Okay guys here is another post with some track planning ideas, and a need for perhaps some sound advice from those “in the know”.
I’m planning on HO “small” steam around 1920 in southern NH. I already have my steam fleet started. That fleet being a Roundhouse 4-4-0 and a Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0, both with sound. From what research I have done, both are historically accurate in that time period. The actual loco’s that I have are not 100% correct, but the wheel arrangement is. Close enough for me.
My layout is a twice around 4’ x 8’ connecting to a 2’ x 12’ runner which turns 90 degrees into a 3’ x 10’ section. All that being said it’s a glorified “J” shape with continuous running on two tracks already set up. Most of the radius is 18", with some that is more gentle, but not quite 22". Radius track was a help here. This is all built on a plywood and 1x4 wood frame with 2" foam insulation as a base. I hope that you can get the idea.
I have the 4-4-0 pulling 3 - 36’ wood reefer cars from the Brookline, NH Fresh Pond Ice Company and making stops in Townsend and Pepperill, MA. I used Historical Society photos from Brookline, NH and Townsend, MA to get this pretty close to “the way it was”. The Fresh Pond Ice Co. building was HUGE. So I plan to kitbash a few buildings to get something that resembles the actual thing. This building is really the centerpiece, and I plan to get this as close as I can.
The 2-8-0 is pulling mostly passenger and freight cars along from Nashua, NH into the western part of NH. I don’t really have a final destination yet, but I do plan have stops in Brookline, Greenville, and Keene.
Most of the rolling stock is Roundhouse and was a wonderful gift from my wife for Christmas. The wood reefers will all be stripped, repainted, and accurately decaled. B