I am somewhat new(never had a layout but have been reading all I can for years). My awesome wife has allotted me a room to use which has room for a 10’ x 11’ layout. I am into N scale and have everything I need including Digitrax super empire builder, extra power, engines with decoders, much rolling stock, tons of switches and track, rail bed, wiring, suite case connectors… basically everything but a plan and the bench work. In short, I have over thought and now am stuck. Anyone been in a similar situation? I am modeling UPRR & BNSF intermodal and local So Cal areas Like San Bernardino, Colton, Etc.
Interesting problem. My current problem is that my available space was reduced by 60%, thus my quandry is what to do with all the stuff I have to put on the larger layout.
Santa gave me some $$$ to put a suspended ceiling in the new space, which has kind of given me a kick in the pants. We’ll see how far we get.
Now for your problem. You have your scale, era and type of operation (intermodal) and operation type (DCC) well in hand. Though I haven’t done much in N, I think you should be able to get a reasonably good layout going. Do you want to be able to have continuous running? An around the room shelf would be my choice with a gate at the door. Hopefully the door opens out, if not, will just take a little more planning. A 2’ shelf around the room gives you 6’-7’ in the center. A foot wide penninsula would still leave you 5’-6’ or two aisles at least 2 1/2’ wide. On the penninsula you could have an intermodal terminal, with access via a wye off the main. Opposite end of the room from the wye could have a town/small yard for some local switching, if desired. You can do either a single track main with one long passing siding or a double track main, your choice. If you don’t want continuous running, you could have a staging yard backed up to each side of the doorway.
Well, I’ve got to get back to fixing the snow blower.
Just some thoughts to help get you thinking again.
I like the island idea and the shelf. I was leaning either toward an around the room layout with a duck-under or a U-shaped type. I was thinking of continous running with a point to point on each end - just throw a switch for continous and bypass the yards. On one end- an engine terminal with all that entails, fueling, wash, repair and RIP track, engine house, and maybe a small wye. On the other end an intermodal yard (smaller) with some industries like oil, propane, maybe cement for switching work. Between the two some other small industries- just to add some prototypical switching fun in the mix. I maybe am overthinking everything but I really want to get this as right as I can for the 1st run.
Thank you- and good luck with the snow blower- snow is that white stuff on the gound, right? We dont see much here- rain either for that matter.
Hello James and welcome to the forum. If you are modeling the UP & BNSF in California, this link is to a track plan based in Nevada, but could easily work in California. It is 4x9 and could be expanded or tinked with. It inclues a town with intermodal traffic and some great scenery. http://mrr.trains.com/how-to/track-plan-database/2009/11/the-salt-lake-route
In the book How To Build A Model Railroad it shows show to build the benchwork and track in depth. This article is also in the January 2010- June 2010 MRR magazines. Hope this helps.
Hi, James, I’ve been away from the forums for a while, but it’s interesting to see the same types of problems popping up. For inspiration, I would browse the track plan database here on the MR site and see if one of these layouts, or combining some elements from several, will work for you. Most importantly, though, I would advise against trying to build a room-spanning empire for your first layout. Start small, either by dividing your future layout into more or less independent modules that can later be expanded as your skills and confidence improve, or build a temporary, experimental layout that will be torn down to make way for your dream layout. I would start with perhaps a 2x8 section and experiment with different scenery building techniques and materials, so that if you really don’tlike how something turns out, you don’t mind ripping it out andodoing it over.
