I have built my benchwork and I have 2 inch foam on it. In a couple of weeks I will begin building my first yard with around 10 Walthers/Shinohara code 83 turnouts. I will use tortoises for every turnout.
What is the right thing to start with? I need some guidelines so I do things in the right order and right way.
Here is my trackplan, it’s the yard located next to the turntable.
Trackplan source: Model Railroader, 1987 November Issue, The Iron Wood RR by Larry R. Forgard
I would suggest you lay all your track and turnouts out on the board and see how they lie. Once your happy with your set up I would then mark the board.
Will you be using cork roadbed?
You’ll notice I haven’t installed and switch machines. Bad, very bad as I haven’t decided how I’m going to throw the turnouts yet.[:(]
P.S. Love the track Plan!
Fergie
I will be using Woodland Scenics foam roadbed.
You’ve already gotten some good advice. I’d also add that the first turnout’s location is the most important, all others will be located according to it. Take your time and it’ll work out well. Of that I’m sure.
Good looking plan, Electro. I agree with the others on building the yard, lay out the turnouts and mark the locations once you are satisfied. Remember, it is far easier to modify the position or length of the last track than the ladder.
One question, though. Are you starting track location, roadbed mounting and track laying at the yard first?
Yes, the plan was to build the yard first, good or bad? Or is that not what you mean?
Just a suggestion, but I always design and build from the most space and location critical places outward. Those are usually corner loops. Once they are in place, if something doesn’t go exactly as planned or imagined, you can generally improvise and no one will know the difference. But you can create some construction problems if those don’t go exactly as planned, but have to mesh up with something already in place.
One more question, for my curiosity. Is there a loop at the bottom left of the plan that was cut off in the graphic. Looks like the two mainlines that end there join further on down.
Anyway, good luck and happy building. I think you will be very satisfied with the plan you chose.
I think I know what you mean now. You mean that I should build the curve first, and then I can adjust the yard after the curve?
The tracks you see that are cut off is a fake mailn line to anotther town. I will have bumpers there instead.
If it were me, I would start with the loop on the upper left, branching out of the yard (the one you mentioned). I think that is the most location critical that you have. Once that is in, you can lay the yard since its location is a result of that loop.
From there, I’d move to a couple of other loops next. You have an advantage that some of the loops that look location-critical at first glance actually lead to tracks that stub-end, and those can be adjusted slightly, as needed.
Something to think about: How will you operate your turnouts? Here is what I did on 2" foam: 1. lay out all your centerlines and set the turnouts in position. 2. mark both ends of the throw bar with a fine point sharpie marking pen. 3. draw a line perpendicular to the centerline connecting the throwbar marks. 4. decide which side of this line the Tortoise will occupy. 5. overlap this line by 1/8" away from the Tort. and cut a 2 1/4" square plug straight through the foam. 6. Go back to the throwbar line and cut a 3 1/4" square 1/4" deep. 7. Take a piece of 1/4" plywood and just clear the edge with the throwout wire. locate the mounting holes for the tortoise and pre drill for the screws. 8. Mount the Tort on the ply with the wire centered (use a power pack set to about 8 volts and just touch the leads to teminals 1 and 8. 9. If you use roadbed temporarily lay it in place and cut a 1/8"x1/2" slot for the wire. 10. Glue (I use clear Liquid nails-blue label) in the plywood and Tort. with the wire extending up. 11. Now lay the roadbed and when it cures you can set the turnout with the wire coming up through one rivet hole in the throw bar. Some hints: Do all your pieces of plywood before hand. Work outward both ways from your key turnout, cut and fit your track pieces as you go. Lay out all your throwbar lines and do all cutouts when you are satisfied with the track plan. pre-assemble the Torts and ply squares. Consider 9"-12" leads from your Torts to 2-terminal blocks for easier hookup and trouble shooting/ replacement. they can be glued under the foam later to miss any structural members. When satisfied, go back and start gluing down the turnots and track sections. Happy Railroading!
What do you guys think?
1 - No roadbed on the yard, the track and turnouts lay directly on the 2 inch foam, and on the mainline I use Woodland Scenics foam roadbed.
or
2 - Woodland Scenics foam roadbed on the yard as well with plaster (or something else) between the tracks to make the yard a little flatter.
On the prototype the yard is flat, right?
I don’t have that MR issue, but the track plan as you’ve reproduced it here is not very usable, in my opinion. Are you sure that there is not a loop in the original plan at the lower left below the letter “Y”? This would be off the edge of the diagram you’ve shown. As shown, you can’t even switch the yard.
It depends on what you want to accomplish, but unless I am missing something (which is possible), the only continuous run is substantially hidden (not necessarily bad – but something to consider), there’s no staging, and some of the parts of the layout would be hard to reach for construction and maintenance.
In that much space and with all those loops, it seems that you could accomplish more in terms of operation or model railfanning or both.
In the nearly 20 years since that plan was published, there have been a lot of new ideas in track planning. You might want to consider some of those ideas before you put too much work into an older design.
Regards,
Byron
http://www.modelrail.us
Yes, I’m sure, the track at Y leaves the layout. Think of it as a fake track for a interchange with another railroad.
The layout has a lot of possibilities in my opinion. It’s a point to point railroad, but also with a loop where the trains can run continuously if you just want to relax and enjoy the trains. Lots of mountains and tunnels. The scenery on the original is very nice. It’s hard to explain, you should really get the issue and you will understand how good it is. Thanks for your opinion and happy railroading.
I would do the yard right on the foam, annd mainline on the WS foam roadbed. That way you have a difference in grades, I would also recommend using n gauge roadbed for the sidings, that way you can really achieve a prototypical look on the track.
EL, you are truly well on your way!!![^][tup] I think most of the advice above has been bang-on. Just my pet approach, but I would lay it all out, even with fake ramps for the evnetual grades, to see how it lies. But, the fact is that you can always correct an ‘oops’ with a custome-cut length of flex-track with a kink in it…not a great solution, but it can be a great saviour for your dream layout.
I have already told you that I really like that plan. It is a real honey. I also wondered about the open ‘bottom’, but that can be solved later, as I’m sure youy are capable, by building a fit-in bridge or module that you can add and remove with ease to close that loop and change to a continuous main line.
I am happy that you continue to share your experience with we folks across the Atlantic (some of us a bit further than others [:D]).
Take care.
Addendum re roadbed: I use HO cork for the mainline, N cork for the A/D track(s), and the yard is on the foam. I use a reciprocating sander for tapering the transitions between levels 8-12" long. Enjoy!
Not to overdo the point… but I’m still concerned about the layout problems mentioned by Byron. I’m with him. It looks like there is not enouigh room to effectively move trains in and out of the yard.
My 2c worth: reconsider using Tortoises. On the prototype, yard turnouts are almost always manually operated, so why not ours? On the mainline I have high-tech solution: Tortoises operated by DS54s operated by JMRI PanelPro on a PC to emulate prototype CTC.
But on the yards, I have a dpdt slide switch mounted (and disguised) in the ground next to the turnout with a simple wire linkage to the point throw. The switch supplies locking action (because I don’t use Pecos), powers the frog, and provides position information for the day i have signalling etc. SImple, cheap and most of all low maintenance. To me, switch machines are a pain to get working and keep working, and they are expensive. I use them when I have to for prototype realism.
i also feel like there’s something missing here .
the track leading ‘south’ from the yard/engine service area doesn’t seem long enough as mentioned above . you’ll want that to be at least long enough for your longest engine to get by the switch or it won’t be able to get to the turntable . that track will also have to be at least as long as your yard switcher plus your longest car or you won’t be able to make up trains in the yard
there is a track leading ‘north’ from the yard that immediatly turns left , heads under 2 bridges and maybe another track and leads to an arrowhead with an X next to it . where does that go ???
if you start at the station in the yard and head ‘north’ following the mainline you eventually reach the track to the ‘west’ of the yard (marked Y on the plan) . as the plan is you would have to run your engine around the train and backup all the way back to the yard . not bad i guess but it’s a bit odd . it seems like there should be a loop to the ‘south’ of that area leading back to the yard , or there should be a staging area there(even better : a loop and a staging area , alows a very long continous run) that can lead into either the yard or to Y to simulate off-layout destinations in both directions . imagine a train leaving staging andentering the layout at Y , running around the layout to the yard and then heading off to staging again , could also run in the reverse direction
not having that issue of MR i can’t tell if the original designer had some solution or reason for doing things this way on an otherwise very nice trackplan . makes me wonder if i could use something similar and put the staging area in my furnace room… hmmm
last minute thought … getting at all the hidden track and all the track along the ‘north’ end of the layout is going to be difficult with the layout up against a wall
Rob-
Do you have a pic of how you hook up the slide switch? I think I like the idea!
Jeff