OK, I decided I want sound and N is just too hard and expensive…
What kind of layout can you do with very small space? I am talking about between 3-4’ by 4-5’ tops of space!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
not much.
maybe a circle of 18" radius track… so a 36" diameter circle… maybe 22" if you have 4’…
A layout with continuous running is going to be somewhat limited. Have you considered a switching layout? A nicely scenic-ed industrial area with lots of business and some challenging switching moves?
You could go with a couple of switchbacks to gain some elevation, so a logging or mining line comes to mind (and tight turns are OK on these).
Or pick one very specifc thing ( a small town, an industry, a junction maybe) and do it well.
Can you give more idea of what you want? What kind of locomotives (steam? diesel?) era? types of cars (freight, paasenger?). These would help in setting some boundaries you will have to work in.
Iceman,
As Dan stated, for a continuous run in HO, you’ll need a minimum of 40" of table top width to lay down 18" radius curves. Bump it up to 48" and you can go with 22" curves.
4-5’ of length only gives you a slight elongated circle. Given those restrictions and your limited space, you might want to think about a shelf layout. It will confine you to switching operations but this can still be a lot of fun.
Tom
Go with the 4x5 size. Put in a double track oval of 22" and 18" radius. This will leave you with one foot of straight track for a turnout on each side into the middle so you can have two spurs off the inner loop for a little switching.
You could also go with a smaller set of curves, but if your HO locos get too small, you’ll have trouble getting sound into them.
You could also stay with N and use MRC’s external sound systems under your layout. See their site [ur]http://www.modelrectifier.com/[/url]
Enjoy
Paul
Here are a bunch of ideas for small spaces. Many are for REALLY small spaces, but others are slightly larger and may give you some ideas.
http://www.carendt.com/index.html
Jim
Since N is slightly cheaper than HO, and comes all RTR, I’m puzzled. “Hard”? “Expensive”? - compared to what - 'wind up?
For sound, ‘N’ isn’t gonna’ do it. Period. You want a postage stamp RR, with realistic sound? Moving ‘on board’ sound costs $100 per engine + requires DCC.
We’ll see.
3’x4’? Go Z scale with MRC’s ‘Symphony 77’ Sound system (really)!
The Old Dog isn’t sure if N is any cheaper then HO. But the Dog can point out that changing scales once one has made a major investment in rolling stock is expensive. One would be wise to think long and hard before choosing a scale. Particular layouts may come and go, but one’s selection of scale is pretty permanent.
Have fun
If you can get a copy of 101 Track Plans by Linn Westcott, I know there are some plans in there for spaces smaller than 4x8.
Thats what I was remebering when I posted my ideas, thanks for the kick in the seats to me [:D]
Thanks for all the input guys!
I had a look at the small layout gallery and some good ideas in there…but I thinki I am a a bit of a ambitious railroad tycoon! I want a lot of things with my railway empire otherwis I get bored ery quickly…just like my first N layout which only lasted about 1 and half months!
I think you guys are right…may be I just ought to be a bit more patient and wait for the sound in N to perfect it over time but the guy from Kato recon it will take about 2 years before it would be like sound in HO! All the engineers are working on them and the biggest problem he thinks is once there is enough room for decoder and speaker, there are not enough weight!
I think I relly need to think long and hard about this now…
How would a shelf layout work? How do you get trains from one shelf to another level? Only can be done manually?
I am loving the mid diesel era at the moment even though I started out with steam but may consider going back to it…started out loving the Santa Fe and then fell in love with the yellow and grey of Union Pacific but then started looking into why Dave loves PRR so much now I am leaning towards it as well! The red shield is just so fascinating! LOL
Thanks again guys!
Hi,
Thanks for this idea, it does sound ok! I know switching layout is popular but I think I am just not the switching kind of engineer…I need them to go round and round and round and around…LOL
a 4’ x 4’ layout that has continuous running in HO pretty much limits you to this sort of thing.
Test track for DCC and DC
Jon
By going with small engines and short cars, you can get the radius of your curves down to 15 inches or less. Think little teakettles in steam (sound in the tenders, tank locos don’t have room for it) and short ore jimmies for rolling stock, with the occasional 36 or 40 foot boxcar for supplies.
To our Japanese brethren, 4 x 5 feet is an empire! Of course, even in HOj (1:80 scale) the typical fifteen ton capacity four-wheeler is about as long as a 50 foot N scale car.
For the last 26 years I’ve operated a switching module, 16" x 96" size, moving (short) trains on and off in cassettes when there wasn’t a layout connected to it.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
You may have fun building a 4’x5’ layout, but operating it in an interesting manner may be very difficult. I’d be worried you’d get bored of it quickly.
You might also want to think about running trolleys in an urban street layout. They can take much tighter turns than freight. 40-foot boxcars and a small Dockside steam switcher could be combined with this for variety.
The scenery would be mostly urban buildings. If nothing else, these could be re-used when you get a larger space to work with.
Consider your own time frame for designing and building this layout. Even a modest size like you’ve proposed could take a year or two to approach completion. (No layout is ever “complete,” but some get close.) After that, you may find yourself in a different home entirely, with more space to work with. You might want to have a couple of tracks that just run to the edge of the layout and stop that you can connect to a future extension.
Another possibility is a Module (with a capital M) that meets one of the standards. This is something that you can add to a club layout at a show.
I would do a switching layout on a shelve. Kevin
Sorry for my ignorance but I am always puzzled by such concept…you obviously manually move trains onto each shelf manually rather let them have the ability to train up and down shelves, right? [
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If you made the industries complimentary you wouldn’t have much, if any, of that.