So after many years I can finally afford to enjoy the hobby I have always wanted to do. I have come up with a track plan (might be rather ambitious for a first timer), but why not. My curves are 20inch, but everything else might not be exact on par. Area is 12ft by 9ft. The larger benchwork are 8ft by 3ft, and the smaller bench work is 4ft by 3ft. Other than that I am still trying to come to terms with all the terminology. Please let me know what you think?
Do you have a prototype or idea about what railroad-train you want to model?
That is by no means over ambitious if you are not going to have that back edge against a wall. If it is aginst the wall you will NEVER reach it. I made some 3’ deep tables, and had trouble reaching it, and I am a LION.
ROAR
terencevs
Hi
Reach can be a problem. I have a bench that is 5’ by 30’ so that is 2.5’ reach to the middle from both sides. This requires me to put down pads to brace myself on the table, if I need to work comfortable on the middle. I used a cookie cutter design using 1/2" birch plywood with good risers and in flat terrain, it’s sheet 1/2" plywood.
Given the size of my basement (40’ X 40’) if I started over I believe I would do an around the wall at 24" projection. Not around the whole basement of course, but not limited by a room. [:-^]
Good luck and happy railroading.
Lee
Welcome to the forums!
I assume you are in HO.
If you feel your plan is a little ambitious, you could build a small pratice layout to improve your track laying and scenery skills, before going forth with the bigger layout. I have a 4’x6’ HO layout where I have done this and am still trying new things, while I plan the larger 8’x 14’ around the room shelf.
Do you plan to have a moveable bridge or a duck under at the top?
As mentioned above, hope you can walk around to the lower side of your diagram. A 30" reach is considered about the maximum, though it is actually a function of your height and arm length as well as layout height. To determine yours, set a flat surface at the height you plan to have your layout. Put some things on the surface to represent trees and buildings. See how far you can reach without damaging your scenic elements. Adjust layout height or width to your needs.
I don’t understand the inner loop from the top right that goes back to the turntable area.
As long as you can get all the way around the layout, you might want to consider a viewblock down the middle of some of the sections. It makes your trains go somewhere out of sight, not just go around and around.
Have fun,
Richard
Hi, and [#welcome] to you!
I hate to add to those who “shot you down” on your very first post, BUT I have to agree, the farther the reach, is the more harder it is to reach there, will AUTOMATICALLY mean your trains will derail there!
If you cannot walk all the way aorund it AND reach in form the "open back"of the tunnels, you are asking for sure certainty trouble!
I built a 3.4 foot x5.1 layout and put it on wheels so I can move it to get to those spots far reaching, but NEVER AGAIN! I simply cannot reahc the 3’ away areas without bringing it out!
I will only stick to about 12-18" deep and make sure I can access the corner areas!{I have short arms}
So re-think and maybe make yours an Around the walls modular {no bigger than 4’x 18"} layout out section by seciton. It also gives you some variety if you get tired of one section you can take out the module and build in another one!
Read up on plans, modules and layout ideas, then proceed would be my best advice.
Also you are likely to make mistakes your first try, and as stated above, think about a Practice module for trial size, you may thank us all later!
[8-|]
Yup… once my Eregion layout was built against the wall, I needed to get about 30 guys to help me move it away from the wall. Fortuantely 30 guys are not hard to find around there.
ROAR
Thanks for all your comments. The era I was thinking about would be the 60s United States Diesel. I am not from the states so I need to do some research but I dont want to prototype a certain railroad just the era. I was thinking about building module by module but then my only concern would be I would not really be able to run any trains till I had 3 or so modules built.
I am going to look at making the layout narrower as I am a short person. Will do some drawings tonight after work and see what I come up with.
BTW other info: Layout is HO, I want to use flexi track, and DCC.
Thanks!
The era, the scale, the trackwork and Controll all sound great!
Here are some more ideas for you::
You WILL find one thing in MRRing that is needed is patience!
Patience, Patience, Patience, grasshopper!
If you “go too quickly” you will surely mess it up!
So slow down, take your time, even if it means you cannot run trains for a while!
“Bullet proof” trackwork is needed before you do anything else, so your tackwork MUST TAKE ITS TIME. Otherwise yur trains WILL derail!
SO, build up the framing of a few modules then lay on a top and put on your subroadbed, roadbed, then trackwork. TEST RETEST and THEN “make it permenant”.
THEN you can proceed with things like scenery.
IF you put your trackwork right at the front side of the module {NOT too close o the edge, else you will experience our disdain of falling locos to the floor} , then it WILL be very easy to get to! Even with a mountain, the mountain can cover the whole module to the front edge, if you like to cover your tracks with a mountain!
At a depth of 12" to 18" even the corners will be easy access if the track work is out front, many module RR clubs do that.
Leave PLENTY of room somehow to access the tunne
My present layout is built in 2x7 foot modules placed around the walls of my RR room. This works real good because you can get them through a door and they are fairly light weight. (I just moved and was able to take it all down and put it back up in the new house.) I built two corner modules first as a switching layout and got them running so I could run some stuff. I build the rest of the modules next then started laying track on them linked to the corner modules.
I have not been able to decide on track design yet, well have an idea but this is the benchwork idea I have. Please let me know what you think.
Thanks
Terence
So I worked on a track plan, I think I have come up with something to start with and space left to put a turntable in at a later stage. What you think?
