I will hopefully start my train layout this summer and i would like to know if there are any tips for the track plan. I have looked at several published plans including the atlas ones and i am think of modifying one to suit my needs. I have also though about starting from scratch because i like to design things, i like to run long trains, and i like to have the trains travel over a long mainline. I have some experience working with trains layouts, helping my mom’s boss, and my dad and i built two small ones 2 x 4 and 4 x 4. I also am currently practicing scenery on an HO scale 2 x 4 platform. Any advice???[:)][:)][:)][:)]
That all depends on what you want from a layout. What are your given’s and druthers. What are the things you can’t change and what are the things you’d like to see?
after many years of starting layouts from 3’x5’ 4’x8’ in ho and now n i have finaly started the layout that i have always wanted to build. based on the n scale one track module system i am building an around the walls layout with a 70’ mainline run and provision for continious running. i looked at published track plans and did not want to build a layout with spaghetti bowl like trackwork. but you can take parts of those layouts that you like and incorporate them together. i saw a modified timesaver module in model railroad planning a few years ago that i liked and made it an industrial switching area at one end of my layout.
I prefer layouts that are donut style, the operator being in the middle. One of the best pieces of advice I can give from experience is to make the grades as gradual as possible. This is especially true if you are wanting to run Nscale steam engines. Their pulling ability is less than in the larger scales. I am working on my third Nscale layout and wish I had made the grades more gentle. When I started the layout I mostly used deisels. With deisels a steeper grade was fine because it was the perfect excuse to use two or three together. I love doing that. When I started becoming more interested in steam, I began to wi***hat I had made a layout with very gentle or no grades. Another few pieces of advice I would make are: 1.) Make sure all track is easily accessible. 2.) I prefer to use ground throw switches for reliability. 3.) Don’t put switches in a tunnel. 4.) Build a layout that is easy to maintain and trouble shoot. If it can go wrong, as Murphy suggests, it probably will. My first layout had way too many electrical blocks to keep track of, all kinds of crossings and two reverse loops. It was a 4’ X 8’ and when there was a derailment I almost always had to leave the controls and walk around to fix the problem. Now, with my current 7’ X 8’ layout which I am in the middle of, when there is a derailment or problem, 90% of the time I can reach it without having to leave the controls. I use cab control with two cabs and have no plans or desire to switch to DCC. The big thing is to design in the elements you most enjoy. A perfect layout for me may not at all be satisfying to you. I prefer a layout with some switching but also a continuous mainline run. No matter how masterfully executed, a point to point layout would not satisfy me. That’s just me. Good luck and don’t be afraid to rework sections of your layout that don’t satisfy.