After a 20 year hiatus from the hobby my 8yr old son and I just completed the benchwork for our HO layout.I feel we utilized the available space the best we could. I figure over 200’ track total and at least a 75’ continous run. I have preliminary track plans but unsure how or if possible to attach SCARM files… I would love to share them with anybody for feedback/inspiration.
Based on the benchwork shape and since it’s continuous run, I’m guessing a dog-bone design? 
[#welcome]
LION does not know what SCARM files are, but LION does have a big layout, 900 feet of track, eight trains running on a five minute headway. Him has been building this layout for more than 10 years, and more than 30 years of serious layout building, and another 20 years before that of less serious building.
LION likes the layout of him, and so him will just keep building it. Been making some street/station lamps from scratch, and they are looking very good if I do say so myself.
Your benchwork is first class (mine comes from scraps that I have cobbled together), so enjoy your layout and time with your son… before you know it he will be 18 and have ideas of his own.
Do not forget time to visit the zoo, The TIGER wants to say hello to you.
ROAR
First, welcome. Second, good looking benchwork! Third, your best best for attaching your layouts would be to export them as a JPEG and post them the same way you post pictures.
Lion - SCARM is a freebie track planning software, which is actually quite nice. Not as capable as those paid CAD tools, but more than good enough to do the sanitary check.
IIRC, you can export your track plan as a JPG, upload it into a host like photobucket and than integrate it into your post.
What is theis “Track Planning” You speak of. LION slaps down some track and if it fits and the train does not derail then it is good to go. Sure LION knowed what him wanted to do: To run as long a layout as possible on three levels, but him moved form a two track mane lion to a four track mane lion, and has pulled out and replaced helixes as him found need so to do.
ROAR
Thanks for welcomes and replies! Ive already learned something and will attempt to get the files/pics loaded shortly. The SCARM program has tremendous capabities but a little overwhelming for the first timer. There wasn’t even internet last I was involved with MRR! Fortunately the forums have a ton of valuable information (too much information at times!) and members that have gone above and beyond to getting me off on the right foot…
Yeah dogbone style is what Ive got in mind. Unfortunately due to needing to have 5 posts before the probation period expires it will likely be Friday before the other pics get posted. Thanks again and check back on Friday!
[#welcome]
And, very nice looking bench work! I think I could crawl overtop of that if needed, which does sometimes come in handy… Mine, you can climb on top of, but only one section. (The biggest part, 4 feet + wide, and about 42" high.) The rest of my bench work, is lean over only… Any weight and you just might go through the layout. (Attached to wall, free standing cantilevered style, and hardboard/foam/foam below roadbed. Very light weight construction, but had to do that because of the area being used.
Sorry for the delay in response time due to my newbie probation period. Here is an idea of my benchwork size and preliminary track plan. I have 48" on the left hand end and 42" on the right end. I realize this is not ideal for turn radius but is what I have to work with due to restrictions at either end.
Starting from scratch so nothing is set in stone other that the area I have to work with,DCC and being HO Scale. Im really new to the SCARM program and have been fortunate to have assistance getting what I have. I would like to have a couple mountainous area as well as a trestle. Nothing enormous but maybe 5-6" off bench height. I plan to start with 2" foam on top of existing benchwork. Looking for advice for feedback on how to best utilize the space. A long continous run and a dual main line, to minimize possible collisions, (an 8yr old and I will be primary operators) are things Ive felt are important. Getting the elevations to all work out is where Im struggling the worse. I would like to share the actual SCARM file with anyone that would be willing to put there spin on the area? I realize how critical the planning stages are and want to do it right.
Looking for inspiration/advice others maybe able to provide, likely things Ive never thought of! Please PM or email me at jblanchette@ahwllc.com and Ill get you the files. Again this is more of a journey for me than a destination and appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks!
I hate to be the bad news guy, but 42" creates a turnback curve that is far worse than “not ideal”. The generally accepted minimum for “tight” curves in HO is 18". That puts you at 36" diameter on the centerline of the inner track. Track center spacing at that radius is going to need to be 2.5" so you are at 41" diameter for your outside track. You generally want the center line to be a bare minimum of 2" from the edge of the layout which puts you at 45" absolute minimum edge to edge.
You don’t mention what you want to run, but 18" only supports the smallest of equipment like 40’ cars and short 4-axle diesels and even although it works, it doesn’t look very good.
Additionally, most consider 30" the maximum reach from the front of the layout to trains on the back. You’ve got access problems to those back corners.
Consider moving the ends of the layout away from the doors. This could create an access aisle between the layout and the end walls and give you the opportunity to widen the blobs enough for some decent curves.
Again, sorry for the bad news, but “doing it right” usually means having a workable plan before saw hits lumber.
That let a little wind out of my sails! LOL Didnt realize just how limited I have myself. Wasnt real concerned with look as I expect most the area to be hidden by tunnel/scenery but it HAS to be functional.
Anyone willing to make a recommendation if 54" was removed from the center of the benchwork? (this would give me a 27" opening at either end or 382"total length) I could then probably get by with 48" on the east end and likely be able to expand the west from 48" to 60. Again Id be willing to email my existing SCARM files… I could probably design the bench work but wouldnt know where to begin with the track work… Thanks in advance
Otherwise N scale get more attractive by the minute… LOL
What you have built could provide the base for a very nice N-scale layout. If you’ve been away from MRR since before there was an internet, you probably have an outdated opinion of N-scale. It is an entirely reasonable choice these days. There is a large selection of good looking good running stuff available. You could run some really long trains in N-scale - 50 cars would be about 15 feet in N.
Before you go any further however, you should step back and make some decisions about exactly what you want out of the railroad. Filling the space you have prepared will take a long time and you want to make sure it will keep your interest long enough to finish it.
John Armstrong used lists of “givens and druthers” as the basis for all his plans. Givens represent things that are not flexible, like the space available in your case. Druthers are preferences like double track mainline, continuous running… Make yourself some lists.
You’ll still need access to whatever scale track you put at the back of the layout on the turnaround blobs. Cut your self some access holes. You did good by not putting the shelf under the blobs. They can be covered with lift-out scenery, hidden by foreground scenery or ignored. The lucky thing for you is that you have that 8-year old. They’re great at crawling under benchwork to fix derailments. [:)]
You can of course choose the scale of your choice and you could fit a very decent HO layout in that space IF you widen the ends to accomodate wider radius curves. I have 32-inch minimum radius curves on my relatively small and even on those curves, long cars such as 85’ passenger cars or 89’ autoracks or flat cars make those curves look sharp.
With a 42 inch width bench work, you’d be limited to a 20 inch radius at the very best and that is extreemly tight by todays standards in HO. Yes, many trains will run on even an 18 inch curve, but much of todays rolling stock have an absolute minimum of 22 inches, and a few even need minimum of 24 inches.
Bottom line, if you want to go with HO, I would strongly recommened widening the ends of your benchwork to accomodate 28-inch minimum curves - that would require you widen to about 60-inches on each end. It looks like you are good with wood working so that shouldn’t be a problem, unless you simply don’t have the space or can’t be bothered. In the latter case, N-scale might be the way to go. My close up vision has gotten worse with approaching senior status so HO is as small as I care to go. YMMV.
Cheers, Jim
Here is a photo of my staging yard which has the 32 inch radius. Now shorter cars like 50 and 60’ look great, but 89’ those curves start to look sharp. A 28 inch curve is even sharper but will handle most any HO rolling stock except maybe a few brass steam engines.
I am guessing that the reason you can’t go wider on the turns is because of the doors that have to be accommodated. I have door problems also. Here is a pic of what I did (excuse the mess) I made the bench 6’ wide for the turn and where the door is I put a siding in there. It will likely be a stock yard one day.
I don’t see any doors near the end of his layout in either photo so it appears the ends could be widened.
It shows on his plan, and I could have sworn he mentioned it, but I didn;t see a reference to teh doors but he did state “obstructions” in an earlier post. If it’s doors, then Brent’s way of dealing with this seems just about ideal.
For maximum mainline run, I’d do it as stacked loops at one end, going down to the opposite end and looping back, so the actual mainline would be 2x the length of the room plus the loop on one end. Mains could be single or double tracked, either way. Allowing a cutout for the door should allow the ends to be much wider, maybe as much as 66" would would allow 30" radius curves - could run nearly anything on that.
–Randy
Thanks for the replys… It was hard to see in the photos that a doorway on the right end WAS my restriction. I was able to address both the reach a radius issues without too much headache this afternoon. I removed 54" out of the center of the bench, giving 27" aisles at either end now. In doing so I was able to expand both ends quite a bit… Still not 28" radius capable but 22 very comfortably possibly upto 24". The end with door clearance issues is now 51" and leaves me exactly a 30" walkway (This is a relativley high traffic area) On the left end a book case before a doorway was my hurdle but it miraculously found its way to a different area… Here are a couple pics I will get the new dimensions in a SCARM file to share, hopefully yet tonight.
I left a 30" walkway to access the two doors on the left. My wife thought that it might not be wide enough. I told her that if people can’t walk through there , then they couldn’t get through the doors and so it didn’t matter.[:-,][(-D]
Nice benchwork! I see that you are using EZ track. My comment would be to cover the entire thing with a layer of 2" foam. My layout started much the same. As I gained knowledge and experience on what I wanted and “finished” the layout, I began replacing the EZ track in small sections with regular cork, flextrack, etc. as time and money would allow. The foam will let you do this much easier.
Also, check your plan to see if EZ track’s geometry will let you do what you want. When I replaced mine, I found that my design options increased greatly, and I was able to add more realistic arrrangements than the EZ track would allow.
As long as you are using the EZ track, let your 8 year old have some imput on the design as you build, you won’t regret it’s value for keeping him interested.(it can always be changed later) Enjoy!!