I saw his avatar,pop up on the,who’s on line,about 8:30 this morning…
Cheers,
Frank
Let’s let this die.
Joe
Amen to that, If we’re “bored” let’s do a ficticious layout “challenge”
S&S – Go ahead and post your plan. I started putting one together, too, just so I could show the OP how limited he really is within the confines of his challenge… primarily the budget. I’ll bet my next paycheck that the OP won’t ever return to the thread, and maybe not even to the forums, but some other folks may have similar issues and be more open minded about it.
I do not think one will hitch a ride on his train, one might push the thing for him but surely no riders.
Just uploaded my layout plan to Model Railroader. Now I have to wait for it to show up.
Sorry it took so long, for a while I was “stumped” on the logging area.[swg]
S&S
S&S- refresh my memeory. You were going to ditch the completely unrealistic budget and really try to do something with the space, right?
CTValleyRR,
It appears so,Probably,fall on deaf,ears though!!!
Cheers,
Frank
deleted
I’m just doing this for fun. With the exception of the budget, it was a good challenge, and a great mental exercise.
S&S
S&S,
I understand what you are doing,the deaf ear comment,was about the OP…
Have Fun,I’d like to see it,
Cheers,
Frank
Here’s my track plan. Would have had it in sooner, but my browser crashed while I was typing this in. Now I’ve got to start over. Oh well.
12" grid, 200 dpi.
My track plan actually models two fictional railroads, the Ferrocarril de Cabeza Dura (FCD) and the Ferocarril de Empresa Madera de Pino Alto (EMPA). In English, that’s “Hard Head Railroad” and “Tall Pine Sawmill Co. Railroad.”
I used a 22" minimum radius when designing the layout, and the minimum isle width is 22". The isle width is tighter than I would have liked, but it was necessary because of the minimum radius. My minimum radius is considerably larger than that specified by the OP, but the larger radius will allow operation of locomotives up to 2-8-0 and 4-6-0 size. I used #6 turnouts or #3 wyes where the main line takes the diverging route, and I tried to leave plenty of room for vertical curves. The duckunder at the right side of the layout was inconvenient, but necessary to keep the layout within the space constraints without modifying the doors. Over the course of the layout, the track climbs 18" upwards, without s helix. The mainline run is 58 feet.
Both turntables on the layout would be built over Atlas turntable mechanisms with 15 degree alignments. The turntable bridge has been extended to 12" to allow for larger locomotives. I personally would build a complete turntable on the layout and then connect it to an Atlas turntable concealed in the benchwork.
Puerto Menor:
The FCD has it’s main facilities on the layout in Puerto Menor (Small Port). There is a 3 track yard, a 64 foot turntable, coal and wat
S&S – one question: can it be built in under a year fot less than $500? [:D]
I don’t believe,it can be built for less than $500 dollars,But S&S,I believe,It’s a great plan…
Cheers,
Frank
Thanks, Frank.
This plan would take about 2 years to build, working whenever. If you worked steadily - every weekend, and some afternoons and vacation time thrown in - you could probably build it in a year.
The cost would probably be something like this:
- Lighting - $100-300, depending on type
- Benchwork, shelf brackets, and subroadbed - $200-250
- Track - $400, but could be considerably less if you use brass from junk train stores
- Roadbed is not an issue as most narrow gauge railroads did not have a raised right of way
- Structures, turntables, bridges, tunnels - $300-500
- Scenery materials, bristle-brush or filter trees, rock castings, plaster - $250-350
- Misc. other and margin of error - $200
The total cost would be in the $1450-2000 range, most likely spread out over 2 or more years. A reasonable expectation would be to spend $800 per year, or roughly $16 per week. To put it in perspective, that’s about what average allowance is for a teenager.
S&S
Hi,
I see this thread carries on after the OP split.
Gotta add some “words of personal experience” here…
Building a layout is (to me) a labor of love. It is not something to be hurried thru, and is at least half the fun of the hobby (assuming building a layout and running trains is your goal).
A well built layout will last for years - even decades. So it stands to reason that “best efforts” should be used thru each stage of the building.
To me, the stages are: room development, layout & benchwork design, benchwork building, track laying, wiring, testing, testing, testing, structure selection and placement, scenery. Of course these stages are often mixed together but you get the idea.
Don’t know why I’m writing all this, for you old timers will likely read it and say “so what else is new”, and the newcomers will likely say, “I ain’t got time for all that, I want to run trains”…
Mobilman44,
So what else is new??NAW,just kidding,what’s that thread about the Hobby dying?? I lot of us here are still responding,to a dead Thread and I believe we’re still having fun…LOL…
Cheers,
Frank
OP split because he didn’t like the sound of reality, or, possibly, "I ain’t got time for all that, I wanna run trains!