This is my first layout in about 35 years things have chaged alot
Please look at this track plan and let me know how I could improve…
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll197/RoadieSL/Railroad/UNEW2.jpg
It is a HO layout the smaller area is a twice around then into a yard area in the longer area
Thanks
Hmmm. Looks like 10 lbs of … er… trains in a 5 lb. bag. I assume it’s HO?
I think you’re underestimating the amount of space things will actually take up. It’s the old saw “Well it works on paper!”
Maybe pare it down to the basic main line route, then judiciously add on the other elements you want to add.
Lee
Here it is. Use the img code selection to post.
I agree with Lee. Things have changed quite a bit in 35 years in terms of layout design. The spaghetti bowl design has shown it’s flaws in the light of day.
What I mean is that layouts tend to work better if they are designed from the point of view of getting products and materials to their proper places. Every track is placed efficiently with a definite purpose in mind.
I won’t insult you by calling you a beginner, but you might take a look at my Beginner’s Guide to Layout Design. It will take you all of 10 minutes to read and get you asking the right questions. Click below in my signature.
Yep. Times have changed. With DCC you can have two or more locomotives running independently on the same track. Therefore most people desire to be able to walk with their trains. So layout shapes have changed to allow this. Typically, they are about 18 inches to 24 inches wide to allow one to reach everything, and mounted on the wall and go around the room.
Stand alone layouts such as your design waste space and have a shorter track run because you have to reach everything from the outside.
However, in the end, it depends on the space that you have available.
I think it should be stated that you have a nice design from the point of view of a combo of rail fanning and operations…you have managed to shoehorn in a lot of tracks in your available space. However, just as the hobby evolves in one way, say technologically, it tends to evolve in other ways at the same time. The challenge and goal for many of us these days is to make the track plan as realistic as possible from the point of view of operations and revenue gains.
I don’t mean you shouldn’t have a nice fat loop any more…far from it. For steam, especially, it is always a pleasure just to watch 'em run. We like them to run through nice scenery, but also along back alleys, at the edge of town, overpasses, and such. I think the other gentlemen are suggesting that you haven’t left room for much more than a few utility poles and some trees. For example, the fanned industrial tracks at the inside of the loop at lower left are really crammed with no room for something to place adjacent to them to show their purpose!
Chip’s Basics that he mentions is an excellent orientation. It should help you to generate some hard-nosed facts around which you can design an highly desirable layout, but also one that will hold your interest for many months, hopefully a few years.
-Crandell
I would like this layout design more if you had about four times the area. Cut down on the spurs and triple tracks, and go for DCC from the beginning. A divider diagonally across the layout wil l give you twice the scenic backdrop ability, and allow for forced perspective. A divider hides the appearance of a “loop-loop” visible from one point of view. After being in model railroading for 25 years I am in the process of changing to DCC, on my 24’x24’ around the room layout. The bugs have been eliminated and the price of DCC is now affordable. Bob Hahn
Agree. Too much track in too little space. Try to simplify for your own sanity.