O27 4x8(ish) Layout

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
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I found the David G 4x8 Layout on YouTube

I like the layout but was bothered by the single return loop. Also after building it in SCARM I was concerned with the incline %. After playing with it for hours and adding few inches to length I came up with this layout. Please critique and let me know how plausible the 3.9% slope will work.

I can only add 1 image

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A 3.9% grade is fairly steep, but given the size of the layout, you won’t be running long trains I suspect. I have grades that are 2.5%, and I can run fairly long trains, so any reasonable locomotive should be able to pull most anything you put on a 4x8 layout.

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Welcome on board Rick_Cantu

David

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Welcome Rick! I am curious, given your original plan for a 4x8 layout, and assuming you would utilize a 4x8 sheet of plywood, how you plan to add that small amount at the end?

Regards, Chris

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Welcome Rick, I’m trying to understand the elevations, do the numbers with the decimal represent inches above the table? I built my grandson an MTH set up on a 4x8.

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Because I have a 2X4 base 8 inches in around the bottom, I plan to add (3) 2X4’s to make the extension. I was thinking of adding a 12" piece. for a 4’x9’ total

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Yes the small boxes are the elevation. I realized the pic posted was wrong for the inner loop elevations so here is the corrected one. This layout will fit on 48"x105" hopefully

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Thank you David. :smiley:

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Uh…no. Really depends on motive power. Sidewinders (armature parallel to axles, gears on side) start down, slam the throttle shut and pray. BTDT. We bought a small 6X10 pike 40+ years ago with a second level. Had to whack it in half to get into the basement, then installed and extended by two feet to about 6x12. Fought it, most of my stuff is postwar steam, 675 type, with a 225E or two. Unusable. Ripped the second level out.
Diseasemals with worms usually okay, cheaper ones with single-lead worms you may get worm lock.
That grey area 3-car passing siding looks pretty useless. I have 4 % on my outdoor line, but run is 150’, still fight worm lock.
Have fun!
TOC

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On that size of a layout, I would be hesitant to do the over-under. I tried it on a similar sized layout years ago, and it worked “OK” but took up a lot of space with no real purpose but to go up and over the other track. Short trains crawling up the grade and racing down the grade proved to not be that interesting over time.

My suggestions would be:

  1. move the tracks farther from the edge - it will look better and be ‘safer’ if you have a derailment if cars fall on the layout rather than the floor.
  2. Make a one level layout, perhaps with level crossings rather than over-and-under. You can still have like bridges, but over a river or pond. (Easy if you use thick foam sheet under the tracks that you can cut in to, or raise all the tracks with Woodland Scenics risers so no cutting is needed.)
  3. As TOC mentions above, a longer passing siding would work better and look better. Maybe add an industry track, or a track to an engine house.
  4. Consider before you get too far along to doing an O-36 layout instead. That will allow you to run a larger variety of engines and cars than you can with O-27.
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