Folks,
Is anyone aware of a reputable firm that can design an HO scale track plan for me? I have spoken with Byron Henderson at Layout Vision, but unfortunately he’s booked until end of March. If anyone out there knows of a company or individual that can help with the design of my next project, I’d be grateful!
Thanks!
Bill
Check the back of Model Railroader magazine, there are ususally at least 5-6 advertisements for model design and build.
-Bob
How about shelflayouts.com? Lance has had several articles published in MR and has been featured in Model Railroad Planning also.
Thanks,
Yep, Lance is great. Just looking to broaden my horizons a bit. 
I wish I had a better ability to do the design piece… Scenery I love, structure building, etc I truly enjoy… But the actual design piece, ugh… I’m just not able to do it!
Try google also.
How lare of a layout are you planning on building that you need a 3rd party designer?
Just post your givens and druthers, and some of us here will do it for free.
Professional layout designers will ask you many questions you will need to answer before than can come up with a design of your liking. Byron´s homepage lists those questions.
Why don´t you go through them and post your answers as “Givens & Druthers” here. You´d be surprised how much help you will get here, if you are willing to work with some of the folks here.
After all, a layout is a very personal issue and needs your input!
I would never presume to tell someone how to spend their money, but it seems to me you’d be wasting your time and money on a design firm when you have a treasure chest of ability, experience, generosity, and creativity right here on this forum…are you making this more complicated and daunting than it has to be? All in all, it’s just a track plan, you know!!
Folks,
Thanks so much for the advice, and of course the offer of assistance!
Givens and Druthers:
(1) I enjoy running passenger trains, so want to be sure to have 30" radius curves or better if possible on the main-line
(2) Was thinking of an urban to suburban type layout, with industry (I have a completed steel mill)
(3) At least one water crossing, and possibly a small New England type fishing village scene
(4) Continous run
(5) Time frame for the layout would be from the 1960’s to present
I have attached below some drawings of the room, and of some existing bench work I have completed today. The drawings were done by a friend, before he went on deployment.
I am truly grateful for any help!
Bill: I design layout track plans. First I provide a preliminary plan for your approval and then you make any changes. Then a final drawing is done. Total cost $300.00
One name that used to be very familiar, from his articles and many published letters to the editor of MR and, at times, MRP, was Ed Vondrak. He created track plans and also did custom layout design, often using some variation of the John Allen “Timesaver” switching puzzle layout. But I have not seen his name in a couple of years. Perhaps someone on this forum knows if he is still in the layout design business. I believe Don Mitchell of San Diego has retired from layout design (another modeler with the same name is still active and writing).
But before you go that route are you really sure that layout design is either beyond you or that you would not enjoy it? The John Armstrong books and articles, and close reading of Model Railroad Planning and some of Tony Koester’s books, should give a solid foundation . And if learning computer aided design seems too daunting there are still good mechanical tools available to aid in making a quality drawing. Some of Andy Sperandeo’s “operators” articles are actually in a sense layout design articles as well.
One piece of advice from Tony Koester that works for me – if you can gain access to good drawings of prototype track arrangements, what he calls Layout Design Elements or LDEs, in nearly every case the prototype creates track arrangements that work, be it the placement of passing sidings, run around tracks, or small “sorting” yards near industrial zones.
So where do you gain such access? Google maps for one – satellite view – and the various articles and aerial photos in railroad historical magazines, such as the Milwaukee Road Historical Association’s magazine.
Layout design elements for the working part of the layout, with due regard to decently long runs between named places on the layout, served – if the layout is large enough – by some means of having trains enter and leave the modeled portion of your world (staging yards, or hidden “holding” tracks, that so
hi,
I assume you have finished your bench-work, so i took that for granted. Just 5 minutes doodling and 2 hours drawing on the computer led to this:
The radius of 30" seems very dominating; if you want a double track main it could be wise to go down to 28". It is just about the footprint…the hard work is starting here. Answering all the questions of Byron Henderson’s list as a starter
Paul
I am a bit puzzled. You apparently have no layout design in mind yet; however, you have a very specific benchwork plan and say you have started building it. Cart before the horse, perhaps?
Also, you show benchwork based on Sievers product. Are you aware that Sievers sections already come with joists at 12" o.c.? You are apparently duplicating effort and expense in Option 1 by adding the 1x4s (not really “L girders”).
Another observation: your benchwork plan shows a couple of very wide elements that are going to make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to reach the interior of those elements.
There are many threads in this forum which recommend a more deliberate process by which to arrive at a layout plan. I recommend you research those before building any more benchwork.
Dante
Thanks Paul!
Dante - Thanks for the reply! I actually did have another track plan in mind when I built the bench work, hence the design you see. I did not wind up using the sievers, but had a friend help with the bench work. The track plan was one I designed, and it has some limitations to it, hence my looking for some help.
I’m open to a change in the bench work, just need to figure out how to best design something based on the space I have.
Diamond –
One of the great pitfalls of layout design is to design the benchwork, or worse, build it, before your track plan is finalized.
If you’re willing to redo that benchwork, bravo! You can best reboot the process by giving us the ACTUAL plan of the room / space you have to work with, including all the obstacles (doors, appliances, Significant Other limits, etc.). Let people work with your space, not with your benchwork. You’ll be surprised at the number of creative ideas that you’ll get.
Thanks CTValleyRR. The actual room dimensions are shown on the 1st page of the thread. Not worried about re-doing the benchwork, just want the best plan possible for the space I have.
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Hi, how can I reach you via emai?
Bill: For your track plan I need minimum mainline radius, minimum turn out size, if you want steam or diesel serving facilities or both,and type of industries. Do you want a yard or two and an interchange. What type of topography (mountains, forest, plains)? Size of room, doors, windows and their placement in room. Do you want continuous running or point to point or both? Will you want operation either alone or with a group? Will you be running long trains and what era will you model?