I have completed my benchwork and am trying to get ideas. My room is 24 X 12 with a wall in between. I cut a door way in my house to connect the rooms. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Didn’t you have some sort of track plan before you started? If not, you are working sort of backwards. The next thing you need to figure out is how you want the rails to run.
Yeah. That was my thought. You built benchwork without a track plan?
It looks like you have a pretty good-sized space to work with! However, I would hold off on actually laying any track until figuring out exactly what you you want - there are so many different types of model railroads to build, but they can’t be mixed-and-matched without looking toylike. Building a quality layout - one that you will not grow bored with - could take months, not weeks, to plan and build.
Here’s a link to an excellent online article about layout design, by our own Joe Fugate: http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.32
In addition to viewing Joe’s article, you should probably read thru a good intro-level design book. A well-known favorite is John Armstrong’s Track Planning for Realistic Operation. This not only shows how to imitate prototype practices, but warns of various “gotchas” (S-curves, etc.) that may lead to derailments or other operating headaches.
I hope I didn’t rain on your parade, I just don’t want you to suffer by making the same series of mistakes I did. [:)] Good luck!
I wrote a little article for people just in your situation. It’s called A beginner’s guide to Layout Design.
http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.html
I had my layout before my track plan, no problem with that. I have a free-lanced track plan that just came to me while standing there looking at the board. You have a lot more room than I did though. Are you going free-lanced or are you modeling a certian area?
Why not? I have built all of my layouts doing that…Why bother with a track plan when in all reality we usually change things? Even all the quoted layout books and web pages are nothing more then guide lines based on others layout design givens and druthers.Like I said for years a layout is a personal thing that a modeler designs based on his/her givens and druthers and not that of others including John Armstrong or our follow forum member Joe Fugate.Look at their ideas but,design by your givens/druthers.
I had no plan when I started my layout. I did have a short list of features I wanted. First thing I wanted was a small yard. so I put down a few tracks for a yard. Then, I had some leftover buildings from 10-15 years ago when I dropped out of the hobby. I just set them around the layout and started laying tracks to get to them. Then I wanted a loop for continuous running for breaking in engines and for demonstration runs for friends. Then I wanted another town and laid some more track to get there. Next thing you know, I had a track plan. Now, I just have to fill in the details. But, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Tom
Sorry I should have clarified. I do have a track plan, but before I start I wanted to get some ideas from others if this was your space, what would you do. I model 1943 NYC, the run from Chicago to NewYork. Alot of passenger and troop transport. I am going to model the Brooklyn Ship Yard plus some war industry for some switching and operations.
I agree, My layout, I have a rough idea of what I want it to look like, I want a yard, some industries, A mine, single track, and countinus running. My last layouts I planned, and they didn’t work out. so This one i’m not planning, I’m just gonna let the tracks go where they go
Tom, you must now take a sheet of paper and actually list the elements you want on this bench. You need this in order to refer to it often as you go about designing a track plan that will somehow include all of them. In fact, you may need to assign a priority to them so that you can agree to eliminate a few of them when the devil gets into the details too much for you.
You do need to think about intersections, grades, crossovers, access to tricky places where there are lots of turnouts, a place from where you will control it all, any significant built-up areas (buildings and streets), and a place to park trains and yard them for classification (that’ll take up a chunk of space).
So, I caution you to begin a more methodical planning process now so that your result will be satisfying in all respects. Diagram the bench boundaries, add 3’ around where you will need to be for access and viewing, and then you will have an idea how to fix what isn’t right at the moment before you add the delicate stuff. Next, on some graph paper, draw the bench outline to scale, and start drawing a track plan that works for you. Keep free spaces for trees, roads, a river or ditch or pond, some hills, and so on. It will not take too long, maybe a few days before you get the "eureka’ when it all fits.
I can only offer you what my approach would be in your shoes.
You want a suggestion? Mine is that you give a little bit better details of exactly what you are asking; I’m just a little bit lost myself!
You say your “room is 24 X 12 with a wall in between”. When you refer to room are you more precisely referring to space i.e. is your “space” 24 X 12? And just how is this wall configured in relationship to the 24 X 12? And I’m afraid to ask just where you cut this door. Please, tell me you didn’t cut it in the middle of the wall!!!
R.T., he had a link to a GIF image of his room diagram [embedded below] in his opening post.
