Ok folks i have revised an ho layout for n scale and wanted to post it so i could get some feed back. The problem is i can’t seen to get it posted ? Do i need to change its format for posting ? Alittle help plz… Then you can blast me on the layout. Lol
Take the .ral file and “Save As” to “My Pictures” and change it to a bitmap file. Then go to “My Pictures” and right click and select “Edit”. This will open the document in MS Paint. Now “Save As” and make it a .jpg file. Now you can discard the bitmap file and upload the .jpg to your favorite pic hosting site, like Photobucket. Then you just paste the IMG tag…
(only without the stars)
[*IMG]http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Real%20Or%20Model/On3asfound.jpg[/*IMG]
![http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Real%20Or%20Model/On3asfound.jpg[/*IMG]](http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Real%20Or%20Model/On3asfound.jpg%5B/*IMG%5D){kind=link}
and your pic appears, like this…
Philip, I don’t even bother converting mine to JPG’s, I simply upload them as BMP’s and let Photobucket do the rest. Works for me.
Brad
Didn’t know you could do that on Photobucket. I know some of the other hosting sites won’t let you do that.
JPEG? PHOTO?BITMAP? PHOTOBUCKET???I have NO IDEA what any of you are talking about! [?]I’m lucky if I can print a document![(-D]
Bitmap (BMP) is an image format. Very high quality but very high size.
Jpeg or Jpg is a way of making the file size of the image smaller without loosing quality.
Photobucket is a place you can upload pictures.
jpeg is a common way of showing pictures on a computer.
Locomotive.jpg tells the computer to open a set of codes and start re-creating a picture of this engine using a JPEG format. Now if I typed in:
Locomotive.wmv it will try to find a Movie that has the title locomotive.
There are several other file extensions for every picture.
www.photobucket.com is a free site where you can create a small place on the internet for your very own movies and pictures.
pcarroll that is one good weathered engine. I almost have to take it to the wash rack because it has just enough but not too much on it. How did you do that?
Once you have created a small photobucket account, uploading a picture is just browsing for the image on your computer, entering a title and hitting enter and watch the little progress bar go as it completes the upload.
Ok here is my plan revised and ready for your thoughts. All outside radius is 11 inch and inside radius is 9 inch 80 atlas track and the turnouts are number 4 customline…
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa153/garthor1/BerkshireValley3.jpg
Not too bad. YOu will find that double tracker a bit bare with so few trains to run on it. You do have the ability to reverse and return to the enginehouse from either direction so that is a plus.
BALDWIN - Buy A Leaking Diesel, With It’s Noise
ALCO - Always Leaking Coolant and Oil
EMD - Every Model Different
F-M - Faulty Mechanicals
GE - Garbage Experts
CSX - Coal Spilling eXperts, Chicken S*** eXpress
UP - Unlimited Parking
NS - No Southern (Railway)
I love your sig Brad but you forgot some
BNSF: Buy Norfolk Southern First
SP: Stationary Poeple
I know that this is OT but I could not resist.
Generally, you have a workable layout here. There is a lack of passing sidings with which to work the sidings, and no yard area to classify cars in (doesn’t need to be much), and no connection to the outside world, but the basic plan is OK. The radii are tight and so are the turnouts, so you will be limited in the equipment you can operate, but thats OK as long as you know it up front. You’re not going to be running 2-10-2’s, SD70’s and autoracks and such on this layout. Do you have access to both of the long sides? You’ll probably need it for maintinance and other issues.
If I were looking to do this layout I’d change just a few things.
First, I’d probably look into tilting the whole plan by a couple of degrees so as to add some visual interest. It tends to take away some of the “toy train” look that visitors tend to see when they view the layout. It gets rid of the “racetrack” look, ya know?
I’d also probably do the whole layout as single track, using the larger radius as the new minimum. Then you’d have room to add the passing sidings needed to switch the sidings with, without adversly affecting the available space for scenery. As a matter of fact, you’d have slightly more room for scenery then you do now.
I’d also see about adding a modest two track yard with an A/D track. It doesn’t need to be big, but it would help operations a bunch.
Lastly, I’d add some sort of connection to the outside world. This is key as it gives you a way to have traffic coming and going on the layout. It doesn’t need to be major, just a single track leading off of the layout or behind the scenery. Just someplace to drop off and pick up cars.
The basics are there, and they’re good. It’s definately a buildable layout as is, but with some minor tweaks it could gain a lot.
Just some thoughts…
ok here is the track plan, sorry i started another post by mistake its been that kinda day…
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa153/garthor1/Berkshirerevised.jpg
Ok the track plan i was fooling around with well just didn’t work out for me… anyway thank you for all your input , i’m going back to the drawing board as of this point… still using rts software as a starting point going to use the code 80 rail and try and stay in a roughly 4x9 foot max table size for n scale, and yes i can move the table to get to the opposite sides…ok here we go…
Ok here we go, the trackplan is a revised n-11 from atlas. I will use code 80 atlas rail and turnouts. I am going to use flex track for as much as i can. The yards are layed out as well as is a posible interchange. I’m thinking bout using 040’s as motive power to start with, and DCC control.
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa153/garthor1/Layoutn11-2.jpg
Congrats on getting your track plan on the computer, saved and posted. No small accomplishment!
However… You have a 4’x9’ plan crammed with track, not leaving much space for the industries you wish to serve with all those sidings and the yard. You need at least 30" aisles on each long side and on at least one short end to get to all that track. So your space requirement is minimally 9’ x 11.5’. Most people on this forum will probably agree that you can get a lot more layout in the same space if you ditch the 4x8 constraint.
In the same space, you could build a nice U-shaped layout with access to all track from a central aisle. With N, you could even get away with a turnaround loop on each end of the U, and still have anough central aisle space to move around comfortably. You will also get a longer mainline run, and (probably - design dependent) more usable space for industries and scenery.
I’m on my second layout now, making the hard decision to tear up my first - an HO 4.5 x 9 with a 4 x 2 “L” leg. Once I envisioned how much more satisfying an around the walls layout could be I tore it up and have never looked back. Since you’ve got the .rts program under control now, try some alternate designs with the space you have. You may be very glad you did.
Bill Field
MoPac & Frisco
Well in response to your questions the space is open to question. I am using a portion of my garage for the layout. I have looked at a number of layouts and have found the atlas n11 layout to be useable, but not with the radius that they have used. As far as scenery space, which areas are you concerned with ? The n11 layout is about 3x7 feet in n scale and has plenty of room for scenery ? So why would i have less room on a larger basic table ? The only area that has been drastically changed is in reffrence to the turntable. Which in my opinion is needed in any out and back layout ? Posted below is the n11 layout. Which areas would you suggest revamping? The table that I already have ear marked is 3x8 feet.
Garthor,
You have the basics of a good plan. I’d like to show you a couple of options that I see open to you that might improve things a bit.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Track%20Plans/Layoutn11-2.jpg
ok here it is revised again. Lets see here an idea was to put the interchange track coming in from the top left diagonal ? I also changed the siding on the lower left corner, to a single track.
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa153/garthor1/Layoutn11-2a.jpg
Looks pretty good, though I think that you might be better served using those two lower tracks of the yard (at the lower right of the layout) as an A/D track like was suggested previously. Then you can have one train arriving on the A/D track parallel to the yard ladder, and another preparing to leave from the other A/D track (or vice versa, whichever works better in the overall flow of things).
Also, if I’m understanding your diagramming correctly, you’re going to have a very steep climb at the interchange track as you have it drawn. You have what looks to be less than 2 feet to climb 4 inches - thats something like a 16% grade. Not only will your trains not be able to climb it, the rise will just look wrong. Perhaps making the “misc industry” track at the upper center the interchange track would do you better. That is, unless you’re going to make some of your own special trackwork to fit a pair of crossings there.
Other than that, the trackplan looks pretty good to me.
Exactly!
Since this is N scale you only need 2" of clearence, but even if you start the grade right off the main you still only have 3.5’, which means about a 4.5% grade by the time ytou add in the transition. Thats still very steep.
That was precisely my thought.