I would second that thought. That is more massive than any layout I operate.
I was thinking that it looked to big too… how ever when my Trains are not in use I plan on storing them all there… It will propably be alot smaller then that when I start laying Track but I can always make it so when my layout gets bigger and bigger I can add on to it. its 21 Tracks wide with 2 of them being easy access off the main line. and I know for a fact when I start laying the Track the biggest it will probably be is 10 or so Tracks wide.
The reason for the turn table is for storage of my locomotives when they are not in use.
one of the things I am trying to do here is build a kind of complex railroad that one person could operate most everything from one seat…
I also have an Im totaly Nuts Idea…that I am not sure if it has been done…
what it is: I want to build a car with a wireless camera in the Front of it…doesnt need to be prototype looking and that way people could log in though the internet and acctually control the one of the Train. Im not sure if it will be possible but with dcc and the computer I would think that it might be possible…
also my layout will not just stay in that little courner I have another section just is big that I can build on but I figure I will keep it this size to build up on it and fini***his section first…
I am also Planning on finishing this section in sections too. that way if I ever need to dissasemble it I can…though I own my house I never know when I may deside to pack up and sell it for a bigger one in the far off future.
I know these Ideas are nuts but crazy people make the world go round. LOL
My thought is that you should put a mountain line where your roundhouse is located going toward the yard but raised at a height above the yard. NTRAK module mountain line height is 4 inches above mainline. In your space an additional mountain line would be nice. I would also recommend that your staging yard go straight out to the main room instead of curving toward the door. I will try to draw something for you when I get some time. Good luck on everything.
thanks,
The roundhouse and turntable are supost to be 3-4 inches lower then the rest of the layout the track that comes from the door splits with the left one staying level and the right one going down.
there is going to be a mountain next to the wall going to the workshop with an evavated track there too…
here is a link to it…
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/jeorgej/Trains/alittlemore.jpg
I did Make the yard alittle smaller in the picture and got rid of some of those costly Xings in it…
i bought a cheap one off of Ebay just for that purpose (well, to have video anyway–not to control via the web…)
N-scale might be a tough fit to hide the camera, but if you were to just mount it on a flat car, i’m sure you could do it quite easily…
mine has a 9 volt battery clip for the camera and the base receiving unit has a DC walwart…i believe there was a tread on here about this and it even had some video links on the thread…my project has been put on hold–don’t have rails to run it on yet!
thats the type of cam I was thinking of getting…wasnt really to concerned about hiding it. as for controling it isnt there a computer program that uses dcc ?
but right now my main goal is getting a decent plan layed out… I can always just put some cams around the place and not let them control them…just view them.
found the topic, but the links are dead…
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=37297
Layout height
Yes, kids do grow, when I started building mine, (it has a duck-under,) I was only a wee gaffer. Now im 6’ 3". I dont fit under 32" benchwork so well any more! So yes, I would strongly recommend(?) the height you had thought about!
what is the min Radius a 4 axle loco will make with Short 70 ore cars? with out haveing problems uncoupling? that way I can figure out where I want to build my ore dock… I kind of want it out of the way being the ship is like 27 inchs long…
also has anyone just put there layout at say 44 inches and then put 4 Inches of foam so that way it could be cut down like you where digging into the ground? because we have open pit mines around here and Im trying to figure out how to dig them out and still have support? I know this would probably cause an issue when trying to lay out the track and turn outs… is there a way around this? with out haveing the motors exposed?
well I was doing some reserch on the net lastnight and today and I think I figured out what Im going to model
2 lines the DM&IR and the Erie mineing Company lines…
based Loosely around 1959
the reason is the Erie line was running F9 locomotives in a ABBB or a ABBA configuration on a 74 mile long track
and at the teim DM&IR was running a baldwin yellowish series steam locomotive converted from a 2-8-8-2 to a 2-8-8-4 and they also ran passengers and Freight.
here are some Pictures
the B&W is when the F9’s where new
the Color is in 1959 when they where only a couple of years old.
here is a photo of the F9’s in 2004 when they where on there way back from the Ore Dock and a piece of Track Broke
Here is a few of the 2-8-8-2 DM&IR
and if you want to see more of my pics here link
From a carpenter’s point of view - you may have a hard time getting your right of way through the wall between the door and the corner of your staging/work room. Typically, there will be two wall studs right against the doorway, and another two, with 2x4 blocking between them, at the corners. You’ll want to stay at least 41/2" from the finished door jamb and at least 1" from the inside of the corner to avoid cutting through the wall framing.
QUOTE: Originally posted by birdwelldnb
From a carpenter’s point of view - you may have a hard time getting your right of way through the wall between the door and the corner of your staging/work room. Typically, there will be two wall studs right against the doorway, and another two, with 2x4 blocking between them, at the corners. You’ll want to stay at least 41/2" from the finished door jamb and at least 1" from the inside of the corner to avoid cutting through the wall framing.
its an open wall an there is about 4-6 inches open there…its not a load bearing wall just a seperation wall with some 80s paneling. with 2x4s.
^^^ Very well. I just couldn’t tell from the drawing how much space was there.
Jeorge, you might want to peek at jfugate’s info on the relationship between staging track length and the rest of the layout.
See the section about 1/3rd down the page titled STAGING TRAIN LENGTH (Cars):
http://siskiyou.railfan.net/model/layoutDesign/layout.html
What you have is okay as long as you understand this relationship. Simply put, it will be difficult operating on the layout if you bring a couple of trains out of staging that are, say, 18-25 cars long each, and there is no place (siding with enough capacity) where they can pass each other.
Just something to keep in mind as you progress on the design [:)]
er… have we missed something here? What is the final scale of your staging yard. I am thinking it must be N.
There is a lot of scope for movement within the yard-but far to many points( which would require an awful lot of wiring-believe me,you might not be thinking of electricals yet-but you will!!)If you are going to go for four loco’s initially,then I would suggest,using only four banchline yard staging areas.Remember-you will have loco’s on the track itself,and no doubt various sidings…Using a Turntable in front of the staging yard is a great idea.
I am exectly on the same development stage as you… for exactly the same reasons!!!but I am using H/O and DCC(In england it is not cost-prohibative.)
This is to be my daughters and I second attempt-as we did not follow the rules of making a plan,sticking to the plan and keeping focused!!But we had loads of fun- yes I am serious, I have a daughter to is very keen on engineering!!
okay I see the car lenght Thing I am going to be Running alot of ore cars which are alot smaller then a 40 foot car
here is what Im saying about car size and ore cars…
as you can tell by the ore car there its alot smaller
here is a pic with alot of ore cars and a locomotive…
those two pictures are not mine but I barrowed from ebay to show you an Example
here is a pic of the update I just made which does look better in the yard
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/jeorgej/Trains/temp2.jpg
as for siding my Ore train is going to be on its own dedicated route with little to no other traffic on it… being thats an Erie run and it was a dedicated Track…
My Father also said to contact a couple of people he worked with that ran the Trains out there and he said they would probably have maps and photos of everything from the run to the yards dumps and what not and they would be willing to let me scan them.
so I will be trying to get ahold of some people in the coming weeks.
Here is a map of the ore run to the dock at the end where the Train loops back…
so there will be some changes with what little I have planned so far.
thanks for the tips thats what I was looking for I dont want to mess this thing up before I even start laying track
oh and as for my comment about the door area behind it there is an 8 inch gap with no studs right there.
Jeorge,
You might want to take a look at the Frank King book on the Missabe if you havent already.
I’ve had a freelance concept of a NE Minnesota ore hauler in the back of my mind for a while. I live in Duluth and I’m building a large 2 deck HO layout based on the NP but every once in a while I start thinking about my freelance idea based on a combined D&IR and D&NM.
If you’re ever in Duluth and want to stop in and check out my layout you might get some ideas of what to do (and unfortunatly what not to do). Just send me an email at pkeppers@yahoo.com to let me know.
Phil Keppers
well IM getting a little more done here and there when the kids are not makeing a mess for me to clean up… and when the wife isnt on the computer.
an all I can say is I need to figure out that elevation feature on Xtrkcad I know what goes where but you guys looking at it…it must look like a mess.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/jeorgej/Trains/temp3.jpg
Phill I might have to take you up on your offer being The closest hobby shop is Carrs hobby down at the bottom of the hill.
Carr’s is a pretty good shop. There is another one in Duluth, over the hill, I think it’s a Hub Hobby or a chain like that. They are more RC but they do have some real basic train stuff.
My freelance idea is based on the D&IR maintaining it’s independence and merging with the D&NM, the other major line north and east of Duluth. The D&NM was a large logging railroad. They went almost all the way to Canada. They had envisioned a connection to the CN and becoming a bridge line from the upper Midwest to Canada but the DW&P was built before they got that far. In my version the DW&P never got built so there is a ton of bridge line traffic. There is a harbor town with a dock, similar to Two Harbors, a tough climb over the Sawtooth range requiring helpers and a run through the rugged rock terrain of the arrowhead region to the Vermillion range and it’s more model able underground mining as compared to the huge pits on the Messabi range. There is a line running from the harbor town to Duluth, similar to the D&IR.
I think it’s a neat concept. I don’t know what year I’d put it in. Probably 1915 so I could have a steel ore dock and smaller mikados and possibly an early mallet for mainline power combined with the major logging still going on. I’ve also thought about late 40’s and even transition era but nothing later than 1960. I like first generation diesels but I’m not crazy about the second or later generation.
My layout is 3 decks, two visible and one staging with a helix, actually 2 of them sharing the same roadbed to connect everything. The entire mainline is about 10 scale miles. There are several towns, sidings, and a mountain grade on each side of Stampede pass that requires helpers on longer freight trains.