Wildcat Central Help

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I have been reading for years, but working pretty hard on the layout and plans for the last year. I think I know at least 1% of what I need to know to build my dream.
N Gauge - Totally freelance
Time period 1920-Present; Manhattan will be fall, Colorado will be winter and Wichita will be summer.
I plan to build it in 5 phases. I hope to get each phase pretty well done so hopefully I can learn from my mistakes.
Right now I am totally a “Railfan.” I basically want to model and watch the trains run. But I want to build it with “Operation” in mind for the day when I am finally done building.
Purpose of the line is to take coal from a Colorado mine to a power plant in Kansas.
Route: From the coal mine I want to go over the biggest/tallest trestle I can fit in that space. I will then catch the second level of the helix and go to the bottom. After a loop around the base of the mountains, I want to go through “Colorado City.” This will be an industrial town, dirty, with “some vices.” Then the will enter heaven as it travels through Wichita and Newton. It will have to go under the mountain and through Manhattan, past KSU Stadium (now called Bill Snyder Family Stadium) to the power plant. I plan to have a hidden track from the power plant back to the coal mine.

I like my overall layout plan, but the detail track plan is more difficult. Here is what I have at this point.

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The double line main track will be above the yard track. This is the way it really is in Wichita. Just after the farm the lines diverge. I plan to gain the main line an inch and lower the industrial line an inch to get clearance. I have been struggling with the yard/staging area. I am not happy about how to get there or the layout. The track in the middle represents the AVI, Ark Valley Interurban. I

2

Wolfcat,

Looking at your layout verses room, it seems that you’re not using the layout space very efficiently. I don’t know if there are any windows to deal with on the top wall (were the electrical box is), but why is the aisle there other than for access to the electrical box? If you pushed the layout against the top wall, leaving the layout very thin or using a narrow removable section for easy access to the electrical box, then the center peninsula and the portion of the layout on the right wall will all be 2 feet longer. You could also place the left peninsula (labeled Manhattan) against the top wall, going into the area you’ve labeled as a work area, and put the work area were Manhattan was. This will eliminate the swing bridge to your work area, which will get annoying very quickly. Also, it seems you would have more layout room that way.

Eric

3

Thanks for your thoughts. I plan the workarea for the back area just to make it less visable. I would rather see the layout than the workarea. Also, the swinging bridge won’t be built until Phase 4 so I won’t have to worry about it for quite some time. The sewer cleanout is also there with the elect box. I have an outside cleanout that I am trying to find under the grass so that won’t be an issue. I would like that extra length to the top wall. I will have to think about that plan.

I like this better. It adds several square feet. I can always duck under to get to the electrical box.

Thanks

4

before you build anything in front of your electrical box be sure to check your local building code to see if it’s allowed