My idea is a mountain railroad taking ore from a mine to waterfront to be barged out. I figured there could be a sawmill or logging operation that would give me sawn lumber for the mine and town, There would be loads coming in for the mine such as chemicals, lumber, supplies. I was also going to have some rail-served industries from the waterfront but I just realized that unless the miners want fish, there isn’t much going on there - maybe an interchange?
I want something modular I can build a bit at a time. In all liklihood I won’t be doing much in the way of operating but it would be nice to have something that flowed in some reasonable fashion. I thought about duplicating the Olympia RR to give me some operating that was already figured out and something modular - but I didn’t really want a full logging operation - I just love modelling water!
Anyway, this post may be a bit confusing but any suggestions would be welcome.
Dave,welcome to the forums! Nice to see someone else working in “O”. I can’t see your drawing. Try doing a search on how to post photo’s - there are several threads about different methods of doing this. How much space do you have for your layout? I am in the process of switching from HO to On3,and though I knew an O scale building has a footprint nearly four times the size it’s HO counterpart,I was still surprised by the space an O scale stucture takes up on the layout. I’ve scaled back my narrow gauge empire to a sawmill,some stock pens,and a small town/yard area. This should allow enough switching,etc. to keep me interested,and still leave a bit of room for trains to just run through scenery.
Here is what I have so far - still a lot to do in this area:
I look forward to seeing your drawing,and pictures of your progress.
Thanks, Mike. I will do a little research on posting pics. I saw an insert button but then I was asked for more info than I could give. Sadly, if I can’t drag and drop, I get confused
I don’t have an actual room yet (waiting for the down-sized house) but I promised my wife I wouldn’t take up the whole basement, nor would I make her a model-railroad widow, so the room would need to be “family-friendly”. I figured 10’x10’ was reasonable. I should also mention that I was looking at 40’s-50’s era.
If you haven’t already, take a look at the Dolly Varden Mines Railway, which was an isolated 3’ gauge line in British Columbia hauling ore from the mines to the dock. Seriously funky, and they used Climax locomotives very similar to the Bachmann On30 ones. The classic book on the line is Steel Rails & Silver Dreams by Darryl E. Muralt. The book was re-issued within the past few years, making it again available where the first issue had become rather pricey. The same concept could well be developed a little more, moving that line to a slightly more modern time and using a little bigger power (such as those neat On30 articulateds) according to your own “history”.
I have, what I think is an On30, it will run on HO track, but it looks all wrong in doing so. Do I have this right? On3 is 36" rail spacing and On30 is 30" rail spacing? or are they both the same?
Mike.
EDIT: Didn’t mean to “hijack”, just wanted clarification. I think it would be great to build a layout for it.
Maybe this will work for a drawing layout. It’s really rough and I haven’t figured out where all the industries should go - or even if the track is manageable.
I’m sure I will be corrected if I’m wrong but I believe you are correct. On30 also gets labelled On2 1/2 (ie 2 1/2 feet). I think it looks wrong on HO track because the ties are too close together.
I’m struggling to post the picture of my layout. It is uploaded to Photobucket. When I try to use the “add picture” link I get asked for a size but all I ever see is a question mark, which, to me, indicates “fail”. I will try pasting the actual link
OK, Mike, I just went down and did what I should’ve done before I butted in! I used the scale rule, and, HO scale track is sooooo close to On30, (30") and no where near 3’.
And, yea, South Penn, that’s the track I need to do this.
Anyway, sorry OP, didn’t intend to hijack, but, now I’m interested in the ideas you are seeking.
Okay,Dave,I was able to see the drawing from your link. 'Looks like a nice layout. The main thing I wonder about is the track radius in the lower left side…'Looks like about 22"? And the turnout to the log loading would be tighter still. Even though On30 allows for tighter radii than On3,that seems very tight to me. What kind of engine(s) are you planning to use? I would recommend testing any engines/cars you plan to use before you start final construction.
One other thing I meant to mention yesterday - True O scale(1/48) vehicles are nearly impossible to find(I have found a few on Ebay). The far more common 1/43 vehicles look huge next to the already small narrow gauge equipment. I have a few 1/50 trucks that fit in very well,especially if they’re in the background.Most of the 1/50 vehicles I have seen up for auction would fit your era nicely.
Since you’re new to the forums,your first few posts will be delayed(checked by the moderators).Once they decide you’re okay,your posts will appear as soon as you submit them.
About two years ago I embarked on the adventure of building my first On30 layout. It was also my last …
I completely underestimated the space requirement for buildings, leaving me with the choice of building caricature style buildings or drop the project. I dropped it and sold what could be salvaged.
Looking at your plan, I am not sure whether you have dedicated a sufficient amount of real estate for your structures!
I was planning on using 22" as a minimum but you’re right the spur into the “logging area” is tighter (good eye!). I haven’t gotten as far as sourcing vehicles yet but I had that impression that 1/48 scale wasn’t that prevalent (time to start kitbashing WWII vehicles - volkswagens and jeeps all 'round)
Yeah…I haven’t gotten a good enough idea of real estate although I was trying to use a similar footprint to other layouts using the same scale. Perhaps I just haven’t left enough space surrounding the structure themselves? Are you thinking I need to widen the shelves from 2’ to, say 2.5’ or do I have too much track packed in?
Oh OK then. So 22 is absolutely minimum and I guess I should be trying for 24 or 26? Perhaps I should scrap the whole loop and just do a L or U-shaped point-to-point? I did kind of like that tunnel and bridge combination though… Maybe get elevation to the mine with a longer run along the back than trying to use a switchback idea.
