Well asw Fergmiester said"Continuous running is rather hypnotic " My Layouts going in my office around the walls higher than I’d like. I have always thought that continuous running is better than watching my screen saver on my computer, I enjoy watching it during my thinking times.
I would do what Jay is suggesting. With it being 1.5 feet deep you could fit a nice yard in there and get the continuous running part in there. Get a wireless controller and you can lay in bed and enjoy your trains [:)] I would highly recommend 2 yards on smal one large. So you cna get the activity of switching in there. Or one large yard a a few spurs along the main.
I have a 11’ X 16’ around the wall shelf layout with a 4’ X 4’ penisula with a engine service facility that has 2 continuous mainlines and a continuous branchline. When I have visitors over I can have 3 trains running at one time without paying any attention to it or 4-6 trains if I keep an eye on it. Little kids love to watch trains constantly moving and would soon lose interest if it were a point to point.
My layout runs around the perimeter of the room. Although I do a lot of point to point running and switching, I designed the layout so I can just kick back and run the trains around the room continuously when the mood strikes.
OK Train Nut: I’m in the process of building my first layout in years. and I’m in a similar position. I live in an apartment so space is an object. My daughter moved out so I took to building an “L” shaped , shelf unit in her room. It’s 10’ x 10’ long “L” 24" wide with a 34" dogbone on each end for turnaround. I went with double track in “N” scale. I’m using Kato Unitrack. It’s great. While I am buiding in Spurs and Yards for operations I can run 2 continuous trains at once. And it’s a much better expereince than my HO TYCO days when trains continuously jumped the tracks. This Kato is so reliable that I can leave for 1/2 and hour to burn in an engine and when I come back everything is still running great. I say go for it. Don’t be intimidated by the by the books runners. Nothing can make a family or friends interested in model RR than seeing trains run. I know this from real life recent experiences. Dave
“Continuous Running” is far better than a computer screen saver.
By the way, would everyone concider a point to point with auto reverse continuous running?
nothing like a long train at eye level to stir up some childhood memories, sitting by the tracks watching trains go by on those sunny warm summer days
I’ve got a 12x26 foot modular layout in H.O. One of the things that I like about it is the abilty to set a train or two on run and sit back and watch. Also I can still work the yard or industrial area while the trains are doing there thing. I can also run some real long trains at times. I’ve tried to design a layout that incorporates continueous running and point to point. No luck so far. I’ve got an L shaped area 26x29 to work with. The biggest stickler is working in the ore dock so it is on the outside. It’s going to be a real giant and I want it to be in the spotlight so to speak. Anybody else out there modeling an iron ore hauling road?
At present, until the new garage is built, my ‘layout’ is O scale running on a shelf just over the doors and window of my 12x12 foot computer room. No duck unders. There is a small folding step ladder in the back corner to get me up high when I want/have to be. The shelf width, along two opposing walls is 9 inches deep and along the other two walls it’s 19 inches deep. There is a small closet approx. 5 feet long and the tracks go through the wall, around the shelf in the closet and back out again. There are two small ‘yards’ just big enough for a single side track on the 19 inch shelf. I have an MTH O gauge diesel with cars and an MTH O guage steam passenger train up there. One sits on the siding when the other is making it’s rounds. Foam scenic hill sit between the tracks and the wall which has a cloud patterned wallpaper. A passenger station sits near one of the ‘tunnel’ entrances. And this is O guage. HO would have allowed me to have a couple of more side tracks in my small yards and maybe even two main lines.
It’s amazing what you can do when you have to.
Jarrell
I like the continuous running so I can let the gears of the locomotives going. The brand new engines seem to need to “stretch” before they can do well in layout performances. Does anybody else find that too?
Right now, mine is gonna be a point-to-point, but I do like continuous(ey kant sspeell) running. And I have left room ti eventually make it continuous running.
the loop is your friend. Keeps the family at peace with the trains. So when you bring them down to the basement, you’re not spending all the time switching, and can flip on a couple passenger trains, and let them run, strike a poker face about how much fun it is to watch, etc.
Hey- it keeps the “lease” on the railroad line, ha ha.
[:-^][#ditto][(-D]
my current layout is a glorified oval (with embelishments) what I am doing is taking one section of the oval and passing it through a tunnel. on each side of that tunnel area are tracks coming out of staging. so in essense that tunnel is the end of the layout in either direction. point to point, but on an oval. its under construction and we’ll see how the operations work out. but i’d miss continuous running terribly
I once belonged to a club that had a continuous run and was all modular,(20ft wide x 120ft long) with each module or two having a different theme to it. There was nothing more fun than to watch a long freight or passenger train wind through those themed areas around the layout , like taking a trip throgh the country!!!
My first layout was all about “roundy roundy” with very little switching. Got bored with it soon. Next layout had same “roundy roundy” but more switching and a yard. Current layout (the first one I actually thought out before hand) has a double main with a “butt-load” of switching. I now think I am where I want to be. I can run two trains east and west bound while I work one of the two yards or spot cars in the many industry sidings. It is very enjoyable for me to have the unsurpervised activity of several trains working in the background while I hustle cars around. Best of both worlds. Plus the moving trains pickup and deliver cars for my enjoyment making it a little more prototypical. I now have four Loco’s with sound and that increases the level of enjoyment for me. I turn down the sounds of each loco so I can barely hear it at the far end of the layout. I can’t wait for the BLI sound switchers to come out. So I have evolved from liking all “roundy roundy” to really enjoying the switching aspect of the hobby. Just something nice about having a couple of loco’s pulling their load around while I busily spot cars. Just my thoughts on the subject.
Terry
Continuous Running is what I enjoy but I’m still laying track on my layout. I’ve got two mainlines layed now but I’m adding a ton of sidings for various industries and I still need to design and build the yard. I like running trains while I’m laying track and working on the layout.
I just finished building my first layout. It’s a 2’x2’ square with just a complete circle of 9.75" radius track, built just for practice before I move on to a larger layout. I can honestly say I will sit there and watch my train go around and around for hours.
O, T, N Here’s my layout in the living room, just a small switching yard that grew!! Round the walls two track except for the bridge. The round the walls part is just 5"-6" wide.
Room is 10’ X 12’
Ken.
I like the added interest that continuous running adds to the switching operations. With nothing else on the layout, the switcher has an easy time of it. However, when you add a freight coming through the main line every now and then, it becomes a much more interesting puzzle. With DCC, this is much more realistic than DC, because you can use multiple speeds and different directions without a complex block-wiring system. Without having to “run the track,” you can concentrate on keeping the turnouts all set right, and your switch engine can “take a break” and watch the trains go by while it’s waiting for a clear track.