Adapting ho plans to n scale?

[Matthewd5]

Ok I'm totally new to this, I'm doing a 4x8 setup

I'm working off of a really nice plan from the model railroader magazines web based plan database

The original plan is fairly simple but still manages to have a long river and both a harbor and a cove plus a lot of road and train bridges over the river and harbor

I'm trying to add a bunch of new siding to allow for more industries and basically add an additional loop to accommodate cargo and passenger traffic

If you have access to the magazines layout database just search for the smallest size layout choice and then put waterfront as the keyword

It's called Maggie's cove

Matthew

 

[TrinityJayOne]

It is a bit hard to gauge what your actual question is. From the thread title I guess this is a HO plan and you want to know how to make it N instead? If that's the case there's really not a lot to it, you just cut the measurements for the baseboard in half (almost).

 

[Matthewd5]

yes i am trying to convert it to n scale and to add a lot more track as the original design is very sparse, the terrain is perfect but the layout is an oval with just two sidings

matthew

 

[otiscnj]

I took a plan from Linn Wescotts 101 trackplans, that in HO had extremely sharp curves, but fit in 4x8, and just used n scale track, more or less. 15" curves in N scale aren't that bad. Its the Denver & South Park. I turned it into the Glenwood and Eagle. I'm currently waiting on some Atlas Signal Control Boards, to make more progress.

As someone once told me, you can change your tracks, etc to n scale, but you can't change the width of your fingers....

 

[jdetray]

Hi Matthew -

N-scale is 54.375% of HO scale, so simply cutting all measurements in half will often make the track plan a bit cramped. Do yourself a favor and allow something like 3x5 feet for the N-scale version of the layout.

This will give you space for the extra trackage you desire and allow you to spread everything out a bit so that you have more room between tracks and between tracks and adjacent structures and scenery. As otiscnj said, you can't change the width of your fingers. You'll appreciate the extra space.

- Jeff