Hi has anyone done the Bill Koehn 3x5 coffee table layout and turned it into a ho gauge maybe 4x8. It would be part of a larger layout. Thanks. I am working on getting a layout of the room. Thanks.
Here is a piece of very basic math when dealing with track plans: N scale is 1:160. H0 scale is 1:87.1. That means that to go from an N scale distance to the corresponing H0 scale distance, you multiply with 1.8 (160 / 87.1).
3 feet in N scale - 5.4 feet in H0 scale
5 feet in N scale - 9 feet in H0 scale.
A 3x5 in N scale is not the equivalent of a 4x8 in H0 scale. In more than one way.
A 3 foot deep layout you can put one long side of up against a wall, and still have marginal reach across the table from the other side of the table. Add an aisle 2 feet deep along the front, and the layout needs a minimum of 5 x 7 feet (35 square feet) of floor space.
A 5 x 9 foot wide for a corresponding H0 scale layout table will demand aisles that are at least two feet wide on three sides of the layout, needing a floor space of 9 x 11 feet (99 square feet).
Or basically - a 5x9 foot H0 scale will fill a normal bedroom, allowing nothing else to be in the room.
If you try to compress that track plan from 5 x 9 feet to 4x8 in H0 scale, your curve radius will have to be made a lot smaller. It is doable, but limits what you can run on your layout. H0 scale passenger cars will not look good and will often not work well on 18" radius curves.
I recommend that you do things in the sensible order. Define your available space. Then write down your wish list and givens.
As is always the case, Stein adds tremendous value to problems of this nature when he participates in the discussions.
The bottom lines in our hobby are always, first, what we have in the way of room to work with. This is not even secondary to our choice of scale. That secondary decision can only be considered once you know for a fact what you have in the way of physical space, with all its encumbrances and restrictions, such as points of access, windows, pipes, highly desired storage framing, and so on.
The third decision, in order, is what it would take to make our construction and eventual use of the project enjoyable and reliable. If your ability to achieve these is compromised by defects such as reach or access to remote areas, or if your track system has flaws that make it silly in hindsight, or at best uninformed, it really limits the lifetime of all that effort and expense. This has to be fun in the end, but it also has to be your baby. You have to make all the choices. People like Stein do a great job in putting a hand on your shoulder and coaching you in a low voice. [:)]
Crandell
How big of room do have to work with? Do you have to share with other things such as laundry area, automobile, family room? If you have a whole room work with, I would take a look at doing a shelf layout, give me more track, more scenery, better curve radius and more free room to move around. I know from your DCC /DC questions you are looking doing a dual layout scheme… I thought would be to have your passenger line to go around the room and your logging area be a peninsula that can then deliver the logs to the main line.
Here is a rough layout of the room that the layout will be going in. the room is approx 15x22. The plan above is the indutry section for the lack of a better term. Hope this helps. 
First: the 3x5 foot N scale plan you showed further up in this thread It is a pretty horrible design for a H0 scale industry section that is part of a larger layout. That layout is made to be a standalone, self contained layout. No reason to try to do something like this (and in particular - to do a compressed version of it) when you seemingly have plenty of room for a layout.
Second - you seemingly have a large room available. It is entirely doable to do H0 scale in a room this size.
Tell us more about the room. I assume you will be needing an open aisle at least three feet wide all along the bottom of the room sketch, allowing access to the door and the closet. Will you need to access the windows from inside the room?
Will the room have to also need to be used for some other purpose than a model layout (storage shelves, work bench, entertainment center, storing garden furniture in the wintertime, guest bedroom or any such thing?).
Anything else we should know about the room?
You now mention wanting an industry section. In a previous post, you were talking about running passenger trains and having a logging area,
Let’s try to firm up what you want to have on your layout.
Here is a link to a page of questions which will help you organize your thoughts about what you want from/in/on your layout (it is from the web page of a guy who does custom designs for people - but
I am going to have 2 different sections and two indipendant sections. 1/2 of the layout will be an industry layout that will be one train self contained. The other is going to be passanger style. The 2 sets of track more then likely will never meet. So I would basically be building to totally different layouts in one.
The room will be dedicated solely as a trainroom, so nothing else will demand the use of the room. In the closet, there is plenty of shelving in 1/4 of it. The whole wall other then the doors is closet and 1/4 is shelving on the right side. There are 5 drawes down below available for storage. If possible i would like to open them sometimes so i can have a nice crossbreeze in the room.
Im trying to ask plenty of questions and such so I can develope a good plan overall and not have to keep making changes once i have things laid down. I am totally new to building a layout. When i played with these as a kid, I would just lay them out on the kitchen table for the afternoon kind of thing. Thanks everyone.
hi man with no name,
you think you are asking questions, you do something quite different.
you might start here: http://www.layoutvision.com/id28.html
paul
Again I am sticking at around the room for the passanger section and you could do a table top for the logging in the middle… that would give you a 4 by 12 middle and still 3 feet of space around. Not sure how high the drawer area of your room is but you can work around it with a little higher on the shelf train or make clearance by grade. I have a cubby hole storage area in my garage where my train room is am able to to using it by having my loop in my layout to get the elevation to clear it- it was win win for me… have me more main line plus some additional scenery build in to keep it interesting.
I would get a track planning software. Atlas has one for free or try Anyrail. I used that for my track planning and it has a decent free trial that can get you going for the big picture look.
The drawers are located under the closet. So 3 of the walls are basicall available to have a layout around.
Can I ask why two different layouts? Is it that you want to have two tracks of train just being able to run loops and another main for switching industries like what ken wanted here?
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/183461.aspx
If so, that would be different then having two separate layouts.
Also listen to what is being asked above, what are you looking to have on these layout(s)?
That will go a long way with helping you out with what you want.
Chris
This is decent first book: http://www.kalmbachstore.com/12428.html - it will teach you how to build a 4x8 foot N scale layout. You have the room for a layout that size, and N scale will allow you room both for running and some switching.
Good luck with your layout!
Stein, out