I am very interested in getting back into model railroading after having been away for 15 years. Previously I had run a 4x8 layout which was wired in blocks so that I could run at least 2 trains. I have made the decision that my new layout will run DCC however I am having some problems settling on a layout design. My first love has always been the modern commuter/passenger cars and locomotives, so I am looking at building a layout which would support a commuter line as well as long haul passenger traffic (running in a continuous loop). I am looking to expand from a 4x8 layout to a 10x11 which can be in any shape or format (walk in, center access, etc). I see my layout priorities as being :
locations for at least 3 stations, with one being a larger metro station supporting at least 4 tracks and the others having 2 rails for simultaneous commuter and passenger arrivals
sufficient staging yards for commuter, passenger, and some freight
a yard to allow me to assemble and disassemble the freight traffic that will run in the background
I have reviewed all of the track plans in the database here looking for some options. There were two I felt might work (Red Rock Northern and C&O Loup Creek Branch) however I would want to modify the latter with a bridge of sorts over the gap to ensure it is continuous… so what am I looking for here…
Well I guess I have a few questions :
Were I to use these plans, is there anywhere to get a breakdown of what track would be needed?
Can anyone suggest an alternative layout that might be more enjoyable and have what I am looking for?
I have tried downloading some of the shareware in an attempt to design my own track and found them very complicated and not easy to use…are there other alternatives?
At this point any assistance or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Sounds like you know what you want and have a suitable room to do it in. You didn’t mention the scale you will be modeling in so most folks reading/replying to this will assume HO.
One thing about getting a canned layout drawing is there usually not any more information other than ‘the plan’. You don’t know the radius of the curves, switch frog numbers … etc. Keep in mind that a drawing plan in a magazine is probably NOT a exact replica of the target layout, but a ‘rendition’ of it. Don’t look at the scenery ( if present ), just look at the track layout and what would be needed. Sometimes those plans are not exactly what you want. Take a look at the real world and find stuff/places that meet you needs and then figure out how to incorporate those into your plan. Also look at other plans and if you see something you like, use it.
Using a layout drawing package has its pitfalls with the ‘learning curve’ being the first you run across. I use XtrkCad and it does indeed have a learning curve, but after I played with it awhile [ read: tried to get a design, found problems, trashed it, tried again … repeat ], I soon was doing stuff and was moving forward at a pretty good pace. There still are things that I haven’t figured out how to do with the program, but that will come in time. You should be able to take the plan you are looking at and draw it in the layout design package. Start small and get used to the user interface. You will find in a short period of time things start falling together and you can expand your horizons!
Keep in mind that you should not be in a hurry just at this moment wanting to get trains running. Figure stuff out, think about it more and then start your empire.
The track plans you mention are not really a perfect match to the list of druthers you have stated. Aside from that, fitting all of that into a 10 by 11 ft. layout room will be quite difficult in HO scale, but will be no issue in N scale.
As you intend to go for a very specific type of railroading, you will most likely not find a “canned” plan. Even if you do, you will have to adapt the plan to the track of your choice.
MR´s track plans are artist´s renditions of track plans, not drawn using a CAD tool or based on any specific track. You will have to re-draw them, employing the geometry of the track of your choice. I found that to be not really an easy task. I see them more as food for thought for an own planning activity than workable track plans.
Kalmbach, our host in this forum, offers a good book which you should read. It is called “Realistic Model Railroad Design” - worthwhile reading!
Hi Jay, your just 1/2 an hour down the road from me. If your going to build an HO scale layout then your going to have a space issue. My HO passenger trains I run are usually 6 to 8 feet long, you figure a GO Train runs 10 cars now and the average VIA is at least 6 or more. With the space you have N scale is the way to go.
A few months back, Model Railroader had a layout design for a passenger terminal layout, which included a large station, commuter traffic and even a bit of freight operation during the daytime when communter traffic was less frequent. It was in the January 2011 issue. The layout was a 10x20 foot space, and it was in HO.
If you want to do a lot of passenger service in a small space, though, I would seriously consider N guage. Passenger cars are long, so getting a significant amount of passenger operations requires a lot of space and large curves.
As you can see from my signature photo, I have subways on my layout. They run under the streets, and really don’t compete for tabletop space with the surface layout at all. I don’t run a lot of passenger service up above, but subways would be a nice addition to the rest of your commuter traffic. Be aware, though, that there are very few manufacturers of subway equipment. For HO, Walthers/Proto makes a number of sets based on the New York City system, and beyond that you’re pretty much confined to niche makers of resin kits. In N-scale, I think the only models are Japanese.
I appreciate everyone’s feedback so far. As a follow up I indeed planning on building the layout in HO scale. I have 6-8 loco’s and about 60+ rolling stock from my previous experience in railroading years ago… on top of that I went out this past weekend and bought the new HO Atheran GO Transit engine along with 6 of the bi-level GO Transit cars and yesterday just bought 5 of the new LRC Via Coaches… so already in for a good size investment without having any track…yet. At this moment I am guessing I will have to make do with either a walk-in or a multi level walk-in as this affords me the most amount of space as I realize the new rolling stock I have purchased requires me to stick with a minimum 24" radius corners. In addition to subscribing to the magazine, I have also ordered GREAT MODEL LAYOUTS, MODEL RAILROAD PLANNING, and MORE LAYOUTS IN LESS SPACE in the hopes they can provide further inspiration. I have come to the realization that I may have to make a branch off from the 10x11 rectangular layout along one way to hold my yard/staging area, however I am still trying to find a way of creating a continuous loop around the track, maintain a minimum of 24 radius curves on the main lines, work in the stations and build some elevations into the track as well. I know someone had mentioned an application as a possible aid in designing my track so I will definitely need to look into it further. As fro not trying to rush this, that actually has been taken out of my hands… I currently have someone finishing my basement and they won’t be done till early to mid march, so all I can do now is design the layout and then start looking for deals on track.
I appreciate everyone’s feedback so far. As a follow up I indeed planning on building the layout in HO scale. I have 6-8 loco’s and about 60+ rolling stock from my previous experience in railroading years ago… on top of that I went out this past weekend and bought the new HO Atheran GO Transit engine along with 6 of the bi-level GO Transit cars and yesterday just bought 5 of the new LRC Via Coaches… so already in for a good size investment without having any track…yet. At this moment I am guessing I will have to make do with either a walk-in or a multi level walk-in as this affords me the most amount of space as I realize the new rolling stock I have purchased requires me to stick with a minimum 24" radius corners. In addition to subscribing to the magazine, I have also ordered GREAT MODEL LAYOUTS, MODEL RAILROAD PLANNING, and MORE LAYOUTS IN LESS SPACE in the hopes they can provide further inspiration. I have come to the realization that I may have to make a branch off from the 10x11 rectangular layout along one way to hold my yard/staging area, however I am still trying to find a way of creating a continuous loop around the track, maintain a minimum of 24 radius curves on the main lines, work in the stations and build some elevations into the track as well. I know someone had mentioned an application as a possible aid in designing my track so I will definitely need to look into it further. As fro not trying to rush this, that actually has been taken out of my hands… I currently have someone finishing my basement and they won’t be done till early to mid march, so all I can do now is design the layout and then start looking for deals on track.
Hi Jay. I know the boxes on your cars say minimum 24" radius but your going to want to go bigger. You can easily plan a 30 plus radius in that room. Now that we know the scale I would suggest that you write down everything you want for the layout. Do you want to just sit back and watch the trains run or do you want to do a little switching as well. You can build a nice layout in that space and a 2 level layout might be the better way to go. Those LRC cars are nice eh.
…suggest a PDF-Download that covers prototype-to-layout territory while answering the breadth of questions you even forgot to ask about passenger-related model railroading:
A “helix” means you are modeling a multi-level layout. The walk-in “Silver Gate Northern” article is a 2-level dogbone design with a helix connecting one of the dogbone ends – Room dimensions are apx. 10’x10’.
HO Scale does mean “tighter planning” to fit your layout space than N Scale, but; its still doable if you take your good 'ole time planning before implementation. There is a 3rd PDF-download that introduces a space-saving way for passenger operations based on prototype practice: