Are there any plans for building a searchable data base of all the various structure plans published in MRR over the years?
Not at this time. However, if you know what particular plan you’re searching for, you can probably find it in our Magazine Index. http://trc.trains.com/magazineindex
Not looking for a particular plan. Just would like to be able to look through all the plans to see if something catches my interest. I want to try my hand at scratch building something in N scale so I am looking for something simple to start out with. Going through all the archives looking for that type of plan is kind of hard and time consuming to do. So I was kind of hoping you all might be planning on putting together that searchable data base.
You can use the magazine index to search on authors like Harold W. Russell who did a lot of drawings over the years. While the search results don’t show the drawings, they do show the title (which identifies the type of building) and issue.
Paul
Try the Benton station plan in January 1997 MR. It is a simple structure as depots go, and the accompanying article is specifically written with the thought that this would be a first-time scratchbuilt structure. I think it is helpful for someone in your situation to have an article AND a plan, rather than just the plans.
Dave Nelson
LIONS do not use the plans of other people. Him just starts laying tracks and see where they go.
OK, on my present layout, I did have an idea in my mind, and it did work out better than I expected.
Way back in 2005 (?) I tore down an older, sprawling layout. I knew I was going to build a three level shelf along two walls, with an extension along a third wall on the north end of the room. There were to be two “blobs” one 5x18 feet with a helix between the bottom and middle levels. The second table is 6’ x 22’, it has a elonged helix going down to the lower level and another goting up to the upper level.
It began life as a Commuter Railr Road with a major terminal on the first blob, and winding up to the north end. There was supposed to be staging on the lower level to represend long distance trains.
Ah… But then inexpensive plastic Subway Trains became available, and so the whole layout was shifted from commuter to transit. The lower level staging yards were removed and a four track main line was put in its place. The 2 track helix became a 4 track helix.
You see, the layout is fungible. It morphs over time, just like the real rail roads.
So decide what trains you want to run, and then what you want them to do. Freight trains on a switching layout–what era? Passenger Terminals?
Once you decide what you want and how much space you have to build it in, you put your main feature in place, and then build the rest of the layout around that.
LIONS do not use pencil and paper. Him puts the main feature in and then build the rest of the tracks as they fit. If something is not right, take it out and do something else.
ROAR