Chip you are redoing yours and that was sort of started the relook at what I have. Dave’s idea of a bulldozer would lead to a LOT bigger railroad, about 1800 to 2100 sq ft because I would take the whole basement and go more of around the wall BUT I passed on that BEFORE I built this one. I am a very STUBBORN person when it comes to giving up on a design. I fought with a real life design for an airport, it took almost 6 months of drawing changes BUT they built it and the Chief Arch. got an award for the design.
I have a visitor who helped design and build the Cal-Neva in Orange Park Florida. It is of the similar design as mine BUT he did a great job of mixing lots of good trackwork with even better scenery. I sent him some gas money and pictures to start with. His background is in art and his wife is a civil engineer, she helped in the design. I figure between the forum and the brain trust coming up I should have an idea for the “WORK CREW” next Thursday.
The ARROWS are a good input, the back tracks are up for grabs, the front one will get a little smaller since it is a switcher pocket. Was to be only 14" but went in at 27". I have an old 36ft passenger car that will be the office. (Old roundhouse 3n1 kit for about 1968).
From your photos it appears you have room for lots of scenery; remember, dirt, grass, weeds, bushes and trees are scenery too. By simply laying down some dirt, grass, a couple of temporary roads and cardboard building mock-ups you’ll begin to get ideas of the kind of scenery you want and what will fit and at realitively little cost. There will also be an additional benefit; you will find you will actually enjoy operating your railroad even more.
Incidentally, many of us who read this forum would love to have your problem. You have the makings of a great model railroad.
I’m not saying tear it down and start over. Just take a really hard critical look at each scene. If it won’t do what you want, now’s the time to change it–before adjoining scenes can’t be worked with.
As mentioned above, it’s okay, just to have a yard. Lots of them are out in the sticks with nothing around for miles.
Will rmove and relocate this are first since it was an easy fix. Do not need 3 tracks for a SMALL engine area. nly the Heisler and Shay will be here and not both at the same time.
This is place where I should have made the tracks shorter, will solve that NOW! Where is the Dremel [:D]
Thanks for the input folks. I will not mess with the mains or branch, except to add a bend for visual effect.
You just said the best part of rring can’t have 2 in the same place at once, this makes you be even busier with less tracks cuz you have to stick more to a timetable.
2 tracks, 1 loco house = room for town for wokers at the mine [:D]
Did a little BENDING of the track the CSX is sitting on:
Can now KEEP the industry that was going in that area PLUS have room for a parking lot, street and background buildings.
Thanks folks! Looking for more space. Next Possible victum:
this one will be a little hard to shrink down. Doodlebug or a 3 or 4 car passenger is all that goes at the station. The tracks from the wall out
DL&W Main
CNJ MAin
3,4 WHERE an interchange between the 2 roads each holds 10 cars
Ststion
Operation was to be the said interchange BUT the trunout to the left is the lead to the main DL&W yard and town of Nanticoke. Tank car is on a siding in Weast Ashley. Next track towrds you is the Yard lead to the CNJ yard of Ashley. The next Track at that level leads DOWN to the Warrior Run tracks. The lowest track is the Reverse loop/Warror Run tracks.
My RETHNK is that the interchange at this location is not required due to the yards. I could move the Station to Track #3 and use #4 as Freight thus getting rid of #5.
George this may be a dumb question but is there any possible chance you may have this layout on a track plan the can be posted. I’m having a real hard time understanding the functionality and layout of this . ya ya I know dumb question. [:)]
Looking at your plan which is extremely busy and if all of the plan trackage isn’t already in place I would say it wouldn’t take much to make a removeable mountain or even pulling the rear tracks inward and sway them around the front of some mountains and slopes perhaps passing through some mountains and perhaps following a rivers edge. You do seem to have quite a few passing tracks which sometimes makes it too easy to run trains.
So just a couple probing questions :
Whats your longest train you enjoy running ?meaning how long of passing sidings do you need.
What kind of grades are you setup with now?
Are the rearest parts of the layout tracks possibly assessable from via the next room over (hense a mountain access )
How much of the track from the plan or what parts of the plan are already in place?
You know what I did on my layout is for the longest time ( including sleepless nites) I would just stare at my layout and say to myself "self I know you want mountains and tunnels and waterfalls and bridges so lets find a place for them " and then it happened [:)]
I must add I’m no track planner but I can only say what my experiences are and how I went about being happy with what I have. [:)]
Wickman, 100% of the track is in. The question was about 3 or 4 areas that where coming up as blanks. The club whom I am BUILDING THIS RAIROAD FOR was over and thought thta the input from this forum was BETTER than what they came up with.
As another person used up bandwidth to say in LONG Hand. If it was JUST my railroad I would have been done a long time ago (in the planning stages) But I am in the postion where I have the money, space and DESIRE to build something for a group to enjoy. This group ranges in age from 48 to 83. Only ONE has a job all the others are retired, like me.
Back to answer you, sorry about the rant, we are running 12 to 15 car trains with no problems (8 to 10 at a time). The only problem was in the couple of areas that are coming along fine.
What will happen is that (6) #66 Atlas undertable switch machines will be junked. All NON Kadee couplers will be scrapped and all non Kadee coupling ramps will be removed and replaced with Kadee units.
Since I have offended a person who does not understand the reason for a forum, to exchange ideas and ask questions, I consider this thread CLOSED!
To all who had input I thank you again. To those who thought that I was being lazy using this forum, your problem, not mine. To those who are still thinking about building a layout, if you have the space, money and time DO IT you are not getting any younger.
My apologies for that coming over all wrong! Please accept them.
I came in and took a quick look at progress. I am actually really interested in your progress. I feel passionately about people, model railroaders, finding what suites them.
It wasn’t helped by the formatting falling apart and assorted smilies just not being there when it printed. Maybe I should delete?
I’m not against all the helpful suggestions… or anyone getting input (that’s what the forum is about). With all that wonderful space available I would like you to at least consider a huge step back and come at the next stage of your interest with a whole different … approach? … beginning?
I guess that, put gently, I would say that you’ve achieved a vast amount. It seems terrible to me that having achieved so much it isn’t being what you want and that you appear to have hit a massive problem.
One way, an extreme way, to move on is to go back beyond even the drawing board. Even the greatest modellers have to do this from time to time.
Anyway. What I want to say is “Sorry if I got over enthusiastic/dramatic. It misfired to my embarrassment. I did not mean to cause offence”.
Well, thank you, I accept.Do not think that I am not happy with the overall layout design, I am 100%. We made some on the fly changes that created these (4) areas which are now solved.
We have another problem that is major compared to just the scenery areas. I used (against the advice of people on this forum and in person) Atlas Code 83 turnouts (156 of them). Well the FROGS
2 tracks, 1 loco house = room for town for wokers at the mine [:D]
Can now KEEP the industry that was going in that area PLUS have room for a parking lot, street and background buildings.
