I would like to see some layout suggestions. I am looking to build a new HO layout, and I am leaning towards a switching layout. I have about 4’ x 10’ of space available for my layout. I am looking to use modern era diesel locomotives and rolling stock and I am thinking maybe an intermodal port layout. I am going to use code 83 track. Any suggestions about potential layout ideas would be great. If you have any other suggestions of how I should use my space, please let me know.
Whenever someone says “I have a 4 feet x something space available for a H0 scale layout” without describing the room they want to put their layout in, alarm bells go off in my head.
Four feet deep is too narrow for sensible turnback curves that will take long modern rolling stock, like intermodal car, since sensible minimum curve radius is about 3 x the length of your longest cars, measured in inches). You seem to be aware of that, since you say you want a switching layout.
But a four foot deep table or shelf is also too deep for reaching over from one side only (if the space is up against a wall). If you want an freestanding (in the middle of the floor) island that is 4x10 foot, you need walkaround space on three sides (which turns the area necessary for the layout into a space of 8 x 12 foot).
If you want a switching layout up against a wall, does those 4 feet of depth include walk space for the operator (ie an 18" deep 10 foot long shelf and 30" for an operator aisle) ?
Start by making a drawing of the room your layout will be in, showing how your supposedly available layout space is located in the room, and where doors, windows and other stuff in the room is located, with distances marked on the drawing.&
As stated above, it’s too wide to reach from one side and narrow for a turnback. The thought I had, since you are thinking of a switching layout, would be to put a view block down the center (not necessarily centered). Have a diagonal track disappear behind a building or under an underpass, appear on the other side with a similar disguise of the pass through. It could even be a tunnel enterance, if you wanted. I would think it would be best to have your pass through about in the middle of the viewblock to give you as much train length and manuverability as possible. By passing through the viewblock, your trains have a place to go and a place to exchange cars. Would allow for two operators if you wanted. The track plan could be different on each side, one rather complex, indicating a large yard while the other more simple, a smaller town or some such.
I have drawn Cowmans ideas for HO with RTS, R min = 24" and #6 switches.
I think Stein was a bit optimistic; an engine with two autoracks is all that fits in HO. You will need two switches for a crossover, and some length to get beyond the scenic devider.
With a pike like this, with access on both sides your room has to be 12 x 8 at least. Is this footprint your best roommate?
If you want anything (like some sort of scenic divider wider than a sheet of styrene) between the two tracks, sure.
My example was based on just a crossover between two tracks side by side. On the other hand, a crossover length of “about a foot” using two #6 turnouts probably was a little on the optimistic side - a single crossover made from two Peco code 70 medium turnouts is about 17" long - call it a foot and a half.
But that’s just nitpicking from me
The main point is the same as you made - a four foot deep space seems mostly wasted for a switching layout using modern double stack container cars.
One of course could build a layout on a table with wheels, pull it out from the wall to work on it, do a 2 feet deep background (just buildings, no tracks - or possibly just having a tram moving back and forth in a street back there on autopilot), and have the tracks and stuff you actually switch in the foreground 2 feet of the table or so.
But in H0 scale, 10 feet still is just enough space for nine 89-foot cars end-to-end, if you leave no room to actually move those cars, turnouts and so on and so forth.
I would adjust either the modeling scale, the era and type of railroading, or find a way of getting a longer and thinner space for a layout in the room.
Thanks for all of your comments, it is very good feedback.
To clear up a few items, I will have space available on all 4 sides of the layout for access. However, I am not entirely set on modeling a switching layout. I have attached a link to a room dimension drawing showing all existing furniture that will be staying in the space. Suggestions on the best way to use this pace for an HO layout?
Which is the previously mentioned Byron Henderson site.
You might want to look at Lance Mindheim’s site for some ideas (even though it’s an around the wall design he does have a peninsula and the design is somewhat modular).
Of course there is always the online database and 102 track plans. Keep in mind a “N” scale layout can always be scaled up to HO size.
I would also suggest going to 5ft width if you can get away with it.
Here is the image, for those who don’t want to launch the app from Bob’s furniture:
One possible rough idea would be to consider an U-shaped shelf layout above desk, across window (possibly with a liftout section across the window) and leftwards along top wall. About 40 feet long, unless my math is all messed up.
Would also allow plenty of floor space in the center of the room for accessing stuff under or above layout. How high are the various things in the room ?
A four or five foot wide table down along the center of the room would create pretty cramped aisle to access stuff along the walls on both sides of the table.
What kind of railroading are you looking for? What do you want to be able to do on your layout?
Paulus Jas has the idea, the scenic divider need not be any thicker than a sheet of masonite, as long as you can block the view looking through the divider.
If you are thinking that maybe you’d like to have continuous running there are two options that I have concidered on my small “practice” layout.
First, with the divider near center, hide the changes from side to side at the ends with trees, buildings or rock outcroppings. On one side have a passing track and small yard for a little switching of industries, could have a bit of town on the layout too. On the other side, a passing siding and an industry siding, so you can run two trains in the same or opposite directions, so that the same train doesn’t appear and reappear each time around.
The second option is to have the view block closer to the “back” edge. In the front have some switching, industries and whatever other scenery suits your plan. On the back side have several passing sidings, as a staging yard, so that you can have several different trains on the layout. One person can operate the train switching the front of the layout, while a second reclassifies cars in the staging side. This one is good if you are at a show or demonstration somewhere.
Those are perfectly fine general ideas for a 4-5 foot wide table top layout for four axle short diesel engines pulling 40-foot boxcars around 20-24" radius curves.
But the OP was looking at running very long (12.2") RR cars in H0 scale. A 12" car need about 36" radius (= 72" diameter = 6 foot diameter) curves for a turnback loop, and say three of them also take up a godawful amount of track length for a switching lead, a switchback lead, or a runaround move on a switching layout.
Unless you are using a traverser to get trains from one track to another, the first thing you will run out of on a
I think Stein’s around the walls shelf proposal would be a much more satisfying footprint for modern intermodal modeling. One relatively compact intermodal facility I know of is this one in Detroit, served by Norfolk Southern. Selective compression would still be necessry.
While it is not a seaport, you can get an idea of what would be found with intermodal - namely tracks where the well cars are loaded & unloaded and an area where containers are stored, plus an “industry support” yard to handle classification of inbounds & outbounds. I suppose the seaport could go where I-75 and the container storage immediately south of it is now.
I suggest you consider moving the furniture to make more efficient use of the space: There are at least a few possibilities, depending on the nature of the elements:
Move the desk and file to the end wall on the right, their exact locations depending on the height of the window sill. The file could also be located along the top wall either by slightly moving the cabinets closer together and/or moving the units under the wall shelf (raise it if necessary).
Possibly move the desk and file to the top wall and relocate the short wall shelf there, also. Then all the “office” elements are together. Open layout space is maximized.
Arrange all the office elements back-to-back as an “island” in the middle of the room. (Build a short stub wall if necessary to hide any visually unappealing backs that may become visible.) This permits an around-the-walls layout. The shelves can be above the layout (or on a somewhat higher stub wall).
