I am having issues planning my layout for one I have not built a railroad in about 13 years and that was on a 4x8 piece of plywood (HO scale) that consisted of 3 trains that I recieved from a JC penny xmas book around the early 90’s it had all the senery grass Trees tracks and other ground coverings I used it for about 3 years untill I Moved and never set it back up I just scrapped it and gave it to a little kid who always wanted to watch me use it…
Now that I have my own house and no need to worry about moving I want to set up a larger setup and I am Running into some issues with planning my layout… for one I can not decide one Which scale I want to use HO or N. I am leaning more to the N scale because of the space I can fit alot more into alot less space. here is a Picture of the area where I am planning on putting it.
the upper Right Room is currently a work room that I am Planning on turning into a modeling and staging area. with shelves and work benches Kind of like this
but thats as far as I get and being productive.
Im interested in putting a ore mine in being Im in northern MN and thats what we have around here. maybe some grain elevators and a ship or something like that to being we have lake superior and duluth being close by. I have several old Model railroaders 87-92 almost all of them and just subscribed and got my new one.
I mostly shop on ebay because of the saving money issue however if I ever get to the hobby shop when its open being its 60+ miles away
I will probably be shopping there too but on a limited basis… if that helps with any of the planning. Im interested in dcc and seeing how that works.
But Right now Im having Problems with the benchwork on where to place it and what shapes to make it. and also the track plannin
Having switched back and forth through the years, a big issue is what “a lot more”. More track, more scenery, more operation is N scale. More detail, more selection of equipment, more reliable operaion is HO. I went to N-scale to fit more track into a smaller space. I switched back to HO because I wanted more detail and accurate looking models. Now a big issue is sound. Unless there is some major change in physics soon N-scale will never sound as good as HO.
There is a layout that has exactly what you have mentioned in the 101 Track Plans for Model Railroaders. It is layout #45 the Superior & Iron Range RR.
I almost built this one once. With the extra space available in your situation the curves could be broadened and the yards and mine expanded a bit. For your space I think I would mirror it and rotate 90 degrees clockwise.
That is almost a no brainer with the prices and equipment the way it is these days.
First don’t even think about benchwork until the track planning is done. Otherwise you have “benched” much of the potential. Start by making a list of what you think you want and giving them a priority
well okay Mine Dump. where I am located I have 4 different operating mines so I could model any of them…
plus there is the North shore scenic railway that I too could model along with the minning operations and BNSF also hauls freight and Coal though this area.
Im interested in modeling some real stuff and then freelancing the rest.
right now Im trying to make a good track plan Im trying to get a good software program or figure out the two that I have.
what about mixing brands of Track is that okay or not? Atlas is the Brand track I was planning on going with but do they have Curved turn outs?
I was planning on putting my layout at about 42-48" is there a “best height” for placing a layout and also about Multi leveling the layout I was planning on having some tracks on a ridge or something to that effect and some in a vally type setting…how ever I have been seeing people running basicly a whole second or third level are there any advantage to that besides haveing more modeling space?
I know this is really kind of shaping up to be a two man conversation, but if you don’t mind a third, I’ll jump in.
I just dismantled my triple decker so I could move. I liked the longer run it afforded me, but you don’t actually get to triple your layout because you have the space hogging helix to deal with. It’s still an improvement in my opinion though, even if not all here would agree. The biggest problem to deal with is the deck height issue. Getting that right can require a bit of work.
If you think this type of setup might work for you, I’d advise you to really look into it. It’s not right for everyone, but I liked it, and I’ll build another.
well my Ceiling height in the basement is only 7 foot Right now Im cleaning out the spot of the crap that has compiled there and Im going to look at it when its a blank slate I can always keep a spot for adding the Track to get to a second level in the future…but as for the lenth of the Run Im figureing my main Run can be between 75-100 feet in a u shape and in N scale that should be long enough…
But Im sure Model RailRoading is like building a garage…no matter how big you build it, you wish it was bigger
I have modeled in N scale for a number of years. The main reason I chose this scale over HO was that you could get more track into a given space and you could build the scenery in a more realistic scale, i.e., the trains look like they run through the scenery like a real train rather than the scenery looking like an after thought. If you’re looking for details and realism, especially in N scale freight cars check out the Kadee Micro Trains line. These aren’t cheap but they are highly detailed. I have found Atlas and Kato N scale locomotives to be highly reliable. Some of the other brands are less so.
The space you have available would lend itself to an around-the-wall “L” or “U” shape configuration with either a return loop or reverse loop at each end. Since the ends where the return loops would be located are accessible from at least two sides, you could expand this portion of the benchwork to accomodate a fairly large radius return or reverse loop. In my experience in N scale, I’d try not to use any radius smaller than 18" on the main line, especially if you’re planning to run passenger cars. With regard to height, this is a function of your height. I’m 6’4", and am using a final track height of approximately 54" off the floor. This puts the tracks at chest height on me. The closer you get the track level to your eye level the more realistic the trains look in operation. At this height off the floor, the benchwork should not be more than 30" wide unless you have an exceptionally long reach or you are willing to work while standing on a stool. You might look at an article on layout height in the September 2005 issue of Model Railroader on page 100 for some additional insights. If you have a ceiling height in your basement of 7 feet, trying to put a second deck on your layout might be pushing the vertical clearance, especially if you set the lower level height above 48".
Hope this is some help.
Bob
The most important thing is to select a final height that is convenient for you to work on. Remember, you not only have to be able to reach things on the top of the layout for installation and maintenance, but also have to have enough clearance under the layout to install wiring, etc. I find a desk chair on rollers with a reclining back very useful for working under my layout. Also remember, children grow, so don’t make the layout height too low. You’ll regret it later.
Bob
I’ve taken the opposite theory on layout height. After working on a 51" tall one for a while, I found I couldn’t reach nearly as far as on a lower layout. So I was constantly breaking things in the foreground while trying to work on / fixed a bit further in the background. So I got a step stool and found I was constantly going up and down, repositioning the stool, and up and down again. And then there are the children visitors. I was always having to lift them up, or find somthing for them to stand on just to get any sort of a view.
Now my layouts are much lower, so I can work on them with out climbing. They are about 37"-38". When I want the “realistic view” I have a nice chair with wheels on it. That way not only do I get the nice view, I am comfortable at the same time.
I am a open frame with foam person. The last layout I did has no plywood at all. The one I did before that has 3/4" plywood only directly under track and only foam was everwhere else. The one before that had both plywood and foam - that was a total waste because the plywood makes everything too inflexible, the foam gets in the way of equipment like turnout motors, signals, and even just wires.
So have you decided on a track plan? That could also influence what the best benchwork would be.
Fouth/fifth … heck I lost count … joining. Some good inputs from all. Here are a couple of more links to help in your research.
First: http://www.nmra.org/. Half way down the page is the start of Beginners Layout project. This will help answer a lot of the basic questions. Texas has already listed several and you’ve started on the list in your mind. Writing it down helps. The NMRA web site has a lot of good information.
Second: http://ldsig.org/. This is the Layout Design Special interest group. Again, a lot of good information on the design part. You’ve got some LDE’s in your subsequent posts.
Third:
Once you have an idea, track planning s/w will help you. There are others besides XtrkCad such as Atlas RTS (Right Track Software). It takes a little practice with XtrkCad but you will not regret it. Take the time to do the tutorial that comes with XtrkCad. It takes a couple of hours. You’ll get the hang of it. The planning process takes time. You have the space allocated. That’s good. Now, you need to take the time for the planning part of the Dream-Plan-Build journey.
Fourth:
Once you have a design, post it here on the forum and the members will help you fine tune it and/or answer specific questions.
Last, there are a number of good books/magazines that you will/should aquire. I’ll let some of the others key you in on those.
Having just finished planning my N-scale layout, and recently begun construction, here are some things I learned that might be helpful for you.
Contrary to what TexasZepher said about not worrying about benchwork now; I believe it is best if you keep it in mind while planning. You don’t have to get into the detail of how it is built or what materials you will used. But you should keep in mind its dimensions. Take a scale drawing of the space you plan to use, and draw a guideline around the perimeter 24 to 30" from the walls. Then plan your layout to fit inside that space. This will help guarantee that your layout won’t be too deep for you to reach the back. Peninsulae can be 48" wide since you have access to both sides. Keep any aisles to 24"min (36" is better) width.
If you are going with a foam deck; then you don’t really need plywood underneath as long as your foam is 2" thick. Also, you will need a “ladder-like” support frame under it with cross pieces at 16-24" centres.
Pcarell’s comments about space-hungry helices are right on the money. If you want to include additional decks (levels), a no-lix is a good option. A no-lix is basically a helix that goes around the perimeter of the room. The advantage of this is that the centre of the helix is usable (actually, it is your layout); and that you can see your train as it works its way up/down the grade (making it easy to respond to derailments). Curves and grades can also be kept at more workable sizes.
I would suggest you keep minimum radii to 15"; but 18" is better. Generally speaking, the larger the radius, the better; so go with as large a radius as you can fit into your space.
Considering the shape of your space, you could easily fit a C- or even an E-shaped layout in there.
okay thanks for the input. The Bench work I should not have a Problem with.
as for the bedding IM going to go with plywood and foam that way when I make Roads and tracks I can carve out for ditchs I think…
I have so far come up with a E with a I on the right and a larger spot on the lower right for say a mountain with a Ski hill and an Ore dock. so far.
I have been keeping with a 18" min and a 24-30" deck with
are you considering the turntable as part of staging or part of the layout ?
it’s not really needed as staging since you have a wye there . of course building a turntable and roundhouse is one of those fun things that us steam fans like to do whether we need one or not [:)]
i may be completely off base with this one … isn’t your staging yard too big for the size of layout you’re building and the kind of traffic you’d see in that part of the country?
