Im trying to get back into the hobby but it looks a little overwhelming. Without getting into controls and everthing right now I would like some advice on how to design a layout. What should I do about operations? I saw a couple posts by zgardner18 on his diarama which might be something like that I would like to try but then I cant actually run trains.
I really like BNSF’s “earthworm” grain shuttle trains so I would like my layout/diarama to be modeled after either ND,WY, or MT. What are your guys’ thoughts, full layout or diarama?
Hello. As you stated, quoted above, you would prefer to run trains. So, a diorama is not going to provide what I understand by the term “running” trains; that is, to watch them go around a loop or other closed track plan that allows you to sit back and enjoy. A diorama is really meant to showcase something…whether the structures, track, scenery, details, a story or theme, something, but it is not meant as a functional model railroad. Instead, it is a portion of a greater project that would be a model “railroad”.
There are many guides on the www about how to get oriented to designing a useful, provocative, and fun layout that fits your needs. Most quides will urge you to first identify your needs so that you have a good sense of what to have, and what not to bother with (and pay for!) on your layout(s). Space Mouse is a regular here who has a good guide under his signature…look for at least two recent posts about 4X8 layouts originated by him and find his guide hot linked under his signature.
Here’s a 'have your cake and eat it, too," idea, if what you would really like to do is enjoy the look of really long unit trains snaking through the rather barren landscape of the Great Plains. Find the longest straight wall you can appropriate for your modeling and lay out a long dogbone (on paper) to fit. The accessible side can be laid out to break down into ‘dioramas’ (N-Trak, HO-Trak or Free-Mo modules.) The inaccessible side can be home to a couple of long layover tracks to feed several trains onto the visible main through ‘module country.’
When you build, the turnback curves and the thoroughfare/layover (aka staging) portion will be permanently mounted to the benchwork. The front track can be laid on otherwise-bare module frames, which can then be detailed to the Nth degree either individually or all at once. The end curves can be disguised as the foothills of the Rockies on the west and an urban landscape (less elaborate than Rod Stewart’s!) on the east.
Using this idea, you can get wheels turning quickly on permanent trackage, then add whatever details (including passing sidings, industries and townsites) you want to the visible sides. If you get involved with one of the module-modeling clubs you can arrange to remove pieces of your personal layout to incorporate in the big public displays - which can be a HUGE ego-booster.
is there a website that can tell me where to find all the numbers and what exactly they mean? i see so many std sl f7a f3a gp40. how can u tell if your piece is an f7a or f3a, or an f20a…im sorry, im new to this and reall appreciate any help you can give
The first thing you need is space to place the layout. If your looking at modern era trains, many cars are larger and longer than say a 50’s era layout.
You may want to figure out an area that can handle at least 24 inch radius curves but better if you can get an area that can handle 36 inch radius. Consider your potential layout space and maybe we can help work out possible details or guide they way you want to go.
[#welcome]I recommend building modules like clubs do. I prefer 2x4 for HO. If you start with your main line(s), you can add sidings as you decide what you want to do. If you have to move (either to another room) or another house, you don’t have to destroy your work. If you decide to change what you are modeling, you can change the structures and rr equipment with little change in your trackwork, but change in trackwork is not difficult. If you use the module and track specifications of your local club, you can join it if you want with little or no alterations.
Steve, I’m not sure exactly what your experience was before you left the hobby but your return to this, the world’s greatest hobby, need not be overwhelming at all; this hobby is, quintessentially, an experience of crawling before you walk and walking before you run and running before you fly. Do not feel embarrassed by being at the crawl stage; every one of us goes through that.
There are three things frequently badmouthed here on the forum: me, Bachmann, and 4 X 8 layouts. There is nothing wrong with 4 X 8 layouts; they are excellent for chewing on while you cut your first teeth. Unless you are restricted to a small area - I resided in apartments for many years and couldn’t really manage anything more exotic - which allows only a 4 X 8 you will get bored with it eventually and wish to graduate to something a little more elaborate. By the time you tire of this 4 X 8 you will have honed your skills at benchwork, trackwork, wiring, scenery and the multitude of other tasks which you will encounter. I once built a layout called HO Railroad that Grows; I did it in N Scale and that allowed me the liberty of certain modifications. The simplicity of this trackplan is frequently badmouthed but a Trackside Photos feature in Model Railroader a few years back showed illustrations of a guy who had started with that trackplan and had expanded it to increase its operational potential. One of the things he had done is add a wing and put a multi-track yard on a shelf against a wall. The initial features of the original trackplan were all still there but the layout was no longer identifiable as the HO Railroad that Grows.