[:)]Ok gang I’am getting reday to start an “N” scale layout,I had one a long time ago[^]
#1-the table top will be 30"wide and 8’ long,made out of 1/4" play wood,possabley a cookie cutter.
#2-I have an “N” scale book but don’t like the plans all that well.
#3-I like switching and long trains.
#4-will tortuse switch machines work on “N” turnouts?
#5-I think I will use atlas flex track,cork,and switches.
#6-I throught about kato to dang costley.
#7-I’ll be running DC for now,the throught of putting DCC in an “N” scale loco, scares me[:(]
So now does someone out there want to take a shot at an track plan for me???Please[8D][^][:)]And thanks!!![?][8)]
JIM
First, do you have a prototype in mind, or is this a freelance? This will help to determine the scenery which influences the track plan greatly. Also, how about an era? I take it since you like long trains a class 1 RR is what you have in mind? Trains aren’t going to be too long with 8’ of running room. A table that size might be better suited to a shortline RR or something around the turn of the century due to shorter trains (10 or 12 cars max) and smaller equipment. This would also make the layout appear larger as a single train wouldn’t dominate the layout. Just some thoughts. That’s not to say that a modern layout with long trains is out of the question, just much more difficult to get it to look right on the smaller table, thats all. You might want to concider a big city scene if you want to go this route as the large buildings can overpower the long trains and restore the balance to the scene. Big buildings could also be placed on both sides of the track to break up the scenes and add visual interest. One last question; is this a freestanding layout, up against a wall or two, or a shelf?
Now to the questions…
1/4 inch plywood will work, but it needs LOTS of support so it doesn’t sag over time. Every 10 to 12 inches worked for me, the closer the better. A little thicker would be better though. 30" x 8’ is a good enough size that it opens up some possibilities.
I know what you mean. Those things are really only good for ideas if you ask me, and sometimes not even that!
A big city yard might work, or maybe a mainline with some switching for a local?
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Unfortunately, only you can design a track plan that will be just right for you. The first step will be to decide what you want.
What era are you going to model?
Where is is located? Location determines terrain.
What road name are you going to model?
What industries are you going to services?
What do like better, yard switching or road switching?
Is it going to be scenery intensive or operations intensive?
Only you could possibly know the answers to this stuff. Only you can design the layout. 30" x 96" is not huge. This is something you can do. Give it your best shot and post if for comments. You’ll never be happy with someone else’s plan because unless you work with them, they’ll never get inside your head.
Dang this the send time today I’ve been beat to the punch by someone posting virutally the same thing.
Spacemouse,
We’ve got to stop meeting like this! We’re beginning to sound alike! You and I were typing at the same time and it sounds like an echo around here! [(-D]
Chip:thanks for replay,I kind of throught 30"X8’ was big for “N” scale.!
Philip: thanks also
I’am looking at an era for GP35,38,40’s SP of course,it could be any where in the south west!
so you guys think I should use 1/2" insted of 1/4"My “HO” is 42"X10’-1/2" but it is going in storage for an while,At 64 I thank it will be an challenge to put DCC in the “N” scale locos.scenery intensive or operations intensive"BOTH"
What industries are you going to services?Dont know just yet will depend on track plan,for sure there will be an train station ,maybe two?Engine service an maybe an turn table,mostley Deisel loco’s.Probably use code 80.You guys are great.
[^][:D]
JIM
I, too, thought 32"x9’ would be large in the beginning. Then I added a 32"x6’ module to have a storage yard. Then I moved them to opposite sides of the room and added more modules to gain an 18"x 12’ connecting line. Then I added a 32" square peninsula for a coal mine and a nice loop with a high trestle bridge. I’m now faced with going up the stairs for any additional expansions, so I guess there won’t be any. Even in N scale, nothing is “huge” enough.
ham99 is right, 30" x 8’ is a good size, but it’s never big enough. I’m about done with my new plan for a 15’ x 10’ double decker with staging under that, and it’s not big enough!
A while back one of the forum members posted a track plan for an HO layout that might be adaptable for your situation. N scale is about .6 that size of HO, so this plan could actually be lengthened to make it work. The center divider would also give a lot of flexability as fer as scenery goes. City on one side, desert on the other (or mountains, or whatever). I think I’ll start with this and goof with it some, then maybe I’ll try something new. Anyways, this is 5’ x 9’ in HO;
Click to enlarge
Here is my bench layouts
This might help out
And thanks for you help
[^][:D]
JIM
OK, In N scale that 5 x 9 HO layout would look something like this;
Click to enlarge
On this one the minimum curve radius is 12.5 with 13.75 easements on the main. All turnouts are #7’s. Should be able to handle the equipment you wanted with no problems.
Here’s a slight variation of the above plan;
On this one the minimum curve radius is 13.75" with 15" easements on the main. All turnouts are #7’s.
Are either of these barking up the right tree? Or did you have something else in mind, and if so, what?
[^][:)][:D]Now that one is nice,Thanks
JIM[8D][^]
Hey, I was thinking about what you said about DCC, You know, with some careful loco selection you could do DCC pretty easily. For diesels most DCC conversions are pretty simple. You just unplug the DC light board and plug the DCC light board in and then snap the shell back on. Thats all there is to it.
As to the track plan, it has some limitations. It works better if you run it counter clockwise then if you run it clockwise. Since trains run both east and west this could be a bit of a challenge. Might make it fun though, huh? Also, there’s no real place for expantion for the future. I suppose the short spur on the top could be used for that, but other then that you’d have to cut in a turnout at your desired location. On the plus side, this one gives you three or four companies to switch, plus a small yard and a small engine facility. You could also add more tracks to the turntable and maybe even expand the engine house. There’s also room to cut in a RIP track if you want.
I made a couple of changes. Here’s a larger engine facility, a RIP track, and I think it works a bit better in this new arrangement as well. See what you think.
That’s a lot of enginehouse for such a modest yard, but we’re all a bit loco-heavy, aren’t we? I guess you could justify it by calling this a division point yard. Lots of trains pull in and change out the crew or loco, then head back out without breaking down the train.
Maybe Chip can suggest some improvements. He’s really good at that. He took my plan for my own RR and tweaked it in ways I’d never thought of.
BTW, if you have the Atlas RTS 7.0 track planning download I could Email you with the .ral file of any, or all, of these plans so you can manipulate them yourself if you want. Just click on my name on the top corner of any of my posts and use the Email link
No offense, but his is exactly backwards.
First you need to choose your era, location and road name.
This will determine your scenery and industries.
From that you build your track plan.
IF you go the other way, your scenery and industries might not fit and you have to substitute. For instance, you design mountains and tunnels and you decide you like the Nickle Plate colors. The two don’t really go together. You set up a switching layout and decide to run coal and power as your industry. Will your switching set-up, built cause it looks good on paper, fit the coal mining models that are available?.
Turntables and roundhouses look good, but in terms of what you can do with them, they take a lot of space and contribute little.
Take a Walther’s catalog and look through the industries. What would you like to see on your layout. Pick a few and see what it takes to put them on your layout. Imagine putting scenery around them to make them look good. What will that take? Will it be mountains or plains or farmland or forests. Does it need water nearby?
Start picturing a finished layout in your head and build it backwards. Look at the trees and buildings and engines and facilities. What do you see?
You then build your track plan and work things in.
IF you don’t have a vision of what your layout will look like finished, what you build with a random plan will never measure up.
To answer your question about 1/4 vs 1/2 ply, it depends. If you are going to add foam, 1/4 will probably be fine. I would add foam because you want to be able to sculpt your land both up and down from track level. You will also need some framework underneath
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse
No offense, but his is exactly backwards.
First you need to choose your era, location and road name.
This will determine your scenery and industries.
From that you build your track plan.
IF you go the other way, your scenery and industries might not fit and you have to substitute. For instance, you design mountains and tunnels and you decide you like the Nickle Plate colors. The two don’t really go together. You set up a switching layout and decide to run coal and power as your industry. Will your switching set-up, built cause it looks good on paper, fit the coal mining models that are available?.
Turntables and roundhouses look good, but in terms of what you can do with them, they take a lot of space and contribute little.
Take a Walther’s catalog and look through the industries. What would you like to see on your layout. Pick a few and see what it takes to put them on your layout. Imagine putting scenery around them to make them look good. What will that take? Will it be mountains or plains or farmland or forests. Does it need water nearby?
Start picturing a finished layout in your head and build it backwards. Look at the trees and buildings and engines and facilities. What do you see?
You then build your track plan and work things in.
IF you don’t have a vision of what your layout will look like finished, what you build with a random plan will never measure up.
To answer your question about 1/4 vs 1/2 ply, it depends. If you are going to add foam, 1/4 will probably be fine. I would add foam because you want to be able to sculpt your land both up and do
Here’s kind of a fun way to design a layout from the “General” side of the forum.
I guess I’m assuming that this will be a track plan with no grades on it as the area is pretty small for that. The points that Chip made are good ones. Listen to what he says. The scenery may go up and down on the layouts I’ve shown, but the tracks are pretty much level as the rules of grades don’t change with the scale.
I agree with the “industries first, then track plan”. I was really anxious to get something up and running, so I started out with a module track plan and thought I could fit industries that I wanted to the plan. Bzzzzt! Wrong answer.
So I’m cheating. I stopped working on the industry module and am doing a yard module first. That will give me plenty of time to redesign the industry module to fit the industries I want and I can use the interchange and team tracks on the yard module for industries in the meantime.
Know how you feel. I’m on the same boat with a 30x72 tabletop. Feel the same about DCC!