I did alot of thinking yesterday and like I said yesterday in my post I’m going to start over and take the last layout (Atlas HO-28) as a learning lesson. It was definitely not a layout for the novice! Lol I have decided to go ahead and build my own benchwork myself. Are there any websites that give free track plans and or design your own. I don’t know exactly what I want but I know that I’m still doing HO obviously and I have the same basic space which is 5x9’. I do want water scenery in my layout, some elevation, and no basic ovals. Since I love passenger trains and urban areas, I don’t know if I’m going to do any mountain scenery since I don’t have enough space for a effective transition. Thought about a island type of layout or something similar. I do want a double main line for the most part. Any ideas or track plans that you have in mind would be greatly appreciated. Love this forum for its honesty. Just brainstorming and haven’t figured out what I want to do though…
First thing, read “Track Planning for Realistic Operations” by John Armstrong. He discusses all those issues. As a general rule, you can pack more railroad into a given space by doing an around the walls layout than you can with a 5 * 9 table in the center of the room. Since you can only reach a couple of feet in from the edge of the layout, you cannot do a table much wider than 5 feet 'cause you won’t be able to reach to the center of the table to put trains back on the track, fix things that break, install scenery, etc, etc.
Track planning is not hard. You have a main line, industry spurs to set out and pick up cars, a yard, an engine terminal, perhaps some staging. The main line can be single track or
Yes I have a digital subscription for my Kindle Fire first generation but everytime I go and try to look at the free subscriptions it tries to charge me so I don’t know if that’s something I have to pay extra for or what? I need to contact Kimbach and see what my digital subscription gets me.
LIONS do not read blueprints, green prints or even red prints.
REAL LIONS make up their layout out of their own heads as they go along. If something is not right, you pull it out and fix it.
LION starts with the table. The main premise of the table was a three deck table along two walls, and then to use other tables in the middle of the room for loops and elevation changers.
The wall tables were fairly easy, him maked “bents” to hold the table. weight is carried on the floor, they are only bolted to the wall for stability. (Photos on website of LION) Him used Celotex panels for the deck, and laid the track directly on these. No cork roadbed for this LION! (Him tried it once, him tried it twice, him decided forgetaboutit.
Then you lay the tracks, wire it, and then you can apply the scenery.
I remember what a liberating feeling it was the day I decided to replace my first layout. I learned a lot - that I had designed a very non-functional track plan, and hadn’t really thought-out what I wanted it to do. Take to heart all the things your current plan doesn’t do well, or not at all. Your post lists items you want to include in your next effort - that’s a very good start. Definitely consider an around-the-walls design, you’ll get a lot more railroad in the space available, as others have mentioned. You stated an interest in passenger operations. You will appreciate the realism of larger-radius curves if there is room to use them effectively. Also, do follow-up with Kalmbach to get access to the trackplan database - a lot of great ideas can be found there - and I believe it is free to access. Keep us posted, and keep asking questions.
Okay then. DON’T have a transition. Make a two-sided layout with noncontinuous and completely different scenery on each side.
Another thought- have your city IN the mountains. GoogleImages for Eureka Springs, Arkansas. City buildings stacked like stairsteps. Of course this makes for more difficult scenery and structure planning and building…
I second that suggestion. I am on my third copy, having worn two earlier ones to shreds.
I would say you have some staging (one of the highest priorities), a main line, some industries, a passing siding/runaround, maybe a yard but not necessarily, and an engine terminal? Only perhaps. Of course, this means I am thinking of almost all trains as coming from somewhere else, passing through your scene and then going somewhere else-- rather than operating the entire run of a train. Just MY druthers.
On a 5 x 9 HO layout, I would go at least 22 inch radius for the mainline used by passenger trains and all track used by passenger equipment. Industry spurs can be sh
It is obvious that your last track plan based layout was a flop. Ask yourself, why, in your mind, was it a flop. Keep this reason at the forefront of any future effort. Think about what you like about model railroading. Plan your own layout accordingly. A 5X9 layout is no empire, even in N gauge. Forget track plans, though it is good to study them. Most folks try and cram too much activity into too small a space and the result is rather sad.
Figure on what activity level will make you happy. A 5X9 with 28 switches and 100 pieces of rolling stock is as ridiculous as a 5X9 simple oval. Balance your activity with your pike’s size and you’ll find you are much happier with the result.
I agree with David, a wall based shelf layout can have a lot more activity and linear travel in less square footage than a table layout. Try and secure a corner in a room and move 5 or more feet in both directions. The shelf can vary from 30" deep to 12 " deep and, with the right backdrop, look great. If you like continuous loop operations, a reversing loop on a 3 foot end section at each end will allow that loop like continuos travel with slender 18" deep long run shelving between turn abouts.
I would rather “under track” a layout than load it down with trackage. If you find things a bit sparse as you operate, you can always expand. (this modification process can be as much fun as the original build!
Design your own layout to suit your own ideas, not someone else’s.
So i finally got access to the track plans on here by MRR as they had a mistake on my account somehow but anyhow here’s what it comes down to I basically have a 14x14 finished basement and I want to still be able to put a sofa and flat screen tv down there…I also want to be able to have 22’’ radius curves so that I can run my bi level Kato commuter cars as well. I don’t know where that leaves me as since my available space is small a point to point passenger theme layout would be useless so I would have to have some sort of loop at each end of the layout. If I do a island I’m trying to figure out how that can be done. Want to get as much operation as I can out this new layout as I want to start on it soon. Not being able to run my trains is killing me [:(]
why not make a small shelf layout that protrudes from the wall only where it needs to like for your curves and/or industry that you can switch. sort of like this one. (this is someone else’s layout)
A room with a sofa, TV, and a layout wide enough radius for passenger trains and other long cars spells…compromise. You are going to have to put up with something negative about the design that you wish you wouldn’t have to.
A 48 to 52 inch high layout around the room will be high enough to slide a sofa and TV under and still leave enough head room.
Make 3 shelves 24 inches deep and the other 12 inches deep, which is where you’d place the sofa. The three 24 inch x 14 foot shelves should provide enough layout for some sidings, spurs, and/or a station platform, with the 12 inch deep shelf sort of acting like a scenicked connector to complete the loop.
Your big compromise would be how you access the room, which would have to be via duckunder or lift-out section.
An Island layout or plan where loops intrude into the room would make the entire room less comfortable, IMO, not to mention reduce the radius to the bare minimum your rolling stock could handle. The around the room concept will allow the broadest radius possible, which is essential in making passenger cars look realistic.
Haha no what happen is I was at work when I wrote the first piece and then the computer started acting crazy and I didn’t see my post originally. So when I started back up…I rewrote it and put it in the other section…no big deal…not knowing that my first posting did take. I started getting replies under both I was like oh damn [:O]but oh well…its al in good fun [:D]
One option is to put the layout on either casters (wheels) to be rolled up against a wall when not in use or made without legs to be stored out of the way and set on a folding table top when in use. Either option will take up less space than an around the wall layout when the layout is not being used. You will also have the option to move the layout to another room in the house, if needed. This may be an important advantage to going with a 5x9 as opposed to an around the room layout which limits the room to pretty much only being used for model trains.
If you have a 14X14 foot space that must be shared, a 5X9 island is probably not the ideal arrangement in terms of minimum radius or efficiency in using the square footage. A rectangular monolith is rarely the best layout configuration, despite what is often published in the commercial press.
The two layouts below aren’t perfect matches for your requirements, but a similar plan could be double-tracked fairly easily.
