I presently have a 8 by 5 island layout and am very quicky out growing the size. I live in a small apartment so the space I have to work in is only 8 by 10 at the most. I was playing with the idea of tearing down the island and building a small around the room walk in shelf layout on 3 walls with 3 foot deep shelves. I want to work with gargraves track because of the realistic look and it seams to be the cheapest of the prototipical o gauge tracks instead of the 0 27 tubular track I am currently running. Is this too small of a space to build this kind of layout? Any suggestions as to what else could be done in a room of this size? What is a good track planning program that I could use? I would really like to get a nice software for whatever layout type I choose. Will the software prompt me to input the brand of track I plan on using? Any suggestions will be greatly apreciated.
Stevin
Why not go with O-27 Atlas 21st Century Track?
An 8 x 10 area with 3ft shelves would be fine, IMHO. I have 28 inch walkways around my layout. When Fife comes over our two fat arses can squeeze through just fine (when passing each other).
I used RR-Track http://www.rrtrack.com/html/online_bundles.html I have the O-gauge special 3 because I wasn’t sure what track system I would be using. As I got more and more into the design I opted for Atlas O because it simply had more options and looked the most realistic. GG and ROSS ties are much thicker than the Atlas and IMHO look more toy like than the Atlas.
In the above picture the Gantry Track is made by ROSS and the rest of the track is Atlas.
These are links to my construction threads:
http://cs.trains.com/forums/1338751/ShowPost.aspx
http://cs.trains.com/forums/1422073/ShowPost.aspx
I still bet there was some belly on belly action there…[:)]
Wes
Stevin, that’s plenty of room and your layout space is bigger than mine. A tip: what keeps a layout fun and interesting is plenty of operation, operating cars and accessories. 027 track is fine if that’s what you already have. If you add ties to the track and ballast, it will look as good as anything else within that price range… I mean there’s no comparing tubular 027 track to something like Curtis. But I like tubular 027 as much as the Atlas stuff. Bear in mind, the Atlas ties are wider than 027, sticking out more from the outer track rails… a consideration for a small layout.
I chop down my 027 switches to literally just the track, but you can easily match Gargraves switches with 027 track. I also cut down accessories, remake bases, etc. to make them fit in better on a small layout and to utilize space. For example, I built an entire new base structure for my K-Line Operating Switchman Tower and I also reversed the bottom portion of the stairway so it juts inward instead of outward, thus making a smaller footprint. I also cut a couple inches off each side of my MTH Operating Freight Platform.
I designed and built my own operating station where the train pulls beneath it instead of along side it, thus saving space. There’s all kinds of possibilities. Smaller Plasticville buildings like the Fire Station can easily be turned into some kind of small factory. The Plasticville Airport Hanger makes a great looking factory with repainting and the right details. Again, all space saving moves while allowing for detail and variety.
As far as prototypical goes, 027 is a good as any. Take a gander at the train magazines and notice the many photos of scale detailed layouts with expensive high-end scale steamers pulling current modern rolling stock with in modern-to-date roads, or the same kind of diesels pulling woodside reefers. In my book, that makes 027 track with an Alco FA pulling an aquarium car, a Bugs Bunny car and an operating helicopter car equally as prototypical.
Stevin,
Before you proceed, check out Dave Smith’s (dsmith on this Forum) video. Also look at some great layouts and photos provided by Forum members in the thread: 4 x 8 layout photos. They have packed a big punch in a small space.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI5SrbCNeKM
Jack
Plenty of room and especially if you use 027. You do not need a lot of isle space unless you plan to have a lot of helpers running the trains. Go for it.
The only thing I dont like about o 27 is the fact that I am limited to smaller enginies. Alot of the engines I would like to obtain have a minimum curve of 42. My current layout is nice for the size but I would like to have a yard and some switching action, maybe a coal factory.
If you like switching, how about a point to point layout?
Here’s a video game, free demo, I found very useful. It has literally hundreds of trackplans you can run trains on, and see what you like. Some very frustrating to run on because of all the switching. http://www.trainplayer.com/
Kurt