Woodlawn Industrial Park (was Northeastern HO scale switching layout)


Interesting, I figured it was more on the prototypical side as it resembles several aspects to the photos that @Rico posted on the first page of this thread.

Since the room I plan to use is still a few months away from being ready, I've been playing around in SCARM to see what might fit. I'm hoping to do a shelf-around-the-room setup, and I've been using SCARM to recreate various single-wall shelf layouts I've seen online. The neat thing is I can then simply copy/paste & adjust to see if it makes sense or not along any given wall in the room. The Ideas you have been sharing in your exploration along with everyone's observations that led to adjustments benefits everyone here. Thanks, and looking forward to reading your continued progress!


Glad I can be of help. I have learned over the years not to hurry the layout design process too much.

As it happens, unfortunately there is going to be a small hiatus for a few weeks as I have some family obligations to take care of. I hope to resume active building in May.
 
WOW, an around the room shelf layout gives the opportunity for more than one switching area!
A great opportunity!
 
WOW, an around the room shelf layout gives the opportunity for more than one switching area! A great opportunity!
I agree, this would give you a nice vista between towns or cities, lots of ops with rail fanning in the country along the way!
@kleiner hope everything is ok, we’ll be looking forward to picking this up again!
 
Hi Everyone I'm back. After much dithering, I decided to postpone my trip until I get my second shot of vaccine. So I have been busy finalizing the plan.

I was not expressing it clearly but what was bothering me was that the track plans I posted earlier did not look "complicated" enough. After letting the problem churn at the back of my head for a few days while I did other stuff, things seemed to click today.

In terms of realism, this plan is probably a step backwards - you simply don't see such complex track layouts nowadays in Industrial areas. But aesthetically, it has that busy look I want - so this plan is going to stick (I think) :)

Meanwhile, there seems to be a shortage of Atlas Code 83 wooden tie track. But thankfully Model Train Stuff at least had the flex track with concrete ties so I went ahead and ordered that. Looking forward to getting started with the build!

layout_14.png
 
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Hmmm, interesting but not too practical I'm afraid, much more of a switching puzzle.
Run thru all the scenarios in your mind, if they work then go for it, this will keep you busy that's for sure!
 
Do you need Atlas snap track, or flex track with the brown ties? I have a bunch of snap track for sale.

Thanks for the kind offer but I am looking for flex track. This layout was designed with no regard to sectional track geometry. In any case, I should hopefully get the tracks soon (whenever ModelTrainStuff gets around to fulfilling my order!)
 
While I'm waiting for my racks, it occurred to me that it might be fun to try doing some scratch building for this project. I've built my share of kits in the past but I want to do something more challenging. Specifically, I want to try building a warehouse. What would be the best place to get some sheet styrene for this project? Amazon?

Also, what thickness of sheets should I get?
 
Just got an email from ModelTrainStuff saying that they are completely cleaned out of Code83 flex track :( I just went on Amazon and ordered some flex track before it disappears. I guess this must be the effect of the shipping container shortage that I've been reading about!
 
Good news - I was finally able to get some Atlas code 83 flex track from eBay (don't ask how much it cost, it was ridiculous ;)). But I don't need much track and I buy new flex track very rarely so it was not much of a problem.

Bad news - now that I have the benchwork and all of the track ready for action, I suddenly feel a little paralyzed. I want this layout to be just right and I keep second guessing myself. My plan today is to spend some quality time this morning finalizing my track plan. I need to give myself a kick on the backside (figuratively of course 😂) to get moving!
 
And construction has begun! There are two ways of getting the design onto the benchwork. One approach is to print the layout 1:1 and use something like a pounce wheel to get the design on the foam or plywood. The problem with this approach is that it wastes a lot of paper.
So my preferred method is to compute the coordinates (relative to a corner of the benchwork) of some of the main track pieces. I then use my ruler and laser to locate the tracks on the foam.
I have started by printing out the layout in a reasonable size so that I can annotate it with the coordinates. If this was a more complex layout, I would have used the "reference point" feature of 3rd PlanIt. However, this layout is simple enough that I can simply need to get the position of a few track pieces to be done accurately - the others will follow relatively easily

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I had to make adjustments to the design a little to better position some turnouts. With that done, I finally got started with laying track! It took a long time to get the design aligned with the actual foam. Took a lot of measurements and sightings with my laser and started cutting flex track. I have not soldered the tracks as yet since I may still need to do some final adjustments but I am happy that it's finally coming together now.

IMG_3536.jpeg
 
Here is the latest track plan - I just realized I had not posted it
layout_16.png


And here is a snapshot of the tools I use to draw lines on the base. This is not a complicated layout but it is important to get the main tracks laid as accurately possible so it will all fit. The laser square is absolutely invaluable for this process.Once I get it aligned, I can draw the lines with a Sharpie. I will not be using any trackbed for this layout as industrial trackage tends to be mostly at ground level.

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Track laying continues. The curved track is the way trains enter the layout from the outside world. Its a shallow curve (about 45 inc radius) so it was no problem to get the track down. From my previous experience in HO scale, 24 inch radius is about the minimum curve you can comfortably install with Atlas flex track.

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I was hoping to bend Peco flex to about 19 1/2 inch , is this possible ? Or discouraged ?

Peco is entirely a different kind of flex track as it is very stiff compared to Atlas. I have some experience with laying Micro Engineering that is quite similar to Peco. My experience is that it may actually be easier to curve Peco track to a tighter radius than Atlas. The way you curve stiff flex track is a bit of an art - you need to keep making passes through the track an applying a little force each time. I will try to dig up a video I saw on YouTube that summarizes this technique
 



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