I am just too tired today to be productive, can’t you tell. Here’s the question.
What is the footprint and or sqft of your layout and how many turnouts do you have on it. If you don’t currently have a layout, use a layout from the past or timewarp to the future if you have a plan in the works.[|)]
I’ll have another cup of coffee and wander into the trainroom (if I can remember where I left it) and count my own.
For the purpose of this study, a double cross-over is 4 turnouts and if you want to argue about that, good, I’ll have more to read.[(-D]
Do too many turnouts in relation to sqft mean SPAGHETTI?
I have 19 turnouts on a 51"x87" (30.8125) sq ft layout, the cork laid for them anyway. Close, …but not quite spaghetti. I don’t have quite a long enough noodle to create that[(-D]
Current layout. 10x17 feet. Double oval with lift bridge access to central cutout. 34 turnouts, the majority associated with a freightyard and roundhouse.
The layout room is 224 sq ft (14x16) with 50 turnouts and 2 turntables. The layout consumes about 3/4 of that space with point to point operation. Mostly #4 & #5 Walthers c83 turnouts and several #7.5 curved ones.
My layout room is 560 square feet, with the original single level of the layout covering 355 square feet. With the partial upper level included, total layout area is approximately 500 square feet.
I counted 87 turnouts and two crossovers, and estimate that I’ll need to add another 5 or 6 turnouts for industries on the partial upper level.
22’ x 9’. Wide open U. One arm of the U is 9’ and the other end is only 5’. Used to be 21’ long arm of the U, 10’ base of the U and 9’ long at the other arm of the U. We had to open it out to fit the new space. It’s a long story.
We had 28 turnouts. Three pairs of those were crossovers controlled by one switch.
Layout effectively occupies about 220 sq ft plus standing around area of let’s say an additional 40 sq ft. The old U shape used less floor area but the saving in space was not usable for anything else. The new layout takes up more space but only when somebody’s there running trains. By opening up the U we recovered the standing around space for multi use because the layout is against the walls and the operating standing area is towards the center of the room. I like it.
We had too much track.
We intend to make the same mistake again…
We like to watch trains run and we like to build and break up longish trains with multiple motive power.
My layout is very simular to Malcolm Furlow’s San Juan. Did not start that way but my space kinda dictated it. My yard is much larger though. 22 turnouts. Space about 11x 12 room but ralroad is a dogbone with a yard running off it so 6 1/2’x11’x12’ in a u shape.
I’ve got 17 turnouts, including one three-way, on a 45-square-foot layout. One turnout is a 3-way. Staging isn’t included in this count or in the square footage.
Interesting topic. My garage layout under construction is 72 sq. ft. The current dogbone plan calls for 15 turnouts. I’m preparing an alternative design with more landscape scenery and many fewer turnouts (probably 6-8).
Mainline run - 440’ of double track, 180’ of that hidden in staging, 260’ visable.
Total trackage including staging yards and all secondary trackage - aprox 1600’
Turnouts - total count 140, 38 of those make up 19 crossovers, 2 double slip switches, 1 single slip switch. 89 are controlled by switch machines, the remaining 51 are manually operated. 42 of the 89 controlled by switch machines are in the hidden staging areas.
Staging - 25 hidding staging tracks, most 20’ long or longer. 15 are thru staging, 10 are stub end on the wye connected to the mainline. An additional 7 trains can be visably staged without blocking the mainline or limiting train movements.
The design goal was long trains, lots of them, and not a spaghetti bowl.
One turnout for each 6.5 sq ft of benchwork.
One visable turnout for each 9.3 sq ft of benchwork.
I quoted you to help readers in case they need a refresher of your OP by now.
Current layout, at about 85% complete, is my favourite around-the-room folded loop, double track. Room is 9 X 18.
Not including staging, below the layout, accessed by around-the-room hidden grade @ 1.7%:
6 X Peco Code 83 Streamline #6, all out on the main or on industrial switchback;
1 X W/S #6 double crossover, Code 83;
3 X double slips, two W/S #6 and one Code 100 hand laid, all in the yard;
1 X #8 Code 100 hand laid, in the yard;
5 X Micro Engineering ladder system series turnouts;
1 X three-way W/S Code 83 at the yard throat; and
4 X Peco Streamline Code 83 #6 in the yard.
So, counting the DS as four, and the three-way as three, 22 total. This probably is somewhat reflective of my preference to watch trains run in the scenery and not so much ops. Five ladders and other parking tracks up on the layout, and five ladder staging, is way more than I have ever had on a layout.
Got Pfizer today, so I’m getting on with living…hopefully.
Oh, and how many is ‘too many’ turnouts? [%-)] Each of us has the dut
I like urban scenes, steel mills, coal mines, ore docks big passenger stations. Lots of turnouts.
I guess some modelers like pastoral scenery, long runs between towns, maybe single track with a few passing sidings. Fewer turnouts.
I did a quick review and found that the main layout is in a basement area 24 by 42 feet. This part the layout occupies 660 s/f with another 82 s/f of subterranean staging. I also have a secondary route called the Bessemer which is essentially the “connecting” railroad.
