Hello from across the pond in rainy old England. I’ve only ever modeled British outline but have always been fascinated by the American railroad and it freight operations. After seeing the January issue in the shop i picked it up and saw the salt lake article and was hooked! Out came the planning software and the tape measure and I was able to find room for a semi-permanent 6 foot by 3 foot island layout.
The track plan took a few attempts but finally I have arrived at a track plan i am happy with. My dilemma is I don’t know what industry’s to model! I’ve got about 5 good sized sidings in the same location with a long head shunt with room for another industry at the end of it. I don’t know enough about American freight operations to make an informed decision and the resources I can get hold of are non existent!
Do I model a large industry or several smaller ones and what should they be?! I want to set the layout in modern period as I love all the diesels and color schemes!
MR´s current project layout is certainly a very attractive layout and Dick Christianson did a wonderful job in capturing the desert flavor!
I don´t know, which CAD software you use, but if you could maybe post your layout in here - it makes it much easier to discuss the pro´s and con´s with you.
Whether to model just one large industry or a couple of smaller ones finally depends on what type of operation you would like to see on your layout. If the focus is on running trains through some gorgeous scenery, then one large business - receiving unit trains - would certainly do.
So let´s see your plan!
The forum is a great source of information, especially for those of us, who live at this side of the Big Pond.
Btw, I am currently planning a British outline layout, set in northern Wales in the 1920´s. As my eyes are to starting to get old, it´ll be in O scale, although I have only very little space available. It´s a challenge!
I will post the track plan up as soon as i work out how to do so. I do like the option of watching the trains go by but my main enjoyment is shunting so I’ve tried to work in a bit of both. I’ve been using anyrail for my layout design so if anyone can give me any help on how to post my plan it would be most appreciated.
Can you save your track plan as a picture in a jpg format? The easiest way to post it in this forum is to open up a free of charge account in www. photobucket.com, upload the picture to this account. Then a right click on the picture and select “copy image location”. Go back to the forum and click on the icon looking like a little tree and paste your image location in there and - voila! - here is your pic on the forum!
In order to post any photo on the Trains.com Forum, you must Post it first in a Host, such as, Photobucket…com You establish a free account with Photobucket, and then establish an Album devoted to model railroad photos. At the top left, click on HOME and post your photos in My Albums. Below each photo will be four options. click on the IMG option, and the word “Copied” will momentarily appear. Now return to the Trains.com Forum, where you either compose a new Thread, with a Subject Title, or click on “Reply” to some other Thread. After typing in the Text that you want to go with the photo, click on ctrlV and the lengthy code for your photo will appear. Scroll down to Post, and click on it. The Text and Photo will soon appear in the Trains.com Forum. Bob Hahn
It worked!! Thanks for the help doing that. Would never of got that on my own in a million years!
Any advice or ways to improve the plan would be gratefully received. I’ve also uploaded one of my earlier attempts for advice as well. I’ve decided to go with Kato Unitrack as I’ve been very impressed by the look of it on the Salt Lake layout and after more research on other website.
P.S why do American modelers refer to layouts as Pikes?
I looked at both of your plans and I like the second a lot better! The first one is all too neatly lined up along the edges of your “baseboard” (it´s benchwork in the US) to catch a more realistic look. The second one is close to MR´s Salt Lake Route project layout - you even managed to incorporate some staging - congrats [tup].
Here is my interpretation of this layout:
It is a little bigger than your plan, but it just shows you some of the scenic potential your second layout also has! I´d say go for # 2!
Both of the layout designs are good first layouts, but i agree with Sir Madog,“Go for #2”. You understand that the black line in the center of his “terrific interpretation” is a divider backdrop, that allows for scenes on both sides, and does away with the seeing all of the loop from one location. I use sectional SceniKing photo panorama, (which can be glued to divider to show “forced perspective”) . I assume that you plan on an Island layout, with access on all four sides… In the first layout, the turnout on the lower right, might be moved up the right side, in order to allow more space for staging. Staging tracks should have adequate length for making a compost of longer trains. The term “Pike” ,I believe, is derived from the English word “Turnpike”, which was a toll road, guarded by a sharp “piked” fence, which was turned out of the way, when the Toll was paid. Or it may refer to Pike’s Peak, named after Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was an explorer/soldier, or perhaps to Pike County,in Missouri, from which many migrated West in search of gold… Bob hahn
Go back and study the original plan, or at least take a close look at Ulrich’s version of it. Yours is missing a couple of key elements, at least in terms of serving your industrial tracks.
First, I’m wondering what’s going on in the lower right hand corner. I see a note for "future expansion on the spur track, but I can’t see the purpose of the diverting route that goes out toward the corner than ties back in on the right side. If you break that route into two spurs, you could install some industries there to scratch your switching itch, Or, you could make it look more like an interchange track to introduce a bit of staging.
Your blue industrial tracks seem unnecessarily complicated, and you lack the small yard area, other than the longish siding in front of the industries. Ulrich solves both of these problems with his sketch.
It’s important to have some yard tracks, even just one or two short ones, so you can organize your train to facilitate switching the industries. You have to think about your track plan not just in terms of what fits, but also how it will function…
Think about a typical train movement. It should arrive on your layout from someplace, do its work on your layout, then leave the scene. It may be that a through freight arrives on your layout from the green track at the upper left, then circles a few laps to give it some “distance”, then stop at the interchange siding in the lower right to pick up a cut of cars. It would then loop around a few more times, then “arrive” at your little yard. Here the local cars get set out, and the train could either move on to another staging point, or perhaps it terminates there at your yard.
Assuming the latter, your crew would then set about sorting the cars in the train so they can be spotted at the various industries, (or at the various spots within the larger industry). From there, the train d
And for a lot of reasons the LA&LV is maybe not the best choice for a home layout. It was build for taking it to shows all around the USA, where the MR-staff could let it run unattended, so could mingle with the crowd.
So if you want more operation you could also develop the other side into an industrial zone. Which is making the choice of the prototype even more weird. The LA&LV ran through the desert, which means through the middle of nothing. You will have a hard job finding industries along it’s route, just rocks, sand and sparse trees. And staging is not discussed yet. But the pike is done so very well, we all love it.
have fun and keep smiling (and listen to Californian Dreaming)
Paul
Some good (IMO) online resources on track planning/layout design/operations:
Well, I’ve tried to take on board as much as possible and have had a go at editing number 2 which seemed to get the better reviews. hopefully this will help clear up a few issues and keep the sections I have down as a must. Hidden staging area etc This is a slight alteration of the one above turning the staging sidings into staging loops, this would a bigger scenic section with the staging loops hidden behind a back scene with the cutting side done up as a cliff face.
sorry to say, but I don´t see an improvement in your new plans. Try to avoid lining up your track parallel to the sides - this will look a lot better. Still I think you should go for that # 2 layout.
I think the version with the two thru staging tracks hits the nail on the head. I also like that you’ve included a small yard to fiddle in, and simplified the industry tracks.
Next you could add a couple small industries over by the staging, to make that appear more like a junction town. Maybe a simple lumber yard or a small warehouse operation.
I think the parallel lines that Ulrich refers to are fine, as the shape of the main line itself is nice and curvy.
well last attempt. tried to get the track as far from parallel to the sides as i can in the space, but with the size o can do there is only so much jiggling room. Not put as much details as some of the others but the same scenic arrangement would apply. Lower half done as mountainous with track way running through and the dotted section hidden out of sight with access for staging. at best the track could be rotated another degree or so but you get the idea…
In order to figure out what industries might be appropriate (as the plan comes together), you are going to need to know what timeframe, and what region of the country you are interested in.
I had two plans for a 4x8 layout and added the third. The smaller size is making the double-tracks huge.
I would keep the overall appearance, so I added staging on a cassette or a removable yard. In your designs you will lose a lot of the great look of the original.
Have fun
Paul
BTW I still would look at a different footprint, but it’s your call.
Kalmbach has a series of Trackside Industry books that I’ve found very helpful. They’re great reading on their own, and if you settle on any of these industries, the book will also give you the types of freight traffic serving them.
<> Actually, my dream shunting layout is pre-WWII Burton on Trent with all the breweries!
And, it can also be an industry supporting your layout’s motive power. Did you see the traction substation article in that 1961 Model Railroader? – Conemaugh Road & Traction needs electrical power – Every traction company had a dedicated & self-sufficient traction electricity plant.
…all because I saved up a bunch of quarters from my newspaper route, and ordered one year’s worth of back issues in 1964.
P.S.: Smaller layouts should consider smaller industries, but you can also incorporate “larger industry” on the horizon of backdrop, and even include industry building-flats at a backdrop.
May I ask how big your room is, what era you are planning to model and how long (how many car) trains you are planning to run ?
The reason I am asking is that you are planning a layout that has about 40-50% of the surface area of the model railroader layout that inspired you, and you want a central view block dividing the layout into two scenes. So you need at least 7 x 8 feet of open floor space for your layout (including access aisles on three sides). That is a fairly big chunk e.g. out of a 10x12 feet bedroom.
Also, in N scale a 40-foot car is 3" long, while an 89-foot car is about 6.7" long. That means that in 3 feet (36") of length, you can fit in either twelve 40-foot cars or five 89-foot cars. Add a bit for an engine.
An engine and five 89-foot cars doesn’t necessarily make an extremely impressive double stack container train barreling down a double track mainline through the desert.
Have a look at your yard tracks - how many cars of your desired era will they fit?
It all comes back to what it is you want to model - what inspired you in the first place.
If it is American engines, cars and industries, have you considered doing a switching layout on a 12-18" deep shelf along e.g. two walls of a room? Can coexist a lot easier with other uses of the room, and can look quite impressive.
Or is it long trains traveling through the landscapes you dream about? If so, maybe a good idea to think about some other layout shapes than a loop on a tiny table - think long and narrow, double sided peninsulas, mushroom designs and helixes or nolixes
Thanks for all the input and I will try and answer some of the questions that were thrown up. The room I will be using is 9" x 9". but it already as shelfing on all the walls apart from 1 and where the door is. As it’s not my workshop, (fathers) I am not able to remove the shelving. this leaves me with enough room for 6" x 3" and room to access three sides with the forth, the right hand end, against the wall. The period I want to model has not been set to much in stone. late 90’s early 2000 is the rough peiod I have decided on so far. I would love to have a larger benchwork but its just not Physically possible. at most it could be extended to 4 foot wide but it might be a bit tight getting to the rear of it. I responce to the questions about what about what is it i want to model… well the thing I love best is shunting. I want to be able to have a train running around on its own whilst i’m busy in spotting cars and rebuilding cuts. the best way to scratch the shunting bug would be a wall layout as suggested by steinjr, but the room makes it impossible!
hopefully this will help clear up a few issues and keep the sections I have down as a must. Hidden staging area etc 
This is a slight alteration of the one above turning the staging sidings into staging loops, this would a bigger scenic section with the staging loops hidden behind a back scene with the cutting side done up as a cliff face.
Not put as much details as some of the others but the same scenic arrangement would apply. Lower half done as mountainous with track way running through and the dotted section hidden out of sight with access for staging. at best the track could be rotated another degree or so but you get the idea…