define my area and benchwork first. Next I decide on a theme. (Mainline running, with a branch line(?) or other special interests.) Then I put in a mainline. I am fond of twice around the room types divided by scenery and grades.
Since I have gotten into operations, I also have a staging area of some sort, whether it is a lay-over for entire trains, or a yard that simulates an interchange yard. One track in staging is a through track for continuous running. If I put cars on it, the layout becomes point to point for operations.
Next I try and determine how many small towns I can have, and possibility one city with a yard and loco facilities, without them crowding one another. Usually small yards and facilities unless I have the room for larger ones. I will try to fit in a way-side industry or two just for variation as long as it won’t crowd things.
Then I go looking at plans for modular railroads. I look for ones that would make good towns or cities because their track plans are usually fairly compact, and most of the way they will be switched is already determined with a good track plan themselves.
Because I freelance, I don’t worry about town and city names etc., but if you want to model a specific prototype, you can name the towns as the railroad you are modeling would, and build or plan you scene
If you look above I do have the workbench and layout dimentions. I made the sides 24"
What do you mean by “general ideas” ?
Here is a general idea: model an Chicago passenger terminal in 1942.
Here is another general idea: model a logging railroad in New Hampshire in 1910.
Here is a third general idea: model a shortline serving an industrial park near Seattle in 2010.
Track configuration for an urban passenger terminal, a logging railroad or a modern industrial park are very different.
Track configurations for a layout where you want to model one local freight train a day, taking all day to move at 10 mph down a sleepy branch line with a handful of cars for various industries along the the line is very different from track configurations which will allow you to model a short stretch of the North-East corridor, with 15 different trains passing through in front of your viewing position in the space of 45 minutes.
Form follows function. If you have no clue about how you want to run your trains, it is hard to say much intelligent about what track plans are possible in N scale in a space 10 x 10 feet.
Also - other people have tried the “I don’t want to tell them my ideas - I want a big menu to pick from” trick before. It does not work all that well - they do not get a big pile of track plans to pick and choose from.
For some odd reason, it seems like a lot of people do not want to waste a couple of hours (or more) of their time on making a random track plan that has no chance whats
Ok, didn’t know it was that serious. I guess I will come up with idea’s on my own. Thanks for all the help.
mj
I do understand, and it sounds like i have some more thinking to do. I will update when I figure it out.
mj
It IS serious. You can’t just throw a space and a few ideas at the wall and see what sticks. Or in this case, you can’t just throw out a dimesional space and a few iffy ideas and see what others come up without spelling out in detail what you want and are looking for.
You need to give us your list of “givens and druthers”. You really only gave one given {your space allotment, and the lift-out bridge requirements. You gave a few sketchy druthers {I want it to be possibly this height with three possible levels} and maybe 2 or maybe 3 mainlines.
-You need to define your railroad. What year, What time of year, What railroad {or freelanced}, what industry you want, what country side and terrain you want.
-you need to define your trackage and layout desires…do you want a yard? What kind of yard spur or ladder? do you want a lot of switching? No switching? do you want you want a lot of country mainlines through hill and dale?DO you want a city flat scape? Do you want passenger stations or freight stations? Both? Do you want your mainlines all parallel? Do you want separtate mainlines? DO you want continous running capabilities?Or Do you want point-to point? do you want over/under trackage? do you want passing sidings? do you want an engine servicing facitlity? is it for steam or diesel or both? Do you want flat prairie or mountainous? Riverside/seaside offloading dock? do you want your levels connected by helix or separate operations? How much space can you devote to the helix? {tight curves and height add to the stress on locos pulling trains up it}? WHat kind of track are you gonna use? what size and brand of switches are you going to use? How is it powered? DC or DCC? What are you minimum and maximum curve radii?
I will draw up a plan and show you later.
mj
This was the old layout I am tearing down right now. I was modeling the Mississippi River on this last layout. I love the idea, but don’t think it will work for my new one.
